Chapter Thirteen

Untitled(For Now)

"I will stay."

Sakura didn't know what she expected Itachi to say or do at her announcement, but she certainly didn't expect what she got.

Suddenly finding yourself tossed over someone's shoulder was a bit disconcerting. She was beginning to think that he had caveman issues.

"Itachi, what are you doing?!"

He didn't reply, which worried Sakura and made her begin to struggle. But he merely swatted her behind with his hand.

"Itachi! Oh!" she cried out when he slowly lowered her down the front of his body and backed her up against the bed.

It was suddenly clear to Sakura what his intentions were. Sakura raised her hands and pushed against his unyielding body. Her actions caused her body to topple over onto the bed. Itachi smirked in response.

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Kakashi stepped through the dimensional tear and looked behind him. He expected Saku to follow him. He actually expected her to be hot on his heels, but that wasn't the case. Well, he figured she'd follow when she was ready. Kakashi shrugged and continued to the place where he had found Saku in his world.

He whipped out his constant companion and soon found himself in the Uchiha district. It was odd to find it bustling with people. It was so alive.

He almost chuckled to himself when he realized that everyone in the district was eyeing him 'discreetly'. Well, not everyone was discreet, some were downright hostile as they stared at him. He normally would have guessed that it had something to do with the Sharingan, but this time he had the feeling that it had something to do with a woman with an unusual hair color. Kakashi ignored them, because they had nothing to do with him. He was here for one reason and one reason only…to bring Sakura home.

He stood outside the door and raised his hand to knock, then realizing it was just Sakura, decided not to bother and just let himself in.

He immediately tensed when the strength of a familiar chakra signature hit him. His body automatically went into fight mode and he had to remind himself that there was no reason for that here. After that, he sensed Sakura's signature and followed it to where she was. And what he found…surprised him.

Sakura's hair was fanned out around her. One of legs was bent at the knee and the other was spread wide open. Between her thighs was none other than Itachi Uchiha. Kakashi's brow rose as he watched the Uchiha's hands roam over his former student, and closest friend's body. At least she wasn't naked…yet.

"Well, well, well. You started off frolicking in lilies and ended up romping in bed with—" Kakashi double-checked just to make sure it wasn't some other Uchiha. He couldn't be too sure in this alter world. "Uchiha Itachi."

Sakura froze. A moan had almost erupted from her lips, but the sound of Kakashi's voice killed it.

Yes, Kakashi was something of a buzz kill, and at the moment she was glad of it. Things were moving a bit too fast for the likes of her with the Uchiha. Sakura began pushing at his chest in order to get him to move, but he wasn't going to budge without force and chakra.

Itachi turned his head and looked at the Copy Ninja. "Do you mind?" Itachi asked, his voice frigid. He knew the moment that the Copy Ninja had entered the house and he had hoped he would just leave, especially when he saw Sakura in his arms. Jealousy tended to be a powerful motivator. But he had no such luck.

"Not at all. Go right ahead," he replied, leaning in the door frame and showing no intention of leaving.

It was then that Sakura realized that it was her Kakashi standing in the doorway. The perverted bastard. That knowledge motivated Sakura to use a bit of chakra and force Itachi off her.

She was off the bed in seconds. Her joy at having him wih her again overwhelmed her irritation. "Kaka-sensei!" she said, launching herself into his waiting arms. Kakashi wrapped his arms around Sakura and held her close momentarily, before pulling back and ruffling her hair. She swatted at his hand, but he paid her no attention.

She pulled back her arm and punched him in the shoulder.

"Pervert! And I told you not to laugh about the 'f' word," she yelled.

"I couldn't help it. Who knew that the Hokage's apprentice, the scourge of Team Seven, gave in to such childish impulses? You're so much trouble. We're going to have to tie a bell around your neck so we don't lose you again."

Sakura huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "I am not a cow!"

"You sound like one when you're sleeping." Sakura's eye began to twitch.

Itachi watched the exchange cautiously. He realized just by Sakura's behavior that this wasn't the Kakashi he was used to dealing with. It was obvious from her mannerisms that they were close. No, it was obvious that she loved this man.

Deeply.

