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 VII

Sakura found herself checking the clock again. The hands had barely moved since her last look. Deciding that obsessive clock-watching meant that she was due a break, she pushed her chair back and stretched her arms out over her head while she extended her legs out in front of her – curling her toes as she did so. As she stretched, she silently debated if she wanted to go make a cup of hot cocoa in one of the kitchenettes or grab a cookie from the cafeteria – either one would provide her with a needed sugar boost to hopefully get her through the rest of the afternoon.

Having decided that she would get the cookie if she could find the money for it in the loose change she kept in her desk, the hot cocoa if she couldn't, Sakura was interrupted by an authoritative knock on her door while in the process of rummaging around in her desk, looking for some loose change.

Hastily pulling her chair back to its usual position and slipping her feet into her shoes, she called out to the door, wondering who could possibly be stopping by. "Come in."

Tsunade walked through the door, closing it behind her before sauntering over to Sakura's desk. Her eyes flicking briefly to what any regular visitor to her office knew as Kakashi's chair.

"Where's your office buddy?" Tsunade asked upon noticing that Kakashi's chair was unoccupied and seemed to be putting off a disused air. A small part of her wanted to examine the chair more closely as something seemed off, mentally she shook her head, telling herself that it was just the fact that Kakashi wasn't in the chair that was bothering her, nothing else.

Sakura shrugged with a frown. "I don't know. He's like a cat… he comes and he goes as he pleases." She paused and frowned before continuing as it occurred to her that it had been long enough since she'd last seen him for Kakashi to have been sent off on any number of missions. "I haven't seen him for some time. I didn't really think he was even in the village right now, to be honest."

Tsunade gave Sakura a hard look, it was an awfully flip response. "Oh, really?'"

Sakura shook her head. "I haven't seen him in weeks. I guess I assumed he'd been sent out, which would be why I haven't seen him."

"Oh, I see."

"Since he's back in ANBU full-time, I figure he's like to be out more often than in." She leaned forward before realizing what she was doing and returned to her usual sitting position. "So, since you're looking for him, I take it that he's in the village?"

"Oh, eh, ah, yes..." Tsunade trailed off, having hoped that Sakura hadn't heard about Kakashi's return to ANBU. A part of her wishing to believe he'd be in and out too quickly for Sakura to catch on. Clearly, she had hoped in vain. "Right, of course."

"So, what can I do for you?" Sakura asked, breaking the suddenly awkward silence – beginning to suspect that possibly Tsunade hadn't really had a reason to come to her office for her after all.

"Eh," Tsunade vocalized, startled out of reverie. She decided to answer honestly. "Oh, I was looking for Kakashi, actually."

Sakura eyed her former mentor suspiciously. Tsunade was the Hokage – if she needed to find someone, especially someone ANBU, she had the means at her fingertips to order they be found. So, why she would be wandering around looking for Kakashi on her own, Sakura couldn't quite guess. A part of her wondered if maybe Tsunade wanted to try and meddle.

"Well, he's not here. Hasn't been by since," Sakura paused as if in thought, though she knew damn well when she had last seen Kakashi – the day she'd seen him rigged out in full ANBU uniform exiting Tsunade's office. "Oh, I don't know when, a couple of weeks at least," she finished as though exasperated.

"I see…" Tsunade trailed off, wondering at the sudden rift in the two friends. Kakashi had been spending more and more time in Sakura's office since filing his paperwork. That he was in the village, unassigned, and not to be found in Sakura's office was more than a little surprising.

"Is there anything I can do for you instead?" Sakura asked, knowing that the answer would likely be 'no.'

"Oh, no, no. It's fine. I'll just go have someone find him when I return to my office. I, er, uh, was already in the building and thought I'd stop by to see if he was here, that's all."

"I see. Another mission for him then?"

Tsunade focused her gaze sharply on Sakura, her behavior was more cynical than Tsunade would have expected. "Why would you ask?"

"Seeing as how he's full ANBU again, it's an easy assumption. The most likely reason for you to be looking for him at any rate, anyway. Am I wrong?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Not precisely, no."

Sakura shrugged. "If he's in the village then I'm sure he's probably lounging in one of the trees in the Arboretum, the non-fruit bearing kind – they don't mind him loitering in the trees there so long as he sticks to the trees that don't produce fruit. It's too cold for him to take up a position in any of his usual outdoor Icha Icha locations and today is a bad day for the pub – I believe they recently introduced karaoke to liven up the afternoon hours before the after-work rush." She shuddered. "I think once was more than enough – Guy really likes to sing once he's had a few."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh, really?"

