Ryuu! – I've missed you too! I tried to find you on face book. I'll send who I think is you a friend request right after I post this, then we can be friends! Yay!
Dani- of course you got mentioned, people who make me happy (or really pissed if you look back at my author's note on chapter 13) will get mentioned, especially if I have to scroll to read all of your review…
Ok, so next story I write: Genma is not a perv. This is gonna be difficult, I'm gonna have to go back and watch every show with him in it. What is Genma if not a perv? That's gonna be difficult. Oh well.
Long(ish) chapter for you all, enjoy.
When I left my house for the hospital, only two hours late for work, I had hoped that perhaps I could spend the entire day hiding in a supply closet, or convince everyone that it was bright enough without any lights on. Unfortunately not only was this impossible, but the minute I got into the hospital the stupid girl with the too bright smile informed me that Tsunade wanted to speak with me first thing. I didn't even try to fake not being hung over when I was herded into her office… fortunately neither did she.
"Quiet voices now," Tsunade mutters, head on her desk. "Did you two work things out?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," I say evasively, sitting down and closing my eyes. "Why the hell do you have the lights on?"
"Good question," she mutters, throwing her pen to hit the light switch. Not that it helped with the windows that surround our office, but at least it was natural light now and not that florescent crap. "The man you went home with," she clarifies.
"I don't actually remember going home with anyone," I groan, too tired to lift my head so I can see anything she might throw at me.
"The man you woke up next to then," she sighs.
"I didn't wake up next to anyone," I say, quite truthfully.
"He didn't stay the night?" She growls. "The son of a bitch, I'm going to-"
"I woke up on top of Kakashi, if that's what you mean," I say before her threats can get serious. "Of course he stayed the night, it was his house."
"So you guys figured things out?" She says; a smile in her voice.
"Having sex while drunk does not usually count as figuring things out," I say, rolling my eyes.
"Sakura!" Tsunade growls, making both of us wince. She lowers her voice before speaking again. "Tell me what the hell is going on."
"It's the same as it was before," I say simply. "He'll do whatever I want." Tsunade sighs happily. "Problem is; I don't know what I want."
"Sakura, darling. I love you, but sometimes you're an idiot," she says with a laugh. "You love him, and it's obvious. He loves you, which is even more obvious. You wear his necklace, Sakura! Even I know what that means, that necklace has quite a history in this village among the Hatake men. Now either you're not aware of the connotations behind that, or you really love him. He's finally ready to, hell I don't know, settle down and start a family, and you're just making things difficult. Why?"
"I'm only twenty two," I say leaning forward onto my knees. "I don't know what the hell I want. I mean… I thought I was in love once before…"
"Please, you were twelve," Tsunade scoffs, and the sighs. "A person can fall in love more than once, Sakura."
"Kakashi needs someone who loves only him, he doesn't show it but… he's fragile," I almost laugh at that. Kakashi, fragile, but after I've said it I realize it's almost true. "What happens if in ten years I fall in love with someone else? Think of what that will do to him."
"It would destroy him," she agrees. "But."
"Kami," I groan.
"But," she continues. "If he were to lose you now, before he was even able to show you what you meant to him; that would be it. That would be the last straw. He's lost everyone who is important to him. When Rin died he ran off with some imposter, trying to pretend it was the girl he had known as a kid. Simply because he never told her how he felt. I shudder to think of what he would do if he lost you. It would probably kill him."
"Zen," I say after a moment. "She's the woman he ran off with, right? I met her."
"Woman?" She asks with a laugh. "Yeah, he ran off with her, but she wasn't a woman, she was just a little girl." At the expression on my face she sighs, shaking her head. "Zenitha is mentally…" She scoffs, shaking her head. "Three hundred or something like that. When she dies she is born into a new body. When she is born she thinks she is simple like everyone else, but then as she gets older memories come to her. She learns who she really is, Zenitha, the immortal, and once she has gained all her memories she uses a jutsu much like mine," she motions to her forehead. "She actually helped me create this one, to keep me young." She shakes her head. "That's beside the point. The point is: When she was Rin she never realized she was Zenitha. After her death as Rin she was reborn, and rather quickly remembered she was Zenitha, and so at a young age that is the form she took. When she saw Kakashi as an Anbu she seduced him away from Konoha, promising him a second chance with Rin."
"So how old is she then?" I ask. "Physically?"
Tsunade shifts uncomfortably. "She would have appeared to be the same age she is now, in his defense."