"Whatever, Kaka-sensei. How did you get here, anyway?" Sakura asked, trying to take control of the conversation that was going downhill rapidly. It would just evolve into one of their normal spats, and she could already feel herself losing her self-control. All it would take was one hard shove and she'd snap—and for some reason unknown to her, she didn't want Itachi to see her like that.

Little did she know that he would and soon.

"I went to the infamous field, of course. You know the one you fro—"

"Stop it," Sakura said, cutting him off.

"Frol—"

"Stop it!"

"Frolic—"

"Kaka-sensei! Please!" Sakura said, glancing at Itachi. Kakashi, who saw the glance, realized that he was definitely going to finish his sentence.

"Frolicked in."

"Argh!" Sakura screamed, hitting him again. "You are impossible!"

"It's why you love me."

Sakura hit again with enough force to knock him off balance. He vaguely thought his arm would be numb by the time they made it home.

"Okay, Sakura. Let's go home. Say your goodbyes to the would-be mass murderer."

Sakura frowned. "Don't call him that."

Kakashi paused momentarily, looking at the Uchiha. He recognized that petulant tone. He had heard it before when he had scared off one of her would-be boyfriends. The ones that had swarmed around her before Sasuke returned home. Before the infamous battle that had changed her.

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Flashback:

He had heard a wild rumor. He was certain it wasn't true, but it wouldn't hurt to check it out. The Yamanaka girl was talking to the one—whose last name he couldn't remember for the life of him—about Sakura.

"Yeah, Sakura just left. Apparently she has a date with Kiba tonight, so she went home to get ready."

Kiba. Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

So upon hearing this piece of information that for some reason Sakura decided not to share with him, he decided to investigate. (And by investigate, that meant masking his chakra, breaking into Sakura's home, and waiting to see if the Inuzuka boy showed up).

Unfortunately, for him, he did.

The conversation was brief. Kakashi opened the door before he even had a chance to knock. He quickly stepped outside and shut the door behind him, thankful that Sakura was taking forever to get dressed.

"So, you're taking Sakura out." Kakashi said, his arms folded over his chest, studying the boy critically.

Kiba stared at Kakashi cockily. "Sure am."

"That's nice. But before you do that, I need to lay down some ground rules."

"What are you? Her father?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"Worse," Kakashi replied. "I'm her friend." Kakashi wished at that moment he was inclined to show his face, because he would have given Kiba a smile that frightened old ladies and small children. And mongrel dogs.

"As I was saying, rules. Don't touch her. That means no hugging, no kissing, not even any hand holding—because I'm quite willing to break every bone in your body."

"You don't frighten me."

"I don't? Well…" Kakashi leaned down and whispered something in Kiba's ear that was so horrifying, so frightening that to this day, he still has nightmares about it.

But he didn't dare touch Sakura on that date. Kakashi knew because he observed the whole thing. Of course, he never asked Sakura on another date again.

Eventually, Sakura found out what he had done and she was less than pleased. Hence, he was familiar with Sakura's petulant tone of voice when it came to her love interests.

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Kakashi smiled to himself. Good times. Good times.

"Kakashi-sensei! I mean it."

"Of course, Of course." Kakashi glanced over at the Uchiha, knowing that he couldn't take him in a fight…if he fought fairly. He also had a good idea of where this was all leading, but decided to deny it for a while longer. The thought of letting go unsettled him a bit. "Let's go, Sakura."

"Um, Kaka-sensei…"

He waited quietly for her to finish. She looked like she was working up a bit of courage. She also looked a trifle nervous. Sakura took a deep breath and reached for his hand.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei. I need to talk to you in private."

Their hands intertwined immediately, as if it were something that they did often. Itachi frowned at this. There was no way in hell he was going to lose her this time. He had no intention of letting them out of her sight even for a moment.

"Whatever you say to him," Itachi spoke up for the first time. "You can say in front of me."

Itachi's frown was immediately forgotten when he saw the irritated look on Sakura's face. He smiled then—or what accounted for a smile in the stoic Uchiha.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, woman."

Kakashi's eyes widened. She was going to blow up at any second now…

And then she didn't. She immediately calmed down, looked up at Kakashi and said, "I'll get my things, Kaka-sensei."

