Author's notes: Chapter Thirty One, so close, so far, and I'm loving every minute of this. At the moment I'm listening to the Naruto Soundtrack, giving me my preferred mood while I write and it really helps. I'm working on Chapter Thirty Two at the moment and well...lets just say it's really good on my perspective :P. I guess there's not much else to talk about, so hope you enjoy this chapter and see you on the other end XD.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE: FOR THOSE WE LOVED
It was past midday and there were often a few breaks here and there, to have something to eat and rest up. It was now day sixteen of their mission and Kakashi was sure they would make it home today.
The surroundings were starting to look familiar to the nostalgic eye, "almost home," Kakashi sighed in bliss, drooping his arm around the medic's shoulder and grinned like and idiot.
Sakura was still a little taken aback from the event two days prior, but she had to move on; this mission was for her and Kakashi to have fun and enjoy themselves, not make things worse by mourning over someone else now. She shrugged it off for now, but then she remembered the little question that had her thinking for those two days.
"Kakashi," she came quietly, glancing upward to the Copy Nin beside her.
"Hm?"
"When I mentioned those words about taking your own life because of a crisis," Sakura trailed off, thinking back on that tragic event, "why did you react so strangely to my words?"
Kakashi sighed, "I had a feeling it would come down to this," he said to no one in particular and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. He took the moment of silence to think back on when it first happened.
He finally said, "I knew someone who took his own life because of something that cost the village dearly and couldn't handle the sadness he inflicted upon both himself and the team he saved," Sakura took this time to stay quiet and listen to the story Kakashi was sure to tell.
"He was my father, Hatake Sakumo. He was an extraordinary Shinobi who surpassed the fame of the Legendary Sannin until that fateful day," Kakashi cleared his throat and went on, "my father was assigned on a special mission, where he had to retrieve valuable information about the conflict between our village and the Hidden Rock, but upon reaching his destination, his team was ambushed and he was left with a life or death decision of leading on with the mission or saving the lives of his comrades,"
Sakura just stared and listened intently to the silver haired Jounin as he talked about the most private areas of his past, "Father, being the courageous one, went back and saved his teammates from the enemy, but failed to complete the mission, thus he was shut down by village because of their loss and soon even the ones he had saved despised him,"
"Soon, he became physically and mentally weak; having breakdowns against me as a child and soon lead to depression, which soon lead to…" Kakashi hesitated for a moment but continued with a strong voice, "one day I came home and found my father had killed himself because of the turmoil between himself and the village and all those he loved,"
Sakura gasped. How could Kakashi live through something like that in his life? Kakashi must've been some kind of legend to have been able to cope with the loss of loved ones, "I'm sorry," she muttered in total regret but was immediately stopped when Kakashi grabbed her arm and halted in his steps.
"Don't be sorry Sakura-chan, it wasn't your fault, nor was it my own; it was just something that happens in life that we all have to just live through," he smiled sweetly and planted a soft kiss on the medic's forehead.
Had he read Sakura's mind? Had he known Sakura would conclude with this? Either way, the medic just sighed and walked on, hoping he hadn't offended Kakashi in any way.
The Copy Nin glanced, "and don't be offended; my father was a great man and I respected that," he smiled again, wrapping his arm around the medic's waist.
He did it again.
Sakura was starting to think Kakashi could read minds; that only left one question remaining in Kakashi's personal existence, "the reason I wear this mask was to hide my existence as being a Hatake, so I could hide the shame my father put upon the clan, but I got over it after a long while and got used to wearing it," he exclaimed firmly. Sakura was astonished that Kakashi had managed to reassure her by reading her mind, or it was just sheer luck. Was Sakura that obvious?
It was quiet from then on, but before Kakashi and Sakura were able to yip around in joy when finally reaching Konoha grounds, they were sensing an unfamiliar presence in the vicinity.
Kitsune growled at the medic's side, looking around the place to pinpoint the exact location of the unwelcoming visitor.
"Okay…you can come out now; we know you're there," Kakashi sighed. He was so not in the mood for this.
The figure emerged from the trees ahead and blocked the road with his ragged appearance, "that's a nice young lady you have with you, now hand her over or you lose your life," he said simply; his voice husky and desperate.
Kakashi rolled his eyes, "I don't think so. You see, she's with me, and if anyone dares to touch her, they die," he retorted in his calm and casual voice, letting Sakura go and getting ready to deal with this pest.
The man before them roared in laughter. His appearance wasn't much to look at; he wore standard civilian attire, dirty and stained and was carrying a long lance with a sharpened blade at the end. He didn't seem much of a threat at all to Kakashi; just something annoying that was in his way.
