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. I think I'm going to need to do more rewrites than in previous chapters from here on out – chapters may be posted every other week if I'm just not happy with where they are after a week's worth of edits.

Due to schedule issues, the next chapter will likely be posted in three weeks.

Enjoy.

Chapter XIII

Sakura mechanically went through the motions of cleaning up the kitchen. Dinner had been something quick but very healthy. She still hadn't made any decisions but had decided that while she was thinking, she would eat as well as possible – and with the appropriate vitamins. Regardless of her final decision, eating healthily while she thought things over, wouldn't hurt and could only help should she choose to keep the pregnancy.

Once the kitchen was cleaned, she found herself at loose ends. She was too distracted to do much but it was also too early for bed. Without her conscious direction, she found herself putting on a pot of water for tea – decaf, of course. Following through with the motions of getting everything prepped for tea kept her occupied for another few minutes. When everything was ready, she found herself wandering into her living room and aimlessly sorting through the stack of novels Kakashi had recently left for her. Absently she figured that there must be something in the stack that she could read even while distracted. Before leaving on his last mission Kakashi had dropped off a wide variety of novels to keep her occupied while he was out of the village. Considerate of him.

She sighed, a lot of things he did were considerate if she stopped to think about them. However, as much as she knew that deep down he was a good man, she couldn't even begin to guess how he would react when she told him that she was pregnant. The big unknown that had been keeping her up at night and preoccupied during the day. She still had a week or two, or maybe three at the most to decide and a small part of her wanted Kakashi to turn up so she could talk it over with him. And, an even smaller part of her didn't. In a lot of ways, it would be less complicated if he returned too late. But, in others… it would just simply be easier to have him there to have the conversation even though it would likely prove to be a very difficult conversation for her... and, in the end, would probably change nothing.

With another sigh, she pulled a novel at random from the stack and made herself comfortable on her couch. She'd do her best to lose herself in the unrealistic pages while she waited for her tea. If she was lucky, the plot would get her and keep her mind occupied until bedtime.

Kakashi, found himself slowing as he approached Sakura's apartment building, his feet suddenly dragging. Realizing what he was doing he shook his head, irritated with himself, and picked up his pace. With a little climbing, he made his way quickly up to her balcony. Peering in he observed that she had things out for tea and a kettle on the burner but was nowhere in sight. Likely, she was either in her bedroom or in the living area while she waited for her tea.

He took a moment to collect himself, the irrational anger that he had been experiencing on and off since hearing about the baby boom flaring up once again. He'd managed to stay calm through the completion of his mission but the stark reality of the situation had really hit him while he was on his way back to the village. He knew it wasn't Sakura's fault – it took two to tango after all – but he just couldn't quite manage to force himself to accept it. He knew that his feelings were not only irrational but also incredibly unfair. If he wanted to have a productive, adult, conversation with Sakura he would have to get things under control before making his approach. She didn't deserve his irrational and unwarranted anger.

Getting ahold of himself, negative emotions carefully locked down to be kept in check during his visit, he knocked and then waited. Sakura appeared a moment later from her living area, a puzzled frown on her face, likely because he was the only one to shun her front door in favor of her balcony. Kakashi was certain that she knew that he wasn't due back for another few weeks – that would have been the first thing she had asked Tsunade once she found out she was pregnant.

Sakura's expression quickly turned from puzzled to astonished. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in an 'O' of surprise. As he watched the color drained from her cheeks just as quickly as she hastily closed her mouth and made her way over to the door to let him in.

"Kakashi… I-, when did you get in? Tsunade mentioned that you weren't due back in the village until the end of the month?" Sakura asked as she opened the door and let him into her kitchen. A part of her began to panic while the rest of her engaged autopilot.

He shrugged as he entered her apartment. "If it makes you feel any better, Tsunade was just as surprised to see me back early."

Doing her best to try and pull herself together, her stomach suddenly in knots, Sakura automatically opened a cupboard and pulled out a second mug. "H-how?"

He watched her as she moved about the kitchen, her movements jerky and her expression strained. "I saw an opportunity to move things along at a faster pace and I took it."

