The Bank II

"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." - Jean de La Fontaine

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters contained therein, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto who is kind enough to let fans write fiction. I make no profit from this nor do I intend to.

A/N: Unbeta'd. I will attempt to post every week.

Enjoy.

Chapter V

Sakura glanced up from her stack of paperwork. Kakashi was still there, where he had settled himself upon not-so-stealthily sneaking into her office. So far she had pretended not to notice though she knew he knew she knew that he was there. Suppressing a sigh Sakura turned the page, absently making a note in the margin as she continued on with the file. Kakashi shouldn't be in her office but he'd been sneaking in almost daily now. Whenever he could liberate himself from his hospital room, he made his way to her office. It was almost as things had been before he'd filed his paperwork, almost.

Kakashi kept a partial eye on Sakura as she worked. Things seemed to have more or less gone back to how they had been before he had accidentally screwed everything up. At least, as far as he could tell anyway.

Kakashi's musings were disturbed by a rap on Sakura's door. As had become his custom, he shifted himself slightly in order to have a better view of the visitor.

Feeling slightly exasperated, she had not had more than ten undisturbed minutes all day, Sakura shifted her gaze to her door before responding. "Come in."

The door opened and a tall thin woman with impossibly long brown hair worn loose walked briskly in. "Ms. Haruno, what have you done with all the…" the brunette paused upon noticing Kakashi situated contentedly in his chair with his book.

Feeling uncomfortable with the way she was looking at him, he raised a hand in his customary greeting. "Yo."

"Mr. Hatake!?" She shifted her gaze to Sakura. "Ms. Haruno, it is really not okay to have a patient stationed in your office!" She shot Kakashi another quick glance. "He's not even your patient!"

With a start, Kakashi realized that he recognized that voice. It was the voice of the woman who had led the kunoichi charge after Tsunade her issued her ultimatum. And, the woman who had accused Sakura of not being fair when he made a beeline to his former student's office. A part of him flinched uncomfortably, remembering what Sakura had said about some of the kunoichi who had set their hopes on him. Silently he hoped this woman was not one of them.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Hatake. I'll go get a wheelchair and an orderly to help you back to your room, where you belong!" She turned to glare at Sakura before turning to leave.

"Kaka- Mr. Hatake is here of his own free will, Kumiko. It's fine, I can handle anything that may come up while he's here. So he can stay as long as he likes. It's not as though anyone needs him right now or that he has anything pressing to attend to in his hospital room."

Uncertain, Kumiko shot Kakashi another concerned gaze before returning her still irritated glare back to Sakura. "That may be but, he really has no business being here in your office. He needs to be in bed in his room, resting as the doctor ordered." Turning to focus her attention on the apparently only partially interested man sitting in one of Sakura's visitor's chairs. "Mr. Hatake, you stay right there. I'll call for an orderly and a wheelchair. We'll soon have you situated comfortably back in your room."

Amusement quickly deserting him, Kakashi craned his neck a bit to look around Kumiko to Sakura, an eyebrow raised. So far no one had really had a serious problem with him camping out in Sakura's office, so who was this woman to object to it so strongly?

"Kumiko, he's fine right where he is."

"I don't think so. Just because you like to have him around doesn't mean that you can have him in your office all day! You don't always know what is best for the patients, you know. Just because you're Lady Hokage's little pet medic, doesn't mean that you always know best! Mr. Hatake has suffered some very serious injuries – he shouldn't even be alive! He needs to be kept quiet so he can rest, heal, and regain his strength. And, he can do none of that when you keep dragging him to your office!"

Irritation shading to anger, Sakura paused to collect herself and let out a long slow breath before responding – knowing that otherwise, she would say something she shouldn't. "It really is okay Kumiko. He's just fine where he is. If he wants to return to his room he is more than welcome to do so and entirely capable of returning on his own. His nurse and doctor both know where he is should he be needed and neither one of them is concerned that he spends some of his time outside of his room." She shook her head. "It's encouraged as he'll never regain his strength if he doesn't push himself a little each day."

Sensing that Sakura was rapidly losing her patience with the woman's misplaced but well-meaning attempts to send him back to his room, Kakashi finally decided to stick his oar in.