"Die!" the man hurled himself at the Copy Nin in hopes of doing damage, but both Jounins vanished in a cloud of smoke.
Surprised at Sakura's quick escape, the man looked around in search of his prize as well as the man he wished to kill, "looking for me?" Kakashi called from behind, standing casually with both hands in his pocket while giving the man an uninterested glance.
The man was annoyed at Kakashi now, but before he could roar at him and charge with his weapon, he was clothes-lined by Sakura's rather powerful arms and was flat on his back within split seconds.
She smiled triumphantly at the man, who appeared to be quite shaken up from the blow and kicked him hard in the side, "that's what you get for messing with a Jounin medic," she spat evilly and turned on her heel towards Kakashi.
"Nice work," Kakashi commented, amused with the moment as he tied up the bandit to a tree and started walking off with the medic latched around his arm.
"I'm not a Jounin for nothing you know," Sakura replied firmly and crossed her arms with a huff.
Kakashi chuckled, "I know, I just haven't been able to see you make such short work of a man like that," he said casually, threading his hand through his silver locks. Sakura snorted back a laugh, "I could've done it quicker, seen the fact that we're in a slight hurry, but knowing you, you wanted to have a little fun with him," she replied coyly and smirked.
The silver haired Jounin nudged Sakura at that and chuckled again, before pulling the medic to him for a walking hug as they neared the village.
There it was, the moment Sakura and Kakashi were waiting for; the first sight of the village gate, just over the hill they were travelling over. Excitement lit in the Kunoichi's eyes as she picked up the pace, "come on Kakashi, there it is, home sweet home," she hoorayed as she skipped ahead of the Jounin.
Smiles spread across their faces as they finally crossed the village gate in record time (almost). Sakura sighed and took in the Konoha air in a deep breath and sighed even deeper.
"Welcome home," Kakashi muttered past Sakura as he gave her a quick wink.
Sakura felt Kitsune purr like mad on her shoulder and urged her to catch up to Kakashi and see Tsunade and everyone else in the village. The medic grabbed the Jounin's hand and smiled sweetly at him. Surprisingly Kakashi didn't rip his hand from the medic's grip, knowing he had a reputation to hold but wasn't bothered by it at all; it only made Sakura just that little bit happier.
The Hokage tower was in sight and Kakashi gave Sakura's and a squeeze before entering the massive building. They climbed the several flights of stairs until they met the oh so familiar door that was the Hokage's.
With a brief sigh and not a moment of hesitation, Kakashi knocked on the door, "come in," muttered the voice from inside and Kakashi opened the door, pulling the medic along inside so he could shut the door.
The two travelling Jounins were welcomed with a desk full of paperwork and scrolls, and no doubt Tsunade was in there somewhere, because she was no where to be seen at the time until she lifted her head.
"You're back," she smiled, only able to see the top halves of the elite Copy Nin and her apprentice.
"I take the mission was a success?" she asked, standing up to greet her Shinobi properly, but was welcomed with something quite unexpected. She realised quite obviously that Sakura and Kakashi were…holding hands?
Her shocked gaze wasn't taken unnoticed by the two Jounins, who only exchanged glances and shrugged at her reaction, hoping she wouldn't take it harshly. Kakashi shook his head and took the opportunity to answer her question.
"Yes, it went very well," he answered with a hidden smile.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow; she wasn't all that convinced, "I expect you to have a full mission report by tomorrow morning, so don't be late; I have a lot of papers to work on," she gestured to her table, which seemed to be suffering a mass amount of weight by the scrolls and papers to prove her point.
Kakashi nodded his head and chuckled. Sakura and Kakashi bowed in unison to their respected leader and headed for the door when the busty woman called out, "wait here Kakashi, I need to have a word with you," the Copy Nin was no more than surprised that she didn't lash out at him for displaying such affection toward her apprentice (only holding hands though).
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied curtly and nodded to Sakura to go on ahead.
With a brief look of worry, Sakura nodded in return and shut the door behind her and was finally out of earshot.
"What do you think you are doing with Sakura?" Tsunade asked straightforwardly and sat down on her chair.
Kakashi gulped but remained calm, "Sakura and I recently developed feelings for each other…" he braced himself for a beating from the blonde woman, but none came.
Tsunade just stared at him, even though it was completely wrong that Kakashi was in love with his former student, she just stared and contemplated deeply for the moment.
"Do you have any idea how morally wrong this is between you and Sakura?" yes it sounded a little harsh coming from Tsunade, but she was right, but Kakashi didn't care.