"How old, Tsunade?" I demand, panicking slightly. Why wasn't she telling me? Was Zen just a kid when she and Kakashi were together? Maybe in her teens? Early teens? Before that? Kakashi would've had to have been at least twenty, or right around there… so that wouldn't be that bad.
"Zenitha realized who she was in this life time as a child," Tsunade says carefully. "Once she did, she wouldn't have aged a day. Although she would have appeared to be twenty or so when she met Kakashi, in reality she would've been… six or seven years old."
"Six or-" I breath out a sigh, shocked. "Six or seven years old?"
"Sakura, you have to understand even to this day Zenitha is still six or seven years old," Tsunade says quickly.
"Did… did Kakashi know?" I ask after a few deep breaths. The man I just had sex with this morning was having sex with children only fifteen years ago. Kami, it would've been like having sex with me at that point. "Did he know she wasn't actually an adult?"
"He thinks to this day that she was fifteen, because that's what she told him," she says clearly. "Doing the math, I find that to be impossible, but I sincerely don't think it's something Kakashi wants to think about."
"He knows," I say, dropping my head into my hands. "Kakashi's not an idiot. He would've done the math. If he didn't know then he knows now."
"It's probably not his proudest moment," Tsunade edges.
"He's a pedophile," I say, shaking my head.
"Sakura, Kakashi revealed everything to the Sarutobi-sensei upon his return to Konoha," Tsunade says with a sigh, "Feel free to take a look at the files that's stored in, though you might want to talk personally to Kakashi about it if that bothers you that much."
"I'm married to a pedophile," I repeat, staring at her desk.
"Yeah, about that," Tsunade sighs, leaning forward. "I thought you said you would get him to sign the papers? That was four months ago. Do you need help or have you changed your mind?"
"He did sign the papers," I say, not blinking as I process what she just told me. "That afternoon, actually."
She raises an eyebrow. "You do know you have to return them to me for the divorce to be legalized, right?"
"I don't want the divorce to be legalized," I say, sitting back up. I'll just have to talk to him. Kami, this is weird. "I want him to think it is."
"What are you going to do?" She asks, leaning back.
"Go pass out in my office, probably," I admit. "He'll be coming by to see me later. I'll figure it out then." Tsunade grins. "What?" I ask, concerned.
"You have a lunch date?" She asks, grinning.
"Shut up," I growl, getting up and leaving the room, flicking the light switch on as I leave. As I walk down the hall I smile at the sound of her laughing, then cutting herself off with a sharp 'ow'. I do end up spending most of the day sleeping actually. In my defense I did try to get some paper work done, but it just made me queasy, so I put a 'if you knock on this door and someone isn't dying then I will kill you' sign on my door and went to sleep. So when I woke up to a knock on my door heads were going to roll. I seriously contemplated knocking that pretty white smile out of that stupid illiterate girl's mouth. That is until she opened the door wider to show Kakashi right behind her. "Kami," I say, wiping a bit of drool away. "Sorry, Kakashi, I kind of forgot I had something to be awake for today."
"They pay you to sleep at your desk?" He asks, setting a small bag on my desk and handing me a thermos of what could only be the tea I had asked for.
"I save lives sometimes," I argue as the receptionist leaves, closing the door behind her. "Thank you, by the way."
"No problem," he says, sitting down on my desk. "Interesting conversation with the store clerk though," he laughs lightly. "I think she thought it was for me…"
I smile, sipping the tea and looking to the bag. "Extra?"
He shrugs, "It was cheaper to buy more of it, and I was assured it doesn't go bad, so…"
"Well thanks," I mutter, chewing on my bottom lip. He watches me for a moment before holding out one hand to me. I smile, taking his hand and allowing him to pull me between his legs. He pulls down his mask and kisses me lightly, making me smile nervously.
"I've missed you, so much," he whispers. "I haven't slept through the night since we got back."
"Me neither," I admit. "And my kitchen is in serious need of repairs."
He laughs softly, "see, you need to learn to get out of the house when you're feeling violent urges towards me. I go to the training grounds and scare small children."
"You feel violent urges towards me?" I ask with a pout.
"Ah- no," He says with a smile. "Towards myself."
"I see," I say, nodding. "Um… Kakashi, I'm not really sure…" I bite my lip, closing my eyes. "Don't get all defensive, I just want to hear your side… but Tsunade told me about Zen…"
"You knew about Zenitha," he says easily.
"About how old she is…"
He pauses, looking over me carefully. "About how old she is or how young she is?"
"Young," I say, looking down at my hands. "Si-six or seven."
