During Sakura's conversion with this creep, Kakashi's eyes narrowed at the other man's insinuating tone, rolling his eyes at the reluctant apology for such a clearly avoidable situation. But biting behind his calm façade was a burning curiosity as to the extent of their relationship. He just couldn't tell whether he was being overly protective, or jealous.

Pinned in an awkward position, Kakashi tried not to take advantage of the prize winning view he was now privy to. Allowing his eyes to gingerly wash over her figure, he absentmindedly opened his Sharingan eye, instantly burning the image of her sudsy, curved expanses into his brain to haunt him forever.

Silently, he watched as a droplet of water caught his attention, zigzagging its way down her shoulder. The tomoe spinning inside his left eye followed every move the droplet made as it slid down the woman's tanned skin before gliding across the dimpled cushion of her lower back and disappearing into the tantalizing abyss that sat betwixt the juicy mounds that were so perfectly sculpted into her backside.

With the click of the door closing, the ogling nin averted his gaze, glancing at the ceiling before hesitantly clearing his throat. He should have been embarrassed that a mature man of his age had just been caught blatantly staring at a former student in the shower… but he wasn't. Having to hide out of sight on a whim couldn't have gone any better for Kakashi, as he had enjoyed the view, in all its glory.

With an irritated growl, Sakura wrapped the shower curtain around her front, trying to cover what she could with the thin and flimsy material. She couldn't believe the nerve of this man. He was still pushing her buttons!

"Damn you, Hatake! What the hell is wrong with you? Has the fever made you this delusional?! You can't just barge in on people in the shower!" Sakura scalded as she turned to face the infuriating man behind her.

And there it was.

Kakashi's face.

What words she was going to throw at him were lost as her jaw went slack, and her eyes went wide. Even as he leaned against the tiled wall, he didn't seem to care that he was exposing his face, looking calm and collected as always. Her verdant gaze slowly took in the sight before her, washing over every well proportioned feature, every inch of his striking face.

He was beyond anything she could have imagined. Never in her mind, had she thought he would be this young and handsome. Even though he must have been in his early forties, he didn't look a day over thirty. The years had been more than kind to this man.

But that would not excuse his idiotic behavior. Not to be mislead again, Sakura quickly closed her mouth that had fallen open at such a rare sight, her temper beginning to flare as he continued to look her up and down in return.

"Out. Now!" she growled.

"Sakura, please. I had to do someth-"

"You could have hid somewhere else, you imbecile!"

"Where? There's not a closet in your room, and there was no way I was going to fit under your bed. I figured this would be the best spot to hide."

"And what if he would have joined me? Then what?"

"Would you let that guy join you?" Kakashi inquired sternly, his eyes narrowing at the thought.

"That's beside the point, he's just... just a..."

"Just a what?"

"We are not discussing this now. Get out!" she snapped, kicking him in the shins repeatedly when he made no attempt to leave.

"Ow, ow, ow! Okay, okay!," Kakashi yelped as he was shoved violently, his back foot slipping on the porcelain tub floor, sending him tumbling forward.

As he went down, it was all he could do to grab the first thing he could, trying catch himself. Unfortunately for Sakura, it was the shower curtain she was currently wrapped in. With the rip of the fabric from the rings the curtain hung on, he came toppling down to the bathroom floor with a horrendous thud, yanking the entangled kunoichi down with him.

As she fell atop the copy nin, the wind was knocked out of her, causing her to gasp for air. Beneath her, Kakashi let out a groan of pain, as her knee made contact with the tender area between his legs. Currently, they were nothing more than a pile of moaning bodies smack dab in the middle of the bathroom floor.

"Aya? I heard a noise. Are you... o-kay...?" a voice trailed off.

Baffled, Shima stood in the doorway to the bathroom, looking down at the sight before him. With both of their heads whipping around to face him now, his eyes widened with sudden realization.

"A little privacy, please?" Kakashi spat acidly, looking the intruder directly in the eyes.

"I'll... um... just go then. Sorry," Shima replied through his embarrassment, a flash of anger quickly concealed by his wilting expression.

"Shima, wait!" Sakura called after him.

Hurriedly finding her footing, she untangled herself from the shower curtain, reaching for her floral silk bathrobe behind the door. Tying its belt securely around her waist, she reached for the door handle, Kakashi's hand grabbing her arm at the last second.

