RSLS

by FicReader21

FOR ME

Chapter 1: dripping like a saturated sunrise

He's late, as he always is, but she planned for that. "Hokage-sama," he greets her.

She rolls her eyes. "Good of you to show, Kakashi." She turns towards one of her ANBU and says, "Fetch Sakura. Don't let her leave the hospital until she wraps up, though, because she won't be back for a while."

Kakashi tilts his head, curious. The ANBU just nods and takes off. Tsunade watches him go and then turns toward Kakashi, her mouth downturned. "Alright, brat. Here's the deal. The village is broken all to hell, and we need money to help fund this war. Otherwise, I wouldn't be asking this." His eyebrow goes up. "This…" she sighs and pulls the scroll from her drawer, setting it on the table. It takes him less than a second to process the dark purple ribbon wrapped around it, and even from here she feels his displeasure. "It'll be her first."

"Why her?" The other words go unspoken, too: why me? Why now? Nobody's allowed to take on a seduction mission alone these days, but why choose him as her partner?

Tsunade sighs and leans forward, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The details are in the scroll, but what it boils down to is that there's a predator in a small town down south. Several of the local families have joined together and pooled their money to hire us because their daughters have gone missing." She lifts her eyes to his. "Their young, innocent daughters." A beat passes, and then another, and he remains silent.

"Of all the kunoichi we have right now, Sakura's the best suited for this. The Yamanaka girl's done seduction missions before, but she'd never attract someone looking for innocence. The people older… " She just shakes her head and leans forward, eyes intent on the man before her. "You're the only person Sakura trusts enough that could do this mission with her. Ideally, we'd send one of her teammates, or a year-mate, but…"

"Sasuke's gone, she doesn't trust Sai, and Naruto isn't a stealthy ninja," Kakashi murmurs. His shoulders slump. "Fine."

"Besides that, Naruto's with the toads. He's safe enough there, but both you and Sakura are… well, it would be best if you were both out of sight for a little while." She drops her hand and looks at him, straightening up again. "This mission will also be a test. She applied for ANBU earlier this year. Should this mission go well, she'll still have to pass the written test and the training, but discretion is vital in ANBU."

Evidently, his shock shows in his eye, because she raises an eyebrow. "She… ANBU?"

Tsunade nods. "I know you didn't pay much attention to her while Naruto was gone, but she was chuunin before he returned, and she made jounin after that…incident… with Sasori. Kurenai's trained her in genjutsu, and she's been working on her kenjutsu as well." She narrows her eyes. "The only reason you haven't seen the full range of her abilities is because you've been up against monsters and Uchiha, who excel in illusions and swordplay. She hasn't been your baby genin in seven years."

Sakura bursts in just then. "You summoned me, shishou?" And then she sees the scroll on the desk. She pauses for a heartbeat, her eyes going wide, and then her expression evens out. If he squints, he can see why Tsunade thinks she's perfect for this mission. The farther a henge strays from someone's real form, the harder it is to maintain. Though Sakura's clearly a woman, she's still short and lithe — both things people attribute to innocence.

Of course, then Tsunade opens her mouth again and he can't help wincing at what she says. Oh.

Purple ribbon. A seduction mission. "I did," Tsunade says simply, turning her gaze to Sakura. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain you haven't had any sexual activity. That means you're allowed to turn this mission down due to lack of personal experience, but you're the perfect kunoichi for it." She pauses and looks at Sakura long and hard.

"I accept, Hokage-sama," Sakura says after a deep breath. "What… what are my objectives?"

Tsunade rolls the scroll towards her. "There's more details inside, but I'll give you the run-down. You'll be going to Sugawara, a town in southern Fire Country. Several young women have gone missing in the last year. All have been described as pretty and innocent, and all of them have disappeared after having a relationship with one of the local lord's brothers. From the intelligence given in the scroll, they seem to disappear after spending the night with this man once or twice. You will be infiltrating the village under whatever cover you can concoct and fooling this man into picking you for his next target." Tsunade's mouth firms. "The chances of the other girls still being alive are low. The only information we have about how he could be abducting them comes from one of the girl's mothers. She invited the man over for dinner and fell asleep after eating dessert. When she woke up, the girl was gone."

Sakura frowns. "A drug, then, or a poison? It could be a jutsu of some sort, but that's unlikely." Her frown fades. "That's part of why I'm perfect, isn't it? If I'm drugged, I can burn the drugs out of my blood."

Her teacher nods and nudges the scroll closer. "As you've no doubt figured out by now, Kakashi will be your partner. Naruto's — well, Naruto, even if he wasn't away with the toads." Then Tsunade sighs and looks every inch of her age. "To tell the truth, I need both of you here while we prepare for this thing. But I also need you safely away from Konoha. You —" she points at Sakura, "— are the heir to all my techniques and knowledge, even more than Shizune. You —" and the finger swings to Kakashi. "—are the next Hokage, should I fall." Sakura almost chokes on the information. "With everything in the state it's in, it would be shockingly easy for someone to infiltrate Konoha and take either or both of you out."

At that, they both start to protest, but she lifts a hand. "I don't doubt your ability as shinobi, but I need to have you safe, and I need this mission done. Prepare as quickly as you can, and don't let anyone see you leaving Konoha. Sakura, Kakashi's familiar with these missions. Don't hesitate to lean on his experience. Dismissed." She nods, and they both leave.

Once they step outside the office door, Kakashi looks at her through the corner of his eye. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Sakura-chan?"

She firms her shoulders and offers him a bright smile. "I'm a jounin, and a kunoichi of Konoha! I'll kick this mission's ass!"

His eye creases. "Good. You're in charge of designing our cover. Let's go!"

"I — wait, what?" He springs away, and she gives chase. "Kakashi!"

An hour later, she finally catches him and drags him into one of Konoha's civilian shops. One with lots of colorful clothing. He casts a baleful eye at her and sighs. "What's our cover?"

As they browse, she whispers to him. "You'll be my big brother. We can say you were a career genin who got caught in the big attack, and you just got out of the hospital. The rest of our family died, so we want to get away from Konoha." She smirks a little. "That way, we can wrap your head in bandages, and eventually go to an eyepatch, and it won't be suspicious."

She buys a half-dozen outfits for herself, all of them plain but colorful, and wheedles him into a few shirts. Thankfully, he already has a dresser full of civilian clothes he can raid… ones much less bright. Then it's into another store to find a civilian traveling pack — something else he already has. He's immensely relieved when they stop at one of his favorite stores for weapons. She startles him, though, when she buys a huge pack of senbon. He didn't know she was familiar with them. And at the next store, she buys seals for muffling sound. "…what?" she asks when he eyes her up and down. "We might need them for wherever we live."

"You think there'll be ninja listening to us?" She shrugs. He sighs and just follows her. "Names?" he asks when they land on her apartment balcony a little while later.

"Sato Ichigo and Daisuke!" she chirps. "I've already got my henge planned, too!" She glances around, concentrates, and a puff of smoke obscures her for an instant. When it clears, her hair's bright, eye-catching Kazekage red, and just past her shoulders. She's an inch or so shorter, and though she's kept her bright green eyes, the shape and shade are just different enough to be uncanny. There's also dozens of freckles scattered across her face and down her neck. "What do you think?"

He offers her a creased eye and a nod. "They won't stand a chance, Ichigo-chan." He taps his chin, thinking for a second, and then nods again.

"Do you need to think about how Daisuke looks?" she asks, a curious little smile playing around her lips — which are shaped just differently enough to be distracting.

"No," he answers, and disappears. He hears her swearing from three buildings over, though.

Sakura shifts her pack on her shoulders uneasily and grumbles to herself. "Don't know why I bother showing up on time for all of these. He'll never be on time. Late, lazy old —"

"Aa, Ichi-chan, are you ready to go?" an almost familiar voice calls out. She blinks and turns back toward the village. There's a boy — dark-haired, though the sun makes it reddish — walking towards her, bandages wrapped around the top and side of his head. "You could have met me at the hospital, you know."

Her jaw almost drops as she realizes it's Kakashi. The hair's still messy and wild, but he looks enough like her henge to startle her, his body long and stringy enough to be distinct from his usual self. "Please, the exercise is good for you, Dai-kun," she fires back. "Let's go!"

On the way to Sugawara, they discuss the details they didn't discuss out loud in the village. Ichigo didn't have enough chakra to get into the academy, and Daisuke took the chuunin exam three times before giving up. She muses out loud about what kind of poison or drug could be used to knock someone out without issue. He has a few surprisingly good suggestions about what they could be, and about what kind of techniques she can expect from their target.

The village is two day's run through the trees. Once they get close, though, they drop out of the trees and start walking on the road, bickering with each other. When they approach the town gates near sunset, one of the guards asks, "Your purpose here?"

"Finding a new home!" Daisuke says, offering the guard a huge grin.

The guard blinks and raises his eyes from his logbook. "A new home?"

"Yes!" Ichigo answers, her smile soft. "I — nee-san got hurt when Konoha got attacked, and… everyone else…" she wells up a little before sniffling and blinking it away. "So we just want a place we can be safe and happy!"

The guard stares for a long minute, shrugs, and writes it down. "If you need a place to stay, take a left when you hit the market square and go until you find Press Street. Takada's is cheap, the food is hot, and the rooms are clean."

"Thank you, guard-san!" Ichigo chirps, dragging her brother in by the arm.

Kakashi lets her do as much of the work as he can get away with. When they get to Takada's, the old proprietor eyes them and huffs in disapproval, likely because she thinks they're unmarried. "Hello, Takada-dono!" Ichigo almost sings, dipping into a low bow. "It's my pleasure to meet you! Guard-san at the front gate said you had lovely rooms and good food. My brother and I are very tired, so please allow us to rest on your hospitality!"

At this unrestrained show of exuberance, the old woman's face cracks a little. "There's no need for all that fuss," she rumbles, tapping her pipe on the counter. "Room with two beds is two fifty for the night. Meals are thirty ryo per person, and if you're not down here in time for them, that's your own fault. Rooms are paid up front, meals are paid at the end of each day."

Daisuke steps forward and digs in his pack for a minute before holding out a thousand ryo. "We don't know how long we'll need your room for, Takada-san. Will this do for now?"

She snatches the money from him and counts it, eyes gleaming. "It'll do. Now what are you two striplings doing out, running around? Haven't you heard the hidden villages are about to start up some kind of war nonsense?"

Daisuke looks down, kicking at the mats on the floor. Ichigo sighs quietly. "Yes, Takada-dono," she whispers. "We — we were living in Konoha when it was attacked. Our parents…" she trails off.

He glances to the side to find tears welling up in her eyes. Oh, she's good. "I, uh, I was a shinobi," Daisuke says, looking up. "I wasn't strong enough. That's why —" and he gestures to his face. "So we're looking for a new home now."

Takada's face flutters through a series of emotions. Before settling firmly on a welcoming grin, her lips a little parted. "Well, then, Sugawara will be good for you! Lord Yokoyama's a firm hand, but he's fair, and there's plenty of work to go around."

Ten minutes later, she disappears into the kitchen and comes back with hot bowls of miso soup. "It's not supper, mind you, that'll be later. But if you've walked all the way from Konoha, you need something in your stomach." Ichigo beams at her, and Daisuke hides a smile. Takada's firmly under her spell. She points them to a nearby bathhouse, and when they return, the small common room is redolent with the scent of curry.

On day one, she walks around the market, introducing herself to everyone. He just writes up a poster — with his left hand, not his right — and hangs it on the message board. Experienced genin of Konoha, looking for work! Strong and able to fight off many men and beasts! Ask for Sato Daisuke at Takada's.

On day two, he gets his first job: painting a house. He sighs, but takes it. That evening, when he drags himself into the inn covered in gray-green paint and sunburn, Ichigo laughs at him. "Like you got a job already, layabout?" he demands, standing over her and glowering. No real siblings are always kind to each other.

Ichigo leans forward, props her chin in her hand, and grins. "Actually, I did, nee-san. The flower shop just fired someone. I start tomorrow."

Twenty minutes later, Takada comes out with supper. Strangely, she sits down beside them. "If you two are looking for something more than a room, a friend of a friend might have a place," she says. "Twelve hundred ryo a month, but you have your own bathroom."

Daisuke's the one smiling now. "Ah, point us to the place, Takada-san!" he begs. "Washing on my own —!"

Takada cackles at him and slides a paper across the table. They go the next morning and check it out. There's three empty units in the building, and one of them is a corner apartment on the top floor. It's only two rooms, along with the bathroom, but that's all they need for their cover. Takada points them to a used goods shop, where they find a cheap kotatsu, lots of curtains, and a half dozen screens to divide their rooms. At the last minute, Ichigo picks up a bedside table. He forgets it's there the next morning, rolls over, and whacks his head on it. He's grateful they already installed the muffling seals because his swearing wakes her up.

Two days after they move in, he goes hunting for their target: Yokoyama Hikari. He's a handsome enough man, with a dazzling smile and dark hair. But he raises Kakashi's hackles. He tracks the man for three days, and Sakura connives a plan to run into him. Hikari walks through the market every other day at half-past noon, and stops at his favorite restaurant for lunch. Kakashi orders flowers, to be delivered to Takada at 12:30. Ichigo gets sent out to deliver them at 12:25, and promptly runs face first into the man.

"How dare you!" he blusters, looking at his soaked kimono. "Do you know who —"And then he looks at her. Kakashi, lurking nearby, sees the gleam in the man's eye when he sees her. It's a pretty, almost artistic, picture: a young red-head, sprawled among pink roses, white poppies, and green foliage, her cheeks flushed with shock and shame. "Who… I… am?" Hikari finishes, a smile curling his lips.

"I — I'm so sorry —" Ichigo stutters after a second, pushing herself back onto her knees. "Please forgive me, honorable sir! I didn't mean to —"

"Aaah, it's only water," Hikari says, his expression suddenly far more jovial. "Are you okay?" he asks, bending and offering her his hand.

"I — yes, I'm fine, but —" Ichigo says, her blush only deepening as she takes his hand.

"Then all is well," he says. "I haven't seen you here before, have I?"

"O-oh, no," she whispers. "My brother and I just moved here, and — oh no! The flowers!" She whirls around, clapping her hand to her mouth. "The flower shop is going to be so angry with me! I haven't even been there two weeks!"

Hikari touches her arm gently. "Now, now, is this Ishii Flowers you mean?" he says, eyes smiling. "Let me go with you. They won't punish you if I tell them I ran into you."

"Oh, but then they'll charge you!" she says, turning to look back at Hikari.

His smile grows. "No, they won't. I'm Yokoyama Hikari, and my brother —"

"Yokoyama-dono!" she cries, her eyes going round in perfectly faked shock. "Oh, no!"

Gradually, Hikari calms her down. Ichigo isn't punished for the flowers, but Hikari's attention seems firmly caught by the tiny redhead. The next day, an order comes into the flower shop for Ichigo. Plum blossoms for your tender care in the marketplace, is what the note says. The next day, it's Sakura blossoms, for your sweet smile in the past.

Kakashi wrinkles his nose at that one. But it means their plan is working.

If she didn't know, she might be fooled. The notes are sweet, and he's a handsome man. A few days after she ran into him, Hikari brings her lunch. It's ramen (ugh) and dango. She offers him a huge, tremulous smile, and says, "T-thank you, Hikari-dono. Y-you're too kind to a silly girl who s-spilled flowers on you."

He laughs and leans on the counter. "How could I be anything other than kind to such a lovely smile?" She blushes bright red and looks down, fidgeting with her fingers. "Now, my darling Ichigo, are you busy tomorrow night?"

Her heart stops. He's asking me out. But it's what the mission is for. So she looks up at him, confused. "I — my brother was talking about a movie, maybe?"

Hikari's grin widens. "Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner, then, Ichigo-chan?"

She claps her hands to her cheeks and gasps. "I — but I'm only —"

He reaches out and touches her face, dragging his thumb down and across her lips before pulling away. It takes all her strength not to shudder. "You're only a beautiful spirit, Ichigo-chan," he says. "Love knows no rank."

"I — I —" she stutters, blushing brighter. "I would be honored, Yokoyama-dono."

"Ah, call me Hikari," he says. He chats a little longer and leaves. Part of Sakura's elated that it's going this well. The rest of her can still feel his thumb on her lips. It sends chills down her spine… and not the good kind.

He hears the door open and shut, and knows it's Sakura. "Aa, is that you, Ichi-chan?" he calls out, not turning away from the burner. And, oddly, she doesn't answer. He frowns, dials the burner down, and turns around. She's standing just inside their apartment door, hand tight on the doorknob, with a look he can't quite interpret. He clears his throat and she snaps out of it, offering him a sheepish smile and speaking.

"Yes, nee-san," she chirps. "Guess what happened today?" Despite her cheery voice, her face is too pale for it to be something really good.

"You… found a new dress shop?" he guesses.

"No," she snaps, though her mouth does turn up a little at the corner. "Yokoyama-dono asked me if I would have dinner with him tomorrow night!"

Oh. His shoulders sag a little. "Remember your old, blind brother when you're a princess, Ichi-chan?" he teases, turning back to the food. Sakura's laughter tinkles through the air as she goes toward their bedroom to change. When she comes out, she sets the table, like has become their routine. But when he turns to set their plates down, there's a bottle of sake in the middle of the table. He blinks at it, but shrugs and sets their plates down.

And then, Sakura proceeds to follow every other bite with a shot of sake. They're sitting catty-corner to each other, so when she goes for her sixth shot, it's easy to grab her wrist. "Eh?" she says, looking at him in confusion.

"Something's bothering you," he says, voice barely above a whisper. The chances of other ninja being near are low, but it's still possible. "Is it… ah, is it the possibility of…"

She sighs, and he notices her shoulders — already high with tension — go a little higher. "It… no," she whispers back. Then she scoots a little closer, so they're as close to each other as the kotatsu legs will let them be. "It's not… I'm a kunoichi. They teach us from day one at the academy that our body's a weapon, that sex is a weapon. We go on seduction missions. We know what happens if we get captured." She exhales and looks down, pulling her hand from his so that she can set them in her lap and fidget. "That part isn't what bothers me. It's that…" He watches her flex her hands. "I always thought that my first kiss, at least, would be mine. I hoped it would be Sasuke, of course, when I was younger. But it never happened. Naruto and Lee are the only people who ask me out."

"Nobody else?" he questions, startled by that. She's a pretty girl. She always has been.

She shakes her head sadly. "Nobody wants to risk going through shishou's wrath if they don't treat me well." He notices her hands curling in towards each other. "I'm regretting not accepting Naruto's offer for a date now," she admits, her voice so tiny and low it's hard for even him to hear. "At least then it'd be someone I trusted."

She stares at her hands waiting for Kakashi to say something, to tell her she's being foolish or to suck it up, but he doesn't. He doesn't even move for a few seconds. Then she shakes her head and blinks away the idea of tears before she lifts her face. "Ignore me —"

Suddenly, there's fingers on her chin, her cheek, holding her still, and a heartbeat later, there's lips on hers. Her eyes fly open, startled, but Kakashi's eye is closed. She blinks, and the shock passes. She lets her eyes slide closed and sinks into the kiss, leaning further towards him. It's not sensual, just soft and kind, and the way his lips are a little chapped makes it feel real. He pulls away a second later and she opens her eyes to see his henge smiling at her softly. Of course she blurts out something stupid. "I — you — lips," she squeaks in a whisper.

He huffs a laugh and his smile grows a little wider. "Yes," he drawls. "I have them."

Her brain's still a little scrambled because she never even parsed this as an idea. "Kakashi lips. Lips of Kakashi," she mumbles to herself, sinking back onto her knees and staring into her plate.

His hand covers hers again where it's resting on the table. "Something is better than nothing, neh?" he asks at a normal volume, and she reads the underneath. I hope I'm someone you trust. I hope this is better than letting him take it.

She wrinkles her nose at him but turns her hand over and squeezes his. It's not until she finishes her food that she realizes, Shit. He's kissed me and I still haven't seen him without his mask on.

He watches the date the next night. Hikari treats her well enough, but something about the man continues to make his skin crawl. Given that he's behind the abductions, that's hardly surprising, but… the gleam in his eyes when 'Ichigo' isn't looking makes Kakashi want to charge in.

He doesn't. He sticks to rooftops and shadows, and when Ichigo leads him to the doorway of their apartment building, he pays more attention than he has the rest of the night. "This is where my brother and I live," Ichigo chirps. "Thank you for dinner, Hikari-dono! It was wonderful spending time with you!"

Hikari smiles, and it looks honest. "Your company was the finest pleasure I've ever had, Ichigo-chan," he says, reaching out to touch your face. "Please tell me if I'm being too forward, but — may I have a good night kiss?"

The way she dimples and blushes when she says yes almost makes Kakashi laugh out loud. It's been a long time since Sakura was the kind of girl who'd react that way to just anyone.

By the time she unlocks their door and steps inside, he's lounging on the futon as Daisuke. "How was your night, nii-chan?" he asks. Did he fall for it?

"It was wonderful!" she gushes. He did. As she walks through the main room, she pauses by the futon and leans over to breathe in his ear, "You give better kisses than he does, though."

He almost drops Icha Icha at that.

Sakura can't stop thinking about the kiss the next few days — and not Hikari's, either. She's able to play it off like it was him, of course, but… it was a nice kiss. The kind of kiss that would have made her ask for a second date if it'd happened at the end of a date, instead of as a last resort on a mission.

Hikari asks her out again. The day of the date, she spends all day debating about whether she wants to let sleeping ninken lie. Neither of them have mentioned it. As it stands right now, it was a one-off favor. But damn it, it takes all of her acting ability not to shudder at Hikari's touch. If there's such an easy solution, such an easy way to keep her from losing it, shouldn't she take it?

So she schemes a little. When she comes home from the flower shop, she sequesters herself in the bedroom to change. This time, it's just a simple sundress, not much fancier than the one she wore last time, but she pins her hair up and uses a few decorative hairpins. She also dips into her tiny stock of makeup and uses just enough rouge to make her look flushed and excited. Once she's finally ready, she stands just inside the sliding door to their bedroom and calls out, "Hey, nee-san, come tell me if I look okay!"

"Mmm, an ugly sister like you? No way!" he calls back, laughter in his voice. But a minute later, he slides the door open and steps inside. Here, in the bedroom, there are only the frosted windows at the top of the walls — no possibility of spies — so she steps close to him and lifts her face up. He inhales hard. "Sakura?" he breathes, and she's so close to him that his breath brushes her face.

"Please," she mouths back, letting her eyes go big and round. He hesitates, so she says again in the faintest whisper, "Please?" He shudders and drags a hand over his face before he sighs.

"Sakura, are you sure?" he says, voice soft. "I'm… as badly as I neglected you, I was still your teacher once."

"Once," she agrees, her eyes still big. "But now you're my friend, and you're here, and…" she trails off. "I trust you."

Silence, for a long, long minute, and then he cradles her face in his hands. "Are you sure?" he says, so close his words ghost across her lips. She answers by closing the gap. This time, it's different. The first was like a whisper of home. This one… he kisses her like she's ancient china, valuable and impossibly fragile. His lips are smoother this time, and that makes her smile a little. When she finally, regretfully, breaks free because she needs to breathe, his eye's dark in a way that makes her heart skip a beat.

That night, when Hikari kisses her goodbye, it's not his lips she feels against hers.

When she goes on the third date, she lures him into the bedroom again on the pretense of helping her tie her obi. Of course, it's already perfectly tied. When she steps close and lifts her face up again, he groans and tries to step away, only for her to grab his hand. "It helps me," she whispers, her green eyes pleading. "Please."

And, fuck it all, he's weak. He's spent the last four days in a half-daze, trying to decide whether he's damned or not, wondering how hard she's going to punch him when she snaps out of it. Kakashi's not a weak man, but he is a lonely one. And… he has to admit his anger was easier to control last time, knowing that every time Hikari's kissed her, he's kissed her first. Laid claim, a tiny, traitorous part of his mind insists. He tells it to shut up, even as he drops his hand to the middle of her back and pulls her close enough to kiss. This time, she's more confident, pressing back and exploring, tapping her tongue against the seam of his lips. He barely refrains from sinking his hand into her elaborate updo. When Kakashi releases her, a faint flush is visible even through the rice powder on her face.

That night, he ends up feeling insufferably smug when Hikari's kiss doesn't leave her nearly as flustered.

On the seventh date, Hikari's kiss is more adventurous than Kakashi's pre-date kiss had been. When his tongue worms into her mouth, she squeaks and pulls away, her shock entirely real this time. "I — I'm sorry, I didn't know —"

Hikari smiles at her, but she can see something predatory in his eyes. "It's okay. I know you're innocent, my little Ichi-chan." He kisses her again and this time, she's prepared for the slimy wriggle of his tongue. Once he bids her goodbye, she barely waits till he's out of sight before darting up the stairs and into their apartment. She doesn't even greet Kakashi where he's lounging on the kotatsu cushions, instead zipping past him and into the bathroom.

"Everything okay?" she hears him ask, footsteps approaching. She can't answer, too busy frantically brushing her teeth to try and get that awful fucking feeling out of her mouth. She spits and rinses, but it's still there, so she starts scrubbing again. This time, she holds the mouthwash in her mouth so long and gargles it so hard that the burn almost makes her cry. When she finally spits, it feels better, but she still… she shudders, thinking about it. A hand touches her shoulder gently, and Kakashi whispers, "Sakura?" into her ear.

"He —" She shudders again. "He used tongue this time, and… I can still feel…" She looks up into the mirror and sees the concern in his one eye. The hint of anger in the creases around it are what makes her turn. Like this, he's almost got her pinned up against the sink, and it makes something flutter low in her belly… something other than disgust. She doesn't feel guilty at all about reaching up and dragging him down into a kiss. She half-expects to run mouth first into cotton mask, but instead, warm lips crash against hers. He stiffens, and his hands go to her hips. She ignores that for a second to run her tongue against the seam of his lips, but they stay firmly closed. She breaks away with a sigh.

"What are you doing?" he hisses, but she doesn't miss how his eye drops to her lips, or how he swallows when she licks them.

"I can still feel his tongue inside my mouth, I can still taste him," she whispers. "I don't — please don't make me go to bed with him on —"

That must have been the right thing to say because his lips are on hers again, one hand sliding up to the small of her back and the other curling around the nape of her neck. This time, he runs his tongue against her lips. When she doesn't open her mouth immediately, he nips at her lip and drags a muffled moan from her. At that, his fingers slide up into her hair, and finally, finally, she can taste something other than Hikari. It's the same action, the same muscle the other man used, but fuck it feels so different. Kakashi tastes like the broiled saury she knows he had for supper. The way he darts into her mouth, teases her, and makes her chase him is just… she doesn't have words for it.

This time, it's considerably longer before she breaks away to breathe. "Better?" he whispers against her forehead, the sound closer to a pant than anything else.

"So much," she says, drooping against his chest. "So much."

It's set in stone. Kakashi's fucking doomed, surely sentenced to hell for all eternity because he's kissing his ex-student and enjoying it. He'd given her her pre-date kiss before her next date, but she'd stepped into the apartment shuddering after the date was over. "I hate the way he kisses," she whispers after she spends ten minutes brushing her teeth. After that, he kisses her before her dates. When she comes home from them, he helps her forget Hikari's touch.

On their thirteenth date, instead of walking her home, Hikari takes her to the park. Kakashi follows. He has to watch that disgusting excuse for a man gnaw on Sakura's neck like a bone while she simpers and gasps. Once, she finds him in the trees and catches his eye, and he winces because he can see how much she hates it.

Again, she zips past him once she gets home. This time she's in the shower almost immediately, so he fixes a cup of tea and takes it into their bedroom, where he sets it on the bedside table and waits. When she comes out, her hair already half-dry, she's running healing chakra over her shoulder. He watches the bruise marks fade away before he hands her the tea. She drinks it all, sighs, and hands the cup back.

This time, he doesn't wait for her to make a move. He sets the cup aside and drags her down onto his futon, kissing her like he can really make her forget Hikari. It doesn't take long for him to move on to her neck, marring the newly healed skin with his bite marks, his hickeys.

It throws him a little off guard when she lifts his hand from her waist and drops it onto her breast because he hadn't seen that. He breaks away, breathing hard, and demands, "He groped you?"

She winces, but nods before she speaks. "He… he was glad I wore a wrap dress tonight. Easy access, he said." Kakashi can't help hissing at that because that means Hikari had his hand up Sakura's shirt and he didn't notice. He kisses her again, gently tugging at the tie to her robe, and slips his hand inside.

Her breath hitches a second before his does. He hadn't thought it through, but she'd come straight out of the bathroom — that's why his hand's gently curled around a bare breast. "Did he —" he breathes against her lips.

"No, I — I had wraps on," she stutters. Because he's the biggest pervert in all of existence, that makes him smile a little. It means even if Hikari groped her, Kakashi is still the first person to touch her skin-to-skin like this. He drags his fingers across her bare skin slowly, feeling goosebumps trail his touch, and his smile grows as he flattens his palm against her breast, gently rolling it beneath his hand. Her stifled gasp goes straight to his cock, as does the way her nipple perks up and pokes at his hand. When he tweaks her nipple between two fingers, she jerks against him and whimpers into his mouth.

That night, after she finally nods off in her bed, he slips into the bathroom and touches himself, his body tense as he accepts that he's an awful fucking person — he's already looking forward to her next date with Hikari just because it means she'll come home asking for his hands on her skin.

Sakura's entire body hums while she waits on Hikari for their next date, but it's not because of him. Today, Kakashi followed her into the bedroom when she went in to change into her date outfit. She hadn't even realized until she'd turned around, her dirty shirt in hand, to find him standing behind her. He sat down on her vanity stool, dragged her onto his lap, and proceeded to kiss her senseless. Not a little of her excitement comes from feeling the evidence that Kakashi, too, likes this.

Hikari thinks it's all for him when he takes her to the lakeside and slides a hand between her legs. She sees a flicker of suspicion in his eyes, just a flicker, so she plays it to the hilt. When he moves her panties aside and touches her, she squirms and pushes him away. "I — I think something's wrong with me, Hikari-kun," she whimpers, her face flushed. "I — I've been — it's been very hard for me to concentrate today, and my… down there…" she hides her face in her hands and rolls her eyes.

It works. "Oh, my darling," he coos at her. "It just means your body likes me."

She can't help disagreeing, loudly, inside her head. No, it means my body likes Kakashi! That night, when she comes home, Kakashi's already waiting for her in the bedroom, his eye dark with fury as he drags her down to straddle his lap. If she hadn't taken her panties off in the main room, she doesn't think she'd have gotten them off.

"Did he hurt you?" he whispers in her ear between kisses as he kneads one breast in his hand.

"N-no," she whispers back. "B-but he…" And at this, she actually blushes and leans forward so that her mouth's against his ear, because this is the filthiest thing she's ever thought about saying. She's read her share of illicit romance novels, with filthy dialogue, but saying it… "He thought he was the reason I was soaking wet all evening," she whispers. Kakashi outright groans at that and drops his hands to her hips, pushing her down to straddle him, where she can feel something pressing against her.

"And was he?" he breathes back, holding her perfectly still.

She hesitates again, just a little. He pauses and raises an eyebrow at her, ready to stop, but she shakes her head at him and exhales, the flush slowly creeping to her neck. "I…" she swallows and finally manages to whisper, "I was thinking about your cock."

At that, she feels his erection jump beneath her and he groans again, his head lolling back. "You're going to be the death of me," he mutters. Then his hand slides down her leg and back up, beneath her dress. He kisses her and then — his fingers touch her — she feels his entire body jolt. "Fuck," he moans into her mouth. And even just this, his fingers exploring her thighs and the junction between them, feels so much better than Hikari.

He almost loses control when he finds she doesn't have panties on. And she wasn't lying about being soaking, either. Her thighs are slick with want, her pubic hair almost sodden, her pussy spread open…

"He didn't… he just touched outside," she whispers. "I think he didn't want to go too far yet." He kisses her again, nibbling on her lip, and lets his hands roam. It doesn't take long before she's breathless, and then he slides one finger inside her. The way she gasps and moans, clenching around his finger, is almost enough to undo him.

"Good?" he breathes, leaning back to catch her eyes. She's flushed, green eyes dark and wide, her dress pushed down just far enough for her breasts to peek out — it's erotic enough already. Then she bites her lip and nods slowly. He starts to finger-fuck her then, slowly at first, but the pleasure flickering across her face makes him impatient, and he adds a second finger. Her mouth gapes open, and her whimper… fuck, her whimper. With two fingers inside of her, slowly pumping, he's in a good position to find her clit — and he does. He taps it, and her entire body jerks like a live wire.

"Kakashi," she whisper-moans, her eyes half-lidded. He shushes her and strokes it again — she almost cries out, but bites her lip again. Another pass — and another — and she jerks, almost wailing, but he catches her cry with his lips and drinks it down as she comes apart on his fingers. They settle, panting, against each other for a moment. Then he crooks his fingers, just to see if he can hit a certain spot inside her, and does. Her full-body shudder makes him smile. But then she opens her eyes and scowls at him, reaching down for his drawstrings. He catches her hand with a warning look. "Please?" she says, offering him the big eyes again.

He sighs, but undoes the drawstrings on his pants and lets her slide them down a little. The room's just barely lit enough for them to see each other, so she can't see his cock well. It's probably for the best, because just her fingers trailing over him is almost too much. He lets her explore for a minute and then he frees his fingers, licking them clean. She squeaks and he offers her a sly grin. Then he pushes her off him, to the side, and she slides off of him looking pouty. He breathes a laugh and murmurs, "Lay down." She obliges, and then he settles over her, carefully arranging his body. He knows he's found the right position when her breath hitches again. "Good?" he says into her ear.

She just hums in response. A few seconds later, as he rocks his hips into hers, the hum turns into a whine as she grabs at his arms. It's not the first time he's had a liaison with a partner, but it's the first time frotting has ever felt like such sweet hell. She's so slick that it takes his breath, and her gasps in his ear…

When she shudders and he feels her gushing against his cock, it sends him over the edge. When his vision clears, she's looking insufferable and entirely too pleased about the cum splattered across her stomach and pubic hair… and a little on her dress, too. He tweaks her nose for it, but she swats his hand away with a laugh.

Two days later, Hikari sends her flowers with a note. 5 days from now, meet me at Synosu. I've got a special evening planned for us. Bring an overnight bag.

She shows Kakashi the note and his teeth click together in… anger? She's not sure what to label the emotion. "This is it," is all he says. "After this…" she nods.

"He could strike at any time," she says quietly. That night, she has trouble sleeping — not for her own sake, but because she's terrified of what might have happened to the other girls. Four hours into the night, she sighs and sits up to look over at her partner. He's immobile in bed, as always, but she's sure he woke up as soon as she moved. So she takes her blanket and shuffles over to his futon.

"Aa, Ichi-chan?" he mumbles, opening his eye and looking up at her from where his face is buried in the pillow.

"I can't sleep," she says. He just scoots over. The futon's barely big enough for both of them, but his arm across her waist proves surprisingly comforting. It doesn't take her long to drift off to sleep after that. If her co-workers attribute her good mood to Hikari, that's all the better.

At bedtime, she walks into the bathroom to change and walks out to find their futons have been dragged together. The next morning, she wakes up to find his hand beneath her shirt and his erection searing hot against her back. She knows, knows, it's a morning reaction — but she doesn't care. So she rocks her hips back against him. No response, so she does it again, and again. Her first indication he's awake is when he pinches her nipple hard. "You fucking minx," he growls into her ear. It sends chills down her spine and pools in her belly. Then she hears him sniff and he growls again. She smirks a little and rolls her hips back again. "You're trying to kill me," he mutters, hand sliding down her body and into her pants.

That's the first time they touch each other entirely unprompted by Hikari's lewdness. She wakes up to gentle touches roaming her body the day after that, and she comes so hard she has to bite down on his shoulder to keep from screaming.

She returns the favor the next morning, when she wakes up to find her face buried in his chest and his legs tangled with hers, erection nestled against her stomach. After a few seconds of staring, she tugs the ties loose on his pants and drags them down as carefully as she can. It's the first time she's gotten to really see his cock. Penises all look strange as a rule, but his is relatively nice. Almost cute, even, with the way that his cherry red head peeks from his foreskin. She exhales and tries to remember all the things she's read in romance novels, but her brain goes blank. Instead, she just goes with instinct, licking her hand and gently wrapping it around his cock.

A sharp inhale above her head tells her Kakashi's awake. She looks up, blushing, to find him watching her. "I wondered if you were that tired," she whispers.

"Rarely, if ever, am I tired enough to sleep through someone poking around my crotch," he says dryly. She snorts and giggles, but just looks back down. He's wonderfully patient, letting her explore and play with his cock. She finds out there's a ridge just above his base that makes him groan, and that he responds best to firm touches. Sakura's still not bored when he reaches down to grab her hand, his breathing hard. "You only have an hour before you need to be at work," he says, his voice tight. "Should probably get ready."

She looks up and pouts at him. "But I wanted to make you come," she complains quietly.

He smirks a little. "Kick off your shorts, then," he almost growls. She obeys. They're barely down her legs when his hand slides between her legs. She can't help the moan that trebles from her at his touch, but it's gone too soon for her to really enjoy. Then she realizes what he was doing as he runs his fingers over his cock, leaving trails of her wetness behind. "Don't go too fast, and keep your speed consistent," he says, scooting just a little closer.

It sounds easier than it is, especially when his hand snakes back between her legs. But they're both worked up, and it doesn't take long before she shudders against his hand. He follows her a minute later, his spend spraying onto her stomach where her shirt's hiked up. "Minx," he accuses her again as he catches his breath. She just smiles and squirms away.

At dawn on the fifth day, 'date day', she wakes up to find Kakashi gone from their room. He comes out of the bathroom a minute later and grins at her, the smile a little too tight to be real. "Ne, Ichi-chan, today's your big sleepover!" he says. "I thought you might like a special breakfast to make sure you come back to your big brother." As he speaks, he kneels at the end of the futon and touches her ankles, eyebrows high. Do you want this?

"Idiot brother, I'll always come back!" she says with a laugh. "But make sure you remember my favorite!" I want this.

His eye goes dark with something she now knows as arousal and he stretches out between her legs, running one hand up under the edge of her shorts. She doesn't need any prompting to kick it — or the shirt — into a corner. And Kakashi then proceeds to tease her mercilessly, touches dancing around her pussy, just missing her clit, until she's so worked up she could scream. Then he smiles at her, dark and devilish, before lowering his mouth to her. She bucks up at the first touch of his tongue, making him wrap one arm around her leg and splay a hand across her hip to keep her level. "Shhh," he whispers, and then he goes back down. Sakura writhes and bucks and wishes she could scream — when she finally comes, she bites her hand so hard it bruises almost immediately.

It helps that night.

They're inside, for once, and that means Kakashi can't follow them indoors. Instead, he finds their room (just below the penthouse) and perches on top of the balcony, listening for any signs of distress. He hears Sakura's fake giggling, pictures her blushing, and then the bed squeaks. He tenses. The next twenty minutes are… the longest twenty minutes of his life. He listens as she pretends to enjoy Hikari's attentions, as she pretends to wail his name in ecstasy, as Hikari grunts her name.

He doesn't realize his fingernails are dug into his palms until he smells blood. Then he ends up gnawing on them, waiting for it to be over. It eventually ends, and he hears Sakura go to the bathroom. ("It's good hygiene, people with vaginas should always go to the bathroom after they orgasm!") She returns and the lights go out. It doesn't take long before he hears Hikari snoring.

Sakura's chakra never flickers into the subtle waves that indicate sleep. He stays there the whole night, until the sun begins rising and he has to leave. He's never been more glad that he works his own schedule, even here. It means he's in the main room, dozing on the kotatsu, when she comes home. She smiles at him, and even through the henge, he can tell she's exhausted. He follows her into the bathroom, where she drops the henge for the first time in three and a half months. He's seen her look better rested after working a double at the hospital — her expression's perfectly empty.

After a minute of deliberation, he goes back out to the main room and draws the curtains. The shower turns on while he's doing it. He brings fresh clothes into the bathroom and leaves them on the sink before he steps into the shower and helps her wash. He stops her from scrubbing until her skin's red and doesn't let her stay in until she boils. None of it is sexual, and he's not inclined to make it that way. Seduction missions have never sat well with him, because in the most technical sense, it's not rape. To him it doesn't feel like a justification for the missions, but it's not his job to say what's wrong and right. In their futon, she curls up against him.

She doesn't cry. Her eyes don't even look like they want to be red. But she melts into him like he's the last thing on earth that could save her.

To be honest, it'd been exactly what Sakura expected. It just… hadn't hit her until she was on her way home. It doesn't make her feel dirty, or 'whoreish', or anything like she's heard from other kunoichi. It feels like her body's really a tool for the first time. Kakashi knows what she needs as soon as she steps into their apartment, and it's comforting. She doesn't know what she would have done without him and — well, all his help. Later, when she wakes up with her head pillowed on his arm, she considers his face for a long minute. She really assumed he'd been wearing the mask under his henge, all the way up until she'd pulled him in for that spontaneous kiss and found lips instead of cloth. She half-wonders now if this is his real face, or if he's henged into something just slightly different…

"Something on m' face?" Kakashi mumbles, half opening his eye.

"Just my curiosity," Sakura answers, offering him a half smile. He hums a questioning little hum and she elaborates. "Is this your you face, or did you change things?" As an answer, he sighs and flops onto his back, jarring her a little, before raising his hand and releasing the henge. It fades, and her jaw drops as she claps a hand over her eyes. "I didn't mean you had to show me!" she squeaks.

He chuckles. "It's okay," he says, his fingers prying hers away from her face. "After all of this… well, I think you've earned it." Reassured, she lets him pull her hand away and then sits up a little to get a good look at his face. Daisuke's features are rougher, thicker, than Kakashi's real features, the nose a little wider and less aristocratic, the mouth short and rough compared to Kakashi's ridiculously plush, wide lips.

"Pretty boy," she mutters, a little angry that he's thirty-three and his skin's better than hers and Ino's. "…why didn't you just use your real face for this mission?" she asks, reaching out and touching the birthmark on his chin.

He smiles at her and she gets her answer. Daisuke's lopsided smile was handsome enough. On his real face, it's fucking sizzling hot. "I wasn't supposed to be the one getting attention this time around," he says gently.

"Yeah, uh. Yeah," she says stupidly, her brain a little addled by just his smile. "…that's not fair. He arches an eyebrow at her. "You're stupid smart, and you have a sharingan, and you're prettier than at least half of the kunoichi I've met."

"Aa, well, I haven't heard many complaints," he teases, gently tugging at her closer and pulling her into a kiss. It's soft, and wholesome, and it feels so good after Hikari's slobbering. She doesn't realize she's crying until he makes a noise of alarm and pulls away. "Are you okay?" he asks, gently swiping the tears off her cheeks.

"I — yes," she says, startled to realize it's true. "I just…" she sighs and sinks down against him. "Whatever Hikari's taking those girls for, it's just a means to an end. It feels so different when… when you kiss me, because it feels like you care about me."

His other arm folds around her and he drags her a little closer. "That's because I do," he mumbles into her hair.

Doomed, doomed, doomed. They've shared a bed for the last three nights since she got back from Hikari's and nothing sexual has happened. Not a single thing. That's what tells him he's really in over his head. Sex is sex. That's how it is for shinobi. It's when sex gets turned into feelings that things go south. That being said — before this, he's never been on a purple mission with someone he's so fiercely protective of. Friends, yes, even a few almost-enemies, but… his team's closer to his heart than any of the others. Thinking about that slime makes Kakashi want to stab the man to death with dull kunai.

When Hikari invites them to his house, on the outskirts of his father's land, he sneaks kunai into his socks with the express purpose of cutting off anything that touches Sakura again. They both dress formally, her in a navy blue yukata that makes her look like a princess, and him in a simple black one. It fits for the characters they've played this whole time.

Hikari lets them in and pours them tea. If Kakashi didn't know better, he'd be fooled by the man. He's perfectly genial, kind almost to a fault. But his eyes gleam in triumph every time he looks at Sakura. He's so busy glowering at the man suspiciously — also in character — that he almost jumps when he feels Sakura's foot tapping a code on his foot. Tea drugged. Mine low dose. Yours high. Pass out when I say.

He lets his words grow looser and looser, slurs a few of them, and sees the victory on Hikari's face. When Sakura taps his foot again, he slumps forward and lets the cup fall from his fingers, clattering to the ground. "Nee-san!" he hears her cry, and jump to her feet. "Oh… oh… Hikari-kun, I don't…" And she thumps to the ground near him. Hikari's low chortle makes it hard to stay still, but he's not a hack. It's a long, long ten minutes before Hikari leaves with Sakura's body in his arms.

As soon as his footsteps fade, Kakashi's sitting up and summoning Pakkun. "Boss!" the dog barks.

"Follow Sakura's scent. Don't be seen, don't lose them," he says tersely. Pakkun nods, and makes to leave. Then he sniffs.

"Hey, Boss, you know you —" he glares at the pug. Pakkun takes the hint and goes. It doesn't take long for Kakashi to find incriminating evidence. Names of possible future targets, a diary detailing Hikari's kidnappings so far, and… he almost sets some of it on fire. Nine sets of panties, a few torn, and one of them he recognizes as the pair Sakura wore for her… overnight. "And I thought I couldn't hate you more," he seethes, sealing the evidence into an empty scroll.

It doesn't take him long to catch up to Pakkun. "Get what you need, Boss?"

"Mmh," he answers, too angry to say much more.

"Good. Then you won't mind if I ask why you smell like Floral Green." Kakashi sighs.

"I… it's complicated, okay? Just… just leave it there for now. Please." And for once, the ornery dog listens. The sun finishes setting, and the moon rises, and they're still running. "How far did he take her?" he mutters. "And how good are his legs?"

"Oh, right. He took a horse." Kakashi glares at the dog again.

"Could've mentioned that earlier."

Finally, the trail ends after two hours of running. A small compound peers out of the forest, surprisingly well camouflaged. "Sakura-chan's scent leads toward the back, but…" Pakkun hesitates. "There's a bunch of scents in there, boss, and some of it smells like they're whelping."

His skin crawls. "Are… how many scents?"

Pakkun sniffs two or three times. "Eh, about eight. Three whelping." His eyes narrow. "This guy some kind of sicko?"

"You could say that," Kakashi mumbles. "See if you can get eyes on any of those other scents. I'm going to find Sakura."

He knows the feel of her chakra by heart. It's not hard to find her in the small compound. It is hard to contain his rage when he finds her strapped to a metal table, scrolls with fuinjutsu scattered around the room. Hikari's nowhere in sight, so Kakashi takes the chance to slip into the room. After a second, Sakura's eyes pop open and she sighs. "Thank God you're here," she mumbles. "Kakashi, all those other girls, they're still alive. He's done something to them, sealed away their personality or something, because they're all…" she gags. "You… you have to see them."

"Where is he now?" he asks, pulling out a kunai to pry open the shackles. He doesn't get there before she charges her arms with chakra and breaks free.

"I think he went to get my… he called it jewelry, but something tells me it's not as innocuous as an engagement ring," she mutters, bending down to snap the shackles on her legs apart. "Listen, I've got a plan. Up till now, we both assumed the girls were dead. Ichigo and Daisuke can't be seen rescuing people. I'll put a henged clone in the corner, act like we followed him here, and we can take the girls to the hospital as ourselves. Gives Ichigo and Daisuke a reason to leave, too."

He nods. A few signs later, an Ichigo cowers in the corner. She strips with brutal efficiency, pulling her shinobi clothes and tools from the sealed scrolls he hands her. "I'll go find Pakkun and the girls," he says. "Are you okay with…?"

Her grin scares him. "Better than I've ever been," she snarls.

When Hikari comes back, he finds Ichigo cowering in the corner and the shackles busted open. "How did you…?" he starts, clearly confused.

"She didn't," Sakura says, melting out of the shadows. "I did."

Hikari takes one look at her and bursts into laughter. "You?"

"Me," she agrees, taking a step forward. "You may have heard of me. My name is Haruno. Haruno Sakura."

He blinks and frowns. "That… that does sound…"

"Or perhaps you've heard of Tsunade-shishou?" That makes him pale.

"You're — you're her apprentice! That monster girl!" And now she's the one laughing.

"I don't think I'm the monster here." Subduing him isn't even a struggle. She also doesn't feel bad about cutting off his hands, since she heals the stubs until skin grows over them, or about chemically castrating him. He won't even know until he wakes up, unable to get an erection any longer.

Kakashi blinks when he meets her at the entrance to the compound. He's found a wagon somewhere and tied it to the horse Hikari rode in on. "What?" she asks defensively. "He deserved it."

"He did," Kakashi says, helping the women up into the wagon. They're all gaunt, dead-eyed, and all of them have shackles with fuinjutsu around their wrists. One of the girls is clearly almost nine months pregnant, and Sakura almost hits Hikari again. Once all of them are loaded up, Pakkun waves goodbye, and she gets ready to haul herself into the back of the wagon. He stops her with a hand on her wrist, pulling her towards him and tugging his mask down to kiss her. In the moonlight, it's almost romantic. "I didn't expect you to chop them off without permission," he whispers when he breaks away.

She flushes and makes a note for future reference. He likes it when people ask forgiveness instead of permission.

It's close to dawn when they ride into town, Sakura up front with her henged clone wrapped in a blanket next to her. Kakashi's sitting in the back, working on the seals on the women's cuffs. Given the way the seals are inscribed, he's fairly certain the women have been aware this entire time, so he hasn't fully broken any of them. Instead, he's bringing them right to the edge of unsealing and then moving on.

Even this early, the streets are surprisingly busy. More than a few people pause in their morning routines to watch the wagon rattle through the town streets. Thankfully, the town's big enough that the hospital's always open, even if it's not well-staffed right now. They roll to a stop and Kakashi takes great pleasure in setting a lightning cage over Hikari's unconscious form so that they can transport the women inside.

As he gathers the most pregnant woman into his arms and dismounts from the cart, Sakura leaps from the driver's seat and storm into the hospital. "You!" he hears her shout, and he almost laughs because she's surely going to traumatize someone in short order. "Call whoever the hell is on call and get them in here, stat. There's eight women coming in, three of them pregnant, all of them suffering the effects of long-term imprisonment." Kakashi shoulders through the doors just then and hands the women over to Sakura's waiting hands, her hands gentle even as she shouts at the receptionist, "What are you waiting for? Get moving!"

Thankfully, the visible sparks of a lightning cage keep people away from the wagon outside while he and Sakura bring the women into the hospital. Once they're all inside, he finishes breaking the seals. All of the women burst into tears when the cuffs fall off, confirming his suspicions. Rage, already simmering beneath his skin through the night, bubbles up hotter with each person he frees. When the last seal breaks, he's almost vibrating with anger.

"I think it's time to take out the trash," he murmurs to Sakura, eyes dark. Her own eyes, always so bright, darken with their own displeasure.

"We'll have to take him to the lord," she snarls as they move out of the hospital, steps synchronized. The wagon's empty now save for Hikari. A few minutes ago, he sent out a shadow clone 'Daisuke' to pick up Akane and take her home, so there's nothing to worry about save the criminal himself. "Wish I could just... feed him to Anko, or something," she mutters as he dispels the cage.

"Aa, not a bad idea," he muses, picking him up and tossing him to Sakura. She catches him with ease and they take to the rooftops. Judging by the sun, it's somewhere around nine, which means — "Isn't today the monthly grievances day?" he asks, stopping on the building next to the main manor. There's crowds around the front of the building.

Sakura's grin is fierce. "Want to pull a Naruto?" she answers.

"…charge in headfirst and yell about the power of love?" he wonders.

She shoots him a look. "No. Run in headfirst and shame them into doing something about this sick shithead. Can't let it go unpunished if half the town knows before noon."

He offers her a smile. "I like the way you think, Sakura-chan."

They shunshin right into Lord Yokoyama's mansion, in front of his council… and in front of him, with Sakura holding Hikari by the nape of his neck like a bad cat. It startles the entire room, starting murmuring and noise, until Lord Yokoyama yells, "QUIET!" Then he turns to them, eyes on his trussed up brother, and demands, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Aa, just returning some litter we found on the road of life," Kakashi says, crinkling his eye in a faux smile. "You see, Sakura-chan and I were on our way back from a mission. We saw Sugawara, and Sakura-chan wanted to stop to see her friend Ichigo-chan. They were in the same class, you see."

"Imagine my surprise when I find this… thing… with my friend on the back of his horse, unconscious, riding into the woods," Sakura snarls. He feels a spark of chakra from her, and then Hikari stirs from the genjutsu she put him under.

"W-wha…" he slurs, still dangling from Sakura's hand.

Kakashi steps forward, all his jovial attitude gone, letting tendrils of his killing intent curl out. "Did you know your brother was kidnapping women, Yokoyama-dono? Ichigo-chan would've been the ninth. The other eight are…" he shakes his head.

"The others are in the hospital, and they're going to be there a long time," Sakura snaps. "I guess your 'brother' wanted a harem."

Yokoyama stands, scowl burning into them. "What proof do you have? Who are you, to come bearing these accusations? My family is an honorable one, and we always have been."

He almost hears Sakura's temper snapping, and he does hear the way her grip tightens on Hikari's neck. He speaks, hoping to distract her a little. "Aa, you might have heard of me once or twice." He flicks up his hitai-ate and looks straight at the lord, letting his eye spin lazily. It only takes a second for Yokoyama to pale, clearly putting the pieces together.

