A/N: Just a reminder that ichi, ni and san are the numbers one, two and three in Japanese.
Sakura decided to go to Tsunade to pick up shifts at the hospital. She told herself it was because she needed to feel useful after such a long period of inactivity, but the fact that the hospital was the last place Kakashi would ever willingly go did make the idea particularly appealing. She figured she could at least do simple tasks like taking temperatures and filing paperwork, if Tsunade still didn't trust her to use her chakra.
She found the Hokage in her office at the hospital, poring over a scroll that spanned the length of her desk. She looked up when Sakura entered, and for a moment her eyes seemed to look right through her.
"Tsunade-shishou? I'm here to report that I'm feeling much better and am ready to return to active duty, in whatever capacity you need me." She noticed her mentor's eyes were rimmed with dark circles as she examined Sakura pensively.
"Sakura," Tsunade began, and her hesitation made Sakura nervous, "How close would you say you and Kakashi are?"
Sakura felt like someone had tipped a bucket of ice down her back. A thousand fears and questions bubbled to the surface. Did Tsunade know? How did she find out? Was she about to punish Sakura for everything she'd done? She felt she deserved it, but she still cringed inwardly. And yet, Tsunade's expression didn't seemed disappointed or angry; merely thoughtful. Sakura decided to play dumb.
"What do you mean by that, Shishou?"
"I mean, he was once your teacher, then your captain, then I believe you two were estranged for quite a while. And yet on this last mission you went as far as breaking the medic's code to save him. I just wondered if you would consider yourselves friends."
So she doesn't know about being a civilian, Sakura thought to herself, though she couldn't yet allow herself to relax.
"We're… comrades. In a battle, I'd trust him with my life, and I believe he trusted me with his when I was healing him. I don't know if you could say we're friends, though."
Tsunade seemed to contemplate this answer. "The other day you asked if you could be the one to inform him of the potential transplant opportunity. How did he respond?"
Sakura frowned. "Actually, he seemed far less convinced than I thought he'd be. I… honestly don't know what he'll decide."
"The thing is, the Hyuuga's condition is deteriorating rapidly, and if he doesn't decide soon, I worry this opportunity will pass him by, and his sharingan will continue to do damage." Tsunade looked at Sakura, as though convinced she had seen something there that nobody else could. "I honestly don't know who else Kakashi might listen to. You seemed to have the perfect mix of medical authority and shared history. And he's never been the easiest man to get to know. Honestly, I can't think of another shinobi who could convince him. I suppose we'll just have to respect his decision, even if it is the wrong one."
The worst part was, Sakura felt Tsunade was right.
No matter how much Kakashi liked and respected his comrades, Sakura knew that no shinobi could convince Kakashi to accept the transplant. But she wondered if he might listen to a civilian instead…
It was an awful idea, and she hated herself for having it. Even if it worked, even if she could convince him through Umeko to accept the transplant, the breach of trust would mean she could never face him again, as either a shinobi or a civilian. She would put in a transfer to Sunagakure the next day, and beg Tsunade to approve it.
Even then, the plan hinged on Kakashi still caring about Umeko. If Sakura had gotten it wrong, and he cared for the imaginary woman no more than he had for any passing distraction, then he wouldn't be waiting for her at the bridge that night, and there would be no credible way Umeko could find him after that.
Sakura performed the henge with shaking hands. Glancing at her reflection in a darkened window, she stepped out from the alley and headed toward the bridge once more. With each step she took, she tried to kill a part of her conscience. This night wouldn't be like the others. She would have to play her part perfectly, if she wanted to save him from his own stubbornness. She had to be less like Haruno Sakura, whose advice Kakashi had ignored, and more like Umeko. Sakura realised she hated her civilian alter-ego. Ino had been right about not making her too beautiful; it only made her feel inferior, and had caused her nothing but grief from the start.
The bridge came into view, and Sakura's heart dropped when she saw the familiar shock of silver hair reflecting the moonlight. He had come after all, and she would have to abuse his trust in the worst way possible. Kakashi noticed her, and straightened. He almost looked as nervous as she felt, which surprised her.
"I wasn't sure you'd come," he said softly.
"I wasn't sure I should have come," she replied, "but things felt unfinished. It wasn't fair of me to leave things like that."
The copy-nin seemed hesitant, as though any sudden move might scare her off. "If it's okay, I'd like to take you for a walk somewhere."
