The Veil Of Mystery
A/N: It's been a long time since I've updated this story. I say that a lot, don't I? Well, I'm trying to change that and believe me, it's a hard process. It's crazy how sometimes inspiration can come smack you in the face and say, "Hey, write this shit down. You don't need to be working on anything else right now." And then other times, my inspiration won't answer me and kind of leaves me hanging.
As you might be able to tell, today was one of those smack-in-the-face sort of days.
I never said that was a bad thing though.
Hope you guys enjoy this little piece.
Chapter 2: Crazy
"Where you needin' to go?"
Kakashi was incredibly surprised to find that he was able to hail down a cab in less than five minutes. Normally, all the cabs were filled to the brim or didn't pay him any attention. He considered himself fairly lucky for his good fortune. Maybe the rest of the day would turn out better.
Well, he could only hope.
As Kakashi settled himself into the seat behind the front passenger's seat, he replied, "Can you please take me to the Tokyo Mental Rehabilitation Center? And please hurry."
The driver gruffly answered, "I'm afraid we'll have to go through the slums if you want to get there soon." He then tapped the change counter on his dashboard and gave Kakashi a dastardly grin. "It'll cost a bit extra since it'll be a longer trip that way."
The silver-haired man rolled his eyes and waved the driver on. He seriously didn't give a damn whether or not it cost more, but he could tell his cab driver was excited about it. He knew he just needed to get to the rehab center as soon as possible.
As the cab took a quick turn, Kakashi started his descent into the slums of Tokyo. Discolored and ratty-looking buildings, severely cracked streets, and local markets met his gaze. He watched as small children ran through the questionable market stalls in front of the large, deteriorating apartment complexes. He couldn't help thinking to himself that he hoped if he ever raised a family that it wouldn't be near here. This part of Tokyo had become infamous for daily homicides, rapes, and other evil crimes.
Kakashi started to lean against the nearest door as he tried to relax himself. His eye felt like it had started to throb again and he wasn't enjoying it to say the least. Closing his eyes for a moment, Kakashi just focused on the way the car moved along the pavement smoothly besides the random bumps every few blocks.
Suddenly, the car stopped at a neck-breaking speed and the door Kakashi had been leaning against was flung open. He tumbled out and landed on his head painfully. His upper body at his mid-back folded and was hanging out the car as his legs hung in the air awkwardly.
"Urggghhh…"
Scratch that. Today was going to suck.
Kakashi's hands twitched as he strained his neck to look up at the sky. He was seriously considering pulverizing the person who had just helped him crash into the ground. His scar was aching even more so now and whatever tranquility he had been relishing was out the door with the rest of his body.
"Oh. Sorry. I was in such a rush I didn't see you there."
Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise when he found himself looking up a woman's skirt. He unconsciously blushed and awkwardly frowned as he noticed that she was wearing hot pink panties.
A tapping noise attracted his attention away from her private regions as his eyes found the young woman's black heels next to his head. His eyes widened in horror as she lightly tapped his forehead with the front of her heel angrily.
"Get up. I have to go. I don't have time for this."
Kakashi scrambled to crawl back into the cab, but before he could move over to the seat behind the driver, the woman pushed him over there with annoyance. She slammed the door and told the driver to take her to a local business office that Kakashi hadn't heard of before.
As Kakashi finally adjusted himself to his new seating arrangement, he finally fully glanced at the woman. In return, she glanced over at him with her eyelids lowered considerably. Grey-colored eyes met his gaze with a hint of annoyance and impatience. The woman was dressed in regular business attire with a black blouse that hugged her body perfectly and a matching black skirt that came just above the knee. Her royal-blue hair was what really caught his attention with most of her longer layers of hair pulled up into a high bun while the shorter layers framed her face. He knew that he really shouldn't be surprised by her hair color. Japanese citizens had an unusual love for colored hair and it matched their culture perfectly. He was kind of happy to see that she was able to pull it off though unlike others who tried crazy hair colors.
"I have to drop off this guy first." The driver called back with his croaky voice. Kakashi noticed his wry grin as he spoke through the rear-view mirror and heard the woman quietly groan in irritation. She then turned to face the window, her elbow propped against the window sill with her chin resting in her hand.
