Chapter II - Peace

Waking up was a bad idea, decided Sakura as her dry eyes ached and itched and refused to open. Her mind was fuzzy and memory didn't serve her at all. She had no idea where she was or what happened. The first could be found out by forcing her eyes open, but that seemed like too much effort at the moment. It didn't smell like the hospital, and the bad she was laying in was soft and comfortable, the comforter atop her was warm and cozy. However, she wasn't at home. Her own sheets smelled of the lavender scented fabric softener she liked the best and her pillow was smaller and harder. The prevailing scent here was sandalwood with a hint of…. Kakashi…

Kakashi? Where did that come from?

The same scent always surrounded Kakashi, a heady mix of the forest after rain, the tangy smell of evergreen, something earthy and warm and the unmistakable scent of a male, nothing too strong or disgusting, simply… Kakashi. There was no other way to describe it. She loved that scent; it was familiar and comforting. Just like Naruto always smelled of ramen and industrial soap, Sai's scent was dominated by the sharp smell of ink and oil paint, Tsunade was a curious mix of sake, wildflowers and old dusty books. Those were things she loved and was comforted by, the smell of her family.

Then Kakashi's worried face flashed in her mind. That could have been a dream, but she could almost swear that she'd seen him bent over her in the hazy recollection of waking for a moment from her fever induced dreams.

Steeling her resolve, she forced her sticky lids open and blinked at the dark ceiling in her line of sight. She gathered her bearings for a moment, and then looked around. It was Kakashi's bedroom; she recognized it in an instant. She'd only been there a couple of times, but she knew nobody else owned shuriken printed comforters and dozens of orange books stashed in an overflowing bookcase. On the nightstand to her right was a steaming cup of tea, a tall glass full of water, and two pills on a small piece of paper.

Lastly, her eyes landed on her host. He was sitting in a chair by her bedside, his ever-faithful Icha Icha Paradisu in hand. His charcoal-grey eye was focused on her.

Ignoring the sense of vertigo threatening to throw her back on the bed, she sat up and flashed a small, weak smile in his direction. "And they say chivalry shriveled up and died a long time ago," she joked weakly, her voice barely audible.

His eye creased and she could outline his smirk beneath the mask. "I must be a relict, then," came his smooth reply, laced with just a bit of teasing and heavy with relief, she must have worried him.

"The age would certainly fit," she found it in herself to joke and he chuckled, not bothering to hide how glad he was to see that her spirits were up, even if her body was still weak.

"Now, now, Sakura-chan, I'm not that old, and what happened to the respect?" Kakashi teased, creasing his eye and closing his book.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura croaked and coughed weakly. Falling into banter with Kakashi was always effortless, welcome and easy. Sometimes he was her everything, mentor, colleague, leader, confidant, best friend. The rock she broke against, her strength.

"You used to respect me, remember?" he asked with a pitiful voice and she smiled. This was their favorite game.

"Really? I can't seem to recall something like that. Are you sure you're not confusing yourself with somebody else? A grown man reading porn and hiding his face isn't exactly someone a smart, strong kunoichi should or could respect."

"You hurt my feelings," he mumbled and she could hear the suppressed laugh in his highly amused voice.

"Such a good liar you are. Too bad, it could never fool me. I know you too well."

"That you do," he whispered and handed her the steaming cup of revolting smelling tea. "This will help your throat and the fever. The burning will disappear as soon as the inflammation goes down. You've gotten it pretty bad, Tsunade-sama was angry when she saw what condition you were in."

She nodded and curiously sniffed at the muddy brown liquid. Scrunching her nose in disgust, she stuck her tongue out, but forced herself to drink it. Strong herbal medicine rarely tasted or smelled good. Mostly it was disgusting and smelled of wet dog, like this particular mixture.

Kakashi laughed a bit as her complexion turned green, but she prevailed and drained the cup. Out of morbid curiosity, he'd taken a sip of the mixture after boiling it, and had almost thrown up. Tsunade had warned him that Sakura might protest, but he was to force it down her throat if need be. It was a nasty cold that could end fatally if not treated properly.