He sighs heavily, leaning back to rest his weight on his arms. "You know you're pal Shinji?" I nod with a little scowl. "He's slept with Zenitha. So did Hiro before he died. Often." I open my mouth to say something, but then stop, closing it again. "You can transform into a child, can't you?" I nod. "But in reality you're still Sakura Haruno, twenty two year old ninja of the leaf." I nod again. "It's the same thing for her. She may have been born into the body of that eight year old girl, yes, eight, not six or seven, but she is in reality Lady Zenitha, immortal being who appears to be in her mid twenties."
"Lady Zenitha?" I ask. He just shrugs. "So to this day, if she were to drop the jutsu, she'd be that eight year old girl?"
"Yes," he says simply, waving a hand dismissively through the air as he speaks. "But that isn't her real body anymore. She's Zenitha now, and will be until she's killed. At which point she will be born again and then become Zenitha again at some point in the future it's all very ridiculous."
I nod slowly, "promise you're not a pedophile."
He raises and eyebrow. "I'm not a pedophile," he confirms. "I like my women… about that tall," he says, waving his hand just above my head. "And… with big green eyes, and, now I know this is weird, but pink hair."
"Oh boo," I jeer, grinning as I hit him playfully. "What about your men, how do you like them?"
He ignores my jab at his bisexual tendencies and catches my jab at his ribs, continuing easily. "And she has to have the softest skin I've ever felt, and a voice that makes me feel like I'm in heaven, and she'll have curves in all the right places, and wonderful lips that when she kisses me-"
"Suck up," I laugh, pushing him slightly.
"Yes," he says, struggling to regain his balance for a moment before pulling me closer. "That is exactly what I am." I giggle as he reaches out to tickle my side, pulling me so I stand right between his legs. "I love you, Sakura Hatake," he says, kissing me sweetly.
"Excuse me?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, funny story," he says, smiling. "I was looking over my files today, and it seems that we never got divorced… you wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"
"Damn it, Kakashi," I mutter, slapping his leg. "Why do you always have to ruin my plans?"
"Why didn't you give the papers back to Tsunade, Sakura?" He says, ignoring my anger as he grins wildly.
"It just so happens that as your wife, when you die, I get all of your possessions, and I happen to know, you are very rich," I lie, crossing my arms. If he's going to ruin my plans then he doesn't get any real answers.
"Every dime goes to you anyways," he says with a shrug. "Even before all this started. Naruto is rich these days from all the missions he's been saving up from. The boy knows how to save. And there's really no one else. Since that once close call, what, three years back?" It had been four years ago, actually. Kakashi had nearly lost his leg in a blast while on a mission with Guy. He had nearly died of blood loss. Luckily Guy had known to bring him straight to me instead of the hospital and I had been able to save him. He had slept in my bed for about a week after that, until Tsunade demanded he be transferred to the hospital. But I had stayed by his bed side every chance I got. I thoughtlessly reach down to brush my hand over where the scar would be if I had left one, realizing as an afterthought it's probably high enough on his leg to get a rise out of him.
"I remember," I say softly, looking up to see him smirking at me.
"The day they released me from the hospital I changed it so that you would inherit everything," he says, putting his hand over mine on his leg. "I don't know how I ever lived without you," he mutters, reaching his other hand up to touch my cheek gently. "I mean, how many times have you saved my life?"
"Too many," I say, nuzzling my cheek into his palm.
"If you don't mind, I would like it if you don't give the papers to Tsunade," he says softly. "At least not yet."
"I won't," I assure him.
"Thank you," he whispers, leaning forward to kiss me. In his defense I'm sure he meant the kiss to be sweet and chaste. But just as his lips touch mine my hand slides just a bit further up his thigh, making him deepen the kiss instinctively. Not seeing a reason not to, I allow my hand to trail up a bit further, until I hear him gasp in shock as my hand brushes over the growing bulge in his pants. "Why Mrs. Hatake," he mutters against my lips, smirking all the while. "Right here in your office?" he asks incredulously. "What if someone were to come in and catch us?"
"They know better," I growl, biting his lip playfully.
He grins, reaching behind him to push all the papers off my desk. I cringe at the thought of having to work my way through them now that they're out of order, but then remember the new girl with the bright smile and decide that will be her task tomorrow. In a moment Kakashi flips me over so I'm in his spot, and he in mine, and pushes himself against me, kissing me until I'm light-headed.
I pull my skirt up hastily, blushing as his eyes linger on my bare legs. "Did I do that?" he asks, touching the hickey on my thigh.