"H-Hatake Kakashi?" he stutters. "The copy-nin?"

"That's him," Sakura says as he slides his hitai-ate back down. "And you might have heard of my teacher, Tsunade-shishou." She offers a tiny smile, complete with eye crinkle, and it's so saccharine he almost laughs.

Yokoyama pales a little further and glances from each of them to his brother. "Your claims, you — you have evidence of them?"

"You bashtard," Hikari slurs, and Kakashi blinks before cutting his eyes toward the man where he still dangles from Sakura's hand. "Knew you was lookin' for a way to get ridda me."

"Hikari?" Yokoyama says, the shock and dismay on his face turning into confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I shoulda been lord… an' everyone knows it…" he murmurs, head lolling to one side, but his words growing a little clearer. "She shoulda been my wife… but you touched her an' you stole her… can't trust women. Not unless they're pure. So I made sure they were pure… and I took 'em… s'what I deserve."

At that, Sakura drops the man and kicks him towards his brother. When he comes to a stop at his brother's feet, he's on his front — meaning everyone in the court can see that there are no hands on the arms tied behind his back. "We leave your brother in your care, Yokoyama-dono," she spits. Her hands are fisted so tightly he can hear the leather of her gloves creaking. "I don't know what the hell he planned on doing with them, but there's eight women in the hospital who your brother raped for months on end. Three of them are pregnant. I can't tell you how to handle this, but I can tell you it's going to take Tsunade about twenty seconds to tell the daimyo about this." She pauses. "And, by the way? We're taking the Satos with us. They left because Daisuke lost an eye, but somehow I think they'd rather be back in Konoha right now.

With that, they shunshin out and spring across the rooftops to their apartment, where a weeping clone lets them in the front door. As soon as the door closes behind them and the clones disappear, Sakura slumps, the weight of the mission rolling off her shoulders. "Fuck," she mutters.

"Yeah." Both of them are too tired, physically and emotionally, to do anything other than rinse off. There's no blood on their hands, but they both might have preferred it if there was. He pulls her into his arms when they lay down, glad that everything had gone so well. He even says as much. "I'm glad he didn't get those cuffs on you," he murmurs into her ear. She hums, already half-asleep.

He watches her sleep and wonders.

When she wakes up at midnight, she's hungry. Kakashi's limbs are tangled in hers like ramen noodles, but she manages to disengage and sneak into the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, he follows her after a minute and finds her rummaging in the fridge. "Your leftover tempura's in the back," he mumbles. When she retrieves the container, he steals a piece before she even manages to get it in the microwave. He tries for a second, but she slaps his hand away and shoves it in. When she turns around, he's crunching down the tempura and he has —

"Is that the sushi I brought home last week?" she exclaims. He nods. "There's no way those haven't gone bad!" He blinks, looks at the sushi in his chopsticks, and promptly eats it. "Hatake Kakashi! You're worse than Naruto! And — hey! You don't even like tempura!"

"'m fine," he says around a mouthful of rice and fish. "Microwave." He points over her shoulder with his chopsticks and she turns around just as the microwave beeps. It doesn't take her long to finish it off. In that time, he's finished the — spoiled — sushi and is halfway through a second onigiri.

"How are you not fat?" she grumbles, poking his belly as she steals the last onigiri from the fridge.

"Hey, you got to ride to that hell-place last night," he says, pointing his chopsticks at her again. "I ran the entire way there, and I'm the one who found the horse and wagon."

She just sticks her tongue out at him and shoves the onigiri in her mouth so that she can use her hands to hop onto the counter and reach into the cabinet for a cup. She's done it a hundred times since they came here. This, though, is the first time Kakashi's been standing in front of her when she's done it. When she turns her head back towards him after grabbing her cup, she realizes it puts her at eye level with him. "…hey," she says quietly, holding the cup out to him.

"Hey," he answers. Somehow, he manages to pour her a glass of water without looking away or spilling any of it. He hands it back, and she finds her throat suddenly dry. She finally breaks eye contact when she takes a drink, and she chugs half the glass, trying to quell her thirst. Once she's swallowed all she can, she lowers the glass with a gasp. But Kakashi's moved. He's pressed up against her legs, one hand on either side of her hips.

The burn in his eye takes her off guard, so she just holds up the glass and squeaks, "Thirsty?"

"Very," he answers, prying her fingers off the glass and setting it down behind her. Then he leans in and kisses her.

Since she spent the night with Hikari, her body hasn't wanted anything at all. Suddenly, all of the lust she felt for Kakashi before that night comes roaring back, licking up her legs and igniting her. And it's him, it's the real him, not Daisuke's coarser features but his — so she sinks her hands into his hair, wraps her legs around his waist, and pulls him closer.

That's all the encouragement he needs, evidently, because a second later they're both in the bedroom. "Two person?" she asks, breaking away.

"Very chakra-intensive," he says, flushing a little. "Listen, Sakura, are you —"

She kisses him again, harder and more savage. This time, when they stop to breathe, she growls, "Shut up and fuck me."

Her words go straight through him like lightning. He doesn't waste any more time, but buckles to his knees and lets her slide off his lap so that she's sprawled on the futon. Her pink hair splays out around her head as he flips the lamp on the bedside table on. Then he hovers over her and kisses her again, sinking down against her body. Their disparate heights mean he's able to settle perfectly between her legs and still kiss her, that when he slides his hand down one of her legs and yanks it back up to hang over his hip, his erection grinds into her and makes her shudder.

The next time they break for air, he tugs his shirt off and hurls it into the corner. She immediately takes vicious advantage by tweaking both of his nipples — not something his partners generally do. His cock jumps and he muffles a groan in her neck. "Off," he whispers, tugging at her shirt. She obeys, arching up and wiggling out of the thin shirt. Her head and arms are still trapped in the sleeves when he leans down and sucks one of her nipples into his mouth, making her jolt and squeak. "Turnabout is fair play," he whispers, letting his other hand drop to her unoccupied breast and massage it. The shirt comes off. She drops it to the side and he glances up to catch her eyes before he drags his teeth over her nipple.

Sakura gasps and her body arches, almost unbidden, pressing closer to him. "Fuck." Her whimper accompanies her body's shudder, and his body's trying its best to betray him. He tweaks her other nipple at the same time he bites down. Her needy whine sinks into his bones and makes him so hard it's starting to hurt. After he toys with her for a moment, he switches to her other nipple, gently nipping at it and then soothing it with his tongue.

He pulls himself back up and before he blinks, she wriggles free of her pants, her hips bumping into his as she does it. Her arousal smells like musk and sin, and it's delicious. He kisses her again, letting his hand wander down her body — she's not quite as wet as she had been the night of her last date with Hikari, but that had been built up by her wanting all day long. His fingers slide between her lips and she hisses, but the hiss turns into a low moan when a finger slides inside her. "Did he touch you like this?" he whispers, his eyes intent on her.

"He tried," she whispers back, canting her hips up towards him again. His finger slides deeper inside her and he bites back a groan — but it sneaks out a second later when she tries to fuck herself on his finger. "The only way I got wet at all was thinking about you."

He bites her neck and slides another finger inside her, listening to the way she keens and almost dying at the way she rolls her hips against his hand. Kakashi doesn't do anything for a long minute other than gently finger-fuck her. "Good," he mumbles, and then he moves like lightning. Before she realizes he's moved, he's between her legs. "What about this?" he mutters, dropping his face and dragging the flat of his tongue across her clit. She almost cries out, but bites her hand in time to muffle the cry.

"N-no," she whimpers. He smirks against her skin and curls his fingers up inside her, searching for her sweet spot again. It's easier to find in short women, so — "Nnnnguh!" Her hips buck up into his face and his smirk grows. He lets her breathe for a second before he begins alternating between gentle, slow strokes inside her, rubbing against that sweet spot, and softly licking around her clit. It doesn't take long before she sinks her fingers into his hair and tugs his head closer. This close, her musk is overwhelming, layered with the scent of her sweat, but it's nothing compared to her taste. He's tasted women who were oddly sweet before, but Sakura's flavor reminds him of something he can't quite define. She's somewhere between salty and tangy, just interesting enough to make him want more. Her breathless keen catches his attention then — it sounds like she's trying to form words and failing. He smiles against her again and presses a third finger inside her, just as he sucks. "Aah, fffuck, Kakashiiiii!"

Hearing his name on her lips makes him even harder, but he doesn't move. When she catches her breath, he goes back down. This time, he's not gentle, slamming his fingers inside her like he wants to slam into her, lapping her up like she's water in the desert. Her second orgasm's more violent than the first. He's pretty sure she manages to yank some of his hair from his head. "Good?" he asks, raising his head once her body stops shaking.

"So good," she whispers back, trying to catch her breath. Kakashi slowly slides his fingers from her, catching her eyes as he licks them clean. It makes her groan and drop her head back onto the pillow because that's really a lot hotter than it should be. "I hate you," she mumbles.

He chuckles and she hears him moving around, the heat of his torso leaving her legs. A minute later, he returns. His knees bump against her thighs and something pops, like a bottle opening. Confused, she pushes herself up onto her elbows to investigate — her neck's too weak to lift on its own. And, damn it, this just keeps getting hotter. He's sweaty, his cock hard enough that it's nearly bumping his belly, and he's… dripping something onto it? The bottle's grey and vaguely familiar, but... "What is that?" she asks, not quite sure.

He raises an eyebrow at her. "Really, Sakura?" he says, evidently deciding he has enough of whatever it is because he caps the bottle and sets it down. "I — nnngh —" He shudders as he touches himself, spreading the substance liberally. "You've never seen a bottle of lube?"

She blinks. "I — oh." She tries to contain the flush that's trying to spread down her neck, but judging by his sly smirk, it's not quite successful. "I've never seen it outside of a sterile environment before," she explains, biting her lip. "And that bottle is the exact same color as your shampoo."

"About six shades darker, actually," he corrects her. "Had to hide it somehow."

She wrinkles her nose at him, but her brain short-circuits when he takes his hand off his cock and rubs the heel of his palm against her. It's distractingly slick and slippery against her skin, but there's still friction, and she wants. Kakashi withdraws his hand a minute later and she whines at the loss until he picks a foil packet up from somewhere in the snarl of blankets. He's already ripped it open when she realizes what it is and blurts, "Wait!"

Every inch of him stops. It looks almost comical because one hand's pressing the condom to the tip of his cock and his other's extended, ready to roll it down. "What?" he says, both eyes suddenly open and wide, something close to panic on his face.

She can't help snorting. If nothing else, that takes the panic out of his face. Then she realizes what she's about to say and flushes a little. "I… would you be okay with not using…" She wrinkles her nose and whispers, "Condoms?"

His eyes seem like they double in size for a second. "W-what?" he stutters, clearly startled. "Sakura, you — I — what?" He takes a deep breath and lets his hands drop to his sides. "Why would you… I know you know how important safety is."

She sighs and bites her lip. "I do," she murmurs. "I…" She exhales and lets her head drop back so she doesn't have to look at him. "Promise not to laugh?" He hums in response. "I don't want this to be anything like sleeping with Hikari, and he used a condom." There's silence for a few seconds and she manages to muster the courage to lift her head again. He's just staring at her, conflict clear on his face. "If you're worried about STDs, I know you're clean because I'm the one who did your labs last time you came back from a mission," she points out. "And I…" She flushes again. "Yeah. "

After a few more seconds that feel like hours, his shoulders drop a little and he sighs. "If you're sure, Sakura," he mumbles, leaning back and dropping the opened condom somewhere on the floor behind him. He pauses when he reaches to move the bottle of lube and squints at her. "This isn't part of a nefarious plan to secretly have my child and revive my clan, is it? Because I've had that happen a couple times."

That isn't what she expected him to say and she almost cackles. "Seriously?" she says, smile curling her lips. He nods. "No, I have no nefarious designs on your semen, and even if I did, it'd be useless. Tsunade made sure I knew to keep up with the shot." She realizes what a strange sentence that is right after she says it. As she giggles again, he moves, supporting himself with one hand by her head and hovering over her. He leans in and kisses her, soft and slow. She drapes her arms around his neck and drags him closer. She can't quite sink into the kiss, though. Something's nagging her. She breaks away to ask, "Why… why use the lube, though? Am I not —"

His scowl cuts her off. "Sakura, this is the second time you've had sex. I don't want to hurt you," he says, the words gentle and sharp at the same time.

She blinks and tilts her head. "Is that normal? None of my romance novels… and Hikari just—"

He kisses her again, this time hard enough to leave her gasping for breath when he pulls away. "Hikari can rot in hell," he mutters, resting his forehead against hers. "I heard it all, Sakura. As if he wasn't bad enough already, he was inconsiderate and couldn't even tell you were faking it."

She inhales. "You could? From where, outside?" He smirks at her. "…you're weird."

Kakashi laughs, but his face turns serious a second later. "Sakura… are you sure about this?" he mumbles, body still hovering over hers. There's a tiny puddle of lube just below her belly button from where his cock's dripping above her. She can see the muscles in his arms cording, the strain in his face, she knows he wants her — but he's still asking again. "If you want me to stop —"

"Kakashi," she interrupts him, stroking his cheek for a second before dropping her hand to his shoulder. "I wouldn't have let us get this far if I didn't want it." She inhales and glances away before looking up, directly into his eye. He cracks his Sharingan eyelid just a little, enough for her to see the slow red swirl. "I… I don't want to feel his hands on me every time I think about sex. If you're okay with this, so am I."

He sighs and relaxes a little, moving so that he's leaning on his forearm instead of just his hand. "Okay," he murmurs, gently stroking her side with his free hand. That hand slides down, down, down the side of her body and leaves her skin right around the juncture of her hips. A second later, his cock presses into her — slow, slow, so incredibly slow she wants to scream, but she's not sure she could handle any faster. His girth makes her burn, the same way tight muscles do when they're stretched, and it feels so damn good. She loses track of what her hands are doing and only realizes she's got a vice grip on his shoulder when she almost infuses her hands with chakra. Instead of crushing his bones, she opts for digging her nails into the skin of his shoulder. "Fuck," he hisses into her ear when he finally stops, his hips flush with hers. "Good?" he pants a few seconds later as he moves his free arm to the other side of her head.

"S-s-so good," she gasps, unable to keep her completely open because she's overwhelmed with sensation. "Better… so much b-better…" she trails off, unable to find many words right now. When she'd let Hikari touch her, she spent most of the time reminiscing about Kakashi's hands, about medical texts, literally anything other than him. Right now, the only thing she can focus on is Kakashi, above her, inside her.

"I should fucking hope so," he mutters. And then he begins to move. At first, he keeps it slow and sensual, letting her adjust to him. The delicious burn eases and turns into heat that makes her squirm and groan. When she begins to squirm, he picks one of her legs up and hooks it over his hip before he speeds up. The different angle hits her differently, more in some places and less in others, and she can't help the obscene moan that bubbles out of her. He kisses her and swallows the next moan, the kiss half-mimicking the way he's fucking her into oblivion. When the kiss ends, he rests his forehead against hers again. She can feel the sweat beading there as he murmurs, "You feel so good, Sakura."

Her breath hitches and she shudders a little. His hand leaves the back of her thigh and returns to its place by her head — but the movement gives her an idea. The next time he pulls back, she swings her other leg over his hip, locks them together behind his back and yanks, impaling herself on his cock. His breath gusts out in a strangled gasp, hers in a whimper. "Yes," she breathes, eyes rolling back in her head.

"Sakura —" he hisses, head falling into the curve of her neck. "Damn it, I'm trying to —"

She interrupts him again by swiveling her hips up into him. When she drops them back down, it hits something delicious inside her and she moans. "More," she gasps against his ear. "More, please, please, Kakashi, I need —"

And he gives. What was soft and sensual turns fevered and frantic as he slams into her, making her yelp and groan with every stroke. Like this, at this angle, every time he rocks into her something rubs past her clit with just enough friction to wind her up. It winds and winds and winds until she bursts. She only realizes she's coming as it happens, only enough time to sink her teeth into Kakashi's shoulder. Her vision shudders and swirls and she screams against his skin.

His brain short-circuits when Sakura bites down on his shoulder and wails, her pussy gushing and spasming around his cock. He slows almost to a stop, thoughts swimming, because she couldn't have — "Did you just come? Again?" he demands in disbelief, picking his head up from her neck to look at her.

"Mmmh," she answers, her green eyes foggy with pleasure. "You… feel so good…"

He doesn't bother muffling his groan this time. "Fuck," is all he manages to say, harder than ever as he starts moving again. Not a minute later, she orgasms again, whimpering and clutching at his shoulders. That one almost undoes him. He slows a little, just to warn her. "'m close," he whispers against her lips. "Sorry if I get any on you when I pull out."

He feels her smirk against his mouth. "Don't bother pulling out," she whispers back. He jerks away for a second, startled, to find her gazing up at him with something predatory in her eyes. "It's okay, Kakashi," she croons, lifting her hips and rutting up against him again. "Come inside me."

He groans and shuts his eyes. "Don't — it'll be a mess —" Watching her say that…

Fire trails down his back and his eyes snap open to find her smirking at him, her nails digging into his skin as she whispers, "Come inside me? Pretty, pretty please?"

"Fuck," he swears, his hips stuttering and his thrusts becoming less measured, more uneven. He turns his head, takes a deep breath, tries to regain control of himself. "Sakura, I don't —"

Soft fingers touch his face and drag his eyes back to hers, her grin wicked enough to make him shiver. "I want your cum inside me, Kakashi." The words trip off her tongue, fall out her lips in slow motion, and it's too much.

His head spins and he feels his hips snap forward, once, twice, out of pure instinct before sensation overwhelms him. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, Sakura!" He muffles his near-howl by seizing her lips as he comes and oh god she's coming again, convulsing around his cock and wringing him dry.

When he can see straight again, his arms are barely holding him up. He almost collapses on her but manages to roll away and flop onto his back again. When he slides free of her body, the sound's almost hopelessly erotic, no matter that he just came hard enough to scramble his brain. Neither of them say a word for a little while. They simply lay next to each other, panting. He finally gets enough breath to say, "Better?" like he doesn't know the answer.

"Like you don't know the answer to that, you ass," Sakura echoes his thoughts, weakly slapping his arm.

They lay in silence for a minute more before he rolls his head to the side and speaks. "Where the hell did that come from?" She turns toward him, eyebrow raised, and he elaborates. "The… what you said before I…"

She smirks again. "I may not read Icha Icha, but there are other books in the world, you know?" She pauses and adds, "That kind of thing was featured in a lot of them. I didn't know if it was something people really did, or liked… and I sure wasn't about to try it with…yeah, no."

"Don't recommend doing that with people you don't trust, but yes, it does happen, and yes, it is hot," he says. While he wasn't consciously recording, or using the Sharingan at all, part of him does wonder if he'll be able to pull up that mental image later…

"Gods above, it's a good thing that happened after Hikari and not before, or I would've given up the whole game," Sakura says. "If I thought sex was like that every time, I'd have been gagging for it." A second later, she rolls all the way onto her side and pops up above him. "Which reminds me. When, uh —" she blushes and it's really far too cute. "When you were inside me, and I, uh…yeah… again, why were you so shocked?"

Another blink, this one slower. "Because something like ninety-five percent of women can't orgasm from vaginal penetration," he says, lifting his eyebrows at her. "I thought you would've known that."

Her flush spreads. "Yeah, well, I can't say I spent too much time looking into sexual health and statistics after shishou made me draw all the different ways STDs could manifest." That makes him blanch. Sex ed, for him, had involved pictures of STDs. Those were bad enough. Making her draw it out?

"That's just cruel."

"That's shishou," she replies, voice light. Then she sits up and sighs. "Okay. Pee time." He snorts. "What? You know —"

He drapes an arm over his eyes and waves her off towards the bathroom. By the time she comes back, he's half asleep, but he still tracks her around the room as she straightens the covers, moves the lube, and turns the light off. When she crawls under the covers, he reaches for her to find she's still naked. He hesitates — but she's already curling towards him, so he wraps himself around her and dozes off.

In the morning, she wakes up first. Nothing hurts, but when she moves, there's a faint soreness between her legs. It lingers just enough to remind her of everything that transpired last night. She can't help biting her lip as some of it flickers through her thoughts, but she shakes her head and scolds herself before fleeing into the shower. When she emerges, hair damp, Kakashi's sliding an omelet onto the table for her. Something queer and sweet thumps in her chest when he looks up and smiles at her fondly, his mask still off. "So what's the plan now, captain?" he asks as they sit down, chopsticks in hand.

She jams a huge chunk of breakfast into her mouth and chews for a minute before answering. "We both make shadow clones of our real selves and henge them into Ichigo and Daisuke, just like yesterday. We use today to get rid of all the furniture in the apartment, give away the food, and stuff like that. Plenty of people will see the clones and us, and we can tell people exactly what happened and why the Satos are leaving…just in case our show at court yesterday didn't start making the rounds yet."

Kakashi doesn't say anything for a minute while she digs in. After the silence begins to linger, she looks up. He's leaning on his hand, chopsticks dangling, staring at her with a tiny smile at the corners of his mouth. "What?" she asks, defensive. "It's a good plan!"

"It is," he agrees, the smile spreading. "I'm impressed." He leans closer. "We can also blame any strange noises on those shinobi who stayed last night after rescuing Ichigo. Shinobi are very promiscuous, you know." For that, she swats him gently.

"Dumbass," she grumbles fondly. But it doesn't take long to finish breakfast and wash up the dishes. The two shadow clones make everything far easier than moving in. The kotatsu goes to the couple across the hall for a song — Sakura's the one who hauls it into their apartment like it weighs nothing. The food she has Kakashi and Daisuke take to Takada. Ichigo stays in the apartment almost all day long, only coming out when people ask where she is. It's not even halfway through the afternoon when the apartment's bare.

She looks behind her with some small sadness as she closes the door and locks it, the others already in the hall. Despite Hikari's foulness, this tiny apartment held more happiness for her than she's had in years. "Ready to go?" she asks the clones, who nod solemnly. Sakura drops her arm around Ichigo's shoulders as they walk down the stairwells. On the way, they run into more than a few tenants. And in the lobby, there's a solid dozen people gathered to wish them goodbye.

"Can't blame you for not bein' able to stay, girlie," Takada says, stepping forward and gently patting Ichigo's shoulder. "That boy never was right. It's a shame, it is, and I'm sorry you had to go through it."

"I— it's —" Ichigo sniffles. "A— at least Sakura-dono and Kakashi-dono saved me."

"Damn right we did!" Sakura says, slamming her fist into her hand. "That shitbag won't be hurting anyone else!"

Takada snorts and offers Ichigo a hug. A few others follow her lead, but not many. "Go on with you," the building manager says with a soft smile. "And, by the way, shinobi-sans?" They perk up and turn towards her. "Next time you stay in someone else's apartment, do try to have sex a little quieter, won't you?"

At that, they both flush and almost push the clones out the door.

He's almost sad when the village fades from sight. They walk a little while longer, long enough to get out of following range, and then they dismiss their clones before taking to the trees. They're a third of the way back to Konoha before they stop for the night. Once they build a fire and eat, he looks over the fire at her. "This was for the mission," he says, voice firm. He's had to practice the firmness ever since they left town.

She finishes the last bite on her kebab and tosses the skewer into the fire before answering. "I know, Kakashi." She looks over the fire and catches his gaze. "I… I'd like to say you're one of my friends. You haven't been my sensei in a long time, but I learn something from you every time we go on a mission." She flushes and bites her lip, clearly a little unsure. "It's, uh, usually not quite this kind of learning, but I do." Sakura pauses and takes a deep breath. "Ino's told me stories about people who stop being friends after they sleep together. I don't want that to be us, okay?"

His jaw drops behind his mask. Evidently, the long silence makes her worry, because she starts fidgeting after a minute. "That's…" he starts, and then pauses to find better words. After a second, he sighs and drops his mask so that she can see his expression. "I don't know how you always surprise me, Sakura, but you do. I've had jounin with twenty years of experience who didn't handle coming off a seduction mission this well." He winces and touches his side, where Anko once went after him with a kunai because he told her he wasn't interested in continuing their dalliance once they got back to Konoha.

Her smile's slow, and beautiful, and damn it, it makes his heart lighter. "They sound like they need to get a grip, then," she laughs. Seeing her open and laughing again, like she so rarely has been the last two years… it's good. And it curls deep down inside him, touching spots he didn't know existed.

"But, that being said —" he starts. She cocks her head. "The mission isn't over yet." He stands up and raises an eyebrow at her before glancing over at the bedrolls. "Are you…?" he trails off.

She's on her feet kicking dirt over the fire in an instant. "Oh hell yes."

Sunlight sparkles through the trees. Sakura tries to focus as she pants, but she can't. Her body's still shaking. "Is morning sex always that exciting?" she wheezes.

"It's either amazing or mediocre. No in between." The answer takes a minute, and when it comes, his voice isn't much stronger than hers. It makes her proud that she, inexperienced as she is, affects him so strongly.

But thinking of her inexperience leads her thoughts right back to the mission they just finished, and… "Ne, Kakashi?" He hums in response. "I…" She rolls over onto her front, propping herself on her forearms, so that she can see his face before she asks, "What made you kiss me?"

Something almost like fear flicks across his face before his features settle into the familiar, sarcastic set she knows so well. "Most people enjoy it as part of sex, Sakura-chan," he says.

She's not letting him deflect that easily. "Not now, you ass," she grumbles, slapping his bare chest. "I meant…" she exhales and drops her head. "The very first kiss. When Yokoyama-teme asked me out."

The fear-thing returns, there for an instant longer, before he sighs. "Sakura…" he says quietly. "There are things you probably don't want to know about Konoha. This is one of them."

She raises an eyebrow. "Worse than ROOT?"

He grimaces. "Not… exactly." She stares at him, waiting. After a few seconds, she notices the tension around his mouth, at the corner of his eye, but she has to know. She has to. Eventually, he huffs and drops his head to the ground. "The Fourth… changed a lot of things when he came into office," he says, voice level enough for her to know he's struggling. "But that didn't…" his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows, clearly uncomfortable. After a second, he drops his arm across his face, hiding his eyes in the crook of his elbow. "The Fourth put age limits on purple missions. Before that, the only rule was that you couldn't be a civilian." Another swallow, this one harder, and the muscles in his neck strain along with it. "My first kiss wasn't — it wasn't with someone I trusted, or someone I even knew well," he whispers, voice cracking a little. "You… I couldn't let someone take that from you."

She sits up, slowly, thinking about this information. Kakashi's never been forth-coming about his past, his personal life, but some of it's public record. She knows he was promoted to chuunin when he was 6. That means… "Kakashi," she says, surprised when her voice doesn't shake. "When was your first purple mission?"

He sighs. "Should've known you wouldn't let it go," he grumbles. She doesn't say anything. She just waits him out. "It started a month before I turned twelve."

He says it quietly, little more than a breath of air, but it couldn't have hit her harder if he'd shouted it. "Oh," she says, hand flying to her mouth and tears welling. "Oh, Kakashi." The implications of that hit her all at once, and she can't help the ragged gasp of anger and sadness.

His nose twitches. Evidently he smelled her tears, because he lifts his arm and peeks out at her. A second later, he sighs again and sits up, reaching out to touch her cheek. "I didn't sleep with anyone. Not that time," he tells her. "It was… there was a man who liked pretty little boys. I was the bait. My partner was the trap."

"That's still awful," she chokes out. "You had to — I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

He offers her a little eye crinkle, but it's so fake she could've called it out from across Konoha. "It's in the past now, Sakura-chan. Between the Fourth and the Fifth, those things don't happen like they used to," he says. "Now, shouldn't we be going?"

She packs up and they leave. Her mind keeps turning that over and over, like there's something she can do about it. There's not. She knows there's not.

Tsunade's more than a little relieved when she feels the familiar chakra approaching her office. For all her surety, she did worry about her student. And, well, with the way things are going… she likely would've had to pull them from their mission if they'd taken much longer. A little over four months for a long-term seduction mission isn't a bad time, but they're going to have to move to the front soon.

"Report," she orders when they come in, not even letting them come to a stop.

"Target located, intel confirmed, and target subsequently neutralized," Sakura says with a little smile. "Mission successfully completed."

"Good," Tsunade barks. "Go rest and write me a good report. I want it on my desk first thing and I want you at the hospital as soon as you turn it in. We've got a lot of work today." Sakura moves, but Kakashi stays still. After the door closes behind her apprentice, she looks at the other ninja. "How did she do?"

"She did well," he answers, voice strangely quiet. "Her cover story was thorough and could've covered a multitude of sins if necessary. The target was quickly enamored of her, and her acting was…" His eye flickers away for a second. "Almost unbelievably good."

"Mmm," Tsunade hums, glancing up at her rafters. Good. No gossips on my guard today. "And did the target take her virginity, or did you?"

That rattles the man. He physically starts, glancing into the rafters like she had, and then looks at her, eye wide. "I — you —" he stutters. Then he takes a deep breath, exhales, and looks her in the eye. "Her target was the first person to touch her, yes."

Tsunade doesn't hide her smirk at how he's mincing words. The first, but not the last. Cheeky. "Relax, brat," she says, reaching for her sake. "I knew the chances of you two falling into bed together were high. That's part of why I sent you."

He chokes, and above her Tsunade hears a faint snort. "You… planned this?" he says, looking like he's just been told he's really Minato. "I — why? Why would you send me out with my old student, knowing —"

She gulps a drink and sets the bottle down before she answers. "Do you think I've never done a seduction mission, Hatake?" He obviously hadn't expected that question. "Well, I did. After I went on mine, I came back and studied the others. People who went on purple missions alone… they struggled after. I wheedled the old man into sending two-man teams on purples. Tried to talk him into the age limit, too, but…" She shrugs. "Anyway, things were better for some people, but not for others. I studied the successful teams and came to a conclusion."

Her eyes flick up and pin him down. "Especially when people go out the first time, they need someone they trust with them, someone who can help them redirect the negative energy that almost inevitably comes with having to seduce someone you loathe. And yes, that generally does mean sex between mission partners." She leans back and sighs. "Of course, there are always exceptions. I knew a jounin who simply didn't care who he slept with, what their morals were, he just wanted to do it. There was a girl who never, ever showed interest in anyone she wasn't sent to seduce. Not her partner, not bystanders… nobody. But exceptions are rare. Since I became Hokage, I think all seven teams I've sent on seductions has ended up in bed with each other."

Hatake looks like he's been slapped. "But me?" he demands, almost staggering. "I'm — I'm almost twice her age, and —"

"Who the hell else?" she snorts, reaching for her sake again. "She sure as shit wouldn't have let Sai touch her. The Hyuuga boy she hasn't had a conversation with since her promotion? The Aburame? Rock Lee?" Even Kakashi pales at that idea. "It's a shit hand, I know. But you were the best in a sea of bad options because you have both the experience and the inclination to help her." She sips at her bottle again. "That being said, you know about the mandatory separation period. Did you tell her?"

"Ah, no," he mumbles, rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly. "I… rather thought you'd murder me and it wouldn't be an issue."

That makes her laugh harder than she expected. "As it happens, I doubt it'll be an issue," she says. "Rest up and pack well. You're the leader of the Third Division — Gai's been leading it in your absence." His eye twitches at that. "There's not much green spandex. Yet. I want you on your way as soon as humanly possible. I'll tell Sakura about the separation myself. Dismissed."

He hovers for a minute. "Get out!" He flees when she hurls a sake cup at him, and she watches him go. "Gods, what I wouldn't do for this situation to be better," she mumbles, rubbing her temples.

Sakura falls into bed and sleeps. The apartment in Sugawara was nice, but it wasn't home. Yet, once she gets past the drop-dead exhaustion that comes from sprinting through the woods at top speed, it's hard to stay asleep. Every time she rolls over, she expects to find a warm body next to hers. There's no soft breath against her neck, no comforting arm draped across her. She ends up awake far earlier than her usual, staring at the ceiling and trying to decipher everything. Do I miss the person or the presence?

It means she has plenty of time to write her report. More than a few lines end up scratched out because they just… sound too suggestive when she reads them over, even if they sounded perfectly innocent the first time. Kakashi informed me, based on his past experience… gets changed to Based on his past seduction missions, Hatake assessed the target and informed me… along with a dozen other tiny changes. When she finishes the report, it's almost one in the morning, and she falls back into bed for a short, fitful doze. Ino wakes her up at four, clattering in from T&I like the apartment's empty.

"Hey! Pig! Keep it down!" Sakura whisper-shouts, sticking her head out her bedroom door. Ino's head pops up over the refrigerator door and she blinks.

"Eh? You're back?" she mumbles around the carrot sticks in her mouth before she crunches down and swallows them with disgusting speed. "Where the hell have you been, Forehead? One night you're here, the next night you're gone, and all I could get out of the Hokage was 'that's classified'. Four months! FOUR!"

Sakura sighs and rolls her eyes before she ducks back into her room to grab her robe. She comes back out and flops into a chair at the table, closing her eyes. "Shishou sent me on a long-term purple mission."

Ino's squawk, muffled by a mouthful of food, makes her snort. "You had a what?"

Sakura opens one eye and stares at her roommate. "There was a shitty guy being shitty. I seduced him and cut his hands off. The end."

Ino swallows her mouthful of food and slaps the table, eyes wide. "Forehead! I thought you were still a virgin!"

She sighs and closes her eye again. "I was."

"…oh." Suddenly, Ino's voice is far quieter, almost repentant. "I'm sorry, Sakura. That's… that sucks." Then a curious note creeps into her voice as she asks, "Wait, who was your partner?"

Sakura blanches. She hadn't thought this through. Ino's been on seduction missions before, and every single time, she's given Sakura details about how she got down and dirty with her partner. If she tells her it was Kakashi — "Doesn't matter," Sakura mutters out the side of her mouth.

"Yes it does, Forehead!" The force is back in Ino's voice now. "Listen, this is like, the worst kept secret in Konoha. Everyone sleeps with their mission partners on purple missions. Everyone." Sakura's eyes pop open at that.

"Wait, really?" she asks, looking over at the other woman. "It's that common?"

Ino scoffs. "Uh, yeah. It's a hell of a lot easier to stomach touching some creep when you know you can scrub it off and get some elsewhere." She leans forward, eyes gleaming. "Spill. Who was your partner?"

Sakura sighs and looks away. "I… I'd really rather not say who, Ino." The wounded sound from across the table makes her cringe, so she offers up as reconciliation, "They, uh, they were really good at sex, though. Really good."

Ino gasps. "Details, Forehead! Details!" Sakura flushes and glances up at the clock to find it's almost 4:30, which means…

"I have to go, Pig, shishou wanted me at the hospital first thing!" she blurts, rocketing out of her chair and into the bathroom.

"Don't think you're getting away without giving me details!" Ino yells after her over the slam of the door. By the time Sakura creeps out of the shower, though, the apartment's dark and she can hear Ino's snores. It's a relief to soar across the familiar rooftops and drop into the hospital, where it doesn't take long before she's up to her elbows in papers and people. Her twelve hour shift passes quickly — quickly enough that she doesn't even notice it's time to go until she exits one of the checkup rooms to find Tsunade leaning against the wall outside.

"Shishou?" she asks, surprised. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," the Hokage says, pushing off the wall. "Can't I take a walk with my student?"

She blinks, and blinks again. "Uh, no," she says, eyeing her teacher strangely. "You've never taken a walk with me. Ever."

Tsunade claps her on the shoulder. "Well, I think it's time we do!" Ten minutes later, they're sitting on top of Hokage Mountain… and Tsunade pulls a bottle of sake from somewhere Sakura doesn't want to know about. "Drink?"

"…no thanks, shishou," Sakura mumbles, more than a little confused.

"Suit yourself." Tsunade takes a long swig and sets the bottle down, staring into the sunset. "I read your report. You did good work, Sakura. You always do." She turns towards her then and Sakura sees the thin line of her mouth. "But reports are sanitary. How are you, Sakura? I know this couldn't have been easy for you."

Sakura sighs. "Is that what all this is about?" Tsunade nods, reaching for the bottle of sake again. "I'm fine." Tsunade frowns and opens her mouth, but Sakura keeps talking. "And I mean that. I'm not… I'm not having any flashbacks, or nightmares about sex, or anything like that. The most horrific thing on that mission was rescuing all of those poor women. That part I might have nightmares about, but the rest was…" She pauses. "You're right, it wasn't easy. But I did it, and I'm okay. Kakashi took care of me."

And her teacher snorts. "Yeah, I bet he did," she mumbles before taking another long drink. Something about the way she says it makes Sakura blanch. "Just so you know, neither of you are in trouble," Tsunade says when she sets down the bottle. "I highly doubt you went into this mission thinking 'I'm going to fuck my team captain, who used to be my teacher!'" Sakura inhales hard. "No, he didn't tell me. I knew it was likely when I assigned you two to this mission."

At that, the world swims a little, like her air's been cut off. "…huh?" she manages.

Tsunade sighs. "How well would you have handled the mission if you'd been alone?" She bites her lip. "That's what I thought. And if I'd sent Sai instead?" The very idea of explaining her emotional upset to Sai makes her shake her head, let alone touching him. "Ino?" And that idea makes her blush.

"I, uh, I don't think…" Tsunade raises an eyebrow. "Well, I would've been fine with… y'know… with a girl, but I don't think Ino would have been." Both of Tsunade's eyebrows go up at that.

"Well. That's good to know for the future," she mumbles. Then she shakes her head and focuses on Sakura again. "Do you see my point now? I loathe purple missions altogether, but I'll be damned if I let my people suffer needlessly. If Minato hadn't passed that age rule, I would have."

"Yes," Sakura admits, dropping her head onto her knees. "It's still weird."

"Mmm, these things usually are," Tsunade admits. "There is something Kakashi didn't tell you, though." She lifts her head, curious. "After long-term seduction missions like this one, we have a mandatory separation period for the partners. You understand trauma psychology well enough to know why."

She thinks about it for a second and nods. "I guess that's why I haven't seen Kakashi today."

"Well, that and the part where he's on the way to the front." Tsunade offers her the bottle and Sakura blinks as she processes. "He's in charge of the Third Division. You'll be third division as well once things get rolling, but this way he gets a handle on his forces and you both have some distance from each other." She shakes the bottle and Sakura finally takes it from her hand, though she only has a sip before handing it back. "Besides, the ANBU director still needs to interview you."

"Interview?!" Sakura blurts, shocked. "I thought — I applied almost a year ago!"

Tsunade guffaws. "Did you think they moved quickly? This mission was a test to see if you could handle covert ops as well as the loud ones, and you passed with flying colors. All that's left is the interview and the training."

"…no psych screen?"

"Pfft. Being batshit is practically a requirement for ANBU."

Being in the thick of things again feels better than he thought it would. Gai's done a good job of whipping the Third Division into some semblance of a cohesive unit, so he rewards the man by sending him off to switch out for Naruto's current guard team.

He's more than a little dismayed when Gai comes back almost broken. But… his injuries mean Sakura's sent out a week in advance of her scheduled arrival date. Nobody notices the extra warmth in his greeting, and nobody comments on how she's dropped the 'sensei' from his name. After they defeat Zabuza and Haku, Tsunade orders her to relocate to Logistics. He doesn't think anything of it when the order comes through. That night, he's half-asleep when something rustles at his tent flaps. Immediately, he's wide awake, hand on a kunai. A second later, a dark head pokes through the flaps and a very familiar voice whispers, "Kakashi?"

He blinks and lets go of the kunai as he sits up. "Sa—mmph!" Before he can finish saying her name, she's straddling him, her hand over his mouth.

"Shhh!" she whispers into his ear. "Don't say my name out loud, you asshole!"

"Mphh?" he mumbles against her hand.

She sighs and lets her hand drop. "I…" A pause, and then she takes a deep breath. "I'm leaving in the morning, and Kakashi, I'm fucking terrified. We're fighting dead people. I don't know what the hell is going to happen." Her fingers skirt the edge of his mask, and something coils in his stomach as her purpose becomes clearer. "I want to stop thinking. Just for a little bit."

He sighs. "Sa—" Her hiss stops him. "Ichigo, this is exactly why there's a mandatory separation period after purple missions. It's a bad idea to —"

"I know it's a bad idea," she says. "But I… there's nobody else here I trust enough. I don't think we're star-crossed lovers, and I'm not going to chase you constantly. I just want a break. Don't you?"

He hesitates. "We're in the middle of a war zone…" This time, her snort interrupts him.

"Pfft. Do you know how many bedrolls I saw zipped together on my way here? And those were in communal tents." Before he can say anything else, she yanks his mask down and trails her fingers over his cheek.

"People will know…" he says weakly, struggling to find a reason not to — because he wants to. Gods above, he wants. Just thinking about the way she tastes has his head swimming.

She flicks him on the forehead. "Nope. Henged on my way here and suppressed my chakra signature. As far as anyone else knows, I'm Nakamura Akane." She runs her thumb over his lips and he barely suppresses a groan. "If you really don't want me, I'll go," she whispers. "But…"

"This is such a bad idea," he mumbles as he pulls her face down to his. She tastes like blood and sweat now, her lips chapped from dehydration, but it doesn't matter.

"The worst," she mumbles back when they come up for air. They're even quieter this time than they were in the apartment, biting back moans and gasps, muffling everything they can against each other's skin. Though all the division leaders have private tents, they're not meant for tall people. He's smacked his head on the tent pole more than once in the morning. That's how she ends up on top, her nipples brushing his chest as she undulates against him. "God, you feel so good inside me," she moans as their rhythms begin to match each other.

He doesn't say anything for a little while, too focused on helping her rock back and forth, matching the tempo he's set. When she shudders and whimpers around him, he pulls her closer and murmurs, "Did you miss coming on my cock?"

Her gasp isn't muffled, and he knows he's not imagining the gush of wetness that follows his words. "Yes," she breathes, her pace stuttering. "Fuck, yes."

At that, he drags her into another kiss and snaps his hips up harder, faster, trying to make her lose control. It almost works on him before it works on her, and that won't do. After he catches his breath, he slides his hand from her hip to her center and he cheats, flicking her clit hard. Her head drops back and she moans long and deep, the sound almost bubbling out of her mouth. As she catches her breath, he wraps one arm around her waist and rolls them over as best he can in the confines of the tent. "Mpph?" she murmurs, looking up at him with hazy eyes.

"Roll onto your front," he whispers, sliding out of her and leaning back a little. He half-expects to end up ducking when she moves her legs, but it's not necessary — she lifts her leg over his head like she's a ballerina. It takes a little more rearranging, but he's quickly between her legs and leaning over her as he slides home. "Good?" he whispers into her ear. She nods and he sneaks one hand under her, gently pressing down just above her clit. He knows it's the right spot when she shudders against him, just hard enough for him to feel it, and almost smiles as he begins to move.

It's not long before they're both wound up nearly to the edge, their movements hurried and hungry. She's rolling her hips back into him, her ass bumping against his stomach every time she moves, and fuck, it just keeps feeling better. She can't moan or scream like she had in the forest, so she narrates it in a low murmur instead. "Yes, yes, right there, gggod yes, fuck me harder, I need it, I need your cock —"

Every time she says something particularly filthy, she feels him shudder against her back. More than once he bites into her shoulder to muffle a groan. As he lifts his head from his newest mark, his lips brush her ear and he hesitates for a second. Then he mutters, voice barely above a growl, "I love how sloppy your pussy gets when I fuck you." She inhales hard, almost choking on her next words, heat spiraling through her body and settling where they're joined. A chuckle follows the wave of heat and Kakashi whispers, "Just like that," punctuating the words with a hard thrust. "Do you know how fucking hot it is when people love sex? When they just let themselves enjoy it and forget everything except the way I'm touching them?"

"I — I do now," she gasps, feeling her body pulling tight, close to the edge again. She hadn't thought he could get any nearer, but he does, hips almost flush with her ass as he buries his nose in her hair. Then he moves the hand he'd been teasing her clit with to the far side of her hips and yanks them up into his, making her arch her back and — "O-oohhhhh!" Like this, he hits whatever spot it was he found inside her that first time, the one that makes her head spin.

"Listen, Sakura," he breathes into her hair, so quiet even she can barely hear it. "Can you hear that?" She tries to calm her breathing, tries to listen, but all she can hear, all she can focus on, is the squelch of him fucking her.

"H-hear what?" she mumbles.

She feels his smile against the side of her head before he speaks, punctuating his words with deep, hard thrusts. "How much — your pussy — loves — being wrapped around — my cock," he says, almost panting.

"Y-yes," she mutters, and if the noise was erotic before, it's scalding hot now. Then he shifts, just a little, before thrusting again and it's just the right spot. Everything coalesces, gathers into a tiny pinpoint of a bubble inside her… and she bursts. Halfway through her orgasm, his hand clamps over her mouth and she realizes she'd forgotten to be quiet. But whatever she wailed finishes him because he shudders and jerks and spills inside her. It only makes her come harder, whining and wailing against his hand. This time, he has no choice but to collapse on her, but his weight on her back is almost comforting.

"Fuck," he mumbles after a minute of silence. Then again, with more feeling, "Fuck."

She snorts and licks his hand to make him move it. He hisses and yanks it away, leaving her free to talk. "Yes, that's what just happened," she drawls, wiggling her hips back against him again. He sighs and pushes himself up off her. When his heat recedes, she pulls her legs up to her chest and pulls herself into a sitting position before she turns around to start looking for her clothes. Kakashi just… watches her as she picks her things up and slithers back into them. But she does hear his breath catch when she finds her panties and pulls them up over her legs, without even bothering to wipe herself clean. "Thank you," she says when she's ready to go, reaching out and touching his face. "I promise this isn't going to be a regular thing if we survive this, okay? I just wanted to stop thinking for a little while."

He sighs deeply. "It better not," is all he says. She rolls her eyes and goes to move past him, towards the flap of the tent, but he catches her wrist. "Hey. Do me a favor, okay?" She quirks her eyebrow. "Be careful out there. I've got enough dead friends on my conscience."

She blinks hard and then she smiles at him. "I will," she promises. "And I'll save the others, too. Even that asshole." As she reapplies her henge and leaves the tent, she can feel him watching her go. His gaze lingers with her all the way to the shower stalls, where she slips inside and drops her henge. She's not the only doing it, either — she bumps into a very familiar Nara on her way out. They just glances at each other, nod, and go their separate ways.

By the time Kakashi wakes up, the people transferring divisions are already gone. Still, there's a strange attitude in the camp as he goes to find breakfast. More than a few men slap him on the back in passing. Both men and women flush when they catch his eye. He frowns, confused, but carries on. He's halfway through his reconstituted egg omelet when he finds out why. "MY RIVAL!"

He shovels the rest of his omelet into his mouth and turns around. "Gai."

The man's shuffling toward him, his grin suspiciously large for someone in such bad shape. "YOU HAVE OUTDONE ME ONCE MORE, IN A FIELD OF CHALLENGE I THOUGHT FALLEN BY THE WAYSIDE!" Kakashi blinks.

"I… have?" he says, thinking back over the past few days. He hasn't done much of, well, anything that could be considered a challenge.

Gai stops in front of him, eyes brimming with joyful tears. "Yes, my rival! Your youthfulness has outshone my own in this moment, but I will not let it remain so! I, too, shall seduce a woman, and love her so passionately that she cries my name to the skies!"

Kakashi's eye almost pops out of his head. "W-what? What woman? There's no woman!" he says, internally panicking more than a little.

"Do not spare my emotions, oh cruel rival! Not one, but many, heard the woman crying your name in her spectacular ecstasy last night!" Gai says, the tears beginning to drip. "Your sexual technique is surely masterful, but I, the Green Beast of Konoha, shall prove my technique superior!"

He slumps forward and buries his face in his hands. "I told her it was a bad idea," he mumbles. "I told her. 'It'll be fine, Kakashi, we can be quiet, Kakashi'. Shit."

Just then, the Yamanaka boy ambles up. "Heard you had a good time last night, captain. Think she'd be down to come to my tent?"

For that, he flicks his headband up so the Sharingan's visible, and then catches Yamanaka's gaze. "Go. To. Hell." Then he flickers away, because this is just too damn much.

There's no mirrors in camp, and Sakura hadn't thought about looking at herself when she got dressed this morning. It's also warm enough out that she chose a different shirt than normal. An hour into the trip, springing through the trees, Leth Marai drops back to run beside her. She and Marai have a… tumultuous relationship, at best. "So, even Haruno feels the stress, huh?" Marai says, looking straight ahead.

"Of course I do!" Sakura snaps. "This war's already horrific, and it's only going to get worse."

Marai snorts. "Not what I was talking about, Haruno. You're kind of a weirdo." Sakura starts to say something, but Marai keeps going. "S'probably why the Hokage chose you as her apprentice. Normally, you just double down on whatever work you're doing when you get stressed. You study harder, you heal more people, whatever." Marai turns her head then and offers Sakura a sly smile. "The rest of us have other ways of coping. Judging by that bite mark on your neck, you 'coped' real good last night."

Sakura almost freezes, only habit keeping her moving, as she claps a hand to her neck. "He left marks?" she hisses. "That — that dick!"

At that, Marai bursts out laughing. "Good to see you're human, Haruno!"

The first chance she gets, she pulls out a tiny hand mirror and heals her neck. That night, when she's safely ensconced in the Support Division, she takes her shirt off and counts the marks. There's at least a half dozen bite marks, some of them deeper than others and some of them overlapping. She runs her fingers over them slowly... but she doesn't heal them.

It's the last moment of peace she has for far longer than she'd like. There are clones trying to kill her, zombies escaping with sensitive information, and things only grow stranger from there.

Chapter 2: spilling like an overflowing sink

"Hey." He doesn't open his eyes, doesn't look up. He feels like he's just lived a thousand years in a day.

"Hey," he finally answers. She doesn't say anything for a while, just sitting next to him in silence. She's one of the only other people he knows who doesn't mind the quiet. (And, he makes a mental note, he'll have to ask Pakkun how the hell she knows of this hiding spot.)

Eventually, though, she does speak. "For what it's worth, I think you're going to be a good Hokage." She says it quietly, but her conviction rings through the words.

He sighs. "Aa, and the Sandaime told me I'd be a good jounin sensei. You know how that went."

"I don't think that was your fault, Kakashi," she says, reaching out and laying her hand on his knee. "To tell the truth, I think the Sandaime was setting you up for failure." He jolts at that and turns his head to look at her, curious. She smirks at him. "I thought that'd get your attention. See, I've been doing some of the ANBU training in between everything else that's going on. They train you so that you can be a complete team if you have to be, even if they usually send ANBU out in groups. You were good enough to go solo, and you spent so long being just Hound that you had to learn who Kakashi was again. I think that's what he was trying to do when he gave you us, but… there's a hell of a lot of other ways he could've done it, too."

"Like?" he asks, straightening up a little.

"If he really wanted the healing power of children's love, he could've let you teach at the Academy instead of making you teach genin," she says dryly. "I maintain jounin need to take classes about teaching before they're assigned. Mostly, though, it would've been just… therapy. Getting back into the world. It would have taken longer, but…" she trails off. "I guess it mostly turned out okay, right?"

He drops his hand on hers and squeezes it for a second. "Mm, mostly." A minute later, he says, "What do you mean, jounin need classes?"

Sakura grins fiercely. This is one of her soapboxes. "Knowing how to do something doesn't mean you know how to teach something," she answers. "Like, Shikamaru would be a horrible teacher. Even if he's lazy, he's never had to struggle to learn anything. That means, without being trained otherwise, he's going to be trying to teach from the top down instead of the bottom up." He blinks at her. She huffs and breaks out her favorite example. "Prodigies and genius children aside, you can't walk before you crawl. If I wanted to teach someone, say, an earth clone technique, I can't just show them the signs and expect them to get it right."

He opens his mouth, as if to object. She smacks him on the back of the head and continues talking. "I have to make sure they know what their affinity is first. Then I have to teach them how to mold earth chakra in particular. Then I can show them the seals and explain the theory of the technique. Once they're prepared, then they can try the technique."

"…mm," is his only reply.

After a few more minutes sitting still, she pushes herself to her feet. "I'd better go. Ino will be livid if I don't bring home all the liquor she wants for her party, and it's a lot of liquor," she explains, brushing off her pants.

"Another party?" he asks, amused. "And who's invited this time?"

"Gods, who isn't? That's the real question," Sakura mumbles. Then she flashes him a smile before she springs away. "See you tomorrow, Hokage-sama!" trails after her on the wind.

Sakura lands on her balcony, arms full, and slides the door open with her foot. "Pig! I got… the…" She looks around. The apartment's empty, no signs of party decorations, food, or partygoers. "Liquor?"

Ino walks into the living room a minute later, grinning. "Took you long enough, Forehead. What happened?"

"I, uh, ran across a suffering old man. I had to help him out," Sakura says, averting her eyes. "Where is everyone?"

"Right here, Forehead," Ino says, spreading her arms. "When was the last time we had a girl's night? Something for just us?"

She blinks. "…what's all the alcohol for, then?"

"What we don't drink we'll save for the next party," Ino says, reaching for the bottle of wine protruding from the top of the bag. "There's chocolate cake in the fridge and pizza incoming, by the way. I think we've earned those calories, don't you?" Sakura sighs, but sets the bag down. She can't deny Ino this, not now. She's the head of the Yamanaka now, and so far she's refused to see any therapists about her father's death. If a girly night helps her, she'll do it.

By midnight, they're both cheerfully sloshed, just enough to be goofy. "An' — an' you know what?" Ino says, almost laughing too hard to finish. "He was right! I'm never going to be able to smell Gai again without thinking of that stupid art store!"