Taking the cup from her shaking hand, he handed her the water and pills. "Vitamins and something to help the headache you'll be assaulted by in a few minutes," he said almost cheerfully and she glared half-heartedly but swallowed the pills gratefully and drank the water greedily. She was parched, especially after the medicine from hell.

"So, what happened?" Kakashi asked after a few moments, helping her lay down, and drawing the comforter up to her chest.

She turned her head to look at him and shrugged. "I have no idea. The night before last, I couldn't fall asleep thanks to a slight burning in my throat, but I ignored it and didn't do anything against it. It didn't go away, and it only got worse last night, to the point that I had a feeling my mouth and throat were on fire. I've never been sick, so this is as unexpected for me as it is for you."

His only response was a thoughtful, "Hmmm…" before he turned back to his book. After a few minutes, he lowered the book again and fixed her with an inquisitive look. "Maybe you've been poisoned."

She immediately recognized the lilt in his voice and realized he was joking, but it made her think. "I've been working in the poison ward lately. Shizu-nee is on a mission and I'm covering for her. But we all wear our uniforms there, and they pretty much cover us from head to toe, add to that masks and protection glasses and you can't distinguish male from female, not to mention get yourself poisoned."

"Nothing is impossible, Sakura. Especially in our chosen profession," he chided gently. "You, more than anyone else, should know that poisons can get you in innumerable ways."

"True," she conceded with a slight nod. "Though with my symptoms, it would be something that kills rather slowly and painfully, but can be treated easily if detected in time. Three days is not too late. Let me think."

He stayed silent as she pondered what kinds of poison she'd come in contact the last seventy-two hours. He knew from Genma's stories that Shizune always takes a universal antidote after working in the poison ward. The work there consisted of developing new poisons and study those unknown to them and trying to counter them. Sakura and Shizune were mostly skilled on that area, the pink-haired medic more so than her sempai, thanks to her superior intelligence and book-knowledge. Shizune had more experience, but she needed longer identifying specific not every day types of poison. Sakura was a walking, talking medical journal and thus a lot faster.

That she proved at that moment as she perked up and hit her forehead with her palm. "Shit," she cursed. "The last poison I worked on the day before yesterday. It activates when it is exposed to human skin, it is absorbed in through the pores and enters the blood stream. It's slow and not very effective if not in large quantities. I accidentally spilled a bit of it. It evaporates quickly and forms tiny particles that stick to skin. It probably stuck to the bits of skin not hidden by the mask and glasses."

Kakashi's eyes widened and he stared at her in shock. Typical Sakura, getting poisoned and not even noticing it. So scatter-brained.

She looked at him again with a sheepish expression. "Where's my apron?" she asked and he raised an eyebrow.

"In the living, but you're not going anywhere," he countered and she laughed.

"No, no, I have the antidote there. If you get it for me," she smiled and he sighed. She was going to get herself killed over such an idiotic mistake.

"Sure," he stood up and exited the room. Sakura exhaled and slumped. If Tsunade ever found out about this, she was screwed, her mentor would never let her hear the end of it and probably send her to school again. Great Sakura, her Inner leered, annoyed by the clumsiness of her Outer counterpart. You'll get us killed like that one day.

Oh, shut up. Sakura growled mentally and huffed. She really needed to get her bearings together.

Kakashi entered the bedroom then, her apron clinking and rustling in his hands. He handed it to her without a word. After a short search, she found the right vial, attached a needle to it, took off the cap, and jammed it in her arm without as much as a wince. Kakashi on the other hand did cringe and look away; he hated needles with a passion.

After a second Sakura lay back down with a contended sigh. Intrigued he leaned over her. "Better?"

She nodded and smiled up at him. "The antidote starts working immediately. I'll be completely fine within an hour."


Barely one hour later, she was perky again. The clammy paleness was gone, replaced with her usual healthy, rosy hue. The feverish glow disappeared from her eyes and she breathed without problems again. She was out of bed before he could react, skipping across the room, and straightening his bed cheerfully.