Kakashi, unsure of what to say, looked out his respective window and copied the same pose that she made. He hadn't meant to get on the wrong foot with the attractive woman, but he felt almost inclined to make things better between them. His inner voice chided him, telling him that shit happens and that he needed to move on. The woman was of no importance to him and that he should just be glad that he got a sneak peek at her since probably not that many men did based on her attitude.
Oh, stop it. Dear god.
Kakashi almost shook his head at his more primal self. He needed to stop indulging on those erotic novels that the infamous Jiraiya wrote. If he didn't stop reading that kind of trash, he might end up being convicted of peeping just like the author. And he didn't want that, did he?
"Where are you headed that's so important? You look anxious." The young woman didn't even bother to look away from her view as she asked him the question. She sounded rather bored, but Kakashi couldn't quite read her well enough to tell.
"I'm off to the rehab center to visit a patient. I'm running behind."
That last tidbit of information seemed to pike her interest as she finally turned to look at him. She had an eyebrow raised inquiringly. He turned to face her, his arms folding against his chest. He nodded to show that he was serious.
"I'd be careful if I were you. The people in there can tear you apart." Her eyes shifted up to the ceiling of the cab as if she were pondering. "I would hope it isn't that new addition. Oh, what's her name? Haruno Sakura? God, I hear she's something awful."
Kakashi didn't choose to answer. He let the silence answer for him.
Her pale, pink lips formed into a sly smile. Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly in response.
"Well, hopefully no one gives you another scar like that one. You wouldn't want to be caught off-guard, would you? I know for certain that that Haruno Sakura has done many terrible things and I don't think killing her adoptive parents has been the worst. Hopefully, you won't have to deal with her though."
Kakashi had to keep himself from narrowing his eyes further. He was starting to grow suspicious of this woman. He also wasn't entirely thrilled that she had mentioned his fresh scar either. It wasn't normal for a person to poke fun at a stranger's abnormalities. Well, not unless they wanted a punch in the face.
"What…was your name again?" Kakashi replied coolly.
"Konan. And you are?" Konan's smile still held.
"Your stop is here. That'll be $15.75." Kakashi withdrew his wallet and pulled out exact change so he could hand it to the driver. The driver snatched it from his hands greedily and proceeded to usher him out with a hand twirling in the air.
Kakashi didn't even bother to look back at the woman as he stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk. Konan sat calmly as she awaited an answer. Her striking grey eyes watched his every move like a hawk. She also wasn't ashamed to admire his trim, muscular body underneath his cloak.
"Hatake Kakashi."
He shut the door by kicking it closed behind him with his foot. Almost immediately, the driver sped off with the mysterious woman in the backseat. Kakashi took a deep breath and exhaled it loudly.
She made me uncomfortable as hell, but goddamn was she hot!
Kakashi started walking forward, his hands deep in his cloak's pockets. A soft smile graced his lips unconsciously.
All women are nuts. I'm sure even Yugao is fucking nuts too.
"Helllo there, sir. Did you have an appointment with a patient?"
Kakashi was still in disbelief that he had entered this establishment. It hadn't been the first time that he had visited a patient here, but it always gave him chills when he walked in. He would be perfectly happy with never returning if he could. Sadly, a job was necessary in today's busy world and this particular job had just put his life on the line. Even more disturbingly, for reasons he did not know.
Kakashi glanced down at the blond receptionist seated behind the front desk. Her icy blue eyes shined happily at him as he walked over to her. He couldn't help thinking that she seemed rather young for working in a place like this. She was definitely new here since he had never laid his eyes on her in his previous visits.
"Yes, I'm here to see Haruno Sakura."
Without a skipping a beat, the cheery woman nodded and started typing away on her keyboard. He had the urge to frown. It was kind of scary to see someone so chipper in a rehab center. Then again, he supposed it was better to have a positive attitude like she had rather than a sour one.
"I see that you actually arrived on time for once." Kakashi turned to look behind him and noticed one of his old friends sitting in a chair in the waiting area. Might Guy, an investigator under the Tokyo Police Department, moved to stand from his seat and flashed a dazzling smile in Kakashi's direction.
"Yeah, I had to pay the cab driver a bit extra to make sure it happened. Otherwise, I might have missed this appointment."