Sakura nodded automatically and reached for the kettle when it whistled. "Tea?" she asked as she pulled the kettle from the heat and poured the water into a teapot, the tea already set up to steep.

"Please," he nodded, figuring that he should go along with it.

As much time as he'd had while on the road to contemplate the situation, he had not actually taken a moment to try and imagine how things would go when he finally returned and had her alone. And, he certainly hadn't expected to find Sakura so obviously distraught – anyone who knew Sakura even passably well could tell that she was in clear distress. The fact that he was currently a large part of what was causing her distress tempered his own anger, she didn't deserve this from him. Moreover, it simply hadn't occurred to him that this could be something she would agonize over – to his mind it should be an easy decision for her. So, why didn't that seem to be the case?

Sakura nodded in return and brought both mugs and the still steeping teapot to the table. Gesturing for him to follow suit, she took her usual seat after placing the teapot on the trivet that she'd already set out on the kitchen table.

"So," she started awkwardly, "you just get in?"

"Yup."

"Have you heard… any rumors going around the village?" She fiddled with her fingers a little before continuing. "Um, you know, since you got back?"

Sakura inwardly cringed at her behavior, Kakashi's sudden appearance had caught her off guard and now she was suddenly behaving like an awkward tween. Not a good look since Kakashi had certainly gotten his fill of it when she had actually been an awkward tween. And, certainly not something she wanted to remind him of, and definitely not when she needed to tell him that he'd gotten her pregnant.

Deciding to play dumb, he raised an eyebrow. "No, none to speak of, the ANBU safe house where I was staying was entirely isolated from everything, including the village."

She nodded absently, toying with her mug, unsure how to begin. "I take it… you're here for… the usual?"

Kakashi nodded agreeably, unsurprised to find that even with everything going on, he still wanted her. Though, he was more than aware that she would likely tell him before things got too far. He would have to leave his desires for another time… if she would even have him again after the conversation they were about to have…

Nervously she toyed with her mug a little more, avoiding his gaze. Though she had been rehearsing what she would say to Kakashi since she learned she was pregnant, Sakura suddenly felt sorely unprepared – none of it seemed adequate. "Well… about that…"

"You have a headache?" he asked, managing to keep his tone neutral.

"What?" Startled by his question she glanced up to see that his face was carefully blank.

"Sakura, it would make me not much of a man if I just assumed that I would always be welcome in your bedroom – every time I turned up."

She shook her head. "No, no, that's not it."

He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What is it then?"

She sighed and refocused her attention on her mug. "While you were away," Sakura darted a quick look at him and then returned to absently toying with her mug, the knots in her stomach tightening. "Well, while you were away, it was discovered that a mistake was made."

Sakura paused to close her eyes and gather herself – it was turning out to be harder to spit out than she'd thought it would be. She had honestly expected him to have heard from someone else first. This was not the conversation she'd been mentally rehearsing for the past few weeks – on the off chance Kakashi returned in time to have it, of course.

"What kind of a mistake?"

"The wrong hormones that the Kunoichi Affairs Office issues for active duty kunoichi were accidentally destroyed. When a new shipment came in the old, expired, hormones were supposed to be destroyed and the new shipment shelved. Unfortunately, the new ones were destroyed and the expired ones kept… and used." Sakura darted another quick glance at him to try and gauge his reaction, her heart in her throat.

Kakashi sat with his empty mug – the tea still steeping between them – and said nothing, keeping his face carefully blank. Quite suddenly, and absolutely irrationally, his once carefully controlled anger reared its ugly head again. This was not what he wanted. He did not want children. And, though he knew it was a mistake – that they were equally to blame – and it was not at all Sakura's intent, he still wanted to blame her, to take his anger and frustration out on her. His fingers curled tightly into fists before he hastily caught the reaction and forcibly relaxed his hands. She didn't deserve this and definitely not from him.

"You're one of the kunoichi affected, I take it?" he asked, mostly managing to keep his anger under control.

Startled by the sudden cold tone his voice had gained she glanced up once again to see his face – as calm and impassive as ever... and yet, there was a certain sharpness to his gaze, one she recognized easily enough. Momentarily unable to express anything using words she just nodded and glanced back down at her mug. Anxiety and guilt hit her full-force once again as her mind registered the anger she had also seen in Kakashi's posture. Sakura could tell that he was trying hard not to blame her... and failing. She was a kunoichi and a medic, this shouldn't have happened.