"I appreciate your concern, Ms.?" he paused for her to fill in her family name as he realized that he did not know it.

"Nagata," she responded with a bit of color rising on her cheeks.

"Nagata then. Ms. Nagata. However, I am just fine where I am."

"But, really, Mr. Hatake, you belong in your hospital room, resting! You're recovering from some incredibly serious injuries!" She tried again stubbornly.

He shook his head. "No, I belong where I want to be and right now, I'm exactly where I want to be."

Unable to respond as she would like, but clearly wishing she had something else to say to try and sway Kakashi, she nodded. "If you're sure?" Kumiko tried one last time, desperately looking for a reason to return the wayward patient to his room – away from Sakura.

Suppressing a sigh he nodded his affirmative once again. "I'm sure. This is where I want to be."

"Okay then… if you're sure then... "

"Yes, this is exactly where I want to be."

"Now that that is settled, what did you need from me Kumiko?" Sakura asked briskly, doing her best to suppress another wave of anger, trying to tone it down to mere irritation.

Having nothing else to say, Kumiko reluctantly refocused her attention on Sakura. "Oh… um…" she trailed off realizing that she didn't really have a good reason for bothering the medic. Kumiko had been much more concerned about the rumors that Sakura had one of the patients camped out in her office. The concerned receptionist had left to go confront Sakura without an actual valid reason in the first place.

"Yes?"

"Oh, uh, I was wondering... What did you do with all the extra folders? I was asked to make some new files but couldn't find the boxes of new ones."

Keeping her annoyance to herself, Sakura did her best to remain calm and answer the question. "I'm not sure – I haven't made a new file for anything for a couple of weeks at least and there were several cases of new folders in the supply room at that time. If they're all gone, then maybe someone else needed to make a whole new set of files for something? I'm sure more can be ordered if we're out."

Kumiko shook her head. "Okay then. I thought someone had mentioned that they'd seen you with the new folders last. Must have been mistaken."

"If that's all?" Sakura asked, shuffling the papers on her desk, drawing attention to the fact that she was busy and Kumiko had interrupted her for no real reason.

"Right, fine, of course. My search continues, I suppose." Kumiko took a step to the door, doing her best not to eye Kakashi as she did so. "Oh, and Mr. Hatake, if you should need anything, anything at all, please don't hesitate to give me a call – I'm just down in reception so I'm easy to find." She gave him, what he suspected most men found to be, an absolutely stunning smile.

With her final appeal made, Kumiko turned and exited, closing the door behind her.

Kakashi waited for a few moments before asking the obvious. "What's her problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"That Kumiko, clearly she doesn't like you very much… Why?"

Sakura avoided his glance, trying to come up with a good answer. After a few moment's thought, she sighed and gave up looking for a tactful way of putting it. "No, she doesn't."

"Why?"

Sakura shrugged. "I'm not entirely certain. It's not as though she's ever come up to me and flat out told me that she didn't like me and then continued on to list the reasons for her decision."

Startled, Kakashi chuckled. "No, I suppose she wouldn't do something like that."

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments longer before Kakashi felt it necessary to break it again. "So, why do you think she dislikes you?" He laughed as an improbable reason hit him and he couldn't help but toss it out to her as absurd. "You steal her boyfriend or something?" He knew Sakura would never even contemplate interfering with someone else's relationship but figured that by tossing the ridiculous possibility out, he might just get Sakura to tell him the truth.

Sakura felt her cheeks heat at Kakashi's comment and couldn't meet his eyes.

His eyes widened in surprise. "You didn't!" Kakashi paused to think about her last few serious relationships and couldn't remember there being any drama relating to another woman. "Did you?"

Angry that he would think that she had she raised her eyes to meet his. "No, of course, I didn't!" She paused before adding, "Well, not in the way you think anyway."

He thought for a moment, looking for another reason for Sakura to be embarrassed about why Kumiko might hate her. "She want Itsuki then?"

"What?"

"Itsuki, he clearly wants you. So, does she want him?"

Still surprised, Sakura could only shake her head.

Puzzled, he thought for a moment. "Then what?"