He stared straight, no emotions passing through the conversation, "yes I do," he announced firmly.
Another minute or two of silence.
The honey-eyes woman sighed and peered her gaze over her mountain of papers to gaze at the Copy Nin and asked, "Kakashi, do you love this woman?"
"Yes Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied without a second's hesitation.
"Do you realise the consequences of being with your student?" she pressed on.
"Yes," Kakashi said, again without a motion of hesitation, nor any physical proof of his nervousness.
Tsunade had to think deep about this now and sighed again, closing her eyes to ponder. Kakashi was in thought of what she was dealing with right now, and only wished it was something positive on his side of the matter.
The busty woman came to another round of questions that needed answering, "when did this start?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at the silver haired Jounin.
Kakashi thought a minute, when did this whole thing start? "during the two-week mission," he guessed, though he was pretty close to the real deal. Tsunade wasn't at all surprised, "and I suppose that you know that having a relationship could cost you your life?" she thought up, eyeing the Copy Nin carefully in case there was a sign of weakness in his stance.
"Yes I know, but I don't care about that," Kakashi proceeded, "I wish for Sakura to be happy, and she chose me to be the one to care for her in the same way,"
"Does she love you back?" Tsunade asked, having a vague idea that her question didn't need answering.
Kakashi sighed; he was getting frustrated with the whole thing and didn't want to talk about it at all, "yes," he replied simply, hoping the blonde Hokage would understand the meaning of love in the ninja world.
Tsunade was at a dead end now; where to next? She looked around the room as if there was someone guiding her with enquiries and make Kakashi more agitated. She sighed again and rest her head on her hand in near defeat.
"Did you have sex with her?" as outrageous as it sounded, Tsunade just had to ask the question.
Kakashi stood uneasy while feeling Tsunade's gaze on him sharply like a needle stabbing him a few times, "yes I did," came the honest response from the Copy Nin. Tsunade smirked at the man as if he was a laughing matter and just nodded her head, and sighed again.
There was a moment of silence between the two Shinobi. Tsunade was wondering whether or not they should be together after this. Would the village accept, or will they exchange glances and look down upon the greatest ninja in the village. One thing that Tsunade personally feared was people shouting out at the pair, from things like, "aww cute," to something like, "paedophile!" or "pervert!" while most would probably refer to Kakashi by comparing him to his habit of reading porn in public and being late for the majority of meetings and training sessions.
"You're dismissed," she waved her hand at the Jounin and forced her attention to her paperwork.
Kakashi stood there for a moment before bowing respectfully and exiting the room without further words or questions to bother the Hokage.
The silver haired man sighed frustratingly as he thread his hand through his silver mane, rubbing the back of his neck along the way to the exit of the building. Once outside, Sakura sat there and waited for him. She turned around to face him and smiled sweetly at him and got up on her feet.
"So what did Tsunade-shisou want?" she asked innocently while hugging the taller Jounin.
Kakashi sighed with unease and gave the medic an uncertain look, "she asked about…us," he said quite calmly.
Sakura held her breath, "she's not going to split us up is she?" she wondered, starting to freak out about this. Kakashi frowned deeply, stroking the medic's cheek, "I hope not, though I explained to her our relationship, she didn't say whether or not she would accept us," he sighed, holding the medic close.
"Come on then," Sakura advised, "while she thinks this over, lets at least enjoy what we can if she does split us up," even though the situation was hard to deal with at this point, Sakura tried to live through it and do whatever to pass the time.
Kuro and Kitsune meowed in agreement and purred happily while brushing their tails against their masters' legs to get their attention. Kakashi smiled lightly, "okay then," he admitted defeat and followed the medic into the village, leading to her apartment.
Sakura hadn't been to her apartment since before the mission and it was great to be back after two weeks. She enjoyed the mission, but she needed her own familiarities to suit her needs. Once inside, Kakashi followed her inside and placed his backpack down by the door for the meantime and watched as Sakura ploughed herself on the couch with a loud huff and groaned happily.
"Home sweet home," she sighed in utter bliss as she inhaled deeply.
Kakashi chuckled and stood there for a second longer. He had only just realised that he had never been to Sakura's apartment before, due to the recent moving of the Hokage's apprentice so she'd be a little closer to the hospital and sleep in longer if she really wanted to.
Sakura lifted her head and gazed up at the older Jounin, "you didn't have to follow me all the way here; you can go to your apartment if you really want to," she said to him, stretching out her tired arms and sitting up.