Sakura doesn't laugh quite as hard as Ino, but the idea of Gai using camphor as a cologne ingredient is amusing. They're slumped against each other, an old chick flick on the TV and half-eaten plates of chocolate cake on either side of the couch. Ino's on her second bottle of wine, but Sakura's on her third. She runs her fingers around the lip of the bottle, biting her lip as she thinks. "Hey, Ino?" she says.

"Mmh?" Ino responds.

"I… you remember how I didn't want to tell you who I went on that mission with?" Ino nods. "I… I want to tell you, but if I do, it has to be a secret, okay?" Ino nods again, turning towards Sakura with a light in her eyes. "I'm serious, Pig. I don't mean this is a secret like, oh haha that's weird. If you tell anyone, my career and theirs has a good chance of going straight down the tubes." Ino blinks, startled by the emphasis. "Got it?"

"Uh, yeah," she mumbles, reaching up and tugging the band loose from her hair. "Big time secret."

Sakura exhales. "I… I talked to shishou about why she partnered me with this person and she explained some stuff to me. I want to see if you can guess who it was, based on her reasons."

That makes Ino wrinkle her nose. "Oh, come on, Forehead. Just spill it!"

She sighs and stands up, setting her wine bottle on the table before turning around and crossing her arms. "It's easier this way, Ino. Please." Her roommate huffs, but nods, settling back into the couch. "So… she said she always picks the mission partners based on the assumption they'll have sex. That means when team are picked for seduction missions, they have to be sexually compatible with each other. That's number one."

Ino laughs at that. "Well, duh. I don't think it'd go too well if you sent someone who was dicks-only with someone who was hooha-only." She raises a finger and holds it in the air. "So that's number one. For you, that rules out… eh, not that many people, I guess. Gay guys. Keep going." She doesn't put her finger down, just watches Sakura.

"I, uh, for number two, it has to be people who already have some kind of emotional bond with each other," she says, scratching nervously at the inside of her forearm.

Another finger flicks up. "Okay, so someone you trust. That makes sense, I guess." She wrinkles her nose a little. "I guess that explains why Shika got sent with me on my first purple mission." Sakura's jaw drops at that. "What? We've known each other forever, and he's pretty good at undercover. It was kind of weird, but it wasn't bad." Ino shakes her head. "That's not the point, though. People you trust…"

Sakura sits on the arm of the couch, waiting for Ino to think through it. "Okay, so that's… basically just the Rookies, right? To, uh, varying degrees." Sakura bites her lip, but doesn't answer one way or the other. "There's not that many people in the Rookies suited for long-terms like that. Shika, Neji, Hinata, Ten, Shino… I guess Sai would be okay, maybe." At that suggestion, Sakura can't help gagging. "Okay, okay, definitely not Sai." Ino thinks for a minute and sighs. "Give me something here, Sakura."

She sighs again. "It… wasn't anyone from our class," she mutters, eyes darting around the room frantically.

At that, Ino perks up. "Genma?"

"…who?" Sakura asks, genuinely not sure for a minute before the name clicks. "Oh. Oh, no. Euch. Not my type."

Ino scowls and sinks farther back into the couch, tapping her two fingers against her chin. "Not a rookie… someone you trust…someone you —" Her eyes suddenly round in shock and shoot to Sakura's face. "Sakura!" she hisses, sitting up straight. "Haruno Sakura, did the Hokage send you on a seduction with Hatake fucking Kakashi?"

"Shhh!" Sakura growls, leaping forward and clapping a hand over her mouth. "Not so loud!"

Ino shoves her away, scowling again. "Relax, Forehead. Half our neighbors are dead." Then her scowl turns into a sly smile. "Sakura. Sakura, you dirty bitch, I can't believe you tapped that before I did! I'm so fucking jealous!"

Her jaw drops. "You — you don't think it's weird?" she stutters.

"Well, yeah, it's pretty weird," Ino says, rolling her eyes. "But it makes sense. Naruto would've blown the mission sky high the first time someone touched you. Sai was a no. Sasuke… well…" she just shrugs. "Especially for your first purple, he makes sense." Something about the word 'first' makes her smirk. "Speaking of 'first'… details, bitch! Was he good? Bad? Mediocre?"

Sakura twists around and grabs the bottle of wine. "I'm going to need this," she mumbles, taking a long drink from the bottle. "None of the above, Pig. It was…" she closes her eyes and thinks about the way he touched her, devoured her, sent her into oblivion. "Not that I have a lot of comparison, but it was fucking phenomenal." She pauses. "Literally."

Ino squeals and claps her hands together. "I knew it! There's no way someone reads that much smut and doesn't pick up a couple things." She opens her mouth, shuts it, and then leaps from the couch. "Hold, hold, hold," she says, stumbling towards her room. Sakura watches her go, mouth pursed in confusion. A minute later, she comes back out with a tattered notebook in hand. "Okay. Kurenai-sensei and Anko gave me this list of things I should look for in a lover like, four years ago. We're — we're goin' to go down the list, okay?"

She thinks about it and then shakes her head. "That'd make it really weird. Can I just… tell you about the mission? If you want to check list it, go for it, but…" she shrugs. Ino just flicks her notebook open and fixes a beady eyed stare on her. "Okay, well, it… kind of started when our target asked me out on a date…"

Ino bites her lip as she scribbles another note on her page. Even just listening to Sakura recount her mission in bare bones has her a little hot under the collar. She can't imagine how it would've been if she'd been there. "I told him after that it was, uh, it was a really good thing he let Hikari take my virginity," Sakura admits, her eyes averted and a blush burning on her cheeks. "Like, the sex with Hikari was just… whatever. It didn't hurt or anything, it mostly just made me eager to get it over with. If I'd had sex with Kakashi first, I would've gone in there gagging for it."

"That… is some good shit, Forehead," Ino mumbles, scanning her list. There's things checked she didn't know men could check. Foreplay? Check. Oral? Check (and not in the usual way). Lube? Check. Multiple orgasms? Super check, except — "You're sure the multiple orgasms thing wasn't like, a really lucky mistake?"

Sakura turns even darker red. "Definitely not a lucky mistake," she mutters.

Ino's jaw drops. "Sakura! Did you —" She doesn't even finish asking before Sakura's hiding her face, and that's a better answer than anything verbal. "Damn. How many times?"

And then Sakura, the lucky bitch, actually has to think about it. "Uh, five times before we got back to Konoha… and one after," she finally mumbles.

"What? When the hell did you have time for that?" Ino demands. "There was a war on!"

"I, uh." Sakura tugs on her ears, a nervous tell adapted from when she had longer hair. "Look, I was about to get sent to Support, and everything was really fucking weird. I just wanted to stop thinking for a bit, and Kakashi had a private tent."

Even tipsy, it doesn't take her long to put together the pieces. "Holy shit, you're the woman the whole camp heard!" Ino splutters, and then the splutter turns into a laugh, and the laugh into helpless wheezing. "Do you know Lee's trying to seduce women on Gai's behalf because of that?" she wheezes out, doubled over from laughing. "Have you seen him trying to seduce women?"

Sakura hides her face in her knees. "Laugh it up, Pig," she grumbles. "Now I actually want to go out and have sex, and I don't know where to start."

Ino finally wheezes out her last laugh and sits back up, wiping tears from her eyes. "Leave it to me, Forehead. There's a few people I know — not Lee — you might get along with. There's actually a girl on rotation through T&I right now… she's almost as smart as you, a real genjutsu type. She's like twenty-one, tall, real blessed in front. Want me to set you up?"

Sakura studies her through narrow eyes, like she's trying to decide if Ino's pulling her leg. "…yeah, go ahead," she says. "It'll be good for me."

Later, he'll wonder if it was purposeful. He's twitchy, a little too on edge from papers and nonsense that Tsunade keeps talking him into, so he heads for his favorite training ground as soon as she looks away. He plans on exercising himself into a coma, maybe working with the ninken — but the ground's already occupied. He lands in a tree at the edge, his ANBU landing behind him almost as silently. Sakura's in the middle of the training ground, sparring with… herself? She's using a sword, something that looks odd and fits her at the same time. Her form's good, if a little too rote. He debates the wisdom of talking to her, and almost turns away, but can't quite manage. Instead, he leaps to the ground and calls out, "Kenjutsu, Sakura-chan?"

Before he blinks, one of the Sakuras just dissipates — the other disappears into a cloud of cherry blossoms and rematerializes, sword pointed at his throat. It only takes her a second to recognize him, though, and drop the sword. "Ah, sorry about that," she says, quirking a smile at him. "I'm working on stuff for—" she glances up at the trees. "Well, for ANBU. We're supposed to be subtle and versatile, and as much fun as it is to singlehandedly rearrange a town, that's not very subtle."

"Mmm," he hums. "Who trained you?"

"Yugao, mostly, but everybody's pitching in," she answers, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Can you tell?"

He doesn't answer. Instead he tilts his head, considers her for a second, and then turns to the trees. "Sword?" Almost immediately, a sheathed ANBU chokuto flies at him and he catches it before turning back towards Sakura. "Care for a real challenge?" he asks, offering her a smug eye crease that he knows she hates.

"You're on, old man. Killing blow, two out of three," she hisses. Then she disappears in a cloud of blossoms again. He doesn't move. He just unsheathes the sword, closes his eyes, and waits. Behind, right-hand side. He spins, catching her blade with his own and throwing her back. Again, he doesn't press the attack. He waits. This time, she goes for a frontal strike… and almost catches him when she turns it into a slice at his left side. That makes him grin and open his eyes.

"Good start, Sakura," he purrs. And then he moves. Surprisingly few of his attacks slip through her guard, and she doesn't stay still long enough to get cornered. Just when he thinks he's about to pin her down and get a killing blow, she'll change something just enough to throw him off. And, in a turn he honestly didn't expect, she gets first 'kill' by pretending to drop her sword, catching it, and pressing the point directly against his heart. It's even at the right angle to slip between the ribs and actually kill him.

"What was that about a good start?" she says, barely out of breath.

"It is a good start," he says. Then he opens the metaphorical gates and attacks like he means it. One of his slices barely misses her, scratching a thin groove into her cheek that starts slowly bleeding. It's the only hit he manages to land until he catches her sword and knocks it away just long enough for him to twist her arm behind her back and press the edge to her throat.

"Nice," she pants, her chest heaving and her chin high. "One for you, one for me." She swallows, and he lets her go with a shove. "Winner takes all." She raises her sword again, green eyes glinting, and they rush at each other.

"You've been — working hard — Sakura-chan," he says, spinning and lunging as he speaks, trying to catch her off guard.

"Maybe you're just getting old, jiji," she jeers at him, leaping over his arm and spinning to take him out from behind.

"Am I?" he counters, tossing the sword to his other hand just in time to catch the blow.

"You tell me," she says, leaping away again and disappearing. He holds still and listens — above. She sails out of the clear blue sky and he catches the blow, but there's enough force behind the swing that he has to support his sword with both hands to keep it from sliding. And then his sword breaks. He leaps backward just in time to miss being cleaved in two, sword cracked near the hilt. He hurls it away and begins dodging, watching for an opening. Dodge, dodge, there — she adjusts her grip and he takes the split second opening to knock it from her hand. He snatches it before it lands and hurls it away, leaving neither of them with an advantage. "You ass!" she snaps, lunging for him with bare fists.

"Hey! I'm not the one who goes around breaking people's swords!" he barks, catching one blow with his palm and turning the other aside an instant later before giving it back just as good. Without chakra, it's a surprisingly even match, both of them moving at inhuman speeds. He catches her with a good kick to the stomach, but she gets him with a plain upper cut that leaves him rubbing his jaw. As the sun begins to slide towards the horizon, the fight eventually turns to close quarters, dirty-tricks fighting. He finally manages to catch one of her hands, like he had earlier, and twist it behind her back. He drops an arm around her neck, ready to call it his win, but she's not. Sakura hurls herself forward, but he's the one who hits the ground first, and he hits hard. She's on him in a second, hand at his throat and knees on his arms.

"Match," she gasps, gulping in air. He stares up at her, pink hair sticking to her face and blood dried on her cheek, and feels something inside him lurch. He's almost successful at pushing it away, and then there's a scent that makes his mouth go dry.

"Sakura," he exhales.

"Kakashi," she says in return, letting go of his neck and shuffling back to free his wrists. "What do I get for winning?" she asks, her grin a little cheeky.

He grits his teeth, trying to banish the images that crowd his mind as he pushes himself up onto his elbows. "Sakura," he hisses between his teeth. "Did this — are you turned on?"

She flushes, but she doesn't hide her face. Instead she tosses her hair haughtily. "And what if I am? I'm allowed to have feelings, aren't I?" His hands clench and unclench as he stares up at her, trying to find the willpower to shove her off of him. He can't. And she notices. A wicked smile curls her lips as she leans forward, nose nearly touching his. "What's the matter, Kakashi-kun?" she mocks him. "It's just — mmff —"

Kakashi's last thread of self control snaps when she leans forward, her breath just faintly sweet in the way that means she's been horny all day. He growls, yanking his mask down and dragging her down into a kiss. He doesn't even spare a thought for his ANBU guards as he wraps an arm around her waist and uses his free hand to make them disappear in a whirl of leaves.

Weasel blinks. He blinks again. Then he turns to Cat and says, "Uh, did you just see —"

"Hatake kissing his former student? Yes," Cat answers, her voice level. "I believe the Godaime assigned them to a seduction mission together."

That makes Weasel wince. "Oh, one of those, huh?" he mumbles. Then he realizes what this means. "Oh, damn it. We're going to have to sit outside and listen to them, aren't we?"

"I've had Hatake duty before," Cat mumbles. "Go get us some supper. We're going to need it."

They reappear in an apartment Sakura doesn't recognize, but she assumes it's his. She doesn't pay attention, too wrapped up in the man devouring her mouth. "Minx," he snarls when he pulls away, eyes dark.

"That's me," she says, wiggling out of his grip and leaping to her feet just before he does, peeling her shirt up as she moves. By the time he's on his feet, she's thrown her shirt and bolted for the bedroom, looking over her shoulder with a grin. She laughs as he chases her, yanking his own shirt off in a hurry. She doesn't make it into the bedroom before he grabs her and slams her against the door, kissing her hard enough to take her breath. "Not going — to tell me — this is a bad idea?" she asks between kisses, his hand sliding up her back to unhook her bra.

"We both know it is," he growls, tugging her bra free and dropping it to the floor. Then he turns the door knob and she stumbles backwards into the room, unwilling to break the kiss before she has to. When she does, it's to kick her shoes into a corner and squirm out of her shorts. He reaches for her as soon as her shorts hit the ground, but she dodges his hand by lunging toward the bed. She lands face first, and he doesn't give her a chance to roll over. Instead, he slaps her ass hard.

"Ow!" It stings, but it sends a jolt through her body at the same time. Once the initial pain fades, the place he slapped just feels… good.

"Shit," he swears from somewhere behind her. "I got carried away — sorry, should've asked—"

She swallows her nerves and pulls herself up onto her knees and elbows before she looks behind her. Kakashi's standing at the end of the bed, looking a little spooked as he babbles, and she has to suppress a laugh. "…Kakashi?" she interrupts him. He stops dead. "Would you — can you spank me again? I… I think I liked it," she asks, her face flushing as she says the words.

His jaw drops and works for a minute, eyes wide. "How are you so fucking hot?" he finally groans, reaching for his waistband and letting his boxers drop. She can't help licking her lips when she sees his cock again, remembering the way it felt inside her. "Lean forward a little more?" he says as he comes towards the the head of the bed. "And, uh, generally speaking, this position's easier on you if you're not actually on your elbows." She hesitates, not quite sure how that'll work, but nonetheless she slides her arms to the sides, pushing the upper half of her body closer to the bed.

The bed creaks and sags behind her, and she tenses for a smack, but nothing happens. Her body starts relaxing… and then Kakashi runs his hand over her crotch, pressing the plain cotton closer to her skin. They were already damp. Him pressing them closer means they pick up more of her moisture, and the cloth hums along the edge of her nerves just enough to make her twitch. She exhales and then she tenses up again as he runs his knuckles over her clit. It's not enough pressure to do anything. "Do something, would you?" she hisses, clutching the sheets beneath her hands.

A second later, her panties are gone, punctuated by a hard inhale. "You shaved," he breathes and then he's sinking one finger inside her. Even just this feels good, so impossibly good — she hasn't touched herself since that night at the camp. And then, just as his fingers sink down to the knuckle inside her, he slaps her ass again. She can't help her yelp or the whine it turns into when the pain fades, but the gentle sting lingers. "Good?" she hears him mumble. She nods, head reeling. "Good." And then the other cheek, harder this time. This time, she feels the way her body gushes in response and she can't help pressing back against his hand.

"More?" she asks, trying in vain to press into his hand. She needs it, she needs something, anything. His moan makes her smirk a little, but it turns into a gasp as he pulls away and leans down to eat her out. At this angle it's different, all the sensations new again as he laps at her, curling his tongue gently around her clit and then sucking. She comes apart with a wail, volume unchecked. When she comes back to herself, Kakashi's thighs are against hers, and he's sinking into her just as slowly as he had the first time. And it's a good thing. It's been two and a half months, so it takes her a moment to adjust to his girth again. Once he's sheathed in her he stops, leaning over and propping himself up with a hand by her head. "Good," she breathes before he can say anything. "You feel so — ghhh —"

There's nothing slow or tender now. His cock hammers in and out of her, every thrust as hard and deep as he can make it. His fingers dig into her hip, almost bruising in their force, and the discomfort helps keep her grounded. Like this, she can roll her hips back like she did before, and she does. It makes his pace stutter and his breath hitch, so she keeps going. It takes a minute for her to figure out his rhythm, but she manages. Every time he thrusts into her, she meets his thrusts and wiggles. "Fuck, Sakura," he groans into her ear. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Maybe," she answers saucily. "Or maybe I just can't get enough of your cock."

At midnight, two ANBU arrive to replace the first set. "Bear, Sparrow," Cat says with a sigh. "Just so you're aware, Scarecrow's got a guest. Don't be alarmed if you hear someone shrieking."

Bear snorts. "Guess it's easy to get some when you're legendary, huh?" she drawls. "Did he let you know when she'd be leaving?"

"He —" The words are punctuated by a yelp and a bang from beneath their feet, followed by a loud moan. "Damn, really?" Weasel says, scowling at the roof. "That's the third time. In four hours. I gotta find out what he does for stamina training."

Sparrow cocks his head to the side. "I was unaware of any current romantic relationships. There are none on file."

Cat starts to say something, but it's drowned out by more sounds from below. "Kakashi — oh, oh, oh fuck, don't stop —" And then the words taper into a wail.

"As I was about to say," Cat mumbles with a sigh. "I don't think this is a, ah, romantic entanglement. I believe the common term these days is 'friends with benefits'."

"Ohhhh," Bear purrs. "Wonder if she'd be down to mess with someone else. I do like me a screamer."

Cat laughs. "Yeah, good luck with that. Watch is yours." With that, they spring away, leaving the two new agents to listen to the symphony of sex beneath their feet.

His eyes aren't even open before guilt rockets through him. He can smell Sakura's shampoo, her hair tickling his face, the way she's wrapped around him. Idiot, he mentally berates himself before opening his eyes and glancing around his room.

It's… well, for lack of a better word, it's wrecked. Their clothes are strewn everywhere. Books litter the floor from where they slammed into his bookcase on their way back from the kitchen. His blanket's across the room. "Shit," he mumbles, closing his eyes again. "Shit."

Sakura stirs when he speaks. It takes her a second to come to, but then she's blinking up at his face with a sleepy smile. "Morning," she mumbles, prying herself away and rolling towards the edge of his bed.

He watches her glance around for her clothing, and she stands up before he speaks. "Sakura…" he trails off, not sure how to say what he needs to say.

She bends over to pick her panties up off the floor and turns around to talk to him as she puts them on, slipping them over dainty feet and tugging them up. "I know, I know. This was a mistake, it's a bad idea, it can't happen again," she says, her voice almost mocking again. "I didn't plan this, okay? And I'm definitely not the one who started it."

"You're not the — you were sitting on top of me while you were aroused!" he snaps, sitting up. "How is that not 'starting it'?"

Sakura snags her bra from outside the doorway before she turns around and scoffs at him. "News flash, asshole, my world does not revolve around your damn dick. There's a reason I was out there alone, okay?" She slides her bra around the right way and uses her feet to pick up her pants before she shakes them out. "I've been worked up all week, so I planned on sparring until I could barely move. Then I was going to go home and rub myself into a masturbatory coma. I was hoping if I was exhausted, I wouldn't immediately jump my date!" she snaps at him, wiggling into the shorts.

He freezes. Blinks. "You… had a date?" he mumbles, more than a little worried he ruined something by kissing her last night.

"I have a date," she corrects him, picking her shoes up out of the corner. "Ino set me up with a girl from T&I. We're going on a picnic this afternoon. That's why I shaved. Just in case."

"…oh," he says weakly, watching her sniff the socks in her shoe and grimace. Then the rest of the information filters in. "Wait, did you say you're going on a date with a girl?"

"Mmhmm," she hums, sitting down on the edge of the bed to slip her feet into her stinky socks. "Pig thinks we'll get along well, and she's —" Halfway through putting her shoes on, she freezes and turns to him, narrowing her eyes. "You're not one of those assholes, are you?"

"…what?" The longer she talks, the more confused he gets.

"One of the ones who thinks it's hot when girls kiss and likes to pester lesbians for threesomes, but can't stand gay guys," she says flatly. "I swear to all that's holy, Kakashi, if you —"

He cuts her off there, familiar with the kind of person she's talking about. "Definitely not," he says quietly. "I just… I didn't know you liked…"

She flushes, and it's the cute and innocent flush again. "Yeah, uh, I kind of figured it out when someone mentioned fighting with a girl she had a crush on," she mumbles. "I'm glad Ino didn't make a big deal about it when I told her."

His eyebrows go higher. "You — huh. Makes sense," he mumbles. Then he decides on a peace offering. "Guess that means I don't have to worry if someone tells you the story about me taking Izumo and Kotetsu home."

Her jaw drops. "I — you —" she stutters.

"Incidentally, I don't recommend that," he tells her, amused by her shock. "I nearly got lockjaw and I limped for days."

Her eyes go huge. "…wow," she squeaks, after glancing at his cock and then back at his face, evidently trying to estimate how lockjaw could've been a threat. Then she sees his clock and shrieks. "I'm going to be late! I'm supposed to meet Yugao in twenty minutes!" With that, she flies up off the bed and into the living room. She returns a second later, struggling into her shirt. "Thanks for the orgasms, bye!"

"Sakura?" he calls out. She pauses, one foot already on the windowsill. He smiles at her. "Good luck on your date."

"Thanks!" Then she's gone.

Sakura bolts into her apartment like the Ten-Tails itself is on her heels, headed for the shower. She doesn't even greet Ino, who's sprawled on the couch with a bowl of cereal. She's already naked and under the showerhead when Ino pokes her head into the bathroom. "Damn, Forehead, what's the rush? And where the hell have you been?"

"Gonna be late for Yugao, can't talk!" she says, teeth chattering. The water's cold and she doesn't have time for it to warm up.

"What? Did she move it up? You usually don't meet her for at least another hour," Ino says, confusion clear in her voice.

Sakura blinks and slows, hands in her hair. "…wait, what time is it?"

"Uh, 7:30?" Ino answers.

Sakura hisses and throws the shower curtain open, leaping out of the cold water regardless of the fact Ino's standing in the bathroom. "That — that ass, I bet he sets his clock forward on purpose!" she seethes, fists by her sides.

"He?" Ino echoes her, and then her gaze skitters down from Sakura's face. "Holy fuck! Like, literally, holy fuck! Is that why you didn't come home last night?"

"Wha — seriously?" Sakura growls, turning towards the mirror. There's two bite marks on her shoulders, a hickey squarely below her ear, and bruises on her hip in the shape of fingers. "What the hell?"

After a second of staring at the marks, she raises a glowing hand to her neck, but Ino's not done questioning. "Did you go out somewhere?" She shakes her head. "Then how did you — oh my god, Forehead! Did you sleep with Kakashi again?" Ino hisses, stepping closer.

"I didn't mean to!" Sakura protests. "I swear, I was just out sparring. Alone. With my shadow clone. Then he showed up and he challenged me to a spar and —" she throws her hands in the air. "This."

Ino cackles. "That's practically straight out of Icha Icha!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Sakura grumbles as she finishes healing her neck. "I mean, I guess this means I won't jump Win-chan's bones, but…" she sighs. "Bah."

After Kakashi showers and dresses for the day, he stares into the mirror for a good minute before he sighs and turns away, kneeling down to summon Pakkun. "Sup, Boss?" the pug says. Then he sniffs the air and his eyes widen. "You mated with Floral Green? Again?"

"Don't," Kakashi says through gritted teeth. "Look, I gave you a bunch of Dad's old stuff. Do you know where you guys put it?" Pakkun nods. "Can you go dig out the chakra sword?"

Pakkun cocks his head. "You already have that, Boss. You losin' your mind?"

He sighs. "Not the tanto. The other one." The silence that follows is heavy. The sword Sakumo took on that mission.

"…okay. You're the boss." Pakkun disappears. When he comes home that night, there's a long chokuto case on his bed. Despite going almost 30 years without use, the blade's still sharp and smooth, no rust in sight. He picks it up and gives it a test swing. Then he cleans the case up, oils the sword, and slips a note inside the case. He evens seals it with a chakra seal, tied to Sakura's chakra, before he summons Pakkun again.

"Can you take this over to Sakura's place?" he asks, holding the case out. Pakkun gives him the deadliest stare a dog can give. "It's not — the sword's an apology, okay?"

Pakkun harrumphs, takes the case, and springs out the window. Kakashi's pretty sure that if the dog had thumbs, he'd read the note.

After that, he doesn't talk to Sakura at all for a while. She waves at him in the streets, or he'll catch a flicker of pink hair in the hospital, but they don't actually speak for three or four months. Not until he lands on his balcony one evening, the sun half-hidden behind the horizon, and finds her sitting beside his balcony door. She looks like little more than a shadow herself, legs pulled to her chest and her head buried in her knees. He blinks, confused and a little worried, but strides closer to unlock the door and greet her. "Yo," he says calmly, expecting a reply. None comes, only the click of the door unlocking. He opens his mouth to speak again, but a familiar scent arrests him. Blood. Not hers, no, there's at least a dozen different sources, and the blood smells dry, but… "Sakura?"

Her head lifts, the movement slow and jerky, and she looks at him. Or rather, Mongoose looks at him. She's still wearing her ANBU mask, the sword trapped between her legs and chest. The sight floods into him and he understands. "Bad one?" he asks, kneeling to pull the sheathed sword out from its resting place. He leans it against the wall and she stands, the movement just as jerky, like she's a puppet on stiff strings.

Kakashi coaxes her into his apartment, onto a kitchen chair, before he removes her mask and sets it aside. Sakura's eyes are empty, her face blank. There's blood dried on her neck, on her ears, even in her hair. She clearly made some effort to wipe it off, but being in the field doesn't lend itself to good hygiene. He retreats to the sink to run a cloth under warm water, though it takes a minute for the water to warm. When he returns to her and squats beside her chair to start gently dabbing at the blood, she speaks. "There were children."

He winces, but keeps dabbing. "Those are the hard ones," he says quietly.

"There — we were supposed to rescue them," she says, swaying a little. "Orphans kept going missing. Someone was taking them and planning to train them to — to be weapons against us, against the villages. They were telling them it was our fault they were orphans. And we saved some of them but —" she chokes on the words.

"Some of the kids already believed it?" he finishes. She nods once. Then she crumbles.

"T-the oldest ones weren't even e-eight," she says, voice shaking. "I t-tried to get our captain to spare them, but…" she slumps forward. "She said no. Anyone w-who attacked us… A-and I f-followed my f-fucking orders."

The way her voice shakes, the way her body's trembling, he expects her to start crying any minute. She doesn't. She inhales sharply, burying her face in her hands. He wants to say something, to pull out some wonderful piece of wisdom that'll make her pain recede, that'll make her feel better about having to cut down literal children. "I'm sorry," he finally mumbles, passing the cloth over her neck.

"I don't… how do you go home after something like this, Kakashi?" she says, looking up at him. Her eyes have finally begun to shine with a little emotion. "How can I walk down the street and see all these children and know that I —" she breaks off, lip trembling.

He tilts her chin up and gently runs the cloth down to her collarbones. "I didn't," he answers when the last crumbles of dry blood are gone, folding the cloth and setting it on the table. "I started distracting myself with anything and everything that I could to keep from looking at people, to keep from thinking about the fact I might have to kill them some day." He exhales, eyes distant as he remembers his most prolific days in ANBU. "And some of them I did end up killing. Powerful rogue-nin, well-protected traitors…" He offers her a wry twist of lips that can't be called a smile. "Who better to deal with them than the best Konoha had?"

Sakura stares at him as he stands. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "I didn't mean to make you think about…" she gestures when words don't come. "But everyone else… the only other person who would know about this kind of thing is Sai, and he's…himself."

He snorts. "Indeed." Kakashi gently runs his fingers through her hair and she leans into his hand. "Come on. It helps to be clean," he says, tugging her from her seat. Some of her clothes are nearly glued to her skin with dried blood, so he helps her tug them loose before he nudges her into the shower. He rinses the clothing in the sink, eye on her through the clear curtain. She doesn't wash, doesn't move, just stands beneath the pouring water. It doesn't take him long to rinse what he can from the clothes and throw them into the washer. She still hasn't moved.

After a minute, he brushes aside the curtain and drops the plug into the bottom of the tub. By now, most of the blood's rinsed away, so he has no compunctions about turning the knob from shower to bath. She looks at him, face still oddly blank save for her eyes, as he strips. The tub's already half full when he steps in behind her, looping his arms around her hips and gently pulling her with him as he sits down in the hot water. She doesn't resist, and barely reacts. After the tub finishes filling, he digs behind his own body products and tugs out a bottle of shampoo he usually uses once a month. Somehow, the sight of the plain green bottle with its tiny flowers shakes something loose inside her. Sakura laughs, the sound cracking at the edges, sharp and painful to listen to. The laugh turns into delirious cackling, and her body convulses as it descends into jagged wheezes.

Kakashi sets the shampoo aside and wraps his arms around her again, tucking her head beneath his chin. "It's okay," he mumbles, lips against her temple. "Let it hurt."

Her panicked breathing slows after a minute. She's still shaking hard enough for him to feel it in his bones. "D-does it ever stop hurting?" she stammers out eventually.

"It never did for me," he answers, gently running wet fingers through her hair. "I always told myself it meant I wasn't a monster. Not yet."

That seems to settle into her, to touch some part of her he can't see. "I guess," she says, her body sagging against his, tension finally leaking away. The gentle slosh of the water is the only thing breaking the silence for a long time. By the time he stands, dragging her up with him, the water's tepid. Her hair and skin are clean, but he knows it won't seem that way for her. It won't for a long time.

Sakura follows him into his bedroom like a ghost. He slips into a pair of pants and offers her one of his warmer shirts. She doesn't take it; he ends up slipping it over her head and helping her slide her arms into the sleeves. "Hungry?" Her only answer is a tiny shake of the head, and then she crawls into his bed and tugs the covers up over her. He goes into the kitchen and snags an onigiri for himself before turning the lights out and crawling into bed next to her.

And then — then she reacts. Her hands skate down his arms, tug his body against hers. She kisses him like he's her last lifeline. He pushes her away. "Sex isn't a healthy coping tactic, Sakura," he murmurs into her ear, holding her hands to keep them from going farther south. "You know that."

"I just want to feel something, Kakashi," she whispers back. "Anything. Please." There's too much desperation in the words for him to say no again.

"What about your date?" he says, letting go of her hands. She scoots closer and throws her leg over his hip.

"Didn't work out well," she answers, running both hands down his chest. "Same for the two after that." And there, in the corners of her voice, he can hear the real Sakura unthawing. It's that, more than anything else, that leads him to dip his head and kiss her. Her kiss was frenzied and frantic. She tries to make this the same way, but he doesn't let her. It stays soft and calm, his mouth solid against hers, like he can pass some of his hard-won peace to her.

He's never had an easy time being kind to someone. Sweet, yes, because he's slept with his share of virgins. Kind? Never. But for her, he tries. She's greedy tonight, soaking in each of his touches like leaves soak in light. They're still on their sides when he reaches for the lube and then slips into her, her breath hot against his neck. She whispers his name, shuddering through a weak orgasm. Tears land on his neck a minute later. He pauses, ready to pull away, but she gasps, "Don't stop. Please."

Kakashi doesn't stop. He coaxes her to her peak with delicate hands, tries to blot out her despair for a moment with gentle pleasure. By the time he shudders and spills himself inside her, her tears on his neck have dried. Though he tries to roll away and grab something to clean up with, she doesn't let him go. When her grip loosens, he brushes another soft kiss on her forehead. "Good?" he murmurs, pushing himself up onto one elbow and looking down at her.

She looks more like herself now, her eyes red with emotion and cheeks flushed with pleasure, her mouth trembling softly. "As good as I can be," she replies, her lips stuttering into something like a smile. Kakashi doesn't feel bad about leaving the bed, then, and going into the bathroom to find a washcloth. He finds it, dampens it — and turns around to find her perched on the toilet, a ghost of a grin playing around her lips.

"Helps prevent stuff, I know," he says with a sigh. But he's glad to see her coming back into her body. He wipes himself down and then abandons the washcloth before going straight back to his bed. She comes back a minute later, still wearing his shirt, and curls up next to him.

Much though she doesn't want to admit it, it's a relief to wake up next to Kakashi. She's had two one-night stands since the last time she and Kakashi had sex. They were both… not terribly impressive partners, and one of them woke her up the next morning by drooling on her. Kakashi, as a rule, doesn't try to pressure her into more sex the next morning. Rather, she's usually the one who wakes up and pushes for sex.

She scrambles eggs for him as a thank you. They don't see each other again after that for two weeks. Then she gets sent on another ANBU mission, one that requires far less emotional distance. This one is to track and kill a human trafficker before helping his 'cargo' escape. This time, he finds her on his balcony with a savage grin on her face despite the blood still staining her clothes. He shares his udon and listens as she tells him about the mission, about how good it felt to cut down the scum and all his men. There's no sex this time, nothing more physical than a hug. She doesn't need his help recovering from this mission, but it's nice to share the emotions with someone. He'll be the Hokage soon, privy to all these tiny details, and he understands ANBU.

Another mission, and another, and she learns how to handle the emotions a little better. The visits to Kakashi's apartment become less frequent, though she still sees him when she's part of his guard detail. They stop altogether for a little while when she meets Kikyo, because oh, Kikyo.

She meets her on an ANBU mission. The other woman's experienced, beautiful, and lethal. She knows it, too. Her confidence radiates like sunlight, and when Sakura finally gives in to temptation, her kisses are like tiny pieces of heaven. They barely make it back to the village to turn in their report before they tumble into bed. Everywhere their skin touches, she burns. Kikyo doesn't care about her lack of experience. She reduces Sakura to a whimpering, wailing mess — and then she shows Sakura how to reduce her to the same kind of mess. Kikyo intoxicates her.

After almost three weeks, where they seek each other out every night… she realizes that she fascinates Kikyo in the same way. "Listen, Sakura…" she says from where she's curled around her. Sakura tenses up, sure she knows what's coming. "I don't do long-term things, as a rule. But I — you — I've taken soldier pills that leave me less jittery than you do. Would you — would you be okay having a girlfriend?"

Sakura's jaw drops. "What?"

Kikyo flushes and pulls away a little so that she can avert her eyes. "I like you. More than I normally like people."

"You just said you don't do long-term relationships," Sakura repeats, staring at the other woman. "Why… what makes you like me? My forehead's huge, my tits aren't, I ramble about medical nonsense constantly —"

"You're beautiful, and every inch of your body makes me want to touch it," she interrupts again. Then she bites her (beautiful, velvety, so fucking distracting) lips and says slowly, "If… if you're not interested in dating, that's okay."

"No!" Sakura blurts, and Kikyo's face falls. She realizes what that sounded like and gasps. "I — that's not what I meant! I'd love to date you, that's what I meant, I don't want you to think I don't like you!" Kikyo's grin makes her look like an angel as she swoops in to kiss Sakura.

People's reactions to their relationship run a wide gamut, not because of who Kikyo is, but because of who Sakura is. Of course, Ino's supportive and sweet about it. "Nice," is all she says, mouth curling into a smile. "Now spill, Forehead. I heard lesbians —"

"I swear on all you love, Pig, if you're about to ask which one of us tops, I will see how far I can throw you," Sakura spits. Ino just cackles.

Sai, as always, is more of a non-reaction. He blinks at her and tilts his head for a second. "Interesting," he says. There's a short pause, and then he says, "Were you so traumatized by your childhood love for the Uchiha that you sought the company of women?"

"Was I —" Her first instinct's to wallop him. Then she realizes there will be other people in Konoha who think the same thing, so she drops her fist and sighs. "No, Sai. As traumatizing as 'my childhood love' was, I'm fine on that part."

He nods, and then his eyes gleam with something she'd call lust in someone else, but she knows what it means on him. "Do you think Inuzuka-san would object to me drawing her?"

Though she tries to track Naruto down and tell him, he proves surprisingly slippery for someone who still wears orange far too often. It feels like he's constantly with the toads or out on a diplomatic mission (usually to Suna with Shikamaru). She finally manages to drag him to Ichiraku an entire month after she starts dating Kikyo. He's halfway through his third bowl of ramen when she sets her chopsticks down and says, "Naruto." He looks up at her, noodles trailing from his full mouth, and she laughs. "I, uh, there's something I want to tell you."

He slurps his mouthful down and, in a shocking display of how being with Hinata's changed him, uses a napkin to wipe his mouth. "What's up, Sakura-chan?" he says, leaning forward. Then his face darkens a little. "This isn't about that bastard, right?"

"Uh, no, and also no," she says. "I… I started dating someone, actually."

At that, Naruto lights up. That is not what she expected. "Nice, Sakura-chan! Do I know him?"

Sakura can't help her wince. "I, uh, don't think you've met. And —" Then she feels Kikyo's chakra approaching, calm and steady, and she knows how to break it to him.

Kikyo slides into the seat beside her a second later. "Hey," is all she says, glancing at Naruto. You tell him yet? They'd arranged this, that she would tell Naruto and Kikyo would come in a bit late. She hadn't planned on stalling this much.

"Hi, honey," she says. Then she leans up and kisses her girlfriend. For a second, everything disappears — it always does when she kisses Kikyo. She pulls away from her and looks at Naruto to find him stunned, eyes as large as his empty ramen bowls. He looks like he can't decide whether to drool or to have a heart attack.

The normal bustle of Ichiraku disappears a second later, drowned out by Naruto leaping to his feet and yelling at the top of his lungs. "EHHHH? SAKURA'S KISSING A GIRL?!"

"Yes, Naruto," she answers, hiding a smile behind her hand. "We're dating."

He gapes at her, mouth opening and shutting like a colossal blonde fish. "But — but you liked Sasuke! He's not a girl! ...right?"

Sakura sighs, her shoulders drooping a little. "It is possible to like girls and boys, Naruto." He blinks at her, clearly thinking about that. She can't help smirking a bit as she adds, "I mean, have you seen girls? Can you blame me?"

That filters through after a minute and he sits back down, looking contemplative instead of confused. "Ne, Sakura-chan, does this mean you get to share clothes?"

Kakashi's strolling down the street towards his favorite takoyaki stall, enjoying the weather, when he catches a glimpse of pink hair just inside Ichiraku. He half-turns, thinking to go in and greet her, but someone beats him to it. A dark-haired girl slides into the seat beside Sakura, and Sakura turns her face up, greeting the other woman with a kiss. Something in him winces, but he shoves it away and continues down the street. Behind him, he hears an explosion of noise and almost turns back. Then he recognizes Naruto's shouting and knows he doesn't need to bother.

Even preparing to be Hokage, before Tsunade actually hands over the hat, is exhausting. The night before his appointment, Kurenai almost drags him out of his apartment. "Come on, Kakashi!" she huffs after twenty minutes of trying to convince him to come to the bar. "Seriously, this celebration's for you! Everyone's going to be there!"

He gives her a level stare. "And why should I care about 'everyone'?"

"Oh, I don't know, because they're your friends? Genma, Raidou, Tenzo — hell, we rigged up a special seat in the Kunai just for Gai! If nothing else, you can sit with Sakura-chan and her girlfriend and laugh at Naruto and Hinata!"

That catches his attention, even if it shouldn't. "Sakura has a girlfriend?"

Kurenai raises an eyebrow. "Yeah. Where've you been? Hell, they met in ANBU, so you probably know her better than Sakura. It's Inuzuka Kikyo." He has to dig for the mental image to go with the name, but when he pulls it up he's a little startled. Kikyo's 26 to Sakura's 20, and one of the go-to women for normal seduction missions. He hadn't thought she was Sakura's type.

"Huh," is all he says. Then he realizes… "How do you know they met in ANBU?"

Kurenai scowls at him. "Who the hell do you think teaches genjutsu to new recruits? We're pretty damn short on Uchiha."

"Aa. Right." He lets Kurenai badger him for a little longer, but he's already made up his mind. He wants to see if this girl's good enough to Sakura. "Fine, fine," he sighs a few minutes later. "Does a Hokage still have to pay for drinks?"

As it turns out, he doesn't. That means he's already two drinks deep when Sakura comes in, hand-in-hand with Kikyo. They don't look bad together. Kikyo's curvier than Ino, and she keeps the dark waves of her hair trimmed close to her head. Together with the pale almost-violet blue of her eyes, Kikyo's stunning. They stop at the bar, first, and then Sakura scans the room while she sips. Her eyes light up and she makes a beeline when she sees him. "You're actually here?" she exclaims in delight. "I didn't think there was any way they'd get you here without drugging you!"

"Maa, well, free drinks helps." He smiles at her and she huffs before realizing — "OH! Introductions! Kiki, this is Hatake Kakashi, duh. Kakashi, this is Inuzuka Kikyo, my girlfriend!"

His smile fades a little, but he doesn't let them see that. "Nice to see you again… 'Kiki'?"

Sakura flushes. "Oh, shut up, it's a cute nickname!" she snaps at him.

"Likewise, Hatake," Kikyo purrs, winking at him.

That's when Naruto sees Sakura. "HEY! Sakura-chan! Get over here! Eyebrows says you can't beat him in arm wrestling!"

"He WHAT?" Sakura shouts, spinning and stalking towards Naruto's table. "I'll show him…!"

He watches her go, that strange thing tugging at his heart again. He drowns it by ordering another beer, and another, and another. At some point, Sakura waves goodbye as she almost carries a drunken Kikyo out of the bar. Kikyo's clearly an amorous drunk, judging by the way she's nuzzling Sakura's neck and tweaking her ears. There's a familiar pink to Sakura's cheeks as she leaves, and he forces his thoughts away. He switches to sake. A red-headed woman sits next to him, hitting on him brazenly, and he seizes the chance.

An hour later, as he lies next to Sena and drifts off to sleep, his last thought is doesn't smell right. He wakes up, face buried in red hair… and the thought of morning sex repulses him. He rolls over and stares at the ceiling, trying to figure out why. It's not until his thoughts drift to last night, seeing the flush in Sakura's cheeks, that his dick deigns to respond at all. And it's not at the thought of her curled up with Kikyo. "No," he mumbles to himself. But then he closes his eyes, and all he can see is how Sakura looked wrapped around him, snoring gently.

He glances over. Sena hasn't moved. Hopefully, she's not awake yet. He flickers into the hall and paces, trying to think about anything, anyone other than Sakura. He can't. His thoughts flicker to their time in Sugawara, how she brought home flowers and he cooked, and there's something warm in his chest at the thought of that. "No, no, no," he groans, running his hands through his hair. "I'll just — I'll shower, and this will stop," he mutters. "It has to stop." But standing in the shower brings him back to when he helped her wash, after Hikari, and —

Sena creeps up on him a few minutes later, standing in the shower and thumping his head against the wall. "No, no, no," he keeps mumbling to himself. "Anyone but her. Not her. No, no, no…"

She chuckles and presses herself to his back, draping an arm over his shoulder. "Ah, I recognize that refrain," she says, her voice oddly merry. "It sounds just like when I realized I was in love with my best friend."

He pauses and glances back at her. "…did it help?"

She snorts. "No. And he's definitely not an option, either. Marriage is next week. Yours?"

"She's… off limits," he grumbles. "Her girlfriend's ANBU, and that's the smallest of the problems…"

Sena winces. "Unrequited love — the worst fucking thing ever," she says, her merriment gone. "I was going to shower and go, but…" She pauses and sighs. "There's no way you're not going to see her today. All of Konoha's coming to your inauguration." He nods. "I can stick around if you'd like? I'm told I'm good emotional support."

At that, he turns and blinks at her. "Why?"

She offers him a smile he recognizes. It's like his own, cracked and cynical. "There's a lot of happy endings in this village right now, and then there's people like us. We don't get happy endings because we make sure other people get theirs. Might as well stick together."

When the ceremony's over, Naruto and Sakura linger until Kakashi's done greeting everyone else. It proves surprisingly easy to keep Naruto there. He knows everyone, and everyone knows him, which means he jumps from one conversation to another. The last of the people leave and they finally approach their new Hokage.

"Don't get comfortable, Kaka-sensei!" Naruto shouts as a greeting, leaping forward and jabbing his finger into Kakashi's chest. "Before you know it, I'm going to be wearing that hat!"

"Aa, if you want it now…" He moves to take it off. Naruto backpedals so hard Sakura almost cackles.

"What?! Are you nuts? Baa-chan'd kill me, 'cause I still got a whole lotta stuff to learn! No way!" he says, hands in the air and a look of genuine fear flickering across his face for a second. "Besides, I gotta convince old man Hyuuga to let Hinata-chan marry me first. Only old weirdos are Hokage without being married." At that, Kakashi levels such an intense glare at Naruto that he blanches. "Uh, anyway, congratulations and stuff! GottagofindHinatabye!"

He takes off, leaving behind a cloud of dust and a Sakura overcome with her giggles. "Ne, I don't think he's ever going to change," she finally manages to say, stepping closer to Kakashi and smiling up at him. There's a red-head two steps behind him, to his left, and she greets her with a soft smile before turning back to Kakashi. "Is this your girlfriend?"

He shakes his head and tries to stuff his hands into non-existent pockets. "A friend, who's a girl, yes, a girlfriend, no. Sena, this is Haruno Sakura. Sakura, this is Higurashi Sena."

Sakura offers the other woman a short bow, and the woman bows back to her. "Speaking of girlfriends — aren't you glad Naruto finally figured out Hinata's in love with him? I think she'll be really good for him." He nods, eyes upturning in his squint-smile, and her heart squeezes a little. She can tell his fake smiles apart from his real ones now, and this one's real. It makes her happy that Kakashi's happy Naruto's happy, and she blames her next words on her fuzzy brain. "Am I allowed to give you a hug, or —"

He hums and glances around. The only other people remaining are his guards. He warns her sternly, "No chakra allowed," and then he opens his arms. She laughs a little and steps forward, wrapping her arms around his waist. She's short enough that hugging him buries her face in his chest, and she can't bring herself to distance herself. He smells like everything she associates with home — something that sinks down inside her and warms her soul. His arms drag her in and a little closer and, for a second, she thinks she feels him nuzzling the side of her head.

She leans up eventually and murmurs, "Congratulations, Kakashi. You're going to do great." And then, slowly, regretfully, she peels herself away.

"Thanks," he says, once again trying to shove his hands into non-existent pockets. "You'd probably better go look for Naruto before he says something… inadvisable… to Hyuuga-sama."

She groans. "Ugh, like he could make it worse?" she mumbles, but waves goodbye as she lopes away. She glances over her shoulder as she exits the room. Higurashi-san's smiling up at Kakashi like she knows a secret, and his body language is almost… shy. Sakura pointedly ignores the pang that hits her and mumbles, "Not a girlfriend, my ass."

Two and a half weeks after Kakashi's inauguration, Sakura's sitting on her couch, listening to Ino rant in between bites of soba. "And then he did it again today, with a different dog! I'm just sitting there, talking to Shika, and this huge grey thing walks up to him and tells him the Hokage needs to see him!"

Sakura muffles a snort in her hand. It's been a while since she's seen Kakashi's ninken, aside from Pakkun, but she's pretty sure Ino's talking about Bull. "I mean, at least you know the message isn't fake?" she offers weakly when Ino takes another huge bite.

"It's still weird!" Ino grouses. "Who does that? What kind of person's just going to send out talking dogs to deliver…messa…shit!" Near the end of her sentence, Ino's words start trailing off, and then she shoots to her feet. "Shit, shit, shit!" she shouts, bolting for her room.

Sakura leaps to her feet and follows, not sure if something's gone wrong. "Ino? Is everything okay?" she asks, poking her head into Ino's room. Her roommate's sprawled on the floor, digging frantically under her bed.

"No — yes — ugh, I'm the wooorst," Ino wails. Then she starts talking a mile a minute as she yanks stuff out. "Okay, so you remember the day you had that date with Win and you got called in when you got home because some guy needed his entire ribcage reconstructed?"

"…yeah?" Sakura answers, leaning against the doorframe and watching Ino.

"Like literally twenty minutes after you left, that tiny dog of Kakashi's showed up with a sealed case for you. He said he didn't want to just leave it on your bed, cause it was valuable, so I took it and then I was going to give it to you but I got called in to T&I so I hid it under my bed and then Shika dragged me to Suna and then I guess— aha!" She finally lays hands on what she's looking for and wiggles backwards, tugging it after her.

"…a sword case?" Sakura mumbles as the item comes into view. "Why would he have sent me a sword case?"

"Uh, it probably has a sword inside it, Forehead," Ino says, dusting off her front before she shoves the case towards Sakura. "Open it, bitch, I wanna see!"

Sakura scowls at her, but kneels on the floor beside the case and inspects the seal. Kakashi's the only person she knows who can do chakra seals like this, without the person whose chakra can unlock them. She hesitates a little before she charges the seal, just in case it's a prank, but it dissolves without any fuss. Then she reaches for the sides and lifts the lid. "Oh!" she gasps, eyes wide. "It's beautiful!" It's a chokuto, the blade perfectly smooth, no flecks or impurities anywhere on the metal.

"I don't know shit about swords, but that's nice," Ino says, letting out a low whistle. Sakura nods and reaches into the case, carefully lifting the sword to inspect it closer. As she does, something flutters down from the handle. "Hey! Is that a note?" Sakura blinks and looks down. Indeed, there's a tiny square of paper squarely in the middle of the case. Ino reaches for it, eyes glittering, but Sakura grabs it first.

Heard you had a sword go missing.

p.s. Sorry.

It's signed with a henohenomoheji, and she can't help her lopsided grin. "Ass," she grumbles, handing the note to Ino and turning the sword again. It's lightweight, even for a chokuto, so she gives it a test flick — and scares herself when traces of white light trail the blade.

"Uh, again with the not knowing about swords, but that's not a normal sword thing… right?" Ino asks, leaning forward. Sakura's just staring at the sword, mouth open.

"Holy shit, Ino," she whispers, her eyes wide. "Ino, this was his dad's sword."

Ino's expression mirrors hers. "His — holy shit, Forehead!" She blinks rapidly, glancing between the note and the sword. "What the hell kind of kinky shit did you do for him to send you this? I've sucked a man's brains out before and never gotten a gift like that!"

Sakura just shrugs, hopelessly confused. "I — I have no idea! I've done wilder stuff with Kikyo, honestly, just…" She bites her lips. "I can't let him give me this. It's his dad's." With that, she's on her feet, darting into her room to put on clothes. It only takes a second before she's dancing back out, stuffing her arms into the sleeves of her jacket. She glances at the case, at the sword, and then just springs out of the window with the sword in hand.

Kakashi wishes he had energy left to go out and do something, but he's exhausted. Sitting at a desk all day, dealing with politics and paperwork, has left him utterly drained. He doesn't even have enough energy to grab something to drink. As he digs into his pocket for Icha Icha, he sighs —

and adrenaline promptly floods him a second later. Someone leaps onto his balcony with a sword in hand, someone not ANBU, someone — someone with pink hair. "Sakura," he says, relaxing back into his chair. "Everything okay?"

"I forgot they moved you and scared the dickens out of the person who took your old apartment," she grumbles, stomping across the balcony to stand next to him. "And then I want to the Hokage residence. Of course you'd refuse them and get something else. But that's not the point! Kakashi, what the fuck?"

He blinks up at her slowly. She sighs and almost shoves the sword in her hand at him. "Aa," he murmurs. "I wondered why you'd accepted it so easily."

"Only just now opened it 'cause pigs have short memories," she mutters. "Seriously, Kakashi, you can't give me this. It's your father's sword, I'm sure it's a family heirloom —"

"It's been locked away for thirty years because I hate it, Sakura," he says quietly, pushing her hand down so that the sword's not in his line of sight. "All it reminds me of are things I'd rather forget."

"That's still — I don't want to steal your stuff! And I don't need a sword this nice!" she protests.

"Mmm, you never know when you're in ANBU," he hums. "And it's a gift." She opens her mouth again, but he reaches out and squeezes her arm gently. "Please, Sakura. I don't want to go to any more funerals."