Sakura turned her gaze, realizing that she would have to tell him but not quite able to face him.

"Sakura?" he asked with concern.

Sakura sighed. "She wants, you, Kakashi."

His jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"

"She wants you, Kakashi." Sakura managed to raise her eyes to meet his. "Remember when I told you that there were some women out there who had their hopes pinned on you?"

Still flummoxed, he hadn't seriously considered the startling revelation that Sakura had given him not too long ago, it hadn't seemed possible. The women who were supposedly after him didn't seem real. Absently, he nodded, his brain still trying to make sense of it.

Sakura shrugged. "Kumiko's one of them – probably the most vocal about it too."

"I-I don't understand."

"She wants you Kakashi. Or, rather, she wants to have your kids. She sees it as a ticket to an easy life." Sakura snorted and shook her head. "Stupid really, since being a single mother is not easy. Kumiko probably just sees it as romantic and a quick way to gain attention and status within the village."

Kakashi shook his head in disbelief, pushing the fact that the woman who had just come in was one of the ones who were legitimately after him. "But… never mind the whole bit about her being after me. I can't cope with that right now." He waved a hand to dismiss the troubling concept. "This doesn't explain why she doesn't like you." He knew his file was confidential, even Sakura didn't know since he believed her when she said that she hadn't looked.

Sakura felt her cheeks heat again and found that she had to look away from his gaze. "She knows I'm also on your list. She shouldn't, that's supposed to be private and the only person I've told aside from Tsunade is you. But I think she's single-minded enough to do whatever it takes to attain her goal."

"So, just because you're on my list, she doesn't like you?" he tried as he continued to attempt to wrap his brain about the foreign concept.

"I guess? She probably doesn't like how much time you spend here – likely thinks it hurts her chances of being selected."

"Selected?" Kakashi asked, suddenly alert. He had left no room for chance in his paperwork – then again, Sakura wouldn't know that, and neither would Kumiko.

"She's been making nice with the Council and the Bank Oversight Committee for ages. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that she's made a play to bribe them or at least sway them in her favor if there is any chance that it might work."

"What?"

"She's determined to be in the program and has selected you as her most recent target. If you leave anything up to chance in your file, she will likely be selected. If not, then it should be as you set out in your paperwork. They do their best to follow a shinobi's last wishes but on some occasions," she frowned faintly, "it's just not possible."

"Wait, what? Hang on. Most recent target?"

Sakura grimaced. "I've heard rumors – since I'm not associated with the bank any further than being on your list and having my own account I don't know how much truth there is to them. But, I've heard it going around that she was on another shinobi's list before she added herself to yours."

"So, she's on more than one list?"

Sakura tilted her head to the side in thought. "It's possible. Some women just want the children out of it so sign up for multiple lists to increase their chances. Each case is evaluated separately before you can sign up for a second or, rarely, third list." Her mind wandered away for a moment, wondering if she should look into adding herself to a second list. That Kakashi clearly wanted her to know what he had done with his paperwork but was hesitant to tell her himself clearly signaled to her that he had not selected her and that she should look into other options.

"So, I'm probably not her only target?" he asked, wondering what, if anything, it all meant.

"Oh," Sakura's eyes refocused back on Kakashi," no, I don't think she's on more than one list right now."

"Then what did you mean?"

Sakura sighed. "I don't like to spread rumors."

"Sakura…"

"But, in this case, it might be warranted." She hurried on, knowing that she should tell him what she had heard even if she couldn't verify it as the truth. "I heard that the shinobi she had her hopes set on before you, suddenly settled down and got married. He removed his bank paperwork – leaving the account for only his wife, should she ever need it."

"I see?" he responded, not really seeing how it related at all.

"Kumiko didn't take it very well from what I heard." She frowned and shook her head. "Threats may have been made."

"What?"

Sakura shrugged. "That's what I heard. I couldn't say how much, if any, of it is true. I don't think they'd have let her sign up for another list if she had made threats against the wife of the shinobi whose list she had previously been on, so I think wires have been crossed somewhere along the way." She hesitated for a few moments. "But, for there to be rumors at all about it, I'm guessing that something must have happened."

