A/N: I ran into a couple more time-travel fics recently, and they make my heart go aflutter. :) Please forgive the lack of action in this chapter. The plan was to combine this and the next chapter into one, but I'm splitting it in two since it's already taking me long enough to post.
Rewrite
Prisoner
The group of mini wanna-be ninjas scurried around the Academy training area, shoving one another and throwing shuriken at tree stumps. The fact that most of them seemed to be pissed off at some person or another wasn't very reassuring. Someone was going to get hurt. Where were the Academy teachers to watch this? Why didn't they send these brats home before dark?
Kakashi spotted a single pink head in the group, his target for the night. The younger version of Haruno didn't seem as violent as some of the others, but she did seem to have a thing against blonds. It was quite understandable for the kid in orange. He wouldn't shut up. Kakashi hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on with the one in purple.
"That's not fair! The wind was blowing! I want another shot!" shouted Orange.
"The wind was in your favor, loser!"
"You're never going to get it right!"
"Why don't you just drop out, already?"
Harsh.
"I'm not moving from here until I get another turn!" he yelled, plopping himself firmly in front of the stump.
"Fine by me," sneered one of the kids, already taking aim at his head.
"Go ahead! See if you can touch me!" he called, pointing a thumb at the goggles on his head. From this angle Kakashi could now see it was the nine-tails kid. That explained all the animosity towards him.
"Naruto, get your ass away from the target!" yelled Purple.
"Yeah! Listen to the Pig!"
At this point the two snapped their heads to glare at each other. Kids these days had some serious killer intent.
"Do you think he's gonna live?" one of them asked curiously, munching on a bag of chips. He definitely looked like an Akimichi.
"Doesn't he always?" And that was Shikaku's clone.
The sneering kid positioned himself to throw. Orange made no sign of moving, eyes squinted and chin held up high. Suddenly the others didn't find the whole ordeal too amusing.
"Leave him alone, he's not worth it," said one of them, throwing the jinchuuriki a cold glare and trying to steer the other boy away.
"What, you chickening out?" he taunted, not budging.
"Naruto, move!" The mini-Haruno ordered again.
"I'll teach this loser to stop messing with our practices!"
"C'mon, Kei, this isn't funny anymore. We can leave him here and practice at my place."
The brat's sneer became even fouler. The Naruto kid held his ground, with apparently no sense of self-preservation. Now the entire group was yelling at him to move, most likely out of worry for the trouble they would get into if he was hurt, as opposed to actual concern for his life. Two of the kids kept tugging at the other boy's sleeves, but he shrugged them off.
Then he threw the shuriken, straight at Naruto's face.
This kind of disrespect for shinobi code was exactly why he failed so many genin. He could go down there now and destroy every hope that brat had ever held onto of becoming a ninja. Intimidation worked nicely with these types, but it was too late now that Umino Iruka had made his arrival.
The man's figure appeared in front of the blond, and he flung the weapon to the side. He looked very pissed off.
"Run!" yelled one of them.
Only a couple of them shot off, but Iruka had already gotten a good look at their faces. The rest stayed put, some yelling out explanations, others looking slightly guilty. The pink one at least had sense enough to look shocked. Kakashi ran off before he was noticed.
He had expected that she would be excited about his return, and that she would immediately want to know what he had learned and how the prospects looked on her going back home. But instead she looked guilty.
Whatever she had done, it had something to do with whatever she was concealing under that couch pillow on her lap.
"Pakkun," he called, voice demanding an explanation.
"She stole a book," he stated, betraying her with ease. Kakashi's heart shot up to his throat.
"Thanks," Sakura said. "Remind me never to tell you a secret."
She removed the pillow from her lap to reveal an old paperback underneath, and the older jonin's heart returned to its regular position. Thank the heavens she hadn't touched Icha Icha!
"What are you doing with that?" he commanded. But this bit of anger was nothing compared to what would have happened had that book had an orange cover.
"Making origami with the pages, of course."
She had been much more likeable earlier in the day before he left, cleaning out his refrigerator and all. Now she was stealing his stuff and making her sarcastic remarks again, something only few people could get away with even after knowing him for years.
Perhaps he could restore the harmony by tying her up in a corner somewhere.
Sakura was reacting to the undoubtedly aggravated look in Kakashi's eye when she said, "I didn't touch anything, I swear!" she defended, mistaking the look for anger at having entered his room. Now that he thought about it, that was also a problem he needed to consider. "I grabbed the first thing that didn't look like porn and ran back out."
"Where were you to stop this?" he asked Pakkun.
"It was before I got here. But I think she's telling the truth. There's not enough of a scent in your room for her ta have been there long," he explained.
"It's not Pakkun's fault. It's not like he's big enough to have stopped me even if he'd been here."
"Hey!" he yipped.
"No offense," Sakura offered kindly. Pakkun wasn't appeased.
Kakashi sighed, but he was reasonable enough to see there was no damage done. Most unfortunately, she was human, too, and it was understandable for her to become bored without anything to do for extended periods of time. He ran a hand over his face tiredly.
Taking advantage of her opportunity, Sakura changed the subject. "Did you learn anything?"