"If you didn't I don't know who did," I say with a shrug, wiggling out of my underwear.
He raises his eyebrows at me once and smiles. "Best damn night of my life and I can't remember it."
I laugh, pulling him forward by his jonin vest and kissing him. "We'll do a reenactment tonight," I growl, making him groan. He watches me as I trail my hands further down to get rid of the remaining fabric between us, smiling as I lay back on the desk, pulling him over me. He positions himself at my entrance as I wrap my legs around him, leaning up to kiss him as he sinks into me so I can swallow both our groans… and then of course there's a knock on the door. Kakashi stills his movements, resting his head against my collar bone with an almost silent moan. "What the hell?" I hiss, hitting my head against the desk. "Who is it?" I demand, making Kakashi wince as I yell in his ear.
"Your birthday present sweetheart, come unwrap me," Genma yells through the door, making me roll my eyes.
Kakashi sighs at that, moving again to entice a stifled moan out of me. "She's unwrapping someone else at the moment," Kakashi says loud enough for Genma to hear, moving so should I yell again it won't be in his ear.
"No way," Genma laughs. "I'm coming in."
"Don't you dare," I warn, looking for something to throw at him if he does.
"Opening the door," he warns.
I bite back a groan as the door cracks open, trying desperately to throw as much anger as I can into my voice as Kakashi continues to move inside me. "Genma!" I protest.
"Well ain't that a sight for sore eyes," Genma says, the smile evident in his voice even though I can't see him. "Sakura's heavenly legs and Kakashi's sweet ass all at one time. Kami, the two of you are the loves of my life. Definitely my favorite couple in the leaf… you don't stop having sex when I walk in."
"I've slept with you, I'm pretty sure he has too and just doesn't remember," I say with a shrug, "why does it matter?"
Kakashi kisses my neck right below my ear sweetly, bringing a smile to my lips. "Genma," Kakashi growls. "I swear to the memorial stone and every name on it: if you don't leave right now once I'm done here you'll never have sex again."
"Good threat," he laughs, "but all joking aside, I'm here on business. Tsunade sent me to fetch you both."
"It can wait, and so can you: outside," Kakashi growls, making me cry out in pleasure as he breaks the pattern in his thrusting, catching me by surprise.
I can practically hear Genma's eyes widen and pants tighten. "Hot damn, Kakashi," Genma says with a low whistle, but then seems to realize he was here for another reason. "No, wait. Ok, Tsunade will be calling a meeting of the Jonin, she wants you two to fill everyone in on your mission in Kinosaki."
Kakashi stills at that, looking over his shoulder. "Right now?" he asks, glancing back to me. "Really?"
"Apparently something's come up," Genma says. "But then, you are the copy ninja, I'm sure no one will care if you're a little late." Genma laughs as he leaves the room with a simple; "have fun kiddos," and whistling as he heads down the hall.
"Sounds important," I sigh, biting my lip as I look up at him.
"Mm," he agrees simply, kissing me as he starts moving again.
We're only about half an hour late to the meeting, and when we slip in the door, Kakashi pushing me in first so as not to break his habit of being the last person to arrive, all eyes turn to land on us. "Sorry," I mutter, "but there was this black cat-" Kakashi snickers next to me, forcing me to hold back a laugh as well.
"Kakashi, I can expect this from you," Tsunade says, rolling her eyes. "But what the hell have you done to my apprentice?"
"We were together," Kakashi says with a shrug, "so she kind of just got dragged into being late, sorry."
"No silly me," Tsunade says with a faux laugh. "I thought maybe she would just make you come on time." Kakashi grins at that, and I nearly double in laughter. I pick out Genma's laugh as well from the herd of Jonin and a few collective sighs. Tsunade scowls, running over what she said and then slaps her forehead in frustration. "Ok," she says, taking a deep breath. Knowing her she's repeating over and over in her head that she can't kill Kakashi. "Get up here and answer questions."
"What's going on?" I ask, picking my way to the front of the room with Kakashi right behind me.
"You'd know if you were on time, wouldn't you?" Tsunade chides. I roll my eyes as I lean against the wall next to Kakashi, meeting Tsunade's disappointed gaze. "We're bringing down the leaders of the trade rink," she says with a sigh.
"Now?" I ask, confused. "It's been months. I thought you'd already handled it."
"I thought I had too," Tsunade sighs. "But apparently the roots went deeper, and it's growing quickly. Fortunately, we have someone on the inside." I follow Tsunade's gaze to the woman sitting in the corner, eyes going wide with shock.