"I don't trust this guy, Sakura. I mean, he let himself into your place, then walked in on you in the shower… twice."

"Well, whose fault was that?!" Sakura accused loudly, "If you hadn't fallen out like that, he wouldn't have come to investigate. He was just worried about me!"

"He wasn't worried, he was hoping to catch a free peek… and I wouldn't have fallen if someone hadn't been kicking me repeatedly, forcing me out," Kakashi corrected in an irritated tone.

"If you hadn't grabbed onto the shower curtain, I wouldn't have fallen on top of you!" she accused, "Besides, it's not like he hasn't seen it before."

"Perhaps. But I caught you, so… you're welcome."

"Kakashi," Sakura huffed, "I have to go talk to him. I have to explain this misunderstanding."

"What is he to you?" Kakashi questioned with a piercing gaze.

"What's it to you, anyway?" she spat, slightly agitated by the fact that Kakashi thought he knew better than she did.

"I just wanna know why he needs to know about what goes on in your personal life. Are you guys… close?"

"He's the closest thing I have to a friend, Kakashi, and he genuinely cares about me," Sakura defended, her voice soft as she spoke. "People are different out here. They're not like shinobi, most of them have never even met one, so no one has any ulterior motives. Things are simple… and easy… and..."

"Boring?"

Leveling her gaze, her aggravated features mocked his attempt to incorrectly fill in the blanks. Rolling her eyes, Sakura huffed, throwing her hands in the air as she gave up trying to convince the stubborn copy nin otherwise.

"Ugh, you're so…"

"Charming?"

"So…"

"Infallible?"

"Incorrigible!" Sakura barked, her eyes narrowing at him just before whipping open the bathroom door, leaving in a flash.

Chasing after Shima, she abandoned her former team captain, and made her way downstairs. Looking around the steamy room, Kakashi grabbed a towel off the wall and secured it around his waist, choosing to forego the soaking wet underwear. Stepping out of the humid shoe box of a bathroom, he tip toed through the space of Sakura's loft with all the stealth he was known to demonstrate as an elite shinobi.

Hiding just out of sight behind the framing of the archway at the top of the stairs, the silver haired man took the liberty of eavesdropping on their little exchange, determined to get some answers. Creeping closer, he could barely see their feet at the base of the stairs, but something on the top step had caught his eye.

Looks like Loverboy brought an overnight bag.

"Uh… s-sorry. I didn't know you'd have company."

"Oh, him? No, he's just a patient."

Raising a brow, Shima laughed nervously. "Do all your patients get that kind of attention? I thought it was just me?"

Even through his laughter, Sakura could see he was hurt, but it's not like they had ever been exclusive. Long ago, they knew it would never work out between them. Sakura stayed pretty busy with the shop and her practice and Shima had started taking longer trips with Ryuu and his crew.

As fishermen, they had to follow the schools, and sometimes they would have to travel long distances, often being gone for months at a time. It was more time apart than any significant other could handle, so they agreed it was best to keep things casual, thus allowing their friendship to stay intact. She didn't want to chance losing the only person she considered a friend these days.

"Shima, he's just an old friend. One I helped long ago. His ship was just passing through and we ran into each other at the market. I allowed him to catch some rest here while I worked. But when he heard you come in, he didn't know who you were and came to warn me. Please don't misunderstand."

"He looks like he's a shinobi."

"What does that mean?"

"The scars, the tattoo, the weird looking eye. Aya, I didn't think you knew any ninja."

"Well, I help anyone who is sick or injured, shinobi included. I can't just choose to treat only civilians, what kind of doctor would I be then?"

"Well, just be careful. They're not to be trusted. They make a living off of deception and murder."

Had she just heard him right?

Sakura couldn't believe it. The words stung like an icy, salt and lemon juice coated kunai straight to the gut, nearly causing her to fall over where she stood. Never had she expected Shima to harbor such nasty preconceptions of her fellow comrades. She wasn't sure if it was because of the person saying those words, or the words themselves, but she couldn't help but feel somewhat betrayed. She was only certain that she'd need to watch what she said about her and Kakashi's past.

Speaking of, Sakura shivered when she felt Kakashi's chakra flare, no doubt incensed by the detestable view of them as people he had likely overheard. She had to get Shima out of there before the copy nin showed himself, or worse.