"I was surprised that you gave me a call this morning. I wasn't expecting you to ask me for any help. You should consider yourself lucky that I was just about to end my shift."
Kakashi noticed the bags under Guy's eyes and sheepishly smiled in response. Rubbing the back of his neck, Kakashi said, "Yeah, I'm not sure how I got so lucky either. I figured I might need some authority figure to make sure that I could get in without any problems. Sorry if I sounded rushed. I was trying to get out of my office and grab a taxi while I was on the phone."
Guy rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Oh, you act like that should bother me. I know how busy you are." He pointed at Kakashi's scar and smirked. "At least I can say I'm more handsome than you now!"
Kakashi answered him with a smirk of his own. "I guess I'll have to tell you about that later, huh? Hey, at least some chicks think battle scars are attractive."
Guy was about to say something, but the secretary waved her hand to draw their attention.
"Ah, yes. You got here right on time. I can lead you to her room. You'll have to speak with the doctor before you can speak with her though. Will that be okay?"
"Yeah, that will be great."
"Hey, Kakashi, don't worry about being authorized to talk to her. I already spoke with the doctor. You owe me one since her doctor about tore my head off though. You and I should meet for drinks later this week." Guy called as Kakashi started following the nurse. The two men exchanged farewell waves before Guy left the premise.
Kakashi was almost in disbelief as the secretary stood, walking over to a large, wooden door next to her desk. He couldn't help noticing that she wore rather…unusual clothing for a receptionist. The woman wore a tightly fitting, purple blouse and an extremely short black skirt. He had to resist raising an eyebrow. How was that allowed in here? Wasn't there some type of dress code that needed to be followed?
Oh, you shouldn't even complain. I bet her boss doesn't complain either!
Kakashi wanted to face palm himself for his thoughts as the blond led him behind the door. He took one last glance at the waiting area before following her. The waiting area seemed to call to him as if he were not meant to go any further. Oh, he wished he didn't have to venture farther into this nuthouse.
He didn't want to face the possibility that the doctors would suddenly decide he was nuts and trap him in here too. It was unlikely, but the fear was still there. And it would probably always stay with him as long as he pursued a private investigation as a career.
"Thanks for bringing him here, Ino. You can go back to your desk now."
The smiling blond nodded enthusiastically, her long blond hair following her every move. Kakashi and the doctor watched as she retreated down the long, sterile white hallway and Kakashi still hoped that he had a chance to escape with her. When he turned to the doctor, he noticed that she had been watching Ino leave intensely.
Kakashi brought a hand to his mouth and cleared his throat loudly to get to her attention. The older, blond doctor turned to look at him with annoyance. Her amber eyes seemed to penetrate him and he couldn't help wanting to shirk away from her heavy glare.
"I can't believe the receptionists that they hire here. They're all airheads and I just want to beat them senseless. Especially that one." She sighed, tapping the clipboard that she was holding with a pen. "I guess I should just be happy that she has a good heart though."
Kakashi shrugged, saying, "Right…So, what can you—"
"Anyways, my name is Tsunade. I've been watching over Haruno Sakura since she was admitted here. I have to say that she is quite an unusual patient." Tsunade paused before saying, "I don't think I've seen you here before. What's your name?"
"My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm a private investigator and I had an appointment to speak with Haruno Sakura about her adoptive parents' murder and her past as well."
SLAM.
Kakashi found himself shoved up against a nearby wall, his feet dangling off the ground barely. His eyes widened in shock as his hands struggled to remove Tsunade's tight grip on his collar. He couldn't believe the kind of strength that this crazy woman possessed. What the hell was she? Not many women could hold his weight up with just one arm!
"You listen to me, punk. I know that that girl has done a lot of awful things, but you better think twice before you start interrogating her. She has reached stability and I would prefer if she stays that way. I'm already pissed that you're allowed to see her when you really shouldn't be able to. You ought to consider yourself lucky since you have that bowl-headed doofus as a friend. "
"Either way, don't you dare try anything funny! Do you understand me?"
Tsunade banged Kakashi's body against the wall once. He groaned painfully as his back ached. He watched as several other nurses and doctors passed by him without even a glance. They totally disregarded the fact that Tsunade was assaulting him. Was this normal around here or something? It was absolutely absurd.