The silence drew out between the two of them until the timer Sakura had set for the tea went off. With a start, she took the teapot from the trivet and automatically poured them both cups of tea. Carefully she wrapped her hands around her mug, enjoying the warmth on her suddenly very cold hands before speaking again.

"I'm pregnant," she stated in a soft almost heartbroken tone of voice, all of her attention focused on her mug. The statement she had intended on making sound firm and confident crumbling in the face of Kakashi's clear struggle with his own anger at the situation.

Kakashi looked up from his mug at the broken tone of her voice, suddenly feeling like an awful human being, Sakura was clearly struggling and he was not helping things. If anything, he was only intensifying her pain. Unable to articulate his feelings, which were far from clear to him anyway, he remained silent for a few moments before finally finding something to say.

He cleared his throat. "So… You're keeping it then?" he asked, only barely able to keep his tone level and even.

A part of him was still very angry but the rest of him knowing that he couldn't let on to her that he was. She didn't deserve that, not from him. And definitely not in addition to what she was already dealing with. Besides, it wasn't her fault. And, he knew for certain that she hadn't set out to do it – it had just happened. Sakura wasn't the type of woman to do such a thing – to try and trap him into giving her something more than what they already had... than he was able to give her.

Sakura curled her fingers more tightly around her mug, studying the contents intently before collecting herself enough to respond. "I-I don't know."

"What?" he asked with considerable surprise, his mug of tea half raised to take a sip.

"I-I don't know yet," she admitted again, her intense anxiety starting to fade – he was upset but he hadn't exploded and he was obviously doing his best to control his resentment.

Kakashi knit his brows in confusion, all the last vestiges of anger evaporating in Sakura's admission that she may not keep the child. "I don't understand. I thought you wanted to have a child? My child..."

She looked away. "I do. But… not like this."

"I... see."

"The whole situation makes me feel dirty, underhanded… I… I don't like it. I-I didn't mean for it to happen…"

He nodded and they sat in silence for a few moments.

"So you haven't decided if you're going to keep it then?" he asked, needing an answer and unable to keep the disbelief from his tone of voice.

"I thought I should speak to you before making any decisions." She focused on him for a moment before returning her attention to her tea. "I honestly didn't expect you to come back in time for me to speak to you… I'd hoped… but, Tsunade wasn't particularly optimistic."

He sighed, knowing that he could only have one response to her unasked question. "I… appreciate the... sentiment... But it's unnecessary."

She glanced up, surprised.

"It's your body – your life. Of course, it's your choice."

He took a moment, closed his eyes to better collect himself, surprised to see that the anger was still gone, before opening them to continue.

"You know I've done my best to avoid having kids before my name is added to the Memorial... However..." He paused to inhale and exhale slowly before continuing, making sure he said the right words – the ones she needed to hear him say. "I know you didn't do this on purpose. This was not planned, it's not a dirty trick or something you intentionally set out to do. It was an accident – nothing more. So, even though I want to be unhappy about this... I just can't allow myself to be upset."

"Kakashi…"

He shook his head. "It's nothing to do with me – entirely up to you. I have no right to express an opinion here. But," he did his best to catch her eyes to make sure she knew he was sincere, "I'll back you in whatever you should decide to do."

Surprised, Sakura hadn't known what to expect from him, she just nodded.

"I would have thought that this would have been a no-brainer for you though."

"Why?"

"You did want to have my child," he paused, to examine her expression, experiencing a strange surge of emotion. "Has that changed?"

Feeling the heat rise to her cheeks she shook her head. "No, not at all. I still want to have your children. But, if I were to have one now, that one won't be born in the program – won't be eligible for any of the benefits nor, would I – daycare, home help et cetera." She glanced away. "I'm not certain I'll be able to do it on my own without the program, I'll have to sit down with my schedule and a calculator and really think about the practicality and logistics of how I could make it work."