Sakura shrugged. "His patterns are pretty easy to predict if he's in the village."

Tsunade kept the retort to herself that he'd usually be found in Sakura's office at that time. Clearly, something was amiss between the two. "I'll keep that in mind then when I send someone to find him." Idly, she picked a speck of non-existent dust from her shoulder. "You two have a fight or something?"

Surprised, Sakura pulled her attention from the files in front of her to look up. "What? No!"

Tsunade chuckled at Sakura's hasty denial. "I'll take that as a 'yes' then."

Sakura shook her head. "I couldn't have had an argument with him if I haven't seen him, you know."

Tsunade raised a skeptical eyebrow. There was any number of things Sakura could do to show Kakashi that he was unwelcome in her life without actually seeing or speaking to him. "Sure, sure." Instead of arguing the point any further, she turned to leave. As she reached for the door she turned to glance over her shoulder, an idea suddenly hitting her. "Did you know that Kakashi has nearly reached the highest rank possible for him within the general shinobi population?"

Startled, Sakura glanced up with wide eyes. "What?"

"Kakashi's really only a few high-ranked missions away from achieving the highest rank possible for him." She chuckled. "There won't be many jobs for him to aspire to once he achieves that goal. But, then again, there's always my job." She laughed and pushed Sakura's door open, not waiting for a response from her former apprentice.

Slightly dumbfounded by Tsunade's offhand comment, Sakura sat in silence, her mind suddenly wondering about Kakashi's possible motives for his fulltime return to ANBU. After a good ten minutes of thought and silent internal debate, she could come to only one conclusion. Suddenly, she felt truly terrible for her poor treatment of her friend.

With a sigh, she pushed her chair away from her desk and rose to her feet. Absently, she grabbed her wallet – having given up her pretense to find money in her desk to pay for her afternoon snack – and, on her way out of her office, she paused by Kakashi's chair. With one deft motion, she snatched up the hidden seal that she had placed under the seat and shredded it.

Sakura was unsurprised when she returned to her office, with two big cookies and two cups of coffee, to find Kakashi sitting in his chair as though nothing had happened. Because, Sakura had to reflect, nothing really had.

Sakura laughed lightly at her companion's clumsy joke. He was trying, which, she hated to admit, was more than what she was doing.

"But, really, they should mark those folders more carefully!" Itsuki continued with his story, absently pulling a piece of gum from his pocket, unwrapping it and popping it in his mouth, pocketing the wrapper.

Sakura chuckled at his story as she silently marked her mental bingo card. It had been less than twenty minutes since they finished dinner and he was already popping gum. Though she silently had to grant, he was getting better. In the past, he would have had a piece of gum in his mouth before the server had even cleared their dessert dishes.

They walked on in silence for a few moments.

"So, I had a good time tonight," he tried, cautiously. Getting her to agree to dinner had been a monumental endeavor, he knew well enough not to push it.

Hastily pulling her mind back to the present, she could have sworn that she sensed a familiar presence not too far off, Sakura forced herself to smile. "It was a nice evening."

Elated, Itsuki smiled hugely. "We'll have to do it again sometime then."

Hesitant to burst the poor man's bubble, Sakura responded cautiously. "Maybe."

Itsuki stopped in his tracks. "Maybe?"

Sakura shook her head. "Itsuki, we've been over this-"

"Maybe isn't a 'no'!" he hastily cut her off jubilantly.

Surprised Sakura took a moment to respond, only able to blink at the unexpected response. "Itsuki, you do know that tonight wasn't a date, don't you?"

"Yes, yes," he waved his hand negligently, in too good of a mood to let an unfortunate comment slip. "I get it, I do."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and held out a hand to stop him before he continued on. "Do you really?"

He sighed before making eye contact. "Yes, really."

"You know I don't feel the same way as you do, right?"

"Yes."

"You also know that that's not going to change?"

"Yes."

"Then…" she trailed off, unable to ask the question.

"Then why do I keep asking you out?" he finished her question.

Sakura nodded, feeling bad about the whole situation all over again.

Unconcerned he shrugged. "Hope springs eternal."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Maybe one day your feelings will change."

"Itsuki-"

"I know." he cut her off softly. "But, I can still believe that maybe one day."

"I hope you don't think I'm leading you on?"

"No, I understand."

"Good." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm heading home," she raised a hand to forestall his movement, "alone. Good night, Itsuki."