Sakura tugged at the long dark hair of her henge, wanting nothing more than to run away while she still could. But she knew what she had to do.
"Ok."
They walked off the bridge and all the way to the village gate in silence; both of them seemed to be waiting for the right time to speak their mind. Kakashi led her through the gate, glancing at her to check she had no qualms walking off into the woods alone with him. She smiled back, though the smile felt like glass. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew where he was taking her, which was confirmed when they stepped out of the dark trees and into her own moonlit clearing.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kakashi murmured.
Sakura didn't know what to say. He was showing her the same place she'd shown him; granted, he didn't know that, but it still felt bizarre. Not to mention, kind of hurtful that he'd taken her secret place and immediately shared it with someone else.
"It's lovely. How did you find this place?"
"Well, technically my old student told me about this place," he admitted, "just earlier today, in fact."
"Your student? Which one?"
"Haruno Sakura, the kunoichi."
"Ah. You didn't seem to talk about her much when we were with Naruto-kun the other night."
Kakashi seemed troubled. "At the time I didn't think there was much to say. To be honest, I wasn't a very good fit as her teacher."
Sakura frowned. "I'm sure that's not true."
"She's a great medic now, and stronger than any ninja I've ever met. But I didn't teach her any of that. I didn't have time to teach her much at all, not even about her chakra nature. My loss." Kakashi gazed up at the half-moon visible through the hole in the forest canopy.
Sakura had been dying to hear what he truly thought of her, not just the white lies he'd always said to her face. But now that she was hearing it, it felt like spying. She was touched that he seemed to genuinely regret neglecting her, but she couldn't bring herself to pry any further. In any case, she had to steer the conversation toward his operation.
"Speaking of loss, what's actually wrong with your eye? You mentioned you still had two, but you never said why it was covered up like that."
Kakashi, face still turned up toward the sky, slowly closed his visible eye. He seemed to be deciding something. When he opened it, he looked at her calmly.
"It's a special kind of eye: a bloodline limit. But it didn't originally belong to me so it can get injured quite easily. It got injured recently, pretty badly."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is it healing alright?"
The copy-nin's hand went to the thick bandage around his eye, seemingly unthinkingly. "I was lucky; it got treated quite early, and now all it needs is rest."
Umeko probably wouldn't press the issue any further, especially when it was clear it took a lot for Kakashi to share like this. But Sakura needed to talk him into getting the transplant.
"Isn't there any way to stop it getting hurt like that? What if you can't get treated quickly next time?" she hoped her tone was one of ignorant concern, not the authoritative chastising she used on all her pig-headed patients, which Kakashi would therefore immediately associate with her.
It seemed to pass. "Apparently there's an operation that can make it less susceptible to injury." He began to stroll toward the pool of water at the centre of the clearing, obviously keen to change the subject.
Sakura hurried after him, determined not to let the opportunity pass. "And are you going to get it? The operation, I mean."
"I am," Kakashi replied, stopping Sakura before she launched into her speech about why he should get it.
"You are?"
Kakashi nodded. "Like I said, my former student is a medic. She told me it was best, and I trust her judgement."
Sakura felt the bizarre urge to burst into tears of happiness. She felt elated to know she had gotten through to him after all; and as herself, too.
"That's great, Kakashi! I'm sure that's the best course of action. There's probably a heap of different health benefits, and the Hokage is the best surgeon in the world. I mean, that's what everyone says. Obviously I've never seen her work, but I'm sure-"
Her sentence was cut short as Kakashi turned back to her, spinning on his heel so fast that Sakura almost walked straight into him. He put his hands on her shoulders to stop her, so that she only softly bumped his chest before ending up standing toe to toe.
The distance between them was so small that Sakura could see Kakashi's mask move with each breath he took. Her face felt like it was probably the same colour as her normal hair, and she suddenly had no idea where to put her hands. They ended up hovering awkwardly at her sides as Kakashi's stayed on her shoulders.
"Kakashi, I-"
"-Umeko, please, just for a moment, don't speak." His voice was low and calm, and her head swirled with a thousand thoughts. Is he going to kiss me? Am I just imagining things? If he does, should I stop him? Would I care if he kissed me as Umeko? Would he care if he kissed me as Sakura?
As he leaned in, her thoughts fizzled out into white noise. She had kissed one or two shinobi before, but the anticipation had never been a terrifying and exhilarating as it was in that moment.
Kakashi raised a hand to his face, and began to tug at the top of his mask. Sakura closed her eyes.