"Yeah, yeah, I understand." Kakashi grumbled out. In response, Tsunade dropped him suddenly and walked over to pick up her clipboard off the floor. Kakashi landed on his feet shakily and proceeded to brush himself off lightly. He watched as she moved a stray bang out of her face and turned back to face him.
"Do you treat all of your visitors that way?" Kakashi murmured as she ushered him farther down towards the hallway.
Tsunade glanced at him while they walked side-by-side. She gave him an obviously fake smile, showing that he was testing her patience again.
"Only the stupid ones."
Ignoring the stab at his ego, Kakashi made himself ask, "Now what can you tell me about Haruno Sakura? Did she ever give a motive?"
Tsunade held a hand up for them to stop walking as she beckoned him towards a nearby door. He noticed right away that it was made entirely of strong metal and was meant to hold some of the more dangerous clientele. He figured she would be held in solitary confinement and he had been right. He didn't blame the staff for not wanting her to interact with the other patients.
"She doesn't really talk that much. I will admit that she's the most responsive to me and that I've been able to chat with her, but Sakura doesn't seem to want to talk about her adoptive parents whatsoever. She ignores me when I try to bring that up. For now, we've decided to work on her mental stability. I can tell that she's a smart one just by how she acts."
"A smart one?"
Tsunade's lips formed a thoughtful, almost sad smile. Kakashi could already tell that Tsunade had grown to care for this particular patient. Most normal doctors wouldn't react as violently as she had to him for wanting to ask questions concerning a case. Most would usually just warn him of the consequences in a bored, indifferent voice if he were to act out of line and then let him go on his merry way. He had to admit that he kind of respected Tsunade for passionately showing her fondness for the girl.
"Yes, I have looked at her high school and college records. She is one of the brightest and most intelligent of her class. I'm a bit surprised she dropped out of college since that was a few months before the crime. She was studying to be a surgeon. I'm sure she could have made it too if it weren't for this ordeal."
"Couldn't she also be crazy?"
"Aren't we all?"
Kakashi blinked at her blankly as she reached for a pair of keys in her white lab coat. As Tsunade withdrew the keys with a small jingle, she started to speak again.
"I think you have to be a bit crazy to survive in this world. I think if you looked inside yourself, you would agree with me."
Kakashi offered a wry smile, saying, "Well, I've already seen some of your crazy side."
Tsunade unlocked the door and offered a knowing smile. She opened the door a crack to peek inside and then stepped away as she swung it wide open. Kakashi was nearly blinded by the bright light coming from inside the small room. Tsunade jokingly waved her hand towards the room as he collected himself.
"And hopefully I'll be the craziest person that you have to deal with today."
Yugao raised a wary eyebrow at the blond boy in front of her. Technically, he was a young adult, but he didn't quite strike her as a man. The whisker-like lines on his face made him seem boyish and she wondered if he was even out of high school yet. What she seriously couldn't get over was his ridiculous attire and his untidy, spiky blond hair. Seriously, this kid was wearing an orange jumpsuit. Was he insane?
"And…you are?"
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm here because I want to help out Kakashi-sensei!"
Kakashi-SENSEI?
"What do you mean? Like with paperwork and the like?"
Naruto's face scrunched as he shook his head wildly. "No, no, no. I meant that I want to help him with his investigations. I want to be his partner…or at least his assistant to start."
Yugao's hands found themselves rubbing against her temples. She couldn't see Kakashi wanting to deal with this kid. He was loud, obnoxious, and totally out of his mind. There was no way that he would fit in around here. Her purple eyes glanced around the tiny office space. And there wasn't any room for another person in here!
"How old are you?"
"I'm twenty-one years old. I graduated high school and everything."
"I'm not sure if we even need your services, Uzumaki-san. Kakashi is kind of a loner anyways. I'm just here to help him with his paperwork and sort through his emails."
Naruto frowned and didn't say anything for a moment. The two just stared at each other in utter silence. Yugao felt a vein starting to throb in her forehead. Didn't this twerp understand what she was saying?
"Well, I'm not taking that for an answer until Kakashi gets here."