Unhappily he nodded, realizing that he had once again gotten ahead of himself, but understanding all the same. "Good night, Ms. Haruno."

Sakura continued on down the street, unsurprised when Kakashi fell into step next to her a few short blocks away.

"Despite what he said, you're still leading him on."

Less than thrilled at his criticism but knowing that he wasn't wrong, she shrugged. "I don't know what else I can do at this point."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Stop having dinner with him for one."

"Why?"

"'Why?' You ask?"

"He knows I'm not interested. I've told him over and over again – point-blank – that I am not now nor will I ever be interested." She paused wondering if she should just come out and say it, or let it go unsaid, before deciding to split the difference. "My… affections are engaged… elsewhere." Sakura felt color rise to her cheeks and hastily tried to will it away before continuing. "And, yet, he still returns to ask me to dinner or coffee over and over again." She shrugged self-consciously. "Eventually I feel like I have to say yes, if for no other reason than just to be polite."

He snorted, ignoring her indirect comment about him. "He's trying to wear you down, you know."

Sakura opened her mouth to retort but realized that he was right.

"How many times has he guilted you into saying 'yes'?"

Sakura sighed, already knowing that Kakashi was right. "Too many."

Kakashi nodded. "If he's spending money on you, eventually you're going to feel even more guilty – obligated, even, you know."

"I don't let him pay!" she exclaimed indignantly, color once again rising to her cheeks.

Kakashi raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Sakura suddenly averted her gaze. "Well, mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Sometimes he's sneaky about it. So I end up accidentally letting him pay… I always yell at him afterward though – I don't want to feel as though I owe him anything."

"See, you're sending him mixed signals – even only occasionally allowing him to pay is still giving him hope. Despite what you're telling him, he still thinks he has a chance." He eyed her from the corner of his eye again. "Does he?"

"What?"

"Does he have a chance?"

"N-no! Of course not. I-" she hastily closed her mouth and swallowed what she was going to say, just shaking her head in a negative instead. He should know better than to ask that. "It's never going to happen."

They walked on in silence for a little while, apparently aimlessly until she realized that they were heading to one of the many shinobi pubs in Sakura's neighborhood rather than her apartment. As they approached the pub, Kakashi chivalrously opened and then held the door for her.

Sakura chuckled at his display. "Thank you. Think this sudden burst of chivalry will extend to buying me a drink?"

He placed a finger on his chin as though in thought, doing his best to suppress a laugh. "Hmm, that depends."

Suddenly suspicious, she eyed him carefully. "On what?"

"On, how nicely you ask." He laughed and pushed her gently toward one of the booths before heading to the bar to buy drinks.

Sakura rounded the corner and groaned. Her favorite coffee shop inexplicably seemed to have suddenly grown an enormous line. Hastily she racked her brain, trying to figure out what could possibly cause such a commotion at the usually fairly low-key coffee dispensary. Some sort of limited edition brew more likely than not – though she couldn't remember seeing any advertisements for some such thing.

More slowly than she had previously been traveling she continued on, closer to the monster line extending out the door and down the block. As she moved, her brain completed a quick cost-benefit analysis as to if it would be worth her while to stay and wait for her afternoon caffeinated treat or keep going and just head home to make something there for herself instead.

As Sakura slowed to a halt at the end of the line, unaware that her feet seemed to have made the decision for her, she noticed a few co-workers further up the line, chatting happily amongst themselves. Feeling obligated she reached up and waved when they noticed her, not willing to risk the wrath of the line by going to actually greet them in person.

Sakura was surprised when she lowered her hand and realized she was now holding a to-go cup of something hot.

"What?" she exclaimed, turning to see who had so stealthily snuck a cup of coffee in her hand, though already having a good idea of who may have done such a thing. "Kakashi?!" Pulling herself together she hastily added, "thank you!"

For some unknown reason, Kakashi's actions seemed to have caused a stir in the line. People were suddenly whispering and pointing, the wave of reactions traveling in both directions down the line. Afraid that he may somehow incur the wrath of the line, Sakura stepped out of line and several feet away to put some distance between her and the possibly angry other people waiting in line.

Once out of what she considered to be the potential danger zone, Sakura cautiously sniffed at the beverage – the rich aroma of coffee seemed to have been tempered with something she couldn't quite put a name to, or a finger on.

He chuckled at her curiosity over the coffee. "Apparently, it's a very unique new blend – they made it especially for this new romance novel that was released last month."