They sat in contemplative silence for a little while before Kakashi realized that he'd interrupted Sakura's earlier explanation. "So, going back to before, what did you mean when you said that they try to follow the directions in the file? Aren't the directions in the file final?"

She shrugged, shuffling the papers on her desk. "Sometimes the woman in question turns out to be unwilling."

He tilted his head to the side. "I don't understand. How does that work? She signed up for it, right?" A small jolt of panic hit him as he realized that there was now a possibility that things wouldn't go as he'd laid out in his file.

"Well, the woman in question might be an ex who agreed to it while they were together and neither of them remembered to update the paperwork after they broke up. Or, it could even be someone who didn't sign up or wasn't properly asked to be on the list in the first place."

His eyes widened in surprise. "How does that even happen?"

Sakura thought for a moment, looking for the correct words before deciding that it would be easier to just give him an example. "Well, there was an instance a couple of months back where the shinobi in question put the woman he'd been dreaming of his whole life down as who he wanted to have his child – figuring that he would have time to eventually win her over. The problem was that he never got around to it and never asked her, he just submitted his paperwork and counted on the bank not following up right away on hers. So when the time came, she was understandably unwilling. Apparently, she couldn't stand him in life and his trick with his paperwork made her hate him in death – especially since she had only just gotten married about a month before he died in action."

"So, how was that handled, then?"

"The shinobi in question had a really good male friend who was willing to raise a child. So, they found a surrogate, used donated eggs and voila, problem solved. The friend will take and raise the child when it's born and the surrogate will go on her way, possibly to have another child for someone else in similar circumstances."

"The village also has surrogates on hand?" he asked, unsure why he was so surprised.

Sakura smiled. "Of course they do, works both ways, doesn't it? Some will even donate their own eggs if necessary, others are strictly willing to bear the child to term only. Like me, they fill out the paperwork, just for the other part of the process, that's all." She paused in thought for a moment. "They can also be occasionally called upon if a kunoichi who wants to have children is injured in the line of duty and consequently unable to have her own. It's rare, but happens."

They sat in silence for a little while before Kakashi felt it necessary to break it.

"Aren't you concerned?"

"About what?"

"About what's in my file?"

Sakura glanced away. "I've made my peace with not knowing."

"But, I want you to know."

"Then just tell me!" Sakura exclaimed, unable to keep her frustration from manifesting in her tone of voice. Her eyes searching his for the answer he clearly couldn't give her.

Kakashi couldn't hold her gaze, found himself glancing down at his book, the tone of her voice tugging at him in an unexpected way. After a long moment of silence, he responded. "Who exactly has access to my file?"

Surprised by his apparent non-sequitur she thought for a moment. "Well, those who work at the bank, Tsunade would have access if she really wanted, as would anyone she designated as needing that information. Oh, and you do, of course. In case you want to make changes or just to verify that things are to your liking and that sort of thing.

He nodded. "So, there is no way Kumiko could have access then?"

"No, not directly anyway. Why? Are you afraid she might muddle with your file?" She paused and added with a sinking feeling in her stomach, "or with the other people on your list? As determined as she is, I don't think she'd stoop that low – or even think to try."

He shrugged noncommittally before returning his attention to his book, obviously dismissing the conversation as ended. "Was just wondering."

With an odd, inquiring, look she reluctantly let the conversation drop and refocused her attention back on the papers in front of her.

The unusual exchange she had just had with Kakashi popping up at odd times leading her to wonder just what he had been angling at and if she really wanted to know. Absently, a small part of her acknowledged that it might be time to look into getting herself added to a second list. The list of available lists was updated every other Wednesday, she could check it the next time it was updated.

With a leisurely stride, Kakashi made his way down to the hallway, destination firmly in mind. He had finally been discharged from the hospital, not a moment too soon in his opinion. He'd been slowly going stir crazy. Never in his life had he been confined to such a small space for such an extended period of time. If not for being able to escape to Sakura's office, he surely would have gone insane. A small part of his brain had to wonder how anyone else did it. Surely, he was the exception to the no wandering the halls rule for patients, and almost certainly because Sakura herself made sure the rule was bent for him. So, how others who didn't have Sakura managed...