"Zen?" I ask, confused.
"Hey," she says, smiling.
"This is why I called you two in earlier," Tsunade says with a scowl, "now we have to handle this in front of everyone and it's going to be a big mess."
"It's not going to be a big mess," Kakashi says easily. "If you want her in Konoha, that makes you and idiot, but I'm not going to say she can't be here."
"You don't have a hell of a lot of say in the matter, Kakashi," Ebisu says from the crowd, frowning at Kakashi's show of disrespect.
"Kakashi has the most say in the matter," Zen says, spinning in her chair leisurely. "If Kakashi says go… I'll go."
Kakashi doesn't even look at her. "Sakura?" I look to him, confused. "Do you think she should stay? Knowing what you know."
"I don't see a problem with it," I say after a moment. "She seems to be a valuable asset, and if you and Tsunade think she can be trusted…"
"Then she stays," Tsunade says easily. "Though I'd like someone to keep a watch on her," my heart plummets as she makes eye contact with me. "Sakura, you've got an extra room in your house, don't you?" Kakashi sighs next to me as I silently plead her not to, trying to argue her ruling with just my eyes. "So it's settled," she says easily. "Zenitha you'll be staying with Sakura while you're in Konoha. If you so much as look out the window without asking Sakura you're going to be in a world of hurt." Zen just nods with a slight shrug.
"You wanted us to answer questions…" Kakashi trails off.
"Zenitha pretty much got everything," Genma says from the crowd.
"I'm curious," Yūgao pipes up. "If she is one of the leaders of the trade rink aiming to destroy Konoha then why is she helping us?"
"Not one of," Zen says, staring the man down. "I happen to be the only leader of the trade rink, but if I simply say, 'never mind, turns out we can't destroy Konoha this way,' people will get suspicious. They'll go off on their own, using what I set up without me."
"What's changed?" Kurenai asks, biting her lip. "Not that I don't trust you, but why have you changed your mind?"
"I'm helping Kakashi," Zen says, watching Kakashi and I carefully. "I could care less about Konoha as its residents. But I want Kakashi to be happy, and by association Konoha to be safe. I'm also quite fond of Sakura." She smiles at me as she says that, touching her fingers to her collar bone. I reach up, running my own fingers along the necklace from Kakashi.
"We can trust her," Kakashi says, sounding bored. "That's all you need to know."
"Waterfall," I say quickly before Tsunade can launch back into the description of the plan. "The hidden waterfall has been keeping a watch over the trade rink for a while now, get in contact with them."
"They are?" Kakashi asks, raising an eyebrow.
"You didn't know?" I ask, surprised. I could've sworn I had told him. Of course it made sense that I hadn't sine we hadn't talked since then… but I always got the feeling he already knew these things. I had talked with Hideki after Hiro's death and learned the extent of his village's involvement with the issue. "Lord Shibuki has sent spies out, he has at least one spy in every city they knew to be involved in the trade rink. As I know all ninja in the trade rink from Taki are our allies."
"Are they really?" Zen ask, surprised. "I had no idea… They're good."
"Ok," Tsunade says, rolling her eyes. "Ninja from Taki are to be assumed to be allies. We'll send two teams to Ame, one undercover, one as backup. I'll be taking volunteers over the next twenty four hours, and then the teams will be leaving. I'd like to send smaller teams to each of the villages involved; these teams won't have back up, just to warn you. All other jonin are on standby until the end of the trade rink. Dismissed," The jonin leave the room so quickly my hair actually flutters in the wind. "Kakashi, Sakura," I pause biting my lip, and Kakashi sighs, leaning back against the wall he had just pushed off.
"Tsunade, Zenitha can't stay with Sakura," Kakashi says easily.
"And why not?" she asks, raising an eyebrow, I also turn to him for an answer.
"Tsunade," he practically whines, shifting uncomfortably. "She'll turn Sakura against me." Zen laughs, not a simple chuckle, but actually throws her head back and laughs.
"Fine," Tsunade says with slightly smaller laugh. "Good, you deserve it. You set a bad example."
"If it was just that I set a bad example it would've happened years ago, don't you think?" Kakashi says, keeping his head low.
"Yes, well you seem to be a bit more… influential these days," Tsunade says, looking me over. She pauses for a moment, scowling, and then turns back to Kakashi. "I swear to god, Kakashi, if you get her pregnant death will be the least of your worries."
Kakashi swallows nervously, not looking away from Tsunade, probably scared she'll kill him once his back is turned. "Right, no babies then."