"Um, I don't think you have to worry about me, Shima-kun. I'm helping the guy recover from his long journey, so it's unlikely he'd do anything to threaten me. I know some of them may seem dangerous, but this old geezer is harmless."

"What you guys were doing up there didn't look harmless."

"Please, let me explain..."

"Aya, how can you explain something like that? I know what I saw!" Shima shouted, clearly bothered by the other man's presence.

"Shima, calm down. I told you, he's just a-"

"Just a friend?! You've got to be kidding me, Aya! Yeah, you guys looked real friendly, alright."

"Stop it."

"No, you stop it. How can I trust you after that? And to think I came here to-"

"To what? Fuck me? Because that's all you want from me these days. So don't you dare pretend like we're together, you made it perfectly clear what you wanted a long time ago."

"You don't understand, I have to work for Ryuu. He needs me. I'm making great money now, you don't know what you're talking about. Everything I've done, I've done for you. I helped you when you had no one and nothing! You're mine!"

"Oh, please! 'Ryuu needs you', my ass! What about me? The last few years, you've been around less and less. You say you're getting better jobs, but you're still with the crew. You're only docked a hand full of days out of the year, and as soon as you get back you swing by my place, expect me drop everything and put out, and then you're off again. You know how many times I've seen you this year? Twice. Twice, Shima. What kind of life is that? Is that what you expect from me? To just be your doormat? If that is what you're looking for, you've got the wrong girl."

"I must have the wrong girl, because I don't even know you anymore. The Aya I know isn't such a whore."

The snarl that crossed her face now, made her mouth tremble. She was so angry, it took all her strength just to suppress her chakra and the urge to punch his ass straight through the wall. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to turn him into a pile of blood and broken bones. Impulses aside, she'd just have to settle for option three.

With a resounding clap, Sakura slapped Shima's wild-eyed face as hard as she could. She never wanted to see him again, not after the way he'd just spoken to her. She'd never seen Shima this angry. And now that he was showing that side of himself, she didn't like it at all. He'd never looked at her with such rage before. The things he said, the way he was saying them... this wasn't the Shima she'd grown close to all these years.

What happened to him?

"You're definitely right about one thing, asshole. You don't know me. Now get out. I never want to see your face again," she stressed through clenched teeth.

As he turned and stormed out through the door, Sakura shut her teary eyes. She wasn't expecting that to happen, not in her wildest dreams. He was out of control, and had crossed the line. She was having none of it, and thought it best to just cut her ties and move on.

She was done with his ass.

Walking over to the door. She locked it, hoping he wouldn't come back later with some bullshit apology in an attempt to get her on her back. At least he knew Kakashi would be here. Maybe his assumption about being a shinobi was enough to keep him away. At least for now.

Her head fell forward against the door, eyes closed as a tear streamed down her face. Hating the fact that she was crying, Sakura punched the door, splintering the wood as a crack appeared in the panel beneath her fist. She could feel her emotions boiling up inside her, craving release. She needed something, anything, to distract her from the hell she was festering in.

Feeling a warm hand upon her shoulder, she jumped in surprise. She had momentarily forgot he was there, so used to being alone. She cringed at the thought of him having been witness to everything that had just taken place. But most of all, she hated that she still had to pretend to be someone else, especially around him, and it was beginning to suffocate her.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," his calm voice soothed.

"Call me that, again," she begged.

"Sakura," he answered without hesitation, turning her around to face him.

"Again."

"Sa–ku–ra," he whispered, smoothing his hands hands over her shoulders and down her arms.

"Again," her breathless words demanded.

Hearing her own name, the sound of his voice, the touch of his hands... it was all too much. She couldn't help but be taken back to another time. Another life.

She was homesick.

She craved being her true self once again, sparring on the training fields, taking missions with her teammates, seeing her friends, the familiar faces at the hospital and around the village. Sakura had tried to keep the thoughts out of her head all these years, but in this moment, she wanted nothing more than to go back.

At the same time, she was terrified.

She was all too scared that it might be like the last time her feet were on its soil. Over time, she began to boil over with curiosity. She wanted to know about Konoha so badly, but swallowed her words every time, terrified of the answers she might find.

If it was still a disaster, she'd hate knowing she still couldn't return, or that maybe she should have went back earlier to help defend her village. Would it have continued this long had she decided to face the trauma that haunted her head-on?