He hastily turned his thoughts from the lovely woman as he realized that once again his mind had been hijacked by her, as had been happening more and more often of late. With a determined shake of his head, he continued on, almost at his destination.

Upon arriving he stepped up to the counter, ready to show his ID. He knew that even though the thin woman behind the desk most certainly knew who he was, he had been stopping by regularly before his last mission, she would still have to ask for his ID – too many ways for shinobi to impersonate or be impersonated. Best to prove his identity and if he were to be honest, he was well aware that it was for his own protection and was thankful for it.

"Good morning Mr. Hatake. It's nice to see you again." The friendly woman with short dark hair greeted him before he even managed to take the last few steps to the counter.

"Good morning Miyako." He returned her greeting, she really was a sweet girl. "It's nice to be seen."

She smiled, genuinely happy to see him, she had heard that he'd come back from his last mission in very bad shape and had been afraid that she had probably seen the last of him. An occupational hazard in her job and one she wasn't certain she would ever get used to.

He pulled out his ID and handed it to her so she could check it before they continued their conversation.

Miyako took the ID and performed several verification jutsu on it with a smile. In her mind it was just routine, she knew the man in front of her was who he said he was, no one would be foolish enough to try and impersonate him – at least not there at any rate.

"So, what can I do for you today?" She asked as she returned his ID. "I believe you're up-to-date on everything and you're not scheduled to come in for another month or two at the very earliest." She rambled on awkwardly. "Um, I think we had to make sure everything was all squared away before your last mission..." she trailed off, not happy with the memories that particular appointment brought up.

Usually, Miyako didn't let any of the sad aspects of her job get to her but, for some strange reason, this man had gotten to her – badly. Once Kakashi had left for what she had been afraid would be his last mission, she'd realized how much she felt for him. If she had to guess, Miyako figured that what had gotten to her was probably his whole demeanor and approach to the thing. He had been unlike anyone else she had ever encountered. Silently determined, that was how she would have described him, intent on doing his very best. There was also the fact that she had accidentally caught glimpses of his file while adding to and retrieving paperwork. Something about the whole thing just tugged at her heart.

Kakashi returned her smile, wondering if it would help him in his current mission. "I'd like to see my file."

Miyako blinked in surprise. She wasn't certain what she had expected him to say, but this wasn't it. "I'm sorry, what?"

"My file. I'd like to see it please."

"I see… any particular reason?" she asked, stalling for time. It was not against the rules, shinobi occasionally did check on their files for various reasons. She had just never expected this one to do so. Kakashi had spent an inordinate amount of time making sure things were exactly to his liking, so much so that she had never expected him to want to fiddle with it again.

Wondering why she was so surprised, he shrugged, continuing to feign nonchalance. "Not exactly, I'd just like to check on a few things, that's all."

"Oh, okay. Um, since you weren't expected to come by for a routine appointment for at least another two months it has been filed in the sealed long-term storage."

He nodded.

"It will take a few minutes to retrieve." She stepped away from her counter. "Excuse me, I will just go get it."

Once she was out of his sight, she couldn't help but hurry her steps. For some reason, she found it somewhat disconcerting. He had made sure of everything only a short few months prior. Surely, he couldn't have changed his mind on any of it in that short of an amount of time?

Kakashi found himself pulling out one of his ever-present orange novels to pass the time. The way Miyako had reacted seemed odd. After a moment's further thought, he dismissed it as the result of her actually seeing him again. He had, after all, not been expected to return from his last mission. She had likely known, his paperwork had taken on the all-important 'urgent rush' status, probably causing her no end of trouble as his file took priority over everything else she may have had to do at the time.

Several minutes later, Miyako returned, folder in hand.

Absently, Kakashi noticed that it seemed to be fatter than he'd remembered. The cold hand of anxiety briefly clutched his stomach before he rationalized that it was likely due to all his deposit information that hadn't been there when he'd last looked at the file.

"Here you are, Mr. Hatake." She handed the folder over to him with a nervous smile. "We have a few private rooms just down that," she gestured to his left, "hall for those who need to fill out paperwork or review their files. If you'd like, you can just head down the hall. Any of the doors on the right should be open for you to use."