I pout slightly, looking between the two. "Well, now that my future's decided…" I sigh, rolling my eyes. Kakashi smiles apologetically at me, but Tsunade seems to think that is exactly what her job is, and simply sits at her desk.
"Get out of here, and would you take Zenitha with you?" She says, looking over the papers on her desk.
Kakashi jumps at the chance, herding me out of the room before I can say another word. "Why do Kakashi and Tsunade call you Zenitha?" I ask Zen as we climb slowly down the steps of the Hokage tower.
"That's my name," she says simply, touching each of her Neko-te to her thumb individually. "Lady Zenitha, actually," she says with a small smile. "I'm a princess, you know."
"No?" I ask surprised.
"Not in this life, mind you," she laughs, glancing over my head to Kakashi. "Lady Zenitha is who I was born as, over the years I've shortened my name. Tsunade knew me as Zenith, and Kakashi as Zen, but both of them refuse to call me that now. You have to ask him as to why."
I look expectantly over to Kakashi, but he just shakes his head. "Later," he says easily.
Zen smiles, "It's a sensitive subject."
When we get to my house I quickly clean up the guest room of my parent's house, muttering a hurried excuse for the state of my kitchen, as Kakashi puts seals on all the windows around the house, assuring Zen won't be able to leave without one of us knowing. "Sorry for this," I say as I carry out a box of my mother's old dresses, watching Kakashi meander down the hall in search of more possible escapes. "It's been a while since I've used this room."
"Oh no problem," she says easily, exploring the room with as much respect as one exploring someone's house without approval can. "Thank you, for opening your house to me. I know you don't really have a choice, but it's still very kind of you. I heard your friend, Hinata, just got married yesterday. I'll bet you're hung over."
"Not so much now, this morning was bad though," I admit with a small laugh.
"So how have things been?" She asks; sprawling out on the bed I had just finished making for her. "Since you left, anyways?"
"Quiet," I say with a shrug. "Awkward."
"You're obviously not angry with Kakashi anymore," she says with a smile, "How long did that last?"
"Until this morning," I say with a blush. "No… probably last night."
"Ah," she says, grinning from ear to ear. "That's usually how Kakashi takes care of things."
"Shut up Zenitha!" Kakashi yells from down the hall, making both of us laugh.
I lower my voice, glancing to the door before I ask it. "Come on, Zen, why does he call you that?"
She sighs, closing her eyes. "After Kakashi nearly killed me he and Hiro saw into my past. Saw who I was with that eye of his. I don't know exactly what he saw, but I can imagine it was something that made him understand why I hold the title of being a princess. It obviously wouldn't do to call me Lady Zenitha, so he simply calls me Zenitha, to show enough respect without letting others know."
"Is it come big secret? That you're a princess I mean?" I ask, stepping closer to me.
She's quiet for a moment, looking like she's listening for something before she speaks. "It's been the cause of my death every time I've been killed knowing who I was."
I turn to follow her gaze as it settles on the door, seeing Kakashi leaning against the door frame. "I've finished with the seals, if you're done here." I nod and get up, following him out the door. Zen stays on the bed. "I guess I'll be headed home then," he says softly, shuffling his feet.
"You don't have to," I declare quickly, blushing after I've said it. "I mean… you could stay if you want to…"
"Yeah?" His smile is so cute I almost squeal.
"If you want to," I nod.
"I'd love to," he says quickly. "I mean, if that's what you wa-"
"You guys are so cute," Zen teases from the bed room with a laugh. "It's adorable, really."
I bite my lip in silent laughter as Kakashi rolls his eyes. "I should probably go get some clothes though, since Zenitha's here," his voice drips with disappointment, letting me know that last statement was probably just for Zen. "You want me to get anything while I'm out?"
"I'm starving," Zen says, springing off the bed and too the doorway. "I mean, if you're going out… you could pick something up…"
"Have your tastes changed?" He asks, eyeing her warily. She shakes her head. "I'll see what I can find. Sakura, you want something?"
"I could eat," practically starved. I'd had far too much 'activity' today for as much as I've eaten. "Whatever's still open is fine."
Kakashi smiles, "kay," he says, leaning down to kiss me. "Be right back."
"kay," I echo as he heads down the stairs and out the door, smile on my lips.
"You are so in love," Zen laughs. "Why are you doing this to yourself?"
"The game's over once someone wins," I say simply.
She lets out a small breath of understanding. "Games are fun," she admits. "Don't push him too far though, he's a poor sport."