She huffs, but her shoulders sag and he knows she'll keep it. "…is it always white light, or does it depends on the chakra you put into it?" she asks quietly.

…he's never thought of that before. "Good question," he says. "Try it and see."

She scowls at him, but lifts the sword and focuses. After a few seconds, he sees a sheen imbue the blade — and the light that trails her swipe is a soft green. "That's neat. That's really neat," she mumbles. "Thank you, Kakashi. I… thank you."

Then she springs away without a goodbye, leaving the charge of her chakra lingering in the air. He stares after her long after she's gone, until the sun sets and his guards change out. Then he feels one of them approach his chair and stand to the left. They don't say anything for a minute. "Hokage-sama."

"Cat-san," he replies.

"Permission to speak freely —"

"Granted."

"— as Kikyo, not Cat."

"…granted." She walks closer and squats next to the chair, taking off her mask and hanging it on her belt. "Sir, I know you know how unlikely a romantic relationship is between you and Sakura —"

"Mm," he grunts. She just keeps talking.

"— but to be honest, I think you have a better shot at it than I do." He jolts, startled, because that makes no sense. She sees the jump and blinks at him. "With all due respect, sir, everyone from team seven is just… fucking monstrous. Everyone ignores Sakura because she's quiet, and she's not a jinchuuriki, or the last Uchiha, or even anything like you. But quiet monsters are still monsters. Nobody forgets how powerful the wind is just because it's silent." She shakes her head. "Sometimes, she's just my girlfriend, just another ANBU. Then she does something completely fucking impossible as easy as brushing her teeth, and… I can't keep up with her. One time, she reconstructed an entire poison from the residue it left on a senbon. Then she improved it, and she did it all in two fucking days." Kikyo sighs and goes silent for a second. "The stuff she says and does, some of it seems so far-fetched, and then she's right. She's right so often it gives me chills."

Kakashi's trying to parse this, to fit it in with who he knows Sakura to be. It doesn't not fit, but how has he never seen —? And then he remembers their mission to Sugawara. "…is diagnosing drugs on sight common, or is that another Sakura thing?" he wonders out loud. He never asked Sakura how she identified whatever it was Hikari tried to drug them with. It wasn't necessary, and he mostly assumed she'd tasted it and then burned it out of her body. But she hadn't tasted his, and she still knew how strong the dose was.

"I — I don't think even Tsunade-sama could do that, sir," Kikyo says, her voice a little awed. But then she shakes her head and looks sideways at him. "I know I'm not going to last. She needs someone who'll challenge her and keep her sharp. I can't do that when she deconstructs every ninjutsu I show her and then reconstructs it better." She swallows. "I'd have to be a genius to do that, and I'm not. I love her, and I enjoy spending time with her, but I know I'm not her long haul. Maybe you could be." After she delivers that parting shot, she's off like a spring.

After a little longer, he goes to bed and stares at the ceiling instead of the sunset. How well do I know this Sakura?

For once, she unashamedly rips off Ino and admits it. It happens because of this: Kakashi's gift to her makes her feel guilty. She hasn't exactly been avoiding him, per se, but… Kikyo's there. Sakura can't help but be draw to her like a moth to a flame, though Kikyo's far kinder than any flame.

So she pesters Ino constantly while her roommate and best friend packs to move back home. By the end of the week, she knows all the best places in town to have small group dinners for people that eat more than some towns. She also knows all the best ways to get lazy people to show up, courtesy of Ino's many years chasing Shikamaru around.

And then she sets about arranging Team Kakashi's first team dinner. Yamato and Sai are easy to corral into it, unsurprisingly. All she has to do is ask. Naruto declines at first, much to her surprise, saying he wants to go out with Hinata that night. "Bring her!" she says with a grin. Then she has to talk him into going somewhere that doesn't serve meat or ramen.

Inviting Kakashi makes her nervous. He'll either listen to her, nod, and never show, or he'll be so egregiously late that the restaurant won't want to serve him. That's why she invades his office at the end of the work day and just drags him to the restaurant. "Ah, Sakura-chan, if you wanted a date —"

She smacks him on one side of the head. "It's a new tradition, you asshole," she growls. "And, incidentally, I don't make a habit of bringing Naruto on dates. I can hear him from here, so I know you can." She nods politely to the hostess (who looks a little worried for her Hokage) as she hauls him inside and heads for the table she reserved.

"There you are, my Sa-koi-ra," Kikyo sings out as she approaches the table. Sakura tries not to flush at the familiar address, but it's impossible. Every time Kikyo uses the nickname, it's so sweet and fond that it makes her heart beat faster. "Hokage-sama, you're looking a little… rumpled."

Finally, finally, Sakura lets go of his jacket and lets him stand to his feet. "Good evening, Kikyo-san," he greets the girl, careful to keep his smile very neutral. He struggles a little when Sakura steps forward and pulls Kikyo down into a greeting kiss. "What's this, then?"

"We're having Team Kakashi dinners!" Sakura says, turning toward him with a grin. "This way, we get to talk to each other outside of missions!"

"If I remember correctly, this is one of many team-building strategies," Sai says from his seat on the far side of the table. "It is noted as being rather ineffective if the participants of the dinner are not already comfortable with each other." For a second, there's a devilish gleam in Sai's eye that he barely catches. "For instance, if I was not comfortable enough with Ugly to tell her how ugly she was, this would be a very bad idea."

Kakashi coughs and slides into his seat. "Aa, I think we're mostly pretty comfortable with each other. Hinata-chan's a little new, and so is Kiki —"

"Hey, that's my pet name!" Sakura snaps, smacking him on the arm before she and Kikyo sit down. "But yes. I'm pretty sure all of us have seen each other naked at least once, and that does great things for not being awkward."

Kikyo snorts into her water and nearly spews it out her nose. "Holy shit, honey," she wheezes, thumping her chest. "That's a hell of an icebreaker."

Kakashi's heart twitches inside his chest when Sakura offers Kikyo a wry grin. "Sweetie, that wasn't even the wildest thing that we've ever started a conversation off with." She pauses. "I'm pretty sure that award still goes to the time Sai showed a little while ago to spar with us and asked 'what proportions and properties you find most pleasing in genitalia'."

Naruto fairly crows with laughter. "Holy shit, I almost forgot about that! And he wanted details!" He manages to stop laughing long enough to paste on a faux-serious face and drones, "In order to appeal to as many people as possible, I would like to find out what personal presentations are the most common."

Sai sniffs, almost offended, but there's a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth. "Being asked to illustrate such a popular series of novels is an honor. I wanted not only to bring it justice, but to excel in making beautiful, desirable art."

"Wait, wait, what?" Sakura says, leaning forward and glowering at Sai. "Novels? What the hell are you illustrating?" Then it strikes her. She slides down in her seat and groans. "Please don't tell me —"

"It's Icha Icha!" Naruto chirps. "The old pervert left me the rights, so I'm writing more of 'em, and I told the publishers I knew an artist, and they were really interested in Sai's art!" His grin's just a touch too wide to be innocent.

"Aa, the new art style is very nice," Kakashi chirps, cheek resting on one hand. "Sai's research paid off. He's very good at —" she glowers at him over the edge of the table and he course-corrects just slightly. "Portraying the way people…. interact."

"Hokage-sama very kindly let me read much of his collection of pornographic material for reference," Sai says, his smile the same tenor as Naruto's — better known as a 'shit-eating grin'. "While I was academically aware of many of the sexual habits practiced by the general population, I had not seen them in reality. It has been very educational."

Yamato snorts. "Is that why I've heard a half-dozen civilian girls talking about you? Practicing your new knowledge?"

"First-hand experience is best, yes," Sai says. "I believe observing people in their most private moments makes me better able to reflect the necessary sensuality."

Kakashi hums, and opens his mouth, but Hinata interrupts, her face cherry red. "C-can we p-please stop talking about Hokage-sama's p-p-porn?!"

Sadly, the team dinner idea doesn't stick. Much. Instead, she ends up dropping by Kakashi's apartment every so often, hauling whoever's in town with her. Sometimes it doesn't happen for a three months, and sometimes it'll happen twice in a week. The people constantly rotate; Naruto's the one most consistently absent, surprisingly. Everyone wants to meet the hero. Hinata and Kikyo end up being something close to fixtures.

One evening, she's sitting around Kakashi's table with Yamato, Kakashi, Hinata, and Kikyo, discussing how to develop different chakra natures, when something strikes her. Her mother and father are divorced now, split over their difference of opinion about Sakura remaining a ninja. He wanted her to stop, and neither Sakura nor her mother wanted that. She's not sure where her father is now, but she knows her mother's living in the outskirts of the civilian district. Other than that, she hasn't seen any of the other Harunos in years. The people sitting at this table right now, the ones she's spilled blood with, are closer to family than the blood she was born from.

The thought chases her through the night, enough so that Kikyo notices. "What's the matter, sweetie?" she asks when they're curled up in bed, Sakura's head on her shoulder. She opens her mouth to reply, but — "And don't say it's nothing. You've been weird for three or four hours now."

She sighs and tries to find a way to explain it. "I just… I realized earlier that my team is more like my family than family, and… I don't know. I guess I feel guilty. I haven't seen my mom in forever, and my dad's not my favorite person."

Kikyo sighs and gently strokes her hair. "Have I ever told you about my parents?" She shakes her head no. A long, long pause, and then she starts. "Obviously, I'm an Inuzuka. Most of the time, the clan's matriarchal. Marriages happen, but they're not required. If you get pregnant, or if you get someone pregnant, nobody cares unless the other parent's someone with a troublesome bloodline. Some kekkai genkai interfere with the way the Inuzuka traits manifest. "

She stops for a minute, clearly a little on edge. Sakura takes the opportunity to ask, "Is… Does this have to do with why you don't have a dog and the markings?"

"Yeah," Kikyo says. "My mother was an Inuzuka. But my father… my father was a Branch Hyuuga." Sakura hisses through her teeth, understanding what happened at the same time as she realizes why Kikyo's eyes are so pale. They've always been just a few shades darker than the Hyuuga's famous eyes, though Kikyo has pupils. "Yeah. Although the seal meant the full kekkei genkai couldn't be transferred, it interfered with the Inuzuka traits just enough. I couldn't bond an animal, and you don't get the markings until you've bonded. So… here I am." Sakura feels Kikyo brush the hair away from her forehead and drop a kiss there. "I'm sure you can imagine how I felt about that growing up, and how some of the others treated me."

"I'll kick their asses. Every single one of them," Sakura mumbles. Kikyo's body vibrates beneath her cheek with laughter and she can't help smiling against her shoulder. "You know I can do it."

"That's not the point, sweetie," Kikyo giggles. Then her voice sobers. "Blood doesn't mean anything unless you want it to, my Sa-koi-ra. It's the bonds you make that matter. Maybe you can rebuild that bond with your mother. Maybe you can't. Either way, you already know everyone on your team has your back." Her long fingers curl under Sakura's chin and pull her up so that she's staring into Kikyo's gentle, pale eyes. "And I'll always have your back," she promises in a tiny, sweet whisper before kissing her.

Somehow, watching Sakura and Kikyo together helps him as much as it hurts him. Regardless of what Kikyo said to him on the roof, the two women are happy together. He's never seen Sakura smile so often or so sweetly, and they compliment each other well. Where Sakura is sharp, Kikyo is soft, and vice versa.

But there are thin cracks. When Tsunade or Shizune join for the random team dinners, he notices Kikyo almost recedes into the background. It's not uncommon for them to descend into bickering about this idea, or that jutsu, or any of a half dozen other things that are terribly specialized. While he's not a med-nin himself, he is a genius, and he often finds himself drawn into the discussions. Though Kikyo's intelligent, she doesn't have the background to participate.

He notices, too, that she bites her tongue often when certain topics come up. Discussion of the Uchiha family, or of Sasuke, make her speak less. Talking about Naruto's mother and father makes her eyes spark with anger, despite her silence. Somehow, though, talking about the Kyuubi doesn't draw her ire in the same way.

They all find out why not long before Sasuke leaves the village. Kakashi's pardoned him, but he's lingering, trying to see if he can live in the village. For once, most of the team is there. The only person missing is Tenzo, who's working on an ANBU mission. Dinner's over and they've moved to Kakashi's living room and its half-dozen cushy chairs and couch. Sakura's half-asleep on Kikyo's shoulder. Kakashi and Sasuke both have their own chairs, as does Sai, though he's a little more separated from the group so that he can draw while the others talk. Hinata's sitting on Sakura's other side, and Naruto… well, he's never been good at sitting still. He's pacing and talking about 'stuffy Hyuuga stuff' and his eventual marriage to Hinata.

"—and he keeps sayin' we gotta get the seal checked up an' stuff if Hina-chan gets pregnant, but the only person who really understood that stuff was the old pervert. I know enough, but I don't see why we gotta check on it, it's not like Kurama's contagious —" Naruto rambles.

Kikyo cuts in then, her voice icier than he's ever heard it. "Because your mother and father were selfish idiots, and Hyuuga-sama wants to make sure this doesn't harm Konoha again."

Kakashi's head snaps towards her like he's been slapped, and he might as well have been. Naruto's pacing stops and his head turns a half second later, a tendril of orange chakra curling across his face. "What did you just call my mom and dad?" he snarls, and there's no Kyuubi behind his voice. Every bit of that malice is his own. Sakura breaks out of her doze as Naruto speaks and stares between him and her girlfriend, too startled to speak.

Kikyo gulps, but lifts her chin and meets his eyes. "I said they were selfish idiots," she bites out.

"You're alive today because they saved you when Kurama broke out, you asshole!" Naruto shouts.

She shouts back at him, "And they're the fucking reason he broke free, idiot!" Naruto's frown deepens, the orange curling around him turns a little darker. Kikyo glances at it, but she doesn't stop speaking. "Do you know how many orphans there are in Konoha on any given day? Do you know how many surrogate mothers there are in this village? Even without Tsunade-sama in town, they could have had a child safely. But instead, they decided to risk everything so that they could push out a brat of their own."

Kakashi inhales. He's never quite looked at it that way before. And… even knowing what he knows about the real reason it happened, it's not entirely untrue. Regardless of the way events were manipulated in order to break the Kyuubi free, Minato and Kushina made the decision that led to the seal being weak enough for it to happen. "Y-you —" Naruto stutters, too angry to form words.

Sasuke, of all people, steps in then. "Mm. Why do you care about it now? That's past."

"Because they're the fucking reason my mother is on the memorial stone! They're the reason I'm in ANBU, the reason the Inuzuka still call me an outsider — because she's dead!" Kikyo spits. Sakura rests a hand on her wrist and looks between her girlfriend and her best friend, clearly torn.

"Maybe we should go, Kiki…" she whispers, biting her lip.

Kikyo actually snorts. It's the most inelegant thing he's ever seen her do. "Why? So Naruto-san can keep ignoring all the people that died because his parents couldn't figure out how adoption works?"

"Kikyo!" Sakura snaps, her grip tightening. Then they're gone in a whirl of cherry blossoms that settle over the still, silent living room.

Sai breaks the silence eventually, and it's so clearly a way to change the subject that Kakashi almost laughs out loud. "Dickless, would you mind standing a little differently? Right now, the light's making it look like you have something in your pants."

This time, when Naruto growls, there's no accompanying orange chakra.

Sakura never thought she'd be watching Sasuke leave again, but… maybe it'll be good for him. She's not sure. "Do you really have to go?" she asks quietly.

His answer's so quintessentially Sasuke she almost rolls her eyes. "I'd go with you and make sure you stayed out of trouble, but some of us have work to do," she jibes at him. Then she grows serious. "Don't stay away forever, okay?"

"Hn." And then he — he pokes her forehead. Part of her, the part that never grew up and still loves Sasuke, swings into high gear. The rest of her just… blinks. He leaves, the doors swinging shut behind him, and she turns, putting her fingers to her forehead.

"…what was that?" she asks Kakashi. There's something mildly perturbed at the corners of his eyes, but it clears when he looks at her.

"Aa, who knows? It's Sasuke," he says. She looks back at the doors, still moving a little, and wonders. There's no need to chase him roaring up inside her, no burning declarations of love. For a long time, she thought they were connected by the red string of fate. Thinking about it, she's not sure when the last time she felt that red string. It's as if the string snapped one day when she wasn't looking, like a boat coming unmoored and drifting away.

"Do you think I should've gone with him?" she wonders out loud, cutting her eyes to the side.

Kakashi glances back at her in the same way, though it's obscured by his hat. "Mm, no," is all he says.

"…what the hell does that mean?" Of course, he doesn't answer that. They walk back to his tower together, and he's strangely curious about her ANBU missions, considering that she turns in reports on them. She tells him a little, but not much, because she's not going to talk about classified missions in the middle of the street.

That night, Kikyo breaks up with her.

She takes a lot of missions, trying not to wonder why.

Five months after Sasuke leaves, ten months after Sakura accepts his sword, Kakashi's half-asleep on his couch one evening when the door slams into the wall. He doesn't bother getting up, no matter that he's incredibly awake now. He recognizes the tenor of that slam.

A few seconds later — "Hatake Kakashi, you have five seconds to tell me how the hell someone got their hands on your family sword!" Tsunade bellows, storming into his living room. He sits up and blinks at her. She snarls and throws an Iwa bingo book across the table. It flops open to one page, the pages on either side of it much creased and rather ripped.

WANTED:

Jade Flicker, dead or alive

Responsible for the assassination of Clan Head Chiren Jan; suspected involvement in the deaths of multiple merchant leaders.

Affiliation: Unknown

Strength: Unknown, assume S-Rank

Abilities: Kenjutsu; other abilities unknown

Above the information is a picture of someone in the ANBU uniform, crouched, a sword in one hand — a sword glowing with green chakra. If he looks closer, he can recognize the way Sakura pads her armor, see the places her hidden senbon poke out, but otherwise she's nearly unrecognizable. Her hair's pulled back and appears soot black, her body shape indeterminate, the only identifying factors the snarling ANBU mask and the sword.

"Well!?" Tsunade demands, slamming her hand down on the table.

"It was a gift," he says, smiling at her.

"A — what? Who the —" she stops dead and narrows her eyes at him. "I swear on everything I love, if you gave your sword to God-forsaken Uchiha fucking Sasuke, I will —"

"I didn't," he cuts her off, glancing at the corners of the room. Good. None of the ANBU present are tattletales, gossips, or Sakura. "I gave it to Sakura," he admits after a minute.

Tsunade rears back. "You gave it to Sakura?" she says. Then the information really sinks in. "You've been sending her on these missions?" she roars, grabbing the book and shaking it at him. "Do you think I spent years training her to be a medic so that she'd be a more efficient killer? I approved her entrance into ANBU so that we had less fatalities, not more! Why would you give her that sword?"

He's not going to take that lying down. He shoots to his feet and snarls, "Oh, is that why you sent her out to kill missing children, Godaime-sama?"

Tsunade stops. "…what the hell are you talking about, Hatake?"

Kakashi can't help rolling his eyes. "Six months or so before I took office, I found Sakura practically catatonic outside my apartment door in her ANBU gear. Someone was kidnapping children and…" he trails off with a sigh. "She said she wanted to save more, but instead she followed orders."

Tsunade's eyes are cold flames, now, a look that never fails to make him fret for his life. "That damn Vulture…" she growls. "I should've known she'd pull something like this." He raises an eyebrow. "Vulture's like someone combined you and Anko, except she's not nearly talented enough to get away with being a little shit," she explains flatly. "Sakura wasn't supposed to do anything except heal the children, and she definitely wasn't supposed to be the one cutting them down. I assume Vulture thought she was too soft and needed toughened up."

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Lovely."

"That doesn't explain why you gave her that sword. Of all the people I'd expect you to give it to, Sakura—" Tsunade shakes her head.

"I wanted to help keep her safe," he says, even quieter than before. "I'm Hokage now. I can't be there when she goes on missions. She —" he pauses. No, don't say that. It'll give it away. "I want her to come home." To Konoha. To me.

"…oh," Tsunade says, voice almost weak after her bellowing.

"Mm."

After a second, she sits down on the chair beside the couch. "…how long?"

His eyes shoot up from the table, where the bingo book had been, to her. She's leaning back in the chair, arms crossed and eyes soft. "…how long has she had the sword?" he guesses. Please don't let her have —

"How long have you had feelings for her?" Tsunade murmurs, almost a whisper.

"…shit," he mumbles. "It's that obvious?"

His predecessor snorts. "Did your brain shut off, brat? How many years do you think I saw Jiraiya watching me with those soft puppy dog eyes you're wearing right now? I know what love looks like, and you're on your way there." For all that her words seem harsh and dismissive, her tone's softer than he thought possible. "I know it was recent, or else you would've been a hell of a lot calmer about sleeping with her on that purple mission."

" I — Inauguration Day," he answers finally, eyes averted. "I woke up next to a beautiful woman, and all I wanted was the one I couldn't have."

After a minute, Tsunade chuckles. "God, you're fucked. You know Sasuke's planning on coming back and marrying her, right?" He nods. "…and you're just sitting on your ass?! You're going to let that little shit take something else from you?! I can't say I'm sold on the idea of you with Sakura, but I like it a hell of a lot better than that…" She just clenches her fist angrily, unable to come up with a suitable epithet for Sasuke.

He huffs. "She's dating a chuunin she met at the hospital right now," he says calmly. And we haven't had a team dinner in months because of it. "He comes from a civilian background, but he put a lot of work in to get as far as he has. He's one of Iruka's favorite substitute teachers when he's not at the hospital. He's —"

"He sounds like a fucking bore," Tsunade cuts in. "Do you really think that's what Sakura wants in her life? Some mealy-mouthed desk shinobi whose worst fight was with his electric bill up until the war?" She reaches for a sake bottle that doesn't exist, realizes it, and groans before she keeps talking. "She might've been a good little stay-at-home wife for someone if she hadn't changed, but she has. I think she'd crawl out of her skin at the hospital if she didn't get missions outside the village."

He just stares at her, unsure what this has to do with him. "…and?" he mumbles after Tsunade glowers for a minute.

"And iron sharpens iron, brat. She needs someone who's on her level, and that… damn… Uchiha… can go piss up a rope. She's better than him, always has been, even if nobody recognized it."

"Mm," is all he can manage in response. They sit in silence until Kakashi mumbles, finally, "She deserves something other than a broken old man."

"You're not the one who gets to decide what she deserves. She is." Tsunade stares him down. "Got any other excuses for why you're not going to tell her?"

He sinks farther down into his chair. She's not going to accept it. "How is it you don't care that was her teacher?"

Tsunade cackles. "Please! I taught her more in a week than you did in six months, you little shit. What did you do? Show her how to read porn in public?"

He grumbles, "Showed her tree-walking. And water-walking."

She cackles again, the sound almost manic. "I'm pretty sure Naruto taught her more than that! All you were to her was an authority figure that ignored her for 'better' options. Next excuse?"

Even farther down, because that stings. He neglected her, and he knows it, and he can't decide whether he regrets it or not. But that isn't the issue at hand. "Because I don't —" he finally starts. Then he sits up straight, scrubs a hand over his face, and sighs before starting again. "Pretend I tell her. What happens if she's not — if she can't see me that way? What if we try dating and find out we don't fit?" He sinks his hands into his hair. "Even if we're both adults, it'll still end up putting distance between us. It'll change everything, no matter what, and it might not be for the better."

"Coward."

"Yes."

Chapter 3: ripped at every edge

Sasuke comes back almost two years after he left, and he looks good. For a minute, Sakura contemplates asking him out. Nabi broke up with her after he found out she had an entry in a bingo book, and she's still a little mad about the attitude he had, so she hasn't gone out with anyone in a while. But she decides against it. There's no way he wants the return of the simpering sycophant she once was.

A few days after he returns, she leaves the hospital to find him waiting outside. "Ah, Sasuke!" she greets him. "Everything okay?"

"Mm," he answers quietly. "I… don't know where the good restaurants are now. I was hoping you'd…?" he trails off, eyes averted. If she didn't know better, she'd think he was embarrassed.

"You don't want ramen for the third time today?" she teases, cracking her neck. "Let me grab something that doesn't smell like antiseptic and blood. I'll meet you at the entrance to your compound." With that, she springs away.

Twenty minutes later, she's slipping on her sandals when there's a tap at her balcony window. She blinks, stands up, and blinks again. Sasuke's standing outside, hands in his pockets. "Sorry. Couldn't wait there," he mumbles.

"No worries!" she chirps, reaching for a hair tie. Her hair's past her shoulders now, long enough to be troublesome if they take the rooftops. "You're just in time. There's a new yakiniku place near here, or there's a really good soba place. Before Ino moved back into the family compound, I think she ate there every day for at least two months." She waits for him to say something, but he doesn't speak, barely even moves. "So what sounds good?"

"Either," he says, finally lifting his eyes from the ground and catching her eyes. "Food doesn't matter as much when you have good company."

She breaks into a smile at that. "Well, it helps be good company if you open your mouth every now and then," she says, tone light. "And, if neither of those sounds good, there's an ichiju-sansen not too far away. I haven't been there yet, but one of my exes said it's delicious."

"That sounds acceptable." It doesn't take them long to get there, traveling across the rooftops. Thursday night means it's not terribly crowded, and there's even a table open near the front, the large window open for the night to let soft breezes curl through the restaurant.

"This is nice!" she says once they're seated. "So, do you have stories about your travels?" she prompts Sasuke after the waiter comes by. Slowly, she pulls a tale from him, and she pays him back with one of her own about one of the endless idiotic genin injuries. "And, I'm not kidding you, this little shit came in the next day, with twice as many senbon stuck in him. I actually had to find their teacher and tell her to stop letting them play tag with senbon, because it just ended up turning into target practice with him as the target."

"Might as well be useful," Sasuke drawls dryly. "Doesn't sound like he's much good otherwise."

Sakura chokes on her sake. "Sasuke!" she chides him. "That's mean!" He just leans on his hand and raises an eyebrow at her, as if to say it might be mean but is it wrong? "Look, I'm sure he'll be a very good shinobi someday. Just because he's bad at dodging doesn't mean he's not a ninjutsu genius."

"Mmm," he hums, taking a sip of his sake and then setting it down. Once he sets it down, though, he leaves his hand lying on the table. "Any other tales to ruin my hopes for Konoha's future?"

That sends her down a tangent, telling stories because boy does she have them — like the girl that stole her teacher's face paint only to find out she was allergic to it, or the boy who decided he could out-growl an Inuzuka nin-dog and ended up getting chased by half a pack for his trouble. That one actually makes Sasuke laugh. It makes her stop short and stare at him in wonder.

He notices. "…what?" he asks, glancing around.

"Nothing," she says, hurrying to preserve the mood. It's a nice night, and when the bill comes, Sasuke insists he'll pay since she showed him where the restaurant was. Instead of taking to the rooftops, they stroll towards Hokage Mountain, letting their food settle. They come to a stop at a good vantage point and stop to stare at the moment for a minute. She drags her gaze down the faces and then lets it rest on the last one, a wicked smile curling her lips. "Ne, Sasuke?"

"Mm?"

"Bet you can't beat me to the top of Kakashi's head!" she chirps, taking off before she's finished speaking.

She actually hears him shout in aggravation behind her and laughs, picking up speed. A second later, there's a familiar chakra chasing her. She beats him, though just barely. "Hah!" she says, pointing at him when he arrives. "Some legendary ninja you are, getting beaten by a med-nin!"

He wrinkles his nose at her. "Rude," he mumbles.

"That's me," Sakura agrees, flopping down to the ground and sprawling out. "You can go home, if you want. I just haven't gotten to spar lately, or had any good missions. I needed that." Instead of going anywhere, Sasuke just sits beside her. After a minute of recovery, she pulls herself into a sitting position beside him. Looking over the village like this always gives her peace; seeing the twinkling lights below makes everything she does worth it. "I know Konoha isn't perfect, but looking at it like this… it's not perfect because we're not perfect. Nobody is. We're all running around, working on our own tiny pieces of the world. It's nice to think about."

He just hums, and she's not sure if it's a hum of agreement or not. Then, a minute later, he speaks. "Sakura." She turns her head to him, mouth open to answer, but — his mouth's on hers, lips soft and smooth, his breath surprisingly minty for someone who just had dinner. Shock stiffens her body for a moment… but she closes her eyes and makes herself relax. It's not a fireworks-and-explosions kiss, but it's nice.

"…what was that?" she asks when he pulls away, and for once he's flushed.

"I — you —" he starts, and then raises his hand and musses his hair in frustration. "Do you want to travel with me?" he blurts out a minute later.

She stares at him. "Huh?"

"It's quiet being alone," he mutters, looking down at his feet. "And I'd like to have — someone I care about — with me."

Sakura bites her lip and thinks about it. It's been so long since she thought about Sasuke in a romantic sense that she missed all of the telltales this evening. His nice clothing, picking her up at her house, paying for their food… he meant this as a date. "I don't know," she finally says. "I love you, Sasuke, but I don't know if I'm still in love with you. You've been gone so long I barely know you to know if I can love you, and I don't think you know this Sakura enough to love me."

"I —" he objects.

She pins him with a glare. "Sasuke, what tattoos do I have?"

His eyebrows go up. "You have tattoos?"

"Exactly my point," she says gently. "You don't know if I'm in ANBU, or what I've been doing for the last few years. Did you know I'm good enough with a sword to fight Kakashi to a standstill now?" He shakes his head slowly. "I'm not saying no, okay? But I have a life in this village. I have friends. I'm not going to leave it behind for someone who barely knows me."

"Ah," he breathes, little more than a whisper.

It makes her reach out and touch his shoulder. "If you hold still long enough for me to figure out who you are, I might go with you. I might not." He nods, and they watch the stars hand-in-hand for a little while.

Kakashi's scrambling through the stacks on his desk, trying to find a copy of the trade agreement with Kiri, when Shizune comes in and drops off the quarterly reports for the hospital. He raises an eyebrow at her as he finally spies the scroll he needs. "No Sakura?"

Shizune smiles, soft and sweet. "I told her to come in late today. I heard she was out with Sasuke last night."

His left hand clenches tight, forgetting he's holding a valuable trade agreement in it. "Aa," is all he says out loud. When Shizune leaves, he collapses into his chair and drops the crumpled scroll on the desk in front of him.

Sasuke takes her on two more dates. At the end of the last one, he kisses her on her balcony, the touch of his lips so soft and sweet it makes her heart hurt. But the flames that characterized her first kiss with Kikyo, the gentle warmth Nabi gave her, the sizzle of Kakashi — they're all absent from this kiss. She pulls away from him and smiles sadly at him. "No?" he guesses before she says anything.

"No," she agrees. "I'm sorry."

He smiles at her, and it's sad enough to make her heart hurt again. "Don't be," he murmurs, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I shouldn't have expected you to keep waiting forever."

"Maybe there's a Sakura somewhere, in some world, who did wait," she says, stepping closer. "It's just not this one." After a second of hesitation, she reaches out and rests her hand against his cheek. He turns his face into it, almost nuzzling into the touch. "I can't give you my heart, Sasuke, and I can't go with you. But I know what it's like to be lonely, and I can help with that for a little while, if you'll let me."

He lifts his eyes and searches hers, looking for something — pity, maybe. Whatever he's looking for doesn't materialize. He nods, and she drapes her other arm around his neck, drawing him closer.

"You're sure?" Kakashi asks the ANBU in front of him. "Sasuke left before sunrise?" The ninja nods. "Thank you. Dismissed." He sinks into his couch and contemplates his tea once the ANBU operative is gone. I hope he's all you dreamed he would be, Sakura, he thinks morosely. Twenty minutes later, his guards rotate. He wouldn't think anything of it, except — a familiar leaf-green chakra's switching out with Cat's calm blue. "Mongoose?" he says out loud, hoping he's not hallucinating.

A second later, she appears in front of him, her mask snarling as always…and the sword he gave her on her back. "Hokage-sama?" she says, voice pitched low.

"…you didn't go with Sasuke?" he asks, trying to keep the words calm instead of trembling.

"I would never abandon my village or my post, Hokage-sama," Mongoose answers.

"Not even for true love?" he asks, body tense.

"That would require love, sir. May I go?" From anyone else, asking to be dismissed would feel insubordinate. He just waves her off and collapses back into the couch. She's still here.

Ino's just managed to get Inojin to sleep when there's a tap on her window. It's quiet, barely loud enough to hear, but she still freezes up and looks at the sleeping toddler. He doesn't move, so she skitters over to the window and throws it open. "What the hell, Forehead?" she hisses. "What if you woke him up?!"

"I didn't," Sakura whispers, slipping past her and into the living room. "Do you have time to talk? Sai took my spot on Kakashi's guard detail, so I know he's not here."

Ino sighs, but sprawls across the couch nonetheless. "What dumb shit did you do now?" she says, wishing she'd grabbed something to drink before she sat down. "Did you accidentally stab the wrong person again?"

Sakura flushes angrily. "I gave someone the booster instead of the initial shot once, Pig! ONCE!"

"Still counts." Ino eyes the kitchen and wishes, not for the first time, that she'd been born a Nara. They're all famous for using their jutsu to fetch things for them. "Either put out or get out," she tells her best friend, trying to get her to stop fidgeting and just talk.

"I slept with Sasuke." Every inch of Ino freezes. Then she leaps to her feet, mouth agape.

"You what?!" she demands in a loud whisper.

"I slept with Sasuke," Sakura says, her eyes calm and level. There's no panic there, nothing that shows she's lying or exaggerating. On the strength of that expression alone, Ino marches into the kitchen and returns with a bottle of sake and two cups.

"Okay. Spill," she demands after she pours them both a cup.

Sakura trails her fingers around the rim of her cup, her eyes going distant. "It was… nice, I guess," she murmurs. Then she lifts her cup and sips it, savoring before swallowing. "He wanted me to go traveling with him. I told him I didn't know him well enough to just up and leave with him, and he didn't know me well enough to ask. So we went on a couple dates." Then she shrugs. "I still care about him. Just… not like he wants me to. Not anymore."

Ino quaffs her cup and refills it. "Can't blame you for that," she admits. "It'd take a damn strong woman, or a damn stupid one, to stick around after almost getting killed… how many times was it? Twice? Three times?" She wishes she was being facetious, but she honestly can't remember how many times Sakura came close to dying at Sasuke's hands.

"Too many," Sakura mutters, sipping at her sake again. "I'm sure he'll find a partner who'll be good for him eventually. I just…" She huffs, blowing hair out of her face. "I've sat and waited on someone to look at me for enough of my life. I want someone who's going to be mine, you know?" A soft, romantic smile curls her lips, one Ino hasn't seen in years. "Someone who's not afraid to love me, and to challenge me, someone who knows me as I am now instead of some vision of a girl who left long ago."

"Amen to that, Forehead," Ino replies quietly. "I know how you feel about Sai, but… he does that for me, and more." They talk long into the night, in a way they haven't since Ino moved back to the Yamanaka clan house. It's good for both of them.

The next time Sasuke comes back to Konoha is for her twenty-fourth birthday. She begs Kakashi, Sai, Tenzo, and Naruto to come to the training grounds with them for a spar. She told the esteemed Rokudaime to meet them at noon, which means that when he saunters up at one, the others are just getting there. He glances at the others, sighs, and then looks at her. "Tricks, Sakura-chan?"

"Anything can be a weapon!" she says with a wink. "What's first?" There's silence for a few seconds. Then all of them turn towards Kakashi.

"No," he denies immediately. "I'm not in charge of this." He ends up in charge of it. They start with ninjutsu and genjutsu, and he makes the oddest combinations. She's up against Sai, while Naruto's up against Yamato and Sasuke against Kakashi. That match doesn't take long, and she comes out surprisingly well. Sai's ninjutsu is hard for her to beat, since she can't dip into the jutsu she created. While she'd love to show them off, they're almost all terrifyingly lethal. The ones that aren't are… not particularly spar-friendly, either. Thankfully, her genjutsu remains far better than his. They rest, and then they're split again for taijutsu. Sasuke against Yamato, Naruto against Sai, and her against Kakashi. As she settles into her stance, she can't help her wicked grin as she remembers the way their last spar ended so many years ago.

"I hope you haven't gotten too rusty, old man," she almost purrs. "I hear sitting in a tower all day is good for making you soft."

"You'll have to tell me, Sakura-chan," he says, eyes creasing in a smile. And then they move. He flies at her, and she dives for the ground, rolling into a squat and leaping into the air just in time to dodge a kick. She lands, skidding a little, and sticks her tongue out at him. This time, they meet halfway. He catches one fist in a broad palm and tries to redirect the blow — but she knows that move, and how he ends it. Instead, she grabs his arm and spins away, hurling him as far as she can. Judging by the wide eyes, he hadn't expected her to be able to throw that far without chakra.

After that, the gloves come off. She almost has him in a headlock once, until he digs a vicious thumb in behind her knee. Though she gasps, she doesn't let go — but her grip loosens just enough for him to pry her free and hurl her away.

The longer the fight goes on, the more Sakura's breath catches and her skin hums. She's too familiar with her body now not to know what's happening, how being so close to Kakashi makes something curl low in her stomach. "Tie!" Yamato eventually calls, and they separate to discover the others watching them, amused.

"Nice," Kakashi says simply. "Good work, everyone." He turns to walk away like he's not forgetting the very reason she begged him to set up a team spar.

"Hey! We were supposed to have a kenjutsu fight too!" she snaps at his back.

He stops and turns back around, amusement in his eyes. "Ah, Sakura-chan, the only one of us who could fight you now would be Sasuke. And he might not —"

"I'll do it," Sasuke mutters, reaching behind him for the plain sword he carries now. "Winning shouldn't take me long." There's a challenge in his eye, one she wouldn't have met once.

"Mm, might take you longer than you thought," she says, walking backwards so that they're spread out. Recently she's taken to wearing haori belted over a thin top and trousers, much like Tsunade… save for wearing a less revealing shirt beneath and closing the haori. The long sleeves dangle in a way that's feminine without being too much, and she just enjoys it more than the shinobi uniform. There are only two kinds of people who deviate from the shinobi uniform: those too stupid to know other clothing could be a liability, or those good enough to make up for the liability. She thinks — no, she knows she's earned the latter. "Ready when you are, Sasuke-kun," she coos, drawing her sword and holding it by her side.

He doesn't waste time. If she hadn't spent the last six years training, she might miss his movements — but she doesn't miss them. As his blade sails down, she catches it on her own sword and uses the leverage to shove him back. He disappears as soon as he's finished skidding, and she closes her eyes.

Another blow caught on her sword, this time with her eyes closed. And another. She lets him try a third time before opening her eyes and boiling over.

Of all of them, only Yamato and Sai have seen Sakura really fight recently. Naruto's been busy with his family, and Kakashi's just too damn busy all the time. Watching her dart around Sasuke, slashing at him and disappearing, almost catching him — it's so fast it seems unreal.

"I guess Sakura's been training, huh?" Naruto asks, jamming his hands into his pockets. "I didn't even know she had a sword, let alone — hey, that wasn't fair! Not cool, teme!"

Kakashi just hums and keeps watching. Again and again the two teammates meet, their swords flashing in the sunlight. Sasuke moves with long-trained skill, but Sakura keeps up, her blows nearly getting him more than once. Watching them fight amounts to little more than watching blurs, but it is nice to see her regularly using the sword he gave her.

Sasuke ends up winning, two to her one, but not for lack of her trying. "Hey! Hey! When did you learn swords, Sakuraaaaaa?" Naruto shouts, making a beeline for her. "Why's your sword glow? Can I have one?"

He snorts at that, but takes the distraction to leave. It's just past four, and he still has way too much paperwork to do.

Sakura catches her breath from her spar with Sasuke, and she's… disappointed, almost. Though they had devolved into wrestling at one point, her body doesn't react to her old crush the same way it does to Kakashi, even though she's slept with him. "I started learning a few years ago, because, and no," she finally answers Naruto. "Let's clean up, and then we can go for food, ne?" she suggests. She needs time to think about this.

After she tries to work herself up in the shower and fails, she scowls in the bathroom mirror. "Stupid body," she mumbles, brushing her teeth. "Went almost twenty years without sex and I was fine, but go seven months without and get turned on by your team leader."

It's not like it's unprecedented. Ever since they came back from that mission, something about Kakashi riles her up like nobody else. Standing too close, hugging him too long, always makes her body react. Of all her partners, only Kikyo ever ignited the same kind of desire in her that Kakashi does. At first, she thought it was just the way sex was supposed to be. Though her few one-night stands hadn't been that way, Kikyo made her burn. Nobody she's dated since has made her so breathless with want. It's part of why she's allowed herself to stay so busy since he took the title of Hokage, part of why she doesn't like being single for too long, or to be alone with him. Just thinking about his body in more than passing —

At that thought, she slams the medicine cabinet door.

It's mostly dark out when Kakashi finally gets to go home. There's a whole dinner waiting for him from one of his favorite restaurants when he gets there, and he sighs. "Thanks," he says to the room. Nobody answers, of course. This only ever happens when Tenzo is one of the ANBU guarding him, but he's not complaining. Shrugging out of the flak jacket and pulling his mask down, he deliberates what to start with first and decides on the dumplings.

That means ten minutes later, he's leaning against the kitchen counter and lazily guiding hot dumplings into his mouth when Sakura lands on his balcony. He blinks, but cocks his head as she storms into the apartment. "Yo." He sets the dumplings aside and reaches for the dessert, just in case —

All thoughts of dumplings and desserts flee his mind as she curls her hands into the collar of his shirt and yanks him down into a kiss. Taken off guard by the sudden attack, he almost flails, almost freezes. Instead, he manages to reach out and drag her closer, making the already hungry kiss deeper. He'd forgotten how good her lips feel, how soft she is.

"Sakura," he mumbles when they come up for air. She raises an eyebrow, her smile sending shivers down his spine, but he perseveres. "What? I…what?"

"You could say sparring today made me a little nostalgic," she purrs, and damn it, he's never heard her do that before but now it'll reverberate in his thoughts forever. "See, I got to thinking about things that happened before…" One hand rises from its place on his collar and skims down his chest. "Things like how your hands felt on me." He gulps. She leans closer, her free hand skating back up his chest and fingers trailing over his lips. "How your mouth took care of me." Then she nibbles on his fucking ear and whispers, "How good your cock felt inside of me."

A deep, guttural groan tears itself from him before he can stifle it. "Sakura —" he starts.

"Come on, Kakashi," she says, gently tugging at the cloth in her hand. "Unless you can't, mmm, keep up any more? I know how it is for old — eeee —"

He's not going to stand there and listen to her imply he's too old for this, so he interrupts her by wrapping both arms around her waist and lifting her up. She squeals, wrapping her legs around him, exactly as planned. "Old hand, maybe," he says as he moves toward the bedroom. "And you know I could still kick your ass."

She giggles and squirms against him, draping her arms around his neck and dropping tiny kisses down the side of his face. "What if I ask you to smack it instead?" she whispers, voice like liquid sin. He shudders and turns his head to catch her lips as they disappear into the bedroom, door slamming shut behind them.

Were it not for the mask, Tenzo would rub his eyes. He's… he's not sure if what he just saw was reality or genjutsu. After the door slams, he tries a silent kai. Nothing changes, so he turns to Sparrow and says, "Uh?"

"Mmm," Sparrow hums. "Not a genjutsu. Also not their first encounter, though it has been some time since they were last involved."

His eyes bug out of his head. "Involved?" he repeats weakly.

Sparrow turns to him. "I believe Hokage-sama harbors some romantic feelings for Haruno-san, but —" his words are interrupted by smothered giggles, but he continues. "I am also fairly certain Haruno-san does not view Hokage-sama in a romantic light, merely a sexual one."

"Oh," Tenzo says, turning back to face the living room. Just then, he hears a yelp from the bedroom and winces. "This is going to be a long night, isn't it?"

Once they're inside the bedroom, Sakura lets her legs dangle. He takes the hint and sets her down on her feet, despite them still being locked in a kiss. He breaks away, breathing hard, and she lets her hand wander. When they're halfway up his shirt, she realizes he's not wearing his flak jacket. Then she realizes, like a delayed lightning bolt, that she's about to sleep with the Rokudaime and she can't help her giggles. He raises one eyebrow at her and she manages to say around her giggles, "You're Hokage. I'm going to have sex with the Hokage. That's just —" she dissolves into another round of giggles.

He sniffs at her, the sound just offended enough that she knows he's joking. "Oh, trying to get ahead, are we?" he says, dragging his thumb across her cheek. She shudders beneath his touch and smiles up at him.

"Would you like me to strip for you, Hokage-sama?" she says, dropping her voice to make it low and sensual. He swallows hard, and the giggles burst out again.

"Minx," he mutters, reaching out and tugging at the belt to her haori. She lets him unravel the knot as she untucks his shirt and works on his belt buckle. Once it sags, she can't help sliding her hand lower and caressing the fabric tight across the front of his pants.

"You know, I did have one regret about having sex with you," she murmurs. He freezes, fingers suddenly stilling halfway down the buttons on her shirt.

"Regrets?" he whispers, biting his lip, worry flickering across his face.

She nods. "You have the prettiest cock I've ever seen… and I'm so sad I never got to put my mouth on it," she says, squeezing him as she says it. He outright yelps, bucking into her hand. "I don't remember you being this sensitive…"

Kakashi offers her a sheepish smile. "It's, uh, it's been a while."

She lifts one eyebrow. "How long is a while?"

He averts his eyes and actually blushes. "How long have I been Hokage?"

Sakura's jaw drops. "Kakashi! Four years?" she demands, slipping her hands under his and unbuttoning the rest of her shirt before she shrugs both it and the haori off, letting them slide to the floor. She changed her underwear before she came here. She knows how dark green lace looks against her skin, and —

"God, you're beautiful," he says, pulling her into a kiss before she can say anything. His hand slides down her back and pulls her closer, and goosebumps trail in its wake. A glance back helps her locate the bed, so she starts walking backwards. He follows her. She's not even sure he realizes they're moving until she turns and shoves him onto the bed. He lands with a thump and shock all over his face.

"Off," she commands, tugging at his pants legs. There's something so strangely sweet in the startled way he blinks at her — like he's forgotten what it's like not to be in charge — that she has to swallow around the lump in her throat. But after the shock fades and the words sink in, he wastes no time shimmying out of his pants and shirt. His fingers slide under the edge of his boxers, ready to peel them off, and she says, "Wait. Let me unwrap this part of my present, won't you?"

He pauses, and then he peels his hands away, using them instead to prop himself up. She wraps her hands around his thighs and drags him a little closer to the edge of the bed so that his legs dangle off, and she bites her lip trying not to laugh at the panicked little squeak he makes. But the panicked squeak fades into his heavy breathing as she kneels and smooths her hands up his legs, over his thighs, until her thumbs rub against his hipbones through the soft cotton of his boxers. Part of her wants to drag this out, really make him squirm, but — she's also genuinely eager to see if his cock's as pretty as she remembers it being.

Her fingers curl over the edge, and tug, slowly revealing the pale skin she's been waiting to see. She doesn't really look until his boxers are on the floor. Then she stares for a minute. As far as dicks go, his probably is the prettiest she's ever seen. And it looks like he wasn't lying about the dry spell, based on the way the head of his cock is already dripping. "That eager, mm?" she murmurs, reaching out and dragging her fingers up the underside. His strangled moan sends heat fluttering through her body. Is this what it was like when he touched me and I liked it? she wonders, gently wrapping her hand around him. Then she looks up at him, already flushed and panting, and decides to be mean. "Would you like me to suck your cock, Hokage-sama?" she purrs.

"Fuck yes," he says, the words closer to a moan than anything else. She takes pity and scoots closer, gently lapping at the pre-cum dripping from him. He jerks and gasps, hands spasming. Then she smiles, opens her mouth, and drags her tongue up the side of his cock. "A-ah — fuck — Sakura —" he whimpers. She just hums against him as she maps his cock with her lips, finding every vein and licking it before kissing it goodbye and moving on. By the time she's finished, he's breathless, almost whining, and she's wet. Fuck, she can't remember the last time she was this wet.

Sakura pulls back, just long enough to slither out of her pants before returning to where she was kneeling. He's watching her, eyes hazed, and she smirks before ducking down and licking him. "Ask me nicely, and I'll blow your mind," she hums, leaning her cheek against his thigh.

"Ask?" he says, clearly taking a second to process. Then he blushes — he's really too experienced to be blushing this much — and looks away to mumble something.

"What was that?" she teases, leaning closer and letting her breath wash over the sensitive skin. The mumble's louder this time, but still unintelligible. "I can't help unless I know what you want…"

His head finally snaps back forward and he growls, "I want you to suck my— fffuckhnngh—"

The words get lost when she wraps her mouth around him and starts sucking. More than one of her exes begged her to deep-throat them, but she's never particularly enjoyed it, even if she does enjoy oral. Even if she did, Kakashi's too wide for her to swallow him easily. But rhythm, pressure, splitting her focus so she can do two things at once… she's good at that. Nabi once joked she could suck the skin off an orange if she was motivated enough. And she's motivated. It only takes her a few seconds to find a rhythm, her tongue exploring whenever she slurps more of his cock into her mouth and twirling around its head whenever she pulls back.

A minute later, her eyes catch one of his hands moving. After a slight pause, he tentatively tangles his fingers in her hair. She looks up at him and smiles, nodding a little, and he relaxes for a second. Then she speeds up and his hand spasms, tugging some of the hair in his grip. She can't help the moan that escapes around his cock, and his hips jerk just a little when he hears it. Sakura loves reactions, loves hearing her partners fall apart, and this one only sends another thrill through her. Her panties are already too damp to be comfortable. When he whimpers again, she decides she doesn't care about stretching this pair out and removes one of her hands from Kakashi's thigh. There's no need to bother licking her fingers before she slips her hand into her panties and starts touching herself.

Tingles run up Kakashi's spine in slow waves, each of them stronger than the last, and he lets himself moan as his head falls back, eyes sliding shut. Like this he can focus on how silky Sakura's hair is in his fingers, how perfectly she's hitting every single one of his sensitive spots, the way her lips feel rubbing against him. It's almost inconceivably hot — and then she moans around him again, the sound tapering into a whimper. That only makes it hotter. A second moan follows on the tails of the first, this one hungrier and louder, and he manages to lift his head and look down at her.

Her hand's missing from his thigh, and he follows the smooth line of her arm all the way down to her forearm. The angle he's at blocks him from seeing any farther, but he can see her muscles jumping, her arm moving slowly. "Sakura," he says slowly. It comes out thick, almost unintelligible, so he swallows and tries again. "Sakura… are you touching yourself?"

She flicks her eyes up to him and nods, her speed increasing after. The hand that's out of sight speeds up, too, and his breath stops in his throat as he watches her moan around his cock. If this was hot before, it's scorching now, heat searing his thoughts and veins as he watches her enjoy sucking his dick. Then she hits a sensitive spot just slightly different than before and he gasps, shuddering and almost jerking into her mouth. She smirks and starts sucking harder, hard enough to make his eyes roll into the back of his head. "Yes," he groans, clenching the hand in her hair. The way her whimper slides out, muffled by his cock, changes the tingles slithering up his spine. His hips try to buck up, but she's holding him down with her spare hand.

Another long, filthy moan slips out around his cock. It's almost too much. "Sakura —" he gasps, shoving futilely at her shoulder. "Sakura, if you don't —" She glances up at him, smirks, and flicks her tongue out against something and —

his eyes roll back in his head as he comes. Her mouth's warm and soft around him, the suction gentle, urging him into another orgasmic wave that ripples all the way up his spine.

When he comes back to himself, Sakura's sat back on her ankles, wiping the corners of her mouth and humming gleefully. "Worth the wait," she says when she sees him staring at her. "So worth the wait."

He exhales and flops back onto the bed. "Was it?" he mumbles, trying to focus.

"Mmhmm." Shuffling sounds, and then creaking as Sakura sprawls next to him on the bed. "I believe that's what Ino calls 'sucking a man's brains out'. Do you still have any brains?"

Kakashi chuckles. "Barely." He takes a deep breath, and then another, and then rolls over to face her. "I do believe, though, there's something that's gone unaddressed."

"Oh?" she says, leaning back to let his eyes wander her body more freely. "And what's that?"

He runs one hand down her side, over her leg, and all the way back up her thigh before he presses the flat of his hand to her. Sakura's mouth opens in a silent moan — she's so wet that even through her panties, the slickness has spread to her thighs. "This," he murmurs, pressing his fingers in a little harder and letting her writhe beneath the pressure.

"Y-yes," she says, rolling her hips into his hand. "I'd… enjoy addressing that…"

He drags one finger along the seam of her pussy lips and then withdraws. "Take those off for me," he drawls. She doesn't waste any time, hopping up and slithering out of both bra and panties. By the time she'd dropped them to the floor, he's slid up the bed, pillow beneath his head. She turns back toward him and stares for a second, confused. He crooks a finger and she walks closer, close enough for him to grab her hips and tug her onto the bed. It takes a minute, but she figures out what he's aiming for quickly enough. Both legs are on either side of his head, her pussy almost within reach of his mouth, and she hesitates.

"You're sure I'm not going to smother you?" she says, biting her lip. "I tried this once with Kiki, and Nabi…" He answers her by dragging her forward and onto his mouth. Her gasp gets lost as he begins tracing her with his tongue, flicking at all the spots he remembers so well, seeing how quickly he can push her over the edge. He adores this angle, always has, because it lets him reach spots that are normally far harder to touch. Her flavor's changed a little since the last time he tasted her, a little sharper and a little sweeter at the same time, but it still makes him want like nothing else he's ever encountered.