"Thanks, Miyako." He nodded to the woman in front of him before taking the file and turning to head back the way he came.

"Wait! Mr. Hatake! Where are you going?" she called out, realizing that he wasn't cooperating.

Kakashi didn't turn but stuck a hand up in a jaunty wave. "I'll bring it back, not to worry. I'm not even leaving the medical complex."

"But!" she started before realizing that he was already gone.

For a long moment, she stared at the hallway Kakashi had just used to make his exit, wondering where he had gone. Suddenly, she was very glad that she had bothered to take the time to verify that the shinobi who had just retrieved his folder really was who he said he was. Technically it was okay for him to abscond with his own paperwork. But, at the same time, it was definitely not something that was routinely done. A small part of her absently wondered if he was headed off to make changes, or, if he needed to verify that it was all there as he had originally laid it out. Puzzled, she shook her head, knowing that she would never be able to figure out what he was thinking and did her best to return her mind to her regular tasks… and hope he returned with his file soon.

Sakura found herself absently toying with the papers in front of her, her focus just not where it should be. The stack of papers that had been piling up in her inbox was an excellent indicator that she had lost her focus some time ago. Though, she also suspected that more and more paperwork was being shunted her way, which wasn't helping things. Sakura wouldn't put it past Tsunade to see how distracted she had been of late and try to slip extra work her way. Certainly wouldn't be the first time Tsunade had tried such tactics, to say the least.

With a sigh, Sakura shuffled the papers again and glanced at her clock – five hours to go if she decided to leave at the end of her scheduled shift, a rarity but something she figured she would do considering how distracted she had been. Sakura was restless and couldn't quite put her finger on why. Though, if she were to be honest with herself about it, and actually trace the restlessness back to when it had started, she knew she would realize that it had started when Kakashi had been discharged from the hospital.

The infuriating man had not shown up at her office door since. She hated to admit it, but she missed him, missed his mostly silent presence in one of the visitor's chairs in her office. He had gone from turning up every single day for long stretches of time to just disappearing back into the village upon his release. Sternly, she took hold of herself. Kakashi's whereabouts were none of her business. Just because he had chosen to stop by often before, did not mean he would intend to continue to do so – it just wasn't in his nature from all that she knew of him.

The cat disappeared every time he was expected to be somewhere – turning up instead, when and where he was least expected.

Frustrated, she shifted everything in front of her to the side, deciding that she could use a hot cup of tea and the ten minutes it would take to walk to one of the kitchenettes to make it. As she was rifling through the many different varieties of tea she kept on hand, looking for something relaxing but not sleep-inducing, she was interrupted by a knock on her door.

Startled, she glanced up to see the subject of her current frustration standing in her doorway. Sakura blinked, it was unusual for him to knock, never mind just linger in her doorway waiting to be invited in. Usually, he would slip in unnoticed and silently take up residence in his usual chair. Something about his posture put her immediately on edge.

"H-hello Kakashi. Um, why don't you come in?"

He nodded, closing the door behind him. Then thinking better of it, he turned and locked the door as well.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at his unusual actions and waited to see what he wanted. Kakashi was not taking up his usual position in his chair. Something was clearly up. Instead, Kakashi moved to stand directly in front of her desk, a thick file in his hands.

"What can I do for you, Kakashi?"

"Do you have a few minutes?"

Though she suddenly felt incredibly nervous, a few pieces clicked in her mind and she was not sure if she wanted to go through with the conversation he intended to have with her, she managed a weak smile. "For you, any time. What do you need?"

He nodded, slightly strained himself, and simply held out the file folder to her.

She eyed the file for a moment, unsure if she should really take it, before returning her gaze to his. "Is that what I think it is?"

He nodded and extended the folder a little further, closer to her, insisting that she take it.

"Kakashi… I don't know if I should…"

"I want you to."

"But, is it really a good idea for me to know?"

He sighed, pulling the folder back for a moment's thought. "I need you to see." He once again extended the folder to her, imploring her to take it.