I glance at her in warning, not at all liking how she knows so much about Kakashi's mind and its inner-workings, but still take note. "You're too pretty," I say with a scowl. "You shouldn't wear your mask."
"Thank you," She laughs, swinging back into the room and going to lie on the bed again. "He loves you though, not me, never me."
"He loved Rin," I argue, following her to sit at the edge of the bed. "You were once Rin, right?"
"No," she says with a laugh. "He never loved Rin. Rin- I- loved him, but he never returned those feelings. He just felt he… missed his chance, is all." She sighs heavily, sighing. "I've loved so many people in all my lives," her fingers start to fiddle with her Neko-te, stripping them off her fingers slowly. They're the only weapons she carries on her, making me think the rest were confiscated. "I've never loved anyone twice." The way she says it makes it obvious Kakashi is the exception to that rule. "I should probably let someone here know," she says with a heavy sigh, glancing at her real fingernails, clean and cut short to fit under the iron ones. "In case something should happen, but it's a secret you know." I scowl at her and shake my head slightly, confused. "Hiro got his wish… I'm pregnant."
My brain goes blank for a bit as I watch her, confused. "I thought… I thought Hiro was-"
"It's Shinji's," she says with a slight smile. "I haven't told him yet, I mean, I'm less than a month along. But I'm sure; I've had hundreds of children in the last few centuries. This is old news to me. But what's important is that the Toriyama name will continue, and Hironori will be able to rest in peace."
I breathe, finally. "You're sure this is what you want? I mean… You don't love Shinji."
"I'm very capable of loving Shinji," she says with a smile. "And it's only a few years. And then I'll die, and then I can start over again. This is for Hiro, it's the only thing he ever asked of me, and I will do it happily." I jump as the door downstairs opens, and Zen raises a finger to her lips. "Our little secret," she whispers. I nod and get up to head downstairs.
"I'm going to kill him," the girl in the doorway barks, making my eyes widen in surprise.
"Hey Hinata," I mutter, "Who are you going to kill?"
"Who do you think?" she practically shouts. "That good-for-nothing husband of mine!"
"What did Naruto do?" I ask, trying to get her to sit down.
"We're having a baby, Sakura," Hinata says, eyes wild. "In less than three months he's going to be a father, and what does he do?"
"Sign up for a long term mission with high risks?" Zen guesses from the stairs.
"Exactly!" Hinata growls. "What am I going to do with him, Sakura?" she asks, tears in her eyes. "What will I do without him?"
"You won't have to do anything without him," I say, pulling her down to sit on the couch. "Tsunade won't choose him for the mission; he's not that good at undercover work."
Hinata sniffs, nodding and she bites her nails. "How did you know, Zen?" she asks, glancing up at Zen.
Zen just shrugs. "It's a very 'guy' thing to do," she says simply.
Hinata breaks down into tears at that, making me sigh as I scowl at Zen, rubbing Hinata's back carefully.
When Kakashi returns all I can do is shrug apologetically before Zen sends him away, saying to come back in the morning. He doesn't try to argue it when he sees Hinata, but from the expression on his face I get the feeling he'll be going to find Naruto to beat the crap out of him for whatever he did to Hinata. After a few more hours of crying for the sake of crying and picking at the foor Kakashi had dropped off Neji shows up on the door step, hands in his pockets and he looks at the door frame as if it's the most interesting thing in the world.
"I came to find Hinata," he says softly. "Is she here?"
"She is," I confirm, blocking the doorway. "I don't think she wants to go home just yet though."
"Come on, Sakura," he sighs, rolling his eyes. "Just let me talk to her."
I sigh, opening the door so he can see her on the couch. "Hinata," I call. "Neji's here, he wants to talk."
She dries her eyes and nods, so I reluctantly let him in, closing the door behind him. "Hinata," he mutters, sitting next to her in my spot. Zen wisely moves to the kitchen, pulling me with her so we can listen to every word he says from a less intrusive distance. "I had a talk with Tsunade," he mutters, pulling her to lean against his chest. "She says she won't send Naruto on that mission, she won't send him out of the village until the baby is born."
Hinata continues to cry. "Why'd he even ask to go?" She sobs, clutching his shirt.
"That's what you get for marrying a knucklehead," he says as if it's obvious. "He loves you Hinata, and the baby, but he loves Konoha too, and he's going to do everything he can to protect the things he loves." He rubs her back gently, whispering down to the top of her head as she curls against him. "I'm willing to bet, that he was thinking that if he went on this mission it would protect you," Neji says, making me nod. Why didn't I think of that? "That's how he work's Hinata." Hinata nods and pulls away from him, leaving tearstains on his shirt. "You ready to go home? Naruto's got a black eye he wants you to heal."