Part of her goal tonight — more than she'd like to admit — was to absolutely blow Kakashi's mind. She's succeeded in that, but — "Ooooh," she moans, rocking her hips forward, trying to get closer to his tongue. His eyes twinkle up at her in the same way that always accompanies a smirk, and she opens her mouth to chide him. Instead, he presses the flat of his tongue to her clit and a strangled gasp comes out.

A second later, she feels his arm moving, and something firmer than his tongue presses into her. He's rubbing circles inside her, edging closer to her g-spot, and fluttering his tongue against her clit just enough to make her squirm. Sakura bites her lip, tries to suppress the sound, but she can't. Another moan bubbles out of her, so long and obscene that she blushes hearing it. "Fuck," she whines, sinking her fingers into his hair. Another twinkle, this one more mischievous, and then —

he presses down inside her at the same time as he sucks her clit into his mouth. Everything spins, dips, the world shaking like an earthquake. Her body stops obeying her and simply writhes. She's vaguely aware of the shriek that leaves her mouth, the way her cry of his name echoes off the walls. When her brain starts functioning again, she focuses in on the noise between her legs: loud, lewd slurps that send tingles through her body every time he passes his tongue over her. "Shit," she breathes, letting her head drop. "Shit." Words beyond that fail her.

After the first orgasm he tears from her, the rest come easily. The fourth time he makes her legs quiver, she pushes away from his mouth as soon as she can think again. It means she almost tumbles off the bed, but she catches herself and manages to stay on it, muscles trembling. "Not enjoying yourself, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi purrs, propping himself up on one elbow and using his free hand to wipe his face clean. "I didn't think I was doing so badly for an old man."

She slaps weakly at his chest and wheezes. "Fucking asshole," she manages after she catches her breath. "Something to be said for age, I guess."

"Mmmh," he hums, reaching out and tugging her closer. "I suppose that means you're not interested in this, then?" She glances down to find he's hard again, his erection a hair's breath from her stomach.

"I wouldn't go that far," she answers, reaching out to touch him. "In fact, I'd like nothing more than for you to fuck me into the mattress." She smiles at him, the slow, lazy smile Kikyo always said lit her on fire. It must work, because he growls and moves. A second later, she's on her back, legs spread as Kakashi hovers over her, cock sliding into her with such ease she's a little embarrassed.

"Fuck, you're wet," he hisses into her ear, and then he catches her mouth as he rocks into her. She moans into his mouth, hiking one leg up and dangling it over his hip. The arm he's not leaning on goes back and pins it there as he moves, slow and sinuous. She rolls her hips into his, meeting each of his thrusts.

"I forgot how good your cock felt inside me," she pants when he break their kiss. Her words make him shudder so hard she feels the tremor going through his body. It makes her grin, though the smile's lost in a gasp a second later as he snaps his hips upward. "Yessss," she whimpers, her eyes fluttering. Something from that tent, so long ago, swims back to the forefront of her mind. "Listen." He slows, just a little, and raises an eyebrow at her. She sinks her nails into his shoulder and purrs, "Can't you hear how much my pussy loves your cock?" If the sound of him eating her out had been lewd, the sound of him fucking her is obscenely filthy. He groans and drops his head to her shoulder, sinking his teeth into her skin.

Tenzo twitches. It's increasingly hard to tune out the pants and moans from the Rokudaime's bedroom. If it were anyone else inside the room, he might even enjoy overhearing it. But it's Sakura. How can Kakashi —

And just then, he hears Sakura wail Kakashi's name at the top of her lungs. "Why me?" he whines. Sparrow just chuckles.

He wakes up first the next morning, and he's never been so glad. It gives him time to look at her. She's always beautiful. Always. He's seen her bloody, muddied, exhausted, and broken, and she's never been anything other than beautiful. Right now, though, she's ethereal. There's sunlight sparkling off her hair. Her eyelashes, only a few shades darker than her hair, rest on her cheek like cherry blossoms on water. In sleep, her face is so perfectly peaceful it makes his heart ache. "You're screwed, old man," he mumbles to himself.

And now he won't even be able to walk around this apartment without seeing her in it. That was part of why he moved from his old one. He couldn't stop picturing her in his bed, his shower, at his table. The ghost of pink-haired lovers past didn't haunt him here — but they will now.

After a few long minutes staring at her, he flickers away and into the middle of the room. Their clothes are scattered everywhere, so he takes a moment to fold them and set them aside. His hands linger on her clothes more than they should. Her pants and shirt are the same jounin blacks everyone else wears. Somehow, they always makes her skin look like porcelain, and the deep red of her haori with its white trim makes her look even more like a flower. He catches himself staring at the fabric, wondering what it would be like to go shopping with her, and shakes himself out of his reverie.

Something inside him wants to linger in the shower and see if she'll join him. But he does have a village to oversee, so he rinses off and goes straight for the kitchen. About the time he slips a second omelette onto a plate, Sakura stumbles into the kitchen, yawning. Once again, he's struck by her beauty. She's wearing just her haori, the tie loose, which wouldn't be a problem if it was... say, a yukata. But it's not. Her sinfully long legs peek out at him. The shadow between her breasts fairly taunts him, let alone the red marks on her neck. "Morning," she greets him, stretching. She catches him staring, chopsticks still dangling over the empty pan, and laughs. "See something you like?" she teases, stealing the chopsticks from his hand and dragging one plate over.

Kakashi manages to snap out of it and invent a half-plausible excuse. "Has anyone told you you look more like your shishou every day?" he says, retrieving another pair of chopsticks for his omelet. He barely remembers to turn the stove off.

"Yes," she says around a mouthful of hot egg. "S'worse things to be called, really. I mean, I highly doubt my tits will ever be the size of my head —" he chokes on his food. "— but the rest is pretty flattering."

"Is it?" he wheezes, reaching for the glass of water he's been sipping on.

"Mhmm," she hums, stealing the glass from him. Then her features settle a little before she speaks, the words calm and measured. "I'm sorry if I was too forward last night. I just…" she huffs and runs one hand through her hair. "It's been a while for me, and that spar with you really did get me going."

"With me?" he asks, arching one eyebrow at her.

She nods. "Yes, you, Kakashi." Something devilish flickers across her features as she leans forward. "Couldn't you tell? By the time our spar was over, all I could think about was how you felt inside me. When I sparred with Sasuke…" she shrugs. "Well, it was a good spar."

He exhales slowly and wishes he'd put his mask on. Nonetheless, he manages to keep his face calm. "So your old sensei gets your motor running better than Sasuke-kun, hm?" he teases her a minute later.

"Shut up," she grumbles, pointing her chopsticks at him. "It's been a long damn time since I felt that way about Sasuke, and you know it. Ass." A minute later, she adds, "Besides that, you know how to use your mouth a hell of a lot better than he does."

He chokes again. "He — you — what?" he gasps, thumping his chest to try and dislodge the obstruction.

She raises an eyebrow. "He asked me out on a couple dates. After-date activities followed. I didn't leave with him cause… I mean, it was nice, but there just wasn't any kind of spark." She takes the last bite of her omelet and chews slowly. "It wouldn't have been bad traveling with him, but I love Konoha too much to leave it behind. I always have." And then she smiles, so bright and sweet it hurts his heart. "Besides, I couldn't leave my favorite Hokage-sama alone, could I?"

After that spar, and the resulting naked spar, Sakura begins visiting Kakashi more often. Maybe if I spend more time with him, my body will stop reacting like a… well, like a bitch in heat, she reasons with herself. Besides, she's missed the ninken. Her heart swells two sizes the day she lands on his balcony and Pakkun greets her with a warm, "Floral Green! Guess the boss didn't drive you off, huh?"

"Neh, like that idiot could drive me away with a stick," she says, squatting and scratching between the pug's ears. "Do I still have paw pad privileges, or do I need to earn them again?"

Immediately he's in her lap, paw held up. "Paw pad privileges still intact," he announces magnanimously. She laughs and leans back so that she's sitting instead of squatting and goes to work. Surprisingly, Kakashi actually makes it home before dark that day. She feels his chakra, along with that of his ANBU, approaching the apartment right around sunset. If it weren't for Pakkun snoring in her lap, she'd stand up and greet him, but… Pakkun's snoring in her lap.

Black-sandalled feet land next to her and she looks up, only to have her hair blown across her face. She brushes it back, holding it to her head to keep it from blowing into her eyes again. "Hey," she greets Kakashi. It takes a second for her eyes to adjust because he's standing against the sunset — but when they do she almost stops breathing. He's standing over her, mask pooled around his neck as he smiles down at her, something strange and fond written on his face. She swallows. Hard. The sunset light turns his edges gold, and it creeps across his cheeks to highlight his smile. He's always been stupidly fucking pretty, and like this — damn it. She feels an all-too-familiar flutter in her heart and quashes it ruthlessly. It's Kakashi, you idiot!

"You know, you don't have to feel bad about waking him up," he says, squatting next to her and leaning close. "Watch."

He's close enough for her to smell his skin, and it makes that flutter stronger. Stop it, she argues with herself. There's absolutely no reason for you to be acting like this! For fuck's sake, you've had his dick in your mouth! She's so occupied in arguing with herself that she doesn't even protest when Kakashi wakes Pakkun by viciously tickling the pug's exposed belly.

"Sakura-chan," Pakkun whines a minute later, hiding behind her. "You betrayed me."

"What was I supposed to do?" she chides the dog, coming out of her thoughts. "Beat him up? Like that's going to happen." She sighs and takes the hand Kakashi offers her to pull herself up onto her feet. Again, that flutter. QUIT IT! she shouts at her traitorous emotions before offering Kakashi a sheepish smile. "I, uh, was going to make supper. I still have all the stuff, even —" she gestures at the paper bag leaning against the balcony wall. "But I got distracted by paw pad privileges."

"Oh?" Kakashi hums, picking up the bag and peeking into it. "What did you have in mind?"

"Just donburi — I was planning on unadon, but…" she gestures at the pug lurking behind her feet. "The eel still needs grilled. That's why I showed up so early." He switches the bag to his other arm and rests his hand on the small of her back, steering her towards the balcony door.

"I think I can handle the eel if you handle the sauce," he says, his smile shifting into something smaller, a little more private. Between that and the warmth of his hand —

shit.

The night before Inojin's birthday party, Sakura sleeps over at Ino's. Sai is on duty again, and Ino's glad. She hasn't had a good talk with Sakura since that night she told her about sleeping with Sasuke, and that's been almost two and a half years. Once Inojin goes to sleep — it's a struggle, but she manages — she collapses into the couch and lets Sakura take care of the supplies. She doesn't have to wait long before a spoon slides into one hand and a pint of ice cream into the other, followed by a fluffy blanket settling down over them. She dives into the fatty, creamy goodness and doesn't speak until she's halfway through the pint. "So what's new in Forehead Town?" she asks around a mouthful of ice cream. "Got any hot new ANBU dick or nah?"

Sakura snorts, but there's something almost fearful in her face when she slides her eyes over towards Ino. "No, but… I slept with Kakashi again." Ino almost drops her ice cream. "And, uh, I think I might have a crush on him."

She does drop her ice cream at that. "You what?"

Sakura blushes, and it's the blush Ino hasn't seen since before their first chuunin exam. "I… I've been dropping by his apartment more often, ever since my birthday, and it's just… nice." Ino picks up her ice cream and watches her best friend poke at her own pint, the blush not fading at all. "He started keeping lychee soda in his fridge for me. He hates lychee soda, but he knows I like it. Last time I went over for supper, he brought dango home. Dango, Ino!" Sakura bites her lip for a second before letting it go — another nervous telltale Ino hasn't seen in a long time. "I argued with him for an hour and a half last night about how I couldn't make Creation Rebirth more dependent on anything other than cellular mitosis, and he made good points."

Ino groans and takes a huge bite of ice cream, despairing at how very like Sakura that statement is. "Only you would get a fucking crush on someone because they argued with you about science bullshit," she mumbles. "Multiple orgasms? Nah. Godly dick skills? Nah. Weird science stuff, though, and you're on it like Naruto on ramen."

Sakura snorts, and the blush darkens a little as she looks away. "It's not… I mean, the science stuff helps. But one day I just looked at him, and just… oh my god, Ino, he's so…" She fans herself, eyes fluttering. "It's a good thing he wears that mask, or literally half of Konoha would be chasing him down."

Before this very moment, it's never quite clicked in Ino's brain that Sakura's seen Kakashi maskless. "Holy shit," she mutters. "Holy shit, you've seen him without his mask!"

Sakura shoots her a confused look. "Uh, yeah?" she says, raising one eyebrow. "Ino, he went face-first into my vagina before we ever had sex. I know I told you about it, too. Did you think he wore it the whole time?"

Ino shrugs, still thinking about this tiny revelation. "Weirder things have probably happened," she murmurs. "So is he really that handsome?"

Her first answer is a soft, fluttery sigh, one so sweet and delicate she has to check it came from Sakura. (It did.) "Yes," Sakura answers. "He had to disguise himself on our seduction mission so that he didn't get more attention than me." Ino chokes on the chocolate chips in her ice cream. "He showed me back then, and I knew he was pretty. But a few weeks ago he showed up, and he smiled at me, and…" Sakura groans dramatically, sinking farther into the couch. "I'm so doomed, Ino. So fucking doomed."

"Well, at least you're getting fucked," Ino mumbles around her mouthful of ice cream. A second later, a very pointy elbow digs into her ribcage. "Ow, bitch! What the hell?"

It feels like once Sakura notices Kakashi — really notices him — everything conspires to make it worse. She's visited him too many times now for him not to notice if she stops, so she doesn't. But the next time she goes over to fix supper, it's after a long shift at the hospital dealing with fractious ninja who don't want their physicals. She's been hit on so many times she's lost count, she's seen at least five too many rashes, and the paperwork did her no favors, either. Her head aches, and it's not healable because it's a stress headache. There's nothing to be done for those except suffer. If it was anyone else, even Naruto, she'd call them and cancel.

But she promised Kakashi she'd make chicken katsudon. Even before her realization, she wouldn't have cancelled on him because he receives so few visitors. She's definitely not cancelling now. It takes her far longer than it should to prepare everything because she has to stop every few minutes and rest her eyes. Though it's twilight outside, the kitchen light makes her head hurt worse, so she'll stop, cup her hands over her eyes for a minute, and then keep going. She doesn't even realize Kakashi's home until she feels his hand on her shoulder, calloused and kind. "Sakura? What's wrong?" he asks softly.

She exhales and drops her hands before turning toward him. "Just a headache," she answers, trying to smile. Judging by the way he eyes her, it's not very successful. "Sorry. I should have supper finished soon, so you —"

"Nope," Kakashi says, picking her up by the shoulders, turning, and depositing her in the middle of the kitchen.

"Nope?" she echoes, squinting and trying to follow his movements. Something clicks against the counter.

"You are finishing nothing, Sakura-chan," he says, and then he's looming over her, blocking out the light. She can't help sighing in relief. Then his hands land on her shoulders again and spin her around, gently marching her towards the couch. "I'll finish supper. You are going to lay down right here—" He stops, and she realizes they're right in front of his couch. His very large, cushy, soft couch. "— and rest."

"But the chicken —" she protests. He stops her by scooping her into his arms and dumping her, face first, into the couch.

"But nothing," he says. She wants to keep arguing, but the couch is so soft, and the darkness feels so good… Footsteps fade, and then return a minute later. She hears something rustling, like clothing rubbing against itself, and then a blanket settles over her head, eradicating the last flickers of light from the kitchen that filtered down to her eyes. "Rest, Sakura-chan," Kakashi hums, his voice just behind her ear. "Even if I burn the chicken, it'll be okay."

She finally gives in, turning onto her side and rearranging herself, just a little, so that the blanket blocks the light from the kitchen. It's dark outside, so no punishing sunlight filters in through the clear doors. Clinking dishes worry her for a second, but only a second, because Kakashi starts humming. Maybe she dreams that part. She's not sure. All she knows is that she dozes off and wakes up an hour later, the pinching behind her eyes significantly decreased, to the scent of golden brown katsudon. She stretches and, as she does so, realizes Kakashi's sitting across from her in one of the armchairs. "Sorry," she says through a yawn. "I didn't mean to…"

"How's your head?" he interrupts, his voice still soft.

"Better," she replies, sitting up and shivering as she slides out from under the blanket. She tugs it back up around her shoulders and smiles at Kakashi, trying to think of a way to thank him. Nothing comes to mind, so she just says it. "Thank you. The hospital was just… a lot today."

He smiles back, and it's so warm and affectionate her breath catches. "Everybody has those days," is all he says, pushing himself to his feet and revealing empty hands as he strolls into the kitchen. She blinks. She'd attributed the strong scent of katsudon to his food. If — and he comes out a minute later, a bowl in each hand with chopsticks carefully balanced on top.

"You didn't eat?" she demands, her eyes wide.

"Eating before guests is rude," he replies, crossing the living room to sit down beside her. She takes the bowl he offers her, and her skin burns where his fingers brush against her. "TV?" She shrugs, staring down into her bowl and trying to calm the eddying butterflies in her stomach. "Aa, if you don't care, then I guess I can watch the new Icha Icha adapt—"

"Don't you dare, you pervert," she growls, swinging her gaze up to him. He laughs and the butterflies only get worse.

"Just making sure it was you," he assures her, running his free hand through the hair at the back of her neck before pulling away and reaching for the remote. "I did hear something about a spooky movie marathon, though…"

She ends up falling asleep on his shoulder, watching House of A Thousand Senbon. It's advertised as scary, but they spend most of their time laughing. It misinterprets jutsu in ways only civilian could do, and all of the impossible things the shinobi do aren't the right kind of impossible. Some of the things she's done in ANBU haunt her dreams, but as she drifts to sleep with the scent of his sweat and plain soap in her nose, she feels safe.

Tenzo switches with Snail just before sunrise. The other ANBU pushes her mask up and tells him, voice soft, "Hokage-sama's not in his bedroom. They're on the couch."

"They?" he says, curious. She nods and waves him into the apartment, where they ghost across the floor until they come around the end of the couch, still several feet away. It's far enough not to alarm the occupants of the couch. Kakashi's sprawled on his back, breathing quietly. Sakura's wedged firmly between his side and the back of the couch, her head on his shoulder and tiny snores creeping from her mouth. There's a blanket draped over them, but he can tell they're both clothed despite the absence of Kakashi's mask. It's… honestly an adorable picture.

What makes Tenzo's heart melt, though, isn't the scene itself. It's the way they're gravitating towards each other. Kakashi's nose is buried in Sakura's hair, lips brushing her forehead, and one of his arms curls around her shoulders. One of Sakura's arms loops around his neck, dangling down to brush his chest. The other hand's squarely over his heart — like she's making sure he's still there, still breathing. That brings tears to his eyes as he turns and follows Snail back onto the balcony. "Isn't it cute?" she whispers when the door shuts behind them.

"…yes," he admits. Former student or not, he's never seen Kakashi sleeping so peacefully. Never. If she makes him happy — well. There's stranger places to find love.

Suddenly, Sakura's everywhere. He can't decide whether it's heaven or hell. It feels like she's in his apartment constantly. Sometimes it's to make supper. Sometimes she stops to steal one of his (many, many books) and ends up sitting across from him, talking, for hours. One time, he comes home to find suds splattered across his carpet in the wake of a very wet Bull. He notices his sodas going missing, even though she hates grape flavor. He starts stocking her favorite flavor in self-defense.

He eventually figures out why her evening visits seem so sweet: because they're so perfectly mundane. She figures out how to broil saury exactly the way he likes it, even though she's not much of a fish person. Every time he dives into his food like it's gourmet, Sakura grins like he's handed her the moon. If she cooks, he washes the dishes, no matter that he's Hokage. She never makes dessert, so he starts bringing some of her favorites home. She hates his toilet paper. He changes it. He's allergic to anything in the ragweed family, so she makes him his own version of a relaxing tea without chamomile. In return, he buys a tiny lilac tree and leaves it on the balcony because she loves lilacs. He steals the mushrooms from her donburi. She fries eggplant for his bowls because he loves it.

The night he finds her standing in his kitchen, sickly white from the pain of her headache but still determined to make supper for him, his heart almost lurches out of his chest because he realizes. His heart still beats fast when she smiles at him and his skin prickles beneath her touch, but this — this silent dance, making note of tiny details and caring for each other — is what love survives on. Love might be born of a single spark, an instant in time, but fires need fuel to keep burning. This could have been a wildfire, devastating and disastrous and gone. Instead, it is home.

If he was a better man, he might talk himself out of this, try to pull away from Sakura and the way her joy makes his life sweeter. Kakashi can't bring himself to do it. It feels like dousing a light in a dark room — even unrequited, loving her makes everything more bearable.

Sakura ends up frustrated because she's looking for reasons to hate him, to be angry at him, anything that could possibly disqualify him as a partner. All she finds is the exact opposite. He remembers her favorite brand of tampons, and stocks them in his own bathroom. When she gets a cold, he abandons his apartment and makes her homemade miso soup in her own kitchen. Without eggplant. She cries into the soup because she's aching, and her nose is stuffy, and she's coughing like a dog barks — but he doesn't leave, not even after she starts crying. He just scoots the tissues closer and summons a ninken to help keep her warm.

She tries to retaliate by being more thoughtful and it backfires. When she drops coffee off at his office in the morning, he brings her anmitsu in the afternoon. She cooks him enough food for a week's lunches and leaves on a mission, smug she's outwitted him. She comes home to freshly laundered sheets and a new bathrobe. She steals his old, worn out socks and replaces them with new ones. He steals his sword back and gives it back with new leather on the handle and a new sharpening stone.

She complains to Ino about this and Ino laughs until she can't breathe. "Seriously, Forehead?" she wheezes. "Are you kidding?"

"I wish I was," Sakura grumbles. "How am I supposed to stop liking him? I already know most of his bad habits, like being late and leaving dishes in the sink. This is just —" she grabs a nearby pillow and shrieks into it in frustration.

Ino laughs so hard she falls off the couch. "God, Sakura, you're going to keep me young just from laughing at your dumb ass," she says once she can breathe. "Look, if you want an older man, I think I've got the perfect guy for you. He's a jounin, not ANBU, but he's pretty good, and he's cute. Maybe all of this is just because you haven't gotten any non-sensei dick in… what, like a year?"

Sakura drops the pillow back on her face and tries to smother herself. "Please don't call it sensei dick," she moans into the pillow. "That makes it so fucking weird."

"Oh, come on, like you've never called him that while you're in bed," Ino says, dragging herself back onto the couch. Sakura just growls and doesn't dignify the words with an answer. "Wait, really? Never?"

She hurls the pillow at Ino. Hard. "No, I have not," she grumbles. "Why do I still even talk to you, Pig? You're so gross sometimes."

"Okay, so no sensei —"

"DON'T CALL IT THAT!"

But she lets Ino set her up. And if she'd set her up with Sam before The Realization, Sam could've been it for her. He really could have. He's tall and tan, with dark brown hair that actually shines in the sun, and a smile that could make angels weep. She's pretty sure his body would put Lee to shame, despite him being a whole year older than Kakashi. But… it's not quite right. She goes on a second date, and then a third. On the fourth, they walk through town and end up sitting on top of the Rokudaime's head, just like that first date with Sasuke. He kisses her again, and her body hums in response. It's the kind of thrum she feels beneath her skin, one easily stoked to a flame. Before Sam, only Kikyo and Kakashi could make her burn like this. She tries so, so hard to focus on him, not to let her thoughts wander to the way Kakashi looks when he smiles or how his skin feels under her hands.

She fails. She knows she fails because Sam pulls away from her after she straddles his lap and smiles at her so wryly it hurts. "Trying to forget someone else?" he says.

Her heart drops. "I — please don't think you're a rebound —" she stutters.

His smile softens. "No, I don't think that. But I…" he sighs. "I'm trying to forget someone, too, in my own way." She slides off his lap and sits next to him, curious, as he stares over the village. "I got married, and I shouldn't have. I thought this woman was the love of my life, that I needed a shinobi partner, but… it was a mistake. It turns out I was in love with my best friend all along. I didn't realize until she moved to the daimyo's court a couple of years ago. She still visits, but…" he shrugs. "I'm not going to drag her back into this. She's a civilian. She deserves peace." The night wind whisks around them, the gentle whistle the only sound. Then he turns to her, glint in his eye. "Yours?"

"He's the second biggest asshole I've ever met," Sakura mutters. "And he's… ugh, I don't even know how to explain it. He's a genius, and he's got a body that's not fair, and behind that stupid fucking mask he's so —"

Sam interrupts her, eyes wide. "Wait, wait. Mask?" She nods. "Sakura-chan… are you in love with the Rokudaime?"

She blushes and buries her face in her hands. "I wouldn't call it love," she mumbles. "Just… a really stupid crush. A really stupid crush that he keeps making worse by bringing me dango and anmitsu and making sure my favorite sodas are in his fridge."

Sam laughs, and it rings out. "Sakura-chan, if he's bringing you dango, I think it's safe to say he'd be fine with it if you told him you like him."

"That's what you think," she grumbles. But… she has to wonder. It'll have to wait until he's back from his trip.

Kakashi leans on the windowsill and looks out over Sunagakure. The hidden village has always been reputed for its bloodthirstiness. More than a few people in Konoha — idiot council included — have warned him, repeatedly, that Suna's the second most likely to shatter this precious peace. (The first, of course, is Iwa. That surprises nobody.) But he trusts Gaara. The former jinchuuriki knows the price of war, and how dearly the peace was bought. Rogue Suna nin might be an issue, but Gaara won't be ordering attacks on Konoha any time soon. Despite the peace, Suna's thriving.

"So how many times has that nephew of mine been 'troublesome' so far, eh?" Kankuro asks, propping himself up against the wall.

Kakashi huffs out a laugh and turns, eyeing the puppeteer. "Maa, I wouldn't know," he answers calmly. "Shikamaru doesn't bring him by the office very much."

"Damn," Kankuro mutters. "I was hoping I could use him as an example to get out of marriage myself." He wrinkles his nose. "Yada yada, keep the blood line strong, all that garbage. Yeesh. And it's not even like they're giving me any good choices! If they're not ugly, they're so sand-brained they can't clap their hands without help!"

This time, the laugh's real. "My sympathies in your struggle," Kakashi drawls, glad Kankuro can't see his smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. Surprised you're not fleeing your council, Hokage-sama," he says, casting a weather eye on Kakashi. "You're the last of your clan, and you're a damn good ninja. They haven't been harassing you into anything?"

He's even more glad for the mask now. The council has been harassing him, but… none of the women they've presented him have been Sakura. Some of them have been pretty, intelligent, skilled, both shinobi and civilians. Sena was one of their offerings, prior to her move, but she just laughed and patted his hand when they shoved her into his office. "They have," he manages. "But I'm very picky, you see. I need a woman who appreciates Icha Icha." (It's Sakura. Sakura appreciates Icha Icha, no matter how loudly she protests about it being filth. She's ghostwriting Naruto's continuation of the series. Naruto wrote most of Destruction on his own. It's good, but Sakura helped with the fifth book, Icha Icha Nemesis, and it's the best in the series.)

Kankuro cackles. "Well, that'll keep them off your back for a while," he chortles. "Say, speaking of women in Konoha — how's Pinky? She shacked up with the Uchiha yet, or do I still have a chance?"

Kakashi's a highly trained ninja. That's the only reason he doesn't take a swing at the Kazekage's brother. "She's… well. She and Sasuke aren't together, no. They get along, but I don't think he liked her last girlfriend very much," Kakashi answers, carefully dodging the question.

"Aw, man," he sulks. "Of course she's into girls. I mean, I can't blame her. Have you seen girls?" Gaara steps into the meeting room on the heels of his brother's statement. Kakashi's never been quite so glad to see the brusque young Kazekage.

"Kakashi-sama," he greets him calmly, eyes roaming around the room before he takes his seat. "My councilmen will arrive shortly. How is Konoha?"

"As good as ever," Kakashi answers, slipping into a seat. "Naruto sends his love." He pauses before adding, "I hope you don't expect me to relate that at full volume."

Gaara chuckles, leaning forward and stippling his fingers. "No, the words are enough," he says. "Naruto is well, then? He writes, but he…" Gaara purses his lips. "His letters leave something to be desired."

"They always have," Kakashi says with a chuckle of his own. "Boruto's growing quickly. If I don't make it back to the village in time for Sakura-chan's birthday, Naruto said he'd make me teach Boruto chakra control."

"A grim fate," Gaara says, smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. Then it fades. "And Sakura-san continues to refuse the Uchiha?" Kakashi nods. "Good. Chiyo-sama would return from beyond the grave if she thought Sakura-san was wasting her ability. I do not particularly wish to be haunted."

The door opens and admits the Sunagakure council, then, and everything becomes business. It goes surprisingly well, and he manages to wring a few more concessions out of the council for the trade agreement than he'd expected.

That night, he finds himself restless. Perhaps it's because of the festival below. He can imagine how Sakura would love it, flitting from vendor to vendor to find all the perfect baubles, how she'd laugh — he groans and goes to the rooftop. Instead of staring peacefully into the sky, though, it's interrupted by fireworks. Half of them are exactly the same shade as Sakura's hair. After staring down into the street for a while, eyes roaming the crowds, he sighs and shrugs out of his embroidered flak jacket. Without it, without the Konoha headband, he's a very believable old man — especially if he keeps his head down and hobbles.

Evidently, his guards aren't expecting him to leap into the street and join the crowds. He doesn't try to lose them, but honestly… if they can't keep track of one measly Hokage, should they really be ANBU? It's liberating to meander through the crowds, entirely alone for the first time in years. Perhaps it's the bliss of being alone that makes him careless. After wandering through the throng for an hour, he sees a bar sign just around the corner of a side street.

He enters and finds it to be calm, despite the main street's festivities. An older woman's behind the bar, polishing glasses — not old, perhaps just a few years older than him. Kakashi claims a seat at the bar. "What'll it be?" the woman asks, voice strangely croaky.

"Aa, just some sake," he answers with a smile. There's a bottle and cup in front of him in short order, despite the way the woman's eyeing him.

"Don't recognize you. You a traveler?" she asks, turning back to her glass polishing.

"Of sorts," he answers, pouring himself a cup and sipping it. "Do you mind if I ask what this festival's for? It's very lively."

"Ah, it's…" she chuckles and sets the glass aside. "Well, about a decade ago, some rogue ninja kidnapped Kazekage-sama. We almost didn't get him back, but Chiyo-sama healed him. The festival thanks her for her sacrifice, and celebrates the safe return of Kazekage-sama."

He blinks. Has it really been almost a decade? It has. "To the safe return of the Kazekage, then, and the defeat of the rogues," he says, refilling his cup and raising it to the bartender.

She smiles in return, and it makes something on the side of her face stretch strangely. He glances down and finds a large scar across her throat. "Aah, my own present from shinobi," she says, turning away as if to hide it. "Is your sake cool enough?"

He sips at the cup and hums in agreement. "Just the right amount of warm," he assures her. She stiffens up, like she's offended, and then she squats to rummage under the bar.

"It shouldn't be warm at all," she grumbles. "I'll not have travelers going around saying 'that Yui, she serves warm sake when you ask for cold'." She straightens, a new bottle in her hand, and sets it down in front of him. "There. That's cold sake." Compared to the other bottle, it's certainly far cooler. There's already perspiration beading on the outside.

"Thank you, Yui-san," he says, finishing his last cup and pouring another. While his alcohol tolerance isn't quite as high as Sakura's, he can still get at least halfway through a bottle of strong spirits before he even starts getting tipsy.

"So what brings you here?" Yui asks, hunching over the bar to hide her scar. He feels a little bad for noticing it, but… it's hard to miss.

"Trade," he answers with a hum. The colder sake has a very smooth zing, one that makes his mouth water. "Had to work out some new agreements, you see. Nobody likes getting swindled."

She hums in response. Before she can say anything else, one of the people in the booths comes up to the bar for more drinks. By the time she's finished serving them (a bottle of sake and six mixed drinks), he's two more cups in. It isn't until he fills the cup a fourth time that he notices something's wrong. His hands aren't responding right. When he tries to pour, he ends up sloshing it onto the bar. "Sorry, Yui-san," he says. Or, well, he tries to say it. All that comes out is a mumbled slurry of words.

Yui turns at the sound of his voice, but she doesn't do anything, doesn't say anything. She just folds her arms and watches him as he tries to set the bottle down. But there's two — no, three bars — and they keep moving. He finally manages, but when he moves his hand away, it knocks the bottle over. He watches it tip, eyes hazy, and realizes he's about to pass out when the world starts tilting. He sees Yui mouth something. Maybe she says it. He can't hear anything, and everything's dark. Kakashi figures out her words just as he hits the ground.

I look forward to making you suffer, Copy Nin.

He wakes up, vision blurry, to strange surroundings. It looks vaguely like a basement. Yui's leaning over him. "Ah, you're awake," he hears her mumble. "Good thing I kept an eye on you. Should've known you'd be resistant to drugs."

"Drugs?" he repeats, brain swimming too much to really comprehend his situation.

"Mm. An old woman like me, I've got to have a backup for when people get rowdy in my bar," she says, turning away. He hears bottles clinking against each other. "So I keep a bottle of good sake laced with knockout drugs in the freezer. They start getting rowdy, they get served a special bottle, and then the rowdy isn't a problem." She turns around, tapping a needle in a way Kakashi recognizes. "Now hold still, Hokage-sama."

He tries to fight, to break his cuffs, but whatever she's drugged him with is potent. His limbs don't want to respond, and his chakra doesn't answer him. The prick of the needle precedes the world beginning to swim again.

(in another world, he chooses a different bar, and nothing happens; nobody kidnaps him; nothing changes, but that is not this one)

"How the hell did you lose the fucking Hokage?" Tenzo bellows at the ANBU who've just reported to him. "He's one man! With white hair!"

"H-he got lost in the crowds, taichou," Viper answers, squirming beneath his gaze. "We tried to track him, but he cloaked his chakra, too!"

Tenzo sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Crow!" The other ANBU snaps to attention. "Mobilize the other ANBU. I want this entire city run over with a fine-tooth comb."

"Of course, taichou," Crow answers with a bow. "Will you be joining us?"

"Eventually," he says. "First, I need to inform the Kazekage that Hokage-sama has disappeared in his city." And send a message to let Naruto know, too, if we don't find the grump, he grumbles to himself. Why did I want to stay in ANBU again? Being co-commander is a damn hassle.

The next time Kakashi regains consciousness, they're in an oasis. It's at least mid-day, if not later. If he stares, hard, he can see trees in the distance — that means they're not far from the border of Fire Country. Four people have joined Yui — three men and one woman. The other woman and two of the men move with the careful awareness of shinobi.

He doesn't let on that he's awake. He doesn't let his breathing pattern change, or his eyelids flicker; he watches through barely slit eyes to get a feel for the camp. The fog clears a little, and he recognizes the telltale thrum of chakra inhibitors around his wrists. Despite the inhibitors, though, a tiny trickle of chakra still comes when he calls. It's not much, but… he waits until all of the shinobi-trained people are outside of camp or distracted. Then he slowly, slowly, raises his hand and bites his thumb. He's used this jutsu so often he's not sure he needs chakra for it any longer, just the blood. He certainly doesn't need the words or the hand signs.

He presses his hands to the ground and funnels chakra into his fingers. A second later, a puff of smoke appears between his legs and blows away to reveal Pakkun. The dog opens his mouth, but Kakashi shushes him. From there, Pakkun figures it out himself with a glance around. "Got it, boss," he whispers. "I'll be back."

The dog doesn't waste any more time before scampering out of the oasis, so quiet the sand barely shifts beneath his paws. Kakashi watches him go and closes his eyes once the tiny brown dot fades out of sight. Ten minutes later, someone comes over and doses him again. He slips under, hoping help comes soon.

Pakkun stops, halfway between the oasis and the forest, and debates. Konoha's slightly farther from his current position, but he's not sure Suna would be the best people to rescue Kakashi. The Sand brats seem okay, but… He thinks about it for a minute. Then he decides on Konoha and takes off, leaving a tiny dust devil in his wake.

I'll get the kids, boss, and it'll be okay, he thinks as his paws eat up the miles. He runs and runs until the moon comes out, and until the sun rises, and then he keeps running because he's not going to let his human down.

"What do you mean I don't get to leave for lunch? It's super late!" Naruto demands, springing from his seat and slamming his hands on the desk. "I want ramen, and I promised Hina-chan I'd meet her and Boruto!"

Shikamaru sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Naruto —"

"Hokage-sama."

"Acting Hokage-sama, you have a meeting with the council at 2:30. They have some objections to Rokudaime-sama's proposed amendments to the education system, and —" Shikamaru explains. He gets interrupted.

"It's Kakashi-sensei's shitty amendments. Why do I gotta defend 'em?" Naruto grumbles, sinking into his chair. "Can we at least —"

Two things happen, almost in tandem. A messenger hawk, decked in full Suna war gear, taps at the window. A second later, the office door slams open and admits… absolutely nobody. Shikamaru blinks. Then he looks down. A familiar ninken's standing there, caked in sand and mud, almost swaying with exhaustion. "Pakkun?"

"Yo," the dog says, turning his head up. "Set me on the desk, would you?"

"Hey! Shika!" Naruto shouts as his advisor bends over and picks the dog up, setting him squarely in the center of the desk. "Gaara says those dumb ANBU lost Kakashi and they can't find him in the town!" Naruto spins around as he relays those words, the Hokage cloak swirling around him. "Do we — oh. Hey, Pakkun." It takes a second for Naruto to realize who he just greeted. "Ehhh? Pakkun?!" he squawks. "Where's your boss?!"

Pakkun wobbles a little. "Well, you just got the letter about him disappearing," the dog says. "Hey, can I get some water? I've been runnin' for more than a day." Almost before he finishes, Snail-san sets a bowl of water in front of the pug. He drinks, and drinks, and then sits back up. "So Kakashi summoned me yesterday. Didn't think nothin' of it until I popped in, and he's trussed up like a birthday present in the middle of some oasis. Stunk like drugs and chakra inhibitors, too. Not sure how he managed to summon me, but…" he takes another drink. "Here I am. Smelled about five people in the camp. They've probably moved him by now, but I should be able to track him pretty easy. We better hurry, though, cause all of those people smelled angry."

Shikamaru opens his mouth to say something, mind already flickering through possibilities — and they all get derailed by a burst of the most powerful killing intent he's felt in years. Mongoose-san slips out of the shadows, slowly reining their intent back in, but their eyes are fixed on Pakkun. "Drink your fill," they growl, the words dripping with rage. "I'm going after him." Then they turn to Naruto and say, "Send a cleanup team after me."

Naruto gapes. "H-hey! That's no kind of attitude, ANBU-teme!" he shouts. "The hell kind of ANBU are you, giving up on Kaka-sensei so fast?"

Dark eyes flicker from the window back to Naruto. "Nanadaime-sama, the cleanup team is not for the Rokudaime. It's for the idiots who took him."

Naruto's rage fades away. "Oh. I guess that's a good idea, then! Thanks for volunteering for the rescue team! Shika, see if you can find that bastard —"

"No," Mongoose says. "I'm going alone. Anyone else will only slow me down." They hold their arms out to Pakkun and the damn dog jumps into them, crawling up and resting on the ANBU's shoulder.

At that, Naruto's spine snaps straight and he crosses his arms, scowling at Mongoose in a way that sends chills down Shikamaru's spine. He intervenes before Naruto says something truly troublesome. "Mongoose-san, don't forget you are ANBU. You take your orders directly from the Hokage, and disobeying them —"

Clunkssssh. Mongoose's porcelain mask thumps onto the desk and slides through the papers. "Then consider this my resignation." Though her hair's soot black, he knows the green eyes that burn into him for a second before twitching back to Naruto. And then, the soot-black of the henge begins to fade into pink.

"S-S-Sakura?" Naruto gasps. "You're ANBU?"

"Was," she says, tilting her head to one side. "Don't try to stop me, Naruto." With that, she's on the windowsill and pushing off, disappearing quickly into the distance.

They both stare after her for a minute, mouths wide. Then they turn to each other. "Sasuke?" Shikamaru asks, hand already on the doorknob.

"Find Kiba and Sai, too," Naruto orders, mouth firm. "They'll need to follow Sakura's scent."

Shikamaru nods. "Medic-nin?"

"Eeeeh, pick one," Naruto says, brow furrowing. "The only ones I know of are Ino and Sakura-chan, and…" he shrugs.

"Inojin can stay with Temari. I'll have them ready to go in no time, Hokage-sama."

Distantly, Kakashi becomes aware of a slapping noise. He doesn't realize someone's slapping his face until a jolt of pain finally sneaks through to his brain and jerks his eyelids open. "There you are, Ho-kage-sama," a man's voice snarls with so much loathing the title feels like a curse.

"Yo," Kakashi mumbles, trying to focus and take in the details of his surroundings. His eyes finally stabilize and land on the person who woke him up — a middle-aged man with a scratched Suna hitai-ate.

He half-expects the spittle that lands on his cheek. That it's his bare cheek, though? A glance down tells him he's in his underwear and nothing else. "You're really just like all those damn stories, aren't you?" the man snarls, prowling around Kakashi. He takes the chance to assess his bonds. Muscles weak from the drug. Chakra still cut off. Tied like a hog for a New Year's Feast. "I hoped, hoped, that the great Copy Ninja, hero and Hokage, wouldn't be like everyone said. Maybe you had a good reason for pardoning that piece of shit and letting him get away with everything he did. But you're just a lazy idiot, aren't you?"

"Aa, is this about Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi asks, trying to keep his tone light. "He really has changed, you know —" a fist slams into his cheek and slams his head back against whatever metal he's tied to.

Yui's voice comes out of the darkness. "You would think this is about the Uchiha brat," she says, words thick with disgust. "No. He's a brat who played follow the leader until he couldn't milk it any longer. He at least had the decency to kill that slimy bastard, even if it didn't stick."

"Orochimaru," Kakashi realizes. This time, the fist comes from the left.

"Yes, that's what most call him," the man hisses. "Do you know what we call him?"

Kakashi shakes his head, trying to keep it from swimming more. "We?"

And then at least a dozen people melt out of the shadows. Each and every one of them is marred in some way, save for the first Suna nin. One's missing a hand. Another, an eye. Yet another has thick, ropy scars banding their arms. And each of them has something to say.

"We," Yui says. "We survived him. After we escaped from that bastard, we went to Suna. They're murderous devils, every one of them, but at least they kill their rogues instead of letting them run wild."

"He took my eye," the first person says. "And he didn't even have the decency to numb me. He dug it out of my head while I begged him to stop, and he did it because he heard I might have some Uchiha lineage about five generations back."

"He used me as a test dummy," the one with a hand says. "He cut off my hand and put it back on, and cut it off and put it back, until he couldn't do it any more. It took twelve hours before my hand died too much to be re-attached."

All of their stories make him wince and cringe. He didn't want to pardon Orochimaru. If it'd been up to him, he would've hung the bastard by his toes and let him bleed out — but that wasn't what the other nations agreed on. "I'm sorry," he rasps as Yui approaches.

"Sorry doesn't give me back my sister," she says. "It doesn't give me the job he took from me when he ruined my voice. It doesn't do anything." But then a slow, sadistic smile creeps across her face. "I get first," she coos, holding out her hand. The Suna nin hands her a kunai, the edges so sharp he can see them from here.

"Torturing me won't fix anything, either," Kakashi says. He's starting to shut down. He can tell because he doesn't feel panic or fear or anything as she walks closer, kunai gleaming.

"It'll make me feel better," she spits as she raises the kunai.

Sakura runs. She's never been so glad for the pre-packed bag she keeps just inside her apartment door, because it means she doesn't have to stop. The only thing she stops for is to filch a skewer of meat from a street stand. "Hey! Get back here!" the owner bellows.

"I'll pay later!" she shouts back, holding the skewer up for Pakkun to nibble on. "Direction?"

"Due east and then north after a while," Pakkun says between bites of the kebab. "You're the best, Sakura-chan."

"I try," she says lightly. But the words feel like a betrayal. Kakashi's missing and suffering and she — she's feeding his dog and smiling.

She doesn't even bother stopping at the gates. They'd try to stop her. She just soars past them and into the trees. The skewer gets flung away when Pakkun's finished and he smacks his lips. "Start heading north here," he says after an hour or so of flying through the trees.

"Got it." With every step, she's closer to Kakashi. With every step, her anger builds.

He spits bloody saliva yet again and smacks his lips, trying to get rid of the taste. It took his captors hours to get tired of playing with him. None of it is practiced or measured. It's just violence for violence's sake. The one with the missing eye decided to trace his scar with a scalpel and make tiny incisions all around his eye, like it's going to be removed; Yui pressed the kunai just deep enough into his throat to make him bleed, but not deep enough to kill him. The person with scars on their arms cut bloody rings into Kakashi's biceps. The amputee ran a senbon through the skin of his forearms, over and over again, 'to let you know how it feels to have your hand sewn back on so many times you lose count'. Each of them had their own special torture for him, based on what they'd suffered at Orochimaru's hands.

But they're gone now. They've been gone for several hours, long enough for Kakashi's wounds to clot. He even managed to get a little sleep, despite the pain. For all their passion, these people can't compare to Ibiki's training program. The only one of them left is the Suna rogue — who's sitting in the doorway, straddling a chair and snoring. It's the only door out, but he still finds himself deeply disappointed in the shinobi for sleeping. Chakra suppressed or not, Kakashi knows a dozen ways to sneak past even a light sleeper.

He closes his eyes and focuses on the rope around his wrists. It's several layers deep, and wrapped tightly, but he's been feeding his muscles his single tiny thread of chakra for hours. He's nowhere near Sakura's level of expertise at this, but he's been able to slowly, slowly stretch the ropes out. They should be loose enough for him to slip free soon — or so he hopes. His internal clock's telling him daylight's not far off. That means his tormentors will return soon. While he could stick around and wait for tomorrow night — he'd really rather not.

Forty-two minutes later, he feels something snap in the ropes. They go slack. He watches the rogue ninja carefully, so carefully, as he slowly slides his hands from the ropes. Nothing. It takes second to undo the rope around his feet. When the rope slides to the floor, he picks it up and advances across the room slowly. It's been at least three days since he ate anything, probably longer. He's also dehydrated — the only water he's had was the freezing water they dumped over his head a dozen times last night. Between that and his wounds, he's not in as good a shape as he'd like to be.

It's still as easy as breathing to slip the rope around the Suna nin's neck and choke him to death. He wheezes, tries to hit Kakashi or call out, but utterly fails. Kakashi frisks the body and finds the man woefully lacking in weapons for a rogue nin. Three kunai, two with exploding tags on them, a handful of senbon, and… "Really? A condom?" he mutters to himself. The man's sandals are a touch too large, the pants a little too tight, but he steals them anyway, feeling quite justified.

He's been in better situations, but he's been in worse ones, too. He glances out the door before stepping into the hallway. As he walks, he wiggles the tip of the kunai into the seam of the chakra inhibitor cuffs and tries to pry them open. He turns a corner, just as the metal starts to slide apart — and there's a civilian coming down the hall toward him. There's no chance she didn't see him. The corridor's well lit and her eyes are straight forward, even if she is at the far end of the hall. She freezes at the same time he does.

"Shit." Kakashi streaks straight for her, hoping he can get to her before she raises the alarm. He's too slow, body still recovering from the drugs.

She slides around the corner she entered from and takes off, shouting, "He's out! The copy nin is out!" He glances both ways and follows her with a sigh — the air's fresher that way. Closer to the entrance. Another ninja slides into view, this one holding a ninjato. Kakashi rolls his eyes and ducks beneath the ninja's swing, coming up inside the man's arm reach. A fist to the jaw sends him flying. Kakashi wants to execute the man, eliminate the risk, but he doesn't know how much time he has.

One hall. A sniff leads him to the fresh air when he finds three doors, but there's three shinobi there. One of them starts out with a startlingly weak katon — a second later, one of the others fans its flames with a wind jutsu. It turns into a fiery hurricane, arms spinning. He dodges most of them, but one kisses the skin of his stomach and makes him stumble. Katon Girl starts making signs again and he sacrifices one of the kunai, planting it squarely in her eye before she can finish. It's one of the kunai with the exploding tags, too, so he sacrifices a tiny thread of his available chakra to activate it as it leaves his hand. Wind Guy leaps to check on her, just in time for the tag to explode. He waves the smoke away, careful to stay on guard because the third one —

"Those were my friends, you fucking asshole!" the girl shrieks, boiling out of the cloud with two katanas drawn. He dodges, glances at the blades, and decides discretion is the better part of valor.

So he bolts past her, down another fucking hallway, and —

Something hits his neck. He claps his hand to his neck because it hurt, like a horsefly bite, and nearly impales his hands on a senbon. Much to his dismay, the senbon's sticky. "Fucking poison," he groans, but he's not going to give up. Not yet.

Another bite, just below his shoulder blade. He slips into a doorway, following the flow of fresh air, and stops dead. It's a massive arena, with ceiling vents to the outside covered in iron gratings. Two more bites, one right after the other, this time hitting the back of his legs. "Ah, we can't have you leaving yet, Kakashi-san," a strange new voice coos. "There's still so many people who want to meet you."

His vision starts swimming. "Fuck… you…" he manages to groan before he hits his knees.

Finally, after stopping at the oasis and following the scent trail north, they've found its end. "The trail leads through here, Sakura-chan!" Pakkun barks, pointing straight at the rusty door embedded in the hillside. "And… I think I smell fresh blood."

Her hands clench. "Is that so?" she mutters, stepping forward and assessing the door. There's a half-dozen different keys on it — one that requires blood, one that requires a chakra signature, and so on. After looking it over, she raises her foot and kicks.

One kick bends the door inward, like crumpled foil. The second makes the hinges shriek. The third sends it flying down the hallway, metal screeching against the floor until it comes to a stop. Pakkun trots forward without bidding, nose to the ground.

At the first junction of hallways, she pauses and waits for direction. Pakkun lifts his head and growls before saying, "I think someone's close, Sakura-chan."

"Good," she says. She felt the threatening chakra, but it's never bad to have a confirmation. A second later, an immense man rounds the corner. He's at least as wide as Choji, but… "What kind of steroids do you have to take for that muscle definition?" she calls out, itching for a fight.

This time, Kakashi resurfaces far sooner. They haven't moved him from the arena — instead, they've dragged him into the center of the room and tied him to a pole there. This time, they've been a little more cruel with their restraints. He's on his knees, hands tied above his head and feet tied behind the pole. There's just enough slack in the rope to make it feel like he can stretch his arms if he moves… but all moving does is jostle his wounds.

"You shouldn't have tried escaping, Hokage-sama," he hears Yui say. He looks up and she's squatting in front of him again. "Now people are even angrier because you attacked their friends." She offers him a smile, so soft it's cruel. "And we have new friends for you to meet, too!"

"A pleasure indeed," the voice that preceded his unconsciousness purrs from somewhere behind Kakashi. "You know, I'm not offended by you pardoning Orochimaru. No, for me… it's personal." Someone walks to Yui's side and Kakashi glares at them. Their face is vaguely familiar — dark red curls around a square face — but he can't place the man. "You see, my mother was a shinobi. She wasn't very good, though. After she gave birth to me, the Mizukage offered her a mission. If she could seduce a Hyuuga or an Uchiha, get with child, and bring it back to the village… why, she'd have riches beyond her wildest dreams."

He closes his eyes. He knows where this story's going now. "And she was successful. She came all the way back home before someone tattled about the immigrant girl who slept with an Uchiha. They sent only the best to get rid of the threat." Something sharp drags along his cheek, slicing into his skin. "And I found my mother's pregnant body with a hole in her chest. Cauterized, of course, since it was lightning that dealt the killing blow. That young, there was no chance for the baby to survive outside of the womb."

"Here I thought you were innocent of atrocities beyond pardoning that snake," Yui snarls. "You deserve everything Akane-san can give you and —"

Something screeches in the distance. It's a familiar sound, one he wouldn't recognize if it wasn't for his experience. Metal on metal. Something large. Yui's head snaps back and her eyes narrow. "I'm going to check that out. Have fun, Akane-san."

And Akane lives up to the name of the village he came from. He starts by delicately carving kanji into Kakashi's chest. As he carves, he talks. "You know, I must really have done something right for you to be delivered to me so neatly. My friends and I were all in Suna, waiting for you to leave so that we could ambush you on your way to Konoha. Imagine my surprise when I hear someone's already kidnapped you." He licks his fingers and digs them into the carved wound, grinning when Kakashi winces.

He's starting on the second row of kanji when something thumps. He lifts his head. Kakashi listens, too, hopeful but confused. Thump. Thump. Thump. The sound comes closer and closer, echoing in the hallway outside the arena door. Akane frowns and stands, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a remote. Lights click on, revealing — he doesn't know how many people, standing around the edges of the room, watching Kakashi with almost lustful eyes. And at the door… something flies into the room. It takes a second for him to realize it's a body. Yui's body. She thumps to the floor and slides to a stop.

"You should get better guards." His heart leaps. Thump. Thump. Sakura steps into view, dressed in her ANBU uniform, someone's foot in one hand. The only thing missing is her mask. He follows it down to realize she's dragging one of the biggest, most musclebound men he's ever seen… like a toy on a string. "He looked nice, but he couldn't fight for shit," she says, and then she hurls the second body into the center of the room. The man rolls to a stop, face up. There's a bloody crater where his ribs should be.