"I see… Since it's due to bad hormones, isn't the village going to do something to help those affected?" Kakashi asked as he felt the world shift beneath his feet once again. That Sakura might not keep the child had never occurred to him. And from her attitude now, it was looking more and more as though she wouldn't be keeping the child after all.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, but from what I've seen and heard, the benefits aren't going to be nearly as good as what I can get from the bank program. And, having this child now would remove us both from the program anyway." She shook her head. "Once you're gone," she swallowed, not liking to bring it up but aware that it had to be said, "they'd probably let me have another child if I can. Since you're the last, I'm sure they'd rather have a few new Hatake if they can manage it." She stopped abruptly as a thought hit her. "I don't even know if this one would be a Hatake."

With a start, Kakashi realized that she was just assuming that he was absolutely out of the picture – she genuinely expected nothing from him. Granted, he had told her that it had nothing to do with him, but still…

"Sakura-"

Suddenly feeling on much firmer footing now that she had told Kakashi and he had informed her that he would be okay with whatever she decided to do, she held up a hand to stop him. "It's fine Kakashi. I just have a lot to think about." She pursed her lips briefly and sighed.

"Sakura-"

"It's fine Kakashi. I feel a bit better for having told you now. I don't expect anything from you, so don't worry about it. If I do end up keeping it, I can leave the father blank on the birth certificate. People would suspect, I'm sure, but I'd never say one way or the other. Probably for the best if I did it that way anyway." She paused for a moment and swallowed. "Well, maybe once you're gone I could confirm it. Would make things easier on the kid, I'm sure… I could probably change the child's name if necessary after the fact too..."

"Sakura-" he tried one last time.

Surprised at his persistence she glanced up at him again. "It's fine Kakashi. You've made it clear that you don't have an opinion on this so it will be well and truly up to me, I guess." She smiled, just a little bit strained. "I'm glad you were able to return in time for me to speak to you – even if it was just for you to tell me that you don't have an opinion – that I should feel free to do what I want." She exhaled slowly. "Makes me feel a bit better about this whole situation at the very least."

Realizing that Sakura had worked herself up into such a state where she was unable to hear anything she wasn't expecting to hear he sighed and drained the rest of his tea. He would have to try and give the conversation another go at another time. Maybe she would be more receptive the next evening. A small part of him was surprised that he felt it necessary to try and continue the conversation and he couldn't quite figure out why.

Pushing himself up from the table he got ready to leave. "Thank you for the tea and… for the consideration."

Surprised that he was leaving so soon, though after a moment's thought she realized that she shouldn't be – there was no way he would touch her now. Not now that she was pregnant with a child he'd never wanted, and probably, once she thought about it, not after even if she decided to terminate the pregnancy. She kept her expression steady as her heart ached a bit at the realization. No matter what she decided, this was likely the end of their non-relationship.

"You're welcome, any time," Sakura managed without any hint of the pain she was suddenly experiencing.

He nodded and turned to leave.

"Kakashi?" she hastily called out – realizing that she would have to make sure Kakashi didn't say anything to anyone else.

"Yes?"

"Please don't tell anyone."

Puzzled, he tilted his head to the side questioningly.

She sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do. But, the village… the village would want this child. If the Council found out…" she shook her head. "I wouldn't be allowed to have a choice."

His mouth fell open as he realized the position she could be in if the wrong people found out.

"It would be unpopular but… they have, in the past, ordered kunoichi out to other villages to try and steal powerful bloodlines. I don't think they would think twice before ordering me to have the child if they knew."

His eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened, his anger flaring again.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi. Really, I didn't do this on purpose."

He nodded, obviously angry again, though clearly not with her, and quickly took his leave before he could say something unfortunate.

Once night had fallen, Kakashi found himself returning to Sakura's apartment. He was fairly certain that she would be home. Tsunade had ripped him a new one when he had stopped by her office that morning. Apparently, morning sickness was something Sakura was just starting to experience and it was beginning to wreak havoc on her schedule.