"I think I might stick around with you for a while so I can kill some time and spend time with you," he smiled dearly at the medic.
Sakura looked thoughtful and smiled back and got up, "okay then, lets go outside and get some fresh air," she suggested, approaching the older Jounin with a sly grin on her face and ran a finger from Kakashi's neck to his chest.
Kakashi snaked his arms around her waist and grinned mischievously as he planted a masked kiss on her lips, "lets go then," he whispered with a grin and let the medic from his embrace and followed her out the door while leaving his bag behind.
The two walked casually through the streets of Konoha, waving at a few familiar faces that passed them, "ah, my Eternal Rival has finally returned," a booming voice announced as if it were to attract more attention. Kakashi cringed at the sound of the man's voice and sighed in annoyance.
There, before the two elites stood a bold man clad in green spandex, bearing a cheesy smile with the thumbs up high. Whenever Sakura saw this man, it made her shudder at the sheer appearance and blush at his show of embarrassment.
"Yo…" Kakashi greeted lamely, rolling his eyes in pure disinterest.
Maito Gai burst into tears, "why do you have to be so cool, my rival; you would be even cooler if you were to try on one of my outfits," he began brashly, pointing an accusing finger at the silver haired man.
Kakashi sighed again and shook his head, "sorry Gai-kun, but Sakura-chan and I are a little busy, so if you'll excuse us-" "but Kakashi, you said you would spar with me while wearing one of my infamous 'Gai suits' as you had promised," Gai interjected with tears constantly flowing from his dark eyes like a waterfall.
Sighing deeply once more, Kakashi knew defeat was nigh and slouched, "okay fine," he grunted, to be welcomed with a massive bear hug from the man in green clad, "thank you my Eternal Rival, we shall meet at the training grounds at once!" he declared triumphantly.
He dashed off quickly and reappeared behind the silver haired Jounin with a green spandex suit like his own and held it up, "you said you'd do it after the mission," he edged in a singsong voice, grinning like an idiot and waving the green outfit in front of Kakashi's face.
The Copy Nin grunted, sending the other Jounin a death glare, telling him that he would so make him pay after the sparring session. He almost growled in defeat and snatched the spandex from Gai's clutches and strolled over to the nearest changing rooms.
Sakura found the entire thing rather amusing; watching Kakashi lose an argument with Gai and slumping off to the men's room to change into one of the other Jounin's green suits.
According to Rock Lee when Sakura last spoke to him, Lee told her that the spandex outfit would show off any visible muscle on the body and attract all sorts of attention; usually being the wrong kind of attention.
After five minutes Kakashi emerged from the men's room feeling like an idiot. Gai posed dramatically and announced, "let us go Kakashi," he dashed off ahead, leaving the silver haired Jounin to weep over his appearance. Sakura had to hold back the sudden will to laugh hysterically at the man; she just smirked widely while holding back a laugh.
"Shut up…" Kakashi deadpanned and walked after Gai in hopes of giving him a good beating in their sparring.
With a wide grin, Sakura followed the now green clad Kakashi to the third training area of the fields where Gai stood ready for action, showing off his pose with the thumbs up again. Sakura giggled, to only be glared at evilly by Kakashi, "don't laugh, you," he quipped while pouting greatly at the medic.
Although Sakura had sympathy for the Copy Nin, she couldn't help but laugh at his appearance; he looked so funny at the moment, "okay Gai, a quick spar then I'm outta here," Kakashi spat with a grunt, facing the other green clad Jounin across from him.
"Of course my Rival, whatever you wish," he bowed in respect and posed in his fighting stance.
Sakura made cosy under a nearby tree and watched the green spandex show with a constant grin on her face. Kakashi gave the medic a quick glance before charging at the other Jounin with the full intent of giving him a good thrashing. Gai easily dodged his attacks and came back with his Taijutsu moves. He swiftly twisted and turned his body and forced a few blows here and there.
Kakashi never felt his body move with such ease before in his life, unless he was dashing to the bathroom from his bed when he was nude, but that was something different; Kakashi felt…faster, and felt that he could easily beat up Gai without even having to break a sweat.
"Don't get too cocky Kakashi," Gai declared in his all but booming voice as he launched his leg at the other Jounin in hopes of inflicting more damage than before.
Author's notes: Hahaha, I just had to make Kakashi try out a Gai suit and have a good battle with our green spandex man XD. I couldn't help but laugh when the idea hit :P. So, will Tsunade let Kakashi and Sakura be together, or will she split them apart and break their hearts? Hope you liked this chapter as much as I did, now reviews please .