"Ah, the valiant rescuers appear!" Akane says, clasping his hands. Then he tilts his head. "Where's the rest of your people? There are quite a few of us, you know."

"They would've slowed me down," she says, stepping farther into the room. "Besides, I don't need help to deal with you." Chills go down Kakashi's spine as her chokuto rasps its way out of her sheath.

"Oh, I think you will," Akane chuckles. Suddenly he's at Kakashi's back, one arm around his body and dragging him to his feet. Faintly, Kakashi realizes his feet have been unbound and wonders when that happened. "After all, you wouldn't want your precious Hokage-sama to get hurt, would you?" he snarls, pressing a kunai against Kakashi's jugular.

Sakura bares her teeth, her lips curving. It's not a smile. It's the look of an angry predator. "You might want to worry about yourself a little more." Her sword flashes green —

and then she's in front of him, blade swinging so close to his chest he can feel the hum of her chakra. Blood splatters. Akane drops the kunai and staggers backward, one hand missing. Sakura disappears. A second later, Kakashi hears the most unearthly, unholy keening he's ever heard — it's high pitched and it stretches and stretches an —

Akane's head flies past him and rolls to a stop in the middle of the floor, followed by his body. Instead of the clean cut of a beheading, his neck's a pulpy, stringy mess. Kakashi's stomach turns a little as he realizes Sakura pulled the man's head off with her bare heads, that the shrieking noise was Akane's vocal cords snapping. After a heartbeat of silence, Sakura steps forward and kicks the body so that it rolls closer to the wall. Then she looks around the room and says, bestial curl in her lips, "If you run now, you might survive."

Another heartbeat. Then someone shouts, "You bitch!" That serves as a signal. Everyone lunges forward, eager to attack.

"Sakura — let me down —-" Kakashi says, struggling against his restraints. There's no way she can handle all of these ninja on her own, even if they're all bad. She cocks her head and glances back at him. She doesn't say a word. She just smiles before she turns to face the crowd descending on her.

And she destroys them. He doesn't blink, can't blink, as she moves. Part of him wishes for the Sharingan again so he can watch it later and pick it all apart. She's in front of him, sword blazing and one hand moving as she charges — one handed seals? When did she — and then she's in the middle of the crowd, slashing upwards and bisecting someone lengthwise with one hand. The other slams into someone's chest and they crumble, water following her hand as she leaps away. The water turns into a snake, strangling the first person it runs into. She disappears, only to reappear above someone's head, blade dropping to split their skull and skewer them like cheap meat. She disappears and she's behind someone, pulling out their spine — someone else, kicking them into the wall — her sword through someone's throat, her fingers sparking as she drives them into someone's eyes — more seals, and someone begins shrieking as they run in circles — her fist bursts through someone's chest —

He wonders, for a second, if he's hallucinating. She's in a dozen places at once, like movement in a long exposure photograph. He breathes, and half the room is dead. He blinks, and only she remains, standing over a heap of bodies with her sword dripping. He blinks again and finds her in front of him. She's dripping in blood and gore, hair clumping against her neck, but she's smiling at him as she cuts him down. "Kakashi," she breathes as he slumps, reaching out and cupping his cheek. Her fingers slide against his skin, wet with blood, but he doesn't care.

He leans into her hand and smiles at her, even as his head starts to spin again. "Yo, Sakura-chan," he says, faintly aware he's slurring his words, that the darkness is closing in again. It's okay. She's what he sees when he closes his eyes.

When Kakashi loses consciousness, her heart stops for a second. But his heart's beating beneath her hand. It's sluggish, but it's there. Even using her own techniques, designed to use as little chakra as possible, she's already down to a third of her capacity. She bites her lip and sets to triaging. It's easy to close up the words carved into his chest. Sakura spends a little more chakra there than she should, making sure the wounds won't scar. She's not going to let him walk around for the rest of his life with dog of Konoha, child-murderer, worth less than dirt on his chest.

She's low enough after that that she taps into her seal. She's been working on it in her off time, tweaking it just a little to make it so that she can use little bits at a time. Even if she hadn't, she has no qualms with breaking it open for Kakashi. She heals the rings carved into his arms and seals up the clotted pinpricks all along his forearms. For those, she doesn't work on the muscle, just heals the skin over enough to keep him from bleeding out.

The burn on his stomach's bad enough that she doesn't want to do anything to it here. It needs debrided in a sterile environment. Rather than heal it, she surrounds it with a thin film of her chakra. It serves both to keep the wound in something like stasis and to numb sensation. There's a gash on his throat, long lines cut open down his legs, and more than a few of his fingers are broken. She heals the open wounds, tugs the broken bones into alignment, and dribbles water down his throat. He's badly dehydrated, judging by the way his skin responds to her pinch.

"Fucking idiot," she mumbles, leaning in and wiping the blood from his face. Her fingers are still bloody enough that it just smears it. "Why am I doomed to love dumbasses?" She glances around and then up at the ceiling. "Well, that's one way to leave."

At noon, four shinobi land outside a hole in a hillside. "Scent leads through here," Kiba says, sniffing a couple extra times just to be sure. "And I smell a hell of a lot of blood, too."

Ino leans over, inspecting the doorway. "Yeah, Forehead's been through here," she sighs. "She's the only person I know who regularly punches through solid steel hinges. Can't say I blame her for her temper, considering —" she pauses and glances at the stoic man two steps behind her. "…that someone kidnapped her old sensei."

"Do you also feel this rage, Uchiha-san?" Sai asks, shaking out a scroll and urging a flock of rats onto the ground. They skitter into the tunnels below without further bidding. "Naruto feels great rage under many circumstances, but I believe I would only be so angry if someone were to threaten Ino or Inojin."

Ino suppresses her growl. Sasuke doesn't answer. He just steps forward and looks down into the stairway. "This is one of Orochimaru's old bases," he says, glancing back at them. "Small. Primarily used for… the beginning stages of experiments. Odd that anyone else knows of it."

They wait for the rats to return before they venture below. "Signs of combat in several places, but one more than the others," Sai tells them. "Shall we proceed?"

They pass the door halfway down the first hallway, the metal bent and warped. Farther down, there's spatters of blood on the walls. "Not hers," Kiba and Ino chime in unison. They glance at each other and Ino explains as they keep moving. "Too high up on the wall. That volume of blood has to come from an artery, and she's not tall enough to have an artery up that high." There's a trail of blood on the floor, and Ino doesn't realize they're following it until they make another turn.

"The arena's ahead," Sasuke says, strain in his voice. "It… he pitted some of his experiments against each other there."

"That's where… whatever happened," Kiba says, glancing at Akamaru. "It stinks too bad to be anything else." A minute later, they step into the arena.

For all her years as a shinobi, Ino's stomach still churns. Bodies litter the floor like leaves in the woods. Some of them are in pieces, some of them strangled or desiccated, some with bloody craters in their chests. Eye sockets gape, holes burnt through to the back of their skulls. Senbon gleam from necks, despite the blood coating everything. A few look as if they died of fear, which… "Holy shit," Ino says. She's at a loss for words.

"Holy shit," Kiba echoes her. Akamaru leaps over the bodies and sniffs at the biggest pile, shaking his head, before trotting to the center of the room and sitting beside a bloodstained pillar. "What'd you find, boy?" Kiba's less delicate with the bodies, kicking them out of his way to get to the pillar. "This blood…" he frowns. "It's definitely the Hokage's. I can also smell Sakura, but she wasn't bleeding."

"Here," Sai calls from the back of the room, straightening to his feet. Ino leans around Sasuke and sees an iron grate, crumpled just like the door. "Inuzuka-san, was this their exit?"

Both dog and man bound over to sniff the grate and its surroundings intensely for a moment. "Yeah, I think so," Kiba finally says. "Otherwise, the trail ends here."

Ino nods and wanders back to the post, where she swipes a finger through the blood. She gives it a cursory sniff and her eyes narrow. "Hey, Kiba, does this smell like rohyngan to you?"

"Oh, yeah," Kiba says. He doesn't even turn around. "Meant to say that. Nasty shit, especially in large doses. No wonder Kakashi was out of it."

"That's your Hokage you're talking about, you ass!" They leap out of the uncovered vent a minute later to follow Sakura's trail, though Kiba's nursing a new lump.

Sakura's exhausted by the time she gets to Suna. Despite the lab being technically within Fire, Sunagakure was still closer than Konoha. She loathes soldier pills, but she's taken two and a half since she left Konoha. Kakashi hasn't woken up since she left the arena, despite being over her shoulder in a fireman's carry. Her iron control's wavering, making the film over his burn dip in and out.

Of course that means she causes quite a fuss when she lands in Suna's hospital, covered in blood and hauling an unconscious kage. "Hokage-sama needs a trauma team, stat!" she barks at the receptionist. "He's unconscious, likely drugged, and suffering from dehydration and starvation. I've stopped his bleeding, but there are multiple large wounds, as well as burns and broken fingers."

The receptionist blinks at her and then stands. "O-of course, ANBU-san." And then, someone tries to take Kakashi from her arms. In a blink, she's a foot away and her sword's drawn, angled towards the intern and the receptionist. "I'm not letting go of him until I have a surgery table and Konoha ANBU here," she growls. "Get moving."

"A-ANBU-san —"

"I said get moving!" Sakura shouts. In short order, there's an operating room open. She lays Kakashi down on the table and grabs one of the ubiquitous skin-safe markers in the room. "Slash wounds here, here, and here," she tells the medics flooding into the room, marking them as she goes. "Deep wounds here, punctures here —"

It doesn't take long before the other med-nin are working on the wounds. Sakura requests a bowl of water and starts filtering his blood, trying to get some of the drug out. The entire time, she keeps one hand on Kakashi's chest, over his heart. The water in her bowl's starting to cloud when a familiar chakra touches her senses. "Sakura, he's safe," Yamato murmurs, his fingers brushing her arm. "I've got him."

She gently tugs the orb of water away from Kakashi's skin and drops it into the bowl before turning towards the voice. "You sure?" she says, voice a little muzzy. Yamato nods. "'kay." And then she lets go — the last thing she remembers seeing is the flash of the fluorescent lights as her knees buckle.

Kakashi's never been quite so glad to wake up to the sterile stench of a hospital. It's not a Konoha hospital — the ceiling's brown, not white, and the air's too dry — but it's not whatever hellhole his kidnappers hunted out to keep him in. Plus, he's wearing a mask, even if it's only the plain kind surgeons use. He's content to rest in the quiet, dozing in and out, until someone slams the door open. It bangs against the wall and he jumps, reaching for a weapon that's not there.

Tsunade glowers at him, hands on her hips. "You!" she barks. "I am getting entirely too fucking old for this shit, do you hear me? What the hell possessed you to go running off without your ANBU and get kidnapped?"

He tries to move, but his muscles are still weak. For all her bluster, Tsunade's surprisingly gentle as she helps him sit up and hands him a glass of water. He drinks it in two gulps and whispers, "Sakura?"

Tsunade's eyes soften, just a little. "She's in the next room. Chakra exhaustion, relatively minor wounds. Ran for hours to get to you, fought whoever the hell had you by herself, healed you enough to keep you alive, she ran you all the way to Suna for treatment, and managed to purge some of the shit in your blood before she passed out." She arches one eyebrow at him. "Maybe your little crush isn't as hopeless as you think, brat."

He scowls at her, but then the reality of what just happened sinks in. He drops his head into his hands and groans. "Now everyone's going to think the Leaf is weak," he says, contemplating the blanket spread over his lap.

"Mm, I don't know about that," Tsunade says. "When the cleanup team went in, they recovered the bodies of 3 different S-ranked rogue nin. We also had to basically flush your entire system because of the amount of rohyngan in your blood." She clucks and Kakashi glances over to see her shaking her head. "The average amount to induce loss of consciousness in a healthy shinobi your size and weight is roughly a third of what they hit you with. Those suppression cuffs practically turned you into a civilian, and you were wounded, so it's honestly a fucking miracle you're not dead." She sighs and collapses into the chair beside his bed. "And, incidentally, the cleanup team that went in wasn't ours. It was Suna's. Sakura left plenty of chakra lying around, so they know she single-handedly defeated almost everyone in that base, and they're not being shy about spreading that around."

He sighs and lifts his head to look at his predecessor. "I shouldn't have gone on that walk… what a mess."

"Damn straight you shouldn't have!" Tsunade barks. "You know how much chakra I had to pour into you to keep you from looking like a damn quilt? Unbelievable. I was relaxing, having a good time… and then the news came in the damn window about twenty seconds after I won a bet. Ugh."

He offers her a weak smile. "Ah, sorry for the fuss."

"Sorry for the — you brat! That's all you have to say?!"

"Hey."

"Yo."

"You're the biggest idiot in all of Konoha. You know that, right? I'm pretty sure Naruto was smarter than you fifteen years ago."

"You're so cruel to your poor Hokage, Sakura-chan."

"…I'm glad I got to you before it got worse."

"So am I."

They're both back in Konoha in time for Sakura's birthday, but things are… odd. The chuunin at the gate give her strange looks from the corners of their eyes. She, and Kakashi, and the rest of the Hokage's entourage, walk through town instead of taking the rooftops, so that everyone can see he's okay. In between watching Kakashi, she notices… a lot. Street vendors she's known for years are eyeing her and whispering. Shinobi who usually ignore her (well, when she's not doing their physicals) stare her down. More than a few civilians shuffle out of her way, like they're worried.

"…Why is everyone staring?" she asks Kakashi from the corner of her mouth. "Is there still blood in my hair or something?"

He chuckles, shooting her a quick, fond glance. "Ah, Sakura-chan, it seems people have been telling tales while we were gone." Her eyes go wide and his laugh's a little louder now. "Did you think nobody would find out?"

"I — yes — no — not exactly?" she says, flushing and staring down at her feet. She can't exactly say 'I wasn't thinking rationally, I just needed to save you'.

"Congratulations," Kakashi says, and there's a dark undertone to his voice for a second. "You're officially just as scary as Sasuke-kun and I."

"Thanks. I hate it," she mutters. She's incredibly glad when they enter the tower because it means people aren't staring. Then she realizes —

"Sakura-chan! WHAT THE HELL?!" Naruto bellows, shooting to his feet. "Why didn't you tell me about ANBU and all that other stuff?" For all his bluster, she can see real hurt and anger in his eyes.

"Sorry, Naruto," she says, scuffing the toe of her sandals against her heel. "But ANBU's supposed to be secret, you know? Everything else just kind of…" she waves her hand. "It was related."

"And what about that attitude, huh?" Naruto's scowl only deepens.

Shikamaru interrupts then with a delicate cough. "I believe there are some matters the Rokudaime needs to attend to?"

"Mm, it can wait," Kakashi hums. "What's this I hear about an attitude?" Sakura pales and then flushes. She hadn't realized — oh, she's so screwed.

"Kaka-sensei, you're never going to believe what she did!" Naruto starts, and then he relates the entire tale. By the time he's finished relating her words and actions — including her resignation from ANBU — she's sitting on the floor, face in her hands, embarrassed beyond words.

"So fierce, Sakura-chan," Kakashi says when the story's over. And strangely, there's a thread of admiration in his voice. She peeks up, through spread fingers, and her stomach jolts. That fondness is there in his gaze again. Something strangely like hope curls through her.

Kakashi groans as he sinks into his couch. "I'm the Hokage," he whines. "Do I really need to debrief myself?"

"Yes," Shikamaru, Tenzo, and Sakura all answer in unison. He doesn't miss the heated glance Sakura sends him, though, and it makes him shiver at the prospect of being 'debriefed'. "Hokage-sama, we need —"

"You write shit reports, Kakashi," Sakura interrupts Shikamaru. "I already have my part of this filled out, but you know why we need records of this stuff. So start talking, mask boy, and I'll start writing."

He's glad for the mask because it conceals the quirk of his lips. "So cruel, Sakura-chan," he complains mournfully. And then he starts talking.

"What the hell kind of bartender keeps rohyngan on hand?" Sakura mumbles at one point.

Shikamaru chimes in a little later with, "You summoned Pakkun after they put those cuffs on? Are you sure?" He shoots his advisor an annoyed glare, but nods and continues. By the end of the story, Sakura's broken three pens. Tenzo looks like he wants to go dig up his kidnappers. Shikamaru, as always, looks blasé about the whole thing. "How troublesome," the man finally says, after tapping his fingers together for what feels like forever.

"I didn't realize there were still people angry about what you've done, taichou," Tenzo murmurs.

Kakashi burrows further into his cushions. "That's the job, Tenzo," he replies, eyes going half-lidded. "For a long time, I was Konoha's favorite weapon. I did what I was told, and I was good at it, and I always came back." He stops, thinking of some of the times he nearly didn't, and then shakes the thoughts away. "Me making it back usually meant someone else was never going to make it home. Sometimes, it was someone who didn't deserve a home. Other times…" he trails off.

"Aa, speaking of weapons," Shikamaru says, stopping short of taking the finished scroll from Sakura. "Someone sent me an updated Iwa book." Shadows slink into the corner of his messenger bag and retract a minute later, holding a thin book in their coils. He picks it up, flips through, and then turns it to face Kakashi with a smirk. "Looks like they put the pieces together."

WANTED:

Haruno Sakura, alive

Aliases: the Jade Flicker, Final Flicker, Thunder Blossom

Responsible for the assassination of Clan Head Chiren Jan; suspected involvement in the deaths of multiple merchant leaders; suspected involvement in the death of multiple information brokers; responsible for the death of Sato 'Akane' Jun, S-ranked Mist rogue-nin; responsible for the death of Ito Kagome, S-ranked Iwa rogue-nin; responsible for the death of Aoki Tsume, S-ranked Suna rogue-nin.

Affiliation: Konohagakure

Strength: S-Rank

Abilities: Kenjutsu; iryojutsu; ninjutsu; taijutsu; genjutsu

FLEE ON SIGHT IF YOUR RANK IS BELOW JOUNIN. EXCEPTIONALLY DANGEROUS.

Alongside the picture of a masked Sakura in her ANBU gear, there's a headshot of Sakura he recognizes from one of the many newspaper articles after the war. There's also a blurry picture, clearly taken from a surveillance camera, where a low-resolution, very bloodied Sakura points her sword at a Suna medic-nin, Kakashi's limp body hanging over her shoulder.

Kakashi can't help his grin. "Ah, you've really made it, Sakura-chan!"

Her last pen nails him squarely in the forehead. "You're an idiot!" she snaps. "How the hell am I supposed to go on covert missions when everyone knows who the hell I am? And now everyone knows you ordered all of those kills, even though we've got a treaty…" She moans out loud, the sound woeful. "We're so screwed."

Shikamaru's grin widens. "Officially, of course, Iwa and Mist are both very angry. They want an apology and all sorts of troublesome concessions. Unofficially… well, you've received seven marriage proposals, enough silk to make a tent, and so much sake Tsunade might drown in it. It seems most of the people you went after weren't too far from being taken out by their own ANBU."

"That still doesn't help me being recognizable!" Sakura snaps, though she's brightened at the prospect of gifts.

"Well… you did resign from ANBU…" Kakashi drawls. He promptly cringes back into the couch when she turns her baleful gaze on him. "What? You did! You can rejoin, but you'll be benched for at least six months for insubordination." She stares at him. He stares right back. "It turned out okay this time, but it might not have," he says flatly. "What if you'd ended up captured, too? Do you think I would've enjoyed seeing them cut you open?"

She blanches, but then she takes a deep breath. "Understood, Hokage-sama," she says. There's something curious in her voice, though, and he narrows his eyes.

"Aa, well, if that's all… I've likely got trouble waiting at home," Shikamaru says, pushing up off the couch. "Good night, Hokage-sama, Tenzo-san."

"Ah, I'll go with you," Tenzo says, words tripping over each other. Kakashi cuts his gaze towards the man, eyeing him suspiciously. "Send me a copy for the ANBU records, please, Sakura-san?"

Does he know about Sakura sleeping with me? He thinks about it for a minute and dismisses the idea. He would've said something.

Shikamaru goes down the stairs, Tenzo trailing. Then it's just him and Sakura for the first time in weeks. She bites her lip, evidently trying to decide on something, and then she pushes herself to her feet, moving away from the coffee table where she wrote her report. He stands too, glancing around to make sure there's no peeping Tenzos, and raises an eyebrow at her when she stops in front of him. "Sakura?"

Her arms wrap around him with almost bruising force, crushing him into her for a hug. "I'm… you're here," she whispers.

He winces a little, but returns the hug, threading his fingers through her hair and resting his chin on top of her head. "Thank you for coming for me," he replies, thumb stroking the hair it can reach. "Even if it was a bad idea."

"I wasn't particularly thinking about it being a good idea," she mumbles. "Or, really, thinking at all." He lets out a questioning hum and she answers. "I heard someone took you, that you were in trouble and I… kind of went out of my mind a bit. Like Naruto said. Just the thought of someone wanting to hurt you…" Her hands flex against his back, turning into fists for a second and then back, fingertips pressing into his skin with such force he really might be bruised later. And then, in something below a whisper, "People don't get to touch what's mine."

"Maa, so possessive," he rumbles, ignoring the warmth when she says he's 'hers'. She doesn't mean it. Not the way he wants. "You should've been more careful. It would have been fine."

"Would it?" she says, looking up at him. "Would it really have been? Because I would have ripped their throats from their bodies with only my teeth if they'd gotten much farther. They're lucky I let them die quickly."

He sighs and lets his hand drop from her head to her cheek. He can't help stroking her cheek with his thumb, and he almost melts when she leans into the touch. "You have a long life to live, Sakura. Don't throw it away jumping in to rescue lazy old perverts," he murmurs. She bites her lip and pulls away, almost gnawing on it as she drops her eyes. He waits her out — whatever she wants to say, it's bothering her. Eh, probably looking for a good way to explain why she got so worked up this time. She usually follows orders —

Then she finally speaks and his brain stops functioning. "I wouldn't enjoy it without you around," she mumbles, a bright blush spreading across her cheeks. He gapes, unable to parse what those words mean — if they mean what he thinks they mean — but before he recovers his mental abilities, she's gone. He watches her sail off the balcony edge, her pink ponytail fluttering behind her, and his brain kicks into gear as she fades from sight. Kakashi opens his mouth to yell her name, to call her back, anything. She's already gone.

Chapter 4: you're a masterpiece

Ino's never seen a man look quite so spooked as the Rokudaime does when he slinks into Yamanaka Flowers three days after his return. "Good afternoon, Hokage-sama!" she greets him, mildly curious. The only flowers he's ever bought before this are carnations. He leaves one at the cenotaph every Sunday he's in town, has for decades — but today isn't Sunday.

"Good afternoon, Ino-san," he greets her, hand coming up to scratch at the back of his head almost sheepishly. "I, ah…" And then she sees a blush creep up over the edges of his mask. "Flowers."

She smothers a laugh by turning it into a smile. "What kind of situation do you want flowers for, Hokage-sama?"

The blush grows darker. "Ah… something that means love." She opens her mouth to ask what kind of love, but he's looking down as he mumbles, "Not red roses. She deserves… I want something special."

Ino's stomach drops at the same time her heart leaps into her throat. What if they're for Sakura? wars with what if they're for someone else? inside her thoughts. "Romantic love, then?" she manages to say. "Is — is this for an established relationship, or something new?"

"Estab— well, sort of new— except —" And Ino's jaw drops as Hatake Kakashi, kage, hero, and legendary ninja, stammers over a woman.

She exhales, long and slow, and puts her 'Sakura's-best-friend' in a box, pulling the florist Ino to the front. Though there's people passing by, she and Kakashi are the only ones in the shop, and she's glad of that. "Hokage-sama, if you tell me about your relationship, I can help you decide on a bouquet," she says, offering him a perfectly even smile.

His shoulders rise a little, defensive, but then he takes a deep breath and they drop. "Ino-san." His voice is calm and deep.

"Hokage-sama?" she answers, eyebrow raising.

"This is a matter of utmost secrecy. You cannot give away intelligence before the operation is completed. Do you understand?" he intones, like it's a fucking S-rank mission. She just nods. He steps closer to the counter and glances at the door before speaking, voice a careful whisper. "They're for Sakura." Her eyes double in size and she barely stifles her gasp. "I— I think I love her," he continues. If Ino's eyes could fall out of her head, they would. "I have for years. And she's — when she came after me —" he exhales and runs a hand through his hair, trying to find the words.

"You think she might feel the same, and you want to tell her," Ino finishes for him, smiling in reflexive joy. "Don't worry, Kakashi-sama. I'll make you the perfect bouquet." She turns, ready to go clip flowers, and then swings back around. "How big do you want to go?"

"As big as you can make it," he says, eyes crinkling in a smile. "And then make as many more as you can."

Ino chokes on air. "Are — are you sure about that?" she wheezes. "It'll be —"

"It'll be worth it," he interrupts firmly. So she goes to work. Camellias, in red, yellow, and white; their pinkest carnations; snowy white chrysanthemums mixed with gardenias, with forget-me-nots and violets tucked everywhere there's room. And, of course, she nestles a sprig of cherry blossoms in the very center. And then she does it again and again, until she runs out of flowers. Eight bouquets, each only barely small enough to fit in their largest vases, decorate the counter.

"Will this do, Hokage-sama?" she says, biting her lips and glancing over the flowers.

"Perfect," he says, and she can see the way his face creases into a grin, even through the mask. "Thank you, Ino-san."

"Ah, do you maybe want Sai to deliver —" she starts.

"No, no," he says, flapping his hand at her dismissively. "Bear, Weasel, Cat!" In an instant, three ANBU are behind him. "Help me carry these, would you?" Ino's not sure who's more stunned, her or the ANBU.

And then Cat snickers — a snicker Ino knows very well. "Of course, Hokage-sama," she says, picking up two of the vases. "Finally decided to get off your ass?"

"Shush," he chides her before turning back to Ino. "How much?"

"Ah, fifteen hundred ryo?" she says, hesitating a little. It wouldn't be the first time someone's ordered something big and then reneged. Kakashi's also famous for bouncing on bills…

A heartbeat later, there's two thousand ryo under her nose and the shop is empty of vases and lovestruck Hokage. Ino stares at the money, wide-eyed, and then bursts into giggles. Sai and Inojin come into the shop not ten minutes later, home from the academy, and she's still giggling like a madwoman.

When three days go by without any sign of Kakashi, Sakura starts despairing a little. Did I ruin it? she wonders, sorting through patient charts. He's going to hate me now, she mourns, stitching up a torn muscle. He's never going to talk to me —

"Yo, Floral Green!" a familiar voice interrupts her thoughts, in between the scheduled 'poking the meat' and 'stabbing the jello' parts of her hospital lunch. She looks down as Pakkun hops onto the bench beside her.

"Hey!" she says, instantly a little happier. "What's up?"

"Boss wanted me to play messenger dog again," he says with an eye roll, turning around and presenting her with the back of his neck. Indeed, there's a note tucked under his collar, a scratchy henohenomoheji on the outside. She reaches out and takes it, but before she opens it, Pakkun turns around and put a paw on her knee. "He told me to tell you 'it's okay to say no', by the way."

She blinks, because that doesn't make any sense. Then she opens the note and it makes a little sense.

Sakura,

I know your shift's over at five. Dinner at my apartment around seven? I'll cook.

There might even be fresh dango.

p.s. I heard dog hair doesn't stick to Iwa silk.

Strangely, there's… none of the telltale characteristics of a Kakashi note. Usually, his notes are written on a scrap of paper or a receipt, words scratched out, barely legible. Instead, the note's on good paper. There's no ink blots or scratched out words anywhere in sight. She can even read it at first glance. If it hadn't been delivered by Pakkun, she'd think it was a fake. "Uh, Pakkun?"

"Yeah?"

"You're sure it was Kakashi that gave you this note? Not… I dunno, someone henged into him?" she asks, eyeing the note a little dubiously.

Pakkun's sniff is almost offended. "Of course I'm sure! Those Inuzuka punks might be too dumb to tell who's who half the time, but I know Kakashi like the back of my paw. It was him."

"…okay," Sakura says, eyeing the note strangely. "Tell him I'll be there, would you?" With that, she gets up and wanders away, forgetting her tray of food entirely. She manages to weasel out of her shift an entire half hour early by finishing her surgery early and filing the paperwork in record time.

She calls Ino as soon as she gets home.

"Moshi moshi, Yamanaka residence!"

"Sai! Put Ino on the phone!"

"Hello, Ugly. Ino is —"

"PUT HER ON THE PHONE. NOW. OR YOU WON'T BE CAPABLE OF MAKING MORE CHILDREN."

"…..what the fuck, Forehead? Sai just ran into the kitchen, turned off the stove, and dragged me over here. What did you say?! I've never seen him so pale."

"Threatened his balls. Listen, Ino, I need your help."

"Don't you always?"

"No, seriously. I got a note from Kakashi at work today and it's so weird." She reads the note out. Ino stays silent the entire time — so silent Sakura wonders if Ino put the phone down.

But she finishes, and a minute later Ino says, "That's a note, all right." There's something like laughter in her voice and Sakura can't help her sigh.

"No shit, Shikamaru!" she snaps. "But what does that even mean? Dog hair doesn't stick to Iwa silk? What makes Iwa silk different?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure that's just Kakashi-speak for 'wear something nice', Forehead," Ino says with a scoff. "Maybe he had a shitty day and wants some eye candy." She pauses, and Sakura hears the devil possessing Ino in the silence. "Maybe he had a really shitty day and he wants to slip you some sensei dick."

"I told you not to call it that, Pig!" Sakura hisses into the phone, flushing angrily. But that does make sense. He knows she's single, and he doesn't know — or at least, she hopes he doesn't — about her crush. It's perfectly normal to hit up a friend-with-benefits for the benefits part after a bad day. "I… yeah, okay. Thanks. I'd better go or I'm going to be lateloveyoubye." She rushes the last few words out and slams the phone down before rushing to the bathroom. This is the first time Kakashi's started anything — or rather, the first time he's booty-called her instead of her ambushing him. She's not going to be gross.

Somehow, she ends up spending more time getting ready for this… thing… than she has for any date in years. There's half a dozen dresses from Iwa and she debates between two for at least ten minutes. She ends up settling on one vaguely reminiscent of her genin outfit, though far more mature. The qipao-style dress is the color of crushed mulberries, with tiny black blossoms embroidered all over, and simple white edging. There's matching slippers. Given that the slit in the dress goes nearly all the way to the top of her hip, she debates switching to heels or wearing shorts beneath, but decides against both. While she might not have tits like Tsunade's, she knows she has nice legs, and the ankle-length red silk frames them perfectly.

Then she fusses with her hair for a solid hour, trying to decide if she wants to tug the mid-back lengths into a bun, or a ponytail, or wear a headband, or a braid… After she puts a braid in for the the tenth time and unravels it, she groans and slumps forward against her vanity for a minute, the impact sending her jewelry box sliding. When she straightens back up, she sighs and grabs the box, deciding to look through. Maybe if she finds earrings, she'll be able to decide on her hair.

She pokes through the box, but it's not until she shakes it that she catches a gleam of something red in the back. Sakura frowns and digs through the chains, reaching for the gleam. It's one of her mother's hair combs — Sakura remembers seeing her mother pin her hair back with them when she was little. It's one of the only things that's remained a constant in her life: when, or if, she ever marries, she wants to wear the combs just like her mother did. Her mother still has the other, but she gave Sakura the fancier one when she turned 18. It's whale bone, carved into the shape of a spray of cherry leaves, and carefully painted in a dozen different shades of green. Just slightly left of center is the only thing on the comb that's not green: a cardinal, perched on one of the branches, his breast gleaming with minuscule rubies. She's never had a reason to wear it before.

Almost hesitant, she sets the comb in front of her and reaches up, twisting the right side of her hair back from her forehead in a knot, pressed tight to her head. Then she weaves the long teeth of the comb into the knot and looks in the mirror. Perhaps it's her imagination, but… she almost looks like a woman, even to herself. After another long moment of lingering, she eschews lipstick and leaves, locking her apartment behind her and actually walking through the village for once.

She comes to a stop at Kakashi's apartment door and hesitates for a second, glad he's penthouse so nobody else can see her nerves. Sakura's never come through the door of his apartment before. Ever. She's always come in through the balcony. She stares at the door for a long minute, screwing up her courage to knock, and —

The door opens right as she raises her hand. "Yo," Kakashi greets her, towel in hand. Sakura has to bite her lip to keep her jaw from dropping. In fifteen years, she's never seen Kakashi like this. His jounin uniform's nowhere in sight, and neither is his mask. Instead, he's wearing a deep blue shirt, the first two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, over the dressy pants she's pretty sure he wore to Naruto's wedding. She has to pinch herself to stop staring at his collarbones, so pretty and out in the open. "Supper's almost ready," he says, stepping aside to let her in. "And, uh —" he pauses. "You're — that's a pretty — you look good."

Sakura follows him in, confused beyond words. Why is he stuttering? Her confusion keeps her from noticing the changes to the apartment right away. Then something brushes her arm and she snaps back into herself just in time for her to see — "Flowers," she breathes, turning and looking around the apartment. "So many flowers." There's a vase on the coffee table, camellias scattered on the bookshelves, carnations peeking out from behind Kakashi's sparse few pictures… anywhere and everywhere there's any room at all, there's flowers. It's like a tiny forest of flowers.

"They — you're — the flowers are for you." Kakashi's deep voice interrupts her thoughts. But there's something tremulous, almost excited, in it. She spins toward the kitchen and finds him standing there, studying the carpet, hands buried in his pockets. He clearly wants to cross his arms, but he's refraining.

"They are?" she breathes, bending down to touch the vase on the coffee table. And then, some of the flower language she remembers from the Academy filters into her brain as she touches the delicate petals. Camellias. Waiting, longing, in love, depending on the color. Gardenias, secret love. Forget-me-not, true love. She swallows, heart nearly beating out of her chest as she stands and looks at Kakashi. "But… why?" she asks, taking a few steps closer — close enough to see the tenseness in his jaw.

"But… why?" she asks, and he doesn't have an answer. He's faced down shinobi and legends and gods. She, this, terrifies him more than any of them.

"I think why not is a better question," he says, throat tight. "But I —" he shuts his eyes, grits his teeth, tries to find the courage for this. "I don't know how to be happy. I never have. My entire life feels like a a — a slideshow of 'what's the worst thing that could happen' constantly happening. But sometimes you smile, and you laugh, and I… it's like air after drowning." He pauses, and waits, to see if she has something to add. He wants to open his eyes, but if he looks at her now, he'll never say it. "I'm not sure I know what love is, but I think I love you, Sakura."

He didn't think he had any expectations. How could he? He hoped and he prayed and he wished but reality has never bent to his will, so why should it now? But she is silent. Whatever he imagined, it was not silence. Her chakra is still in front of him, unmoving. She hasn't left, hasn't fled. He opens his eyes.

She's standing there, tears in her eyes and hand over her mouth — but they are not tears of anger or rage. Her eyes are hopeful. "Why?" she whispers, an echo of her last question.

He doesn't have an answer again. He just shrugs, tries to find something to say, and then words won't stop pouring out of him because he looks at her and she's like a fever dream, a bright bloom peeping out of a forest of flowers. "I don't know. I wish I did. I woke up one morning, and you weren't there, and I realized I wanted you there every day for the rest of my life because of your smile and your scent and the way you say my name and how you hug me when you're happy —"

Something slams into him and he stumbles back for an instant before correcting to stay on his feet, only to find himself with an armful of Sakura. She looks at him, just looks, eyes swimming with tears and joy, and smiles. It's like a ray of light, of hope, slashing through the dark parts of him that remain. "I… I don't know for sure, but I think I might love you too," she whispers.

He answers her by sliding his arms around her waist and drawing her close, by kissing her and kissing her and never wanting to let go. In her red silk dress, limned by the sunset's golden light, she looks like a heaven-sent flower. "Then I can die happy," he whispers back.

"No dying," she says, a soft scowl on her face. "I absolutely forbid it."

"Yes, ma'am."

It turns out to be a good thing Kakashi chose to make sushi. Anything else would have burnt by the time they remember the rest of the world exists.

Somehow, this feels like a dream, but it's more solid than any of her dreams have ever been. Even her nightmares don't feel this real. They're tucked into one of his huge armchairs, Sakura perched on his leg, his arm draped around her waist. Despite the plate of fresh sushi cradled carefully between them, they're spending more time talking than eating. "To… to be honest, I always figured you'd turn me down," Sakura admits, eyes averted. "Sex is one thing, but… a relationship means being at least a little public."

"Why would I turn you down?" he asks, poking at the sushi on the plate. "You're too good for me. Beautiful, young, smart, strong…" he trails off and kisses her gently before nabbing a piece of sushi and shoving it into his mouth.

"I'm also stubborn, mean, and a pain in the ass," she says, looking back at him. "How come you never told me, you ass?"

He sighs and finishes chewing before he answers. "I didn't want you to feel obligated to love me," he says quietly. "I wanted you to live. If Kikyo made you happy, if you still wanted Sasuke, I didn't want to take those things from you. And you deserve better."

She cuffs his ear gently. "Better? Better than what?" she demands, stealing the chopsticks from him. "Kakashi, you're literally a hero of two wars. You helped save the world. You're a kage and a genius —"

"And I'm broken," he interrupts, his voice somber. She raises an eyebrow at him and aims for a piece of sushi for herself. "Sakura… my PTSD is never going to go away. I'm fourteen years older than you. I was supposed to be your teacher, and I failed you. I still stand and talk to Obito and Rin long enough to make me late to work most mornings. I've accidentally strangled more than one of my partners because they weren't careful about waking me up. I haven't —" he exhales. "Earlier, I… that's the first time I've said 'love' and meant it in decades." He offers her a wry grin. "I guess emotionally stunted geniuses are your type, hm?"

"Maybe you never heard it, but there's a saying my mom liked to use on me every time I got upset about something going wrong," Sakura says slowly, reaching out and cupping his cheek in her hand. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger — and you've survived so much, Kakashi. I don't know if I could've stayed as strong as you, for as long as you have. You're incredible." She punctuates the words with a kiss.

Snail eyes Cat, and Cat's gaze is canted sideways, through the balcony door. She's also giggling gleefully, enough for Snail to hear the tiny chortles. "Neh, Cat-san, are you really sure you're okay with…?" She waves her hand towards the Hokage's apartment, where Sakura's curled into Kakashi's side in one of the large armchairs. His arm's draped around her shoulders and, despite the plate of fresh sushi cradled carefully between them, they're not eating very much at all. They've been like this for half an hour and only 4 pieces of sushi are gone. Instead, they talk and trade soft kisses.

Cat turns her head and tilts it a little, assessing Snail calmly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Uh, that's your ex and her old teacher," Snail says, incredulous. "Why would you be okay with it?"

Cat snorts and slides down to lean against the railing, still out of sight of the lovers inside. "Because they're happy, and I think they have the chance to make each other happy for a long, long time." She rolls her neck, side to side, and then she looks straight at Snail again as she asks, "Define love for me, would you?"

Snail leans back, confused. "Uh, when you… care a lot for someone? They… make you happy?"

Cat hums. "The best definition of love I've ever read is 'wanting the best for someone, even if it's not you'. For me, true love's never been about passion, or sex, or any of the shit you read about in bad romance novels. It's about finding someone who completes you, who's your complement, who wants the best for you in the same way you want for them, because when you're focused on making each other happy, the rest is easy." A heartbeat and then she adds, "Also, communication. All the love in the universe isn't worth shit if you clam up and tell lies and nonsense instead of talking it out like a grown-ass woman."

She thinks about that for a minute, and… she likes the way it sounds. It's strange, but sweet, and it fits them. Then something strikes her — "Wait, does that mean you still love her?"

She can almost hear the soft, slow smile in Cat's voice when she speaks. "I'll always love her in some way, but romantically? No. She could've been it for me, but I would've driven her out of her head with boredom."

"You? Boring?"

"Comparatively, yes — or did I accidentally take out three S-ranked criminals and like thirty other rogue nin while I wasn't looking?"

"Okay. That's fair."

Eventually, they realize they should sleep. Sakura looks at the clock, bites her lips, and looks back at Kakashi. "I… should probably go home, shouldn't I?" she says quietly.

"You could," he replies, the hand around her waist gently stroking her side. "Or you could stay here. I have it on reliable authority my bed is comfortable."

"Only if you make me an omelet in the morning. My omelets never turn out right," she says, wiggling out of his grasp and stretching as she stands. He hums, the sound close enough to a yes that she accepts it. He follows her to the bedroom, and somehow, they fall into place in each other's bedtime routine. They've never done this before. Not like this. There's been missions, always, but… it's not the same. In Sugawara, he didn't walk into the bathroom to brush his teeth while she sat on the toilet. She didn't steal his shirt as soon as he slipped out of it or hang her dress in his closet. Almost every other time they've spent the night together, it was preceded by frenzied touches and arousal. This is just… nice.

"You're the only person I've ever seen who brushes their teeth like a dentist," Sakura mumbles as she crawls over him to get into bed.

"And you're one of five people I know who prefers to sleep against the wall," he points out as she wiggles down under the covers and lays her head on his chest. "You don't feel trapped?"

"Why would I?" she asks, curling her chilly feet under his legs. "You know damn well I've never met a wall I can't destroy with my pinky finger. Besides, I like having something — or someone — at my back."

"Mm," he murmurs, nuzzling her forehead just above her seal. "Speaking of people at your back…" he trails off and she opens one eye to peer up at him. He looks just a little worried. "How do you — I don't —" He huffs and starts over. "How public do you want our relationship to be?"

"Up to you, dear," she mumbles, already half asleep. It was a long day at the hospital, and that's without taking into account her nerves. "According to village gossip, I'm basically the town bicycle." She feels his body go stiff and snorts into his chest. "What, you've never heard them? There's rumors about me sleeping with you, Sasuke, Genma-san, Yamato-senpai, Shizune, and even shishou. I've also heard that I'm secretly Naruto's second wife, that Ino, Sai, and I are a triad…" She shrugs. "It bugged me for a while, but shishou said she had the same thing happen to her, even before Jiraiya started writing Icha Icha. So, really, it depends on how much you want to sully your reputation."

The hand around her shoulders pulls her a bit closer. "I'm pretty sure I stopped having a good reputation when I started reading Icha Icha in public. And the news about your dashing rescue hasn't changed the rumors at all?"

She blinks. "…you know, I have heard less of them this week. Do you think if I go kill a hundred or so more rogue nin, they'll stop?"

He smiles into her hair and murmurs, "It's hard to tell." He says something else a minute later, but she's already too far gone to make sense of it. For once, she doesn't dream, something that usually only happens when she's absolutely exhausted or freshly fucked. Sleeping in Kikyo's arms had given her the same dreamlessness, the fizzy warmth in the morning; nobody other than Kikyo and Kakashi have done that. Even Sasuke.

She wakes up in the morning to find his hands roaming her body — skimming over her legs and sides, fingers trailing up her arms and over her neck. They shifted in the night so that he's spooning her, giving him plenty of access to her, but his touches don't turn sexual until she whines and wiggles her hips against him. Then they become more adventurous, sliding beneath her shirt as she leans her head back to kiss him. It's an awkward angle, but she loves the way he feels wrapped around her.

When he finally slides his fingers into her panties and finds them saturated with her wetness, his head drops to her shoulder as he groans. "Too much for you to handle, old man?" she teases him, rolling her hips gently.

"Never," he rumbles, voice deep from both sleep and arousal. She can't help her shudder. She adores morning sex when it's good, and Kakashi's never been anything but. This time, though, their usual fervor seems slowed. She has the day off, but she knows he has to go in to the office. He still takes his time, making her shudder and shriek her way through four orgasms before he so much as slides into her. Her only other attempt at having sex in this position went badly, but… this is nice. She wants to touch him, to run her hands all over him, because he's hers and she can't believe it, but being in his arms like this feels like a fever dream. It's the most sensual sex she's ever had, somehow as reverent as it is lustful. She's used to love bites and hickeys, prepared for them. She's not prepared for him to groan, "Mine," against her ear when he finally comes.

She's not prepared for the wild tumult of emotions inside her at the thought. His. Her once-crush on Sasuke was the last time she ever wanted to be someone's. All of her relationships since have been… the only person she saw a future with was Kikyo. The rest weren't bad, but there was no burning desire inside her to be theirs, to be by their side for as long as the fates allowed. But this — now — she claps a hand over her mouth and tries to quell the tears of relief and happiness that spring up. It doesn't work. They start sliding down her cheeks.

"Sakura?" Kakashi says, pulling away and turning her onto her back so he can hover over her. "What's — did I do something wrong?" There's so much worry, so much concern on his face, that it makes the tears fall faster.

"No," she hiccups, reaching for him and pulling him to press her forehead to his. "You — being yours — I didn't realize how happy it would make me." He blinks, and the concern fades into happiness, the worry into a warm smile as he wipes away the tears with his thumb and presses a gentle kiss to her lips.

"I… you don't know how glad I am to hear that," he whispers, cradling her face in his hands and not moving for a minute. It feels like he draws away far too soon. She turns her head to watch him slip into the sweatpants he kicked off a few minutes ago and grab the robe hanging on the back of his door. "And I hope you know you're the only person who's ever gotten breakfast out of me," he grumbles playfully. "If you want to wash up, everything's pretty easy to find. Let me know if you need anything."

He leaves forty-five minutes later, a half-hour after he's supposed to be at the tower. She slips the key to his apartment onto her keyring and tidies up, humming happily the entire time. The mulberry silk dress stays in his closet, and she filches some of his jounin gear. It's all the same stuff as she normally wears, just a size or two larger. She wishes she could wear his shirt all day, but she has a shift at the hospital. His shirt smells like hints of sweat and scent-blocking soap, the kind only ANBU are supposed to use. Of course he still uses it. She lays it aside sadly when she changes into her hospital uniform.

Kakashi almost floats through the day. Shikamaru notices his good mood, but doesn't say a word. Not even the immense stacks of paperwork left over from his trip to Suna phase him. Sakura's working noon to midnight at the hospital, so he takes advantage of Shikamaru's four o'clock 'smoke break' and lays in wait for her in her office. Twenty minutes after he gets there, she breezes into the room, nose buried in a medical chart. He takes great glee in grabbing her waist and spinning her towards him to steal a kiss. At first, she squeaks, but then she realizes it's him and relaxes into the kiss. He kicks the door shut and pins her against it, kissing her breathless. She tastes like hospital coffee and dango.

He's never liked the flavor of dango so much. "Missed you," he breathes against her ear when she pushes him away to catch her breath.

"I missed you too, you menace," she grumbles, weakly slapping his chest. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be doing Hokage things?"

"Technically, anything I do is a Hokage thing," he tells her before kissing her again. "Therefore, kissing you is a 'Hokage thing'."

"Smartass." But she winds her arms around his neck and drags him down, making him just as breathless as he made her. When he finally decides to leave, he leaves behind a box of dango on her desk. In truth, he doesn't expect to see her again that day. Technically, he doesn't.

That's because sometime in the middle of the night, he feels the mattress move beneath him and cracks open one eye. Sakura's crawling into bed with him, hair damp, dressed only in one of his shirts. "S'kra?" he mumbles into his pillow.

"Shhh, go back to sleep," she hushes him, nestling into the space between him and the wall. He obeys, drifting off with the scent of flowers in his nose.

For the next day or so, it's like they're living in a dream. The next day, Sakura's ten to ten at the hospital. That leaves her a few hours in the morning to track down her teammates and invite them to a dinner. She leaves Ino a note, knowing that she'll spill everything if she calls or talks to her friend in person. Naruto tells her Hinata will be back tomorrow from her mission, so she calls a restaurant and reserves a room. Tsunade's camping out in Shizune's spare room, and she plans to leave in the morning — but she promises she'll stay for Sakura's dinner.

Even her hospital shift goes well. Only a few people hit on her. Nobody's sick, nobody screws up, nothing happens. She wonders about it for a minute, wonders if the shoe's about to drop, and banishes the thought. If the universe decided to be nice to her for once, she's hardly going to complain.

That night, she actually beats Kakashi to his apartment. She has tomorrow off, so she brings clothing, hoping he'll eschew work and lounge around the apartment with her. He wakes her up with kisses, and it turns into more slow, sensual morning sex. "You're sure you can't skive off today?" she pouts, watching him dress.

"Aa, I wish I could, Sakura-chan," he says, honest sadness in his voice. "But the old bats —" she clears her throat. "The elders want to discuss something today, and they refused to re-schedule again."

She fixes him her one and only breakfast specialty, scrambled eggs, and watches him go. Then she steals his shirt and goes to the market. She's trying to decide which pre-made donburi she wants to stock up on for lunches when Bull finds her, message tucked into his collar. He grins at her the entire time she's reading it, something strangely gleeful in his face.

Sakura-chan,

Please come to the small meeting room of the tower at 13:30. The elders want to talk about how you rescued me.

p.s. miss you.

p.p.s. bring coffee.

Sakura smiles at it because the note's so very Kakashi. At this point, she's pretty sure he's entirely incapable of not putting post scripts in everything. She wonders, for a moment, why the elders want to talk about his rescue. "Mmm, probably just about the ANBU thing," she decides.

She's at the tower by 1:10, hoping to pop into his office and see him before the meeting. "He's talking to the elders," Izumo informs her over a stack of forms. "And boy, I don't know what's going on in there, but I actually heard him shouting earlier." Her eyebrows almost touch her hairline. Kakashi doesn't shout, especially outside of battlefields. "Yeah, exactly."

Though she lingers there for a minute, he doesn't show up so she goes to the meeting room and waits. And waits. Kakashi being late is practically a guarantee, but the elders? The longer she waits, the more worried she gets. The door opens fifteen minutes after the meeting was supposed to start. She turns, prepared to greet whoever's entering, but the greeting dies on her lips. Kakashi stalks into the room, fury radiating from every inch of his body. Some people, like Tsunade, get loud and blustery when they're angriest. Kakashi, though, becomes still and precise — likely a legacy of his years in ANBU and Root. His back's straighter than she's seen it in years, hands perfectly limp at his side, fingers brushing against where his kunai would be if he were armed. When he pulls his chair at the raised dais out, it goes exactly as far as it needs to for him to slip into it. There is no door slamming or chair throwing — only icy, deadly fury.

The elders follow after him, as well as Shikamaru, but she pays far less attention to them. Kakashi meets her eyes as the council settles into their chairs and Shikamaru slips paper into the typewriter. It's been years, at least since the end of the war, since she saw this much anger in his eyes. She offers him a tiny smile and mouths kai, hoping her surprise distracts him. He blinks, and she sees the fury recede a little. He glances at her and raises a hand in the seal — the genjutsu she slipped over his cup of coffee disappears. A little of the tension goes out of his shoulders as he picks it up, and he offers her a tiny eye crease.

Then Koharu speaks. "Hokage-sama, would you like to relate the points of our discussion to Miss Haruno?"

"No," Kakashi says, every bit of the lost tension seeping back into his voice. If anything, his back gets straighter.

"I think —" Koharu starts. Kakashi's head whips towards her, eyes narrow. She closes her mouth and gulps. "I would be honored to, ah, explain, Hokage-sama," she says instead. Then she sets her arms on the table and turns back towards Sakura. "Haruno Sakura, we are grateful for your strong and immediate response to Rokudaime-sama's kidnapping and imprisonment. However —" Sakura resists rolling her eyes. Of course there's a however. "In the course of your response, you disobeyed two direct orders from the acting Hokage and threatened him."

"I didn't threaten —" she sputters.

Homura cuts in. "So you did not tell Uzumaki-san 'don't try to stop me', then, as was reported by other people in the office?"

"I did, but —"

"A threat," Koharu intones. "There are, though, additional matters to be considered in your… rescue. Sunagakure kindly provided the autopsies of those you attacked. Over half of the people you attacked died to jutsu neither we nor Suna could identify, which means you have either stolen forbidden jutsu or created your own without reporting their creation. Your reckless behavior also revealed your status as a Konoha ANBU operative, allowing nations to connect previously unaffiliated assassinations to us."

She swallows. The jutsu are hers, but she honestly hadn't thought much about the Jade Flicker being connected to Haruno Sakura after Shikamaru told them about Iwa's reaction. Homura watches her for a second and then he continues, "Given that the actions you took were successful, Rokudaime-sama believes your punishment should be minimal. However, what you did not only endangered Konoha, but showed complete disregard for those above you. Our initial suggestion was that you be stripped of all shinobi status." Her breath leaves her. "However, we recognize your past years of service and heroism. In light of that, we are prepared to re-instate you as a full jounin after a six month suspension, provided you comply with certain conditions."

She takes a deep breath. Then another. "And the conditions?"

A twinge of killing intent flickers across the room, just for a second. She glances up at Kakashi, who looks more like a wrathful god by the minute, before looking back to the elders. Koharu speaks this time, like they're tag teaming her. "You will not be allowed on solo missions. You will not be allowed to return to ANBU. You must inform us of any and all jutsu you have created, as well as how to execute them, in order for the information to be placed in the Konoha archives." She relaxes a little. Those aren't the worst conditions. But Koharu opens her mouth again, and Sakura feels a sense of dread. "And if you wish to take missions with a jounin team rather than work as a medic-nin or a teacher, you must marry Uchiha Sasuke and help him rebuild his clan."