Tsunade had not been best pleased when Kakashi had not been able to shed any light on Sakura's state of mind – which direction she was leaning – when he stopped by that morning. Kakashi had, on the other hand, had a lot to say about the position Sakura could find herself in if the wrong people found out. At the very least both he and Tsunade were on the same page in regards to Sakura's right to make her own decision. They had come to this conclusion, of course, after she'd read him the riot act about getting Sakura into the whole situation in the first place. Thankfully, the fact that he had made no excuses or demands seemed to have calmed her down enough to accept that he had expressed no opinion one way or the other on the matter to Sakura. As far as he was concerned, she should do whatever she felt best.

After spending some quality time at the Memorial, he had then gone off to take care of some paperwork. He wasn't thrilled with the way things were going but would make the best of a bad situation. His anger had finally evaporated entirely in the face of Sakura's obvious struggle. Seeing her anguish firsthand had been enough to stifle his own. What was done, was done. Holding his anger would accomplish nothing aside from destroying his now incredibly tenuous relationship with Sakura. Which, after his time at the Memorial, was something he found he could not destroy, no matter what.

Surprised, Kakashi realized that he'd managed to make it to her apartment in record time. He took a moment to collect himself in the park across the street from her building, his eyes automatically searching for her balcony – nodding absently as he noted that the light was on.

After a few moments of contemplation, making sure of what he was going to do, he pushed himself away from the tree he had been leaning against and headed over to the building. He didn't even need to think about it as he hopped and climbed his way to her balcony.

Sakura found herself staring at her mug, lost in thought. Somehow she'd thought that once Kakashi returned, everything would be made clear. Unfortunately, things seemed even less clear if at all possible. With a sigh, she pushed the mug away. And raised a hand to rub her eyes, she was tired.

An almost hesitant rap on her balcony door startled her back into the present. Surprised, she turned to find Kakashi standing on her balcony, given how quickly he had left the previous evening she couldn't imagine what he was doing there. Hastily, she rose to let him in, opening her cupboard to pull out a second mug – a part of her wondered why she always seemed to be serving him tea these days.

"Tea?"

He shook his head.

"No?" she asked with some surprise.

"I'm not staying. I just needed to drop these off." He pulled out a sheaf of papers from his vest, gestured briefly with them, and then held them out to Sakura.

Automatically, she took the papers and raised an eyebrow at Kakashi, temporarily ignoring the packet in her hand.

He gestured for her to sit, holding her chair for her and carefully pushing it closer to the table once she sat down.

Still surprised she glanced up at him and then down at the papers she'd placed on the table in front of her before returning her gaze to him. "Kakashi?"

He nodded at the papers. "You didn't seem particularly inclined to listen last night. I thought I'd try again."

Sakura felt her cheeks heat, she had intentionally not allowed him to say anything after he'd told her that he didn't have an opinion. At the time she had been so keyed up that she couldn't take whatever else he may have had to say.

"Kakashi-"

"Nope, my turn," he interrupted. "I want you to have that," he nodded at the papers she had in her hand – the papers she still had not examined.

"What?"

"I want for you to have a way to hold me legally responsible if you ever need or want me to be."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"It's all in there. All you have to do is sign and file. And, even if that's not what you want, I still set up an account that you have access to, for whatever you may need. Ostensibly it's so you can pay my bills while I'm out of the village. But, we both know what it's actually for."

"Kakashi… I don't know what to say."

"Say nothing."

"But-"

"You have more options than you think – if you want, I will take public responsibility but only if that's what you want. Otherwise, I will just have to settle for taking financial responsibility."

"Kakashi, I-"

"You do what you feel is necessary. I want you to do whatever you feel is best – I'll support your decision no matter what you choose to do. Those," he nodded at the papers she still hadn't looked at, "are there only if you need or want them." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Though, I really must strongly suggest that you, at the very least, use the bank account. It'll all be yours someday anyway, might as well let you have it now if you need it. Especially, if it's for my child."

She shook her head, too surprised to react any further.

Seeing that his work was done, and not wanting to be there when she finally looked through the papers, he nodded. "Tsunade is sending me out again tomorrow."

"Oh?" She pulled her unseeing eyes from the papers on her table and refocused her attention on him.

"I'll be gone for a month, maybe more."

"I… thank you."

"If you want, you can tell me when I come back."