Suddenly, he pulled himself free and crouched, facing away from her toward the far end of the clearing. His body language was tense and alert, and after a moment, Sakura could hear why. There were soft footsteps, and even softer voices, heading toward them.
Her heart raced, this time with alarm. The footsteps were heading toward Konoha, and it was clear from their discreetness that they weren't allies. Kakashi held a hand up for Sakura to be silent, and Sakura remembered she was still Umeko in his eyes.
"Stay here. If I don't come back, wait until it's safe, then run to Konoha," Kakashi's voice was softer than a whisper, and he leaned in close to her ear so she could hear.
As awful as it was, she needed to come clean about being a civilian. If Kakashi was about to try to attack these people, she needed to back him up. He was still injured, and even if he were in peak physical condition as the Great Copy-nin, she could never again let him protect her as she watched on helplessly.
"Kakashi, there's something I have to tell you," she whispered back, urgently.
"There's no time. Just wait here," he cut her off before she could explain. "Just stay safe-"
A jet of steam blasted its way through the trees, catching them both by surprise. It seemed the invaders were better than expected. Kakashi grabbed Sakura and span so that his body blocked her from the worst of the blast. Sakura dug her heels into the grass to stop them being knocked off balance, but before they could move any more than that, another blast, this time of mud, slammed into Sakura's back and sent them both flying. Kakashi slammed into a tree and Sakura slammed into him.
She leapt to her feet, as three men entered the clearing. It was the same three thugs who she had stumbled upon the first night she'd pretended to be Umeko. She remembered that the shortest one, who was now strolling in from the left, was their leader.
Though the impact with the tree had clearly knocked the wind out of Kakashi, he didn't hesitate before jumping between Sakura and the men. She realised her henge was still in place, and Kakashi was still trying to protect her.
"Ni," The leader, Ichi, called to one of his comrades. She remembered suspecting they were named based on numbers, and it seemed she had been right. Grinning, Ni stepped forward. When she had seen him down the dark alleyway that night, she had thought he was simply bald. Now, in the light of the moon, she could clearly see the rippled red burn that covered the top of his head and made it impossible for any hair to grow. Combined with his grin, he seemed demonic.
"Is that the mouse we trapped the other night?" he cackled, and Kakashi shifted to put himself directly between Sakura and Ni.
Before she could step out to stand beside him, an ear-splitting crack came from their right and San, the third man, sent a boulder the size of a horse flying into Kakashi. He tried to perform a seal, but without the sharingan he wasn't fast enough. Sakura tried to deflect the boulder with a well-timed strike, but she wasn't close enough. She realised that had been their plan, to distract the pair with Ni, leaving them vulnerable to San's attack.
Kakashi hit the ground at Ichi's feet, and though he had landed on all fours, like a cat, the force of the boulder left him momentarily stunned. Ichi performed a quick seal, and grabbed Kakashi by the scruff of the neck before he could pull himself up. Kakashi went limp under the short man's grip, and Sakura's heart leapt into her throat. What was the man doing to him?
Ichi looked at Sakura, amused by her terror. She forced herself to meet his eye. When she did, a sudden clarity of perception ran through her like a jolt of electricity. Her pulse quickened with that awful bloodlust she had struggled with ever since touching Kakashi's chakra. There was an inexplicable hatred directed at this man, but instead of clouding her senses, it woke them up. The heights of all the men, even certain features, were the same as Kenta, her mother's lodger, and his two companions. Ino's advice about creating a henge had said to keep some things the same as your real body, so it was easier to replicate each time. These three had already infiltrated Konoha, and to add insult to injury, were using her mother's restaurant as their base of operations.
Ichi shook Kakashi, who yelped in pain. Sakura gritted her teeth and focused on maintaining her own henge. The men still saw her as a helpless civilian girl, which would actually work in her favour now. She took a hesitant step, seemingly unsure of what to do or where to go now that she was cornered.
"Run, Umeko," Kakashi wheezed urgently. It was clear he was afraid for her.
"P-please, don't hurt me," she whimpered, stumbling closer to the pool of water as the three men lazily closed in around her. Ichi dragged Kakashi like a ragdoll.
"I'm afraid we can't promise that, little mouse," Ichi told her, and the other two laughed sadistically. They were about five paces from her now, and she was right at the edge of the pool. It seemed they had her trapped between it and freedom. With her hands hidden behind her back, she channelled that taint of sharingan chakra that had lurked at the corners of her mind for so long. She felt confident, almost assured, that this time everything would work out exactly as she decided it should.