Kakashi watches Sakura's jaw drop in slow motion. "You want me to what?" she almost shouts, leaping to her feet. "Why the hell —"

"The Uchiha knows you well. You are the foremost kunoichi of your generation, you have no kekkai genkai which would interfere with the inheritance of the Sharingan, and you have not entertained any serious relationships in several months," Homura says. "We feel this is an optimal solution that strengthens Konoha and allows you to retain independence."

"They feel it's an optimal solution," Kakashi manages to grind out through clenched teeth, eyes pinned to his lover. "I told them otherwise."

"It is an optimal solution," Homura interjects. "Despite Miss Haruno's accomplishments, she is a relative nobody in Konoha. She has no clan to back her up. Her family is merchants and genin. We cannot allow insubordination of this level to go unanswered. Were she part of a clan, someone whose family showed their dedication to Konoha… it might be different."

Sakura just… stares, her eyes flicking between the two elders and up to him, for a minute. Then she squares her shoulders and visibly calms herself. "You seem remarkably intent on losing all access to the Senju archives," she says, face blank.

He blinks, and he can feel the confusion emanating from the two at the table just below him. "What on earth do the Senju archives have to do with this, child?" Koharu snaps.

Sakura smiles. It's so like Tsunade's sly grin that he almost laughs out loud. "Tsunade-shishou loathes the Uchiha and everything to do with them. Four years ago, Tsunade-shishou made me the official heir to the Senju on the sole condition I never marry Uchiha Sasuke or carry his children. If I do, everything reverts to the daimyo."

Kakashi can't help the grin that breaks across his face, and yet again he's glad for his mask. He didn't know about this — but it makes sense. Four years ago puts the change not long after Tsunade threw the Iwa bingo book at his head. "Why were we not notified of this?" Homura demands, standing to his feet.

Sakura's shrug is like silk. "The daimyo has her will on record, and shishou filed the copy here herself. It's not my fault you never noticed." Her eyes dart up to him, and though they're still deadly serious, he sees a gleam of playfulness in them. "I'm willing to tell you about all my jutsu, and I'm even willing to follow the other conditions," she says. "I'm not willing to be forced into being an Uchiha broodmare, even if I didn't have a partner. And I do." Her gaze softens as she stares at him, something questioning in them. Tell them if you want to. It's okay.

Both elders startle at that. He cocks his head, just to check. You're sure? She nods, the movement incremental. His anger doesn't leave entirely, but excitement replaces much of it. He's — if they tell the elders this, now, they'll expect marriage from them. And children. Both are things that severely frighten him… and yet, he finds himself strangely excited by the idea of white-haired, green-eyed little devils. "Aa, are those conditions acceptable?" he says, eyes fixed on hers as he leans forward. "Or would you prefer to let the Senju archives go and have the Hatake bloodline die out?"

Koharu drops something. Homura chokes. Shikamaru's hands drop onto the typewriter keyboard, ruining his transcript. Koharu slowly, slowly turns towards the dais, raising her head to look at him. "I — am I to understand that you are, ah…" she trails off, clearly searching for a way to put it.

"Sakura-chan, would you like to answer or should I?" he sings out. Koharu's gaze darts back to the pink-haired woman, who's now struggling to hide a grin.

She sighs at him, but it's a fond sigh. "Kakashi and I are involved, yes, and it is… serious," she says, eyes darting to the side.

"Hmph," Homura grumbles, finally rid of the frog in his throat. "A likely story. How are we to know this isn't some plot you've cooked up? Everyone knows you're soft on your old team."

A second later, three black blurs materialize in between Sakura and the elders — all ANBU, one wearing a cat mask, the second a bear mask, and the third a snail mask. "Ah, I believe all three of us can confirm the… reality… of a relationship between Haruno-sand and Hokage-sama," Bear says, voice a little uneasy. "There are also multiple other ANBU that can… corroborate."

Kakashi blinks at Grizzly, startled that Tenzo knew and never said anything. He decides to put that aside for later, though. "Some of them could even corroborate all night long," he says cheerily, resting his chin on his fist. He should be a little calmer and more serious, he knows, but he's too elated about Sakura escaping the elders' edict.

"Kakashi!" Sakura snaps, flushing bright red. He just twinkles at her and returns his gaze to the ANBU's standoff with the elders.

"What kind of evidence do you have?" Koharu says, peering at the operatives. "And take your masks off! I want to see if you're biased."

He knows who Cat and Grizzly are, but he's never seen Snail unmasked. She reminds him of a brunette Hinata, face soft, round, and sweet. "Most of the evidence we have is rather inappropriate to repeat out loud, honored elders," Kikyo says, sweeping into a bow. "Of course, if you would like me to narrate the occurrences I was… witness to, I can." Then she twists around, eyes Sakura, and turns back with a grin. "Also, I'm pretty sure that's Hokage-sama's shirt."

The elders glance between the ANBU, clearly frustrated. While Tenzo might be able to be convinced into a lie like this, the other two are unlikely to be biased. Everyone knows Kikyo and Sakura dated. Though they're still on good terms with each other, what reason would she have to lie and say Sakura's in a relationship with Kakashi instead of herself?

"…very well," Koharu grumbles. "Away with you, ye devils." They disappear, just as quickly as they appeared. "I suppose we shall… rescind that particular condition. However, your jutsu must be recorded, demonstrated, and stored in short order, do you hear me?"

Sakura nods. "I don't know if anyone else will be able to use most of them, but sure." That makes him raise an eyebrow at her. She sees it and explains, "Despite my intense training and my seal, my chakra pool remains rather small compared to some. All of my jutsu were developed based on my medical knowledge and my extensive chakra control. There are a few that are easier to use than the others, but even those are likely best performed by medic-nin."

"Like?" he prods gently. She wrinkles her nose at him but answers.

"One of them is a genjutsu based on the same principle as the infinite tsukiyomi. Rather than relying on images the caster has to craft beforehand, or optical illusions, it uses the power of the brain against itself. When chakra's applied to certain areas in the brain, in certain ways, it stimulates them. That's what makes genjutsu cast with the Sharingan so effective — it calls on the brain of the victim rather than the caster. This jutsu stimulates the part of the brain most responsible for hallucinations, as well as the parts that regulate certain functions. There are three variations of this one. One makes the brain overproduce the chemicals that appear when someone's afraid, and removes upper limits on chemical production, making the hallucinations something their mind thinks is terrifying. It also places a shunt in the victim's chakra system that uses their own chakra to keep fueling the illusions. If the genjutsu is allowed to keep going long enough, they basically end up scaring themselves to death."

She takes a deep breath and continues. "The other two variations are much the same, but instead of producing fear chemicals, they each produce two different kinds of… more pleasurable chemicals. Recent psychological studies suggest information gained from painful torture is actually less likely to be accurate, so I worked with Ibiki-san to develop these two variations. One overwhelms the target with sexual hallucinations and pleasure, while the other basically makes them hallucinate something closer to their ideal world. These two are… far harder to kill with, though it is theoretically possible." She glances at the elders and then back to him. "Due to the nature of the genjutsu, medic-nin are best suited to cast it. It's also optimal for them because it uses far less chakra than typical genjutsu, leaving them with plenty for healing." She pauses for a second before adding, "I told Ibiki-san he should feel free to claim it as his own. Did he not…?"

Homura coughs. "T&I has, ah, always had a certain amount of… freedom… in the ways it operates."

By the time they're done quizzing her about all the jutsu she's created, it's nearly six. Kakashi's also equal parts terrified and turned on. For all his discussions with Sakura, he didn't know she was creating jutsu like these. Some are terrifying in their simplicity. Others are terrifying because of how simply she explains them, like her 'chikiri'. Before the elders can leave, he flickers next to her and then away, depositing them both in his office. "What do you mean, you 'made shiden better'?" he demands. "It's already good! And since when have you been able to use lightning?"

She laughs and executes a few one handed seals before holding her hand in front of his face. Rather than the vibrant energy of a chidori or a shiden, her skin's barely illuminated. Lightning crackles over her fingernails and extends farther out, like tiny knives. "Based around the idea of chakra scalpels and chidori. It's mostly useful when I need to cauterize something, honestly, since it's short range," she says, shaking it off her hand. "I've been working on all f— mmmh—"

Even if she hadn't just spent four hours talking about creating intricate jutsu with ease, he'd have kissed her. He might have waited until they got somewhere more private first, but his office is empty and she's too beautiful for him to handle. "So much for that dinner, huh?" he says when they break apart.

She grins. "I actually called in and reserved a private room at Ryuusei for us at seven, and then I did the rounds to invite everyone." Then her face falls a little. "I… do feel kind of bad Sasuke's going to be last to find out."

"If he wanted fresh news, he should've stuck around," Kakashi says with a sniff before he drops another kiss on her lips. "Besides, him staying away so much is part of why the late scarecrow got the worm."

She snorts and then squints at him. "Wait, are you saying I'm a worm?"

"No, but I do enjoy it when you squirm," he purrs, sinking his hands into her hair as he kisses her again. They're both breathing hard when they break away from each other, but there's a Look in her eye.

"We need to go get ready for dinner," she says gently, dodging his attempts to drag her into another kiss. "Or at least I do."

He pauses, mid-attempt, and pulls back. Her voice's mostly even, but there's a tiny wobble to it. "Sakura?" he says. She raises an eyebrow at her. "I — if you don't want to tell the others yet, we don't have to. We can say the dinner's about the meeting with the elders."

She smiles and reaches up to stroke his face. "The thought is appreciated, but… I don't want them to hear about it from someone else. They deserve the truth. All of them." She flushes a little and glances away, adding in a tiny mumble, "Besides, I… don't want to hide you."

They just stand there for a few minutes, foreheads pressed together, savoring each other.

Tsunade's a lot of things, but an idiot isn't one of them. Sakura doesn't just arrange dinners like this out of nowhere. The tiny team dinners at Kakashi's, certainly. But a restaurant? The last time she did something like this was for Ino's birthday. From the moment she passes through the doors of the yakiniku restaurant, she's on alert, looking for any possible signs of what's going on.

It results in a splitting headache very quickly. Naruto's just as loud as ever, and he and Sai still don't quite get along like they should. Ino's bellowing at them doesn't help either. After a little while, she just claims a seat at the table and rubs her temples. She senses Sakura before she sees her, so she knows exactly when to bat away the glowing hand aimed at her. "I swear it'll be all better if they would just shut the hell up," she groans. "Is the sake here yet?" A bottle of her favorite slides into her line of sight. She blinks at it and turns her head, eyes narrowing on her apprentice. "Okay. Spit it out. Who's the father and when are you having it?"

Sakura chokes and sputters, "Shishou! I — you — I'm not…" She mouths the last word.

"Well, what is it? You wouldn't be buttering me up with the good stuff if it wasn't something big." She doesn't object, though, grabbing one of the water glasses from the end of the table and pouring a shot into the bottom of the cup. "Yell at them, would you? My head hurts too much."

Sakura obeys, and Tsunade watches her as she shakes sense into both of her teammates. It's not long after that that the second-to-last person — Yamato — arrives, and the food follows shortly after. They've been eating for fifteen minutes when Kakashi finally shows up, simply flickering into existence on the chair beside Sakura. "Yo."

She glances at her successor and wonders. But he's not leaning towards Sakura, not touching her or holding her hand, any of the telltales of new couples. While he's not wearing his flak jacket (which amounts to dressy wear for Kakashi), everyone else is a little dressed up as well. It goes onto her list of possibilities. Between the sake and the food, the atmosphere mellows quickly. They're waiting for desserts when Sakura clears her throat and stands, brushing off her dress — and it is a dress, something high-necked and green. Another sign something's up. "So, uh, I… arranged this dinner for… to tell you all something," she says, and there's already a flush on her cheeks. "I wanted you to know b-before rumors started going around, and… you're my friends, so I wanted to tell you the truth." She clenches and unclenches her fists, exhaling hard. "And I — the truth is — I'm — we —"

"Sakura," Tsunade hears Kakashi murmur, so quiet she can barely hear it from her spot on the other side of her apprentice. Sakura's head jerks towards him. Tsunade doesn't have time to blink before Kakashi's on his feet, mask around his neck, hands cradling Sakura's face as he kisses her. Sakura stiffens for a heartbeat and then she melts into him, her hands sliding up his chest and fisting in his shirt, dragging him close.

For a few blissful seconds, the room is so deathly silent she swears she hears a soap bubble pop. And then everyone reacts. Naruto, unsurprisingly, falls out of his chair. Hinata gasps and smiles, hands going to her cheeks. Sai… stares. Shizune chokes on her sake, and her on-again boyfriend spits out his senbon. Yamato groans and drops his face into his hands. Gai starts sobbing in joy. Ino pumps a fist in the air, an almost manic grin splitting her face as she shouts, "You go, forehead! Get that sensei dick!"

Tsunade herself can't help her fierce grin as she shouts, "About fucking time, you brats!"

She's pretty sure it was 'sensei dick' that breaks the couple free of their kiss, Sakura as red as her namesake. A tiny flush is even visible over the edge of Kakashi's mask, already back in place. "Ino! I know I told you —" Sakura starts.

Naruto recovers at that moment and leaps to his feet, slamming his hands on the table. "KAKA-SENSEI! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

"Aa, it was a kiss, Naruto," Kakashi answers, his eyes grinning. "I thought you knew that by now. Poor Hinata-chan, never getting any kisses."

"Not that! How the hell did you — you took off your mask and kissed Sakura and I still couldn't see shit!" Naruto screeches. Then he pauses, eyes wide as he reels back. "Wait. What the hell?! You kissed Sakura-chan?!"

The entire room bursts into laughter at that because it's so incredibly Naruto. Kakashi's the first one to speak as the laughter dies down. "I kissed Sakura because I'm dating Sakura, Naruto." His eyes crease up, and even with the mask on, Tsunade can tell his grin is huge. "I like her." Something about the softness and the sweetness of his voice when he says that wrenches at Tsunade's heart. She's thankful that Shizune pokes her in the side just then, or she might have cried. Instead, she hands over a handful of ryo.

"And I like him," Sakura chimes in right after Kakashi. "I — I know it's weird, but…" she bites her lip and glances around the table.

"Trust me, this in no way, shape, or form is nearly as weird as how I found out," Yamato groans from behind his hands. "I'm scarred, I tell you. Scarred."

"As long as they're happy," Tsunade says, shooting the wood user a glare. "I guess I didn't have to bribe you away from that Uchiha with the Senju library after all."

That snaps Sakura out of the hazy state Kakashi's kiss put her into and back into reality, reminding her harshly of the day's events. There's a considerable amount of chatter going on around the table, though Naruto's still standing in the middle of the floor, frozen in shock. She snorts and then she whistles. Everyone, even Naruto, claps their hands over their ears and turns to look at her. "Okay! There's a second reason we told you this tonight, so please listen carefully!" More than a few people frown in worry. Hinata drags Naruto into his seat and nods to her.

She takes a deep breath, but Kakashi starts talking first. "Sakura disobeyed direct orders from an acting Hokage —" he nods to Naruto, "— when she decided to rescue me. The elders decided... well, they rather decided to make an example of her." He pauses. "Their initial plan was to strip her of her shinobi status entirely."

Naruto leaps to his feet again, mouth open, but Sakura scowls thunderously at him. He pauses and slowly, slowly, lowers himself back into his seat. "Kakashi managed to… well, technically it was 'talking them down'. They wanted to permanently ban me from ANBU and solo missions. They also wanted me to give them the information on all of the jutsu I've created."

"You've created jutsu on your own?" Tsunade interrupts, mouth tight.

Sakura scowls darkly at her, but answers. "What, like it's hard? I only made, like, fifteen." Ino chokes on her sake and tries to say something through her sputters, but Sakura speeds on. "We'll talk about that later! There was one more condition. In order to be able to take missions outside the village, they…" She exhales. "They wanted me to be an Uchiha baby machine."

"They WHAT?!" Tsunade bellows, slamming her fist into the table and sending a crack down its middle. While her reaction's loudest, it's certainly not the only one. Sakura almost laughs at the amount of killing intent suddenly roiling in the room, seeping from the pores of every single ninja there — even Gai and Hinata. "I should've known those crusty-ass dirtbags would pull something like this! Why, I ought to —"

Sakura whistles again. "Please let me finish, shishou!" she gently scolds her teacher. Tsunade sulks, but sinks back into her seat. The killing intent abates a little, but still lingers as she continues. "They didn't know that Tsunade made me the heir to the Senju five years ago, and that the only condition she had on the inheritance was I could never marry Sasuke or have his children." Ino leans over and high-fives Tsunade, quite unexpectedly, and Sakura bites back a giggle.

"It turns out they don't want to lose the Hatake and the Senju at the same time," Kakashi hums, sliding his arm around her waist.

"That reminds me — why didn't you tell the elders in that meeting you had with them?" Sakura asks, eyeing her boyfriend out of the corner of her eye.

"If you asked them to choose between the worst Uchiha in history and the best Hatake, they'd dance on the Hatake's corpse," he grumbles. "We're… not nearly as valuable to them, so it wasn't enough leverage on its own." He pauses and then adds, "Also, I didn't have your permission," before dropping a tiny masked kiss on her nose.

She flushes a little as she returns her attention to the table. "So we didn't want you guys to hear about… the stuff that was said during the meeting… and think we were trying to keep secrets, or that we didn't want to tell you, or anything like that!" She smiles nervously, glancing around the table.

"My dearest, most eternal rival… WHAT A COOL AND YOUTHFUL SPIRIT YOU REMAIN!" Gai says, the words starting quietly and then quadrupling in volume as tears begin sliding down his face again. "Not only have you discovered a truly youthful spirit to keep by your side, you discovered a despicable plot to keep you from each other and conquered it with vigor!"

Hinata coughs gently as Gai's shouts taper into quieter mumbles. "I'm glad for you, Kakashi-sama, Sakura-chan," she says, her smile warm. "I hope you make each other happy."

"He already does," she says, smiling back just as warmly.

"Don't think I forgot about all those new jutsu, bitch," Ino says, leaning over the table and glowering at her friend. "What the hell do you mean, 'only fifteen'? Most people don't create jutsu at all, and if they do, it's one or two!"

"Aa, she probably means the same thing she meant when she said she 'made chidori better'," Kakashi says, dragging her back down into their seats as she scowls at him.

"You made — Forehead, what the fuck?!" Ino shouts.

Of course, Sai waits until a lull in the conversation to put his two cents in. "Please answer a question for me, Sakura." She blinks, but nods, a little wary. "Hokage-sama is very skilled at not allowing others to see his face. Did you see his penis or his face first?"

"SAI!"

(Later, she does the math, and realizes she did see his dick before his face. That stays secret.)

She already has a little bag, stuffed with clothing, so they waste no time returning to his balcony. As soon as they're on his balcony, his will to resist touching her breaks. All night, he's been holding himself back from stroking her hair, holding her hand, because he didn't want to let the cat out of the bag too soon. The more he drank, the harder it became to resist. He reaches out and pulls her back against his chest. She's soft and lovely and he can say she's his, he can shout it, he can tell the world if he wanted to. She gasps, surprised but not startled, and leans her head to one side so she can catch his eyes. It exposes her neck, long and pale in the moonlight, and he cannot resist running his lips from her ear to the neckline of her dress. "Mmm," she hums, almost a purr.

"I want you," he murmurs, dragging down his mask so he can drop kisses along her cheek.

"How much?" she whispers as he trails his fingers over the lacy arms of her dress.

"So much it hurts," he replies, flickering them inside. Immediately, she drops her bag and kicks it into the corner of his room before spinning in his arms and dragging his face down to hers.

"Did you think of me today?" she asks before she kisses him, hot and deep.

"Always." His hands roam, finding her zipper and tugging it down slowly.

"I don't mean thinking of me," she purrs against his mouth, tugging at his belt buckle. "Did you think about me on my knees, Kakashi?" He swallows and nods, pulling the zipper down farther. "Did you think about how I sound screaming your name?" Another nod. He tugs at her sleeves and drags the dress down a little. "Did you think about how my pussy feels, wrapped around your cock?"

"Yes," he groans, pulling her dress down as far as it'll go. She slithers out of the top and lets it pool around her waist. His fingers skim across her skin, softness alternating with scars, as she tries to tug his shirt off. He resists for a few seconds and then lifts his arms so that she can drag it over his head. "Right up until the damn elders started talking about how they wanted to punish you, you were the only thing I could think about. The way you taste, the way you moan —"

"You missed me that much?" Sakura's smile is devious as her hand slides into his pants and runs across his erection. "Poor old Kakashi…"

He growls and steps forward, pushing her up against the closed door, crowding her against it so that she has to yank her hand free. "You know I hate being called old," he snarls, yanking her down so that her legs bracket his hips and his erection grinds against her. "Do I feel like an old man, Sakura-chan?"

"I don't know, do — nnngh —" He interrupts her by biting her neck at the same time he flicks his thumb across the cotton-covered swell of her clit. Kakashi recognizes this bra, this set of panties — the same ones she wore when she jumped him last year after their spar. Only his fondness saves them from being torn off. Instead, he tugs them down over her hips, just enough to expose her pussy. She's already wet, not soaking but glistening. He can't resist dragging a finger through her moisture and sucking it clean.

After a second of thought, he drops Sakura's legs, letting them slide to the floor so that gravity takes her panties. The instant her legs are free, she wraps them back around his waist, panties dangling from one ankle and brushing against his back. "Did you miss me?" he pants into her ear, rolling his hips into hers as he tugs one breast free from its lacy covering. "Did you miss my cock, Sakura?"

"Fuck, yes," she whimpers, rocking her hips into his, her eyes half-lidded. "You know I love your cock, Kakashi, I love how it feels inside me and the way you fuck me and —" This time, he interrupts her with a kiss. A second later, her other breast's free, resting on the dark green lace, and he tweaks her nipple as he kisses her harder. It distracts her from the sound of his zipper coming undone, the soft rustle of him pushing his underwear aside.

He slides into her and she almost shrieks into his mouth, eyes rolling into the back of her head. "Is this what you wanted?" he says, breaking away from her lips. "Were you dreaming about being split open on my cock all day?"

"Yessss," she moans, the sound unmuffled. It takes a second for her to catch his rhythm, but only a second. He fucks her, pressed up against the door, his face buried in her neck. Even without his usual caution, she still orgasms before he does. Twice. Like this, his thoughts a little blurred by alcohol, in the dark, it feels secret and lewd — the way stories narrate affairs — and everything seems even hotter because of it.

"I can't wait to tell everyone you're mine," he mutters, his hips slowly picking up speed. "Can't wait — to let them know — you're off limits. Mine." The last word's more a snarl than anything else. He doesn't regret it.

"Yours," she hisses back. "I'm yours, Kakashi, and you're mine." Something about the way she growls that word, the way she tightens around him, pushes him over the edge.

"Yours," he whines, vision going white for a second as he spills inside her. "Only yours."

When he comes back to himself, they're both shuddering and sweaty, spent, pressed up against the door. They look at each other as Kakashi pulls away, and she leaks, and then they burst into simultaneous laughter. "This dress better not have cum on it," she gasps after a minute, tears rolling down her face from laughing so hard. "I will kick your ass so far —"

"Aa, my pants…" he mopes, glancing down at the smeary stain of fluid on the front of them.

"This is your fault. I have no sympathy for the devil."

"Even if you do enjoy 'sensei dick'?"

"I'm going to fucking murder Ino."

Chapter 5: tearing through the pages and the ink

Mebuki alternates between asking worried questions and scolding her. "He's so old, Sakura! He didn't groom you? Are you sure? He never gave you any presents —"

"Mom," she eventually snaps. "He wasn't even my teacher for six months. The only things he ever taught me were water-walking and how to catch fat cats. He only remembered my birthday once before I turned twenty, and the only thing he gave me was a gift certificate to the dango place!"

She looks a little abashed, but not entirely. "I just… I worry about you, my little flower," Mebuki says after a minute. "You've gone so far, and you've done so much. You've done things I didn't even know were possible. The only thing I can still beat you at is cooking —"

"I promise I want this, and not because Kakashi brainwashed me," Sakura interrupts again. "He…" She flushes and looks down at the teacup in her hands. "He said he's had feelings for me since he was crowned Hokage. And he never said anything. Not until…" she trails off. "Not until he thought I might feel the same way. He was worried about my reputation, Mom. He's just…" She throws her hands in the air. "I don't know how to describe him. He's a gigantic asshole and he makes me happier than I've ever been. Happier than I was with Kikyo, even."

Mebuki smiles softly. "Bring him over for dinner, then," she says. "If it's that serious, I need to get his measurements so we can get started on his wedding kimono."

"I — Mom!"

(She ends up adoring him.)

After a week or so, Kakashi notices rumors cropping up. Or, rather, Kikyo comes into his office one day and draws his attention to them. "Hokage-sama." He nods at her, eyebrow raised. "Were you aware there are rumors about you and Sakura-chan?"

He sets down his pen. "What kind of rumors?" he asks carefully. "I know, ah, Sakura shared some information with me recently about being called…" he hesitates.

"The town bicycle?" Kikyo says, as blunt as ever. "Yeah. Old news, though. These are all pretty new. I've heard a few people saying she's a gold-digger, after the 'Hatake fortune'." He snorts at that.

"Ah, yes, a piece of land with a broken-down house and bad memories," he drawls. "A grand fortune indeed, isn't it?"

She offers him a wry smile and continues. "Another one says she's using you to make sure Sasuke stays pardoned, that you're blackmailing her into sleeping with you to get funding for the hospital, and…" She pauses. "Well, the last one you probably expected."

The look on her face, her reluctance to share this rumor, tells him exactly what it is. "It's about me being her old teacher, isn't it?" he asks, eyes flat.

She wiggles her hand. "Ssssort of? It's… more about how long you've…" Her mouth pinches tight. She doesn't finish the sentence. He doesn't need her to.

"Thank you for letting me know," he says after a long minute of silence. He glances up at the rafters. For once, he's glad to see Genma's mask. Nobody spreads gossip as quickly as Genma does. Honestly, he's not sure why some of the contents of that dinner haven't been circulated around Konoha already. "Would you like to know something, Kikyo-san?" She arches an eyebrow at him. "I don't think the elders like me dating Sakura very much. It wouldn't surprise me if they were behind all of these rumors."

She blinks at him, eyes wide. "…why would they —" It strikes her. "This is about them wanting her to be a Uchiha baby machine, isn't it? They want to break you guys up." Her eyes narrow. "I spent four years waiting for you to get your head out of your ass. Like hell am I letting some shitty rumors break you up before you've had a solid chance at dating her. And if I wanted her to be with a cranky shinobi with weird eyes, I'd still be with her."

Kikyo spins and stalks out of the office. He watches her go, a little amused, and calls up to the rafters, "Aa, Robin?" An instant later, Genma's in front of him, perfectly still and straight. "Everyone knows you're where gossip starts, Robin-san. Is there a reason I haven't heard any rumors about the news Sakura shared at dinner?"

Robin huffs. Then he pushes his mask back on his head. "Permission to speak freely?" Kakashi nods. "I'm not that much of a fucking asshole, sir. That shit was private. If I hear something on duty, it's fair game. But if it's something personal like that…" He shrugs. "Yeah." Then a gleam flickers in his eyes. "That being said, sir, I would take great pleasure in spreading the awful, awful news about how the elders wanted to use such a heroic kunoichi as a human incubator and tried to break her up with you to do it."

Kakashi's pretty sure Genma can see his grin, even through the mask. "Dismissed, Robin," he says lazily, going back to his paperwork. And after that, he keeps an ear out.

A week later, he hears someone talking about "how disgusting it is, trying to make a loyal kunoichi spread her legs for some traitor!" And that's the mildest thing he hears. He laughs all the way to the dango shop.

(It ends up being the impetus behind him finally being able to replace the elders, because they're clearly not able to make good use of the village's resources, hide-bound and stuck in the past, clinging to what-once-was)

When Kakashi brings flowers home for their three month anniversary, he clearly doesn't expect the scene he steps into. She's been working at the hospital, mostly, and not taking many missions. That she's there shouldn't be a surprise. But — well, his apartment's always been bare. Now boxes are stacked up against the walls. Sakura's kneeling in front of a bookcase, carefully shelving her books according to the library system. It's efficient. "Hey sweetie," she greets him, distracted by the books in her hands.

"…what is all this?" he says, voice a little strangled. She looks up to find him bewildered, confusion all over his face. "Did you rob a box store?"

She exhales, sets the books down, and stands up. "I… I haven't slept at my apartment in six weeks," she says quietly, fingers twisting together nervously. "Half of my clothes are already here. I… I probably should've asked, but…" She swallows, staring at the ground. "Want a roommate?"

After a second, strong arms wrap around her and yank her into the air. Kakashi spins for a few seconds, swinging her with him, before he kisses her. "Hell yes," he answers when she pulls away. "I didn't want you to feel pressured —"

"The only pressure I'm under is from Ino. She won't believe I've never called you 'sensei' during sex," Sakura grumbles. "I keep telling her the truth, and she's…"

Kakashi snorts. Then he looks at her, eyes narrow. "…is that something you wanted to do?" he asks, a little hesitant. "I'm not sure…"

She squints up at him, considering. "I… I don't know." She really doesn't. Thinking about it doesn't make her excited, but it doesn't repulse her. It's been the same for a few other kinks she quite enjoys, so she reaches for the carefully packed away lust and draws on it to look up at Kakashi and purr, "Do you want to fuck me silly, sensei?"

He twitches. She waits. They stare at each other in silence for a minute, gaging each other's reaction. "Nope?" he asks her, eyebrow raised.

"Nope" she replies. "Just kind of… weird. I think I like calling you Hokage-sama more."

"Ah, you're in luck," he murmurs, leaning forward to kiss her. "I happened to like that, too."

(they attempt the sensei thing one other time, almost mid-act, and while it doesn't repulse either of them, there are other names they'd rather use for each other)

On their six month anniversary, they invite people over. Hinata's out of the village, as are Sai, Yamato, and Tsunade. Naruto's there, though, and he brings both children with him. Inojin's there, too, but he's significantly better behaved than any of the Uzumaki. Shizune and Genma bring Gai, since Lee's out with his genin team again. And Kikyo… brings someone Kakashi recognizes.

He knows her as Snail, the soft-faced brunette Hinata lookalike that vouched for their relationship before the elders. Kikyo introduces her as Morita Sango. Sakura blinks and then tilts her head. "Wait. Kikyo and —"

"Yes, like the manga," Kikyo says with a sigh. "Please don't. I've heard all the good jokes at least three times, and most of the bad ones more than that."

Kakashi has no idea what they're talking about, so he just crinkles his eyes at Sango in a smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Sango-san."

"It's my pleasure to formally meet you, Hokage-sama," she responds with a bow. He notes her careful distinction and smiles to himself.

He watches the couple through the night, though he still pays far more attention to Sakura. Part of him wonders if Sango's a reaction to his relationship with Sakura. It's been years since Kikyo dated her, and they've both had other relationships, but he can't help wondering. He's never been one for public affection, but he tries to keep it to a minimum tonight, just in case. He notices, though, that Kikyo doesn't react to his hand on Sakura's waist or to Sakura dropping her eggplant onto his plate or any of the other dozen tiny things he didn't realize showed how intertwined they are. After dessert, when everyone's scattered around the apartment chattering, Sakura jabs one pointy elbow in his ribs while nobody's looking. "Is there a reason you're staring at Kikyo?" she hisses beneath her breath.

He grumbles as he rubs his side and answers, equally quiet, "I… was worried about her watching us together."

Another, sharper jab. "Kakashi, she broke up with me five years ago. There's no way she still has any kind of romantic feelings for me. Nobody holds on that long."

He raises one eyebrow at her. "Nobody, hm?" She blinks at him and then flushes bright red.

"Well, not nobody, but — she's fine! I've gone on double dates with her and her girlfriends before!" she scolds him.

"Yes, but —" He believes her, but he's still careful about how much affection he shows when Kikyo or Cat is present. As Genma said, he's not that much of an asshole.

They're curled up in bed, much later, when Sakura suddenly says, "I thought about being with both of you once."

"…both of who?" he asks, fairly certain he knows the answer.

"You and Kikyo," she mumbles.

His eyebrows go up. "Oh, is that so, Sakura-chan?"

"Not like that, you pervert!" she scolds him, flushing pink. "I mean, I'm not going to say I — I never thought about that kind of thing — but this isn't it!" She buries her face in his chest and continues talking from there. "She's the only other person I've ever been able to see a real future with. When I — when you and I started dating, it made sense of something she said when we broke up. She said, 'maybe the love you need is hidden in plain sight'. I guess she knew?" He nods in response. "And that… that made me think that maybe she didn't want to break up with me, she did it so that I'd keep looking." A heavy sigh gusts out of her. "So I thought maybe we could all be… together? All of us. As a couple. But with three people. But she's —"

"'The biggest lesbian in Konoha'," he says dryly. Kikyo's not quiet about her sexuality. He suspects the Inuzuka elders have something to do with her insistence on being loud about it.

"Yeah," she says. "And I don't know if I could share you, anyway."

"I know I couldn't share you."

Sasuke returns to town a day before Sakura's twenty-sixth birthday. Ever since Kakashi pardoned him, whispers and glances follow him when he visits. This time, there's something… different about them. Rather than looks of anger, fear, hatred, there's a surprising amount of pity and sympathy. His first stop, as always, is the Hokage's office.

Instead of the bushy head of white hair he expects to see dozing over reports, Naruto's sprawled in the chair. "Sasuke!" he shouts, leaping to his feet. "Right on time, y'know!"

"Mm," he replies. "Kakashi?"

"Eh, he took today off," Naruto says, reaching up and scratching at the back of his head almost nervously. "There's some big meeting tomorrow, so he said he wanted to give Sakura-chan her present today."

Sasuke nods and hands over his most recent report, finished before the fire that morning. "I was hoping to talk to Sakura, actually. I can find her with Kakashi?" Naruto nods and begins to say something, but Sasuke doesn't linger. He never does. Instead, he flickers away and closes his eyes to meditate for a few seconds.

Though he's no sage, Kakashi's chakra has always been easy to track when it's not cloaked. Fittingly, it's just as white and violent as lightning. Since having the sharingan removed, his reserves seem to have doubled in size. Between the amount and the feeling, it's rarely hard to find. By contrast, Sakura's seems to blend in to the environmental chakra. If he were a sensory nin, he might be able to find her with regularity, but he's not. He just knows the basics.

He finally locates the rokudaime's chakra in his apartment, rather than the sparring grounds like he'd expected. Sasuke frowns, but sets off in that direction. If he's already finished with Sakura's birthday spar, perhaps they intend to go for lunch — or perhaps they haven't started —

For the first time in almost twenty years, he almost trips over his own feet, of his own accord. He flails, but manages to stick to the railing of Kakashi's balcony, and almost wishes he didn't. And then he proceeds to curse the rinnegan. Rather than finding Sakura and Kakashi in the middle of lunch, or preparing for a spar, they're… He closes his eyes, like it'll change the image, like it'll wash away the image forever burned in his retinas of Sakura, splayed across the dining room table with Kakashi's face buried between her legs.

He leaps away, uncaring of the direction. Whatever he thought to find, it was not that. Though he hasn't been waiting for Sakura, exactly, there were still vestiges of him that assumed she'd be his wife. There's someone, a civilian, that he thinks he might be able to love — but he felt like he needed Sakura's blessing first.

Sasuke lands back inside the Hokage's office. Naruto swivels around, takes one look at him, and breaks into laughter. "Ha! Got an eyeful, huh? That'll teach you to go wooshin' away!" Sasuke just sighs in response. "Don't feel too bad, y'know, I think just about all of us have done it now. Hinata showed up here to turn in a mission report once and —" Naruto wiggles his eyebrows. "'course, it was real late. Guess they figured they weren't gonna get peeped on."

He can't help snorting at that. "Perhaps," he answers dryly. "Or perhaps they wanted to 'get peeped on', as you say."

Naruto's eyes almost pop out of his. "T-they — why the hell would they wanna get seen, bastard?!"

Sakura's first clue that Sasuke's back in town is the phone ringing halfway through her quiet supper with Kakashi. She pauses the videotape and answers — to the sound of Ino's raucous laughter. "Hi, Pig," she sighs. "What's going on now?"

More laughter. She picks up the cordless phone and goes back to the couch with it on speaker, waiting for Ino to finish cackling. Kakashi raises an eyebrow at her. She just shrugs and snuggles back into his embrace. "Forehead," Ino finally wheezes. "What a way to break it to a man!"

"…what are you talking about?" Sakura asks, genuinely confused. "Break what to who?"

"Sasuke stopped by to see if I had any plans for you tomorrow," Ino says, laughter still in her voice. It sounds like a non sequiter at first. "Imagine my surprise when he told me he went looking for you earlier and found you drowning your boytoy in pussy!"

Sakura chokes on air. "What?" she squeaks, and feels Kakashi's entire body go still.

"What did I tell you about not drawing the curtains before you get it on?" Ino gasps out before laughter overcomes her again.

"Shit," Kakashi grumbles, dropping his head on top of her. And then again, with more feeling, "Shit." After a few more long minutes of Ino's insufferable laughter, Sakura hangs up on her best friend and feels perfectly justified.

"Well… guess we don't have to tell him now?" she manages to say.

"I would've preferred telling him," Kakashi says.

Sakura meets Sasuke the next day for lunch and has trouble meeting his eyes. They barely speak until they've both finished eating. Then Sasuke starts fiddling with his chopsticks. "So… Kakashi," he eventually says.

"Kakashi," she replies, eyes on the table. "I… I wanted to tell you, but he said the only real way to get you a message was through emergency channels, and I didn't want to freak you out. I'm sorry you had to find out like that."

"Mm," Sasuke hums. "Why?"

She exhales. Surprisingly, that's the first time anyone's asked that question. There have been scads and scads of others, but not that one. "Because…" she starts, and has to stop. "I don't have words for it, for him. It's like trying to describe the way sunlight feels. Everything seems easier when he's there, when I know I can go home and talk to him and trust him to take care of me."

He nods and stands, leaving enough ryo on the table to cover his half of the bill. Sakura does the same, and then they walk to training ground three in silence. "Do you know why I was looking for you yesterday?" he says, standing in front of that center pillar.

"…to say happy birthday?" she guesses.

He turns a little and looks at her. "I… there might…" He exhales and starts again. "I wanted to make sure you would be okay if I happened to bring home a wife."

Her jaw drops. "Huh?"

He shoves his hands in his pockets, shoulders up defensively, in a movement that's so like Kakashi Sakura almost laughs. "Once I figured out what I'd have to do to revive the Uchiha, you were always… I always thought you'd be the person I married. But you moved on, and I started looking at other people. At first, I thought maybe Karin, but —" he wrinkles his nose a little. Sakura agrees. "Last year, I stopped in a small town. There was a woman who helped run a food stand, and she was…"

Once he goes quiet, Sakura waits. She's learned these silences aren't improved by pushy questions. Eventually, he starts talking again. "Everything, everything, in her life has gone wrong. She's never had anything. And somehow, she's still joyful. She's still excited about life." She hums, a questioning sound, and he interprets it correctly. "She walks with a limp because she fought a slaver to keep him off her sister and he broke her hip — and she calls herself blessed."

That description makes something tick in Sakura's brain. "…this woman, is she short and blonde? Brown eyes?" Sasuke twitches, but nods, eyebrow high. "What's her name?"

"Naya," he says slowly, like it's a trap.

She takes a breath and almost laughs. If she ever believed in the concept of red strings, of fate, this would make her lose her mind. "Sasuke, I know her. I was one of the ANBU that wrecked that slaver's caravan. If I hadn't spent half my chakra on her hip, she wouldn't be able to walk at all. That man didn't break her hip. He crushed it." He inhales, visible eye widening. "Yeah. Take a chunk of ice, put it in a bag, and drop a rock on it. That's what her hip was like when we got to her." She lets herself smile a little. "And the entire time I was healing her, she told me not to worry about it, to go check on everyone else. I told her to go to a clinic if she didn't want a limp, but…"

"Then you know a little of her," Sasuke says quietly. He stares at Sakura for a few long, quiet minutes. "I would have loved you, Sakura," he finally says. "But I don't know if I could have loved you the way you needed to be loved. If I… I don't think I would have changed for you. Not like I might for Naya. She — she's like a quieter Naruto, I suppose. She's full of hope and love, and I think… I think she needs me." Sakura cocks her head to the side. Again, he elaborates, and she's stunned beyond words. This is the most she's ever heard him speak outside of their dates. "Not because she's weak, or incapable. But she takes care of everyone, and nobody takes care of her. I want to take care of her."

And at that, there's a flicker of something in Sasuke's dark eye. "You're — you're scared of her, aren't you?" Sakura wonders out loud. "She makes you feel things, and want things, and that scares you."

"…yes," he admits after a few long, tense minutes.

"You can't be brave unless you're scared. I would know."

(she goes home that night, and she does not linger over what-could-have-beens; she is happy with what is)

For Kakashi's birthday, he asks Sakura for a spar. Nothing else. She buys him a present, but he tells her, "I'm not opening it until after you fight me."

"Fine, you ass," she grumbles, but there's excitement in the words. When they get to the training ground, Hinata and Ino are there with the kids. Suspicion dances across her face, but then Gai rolls up, Lee behind him. Kakashi's never been so happy to see green jumpsuits.

"Yosh, my rival!" Gai greets Kakashi. "I look forward to this amazing show of youth! Lee, are you excited?!"

Lee offers them both a thumbs up. "What better way to test strength than to compare the youth passed down to the next generation?! If Sakura-chan can best Kakashi-sama, then we shall know her strength has surpassed his, and the challenge will be won by Kakashi-sama! If Sakura-chan loses, then Gai-sensei wins!" It doesn't make a lot of sense, but Gai's good at obfuscating, and Kakashi did tell him to come up with a good excuse to be there.

Sakura eyes the two men and shrugs. "Uh, sure. I guess." Then she squints at Lee. "I'm not going to be your eternal rival, though. Just so you know. That's Ino's spot."

"I would not dream of coming between you and your rival, Sakura-chan!" Lee shouts. Then Tenzo ambles up, hands in pockets.

"Yo," Kakashi greets him.

For once, the prim man replies with an equally desultory, "Yo." Sakura raises an eyebrow at him, another question in her eyes. "Ah, he let me know you were planning on sparring," Tenzo explains. "I haven't gotten to see you fight in a while, and I was going to get called out to fix the ground anyway…"

"Aah," Sakura says, smile curling up her lips. "Well, prepare to watch your senpai get his ass kicked, Yamato-taichou!"

Really ought to ask her why she still calls him Yamato, Kakashi muses, doffing his hat and stretching. They're standing across from each other soon, his blood already rushing in excitement.

"Three… two… one… FIGHT!" Ino shouts, her voice carrying across the training ground. They're already moving, both leaping into the air to launch their attacks. Her sword sails over his head, trimming a few errant hairs, at the same time his kunai flies by her face. She bares her teeth at him and disappears, but there's no sign of a body flicker. Then she's behind him — no, beside him — on his other side — he doesn't know how she does it, but senbon come sailing at him from all three sides. He dodges on pure instinct. Only one grazes him, and he claps a hand over it to check for poison. It's the only medical jutsu he's ever stolen. Nothing.

He strikes back when she appears on the ground, casting a genjutsu that she has to take a second to break, just long enough for him to leap forward with shiden in one hand. She leaps away and he spins just in time to see her crack the ground, trying to throw him off balance. It doesn't work — it just makes more material for his next idea. Another genjutsu, long enough for him to cast a jutsu that gathers the broken land into huge boulders that rain down on her. She breaks them all with ease, but they make the exploding kunai far harder to dodge.

They start the spar at noon. It is nearly three when they call it. Kakashi's chakra reserves are far larger than Sakura's, but her precision control means far less goes to waste — and she's learned how to make the most of every drop. They're both bruised and a little bloody, but they're down to the dregs of their chakra. Plus, Tsunade's standing at the edge of the training field, next to Gai, staring at them. (Well, she's staring at him, and he knows why.)

"Satisfied you've beat the shit out of each other?" she says when they approach. They both nod, a little too winded to say much. Kakashi slumps against the handles of Gai's wheelchair to catch his breath, playing up just how exhausted he is. (Not much, though. Age is starting to creep in a little.)

"A tie!" Gai booms. "Our record becomes 88 to 88! You remain a worthwhile rival, Kakashi!"

Tsunade snorts and pulls a long, thin box from her obi, tossing it to Sakura. "Here. Open that for that ass you call yours, would you? He doesn't look like he's up to much." Sakura examines the box, eyebrow raised as she glances between the two of them. "He had me commission it from a friend. Got done just in time for his birthday, too."

"Go ahead, Sa-chan," Kakashi says, nodding at her. She shrugs and flips the tiny latches on the side of the box. He holds his bath as she cracks the box open.

Silence.

Sakura's entire brain stops. Absolutely nothing happens for a few seconds — and then it restarts, almost running over with words and feelings and thoughts. Inside the box are three delicately carved kanzashi. All of them resemble the one she inherited from her mother, but there are small changes. What's plain leaves on the other comb has been turned into clusters of carefully carved diamond shapes. They still resemble leaves at first glance, but looking closer reveals the new design. The cardinal is gone. Instead, tiny sakura blossoms, delicately carved from rose quartz, dangle from tiny chains among the diamond-leaf branches. "What?" she finally manages to breath, raising her head and looking at Kakashi.

But he's not where he was. Instead, he's kneeling in front of her with another box, this one wider and taller, in his hands. "I, uh, I wasn't sure —" he clears his throat. Even with his mask up, she can tell how nervous he is. "Shikamaru told me Temari wanted a ring instead of kanzashi. Apparently that's something people do. I didn't want to spoil the surprise, so… I got both. And extra. Just in case." She blinks at him, speechless, and he tugs his mask down before he opens the box. Inside, there's a beautiful silver ring — tiny emerald leaves surrounding rose quartz — and a necklace that's like a cascade of the diamond-leaves and the delicate quartz flowers. Matching earrings dangle on either side of the necklace.

"What?" she repeats, unable to muster any other thoughts.

He swallows. Her eyes dart up to meet his and stay there. He's… unusually pale, too. Then he speaks, his voice so low she has trouble hearing it. "If you are spring, and I am winter, let me melt in your wake forever." Kakashi clears his throat again, voice louder this time. "Marry me?"

And then it all floods in, what all of this means and why he's doing it, and she can't help stumbling backwards as her legs try to give out. Tsunade's there, arm around her back, as tears well in Sakura's eyes. She half-sobs, shock and joy bursting out of her, and then she sees Kakashi pale. I haven't answered yet, she realizes.

Before Sakura knows what she's doing, she almost tackles Kakashi. It almost knocks the boxes out of their hands, but they stay there as she breathes out a shaky, "Yes." It's like that unlocks her voice, and her next words are in a shout. "Yes, yes, yes! I love you, I love you, I love you so much, yes!"

His shoulders sag in relief. A second later, she pulls away and kisses him to the accompaniment of raucous cheering in the background.

(later, she frowns as she realizes she definitely heard at least one 'sensei dick' amongst all the cheering, because Ino will not let that joke go)

In late October, Sasuke comes to the village — married. Ino's running errands when she hears commotion coming from the direction of the gates. She and Inojin, both equally nosy, push their way through the crowds to find… Sasuke helping a woman down the street. Ino assesses the woman in a minute and scowls a bit because this woman's pretty. Her hair's somewhere between Naruto's sunshine yellow and Ino's pale blonde, her gaze soft and intelligent like Shikamaru's, skin sun-darkened from work. Through the traveling yukata, Ino can see hints of curves. And Sasuke's arm is around her waist, helping her keep her weight off one leg. Who the hell— she wonders.

Then Sasuke sees her. "Yamanaka-san," he greets her calmly. "I should like for you to meet my wife." Ino chokes on air.

"W-wife?" she demands.

He doesn't say anything until he and the mysterious woman are standing in front of Ino. "Naya, this is Yamanaka Ino and her son, Inojin. Yamanaka-san was in my class at the academy. Yamanaka-san, my wife, Uchiha Naya."

"A pleasure to meet you," Ino says in a daze, her manners taking over.

"The pleasure is mine," Naya says, her voice sweet and low. "I look forward to getting to know you better." And then they're off.

Kakashi watches Sasuke over the next few weeks, rather amused by how much he's changed in such little time. He's still recalcitrant, still calm, but the darkness in his aura's receded. Instead of moving into one of the old Uchiha houses, he has them all torn down. Kakashi puts them up in the apartments usually reserved for the Hokage's guests while a new house is built. Winter rolls in bare days after it's finished. The house is small. Compared to all the land around it, it's miniscule.

After a little while, he mentions the change to Sakura. She just nods, but there's something odd in her gaze. He raises an eyebrow at her and waits it out. "Have you… have you ever noticed how much like Naruto Naya is?" she says quietly.

"Naruto?" he says, startled, before he actually considers the idea. It's odd, but it's not a lie. Naruto's loud, boisterous, and joyful. He's persevered against all odds and made things better for everyone who met him. Although Naya's not loud or boisterous, she's warm and joyful. She's survived her fair share of calamity, too. There are even similarities in their physical appearances. "I… you…" He squints at his fiancée. "Are you saying Sasuke's in love with Naruto?"

She laughs and shakes her head no. "I think he could have, though," she murmurs, eyes distant. "He feels this immense duty to rebuild his clan, so I don't think he ever consciously considered being with a man. What would it have been like if the massacre never happened? Would he and Naruto be together, then?" It's a strange thought, but he files it away quickly. He's not in the habit of wandering around could-have-beens these days.

He realizes, the first time he and Sakura visit, that Sasuke dotes on his civilian wife. The house is furnished more Suna-style than anything, everything just the right height to make things easier for Naya to handle with her hip. There are a half-dozen plush rugs in the kitchen to make standing easier. He even hires a servant to help on Naya's bad days. One day, he stops when he knows Naya's out with Sakura. "Do you regret not marrying Sakura?" he asks over the hot tea.

Sasuke glances at him and takes a sip of tea before he answers. "Yes. And no." Kakashi snorts; he knows where Sasuke learned that answer. "Sakura and I would not, I think, have hurt each other. Not on purpose. I would have taken her for granted, because she has always been there. She would have been an admirable Uchiha. But I do not know if she could have…" He falters. "Naya made me want for myself. Before her, everything I wanted was a reaction to the world."

"And now, she feels like your world," Kakashi mumbles into his cup. Sasuke doesn't agree or disagree. He just takes another sip.

(when Naya begins to swell with child, Naruto laughs at Sasuke, who takes fewer and fewer missions outside of the village as she grows; Kakashi does not because he understands why Sasuke wants to keep careful watch over the woman who needs him so, because he knows what lurks in the shadows)

They fight to keep their ceremony small and traditional. They win. He's fairly certain it's because Sakura threatened to feed the daimyo's representative his own spine. The reception ends up being huge, and loud, but the ceremony itself is theirs. Even Naruto wells up as they exchange sake cups. Kakashi's never tasted a sweeter drink.

Standing next to Sakura and calling her his wife, he doesn't feel like he's 42. Though a few whispers still circulate, calling him a cradle-robber for marrying someone fourteen years younger than him, he can't bring himself to care. His wife is sitting next to him, draped in a Haruno red hikifurisode, and she is hishishis.

Of course, it's practically a rule that nothing can happen without something going wrong. In the middle of the reception, he's sitting and watching his wife dance with her childhood love when Naya comes to the head table. "Hatake-sama," she says, words very calm and quiet. He glances over and finds her, usually tan and joyful, pale and drawn. Given that she's heavy with child, that's alarming. "Might I trouble you to take Sasuke's place on the dance floor? I would like to have him with me, as I believe I am about to give birth."

He's across the room in a second, cutting in between the two without even asking. "Rude, Kaka—" Sakura starts.

He interrupts her. "Unless you feel like having the birth of the next Uchiha be a public event, you may want to get Naya to the hospital," he whispers to Sasuke. Sasuke stops, just long enough for Kakashi to read the shock on his face, and then he's gone.

"What the hell?" Sakura demands, tugging on his arm. People are turning to stare.

He glances around and winces. If Tsunade's not in sight, that means she's already too drunk to stand. Sasuke barely trusts the village med-nin to do checkups on him, let alone Naya, which means… "How fast can you change, Sa-chan?" he asks. She blinks at him. "I don't think you want to deliver a baby in your wedding kimono."

She squawks and spins, darting for the changing rooms in the back of the hall. That leaves him to make the announcement about why, exactly, the reception's been interrupted — unless, of course, he can talk Naruto into it. He saunters back up to the front table. It takes about half a second for Naruto to show up. "Hey, hey, where's Sakura-chan and that bastard?" he demands.

He curves his eyes into a smile and says, "The hospital, of course. Where else would Naya-chan have her baby?"

Naruto blinks, and blinks again, so slowly Kakashi has to smother a laugh. It's like a lizard waking up from a nap. Then Naruto cheers and leaps onto the table. "Hey, hey, guys! Naya-chan's on her way to pop out the mini Uchiha!" After a second, cheering follows.

Kakashi's very happy for Sasuke. Really. And he definitely doesn't tear up a little when Naya says, "Her name's Sakada. We… we were going to name her Sarada, but we wanted to honor you. Both of you. So we changed it."

Part of him worried, based on the stories he's heard, that marriage would change their relationship. More than one bitter shinobi in their cups has raved at him about that very thing over the years. Nothing really changes. Their relationship was never perfect, and it stays that way. She still leaves too many things on the kitchen counter and the living room table. Though he tries, he never quite remembers to squeeze the toothpaste the way she likes it. Their biggest fights have been over petty, trivial things — like his inability to use a bookmark. More than once, they've woken each other up from nightmares and gotten attacked for their trouble. He has a scar across his left arm from when she came up swinging, chakra scalpels in hand.