Naruto proceeded to sit himself down on her desk cross-legged. Yugao's eye twitched in astonishment as he pulled out his cell phone and started to get comfortable. Her mouth gaped open, but no sound came out.
"What—What are you doing?!"
"I'm waiting here until Kakashi-sensei comes back. I'll talk to him about my employment."
"No! You're not allowed to do that!"
"You're not my boss."
Yugao banged her forehead against the desk in frustration. Why had she buzzed Naruto in? She could have been home by now and relaxing with a nice book or getting some errands done. But no, she was stuck here with this outrageous boy and his ridiculous bright orange jumpsuit.
She stood up and tried shoving him off the desk. Naruto giggled when she couldn't get him to budge. He shifted to face her, crumpling some papers on her desk. She scowled at him and let out an annoyed groan.
"Why can't you come back tomorrow? He'll be back tomorrow. I don't even know if he'll come back here for sure tonight."
"I'm busy tomorrow. I had some spare time today. That's why I came in."
Yugao could tell that she wouldn't be getting the boy to leave anytime soon. She plopped back into her chair and leaned back against the chair. She stared at the ceiling, the back of one of her hands dramatically resting against her forehead.
"Can you at least get off of my desk? There's extra chairs over there."
"Nope. I'm pretty comfy."
Haruno Sakura was a rather average-sized woman with long pink hair. Her long locks of hair splayed all about her shoulders and hid most of her face. From what Kakashi could see, she had striking emerald eyes that watched his every move as he entered into the room. To his surprise, she was not in a straitjacket and wore a small, loose gown that had short sleeves and hung just above the knee.
She stared at him from the bed in the corner quietly. She was as far away from the entrance of the room as she could possibly be and didn't say anything as he walked over to her. Her back was against the wall with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her long, pale legs and arms caught his interest as well. He wondered if she had ever been athletic in school.
"Hi, my name is Hatake Kakashi. How are you doing today?"
Sakura lifted her chin from behind her knees and tilted her head to get a better look at him. He wished he could tell what the girl was thinking. It was almost hard to believe that she was over twenty. While she was in the gown, her normal womanly curves didn't show as prominently and she might have looked like a boy without the long hair. Her age also didn't show since she seemed like she was trying to make herself look as small as possible.
Kakashi could tell that she didn't want to be here. He couldn't say that he blamed her. However, he did find it strange that she was acting more like a victim than an offender. This girl had supposedly murdered her adoptive parents. If she was as bright as Tsunade had said, she would have known the consequences. Hell, he couldn't believe that someone this intelligent couldn't pull off a murder and get away with it. He would have thought that she could have covered up her tracks.
Wait, wait, don't get ahead of yourself. There is a difference between street smarts and book smarts. She probably didn't have enough street smarts to pull this kind of crime off.
Sakura didn't answer him for a moment. She just continued to stare at him and observe him. He noticed the calculatingly look in her eyes and could tell that she was analyzing him. She was probably trying to size him up and determine whether he would be a threat or not. His inner voice let out a laugh. God, he shouldn't have been considered as much as a threat as Tsunade. No wonder the girl might be extra wary if a doctor like that was working here.
"You need to get out of here now."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her in surprise as he folded his arms against his chest. He tilted his head to the side as she had.
"Why should I?" He murmured.
"You'll die too if you don't get out of here."
Kakashi took a step closer to her. She didn't move from her curled up position against the wall. She kept staring at him with her mysterious emerald eyes. He stared back seriously.
"Why do you say that?"
They stared for a long moment at each other. She then broke her gaze from him and tucked her chin behind her knees. Her arms moved to wrap around her head.
"Just get out of here. Please."
Suddenly, Kakashi flinched as blaring alarms started sounding outside the room. A beeping above his head caught his attention and he strained his neck to look above him. A small part of the ceiling slid over and allowed a sprinkler to drop down and start sputtering with water. His normally wild, silver hair and cloak started to feel heavier. He walked over to the metal door and tried to open it to see what was going on.
To his surprise, he could only open it a bit since nurses, doctors, and patients were running all about and were slamming into the door. He could see smoke moving along the ceiling of the hallway and could smell burning ash.