"Sorry about the inconvenience, Kakashi. And thanks for taking care of me," she'd smiled and walked out of the room and said she'd made him dinner as thanks. Before he could protest, she was already rummaging through his cupboards and fridge, humming happily. She'd also threatened, bribed, and blackmailed him against telling her small mistake to Tsunade. He'd given in before he'd actually understood what she was talking about.

Now he sat on the couch and watched her with the pretense of reading porn. She moved silently and swiftly, like expected of any kunoichi, but he also noticed that she walked mostly on the balls of her feet, setting her heels on the ground first when the step was made. That made her movements more graceful than he'd seen from anyone else. She also tended to turn her feet outside when taking a step and that added to the hypnotizing sway of her hips. That infinite grace of her movements was a statement that she was either a ninja or a dancer. However, the latter would be more easily believable given Sakura's exotic coloring, her pale, porcelain skin and slight almost fragile build. Only the sharp intelligence in her eyes and the fact that she could break mountains with her fists belied such a belief.

She turned to him and smiled and he took his eye off her legs and glued it to his book.

"You don't have all that much in here, Kakashi. You don't cook often, do you?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow and he smirked.

"I can't cook, Sakura-chan, at all. The last time I tried the rice cooker blew up and I burned the stove and oven completely. Cooking plus the Copy Ninja equals disaster."

Sakura laughed outright and cocked her hands on her hips. "Nice to know that not even you are good at everything. You seem more human that way." She turned back to his small kitchen and brought out a large pot he didn't know he owned and the new rice cooker he'd bought on a whim, and set them on the coffee table. His kitchen and living area were too small for a dinning table and chairs, not that he needed them. "Get the plates and spoons; I made some curry and rice. Hope you like it hot." She winked and he hastened to the kitchen, fighting the hotness in his face, urging it to go down. That last sentence was much too suggestive for his tastes.

They ate in relative silence, with Sakura occasionally saying something and Kakashi grunting or huffing a replay. She wasn't bothered by it, being used to such behavior from him, Sai, and years ago, Sasuke.

Uchiha Sasuke. She hadn't thought about him for a while. Having gotten over him in the two years Naruto was gone to train, she'd only spared any thought on him when a mission called for it.

She still wished for him to come home, that she didn't love him anymore wasn't equivalent to her not caring for him at all. He was still her teammate, friend, and part of her precious family. One lost brother she had to get back to make Naruto happy. The blond sunshine will never be truly happy before his best friend and rival has returned home.

Shaking off the thoughts of her former teammate, she concentrated on the man next to her, blowing on a spoonful of too hot curry. He was such a paradox, a walking-talking contradiction. Appearing laid-back and relaxed when he was strung as tight as wire, cold and unfeeling when emotions were at boiling point and completely aloof and uninterested when concentration was at its highest peak. She knew that he cared for all of them, maybe not for Sai as much for her and Naruto, but still. He still cared for Sasuke and wanted to have him back as much. Most of all he wanted all of them to be safe and happy. But that was to be expected from the most selfless man in the Five Great Shinobi Nations. He was the one man who never knew any selfishness, when even Naruto had his moments; Kakashi always put others before his own well-being. It was one thing she loved and hated about him.

He would die for any of them, he'd made it painfully clear on that first mission and fight against Haku and Zabuza. That would be fine if he would accept the same sacrifice. But he did not. There was a time a year ago when he'd been badly wounded on a mission; aside from blood-loss, multiple broken bones, and a partially collapsed lung, he'd also over-used his sharingan and his chakra was as good as gone. If she'd had only little chakra less to give, he wouldn't have made it. Afterwards, when she'd woken up, he'd scolded her like never before. She'll never forget what he'd said: "Never do that again! Do you understand, Sakura? Your life is more important than mine!"