On the other hand, she was petrified that it had long been safe for her to return, and she was wasting precious time staying on the island. Paralyzed with indecision – Sakura remained – stuck between truth and blissful ignorance... trudging forward in a new life, void of anything remotely reminiscent of the person she once was.

But Kakashi's presence was a warm blanket of comfort, allowing her to feel more like herself, affording her a breath of reassurance in such a conflicting time. She wanted him. Tired of denying herself, she reveled in the deep timbre of his voice as it called her name.

Her real name.

Snaking her arms around his neck, fingers sliding through his silver locks, Sakura looked deep into the eyes that were staring down at her. He looked upon her honestly, as if seeing her as the woman she truly was, the real Sakura. His penetrating gaze pierced through her façade like a blade, there was no hiding from this man.

She was tired of hiding.

Staring at Kakashi's face once again, Sakura felt her breath hitch. He was so attractive she could feel her stomach twist into knots just looking at him. With his hair still wet, his long bangs fell down into his face, but beneath his coif, his darkened eyes peeked out, searching for her. A sight that left her utterly breathless.

Closer and closer they moved, each being pulled in by the other until their faces were but mere inches apart. Kakashi felt the burning blush on his cheeks as he was so exposed in her presence, Sakura taking her time drinking up every inch of his face. But he couldn't blame her, he found his eyes drifting down to her full pouty lips, wanting to taste them once again.

The Sakura before him now was a far cry from the girl he had once known. This woman in front of him made his knees weak and his heart skip a beat. Ever since he laid eyes on her at the beach that morning, before he even knew who she was, he was entranced. Finding out that she was a long lost friend, was just an added bonus in his eyes. She was so beautiful and sexy, he found himself wanting her... wanting all of her.

Having thought long enough about their next actions, their lips collided in a blaze of passion. The haste of their kisses was unparalleled to anything either one of them had ever experienced. Kiss after crushing kiss, fueled the fire building between them. Tongues battling, hands roaming, bodies colliding, they were spiraling out of control in the name of urgency.

Kakashi, wanting to explore every inch of her body in this heady mix of lust and need, pulled Sakura against him, his feet pulling them toward the staircase. But as he stepped back, his feet stumbled as they bumped into an item on the floor. Remembering said item he brought down with him, Kakashi broke their kiss, hating the fact that this moment was over. Sakura proved to be an intoxicating distraction, quite a captivating one at that, but they had bigger problems to deal with at the moment.

"What? What is it? Is something wrong?" she panted, staring up at his deflated expression.

"Loverboy left something on the stairs. I think you should have a look."

Reaching down and throwing the black duffel bag on top of Sakura's workbench, Kakashi nodded for her to proceed. Crossing his arms over his bare chest, still clad in only a towel, the copy nin stood patiently, unsure of how Sakura would react at seeing its contents.

Carefully, she unzipped the bag, gasping as she caught sight of the item on top. Protruding from the thin black scarf it was wrapped in, was a white porcelain mask. Dropping the item, as if it scalded her fingers, Sakura shook her head in denial, taking a step back.

"No. This can't be..."

"You know that mission I was on?"

"The pirates?"

"Well, the ones that sunk my ship last night had these on."

"But... these are..."

"Anbu masks."

"I don't understand. Does that mean Shima is Anbu? How? He's been on this island for years, even before I arrived. It doesn't make sense!"

"You've been gone a long time, Sakura. I'm sure you must have many questions..."

"How, Kakashi? How the fuck does Shima have this?!"

"I'm not exactly sure why he has this mask, he's not Anbu. Hell, he isn't even a shinobi."

"Well, when I was captured and imprisoned, I noticed there were suddenly more Anbu around. I'm pretty sure Danzo had been using anyone he could find to put behind those masks. Civilians, rogue nin, criminals... anyone he could get his hands on. The night Sasuke and I escaped, we realized how little skill these new Anbu members possessed. Don't get me wrong, some of them gave us a run for our money, but mostly, it felt too easy. Like they were hired just to wear the mask... I guess Danzo needed the numbers for something big."

"Sakura, about the night you escaped... Sasuke returned and killed Danzo... and most of his men."

"Okay. So why are they-"

"Not all of these so-called Anbu were killed. Sasuke said some of them had raided the labs and taken off with all the supplies and weapons. Including a poison. One that they have been recreating and using on civilians and shinobi, alike. We've not been able to locate them or their hideout, and have been exhausting all efforts for the last few years, with no such luck. Konoha has been preparing for their inevitable return, but with most of our medical staff extinguished and no sample of the poison to research for ourselves, I'm afraid we're on borrowed time."