"Hey! What's going on?" Kakashi called out to a nearby doctor as he barely grabbed onto the sleeve of their shirt and pulled him over. The doctor gave him a crazy look since Kakashi resembled a patient trying to escape their cell. Kakashi hurriedly fished out his old detective badge and driver's license and flashed them at the doctor. The doctor temporarily relaxed and nodded in acknowledgement.
"A fire started towards the back of the building. If I had to guess, it would have been the cafeteria or maybe the recreational area. We have to evacuate patients as quickly as possible since the fire is spreading at an alarming rate and we don't know if it might reach the boiler soon. Please get out as many people as you can. Now, I have to go!"
Before Kakashi could catch the doctor, he ran off and disappeared amongst the chaotic crowd in the hallway. Someone else slammed against the door and it made him bounce back into the room. He glanced at Sakura, who still hadn't moved.
"We need to get out of here."
Sakura didn't show any signs of moving anytime soon, so he walked over to her and grabbed her arm. Her eyes narrowed at him as she fought to take her arm back. However, he was too powerful for her to resist and was forced to stand up. He dragged her towards the door and she started to throw a massive fit. She kicked, she screamed, she tried to punch him, but it didn't stop him from throwing himself against the door and out into the crowd of people moving about in the hallway.
Kakashi gritted his teeth in frustration as she bit his forearm. He wasn't going to let this girl go. He was going to find out what the hell was going on and why she had seemed to know that this building was going to succumb to some sort of disaster.
As people rushed past him, they totally ignored Sakura's body being dragged on the floor. She had stopped screaming to bite him and he could tell that she had drawn blood. He made his way back towards the waiting area, dodging doctors and patients alike. More often than not, the doctors were trying to catch the panicking patients and take them to safety. Above the blare of sirens, Kakashi could hear screaming and yelling as he kept trudging on.
"Will you stop biting me? I'm trying to save your lousy ass!"
Kakashi shook his arm roughly in an attempt to get her to stop biting, but she didn't stop. It was growing more painful and he was growing angrier.
"Seriously, Sakura, stop!"
A nearby doctor's office's window shattered and covered them in glass. A few nurses screamed in terror behind Kakashi and flew past him, nearly knocking him over. Kakashi winced as a few pieces scratched his face. Sakura finally stop biting him to yelp in pain as several cuts adorned her body.
Where was Tsunade? Why wasn't she here to take care of Sakura?
Kakashi, Sakura, and the other occupants in the hallway all shuddered when the building shook violently. The floor beneath them vibrated just as violently and forced them to their knees. Kakashi heard someone yell out that there had been an explosion somewhere in the center and that everyone needed to hurry up evacuation immediately.
He looked down at Sakura and noticed that she was clinging to him unconsciously. He almost groaned out of disbelief as he carefully picked her up and let her rest against his chest. Kakashi couldn't believe that he was doing this, but it had become a priority to get out of this place. The last thing that he needed was to let the woman that may hold his life in her hands perish.
"If you bite me again, I swear to god…" Kakashi growled as he ran down the hallway and tried to keep his balance. The ground was start to vibrate more violently as explosions started occurring all over the building. He glanced back at he reached the door to the waiting area and his eyes widened. A giant fireball of wicked flames was forcing its way down the hallway and engulfing everything in its path. It was fast approaching and Kakashi didn't think twice to rush through the door and sprint as fast as his legs could take him towards the entrance to the rehab center.
Intense heat touched his back as he lunged out of the rehab center. He could feel flames trying to caress him as he fell to the ground. Sakura landed besides him and gasped out painfully. He forced himself up to his hands and knees and threw himself over her as the glass from the waiting room windows burst. He breathed heavily as glass pelted him and struck his body. To his relief, Sakura was reasonably safe under him and hadn't been harmed.
Police sirens met his ears as he struggled to his feet and picked Sakura back up. He knew that she couldn't walk on the pavement with glass strewn all over. Although feeling quite winded, Kakashi made his way to the street to meet with the other doctors and patients that had escaped the blaze. He turned to face the rehab center and sighed as he noticed the entire center had been engulfed in the flames.
Nearby, Ino's cheerful attitude finally broke as she cried quietly into her hands. Kakashi frowned silently at her sobs. He had to admit that he felt bad for her. She had not lost only her job, but probably some of her coworkers and friends as well. If he had known her better, he might have went as far as to try and comfort her.