She'd slapped him for that and cried. They didn't speak to each other for days before Naruto forced them to talk it out. She understood she really did. He was scared of losing someone else close to him, but he also had to understand that she feared the same. After losing Sasuke she'd become almost obsessive in keeping her teammates and friends close and safe. It was the biggest reason she'd become a medic, so that she'll never lose someone she loved again. And that included him, most especially him, since he tended to go on suicide missions and not be very considerate of his own health. They'd reached a tentative understanding after he'd promised to be more careful. She had the feeling that if it came down to it, he wouldn't keep that promise, and she'll have to break hers, but that was okay, because they also promised to look out for each other and not let it get that far.

Heaving a sigh and blinking her rapidly drooping eyes, Sakura set her plate on the coffee table and folded her hands in her lap. Kakashi continued to eat without paying her any heed, or taking his eye off his own half-full plate. A little bored, very sleepy and in need of noise, of any kind, Sakura decided to strike up a conversation.

"Kakashi?" she started quietly and he glanced at her, taking another spoonful of rice and curry. "The first training of Team Seven… You came almost three hours late. I would really like to know why. You know, simply out of curiosity."

He looked at her doubtfully for a second before figuring that it would do no difference if he told her or not. But first… "I decided to race a snail."

For a moment, her jaw dropped and she stared at him with such disbelief that he barely contained his laughter. Then she snapped her mouth closed with an audible 'click' and glared at him with such fire he almost thought she'd slug him first and ask questions later. Luckily, she did not. Weakened or not, her fists were heavy and hurt like hell. Naruto's fear of her was ore than justified.

"And the snail won, or what?" the rage in her voice palpable and he decided to drop the teasing after one last joke.

"Eh… Something like that. Almost. I caught up to it at the last moment."

Sakura took a deep breath and counted to thirty, because God knows that ten or even twenty wasn't enough when it came to this man. Sometimes, she really hated him. Well, almost. She would if it weren't for that insane attraction to him.

"Of course you, Kakashi. Of course you did. Now tell me the truth, please."

He chuckled and shook his head. "There's nothing to tell. I didn't do it on purpose. I visited the monument and then went to read in the Yondaime's ear, I like doing it sometimes. I simply forgot the time. That's all."

Her jaw dropped once again and he knew that he'll never be able to lie at her; she'll always know the truth that he simply had a knack for forgetting things and losing the track of time. But maybe it was for the best. Sakura is, after all, the one person who knew him most. Now she knew even more. And for one it didn't scare him, with Sakura it simply felt right.

Twenty minutes and a cup of tea later, Sakura was sound asleep in his bed and he was drinking a beer and staring out the window. In three weeks, he'll have to move. Behind the Hokage Mountain is a huge house built for the leaders of the village. The Second Hokage had built it with his two hands for his brother, the First Hokage. Kakashi had been in that house often when Minato-sensei had been alive and reigning as the Fourth Hokage. Now he would have to live in that house as well. He didn't know if he could.

Heaving a sigh, he stood from his chair and wandered to the bedroom. For a few minutes, he stood in the doorframe and looked at the peaceful girl bundled up in his sheets. Such a big heart in such a small, beautiful female. He'd never known someone like her. Not even Rin measured up. Sakura is prettier, smarter, more spirited, stronger physically and mentally, and she'd managed to snag his heavily protected heart and she wasn't letting go. He didn't want her too. This girl is someone he could love someday. And that day was getting more near with each moment he spent with her.

Shaking his head at the ridiculous thought process, he chuckled and entered the room. Searching for reading material in his expansive collection, he decided that if she stopped by from time to time, than maybe, just maybe he could bear living in that big house.

It never occurred to him that in less than twenty-four hours their peaceful world would shatter and that he may never see the girl he almost loved again.


A.N./ The second chapter, wow. It almost didn't get done on time. I was sick, still am, damned flu. But here it is. The next chapter is the beginning of the first arc of the story. The drama starts there. I hope you like this as well and will stay tuned for chapter No.3.

Thank you very much for your wonderful reviews, I loved them.

Also thanks to Jasmin Kaiba who edited this and is strengthening my back every time I get insecure.

Anyway, I hope you'll review this chapter as well.

Thank you,

Julie