"Poison? No, it's not possible. I took what was left..." she trembled, eyes beginning to look around in panic.

"They must've had some stored somewhere else then. They've had plenty of time to amass a large amount by now, and everyone is terrified of what's to come. Even with Danzo dead, they've continued with their own plan of creating a biological weapon. No one is sure what they'll do next."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was her worst nightmare. Not only was she responsible for creating that toxin, but she thought she had taken the last of it with her. She had grabbed all the syringes that were left when they escaped the lab that night. She clearly remembered putting all of the syringes in her pouch, all of which, were still accounted for.

All... except for one.

Like a ton of bricks falling from the sky, it hit her. She had used one of them on the man that tried to grab her as they climbed onto Sasuke's snake, Aoda. She had left the needle lodged in his neck, his body falling to the ground before she could completely empty the plunger.

They must have recovered the needle, and used what was left to reverse engineer the deadly blend they were producing now. All these years, she thought it would never see the light of day again. Guilt consumed her as she leaned against the workbench, her whole body beginning to tremble as she cradled her head in her hands.

"This... this is all my fault."

"No," Kakashi argued, grabbing her wrists and pulling her hands from her face. "Listen to me carefully. You are not at fault. No one is blaming you. You can't keep going through life blaming yourself for everything that happened. What you can do now, is help."

"But, how?" her voice cracked.

"Do you still have those samples you took?"

"Yes," she nodded, hands clenching into fists with sudden determination.

Turning on her heel, Sakura sprinted towards the stairs, Kakashi following closely behind her. Taking the stairs two at a time, they made their way up to the dark loft in seconds. Turning on her lamp, Sakura darted towards her nightstand by the bed, sliding it out and away from the wall.

Kneeling, her fingers swept across the baseboard until they found a seam. Using her nails, she was able to pry the panel of the baseboard away from the wall, revealing a hidden hollow. Feeling around the cavity inside the wall, she quickly found what she was looking for. Pulling out an embellished trinket box, Sakura dusted off the top, placing the wooden item down on the bed.

Struggling with the silver latch on the front, Sakura realized she hadn't opened this box in nearly ten years. Of course she was always tempted to visit memory lane, but the pain it was sure to bring wasn't worth the risk. Taking a deep breath, she opened it. Neatly stacked inside the crimson wooden box were her leather gloves, kunai pouch, and headband. Running her thumb over the scored line through the symbol on the metal plate, Sakura couldn't help but feel ashamed.

"You must think I'm scum."

With a confused twitch of his head, Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Why would I think that of you?"

"I abandoned everyone. My friends, the village... you. I just ran away. I'm scum."

"I could never think that of you, Sakura. No one knows what you had to go through, or what you had to deal with all those months. I can only imagine how bad it must have been for you, given the extent of your reaction."

"I was kidnapped and thrown into a prison. I heard that Danzo had killed Tsunade and countless others, but I wasn't there. I wasn't there to help. Then he killed Shizune right in front of me. I watched the life leave her eyes, Kakashi. I watched as a once respected person of authority threatened me with a blade that still had Shizune's blood on it. He would have killed me too if I didn't cooperate. Once I realized no one was coming to help, I just assumed everyone was dead. It felt like the world had swallowed me, stuck in a dungeon underground making weapons for a madman. He used me, Kakashi... he made me do terrible, horrible things to people."

"Sakura," he comforted, grabbing her hand as she fought to hold back the tears, "It's okay."

"I did what I had to do to stay alive. I'm not proud of it, but in that situation, I felt like I had no choice. Everything and everyone that I had come to know and love was gone. It wasn't until Sasuke fell into my lap, that I realized we might have a fighting chance to escape. I was to exterminate him, and I just... couldn't do it. So, I grabbed him and the toxin, and we busted out. Once he told me to run, and to not stop running, I hauled ass out of there and never looked back."

"Sasuke was just trying to protect you, Sakura. He knew you would one day play a critical role. I know it wasn't easy to leave, I can tell just by looking at you now that you are still struggling with that decision. But you can't give up. You must never give up."

"I haven't," she exulted, finding her courage as she held up a syringe from the pouch at the bottom of the box, "I'm going to create an antidote."