She shifted her gaze to the folder before returning her attention to him. She could see in his eyes and in the way his hand trembled ever so slightly, probably not something he could attribute to the weight of the thick file pulling awkwardly at his hand, and closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts. Sakura took a deep breath in and let it out slowly before opening her eyes. The file was still there, outstretched toward her, Kakashi silently willing her to take it.

Hesitantly she reached out, her hand visibly shaking, and took the folder.

Kakashi heaved a silent sigh of relief and took a step back from Sakura's desk. He was too keyed up to sit but would be more comfortable if he gave her a little more space.

Sakura found herself watching him withdraw from the desk before turning her attention to the folder he had just handed her. It was thicker than she remembered it being when Tsunade had offered it to her. Absently, she chalked it up to all the additional official banking paperwork that would have been added to it once Tsunade had returned it to be placed in the sealed long term file storage.

She glanced up again, wanting to make absolutely certain that he really wanted her to open the folder and read the contents.

He nodded and motioned with his hand for her to open the file, unable to look away from her, needing to see her response.

Hand trembling only a little, Sakura opened the file. The first page was banking information, Sakura flipped past a series of similar documents – records of Kakashi's banking activity. As the number of those pages added up she knitted her brows together, Kakashi had certainly been very busy. There was enough material in the bank to easily try for multiple children. Had he done that on purpose? She glanced up at him inquiringly.

Uncertain what should merit her questioning glance, Kakashi stepped closer and glanced at the open folder. Sakura flipped a few pages, displaying the extent of his banking activities. He did his best to prevent a light tint of color from rising to the tops of his cheeks and shook his head slightly. Instead of answering verbally he just motioned for her to continue.

Sakura frowned slightly but complied with his silent appeal. Behind all Kakashi's bank transactions she found the standard-issue account form. It started with the boilerplate agreement, outlining the program and how things would work, referencing the attached articles with the actual particulars outlined therein. Sakura started to flip through quickly but noticed that the standard pages had been altered. Things were neatly crossed out and annotated in the margins in legalese. Tilting her head to the side she continued, pausing to check the annotations though not entirely certain what they meant.

Once Sakura got to the end of the standard agreement, she paused, knowing what would be on the next page. Article A would be the list. Far more nervous than expected, she refocused her gaze up and on Kakashi and found that his expression had taken on an entirely blank quality. She could gain no clue of what the next page would hold from his face. Again, he simply gestured for her to continue.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura complied and turned the page.

Her jaw dropped upon taking in the words on the page. The top of the page was the usual language in regard to the list, as expected. What was not expected was the fact that her name was at the very top of the list, nor was she expecting to find that hers was the only name on the list that was not entirely crossed out.

Startled she glanced up again. "Kakashi, I…" Sakura trailed off, she didn't know what to say.

His expression did not change, instead, Kakashi gestured for her to return her attention to the page.

Sakura complied, the second viewing showed her that there as a clause carefully added to the bottom of the list. After reading it a few times, she realized that the clause was stipulating that she was the only one this file applied to, no substitutions would be accepted and the bank account should be destroyed if Sakura was not willing or available to take possession of it.

Eyes wide she glanced back up at him again. In all her hopes and dreams she had never even dared to imagine that he might specifically stipulate that she should be the one to have his children once he was gone.

"Kakashi…"

Her reaction was more than he could stoically handle, he stifled a chuckle – he'd never imagined that something he had done could make her so happy. "Keep going."

Too surprised not to comply, Sakura flipped the page again to view Article B – rights granted to the person or persons outlined in Article A. Her jaw dropped again. He was leaving her everything. He granted her absolutely every right possible, as many kids as she wanted, access to everything he had to give and she wanted to take, the kids could have his name... and so could she. If she wanted, according to a clause that had been neatly added, she could even take his place as clan head and participate in village politics as the head of the Hatake clan.

She sat for a moment trying to take it all in. Not only had Kakashi designated her as his only choice in his paperwork but he had granted her absolutely everything possible to make things easier for her once he was gone. She hadn't expected this. If anything, she'd begun to suspect that he'd excluded her from his list. It was almost too much.

"Sakura?"