Curious, Sakura took another quick look around and noticed what she'd missed before, eighty percent of the line was made up of women between the ages of sixteen and sixty, most of them holding copies of a book with a purple jacket. Many of the women in question were still whispering and sending glances their way. Realization dawned, it was likely because she had lucked out in having Kakashi appear out of nowhere with the magical coffee in hand. Nodding to herself, he was obviously right, she took a sip. Her eyes widened in surprise. "It's good!"

He snorted. "Better than the book from what I've seen."

Quickly Sakura glanced around to see if anyone had heard Kakashi's comment. From the looks of the crowd, she guessed they wouldn't take too kindly to someone slandering 'their' book. "Kakashi!"

"What? It's true."

"Do you think it wise to make a comment like that around here?"

"Hmm?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Kakashi, didn't you just tell me that they're here for some special limited edition," she gestured with her cup of coffee, "coffee just because of its association with a book?"

He shook his head. "Nah, it's fine."

"How is it fine?" Sakura asked, still eyeing the large group of women around them – looking for signs of hostility and finding none, though quite a few of the women were just openly staring now.

He raised a hand to the back of his neck. "Well, I didn't have time to change from my security shift."

Uncomprehendingly she stared at Kakashi. "Don't know what you're trying to say here."

He laughed, leave it to Sakura to take the wind out of his sails. "Take another look," he gestured with his coffee at the crowd of women waiting in the line, "at them."

Sakura looked again, this time really studying the women. To her surprise, many of them kept stealing furtive glances at Kakashi. She frowned and returned her attention to him, he was dressed in his ANBU uniform which was a step above his normal daily wear, porcelain mask pushed up and to the side. He looked younger than he customarily did but she chalked that up to being able to see more of his face with all of his hair out of the way. He lost even more years when he wasn't wearing his mask. But, aside from seeing more of his face than usual, she couldn't really see why so many women might keep sneaking glances.

She shook her head. "I don't see it. What am I missing?"

He laughed again and started walking. "I'm sure you'll get an earful from your friends who were ahead of you in that line when you next see them."

"Kakashi! Don't change the subject!" she cried as she hurried to catch up with him, leaving the coffee shop and its massive line behind them.

He glanced at her sideways. "Who says I'm changing the subject?"

"Kakashi," she growled.

Sensing she was nearly at the end of her patience, he decided to enlighten her. "The main love interest in the story is ANBU. Apparently, it's about the regulars at a coffee shop and the woman working there as a barista. She's working there in order to put herself through medical school."

"What?"

"She manages to ensnare a highly trained and very skilled ANBU with her special blend of coffee – keeps him coming back again and again for more. Eventually, the coffee leads to other things," he paused as though in thought, "well, of course, it would. Otherwise, it would be a pretty boring book."

Sakura paused, stopping her forward momentum, her brain rejecting the premise Kakashi was spinning for her. "Wait, she does what now?"

He shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

She resumed walking, thinking of some of their friends, and had to grudgingly nod. "Okay, you have a point there."

He chuckled, he could tell how hard it was for Sakura to admit that. But, they lived in Konoha, stranger things had happened.

"So, let me guess, you got away with that because you were dressed as the main love interest?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Could be that I was dressed as the main love interest. Could be because we just reenacted a well-loved sequence from the book. Or, it could just be because most women love to see the ANBU uniform."

"What?"

He shrugged. "Could be a combination of all three."

"Wait, what do you mean by reenacting a well-loved scene from the book?"

"Eh, there's a sequence where the main character discovers that there is a huge line for something she wanted but was also of limited quantity. The main love interest, having anticipated where she was going, got there ahead of her and procured the item for her. Delivering it in a charming manner just as she was despairing of ever getting the thing she wanted."

Eyes wide she turned to him, unable to respond. "Kakashi…"

Feeling it necessary to try and distract Sakura, he continued on a slightly different track. "Most of those women have probably never even seen ANBU in person you know."

"What?"

"Because you're a shinobi, you see ANBU around all the time, but most of those women – civilians, the lot of them – have probably only ever read romanticized versions of ANBU and have likely never seen any up close before." He shrugged. "The mystery and allure of the uniform." Deciding it would be safe to tease her a bit he added with a sideways glance, "I guess the power of the uniform no longer works on you?"