He looked around for Tsunade, but wasn't able to find her. He desperately hoped that the insane doctor hadn't been caught in the fire. She seemed to actually care for Sakura's wellbeing and he knew that was exactly what the girl needed in her life. It wasn't that he didn't care for the girl himself; it was just that he barely knew her and as far as he knew, she might just be a threat to him.
He shifted Sakura in his arms to look at his forearm and sighed when he noticed the blood trickling down his arm. He glanced at her in annoyance, but she didn't say anything. Her eyes were too entranced by the flames on the building.
Just as Kakashi was about to relax, shots rang out in the street behind him. A nurse beside him crumpled onto the ground and cried out in agony. His head whipped behind him as he turned to face the attackers. An arm was extending outside of a black car and was holding a pistol. He couldn't tell the make or model, but he knew enough about it that he and Sakura needed to get out of here. The safest place that he knew would be his office. It would be closer than the regular hospital which was a few miles away. If he could make it there, they could lay low there and then he could drop her off at the hospital later.
He was off running again as the crowd scattered in every which direction. The police started to retaliate and shoot back at the car from behind their vehicles. More shots rang out and a few pedestrians fell to their knees as a bullet hit their arm or leg. Kakashi hailed down the nearest cab car and jumped inside. He yelled at the driver the address of his office and demanded to be taken there immediately.
To his surprise, Kakashi had been graced by the gods with the same driver he had had earlier this morning. He growled in response when the driver started asking questions about the injured girl in his backseat and told him that it didn't matter to him.
"Just fucking drive, will you? Do you want a bullet through your head too? There are some madmen out there shooting into a crowd!"
The driver rolled his eyes and grunted in irritation. "You better be paying me extra for this."
"FINE. Just drive."
Sakura had already curled up into a ball again and was leaning against the other side of the car. Kakashi could tell she was shaking and sighed. He didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to comfort a fucking murderer too? He had just saved her life! What more did the gods want from him?
As the car rolled into motion, Kakashi tried to make himself relax. He couldn't believe this nonsense. So many questions were ramming into his skull and he just wanted some answers so it would stop.
"Did you know about this?" He whispered softly.
Sakura's eyes shifted to him and then down to the floor of the cab. So that was a yes. She definitely had known something like this was going to happen. He supposed that he could wait until his office to ask more questions. He didn't want to make a bigger spectacle than he already had with the driver.
The driver's eyes moved to look at him through the rearview mirror. He let out a rough laugh as he drove through the streets of Tokyo. Kakashi couldn't help wanting to duck tape the man's mouth and put a bag over his head. His ugly personality matched his ugly face. It looked as though he had had a bit of trouble himself in his life. Large stitches covered his face and Kakashi had to make himself look away. He supposed that he should consider himself lucky for only having a small scar rather than a giant one like the driver.
Kakashi glanced at the girl beside him once more before switching his gaze to the view outside of his window. God, he seriously hoped that Yugao wasn't still at his office. He didn't want to explain this to her quite yet. Hell, he hadn't even told her about his scar, but knowing Yugao, she had probably noticed it easily.
It's only a scar over your eye. Totally not noticeable.
Kakashi let a hand fall over his face as he resisted the urge to sigh.
God damn it, he seriously hoped that Yugao had gone home.
A/N: It's been a while since I've updated this story, huh? Well, I've been dying to update it for the last week or so. This story probably received most of my attention since my muse has been saying, "Hey, you should totally get working on that story. Here's a few ideas. Now run with it!" I hope that it was worth the wait.
On a side note, I've been working a bit on ATCBW and The Inside. I don't think I'll be able to get the next chapter for ATCBW out before Halloween, but hopefully this'll make up for it a bit. This one got exciting pretty quick, huh? What do you guys think of the characters and the personality that I'm giving them? Kakashi might be a bit OOC and Sakura is extremely OOC right now, but well...she has obviously seen shit by the way she acts. Don't worry, maybe she'll begin warming up to people. ;)
Anywho, please tell me if you like the story so far and please review! I always love reviews. Thanks for reading, guys.
SharinganAnbuSakura