"I looked through the entire kekkai genkai archives, but time-jutsu were only mentioned in passing. I'll report to the Hokage tomorrow and figure out the next step."
He looked up to see her face had completely fallen, the usual, annoying animated look in her eyes gone. Again, it made him feel a bit guilty at the teacher comment he had made earlier that day.
"Pakkun, I'm going to need you to come in again tomorrow."
Sakura snorted. The poor dog had better things to do than pretend to babysit her.
"Do you want me ta stay the night again?"
Kakashi shrugged. The true answer was yes, but he respected the ninken's likely wish to go home.
The pug stood up and stretched himself before scratching the back of his ear. Kakashi dejectedly understood that it meant he was leaving.
"Alright, then. Just gimme a call when ya want me."
Then he was gone, leaving the two jonin alone. Sakura stared at Kakashi. He looked everywhere but at her.
"How long does it look like I'll be here?" she asked, knowing perfectly well that her guess was as good as his.
He shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. He didn't like the pleading look she was giving him. It wasn't like he had the ability to magically make everything better.
"There's no way to say at this point." Kakashi walked into the kitchen, knowing full well there was nothing there, but unable to help himself from scrummaging around. After two doors he gave up, and walked back out to where the depressed aura was emanating. "For the time being you can wash your clothes downstairs," he offered, feeling in a generous mood.
And then her guilty expression returned. Sakura tried to smother it and look him in the eye, but her eyes betrayed her and flashed to where her freshly folded clothes lay.
Why wasn't he surprised?
"Right."
Pause.
"I'll go find food."
Kakashi spun around toward the door, ready to get the hell away from the nuisance.
"Can I come?" Sakura asked, already getting up.
"We can't risk you being seen."
Sakura sunk back into her seat with a groan and buried her face in her hands in frustration. The Hokage had ordered her to lay low, and there was no arguing with that.
Kakashi had stories about people being confined within a small area with nothing to do and no access to the outside world. They didn't have happy endings. Kakashi himself had lost much of his sanity in similar situations. He had very little of it left, and if this girl was to lose hers as well while living here...
"Actually, I think I'll go see the Hokage right now."
That reanimated Sakura, but she still looked a bit doubtful. "Isn't it kind of late? Is he in?"
"He will be," he muttered darkly.
That worked for her.
"Ok, I'll go get ready," she said, already making her way to the restroom where her freshly washed clothes awaited.
"I didn't say you could go," he said.
"If you leave without me I'll just catch up later," she chirped, closing the door behind her.
Kakashi promptly walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. He was disappointed to find that one, that didn't make her go noticeably faster, and that two, she knew exactly where to find him when she was done.
"Alright, I'm ready!"
They both shot off to the tower, the older jonin trying his best to keep her a good distance behind.
It wasn't working.
"You look about the same, you know?" Sakura began conversationally. "Slightly younger maybe, but it's kind of hard to tell with that thing on your face. The only reason I'm sure you're not the fifty year old Kakashi I know is because you have a lot less wrinkles."
For the next few seconds all Sakura heard was the blowing wind and their steps on the rooftops of Konoha.
"What do you do with all your free time now, since you don't have a genin team?"
More footsteps.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!"
"That's irrelevant to the current mission."
"So?" The distance between them increased, only making Sakura push faster. "Fine, if you're not feeling talkative how about yes or no questions?"
Wind.
"Ok, that's a yes. Next question. Is your refrigerator always that empty?" When he didn't reply she answered the question herself. "That's a no, of course. There were signs of past life in there. Does that mean you cook a lot?"
It was hard to tell with the wind rushing past her years, but Sakura thought she heard him sigh. After some silence, he finally muttered a "No."
That seemed to stump Sakura for a bit.
"Wait, you're not telling me you eat that instant stuff then, are you?"
"Yes."
"But that's not real food!" How did he manage to stay healthy? No wonder his recovery periods were always so long. The man was getting no nutrients! "How have you survived?"
Kakashi didn't reply.
"Do you at least cook sometimes?"
"Yes."
"Are you any good at it?"
Silence.
"You have to be consistent here, sensei! You can't just pick and choose which questions you answer!"
The distance between them increased again, but she was right beside him soon enough anyway.
"Do you eat out often?"
"Maybe."
"That's not on our list of acceptable answers."
A split second later came the familiar pop of a clone being dismissed, and Kakashi disappeared right before her eyes.
"Damn it, Kakashi!" she yelled into the night, drawing attention from a few of the villagers in the streets below.
Sakura was at the tower in no time. She headed straight for the window of the Hokage's office, not in the mood to deal with clerks, assistants, and crappy security. Kakashi was already in there, and the Third was opening the window for her. He looked slightly irritated and he wasn't wearing his hat. That screamed "off-duty" to Sakura. How Kakashi had gotten him in there so fast was beyond her. She scrambled behind Kakashi and assumed a formal stance.
"Hokage-sama, my apologies for summoning you here so late, but I've learned something important about Haruno Sakura's situation."
The Third wasn't buying any of it, particularly the apology. And hadn't he already addressed this case this morning? What was so important that it required a second meeting that same day?