Life, somehow, begins to unspool with more speed than ever before. Sakura stands as witness for Kikyo's wedding to Sango. One day he visits Tenzo and finds him wrapped around Naruto's favorite academy teacher, kissing the man with abandon… not something he foresaw. She takes over as director of the hospital, freeing Shizune to wander with Tsunade if she wants. (Instead, Genma moves in with her.)

He blinks, and she's turning thirty. "It's my turn to give you a present on my birthday," she says, and hands him an envelope. He opens it to find a fuzzy black-and-white picture. His heart stops. "So… how do you feel about the name Miroku?"

It's an accident, but it's not a mistake. He hands the hat to Naruto a week before the baby's born. He uses that week to move their things into their new house — he took Sasuke's lead and tore down the house he grew up in. The new house has plenty of room, and so many bookcases it's ridiculous.

And then, the last day of September dawns on a Sakura who's pale and weak. Her smile tells him she thinks it was worth it. "Pink," he says, very intelligently, when she hands him his daughter. In his defense, the only thing visible at first is the tuft of hair poking from the blankets. It's darker, more red, than Sakura's hair. It's still pink.

"This is your father, Ichigo-chan," Sakura whispers to the baby. Ichigo's tiny, and wrinkled, and he honestly thinks Pakkun was cuter as a baby. But there's still something inside him that warms, something he's never felt before, when she burbles and shrieks at him.

Ichigo's terrifying. She walks as soon as her body's strong enough to handle it. By the time she's a year old, she's making short sentences.

By the time she's a year and a half old, Sakura's miscarried twice. Once Ichigo was born, they both agreed she should have a sibling. They're not making immense effort to conceive, but they're not preventing it. A week before Ichigo turns two, it happens again.

More than once, Kakashi wakes up in the morning to find her running diagnostic jutsu on herself — not to detect pregnancy, but to detect problems. Nothing shows up. Her uterus is the right shape, her health is good, her ovaries and eggs are fine. After the third miscarriage, she asks Tsunade's opinion.

It's exactly what she expected and what she didn't want to hear. "You're over 30," she says bluntly. "You know full well that things get harder past 30. It's still possible, and it's not unlikely, but it wouldn't surprise me if you weren't able to carry to term again. After that wound you got from Sasori, it's a miracle you were able to at all. Besides that? He's over 40. You might not be the problem at all."

Kakashi's out of the village when it happens. The night he's supposed to return, she sends Ichigo to sleep with her grandmother and sits in the kitchen in the dark, waiting. He sails in blithely, hurling his pack into the corner of the front room and singing out, "I'm home, petals!" She doesn't respond. After a second, she sees him creeping into the kitchen, eyes wide. "…Sakura? Is everything okay?"

"Do you want a divorce?" she asks, hunching over on herself.

"Do I — what?" he says, looking like she slapped. "Sakura, why would I want a divorce? I love you. You're —"

"I'm broken," she croaks in response. "I… I don't even know how Ichigo survived. If you stay with me, she might never have a brother or a sister. So much for rebuilding the Hatake."

He exhales, long and slow. "Sakura." She looks up at him. "Do you really think I give a flying fuck about the Hatake's legacy?" There's rage, barely contained, simmering just under his voice. "Do you think I married you for that?" She shakes her head no. "Then why the hell would I divorce you for something that's not your fault?!"

"Because my body —" she starts to yell at him. Before the words make it out of her mouth, he's across the kitchen and sweeping her into a kiss.

"Your body is yours, Sakura," he breathes between kisses. "I love it because it's you. I love Ichigo because she's ours. Whatever child we end up having next, whether they're blood or adopted, will be ours. You were more than I could have ever dreamed of on your own. Having a family with you is…" he trails off, unable to find words for it.

She buries her face in his shoulder and sobs. It doesn't heal her heart. She still aches, still mourns the children she's lost — but she keeps going. When she detects another spark of life inside her a month before she turns 33, she nurtures it carefully. She stops taking missions outside the village, even D-ranks, and cuts her shifts at the hospital in half. Lee takes her genin team.

At her six month appointment, Tsunade drops a stack of papers in front of her. "What are these, shishou?" she asks, almost afraid of the answer.

"You know what they are," Tsunade says, dropping onto the doctor's stool. "Read them. I don't want you to think —" she exhales. "Well."

She reads them. When she reaches the last page, she looks up at Tsunade, eyes hard. "Okay. And?"

"A lot of people in this situation choose to terminate," Tsunade says quietly, no judgement in her voice. "It's only a possibility, but…" she trails off.

"No," Sakura snaps. "Maybe — maybe if I hadn't miscarried three times before this. Maybe if I hadn't been fighting for this baby ever since I had Ichigo. But I have."

Hatake Minarin is born in the middle of December with hair almost as white as Kakashi's, the shade like pastel pink chalk. Even at birth, his eyes are such a vibrant green that Sakura cries when she sees them. Ichigo adores her baby brother nearly as much as her parents do.

By the time Ichigo's six and raring to go to the Academy, the entire village knows Minarin will never be a ninja. He doesn't start talking until he's nearly a year and a half old. Loud noises, certain foods, certain clothing textures, can all send him into a frenzy that usually ends with him going silent and unresponsive. He's severely myopic; even if he's able to have corrective surgery once he's finished growing, he'll still need thick glasses. These, along with a dozen other tiny things, mean he can't follow in his family's footsteps. She doesn't care, and neither does Kakashi. He's theirs.

Sadly, the village isn't as sanguine about it. She hears more than a few whispers that make her blood boil. The most common one, popular among the older women, is that Minarin is a 'punishment' for Kakashi and Sakura sullying the sacred bond between teacher and student. It makes her angry because he's not a punishment. He's a blessing. They don't know how carefully he plays doctor with the ninken, how he sits and talks to them to make sure they're feeling okay, how he always knows when she's had a bad day at the hospital. He might not be a genius at killing people, but Sakura suspects he'll be a genius at helping them.

"Aa, slow down, Sasuke-kun," Kakashi chides his former student from the hospital doorway. For a second, abashment flickers in his eyes, and then he's back to being calm and joyful. "You don't want to break poor Naya-chan, do you?"

"You say that like I'm not a willing participant, Kakashi-sama," Naya calls out to him from her hospital bed. Her eyes never move from the bundle in her arms, though. "Do you have the others with you?"

He nods and steps aside, letting the four brats behind him stream into the room. Sarada, as the oldest, always goes first. Always. She's… a little more troublesome than he expected Sasuke's child to be. He blames Boruto for that, honestly. Her brothers, Toshiro, Yuuto, and Daisuke, are as close in age as they could possibly be without being triplets. It'd taken every bit of his strength not to burst into laughter when they announced Daisuke's name. They're all good kids, but he hates to hear the way town gossip's starting to paint Naya. He makes a quiet mental note to talk to Sasuke.

"Meet your little sister, Uchiha Kanna," Naya says, finally looking up from her daughter with a huge smile. Sakada's an old hand at this by now, but she still stares at her sister for a long minute.

Then, just like last time, she sticks her nose up in the air and says, "She looks like Yuuto did. Sort of a prune instead of a potato. Still pretty ugly."

Sakura bonks her god-daughter on the head for that remark as she passes by, hands full of things Kakashi wishes he didn't recognize. Though chakra healing makes birth far easier, some things can't be rushed — hence his familiarity with that damnable squirt bottle. He shudders and redirects his thoughts as his wife exits the bathroom and pulls him inside the room proper. As hospital director, Sakura rarely attends births. But Sasuke won't trust the Uchiha to anyone else. Not yet. Shizune's training a genin team now, with the intent of handing them over to Sakura as apprentices soon. "How long do you think it'll take Ichi-chan to figure out —"

As if summoned, he hears familiar shoes smacking the tile floor. Seconds later, Ichigo slides to a stop in the hallway. "Did Aunt Naya have her baby?" she blurts as she stops, long limbs tangling up in themselves and almost tripping her.

He sighs as he looks over at his daughter. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

She snorts, standing up straight and brushing plum-pink hair out of her face. "Like there's anything I can learn in there, Dad. Half the time I end up explaining everything to the Inuzuka twins 'cause old Nakano's real bad at explanations." She's not wrong, per se. She's intimidated stronger teachers than Nakano with her glower — though her eyes are almost as dark as his, there' a green sheen to them that never fails to remind people of Sakura's glare.

"And your brother?" Sakura says, eyebrow raised at her oldest. "Did you think about him?"

Ichigo huffs this time. "Yes, Mom. I called Auntie Hina on the way out of the Academy to let her know I'll be late taking him to the park. She said she doesn't mind watching him, as long as I give her details about the newest, ugliest Uchiha."

Sasuke snorts, eye flickering over to Ichigo before going back to his family. Sakura deflates. "Ichigo," she starts with a sigh. "You know that's rude."

"Yeah, but it's true," Ichigo answers, peering over the bed — or trying to. Though she's tall for a seven year old, Sakada's still taller, which gives her plenty of leverage to shove the other girl away.

"Stay away from my sister, you nasty," Sakada grumbles. "You can't see her unless you use manners." Sarada might call her siblings prunes and potatoes, but she's very protective. Nobody else gets to do that.

"Daaaad!" Ichigo inherited his social graces… or, well, the lack thereof. She's so matter-of-fact and blunt that sometimes he wonders if they're actually related to Sai.

"What do you want me to do?" Kakashi says, eyebrows high.

"You're — you used to be Hokage, you can order Sakada to let me see the baby!" Ichigo complains. "I just wanna see if babies are as gross as I remember!"

"Behave yourself, or I'm sealing away your sword again," Sakura finally snaps. Ichigo subsides, pouting.

"May I see the baby, please, Aunt Naya?" He watches his daughter inspect the baby like it's something the ninken brought in and chuckles. At least he's never had to play tea party, as Sasuke's had to do once or twice with Sakada when she was very young.

He says as much to Sakura that night, as she curls up next to him, and she laughs at him. "Just for that, I'm training Ichigo to ask for a tea party while you're on that mission." He wrinkles his nose at her and she laughs again. "How does one tea party for every day you're gone sound?"

Sakura watches her husband leave the next morning, a little worried. If she'd told him, he'd stay — that's why she didn't tell him. Since stepping down from his position as Hokage, he rarely gets the opportunity to go on missions that really need him. Those opportunities have dwindled even more since Minarin was born because he's incredibly conscientious about making sure she has help when she needs it. Minarin's almost four, now, and Ichigo just turned seven; if she needs help, all of the Uchiha are there. And, well, there's not many other people who could have taken this mission. Kiri needed people who have experience with bloodlines manifesting late. Aside from his personal experience, he's seen so many bloodlines that he's practically an encyclopedia.

Besides, she's…there's every chance she'll miscarry. Sakura doesn't even know how she got pregnant, honestly, since she got her tubes tied after Minarin. She knows how much Kakashi loves the two they have now, and she doesn't want to get his hopes up unnecessarily.

By the time the year turns, she almost regrets not telling him. What she thought was one baby with very strong chakra turned out to be twins. That means she's not even at the end of her second trimester and she's the size of a house. It's so bad that Naruto, Sasuke, Yamato, and Sai have started taking turns helping her with necessary chores like shopping. Kikyo, who's never been terribly domestic, nonetheless joins Naya in helping Sakura with household chores. While she can and does manage alone, their help makes things far easier — especially since she's almost too wide for some of the store aisles.

Ichigo's fascinated. She was old enough to realize what was happening when Minarin was born, but not old enough to comprehend. Every single one of Sakura's medical books about pregnancy has been devoured. Some of the interns at the hospital now know less than her daughter. Minarin's excitement is calmer, and tinged with more worry than she'd expect from a four year old.

And honestly, compared to her other two pregnancies, this one's been pretty easy.

Kakashi reads his letter from Sakura first. He always does. Then he opens the note from Naruto and his soul leaves his body.

Kaka-sensei,

I know your mission's important, but you might wanna see if you can come home early. I don't think Sakura will tell you, but she's… she needs a lot of help right now.

Naruto

He's never finished a mission so fast. Most of the groundwork is in place for Kiri's new training program. Mei doesn't mind letting him leave early. He comes very close to popping a soldier pill instead of sleeping at the halfway point. Only the thought of the scolding that would bring stops him. He's up again before daylight and moving, regardless of the fact he's over fifty.

When Konoha comes in sight, he doesn't even go to Naruto's office. He reaches out for the familiar green-tea feeling of Sakura's chakra and goes. He doesn't know what he expects to find, or what he thought the problem would be, but —

He stands at the entrance to their veranda, arms akimbo, and stares at his wife. She's watering Ichigo's row of herbs, and even from behind, she's… "Sakura?" he mumbles.

She straightens, one hand at the small of her back, and turns. "Kakashi," she says, a smile on her face. "You're home early."

"You're huge!" he blurts, at a loss for anything else to say, because she's — the way she's stooped forward a little, she looks almost as wide as she is tall. "I — you — huh?"

Instead of getting anger, she laughs, and oh, how he missed her laughter. "Twins, Ka-kun. A boy and a girl. I'm sending you to get snipped after this, just so you know."

Pakkun, his nose white around the edges, trots by just then. "Good work, boss," is all he says before the pug goes down the path to pick Ichigo up from the academy. It means nobody's around to see the tears of relief and excitement, or the way he gathers Sakura into his arms and kisses her.

(he does, however, make sure there are plenty of witnesses when he beats Naruto up for that infuriatingly vague letter)

Hatake Tsumeko and Hatake Satoshi are born halfway through May. They're not identical, but they look like someone put exactly fifty percent of both their parents into a vial and shook well. Their hair's perfect bubble gum pink, like someone added lightener to Sakura's hair, and their eyes a dark enough green to look black in some lights. Tsumeko's named after Tsunade, Mebuki, and Kikyo, while Satoshi's name is a nod to Sakumo. They promptly eschew almost every characteristic of the people their names honor.

Sakura's thankful they didn't come before Ichigo and Minarin, or she might have lost her mind. They're not little geniuses like Ichigo; they don't start walking and talking before she blinks. Instead, they're little terrors. The walls turn into canvases, and the twins don't always use paint or markers. (One particular incident means that they're bathroom trained very quickly.) When they start walking — on a normal timeline — it doesn't take long before the ninken's headbands and vests start going missing, often replaced with someone's underwear and accented with messily varnished claws.

In the middle of a 'family' dinner (which is Team Kakashi, and all their various hangers-on, instead of just Mebuki), Naruto goes to the bathroom and doesn't come out for far too long. They don't realize until a clone comes up to them, wheezing with laughter, and says, "I'm goin' to need you to heal me in a few, Sakura-chan."

Sakura blinks at him, startled and confused, as seems to be her default these days. "Wha — what did you eat?"

Clone-Naruto cackles. "Wasn't me. Missin' any superglue lately? 'cause I sat down, and —"

"TSUMEKO! SATOSHI!"

They crash Kakashi's 55th birthday party by spiking the dango syrup with ground soldier pills. It's the first prank they've pulled that's really dangerous. If they weren't three, she'd think they were trying to kill people. They're not the terrifying kind of genius like Ichigo, but they're intelligent enough that they should know better. She sits down with them, then, and talks. By the time the talk is over, they understand the lines a little better. Ichigo, barely eleven but wiser than some grown adults, talks to them after Sakura does. She dearly hopes it'll help them keep from killing anyone.

Something else is what sends the point home. Three months after the party, when they would usually be looking forward to the turn of the year, they gather at the cemetery to bury Gai. Nobody — not even Gai himself — thought he'd be the first to go. Kakashi doesn't cry.

Instead, he takes his mask off for the funeral. Though Naruto and Sasuke have long since seen his face, he still doesn't go about maskless anywhere outside of their house. It doesn't rain for the funeral. It doesn't shine, either. The sunlight's wan, spattered with clouds, the weather anemic in the way someone might be after a cold. The others leave after the grave is filled. Kakashi doesn't. He stays, standing at the graveside. Lee's on the other side of the grave, just as still. She almost stays at his side… but there's something about the twins' silence that makes her go.

On the way home, Tsumeko says quietly, "Mom?" She tilts her head towards her daughter. "Why… why did Gai-san die?"

Ichigo answers before Sakura can. "Gai-san was the same age as Dad, but… he broke his body trying to save the world a long time ago. That's why he was always in a wheelchair."

Satoshi breaks in, voice just as quiet as Tsumeko's. "Mom and Tsunade-baa couldn't heal him?"

Sakura sighs. "We tried, sweetie," she says, looking down the path because it hurts to think about. "But… do you remember when I told you to think of the human body as a ball of string? When we use chakra to heal, what we do is pull out some of the string to get the body to speed up the healing. There's only so much healing you can do before the ball of string runs out. Gai-san did things that pulled out some of the string in order to make his attacks stronger, and then we healed him, so —"

"He ran out of string," Tsumeko mumbles. Then her grip on Sakura's hand tightens. "Mom. You said solder pills —"

"Soldier pills," Ichigo corrects her. Tsumeko keeps talking.

"That they use up some of the body's string." Sakura hums an assent. "Mom… did we make Gai-san die? He — he ate some of the dango at Dad's party."

She jolts and looks down at her two youngest, eyes wide. Minarin and Ichigo stop dead, both of them blinking at their siblings. What a question, Sakura laments. "I don't think so, sweeties," she reassures them. "It probably didn't help his body, but I don't think it's what made him die. Shinobi… Shinobi usually don't live to be very old, and Gai-san helped us win a very big war."

"I'm sorry, Mom," Satoshi whispers. "We didn't mean to hurt anyone."

Sakura drops his hand and ruffles his hair, like Kakashi did to her once upon a time. Then she d does the same to Tsumeko. "I know, sweethearts," she says. "I know."

Minarin speaks then, his eyes calm behind his thick glasses. "That's part of being a shinobi. R-right, Mom?" He glances at her, a little bit of nervousness flickering across his face. "Something you don't think about could be the difference between living and dying for someone else."

"Right," she says, smiling softly. "Come on. We don't want to make Hokage-sama wait, do we?"

He doesn't come to bed that night. When she wakes up at midnight and her husband's still missing, she slips into a jacket and goes after him. He's still there, though Lee's gone. Though all of Konoha laughed at Gai and Lee, they were and are some of the most emotionally healthy shinobi in the village. Rather than lingering in grief, remembering only the saddest moments as so many people did, they taught themselves to linger in joy. When they were sad, they let it pour out instead of bottling it up. Consequently, Lee's genin teams all require less counseling than any of the other cells. She can almost hear Gai shouting at his protege, Youth has not disappeared from the world because I have! Go forward and find the youthful leaves and blossoms of Konoha, and pass on the will of fire!

"He wouldn't want you to linger," she says to Kakashi now, stepping up to his side. He lifts his arm out of habit and she steps under it, pressing herself into his side.

"I know," he rumbles after a long minute. Then he looks down at her. Though he has far more wrinkles now than he did the first time she saw his face, he remains strangely beautiful to her. "I just…" He sighs and turns towards her, dropping his other arm around her shoulders and pulling her close before dropping his forehead to rest against hers. "I never thought I'd live to be old," he murmurs. "And here I am."

"Here you are," Sakura answers, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Here you'll stay, I hope."

His grip tightens around her shoulders. "I thought I'd die on the field, that I'd join Minato and the others on the stone," he whispers to her. "And then you… you."

"Me," she says, smiling up at him. He returns a flicker of a smile before speaking again.

"I'm still going to die someday." A pause, and there's strain clear on his face. "I don't want to," he finally says. "I don't want to leave you behind. Any of this. There were — there were days where breathing felt like too much. And now I just want…"

Her heart aches at the sadness in his voice as he trails off. "I know, love," she reassures him, dragging him into a kiss. "I know."

After Gai's death, Sakura goes back to the hospital full-time. He's never been enamored of the place, but he's beginning to loathe it because it sucks her dry. She's at home so little he begins to wonder if this is what single parents feel like. Kakashi might be a spry 55, but even he's struggling. It feels like she's gone from dawn until dusk, and when she comes home at night, she collapses into bed after eating.

He reaches his boiling point a month after the twins turn four, when she doesn't come home for three damn days. She comes home and collapses. He calls Kikyo and Naya, who have been lifesavers for the last year. Ichigo comes over to pick Ichigo up for one-on-one training first thing in the morning. Minarin's in school, so he doesn't have to arrange anything special for him. Naya swoops in and steals the twins. Between the eight Uchiha children, they'll be entertained for the day. And then he sits in the kitchen, sipping tea and waiting on his wife. It's nearly ten in the morning before she stirs, which is the latest she's slept in months. He waits patiently, listening to her move around the bedroom and bathroom.

"Good morning," he says as she finally stumbles into the kitchen, still bleary-eyed.

"Morning," she mumbles, beelining straight for the cupboard with the cereal. It's not there, and she frowns, turning towards him. "Hey, Ka-kun, did you —" she stops as she sees the box, sitting by his elbow. "…why do you have my cereal?"

"I wanted to make sure you'd stop long enough to talk to me," he says. Confusion flickers across her face.

"What…? I talk to you all the time," she says, the frown changing.

"Do you?" he asks, and he can't stop himself from crossing his arms. "Is that why I've seen Naya this week more than I've seen you in the last month?"

Anger, vicious and ugly, flashes across her face and settles in as she snarls, "If you're about to tell me you want me to stay home like Naya —"

He interrupts. "I never expected you to be —"

"Then why are you mad at me?" she demands, stepping closer to the table. "I'm not a civilian, Kakashi, I'm a damn good ninja and the best med-nin in history."

"I know, and I'm not telling you —"

"I told you before I started back that I was going to be spending more time at the hospital."

"I didn't think it would be this much!"

"You never used to mind! What's the problem now?"

And somehow, that's the thing that makes his calm snap. He snaps up from the chair, seething in rage, as he shouts, "The problem is that you have children! The problem is that the twins asked me yesterday if you were punishing them for killing Gai!"

Sakura blanches, going so sickly white he worries for a second. "…what?" she breathes, swaying a little. "I told them —"

"You haven't played with them in over a year, Sakura," he says, anger still laced through his voice. "You were at their birthday party for a half-hour before someone paged you away. They think you're staying away because you hate them, and that you hate them because they killed Gai."

She inhales and reaches out, flailing blindly for the chair for a few seconds before she's able to grab it. Then she sinks down into it, eyes distant and yet still present. "…they really asked that?"

He sighs, but nods. "I wouldn't… this isn't the kind of lie I would tell, Sakura."

Sakura looks… lost. He hasn't seen her this lost since she was a genin. "I can't — what am I supposed to do, Kakashi? I can't just stop. I'm the director!"

"Yes, you're the director," he says gently. "Why are you in the operating room? It's peace time, there can't be that much going on."

Her shoulders droop. "You'd be surprised," is all she says, still looking so woebegotten and lost that he can't help bending a little. Kakashi moves around the table and stops in front of her, gently reaching out and stroking her face.

"They managed without you working seventy-two hours shifts before," he tells her. "The people in the hospital aren't the only ones that need you. We need you."

Things… get better after that. She starts working less shifts, and spending more time at home. He's thankful beyond words. They don't fight often, but it makes him sick when they do. Their life together has been wonderful. It's been so indescribably amazing that he wonders if it's the universe's way of paying him back for the first thirty years of his life. He doesn't want to sully a moment of it with anger.

But the more he wants time to stop, the faster it goes. Ichigo graduates, and she ends up on the same team as Toshiro, along with a civilian boy. Initially, he discounts the civilian boy, and then he remembers how that bit him in the ass with Sakura. The civilian boy turns out to be far, far better at taijutsu than both Toshiro and Ichigo. Toshiro, unsurprisingly, excels in genjutsu, and Ichigo prefers ninjutsu — but it sticks in their craw that Souta beats them so handily. Hanabi, who's proven to be one of the best jounin sensei the village has, uses every bit of that rage to push them forward.

He blinks, and Ichigo's a chuunin. Minarin graduates to the next level of civilian school just before Tsunade dies. Sakura's a ghost for months after that, her eyes often distant. She doesn't really 'wake up' until the world attempts to go to hell again. In a startling turn of events, Suna does end up being the ones who try to shatter Naruto's hard-won piece. It's not at Gaara's behest, though.

Rather, someone poisons Gaara. While he retains many of the abilities Shukaku gave him, his healing factor was never as potent as Naruto's. He survives, but goes into a coma. Sakura offers to go over and heal him, but — Suna's council examines the poison and finds it to be a compound often used by Konoha.

They declare war, and promptly march on Konoha. Kusa stands behind Suna, and that's so odd that even Naruto finds it strange. Kusa, as a rule, tends to side with Konoha. Naruto sends out information gathering teams at the same time he sets up defense teams.

Ichigo's fourteen, and she's a chuunin, and she is so ready for this. Peace is great, and she's not complaining, but there's a part of her that wants something more than the easy missions she's taken so far. The biggest challenge she's had was a mission where rogue ninja decided to rob the caravan she was escorting, and that was… still stupidly easy.

And then she gets put on defense. With her parents. She pouts, but she doesn't say anything to the Nanadaime about it. They're part of a defensive line on the edge of the Rivers border, and for the first few weeks of the 'war', they only get infiltrators and old-fashioned spies in their camp.

And then, a month after they set up camp, an entire army shows up one morning.

She's halfway through her breakfast, still dozy, when the alarm comes. Ichigo had patrol the night before, 18:00 to 0:00, so it's more like lunch… but she chokes on the roof in her mouth when the sound goes off. "Whaddafug?" she demands as one of the nearby jounin leaps to their feet. It's Kiba-san, someone from Mom's generation, so he'll know what that's about.

"We've got incoming, brat," he snaps at her. "Get your shit together. Fast."

That brings her to full alert. For all that she's a peace baby, her parent's weren't. They drilled into her the importance of always being prepared, of never being caught off guard. As a consequence, she's seen some stores with less weapons than she regularly carries. She doesn't leave the house without her father's tanto, of course, but she also carries dozens of sealing scrolls with any and ever kind of weapon she could possibly want. And she's good with all of them. She inherited her mother's chakra control, which means she's been able to learn many of her father's stolen jutsu. She's also got three ninken of her own — Kaede for tracking, Hag for fighting, and Gyuu for infiltration. Her genjutsu aren't as freakishly good as Toshiro's, and her taijutsu still lag behind Souta, but she is so ready for this fight.

Of course, she gets to the front line and finds her parents there. That means the chances of her getting a good fight are… basically negative. "Good morning, Ichi-chan," Mom greets her. Dad just hums and turns his book to the side.

"Dad! Are you really reading weird porn? Right now?" Ichigo groans, covering her face in her hands and glancing around. There's no physical line separating Rivers and Konoha, but there's a line of shinobi just out of easy throwing range. If she concentrates, she can feel the chakra signatures of significantly more ninja than she can see. It makes sense. What doesn't make sense is her dad's weird habits.

"Aa," is all the revered rokudaime hokage says.

"It's psychological warfare, sweetheart," her mother says. Then a wicked grin flashes across her face. "Also, he knows the latest book is almost ready."

She groans again. Almost all of her mother's team are involved in that weird series of books. Mom and Nanadaime-sama write them. Uncle Sai illustrates them, and he's working on handing it over to Inojin-kun. Uncle Yamenzo (the name a product of the Hatakes' eternal fight about whether to call him Yamato or Tenzo) proof-reads them before publishing, and Dad reads them. The only person who isn't involved is Uncle Sasuke. "We're at war, Mom."

"Mhmm," is all Mom says. Then her eyes flick out towards the other side of the battle line. "Ah, here come the negotiators. Be a dear and join your team, would you?" Ichigo rolls her eyes, but retreats. Thankfully, her assignment is to guard the leaders of this camp, so basically all she does is hide. That means she gets to see what's going on.

Six shinobi, three with Suna hitai-ate and three with Kusa, approach. Once they're two-thirds of the way to the Konoha line, they stop and the tallest of the Suna call out, "We are not without mercy, Konoha dogs. Surrender, and let us punish those who would harm Suna, and we will let you go peacefully."

Mom hums and then turns to Dad, her voice echoing around the battlefield. "What do you think, honey? Should we let them pass?"

"Maa, sounds like trouble," he answers, not even looking up from his book.

"You heard the man," she says, turning back to the enemy shinobi. Then her voices goes flat and hard. "If you cross the line into Konoha, we will respond with force."

And then Ichigo has to use a sight enhancement jutsu because the person at the front of the line says one of the dumbest things she's ever heard, and she has to see what kind of idiot would say it. The man looks a little older than Boruto. That means he's old enough to know better. "I don't see any line, Haruno-chan."

Ichigo hears the smile in her mother's voice. "Let me fix that for you." Then she squats and… flicks the ground. Nothing happens for a few seconds. The enemy ninja scoffs and opens his mouth just before everything shakes. Then the ground parts, slowly at first, and then faster. When the shaking stops, there's a foot-wide chasm in the ground, stretching both north and south as far as Ichigo can see. "Does that help?"

Suna-Baka gulps, clearly terrified, but he stands his ground. "O-our offer remains." Ichigo has to give him points for the sheer amount of guts it probably took him to say that.

Three days later, when she's running on two hours of sleep and spattered in the blood of people both younger and older than her, a huge toad pops into existence, straddling the crack Mom put in the ground. "Stand down!" Nanadaime-sama shouts. There's not enough chakra emanating from the person for it to be anything other than a clone, but she still stops fighting, as does her opponent, and listens. "Gaara was poisoned by some Kusa assholes! They wanted to start a fight 'cause they thought they could beat us, but they didn't wanna break the treaty themselves!"

Suna-Baka, one arm limp and bloody from Hag's bite, turns to the Kusa nin he was tag-teaming her with. "Is that true?"

Kusa-Teme clears his throat nervously and starts, "Well, I — you see —"

That's all Suna-Baka hears before he snarls and jumps at the other ninja. Ichigo gladly joins in. All around the field, others follow suit. Before long, the only Kusa headbands in sight are trussed up like hogs. Suna-Baka sighs and turns to her. "I… I am sorry, Konoha-san," he says with a bow. "I was eager to fight, and I should have been wiser."

Ichigo snorts. "Yeah, that makes two of us," she says, reaching out and shoving him gently. He stumbles, weakened by the fighting. "Gotta say, though, it's not everyone who has the guts to say dumb shit like that to my mom."

"Your… mother?" he says, eyebrows furrowing. Then he looks at her, really looks, and sees the short spikes of plum-pink hair. The color drains from his tan face. "You're — you're Sakura-sama's daughter!"

"One of 'em," she chirps. "Hatake Ichigo, ready to kick your ass!" Then her father strolls up next to her.

"Aa, Ichi-chan, are you flirting with strange ninja?" he chides her gently.

"Rokudaime-sama —" Suna-Baka breathes. And promptly passes out.

Once the deception's uncovered, it doesn't take long for them to let Mom heal Gaara. Then everything's pretty much back to normal. Suna-Baka, also known as Jin, is pretty nice when he's not trying to attack Konoha. They're on their way back home when Ichigo asks her parents, "Why didn't you guys just, like, blow them away? You're part of the Second Sannin, Mom, you totally could've just run over them all with Katsuyu-sama. Or Dad could've summoned that lightning wolf he showed me once."

Dad lets out a long suffering sigh. "We could have," he agrees. "And then, when Naruto came through with that information, all of them would've been dead or badly injured. How do you think that would've made Suna feel, to lose all their people like that?"

"But we lost people, Dad!" Ichigo argues. Toshiro's in the hospital, healing from overuse of his sharingan, and Souta's not going to be able to spar for a while after opening two of the 'gates' on a Kusa jounin. And they got lucky. She saw two of her classmate's bodies, along with some she vaguely recognizes as being from years ahead of her.

"Yes, we did," Mom says quietly. "But is it better to lose a few people on other sides, and be able to go back to being friends, or is it better to save all your own people at the risk of losing a friendship?"

(after that, Ichigo raids the psychology and politics section of the library. it turns out Minarin has more books on those than the library does. by the time she makes jounin at 15, she knows just enough about the internal machinations of people and countries to know that she doesn't know anything at all. about anything.)

Sakura retires from her job as hospital director when she turns 50. Her successor is one of the genin Shizune started training while Sakura was pregnant with Ichigo. Tsumeko and Satoshi graduate from the Academy just before she retires. Minarin graduates from civilian school not long after, and promptly runs off to study at a university in northern Earth country. He writes long, winding letters that only Kakashi and Ichigo can begin to understand. For all that some of the psychological terminology is familiar to Sakura, it baffles her. All she knows is how easily Minarin comforted her when Mebuki died, and she knows he'll make the world a better place.

Nobody will say it, but everyone's fairly certain Ichigo will be the next Hokage. As she gets older, she continues to learn with such voracity that both her parents are astounded. Naruto works with her often, teaching her things that nobody save the Hokage would need to know. She doesn't have Minarin's intuition about people, or Naruto's blinding optimism, but she has her own ways of working with people.

Naruto assigns Ichigo to a genin team the year after the twins graduate the Academy, and she takes it so seriously that Sakura struggles not to laugh sometimes. She reads books upon books about teaching methods, and writes letters to Minarin that are almost as long as the ones he sends. Whatever she does, it works. Her team doesn't enter the first chuunin exams after graduating, but they enter the next. If the exams could be 'won', team Ichigo comes close. Their teamwork is impeccable, their techniques almost flawless — and in the tournament round, it comes down to Tsumeko versus one of Ichigo's students.

Despite Tsumeko's experience and age, Ichigo's civilian kunoichi beats her. It's a close fight, and Sakura's heart is in her throat more than once, but… it's good for Tsumeko and Satoshi both to be beaten. They're not like their big sister, but they're talented, and they don't often lose.

On their thirtieth wedding anniversary, Sakura and Kakashi are alone. It's the first time in years that there's been no threat of the children, or some of their friends, flying in at top speed. She's fifty-eight, and he's seventy-two. Some of her old coworkers from the hospital tease her about how long they've been together; many of them have gotten divorced and remarried more than once in the time since she's gotten married. Long marriages are't the normal thing for shinobi. Long missions, and trauma, and dozens of other things mean the average length of a relationship is less than ten years.

They're both wrinkled now. His hair's become whiter with age. She didn't think it was possible, but it's gone from silver-white to bone-white. Her own hair's fading with age, not greying but turning more pastel. The last few years, he's stopped wearing his mask in public. "Everyone's forgotten what my father looked like," is all he said when she asked about it.

Curled up in his lap on their couch in front of the fireplace, it almost feels like they're young again if she closes her eyes. His love for her has never faded, never wavered, only deepened with time. Sometimes, she looks at him and how much she loves him washes over her in waves. "If someone told me when I graduated the academy that I would end up marrying someone fourteen years my senior and that I'd turn Sasuke down multiple times, I would have shaken you to death," she murmurs into his ear.

"And yet," he rumbles back. His voice has deepened and gotten scratchier with age, and it still sends shivers down her spine.

"And yet," she repeats softly, leaning up to kiss him. It's been years since they had the time and energy to make love over and over again, but Ichigo's visiting her not-a-boyfriend in Suna. Minarin's in the daimyo's court, lobbying for hospitals to be built across the country. The twins are on a mission.

So they take their time. Even with menopause and age, they know each other well. His hands drift over the stretch marks on her hips and up her sides like she's made of gold, like she's still young and beautiful. He echoes her thoughts a second later. "God, you're beautiful," he breathes like an echo of years past, leaning in to kiss her.

"No, you," she murmurs back, tweaking one of his nipples. He groans and jerks beneath her, eyes hot on her as he tugs the tie on her robe loose. If he were anyone else, if he weren't the man who loved her silently for years, she might care that her body sags in places it didn't once. She doesn't. Instead, she stands and slithers to the floor, between his legs. "Turn about is fair play?" she says, raising her eyebrows at him.

And it is. After she makes him beg her for release, after he comes all over her chest and face, he sprawls on the floor and drags her down over his face. She loses track of how many times she orgasms, loses track of time, until he moves and slides into her at some point, hard again. "Randy old man," she moans as he presses inside her. "How the hell are you hard again?"

"Can you blame me when I have a goddess for a wife?" he pants into her hair, hips rolling into hers slowly. She doesn't answer, can't answer.

That day is the first of many where they lock the doors and do not venture out into the town. Ino takes to teasing her about 'sensei dick' again when she shows up to a lunch with her best friend, flushed and wearing a hickey like she's 19. The kids learn to call or send a ninken with a note before they come by after the third time they walk in on them more than slightly unclothed. Sai and Sasuke, of all people, tease them about acting a third of their age. Kikyo just cackles and says, "This is why we adopted older children. Less libido-killing."

"I don't want to hear anything from you, mister 'revive-the-Uchiha-with-my-eight-kids'," she snaps after Sasuke comes over for tea and pokes fun at the handcuffs they left on the coffee table. He has the decency to flush. She pauses, then, and a thought strikes her. "Did you think I was going to have 8 kids?" she demands.

He flushes darker. "I, ah…" he trails off. It's a sign of how much age has mellowed him that he shrugs and just comes out with what he was going to say after a minute. "I planned on traveling with you, if you'd married me," he says. "I didn't intend to spend as much time in Konoha as I have with Naya."

She scowls at him. "You realize I would've had to stay in Konoha, right? As director of the hospital?" He nods. "So… what? You would just leave me here while you were off atoning for being an idiot?"

A flinch, followed by another nod. "I stayed in the village because I knew Naya needed me," he admits, voice low. "You wouldn't have needed me the same way. I doubt I would have stayed."

She wrinkles her nose at him and, in retaliation, drops three sugar cubes into his cup of tea. "Ass," is all she says. All of this is interesting, but it's what-ifs, and she prefers her reality.

And then, one morning changes everything. Kakashi usually stays in bed with her until she goes to the bathroom. Sometimes, he'll follow her in and shower. Sometimes, he'll go to the kitchen and start breakfast, and other times he'll lurk outside the bathroom door and pounce on her when she exits. Very, very rarely, if ever, does he just stay in bed.

But when she comes out of the bathroom, he's in the same place as he was when he left, eyes closed. She snorts. "Come on, sleepy," she teases him, sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching for the tie on her braid. "Ino wanted to plot with you about my sixtieth, remember?"

No answer. Her fingers slow their untangling. "…honey?" Nothing. "Kakashi." Still no answer. It's then she realizes how quiet the house is. Normally by now, Pakkun's padding around the kitchen, or Bull's rampaging through the yard, or…

Vertigo hits her like a hammer, making her head spin. "No," she hears someone whisper. She doesn't realize it's her until she watches her hands drop her braid and reach towards Kakashi. Everything seems distant, and faint, and not-real, because she knows what she'll find.

Ichigo goes from sleepy to awake the instant Jin's phone rings. It took forever for people to figure out how to run phone wires from other countries to Suna, but phone calls are a hell of a lot easier than hawks. "Kojima residence," she answers with a yawn. Jin sleeps like the dead.

"Ichigo," Naruto-sama's voice comes over the line. It's heavy, and cracked, and full of pain in a way she's only heard a few times before. "You need to come home."

Her body goes cold. "What happened?" she manages to force out past numb lips.

"Your —" he stops and gulps, tears evident in the sound. "Kaka-sensei's dead, Ichigo."

"Oh," she answers. Before she hangs up, she tells him she'll be home soon. All of her words feel like they're coming on auto-pilot. Jin wakes up when she's half-packed. One look at her and he knows something's wrong. He opens his mouth, but she beats him to it. "Dad's dead," she croaks. And then everything rushes in, like saying the words made it real, like it hadn't been the truth before, and her knees give out.

He catches her. He doesn't try to stop her from crying or sobbing, and she's glad, because this hurts. It hurts all the way home, and it hurts when she helps her mother make arrangements for the funeral, and it hurts when she watches her father's coffin go into the ground. Nine smaller coffins are buried behind his grave. She wishes she could've said goodbye, that she'd given Pakkun another scratch behind the ears last time she saw him, that she'd held her father a little longer. She remembers, once, when Gai-san died, that her father stood at his grave until midnight. She wondered then how he could do that. Now, she blinks, and it's twilight.

Minarin's standing across from her, his eyes on the grave just like hers, though his glasses hide them. "Are you back yet?" he asks a minute later, lifting his gaze to her.

"I don't know," she answers. "I…" she lets her eyes slide shut as she feels the tears begin to come again. She's sick of crying, god she's so sick of crying, but how can she stop? Her dad is gone, he's gone, and she'll never see him again — "It's not fair," she sobs. "I understand death, I do, but it's not fair! He lived through so much and he kept going and he was so strong and now he's gone and he's never going to giggle at those dumb books again or yell at the twins for doing something stupid and —" from there, it devolves into incoherency. She can barely tell what she's saying and she's the one saying it.

"Is it unfair, though?" Minarin says, his eyes dissecting her gently. "He told me once he never thought he'd live long enough to want to retire, let alone to actually do it. He lived to be almost 73. He's in history books, and he lives on in us. That's more than he ever thought he'd have."

"I know," she hiccups. "But I — I want him here."

"We all do," Minarin says.

Satoshi remembers how his mom acted when Tsunade-baa and Mebuki-baa died. He remembers her wandering around the house, eyes foggy, and he expects the same thing when his father dies. Instead, his mother just… goes on. She goes for more lunch dates with Yamanaka-san and Inuzuka-san than she did before. She babysits Sakada-sensei's kids a lot more — which he doesn't mind, much, cause the twins are more like Boruto than his own kids are.

Two years after Dad dies, Minarin comes back to town for Ichigo's inauguration as Hokage, and Satoshi makes up his mind to ask if Mom's okay. Satoshi might be a med-nin, but Minarin's the one 'revolutionizing mental health'.

Yamanaka-san organizes a huge party to celebration Ichigo being Hachidaime Hokage. It feels more like a family reunion than anything. Jin's by Ichigo's side, bouncing Satoshi's first (and so far, only) nephew on his hip. Yamenzo-san and Iruka-san are talking to Mom. The Uchiha throng's scattered around, both Uncle Sasuke's kids and Sakada-sensei's. Little Miko-chan keeps fluttering her eyelashes at him whenever she sees him. She's not actually little, she's only like four years younger than him, but… ew. He'll never understand why people like the idea of kissing.

Just as he turns to go looking for Minarin, his brother appears… with a girl on his arm. "Satoshi," he says quietly. "I would like you to meet Jena-chan. If Mother is agreeable, I intend to marry her."

Satoshi chokes on air. "Y-you — marry?!" he sputters. "What?"

Minarin blinks slowly at him. "Yes. We complement each other well. I do not know if we will love each other as much as Mother and Father did, but we will try."

And that reminds him of his mission. "Speaking of Mom…" he starts, glancing over his shoulder. "I'm kind of worried, I guess. I remember how she acted when other people died, and she's… I don't know, she just isn't acting the same as then."

"That would be because every grief is different," Minarin says. "I think she knows Father would not want her to linger in grief. Or, perhaps, she is simply waiting for the day when their spirits find each other again."

Satoshi sighs. "Maybe. I dunno. Talk to her, would you?" Minarin nods, and honestly, that's way too much feelings-talk for the day. Satoshi slips into the crowd and dodges Yamanaka-san long enough to cast a prank jutsu on eight of the fifteen punch bowls. Every eighth person (since Ichigo's the eighth Hokage) will taste something different with every sip. It's brilliant, and he loves —

"HATAKE SATOSHI!"

"It wasn't me!"

"I just found your sister making out with Ume-chan, so I know it wasn't her!"

"…I think I hear a stray cat that needs help, Mom! Later!"

Sakura watches her daughter become Hokage with so much pride it almost chokes her. "I wish you could be here for this, my love," she whispers to herself. After that first awful day, it's been easier to live without Kakashi. It hurts, and aches, and some nights she cries herself to sleep, face buried in what used to be his pillow. It's long since lost his scent, but it still touched him.

On the five year anniversary of his death, Ino asks her, "How do you keep going?" She knows what her best friend wants to hear: that there's some secret to living alone after being an and for so long. Sai, body ravaged by ROOT, has barely been dead for six months. Ino isn't handling it well.

"Do you want the platitude, or the truth?" Sakura asks, lips thin. Ino just glares. "I… to tell the truth, I'm just treating it like… a countdown, I suppose. A way to balance the scales. He lived without me for years, even when he loved me, and he kept going. How can I do any less?"

Ino sighs and looks at her hands. "I guess," is all she says. It takes time, but she comes back to life slowly. They've come to the age where their friends are all slowly dropping… something that's rare for shinobi. It doesn't make the gauntlet any easier. Some of them, Sakura knows, will be healthy and hale for a long time. Despite not actually having the Kyuubi any longer, Naruto's healing factor hasn't slowed down. If she squints, she can maybe think he's fifty. He certainly doesn't look sixty-five. Every year, though, it feels like they lose someone else vital.

Yamato goes after Sai, and then Kurenai. Iruka, heart-broken, doesn't last long without Yamato. Somehow, when Kikyo goes, it hurts almost as bad as when Kakashi went. Sakura and Sango end up taking comfort in each other. It's not sexual, it's not even romantic; it's just that they understand how it feels to be so utterly alone again. Though she tried to lean on Ino, it was harder for her best friend to understand. Sakura knows a lot of people thought she pulled Kakashi back into the light, but the truth is that they kept each other from going too far in the wrong direction. She had her shadows, just as he had his, and they kept each other in equilibrium. It was the same for Kikyo and Sango. They were too much to be simply light or simply shadow, and rather than one of them saving the other from darkness once, they saved each other every day.

Her children — and grand-children — are the brightest thing in her life, bar nothing. Ichigo's three boys aren't the same kind of terrifying genius as their mother, and she's glad of that. As Ichigo gets older, she's prone to over-thinking things and fits of melancholy, as many geniuses are. Sakura practically had to drag her in to see the head psychologist in the new mental health wing. While she wouldn't trade her children for anything, she's well aware of the tendency towards mental illness in geniuses, so it suits her just fine that none of her grand-children are geniuses.

Minarin, in a perfectly Minarin fashion, has a girl and a boy. While the girl needs glasses, her eyes aren't nearly as bad as her father's. The only issue the boy has is a deadly allergy to soy, of all things, which leaves Sakura constantly scrambling for new recipes.

Tsumeko and her girlfriend plan to adopt, since Tsumeko gladly stole the title of 'biggest lesbian in Konoha' from her aunt Kikyo. Satoshi maintains that romance is disgusting, and so is sharing body fluids. Tsumeko adores poking fun at her med-nin brother about how blood transfusions are technically sharing body fluids.

And every moment of every day, she wishes Kakashi was there. Sometimes, when she's sleepy or not thinking, she still turns like she can tell him something. Life is good, but without him, it feels incomplete.

(Tsumeko, girlfriend, and foster child move in with Sakura when she turns 68. she and all her children have a spectacular fight beforehand about how she can still take care of herself. she ends up losing, and she doesn't regret it; it's good to have noise in the house again. and they all know better than to disturb her on the nights where she goes out back to Kakashi's grave, bedroll in hands, and sleeps beside him like they're on a mission again)

Someone bangs on the door just as Tsumeko pours her mixture into the omelet pan. "Maya, could you get that?" she shouts at her foster daughter. The kid's almost eleven, and according to the orphanage, an insufferable brat. Tsu thinks the kid just needed attention.

"Yes, Tsu!" the kid shouts back. Small footsteps thud down the hall a minute later and she hears the front door open. "Hi, Auntie Hokage!"

Tsumeko sighs as she rolls the pan to get everything evened out before she folds her omelet. "Morning, bitch," she greets her sister when she feels the calm chakra enter the kitchen. In the main room, she can hear Maya talking to Jin and his devilspawn.

"Morning, shithead," Ichigo answers, a smile in her voice. "Mom not up yet?"

"Nah," she says, carefully folding the omelet. "I was going to get everyone set up for breakfast before I woke her up. I… well, you know Dad always liked making omelets on his birthday, and I didn't want…"

Ichigo hums, the sound barely audible over the clinking of plates. One of them slides onto the counter by her elbow, replacing the one with a freshly plated omelet. "Yeah," she says quietly. "Last time I made omelets, I thought she was going to cry."

For a few minutes, there's only silence. Tsumeko listens to the sounds of her sister dishing up miso soup to go with her brats' omelets, the sizzle of her egg pan drowning out the talking in the main room. "Wanna send those little shits in to wake her up?" she says after she plates the sixth omelet. "They'll occupy her until I'm done."

"They're not little —" Ichigo starts.

"They shoved pepper pills into all of the Inuzuka's dog treats," Tsumeko says flatly. "Coming from someone who was a little shit and has since matured into a grown-ass shithead, that's prime little shit material."

The Hachidaime Hokage just sighs and steps into the main room. "Alright, guys, you can go wake up Grandma! Be careful!" The last words disappear beneath the thunder of footsteps — and the thunder returns much more quickly than she expects.

"Moooom, Grandma's not in her room!" the oldest blurts out as they skid to a halt in the kitchen doorway. Brat #1 is first in line, and determined to stay there, so he grabs both sides of the doorframe and plants himself firmly. Both of his brothers throw themselves at him, trying to break his miniature wall.

"Boys," Ichigo sighs.

Tsumeko doesn't mind being the mean auntie, so she snaps, "Cut it out, brats! Or else I'm summoning Big Girl!" Big Girl, who named herself, is the meanest dog in Tsumeko's pack, and everyone knows it. She's not actually large, and she doesn't look mean, but the beagle-y mutt doesn't know the meaning of 'play nice'.

They settle down just in time to hear the knock on the front door. "I got it!" Brat #3 yells, and they're off again. After a thump in the front hall, followed by a yelp, Minarin, Jena, and Satoshi all come into sight. Minarin's brats are, unsurprisingly, half-asleep. They disappear into the main room along with the other kids, Jena following them just in case it gets out of hand for Jin.

"Fuckheads," Tsu greets her brothers calmly, dishing up the last omelet and sliding it onto the table. "Mom's not in her room. Three guesses —"

"And the first one doesn't count," Satoshi sighs. "This can't be good for her health."

"Grief is far more deleterious than sleeping on the ground, no matter what age you are," Minarin says, tilting his head forward. "Should I look for her?"

Tsumeko flaps her hand at him. "Call in the hordes and let them eat while we go look."

"All of us?" Satoshi says, frowning.

Ichigo nods. "Have you never noticed she doesn't greet anyone else on Dad's birthday until she's made sure all four of us are okay?" Tsumeko stares at her because, yeah, no, nobody normal notices that. She just knows that her mother also likes to wander on her outside nights, and it's entirely possible she'll be in the woods somewhere. For someone who just turned seventy-three, she's quite spry. "….aa."

"Stupid fuckin' genius," she mumbles, turning and heading for the back door. "Tell your spawn to come e at and let's go get Mom."

The part of Tsumeko that's an artist wants to draw this scene as they walk through the high grass, towards the back of the Hatake complex where their father is buried. Between the four of them, there's enough shades of pink and green to keep a paint store in business, but it's also fall. That means the ground's carpeted in colorful leaves. As they walk, she takes a mental snapshot of the moment. Satoshi's kicking up leaves with every step. Ichigo's casually slicing any that get too close to her face with tiny wind blades. Minarin's just humming, and she joins him.

They pass around the corner to the grove that doubles as a graveyard, and she sighs a little in relief when she sees her mother there. She's tucked into her bedroll, hand outstretched to rest on her husband's grave, as always. More than once, Tsumeko's come here and found the bedroll empty and her mother out in the woods, bench pressing trees or something else ridiculous.

Her relief fades when Ichigo stops short. "I can't feel Mom's chakra," she breathes. And then she bolts. It only takes Tsumeko a second to verify her words, and then she's darting after her sister, unable to breathe. "Mom?" Ichigo whispers, kneeling next to Sakura and shaking her shoulder gently.

"…Mom?" Tsumeko tries a second later, standing over her mother, unable to kneel because her body doesn't want to work. "…Mommy?" Her voice breaks, and then she's crying and she's on her knees and Satoshi and Minarin are beside her, shouting and screaming and she's never seen Minarin sob like this before.

Thousands gathered to honor the Rokudaime's passing; it seems like millions gather to honor Sakura's. Ichigo loses count of how many people say, "She saved me."

When the crowds disperse from the public memorial, the one that Sakura wouldn't let them put up until she died, all four of the Hatake children go to the real grave and stand vigil. "So many people told me how you saved them, Mom," Ichigo says to the stone near dawn. "They keep forgetting that you… you guys saved everyone. You and Dad made sure we had a world to live in." She swallows past the knot in her throat and takes a second to figure out her next words.

"I promise we'll make sure it keeps going," Minarin finishes.

HATAKE KAKASHI AND HATAKE SAKURA

58 V.E. - 131 V.E. 72 V.E. - 145 V.E.

True love stories never end.

Sakura pushes past the bamboo grove that blocks off the creek and smiles. Kakashi's sitting on a stump, waiting for her. "Aa, you're late, Sa-chan," he says, looking up at her with a grin. Miracle of miracles, he actually puts a bookmark in his book before he closes it and stands up, holding his hand out to her.

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura mutters, taking his hand. "Don't get used to saying that. One time thing." He pulls her close and kisses her gently before tugging her along, down the road. There's a white bridge, like the one she waited on for team seven once upon a time, that makes her laugh.

"Do you regret it?" he asks, pausing and tapping the bridge railing.

If she strains, she can hear familiar voices around the corner, Tsunade's louder than all the rest. Her answer's almost as fast as her smile. "What is there to regret?" His smile warms her all the way through, as it always has. Together, they move forward again.