It was at that point that Kakashi wished he had some popcorn because the show was just getting started.

"You are not going anywhere." Itachi's cold voice cut through the air.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Sakura whirled around fire dancing in her eyes.

"Someone needs to or else you'll just do something foolish."

"Now, I'm foolish. Well, I guess you're right. Since I thought about staying here with you."

"Listen to reason and stay in a woman's place."

It was at this point in time that Sakura's body launched itself across the room.

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After some time, Kakashi decided that it was time to stop the fight. Although he enjoyed the show, Kakashi discovered a small piece of information about Itachi. He liked provoking Sakura.

He asked himself what type of sick bastard gets a good time out of provoking an innocent woman?

Wait.

Kakashi thought for a moment.

Once he realized he and Itachi had something in common, he decided to watch the man a little more closely.

Upon observation, he realized that his little kunoichi's relationship with the Uchiha was just plain weird. They fought almost the entire time he was there. He knew from experience that Sakura was just eating it up, too. She thrived on the controversy. He had never met a person who liked to argue more than Sakura, but what he found even more odd was that she liked to be stumped. She liked being pushed to a point where she couldn't think of a reply. He began to wonder if it was her special brand of flirting. That is what he had observed was going on between her and Itachi.

What he found a bit disconcerting was the fact that her relationship with Itachi was reminiscent to his relationship with Sakura. Only minus the groping. Kakashi shuddered at the thought. He briefly considered that maybe Sakura had been in love with him but immediately dismissed that line of thinking. They were more like brother and sister than anything. Nothing would ever change that.

So he eyed the Uchiha like a proper older brother taking his measure to see whether or not it would be necessary to hire some thugs to take him out. (Because Kakashi was by no means stupid and he certainly wasn't going to take him on himself. He'd a least get a few people to wear him down first before stepping into the foray. The things he did for Sakura.)

Coming to the conclusion that it was more trouble than what it was worth, Kakashi walked over to Sakura grabbed her by the waist, just as she was about to land one of the many punches she had thrown Itachi's way.

He so had bad timing. Or good if he had been the Uchiha.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

"Yes, Sakura?"

Her chest was heaving, her face was flushed, the bedroom was destroyed and Itachi had a small smirk on his face. Sakura's eyes took in that smirk and although she found it sexy, it was infuriating as well.

"You pulled me away."

"Yes, I did."

"I am not happy with you."

"I know Sakura, but we need to talk."

"Okay." Kakashi released her and she straightened her clothes and turned and walked out of the room. The shinobi followed in her wake. He was a little afraid of her fast mood swing, but he figured that if it switched again, she'd probably take it out on her companion, not him. So he was good.

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"I'm staying here." Sakura glanced at Itachi's smug face, then rephrased her sentence. "I'm staying in this world."

"Sakura, you know we need you at home. Why?"

"Because I can't marry Sasuke."

"No one's forcing you to."

"Think about it, sensei. Everyone's expecting me to. Don't try and say that you weren't, because I know better." Kakashi shifted guiltily. "I don't love him. Not like that, anyway. And if I go home, then we'll end up married."

"Sakura, you can just tell him how you feel."

"You know how he is. He's pigheaded and stubborn. He won't listen to reason. He's an Uchiha."

Sakura tossed a look Itachi's way, but he said nothing at her thinly-veiled insult.

Kakashi held up his hand. "I see where you're going with this, Sakura, but that doesn't solve our problem. He wants to come here. Saku wants to come home. If you stay here and she comes home as well...what, then? There has to be balance in both worlds. You're putting our very lives at risk. And even if you're not, what about Sasuke? Am I to tell Sasuke that I misplaced you? Her? He's going to know what happened and it will all revolve around betrayal. And you know how Sasuke gets when he feels betrayed…"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. I know. You have to understand, Kaka-sensei, that I made a promise to myself. I promised that I would be everything that you, Sasuke, and Naruto needed me to be. Right now you need me to be here."

"Is that what we need or is that what you need?" Kakashi asked, glancing at Itachi.

"You know better than anyone that I would lay down my life for each and every one of you. Don't you dare accuse me of being selfish. He has very little to do with this." Sakura ground out. She had started to say nothing, but she would not lie to Kakashi. That was a pointless endeavor.