"Well, what is it?" the Third prompted when Kakashi didn't immediately reveal his knowledge.
"I've learned that we know nothing on the matter," The Third stared at him passively, not the least bit impressed by this fabulous revelation that had forced him back to work. "As of now there are no useful leads for the case, and absolutely no way of getting her back."
Sakura looked at Kakashi as if he had just challenged the old man to a duel for his title.
The Third sat behind his desk and laced his fingers together. He closed his eyes as he thought of what to say.
"I suppose we knew this from the start..."
Now the female jonin looked at the Hokage as if he had accepted Kakashi's challenge. This was the first time she heard any of this!
"But that's not what you said earlier. You said you didn't know how long it'd be!" Sakura began, feeling worry at her pit for the umpteenth time.
"I don't," Kakashi replied.
"But you at least knew it wouldn't be a couple of days!"
"Haruno," he said softly, back still to her. It was an indirect order to calm down.
Sakura shut her mouth, now painfully aware of how the Third quietly observed them. She clenched her fists at her sides, a multitude of uneasy feelings crowding in her chest. She was placing the utmost faith in Kakashi and the Third. Though she worried what would become of her, at some level she had been feeling a calm assurance that all would be fine. But perhaps on some level she was wrong to have such a degree of confidence for something so serious.
"Sakura," began the Third. "This is not to say there is no way of ensuring your return. We are merely expressing that with our present knowledge it is not possible to predict over how much time the situation will elapse."
Sakura bit her lip and stared at the Hokage. Did he really think there was still a chance? Or was this just to placate her? She nodded, not necessarily to express her agreement or understanding, but more as a way of letting him know she would keep her mouth shut for now. Satisfied, he turned back to Kakashi.
"I have not had much time to do searching of my own, but I did find this," he said, handing the jonin a scroll. He began scanning through it as the Hokage briefed him on the information.
"The information is limited. It happened a few years after the founding of the village. A civilian man wandered around with claims of coming from a century into the past. An Ueda family was involved with the case, but claimed no association with the man. Perhaps tracking down descendants of the family will prove of some use, though any useful information may have been long forgotten."
"What became of him?" Kakashi asked, closing the scroll.
"I have not been able to locate further records of his case," the Third replied. "This information alone is likely of minimal use, but perhaps a family myth has survived that might help guide you."
Or maybe not, Sakura thought. It was all just a wild goose chase while the Hokage figured out what to do with her on a more permanent basis.
"I will attempt to see what I can learn from another shinobi nations. Unfortunately, requesting such information up front will not be seen favorably. This task will require the use of more creative means. I will keep you informed of any progress."
At this point the proper response would have been for the two to nod and go back home, but instead the Third found Kakashi staring at him, and Sakura staring at Kakashi pulling on his ear.
"Hokage-sama?"
"Kakashi?"
"Is it absolutely necessary to keep her completely out of sight?"
Sakura blinked at his back. So he wasn't completely oblivious to her misery.
"I'm afraid we do not know how her actions might affect our time, or even her own. It is best to keep interaction with others at a minimum."
Kakashi scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out the best way to get the Hokage to concede. Sakura took a step towards Kakashi, as if her small action would help.
"It's her third day here and the world hasn't exploded yet. So perhaps a bit more exposure is fine?"
The Third joined his hands and placed his chin on top of them, waiting for more.
"I mean, keeping her locked up with me is as good as putting her in prison."
Sakura frowned. I bet that's what you're angling for.
The Third frowned in thought. There was silence, and Sakura felt compelled to hold her breath until his next words. Kakashi did not see the situation in the same light, as demonstrated by his imprudent cracking of his neck.
"Perhaps keeping her out of sight is excessively cautious on our part."
Kakashi cocked his head to ask for a more specific answer.
"Very well, then. I will allow you to move about at both of your discretions, but keep interaction limited," he said, the last part directed at Sakura. "Particularly those close to you."
Sakura gaped. "Seriously?" she squeaked. Well, that had been awfully simple. Why no one had thought to ask for her freedom earlier was beyond her.
"Kakashi, be sure to keep an eye out when she's not home."
Other than the slight deepening of his hunch, his disappointment was not completely obvious.
"I will continue doing what I can from my end. In the meantime, keep searching the archives."
The entire mission seemed to have a theme of Sakura wandering around with Kakashi running right after her. The process did not seem the most efficient.
"What can I do?" she asked.
"It is best for your involvement to be limited at this time. We cannot have you become too involved in the shinobi facilities out of the blue without arousing attention. I assume you have given Kakashi all the details he may require to work on his own?"
The first time she had told him the story he hadn't really been listening. Since then their interaction had been kept to a minimum, only enough for Sakura to ask for the essentials and to pester him enough to keep herself sane. It was his fault that they hadn't talked about anything at all. As such, she directed an accusing glare at the jonin's back. Caring little about what Sakura was doing and more concerned about effectively hiding his thoughts from the Third, Kakashi redirected his gaze up to the ceiling.
"I have a general idea of what happened," he said defensively.
The Third sighed. "It is necessary that you two collaborate if your task is to succeed."
Sakura smirked. She was the good kid here.
"Now get out of my office."