I wonder distantly if Kakashi or Neji is the cause of that. As Neji starts to help Hinata to her feet Zen and I emerge from the kitchen, pretending not to have heard a word. The look Neji gives me says quite plainly he knew I was listening. "Thank you, Neji," I say with a smile.
"Thank you," he says, pausing to let Hinata hug Zen and I. "Should I send Kakashi back?"
"If you see him," I say, knowing he will. Kakahsi was probably the one who let people in on Hinata's whereabouts.
We all say our goodbyes as Neji and Hinata head down the path and before I have a chance to even close the door Kakashi is there, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed. "Hey," he says, "things work out with Hinata?"
"Oh shut up," I say with a laugh. "Does your fist need healing from Naruto's face?"
"That wasn't me," he says with a grin. I scowl in confusion. "Hiashi got to him before I could."
"Oh that makes me much happier," I say with a smile, heading back inside, leaving Kakashi to follow. It's about time he looks out for his daughter. "Did you eat, Kakashi?" I ask as I head up the stairs. "There are some leftovers in the fridge."
"I ate," he says, shuffling his feet at the bottom of the stairs. Zen and I both watch him expectantly.
"What's he doing?" I ask quietly.
"I don't know," she says plainly, shaking her head as she ducks into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
"Kakashi?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Were you going to stay here or not?" He looks up at me, surprised. "Bed's this way," I say motioning behind me. He smiles, taking the stairs two at a time to follow me to the master bedroom.
"I thought you might not want me here tonight," he says as he closes the door behind us.
"Of course I want you here," I say softly, looking through the drawers for suitable pajamas.
He sighs, smiling as he strips off the top layers of his jonin attire. "I thought maybe Hinata being here had changed things."
"It takes a bit more than that to make me not want you in my bed," I say with a flirty smirk as I change into the pajama shorts and tank-top I had found.
Kakashi smiles at that, a lop-sided little grin. "Kami," he mutters, watching me as I change in front of him a tad shamelessly. "How thin are the walls of this house?"
"Too thin," I say with a giggle, kissing him softly before crawling into bed.
Kakashi laughs quietly; changing into pajama pants, and then follows me. He makes a noise of complete happiness I've only ever heard him make while I'm touching him as he crawls into bed. When I raise an eyebrow at him he laughs. "I have dreams about this bed, Sakura," he says with a content sigh. "This is without a doubt the comfiest bed I've ever slept in." I laugh, remembering the big stink Kakashi threw when they forcibly removed him from my home four years ago to put him in the hospital. Now I know why.
"Well now I know," I say with a fake upset tone in my voice. "You're only with me for my furniture."
"Seriously Sakura," he mutters, stretching his arms above his head and his feet towards the end of the bed. "If this were Anko's bed I'd probably find reasons to stay with her just so I could sleep in it. Ow!" He laughs as I punch him again, followed by more cries of pain and I continue to hit him. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry," he says with a laugh. "Luckily for me the woman I love owns this bed, so I get two good things from sleeping in it. A good night's rest and the arms of the greatest woman in the world around me. Please stop hitting me." I give up with a sigh, turning with my back to him. "Sakura," he sighs, pulling me into his arms. "Come on, I obviously love you, the thought of being with Anko actually makes me sick."
I bite my lip to hold back a smile. "I know," I whisper, turning around in his arms to wrap my arms around his neck. "Did I hurt you?" He shakes his head, leaning down to kiss me. "Good night," I whisper, letting go of him and turning around in his arms so my back is to him.
"Good night," he echoes, a soft smile easily heard in his voice.
I was re-reading my story (because I forgot if Genma and Kakashi had a history or not) and in chapter 14 I said: -He touches my cheek, smiling. "You made my cousin happy, you saved my brother's life, and you probably prevent war between Konoha and Suna."- Now, not only is this improper English and should be "probably prevented war" or "probably prevented a war" but also it is no Suna, it is Iwa. I'm also gonna call myself out and say, no she didn't, she just made it so a war would be more easily won by Konoha. Anyhow.
I just watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for the second time. I saw it when it first came out and was like "acid trip!" but now the movie makes a bit more sense. I suggest you see it, twice, if you're stupid like me. It takes a bit of watching to understand.
'Krazed: you can't run away with me if you stop reviewing. I'm serious, where'd you go? Do you hate me now? (I swear I'm not crazy, it's just been a long day)