"Y-yes, I'll do that." She looked at the papers again before refocusing on him. "Thank you."

He smiled, only a little bit strained. "Good. I'll see you later then."

She waved as he let himself out. For a few moments, she just sat at her kitchen table, staring with unseeing eyes at the sheaf of papers Kakashi had given her. With only a slight hitch, she took a deep breath and focused her attention on the stack of papers.

After only a moment's study, and a quick flip through, she was fairly certain she understood what he'd given her. Sakura was very happy that he'd managed to maneuver her into a chair before she went through the paperwork. He'd obviously visited his lawyer again as well as his regular bank.

In addition to the paperwork showing the opening of a new sort of joint account with a fairly hefty opening deposit. It was very clear by the way he had had it set up that the money was there for her to take and use – with the understanding that it was for their child. He had also had several legal documents drawn up. One was a notarized statement that he was the father of her child. Another was a statement accepting legal responsibility for her child.

And the last one, the one that made her pause to catch her breath, was another marriage license. A new one from the one in his bank file from what she could see. He'd backdated it to before her last hormone shot. He was giving her all the options she could hope for. Including the option of making their child legitimate – for her to take his name and for the child to be born with it.

Sakura couldn't prevent her hand from moving to rest over her heart as she fought the tears that threatened to spill onto the paperwork.

The cat presented her with his collar. It was up to her if she would use it.

Sakura sat for some time at her kitchen table, just staring at the papers. Kakashi was trying. He wanted her to have as many options as possible to do what she wanted. But, what did she want? If Kakashi was willing to help out financially, then a lot of her other potential problems suddenly became much less of an issue. Money, it turns out, could ease a lot of her potential difficulties.

Sakura made her way, cautiously, into Tsunade's office. It was still a little early for her morning sickness to have entirely subsided – moving her to a later daily schedule had helped but not quite enough. She hadn't been summoned but felt that it was probably necessary for her to stop by before her shift.

"Sakura, what a surprise!" Tsunade frowned. "I'm sorry I had to send Kakashi back out – that's where he is if you're looking for him."

Sakura felt her cheeks heat and she shook her head. "Oh, um, no, no. He told me he was leaving last night."

Tsunade did her best to suppress the urge to raise an eyebrow. "Did he now?"

Sakura waved a hand, waving the comment away. "I-I've made a decision."

Suddenly all business, Tsunade sat up straighter and gestured for Sakura to take a seat.

With only a little hesitation, Sakura moved to take the seat. "I-I've decided to let nature take its course."

"Well, now!" She smiled, pleased with Sakura's decision. "We have some planning to do – pieces to put into place for while you're out on leave." She frowned for a moment before adding, "and some other schedules to sort out – you're going to need some help. We'll get your claim submitted to the Kunoichi Affairs Office so they can help set up their benefits as well." She pulled some papers from a drawer in her desk and started scribbling some notes.

Sakura shook her head quickly. "Not exactly like that. I've decided to do nothing one way or the other until I pass the three-month mark. Then, if I haven't miscarried on my own…"

Tsunade sank back in her seat, less than thrilled with Sakura's correction, and completed the thought for her. "You'll keep it?"

Sakura nodded.

"But, you won't do anything to prevent yourself from miscarrying?" Tsunade asked with some surprise. Sakura was a medic, it would be second nature for her to keep an eye on her own pregnancy. Then again, it might not be as much of a cause for concern as she'd initially thought – Sakura may protect the pregnancy on her own without even realizing it – maternal instincts taking over when she wasn't paying attention.

Sakura nodded again.

"Kakashi know?"

Sakura shook her head. "He said it was my decision but…"

"He'll still help if he can?"

Sakura felt her cheeks heat again, thinking of the marriage license and the joint bank account.

Tsunade observed Sakura's reaction and snorted. "Of course he will, he has terrible social skills and seems incapable of having actual human relationships but he's not a bad man."

Sakura shook her head. "No, he isn't."

"You could do far worse, you know."

Sakura felt her cheeks blaze even brighter, wondering if Tsunade guessed that Kakashi had pretty much agreed to marry her if she should so desire. He was willing to do whatever she needed him to do. So, no, not a bad man at all.