"Well then," she replied, hands performing unseen seals as she faced them down, "I can't promise it, either. Water Dragon Bullet!"
And this time the water rose, serpentine, over her head, a perfect glaring specimen of a water jutsu. It crashed down, hitting Ni with the full impact of a wall of water, and toppling San with its strong currents. Ichi dropped his hold on Kakashi and leapt away as it circled around to him. Sakura struggled to control the water beast, but managed to keep it away from where Kakashi lay. The beast snapped its jaws and emitted a roar like the sound of a waterfall. Ichi sprinted off, leaving San to hoist Ni's limp body onto his back and follow.
The water jutsu dissolved into a muddy puddle the instant they disappeared, leaving she and Kakashi soaked. She staggered from the sudden drain on her chakra reserves, but found she had fared surprisingly well. She had even managed to keep her henge up whilst fighting, and continued to use it now.
Kakashi's expression revealed his shock, and even betrayal, at the revelation that Umeko was not as she seemed. "How did- who are you?" Kakashi finally managed, picking himself up at staring at her.
"It's not important," Sakura shook her head. She couldn't bring herself to hurt him further by revealing who she was now.
"Not important? You said you were a civilian! Who are you really? Are you even from Konoha?"
"Yes, I'm from Konoha. And yes, I'm a kunoichi. I'm sorry I didn't tell you; it was never my intention to deceive anyone by disguising myself like this. But now, we have to focus on the more important issue of warning the Hokage about those people. Can you walk?"
She stepped toward him, but he jerked away from her. "Of course I can," he snapped, and the emotions that charged his voice shocked her. He didn't expect her to be his usual apathetic self about such a thing, but she had never seen Kakashi truly angry before.
Kakashi sprinted off at a ninja's pace through the trees, and after a moment Sakura followed. She kept up with him, leaping off branches and through the village gates just as blindingly fast as any shinobi. It must have been shocking for Kakashi to see Umeko doing such things, but he seemed to be goading her into showing her true ability. It was as though he wanted to keep reminding them both that the pretence was over.
As they reached a quiet street near Hokage tower, Kakashi stopped. It was so sudden that Sakura had to skid to an undignified halt to avoid overshooting him.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Who are you?" Kakashi's tone was serious.
"Honestly, it's not worth telling you. I'm so sorry I ended up lying to you, but it will only make it harder if you know who I really am."
"I deserve to know!" Kakashi took a step forward, but Sakura did not flinch. She felt no fear of him, only pity and guilt.
"Kakashi," she looked into his one visible eye, "After tonight, I promise you, once and for all, Umeko will cease to exist. I know that doesn't erase any feelings you might have had for her, and I'm so, so sorry things happened the way they did. For what it's worth, my feelings for you weren't a lie."
"Then why can't you tell me who you really are?" he asked her, and his voice was almost pleading.
Sakura felt the tears run down her face before she even realised she was crying. "Because you don't see the real me the way you see Umeko." She turned away from him, scrubbing futilely at her cheeks. "I'm going to leave now. You can warn the Hokage alone, and I'll report later."
"Wait!" Kakashi called out to her, and she glanced back. Kakashi was tugging furiously at the bandages around his eye, unwinding it as he walked toward her.
"Stop, don't!" Sakura shouted, as the last pad of gauze fell from his face and exposed his left eye. Before she could stop him, he opened it, and the red sharingan focused on her.
She cringed under its gaze. She knew he was trying to scan her, to see under her henge at her true chakra signature. But it was still so weak. He could see his brow furrowed in pain as he tried to control his eye. She stepped forward.
"Kakashi, you need to let it rest. Please, you're going to hurt yourself." She wanted to scream at him. Was he really doing something so reckless, just to uncover her secret?
Kakashi muttered something indistinguishable in response, and Sakura's medic instincts warned her in time to rush forward and grab his shoulders as he collapsed. His unconscious body leaning against hers like some awful mockery of their almost-kiss, Sakura fought to get her emotions under control. Concentrating on dissipating her henge for the last time, she allowed Umeko's beautiful body to flicker and die, to be replaced by Sakura's strong arms and short hair. Right now, Kakashi needed a medic, not a civilian. Silently thanking Tsunade for granting her strength, she hoisted up Kakashi as gently as she could, and raced for the hospital.