Kakashi's slightly concerned voice startled her out of her reverie. Still feeling dazed she glanced up to find that Kakashi was standing over her, his expression concerned, one of his hands holding hers.

She shook her head slightly to try and remove some of the shock. "I don't know what to say."

"Promise me you'll take full advantage of everything in this folder." His gaze became sharper, more highly focused on her reaction.

"Kakashi-"

"Promise me."

"O-of course, I will." She hesitated and then added, "I'd be a fool not to."

He nodded and released her hand. "Good." He stepped back from the desk and gestured for her to continue.

Absently she realized that there were still more papers in his file. Curious she turned the page, more standard legalese associated with the banking agreement. Quickly she flipped through to find the next document. Sakura inhaled sharply. Last Will And Testament. It was Kakashi's will. She swallowed, unable to glance up to see his reaction. Instead, she flipped through cautiously, her eyes skimming the dense document until they came to rest on her name. Surprised she backtracked a bit and re-read that last section. He was leaving her everything.

Startled she glanced up once again and he only gestured for her to continue. "Remember your promise."

With a shaking hand, she continued onward, her heart constricting a bit when she got to the end of the document and found that it had been dated several years previous and had only been updated to add in specific instructions in regard to his bank account – for the avoidance of doubt.

Sakura had to pause for a moment to collect herself. It was too much. Kakashi was giving her everything… once his name was added to the Memorial. She didn't know how to respond.

"Keep going, you're almost at the end," he encouraged her, gently, in a tone of voice she had never heard from him before.

Almost afraid of what she would see she glanced up again and found that his gaze had softened and gained an almost bittersweet quality to it. Uncertain what that could signal, she turned the page again and inhaled sharply. Wide eyes looked up at him once again, seeking answers.

He chuckled softly at her surprise. "It's all legal. You just have to sign and date – whatever date you like so long as it's after the date I used."

"But-"

"You promised."

"But... this?"

"I brought the whole thing to a lawyer and made sure it's all legal. None of it can be changed, there are no loopholes. Everything is one hundred percent above board and above all legal."

"You want… this?" she gestured to the very legal document in the file.

He nodded and answered simply, "yes."

She sat for a moment in thought. Her fingers absently flipping through the remaining pages of that startling document. When she got to the end she found that there were two additional items in the folder. Curiously she turned the whole troubling document over to get a better look at what lay behind it.

Suddenly Kakashi's hand was on hers again, preventing her from examining the two last items. Startled she looked up into his once again unreadable expression.

"Not those," he shook his head slightly. "Those are for when I am well and truly gone."

Feeling shaken, Sakura let go of the two envelopes but not before noticing that one was addressed to her and the other to their child/children. Swallowing hard she returned her attention to the last legal document in the folder.

"Kakashi, are you sure?"

He nodded, dead serious. "Yes. If this is what you well and truly want, then I want you to have every advantage I can possibly give to you. If we're married then the village can deny you nothing that you're rightfully owed. There would be no way for them not to grant you widow's benefits on some technicality or other." He paused in thought for a moment before adding, almost as an afterthought, "The lawyers also have a copy of everything on file at their office – should anything happen to call any of my decisions into question. Or, if the file should contain something other than what you've seen today."

Eyes still wide she returned her attention to the document. It was a marriage license. Everything had been filled out and Kakashi had signed it. All it needed was her signature and date. The stack of pages behind it seemed to be legalese verifying the validity of the marriage license and a signed affidavit from Kakashi swearing that his intention was to marry Sakura and his death had gotten in the way of that intention – justifying the legality of the marriage license after his death.

"You promised," he prompted.

Sakura nodded. "I did."

"Good." Gently, he retrieved the paperwork from her hands. "I need to return this. Miyako wasn't too thrilled when I walked off with it."

Snapping back to the present, momentarily setting aside the multiple bombs that Kakashi had dropped, she found it in her to laugh weakly. Of course, he would just wander off with his file without telling them where he was going or what he was doing.

Glad that she seemed to be returning back to normal, if only a little, he smiled. A part of him wanted to reach out to her, reassure her that everything would be okay, that this was how things had to be but knowing that it was a slippery slope and he was already treading the edge. He couldn't afford a slip now.