"I just want you to be sure of the reasoning behind your actions, Sakura. If things don't work out…"

"I'll be fine. You'll be fine. They'll be fine. I'll make sure of it."

"Sakura, don't make promises you can't keep."

"I never make a promise that I can't keep."

Kakashi reached out and ruffled her hair. "What am I to tell Sasuke?"

"Tell him…tell him to trust me. Tell him that I have never let him down before. I'm not about to start now."

Kakashi stared at Sakura, noting the sincerity in her eyes.

"Okay, Sakura. I trust you. You know that, right?"

"I know, Kaka-sensei."

"And you have to remember there must be balance in both worlds."

"I know, Kaka-sensei. I'll find a solution."

Kakashi nodded. "Well, you work your angle from here and find a solution. When I get home I'll speak to the Hokage." Kakashi paused for a second not wanting to speak his next words but knew they were necessary.

"You do know that this is probably the last time we'll ever see each other."

Tears sprang to Sakura's eyes at his pronouncement.

"Don't say that."

"You have to be realistic, Sakura."

Sakura bit her bottom lip and didn't reply. Kakashi walked over and knelt down in front of her, where she was sitting on the sofa. He leaned his forehead against hers, leaving her no choice but to stare into his eye. They said nothing. Only looked at each other. Neither moved. Neither made a sound.

He didn't know which one of them was the first to pull away, but one of them did and Kakashi stood to leave. He was almost at the door when he felt her small frame hit his body. Her arms wrapped around his waist and held on tightly.

"Thank you, Kaka-sensei, Thank you for understanding."

"Be happy, Sakura."

"I will."

Her arms slipped away and he disappeared into the night.

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She looked despondent. It made his heart clench just to see the lost look on her face. He wanted to swear because it looked as if twice now he had lost to Hatake. Not that it was a game—or maybe love was a game, a war, or whatever, but this time it hurt so much more. This time the woman didn't claim a piece of his heart. She took the whole thing, and now he was left with nothing. He was going to have to send her home. He wouldn't--couldn't do this a second time.

"Itachi, what's wrong?" Sakura looked at his face. It was so fierce and disgruntled that it was a little scary.

"You love him."

"Of course I do. I told you that."

"No, you're in love with him."

Sakura stared at him with her mouth agape.

"What?"

"It's so obvious, Sak—"

He was cut off mid-sentence when a pillow from one of their sofas struck him in the face.

"That was childish."

"Well, your statement was stupid, so we're even. How could you think I was in love with Kakashi-sensei? That is just gross. He's like the closest thing I have to a sibling. I'm not her."

Itachi frowned. Her words held a ring of truth and no uncertainity. Still, his logic was hardly refutable--

"I still don't know what concern it is of yours, anyway. I'm not the one engaged. You are."

"Sakura—"

"You should know that while I agreed to stay in this dimension, that doesn't mean I'm staying in this house. I'm moving out as soon as possible."

It was then that Sakura noticed that Kakashi's chakra signature had finally left. Sakura rolled her eyes. He was always spying on her. For some odd reason, he really didn't trust her judgment when it came to men. Although, it had been quite some time since she had immersed herself in the dating game...

"No."

If she wasn't going to join Hatake then he'd be damned before he let her leave. Itachi hated when he doubted himself. What was it about this woman that made him feel so...much?

"Didn't you hear what Kaka-sensei said? Saku is coming home. Am I supposed to stay in her home as if this is my place and not hers?"

"I said no."

"Are you trying to provoke me?"

"…not this time."

This time? Did that mean all their fights were—

That was all Sakura had time to think before he grabbed her and carried her to their guest bedroom.

Itachi and his caveman tendencies.

After being wrapped in his arms, she couldn't think of much else. Not that she wanted to.

Sakura sighed snuggling into his embrace. Tomorrow was another day.

A/N: Thanks to cutecrazyice for beta-ing this for me. If you find any mistakes it's because I went back and added stuff after she had sent me the corrected chapter. :p

The purpose of this chapter was mainly to convey the playful nature of Kakashi's and Sakura's relationship. I hope I got that point across.