Feeling her cheeks heat, she smacked his tattooed shoulder. Kakashi had hit too close to home, she'd seen him all rigged out in his ANBU gear far too many times to be able to admit that she still experienced that little thrill of excitement. Or, rather, she'd seen him and any number of other ANBU rigged out properly come through the hospital. However, that did not take away from the fact that Kakashi did wear the uniform particularly well. Nor did it negate the fact that Sakura did enjoy getting to see him wearing it. She just knew she could never actually admit it to him.

They continued on in companionable silence, drinking their coffee.

"So, what happens?" Sakura couldn't help herself from asking.

"What do you mean what happens?"

"With the barista and the ANBU?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Haven't gotten that far."

Sakura laughed, realizing that she should have guessed sooner. "You're reading it?"

"With no new Icha Icha for years now, I've had to try and branch out every now and again. As much as I may love the classics, I'm always on the lookout for new novels to read."

"So when you said the coffee was better than the book, you were speaking from personal experience then?"

"Yup."

"So, are you going to finish it?"

"My coffee?" he asked, knowing she meant the book.

"Kakashi!" Sakura swatted him without any real force.

"Well, I was planning on it but if you really like it that much I'll be happy to let you have the rest of it."

She swatted at him again playfully. "You know I meant the book!"

"Ah-ha, so you did."

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Are you going to finish the book?"

"Why, you want to borrow it?"

Sakura felt her cheeks heat. "Maybe…"

It was his turn to laugh. "I'll be sure to leave it for you at your office when I'm done with it." He examined her momentarily from the corner of his eye. "Would do you no end of good reading something that wasn't a medical journal or medical report, you know."

She sighed. "Yeah, I know. But, there's just so much I don't know. I don't want to lose a patient because there was a scroll or journal that I hadn't read."

He nodded, her concern was more than understandable and not something he could easily talk her out of, nor, he was well aware, should he.

They continued on for another few minutes, Sakura's apartment building looming ahead of them, still a few blocks away. Though, even from that distance, they could both recognize the man leaning casually against one of the trees in the park across the street from the apartment building.

Sakura sighed.

"You really should stop leading him on you know."

"Yeah, I know. I just…"

"Feel bad?"

She sighed again, focusing her attention on the coffee cup in her hand. "Yes."

He shook his head. He didn't like it, Itsuki was clearly playing Sakura like a fiddle and there was nothing he could really do about it. "You know it could all be calculated manipulation on his part."

"Why would you say that?"

"He seems to be doing a good job of getting exactly what he wants just by guilting you into giving it to him." He paused for a moment before asking idly, "I wonder how far he'll be able to get before you finally put a stop to it?"

Sakura stopped, her temper irrationally flaring as she already knew deep down that he was right, her hand clenching around her coffee cup and her eyes narrowing.

Kakashi halted, surprised at the extent of Sakura's reaction. He'd expected her to emphatically deny his observation, instead, she seemed actually angry. Figuring he should get out in front of it before she got even angrier he hastily tried to interject. "Sakura, I-"

"Are you accusing me of something?"

"What? No."

"Then why does this bother you so much?" She snorted. "I don't see why you should even care."

He shrugged, uncertain as to how he could possibly respond. In the mood she was in, there were no correct answers. And, if he were to be honest with himself, he wasn't sure why he'd even said it – she was right, it was no business of his.

"Are you…" she trailed off, not even believing her accusation herself but still feeling the need to finish it, "jealous?" Sakura couldn't help but ask with more than a little disbelief.

"What?!"

"You really don't like it when I spend any time with Itsuki – no matter what the circumstances. You tell me so every time he comes up."

Kakashi sighed with exasperation unable to understand how she couldn't see what she was doing. "That's because you're leading him on. You're giving him false hopes by spending so much time with him – even though you've been clear from the beginning that you're not interested, you're still sending him mixed signals. And, he's obviously choosing to believe that you're just playing hard to get."

She caught his gaze and held it. "That's rich coming from you."

Suddenly feeling his own well-worn sense of guilt rear its ugly head Kakashi found he couldn't hold her gaze. She had a point – one he didn't want to think about too closely.

"I thought so." She nodded, more to herself than to him. "See you later Kakashi, thank you for the coffee, it was delicious."

Sakura started walking toward her apartment, knowing that he would not follow. Just as she was about to exit his hearing range she stopped and turned to leave him with one last comment.

"I'm absolutely, one hundred percent, all yours – once your name is added to the Memorial. Until then, I'm free to do as I please. If you don't like it, ask me out yourself – we both know I won't say 'no.'" She held his gaze until he glanced away.

Parting comment made, she continued on to her apartment building and Itsuki who was waiting for her.