Howling Love
Chapter Seventeen xx Glances

"How the hell could you have let this happen?!"

It was becoming quite clear to both of the male teammates that their third member, Shizune, had most definitely adopted many—if not all—of Tsunade's characteristics over the years of her apprenticeship. Though she typically came across as a shy and passively reserved young kunoichi, the dark-haired woman was in fact incredibly outspoken when she wanted to be, and unless it was in front of her teacher, she was never at all afraid of voicing her many opinions, as unwanted as they have been.

The gray-haired Kakashi surveyed his temporary teammate dubiously before shifting his weight casually against a short coffee table in the lobby so that he leaned easily against it, his arms crossed in a nonchalant fashion across the chest-plate of his green chuunin vest. His single eye, though at first glance appeared bored, was in fact wrought with a strange uneasiness, as if he some sort of inner battle was causing him a great deal of thought and attention. This aura, however, swiftly vanished when his fellow male teammate cast him a slightly raised eyebrow, and the Copy-Ninha reluctantly returned to his apathetic facade.

Nara Shikaku, his teammate, scrutinized him critically for a moment, a slight wisp of amusement playing across his features before his acute and perceptive eyes darted back to snatch a an annoyed glance at the woman standing before them, his expression then abruptly turning stony and serious. The criss-crossing scars that were carved deep into the skin of his face gave him a sort of menacing air when he took on that sort of stern silence, and his now adamant body language portrayed a man who had his ideas and opinions locked, and in no way would he be deterred from them.

"Shizune, calm down, and think about this for a second. Being a woman doesn't give you a license to have a panic attack every time something the least bit problematic occurs. If you can't keep yourself together, than you have my permission to send yourself back to Konoha."

The dark-haired woman's mouth hung slightly ajar, her expression wide with shock and her furious indignancy. She blinked rapidly, her eyes narrowing in raw anger as her small hands curled into fists. She quickly closed her mouth before opening it once more, eager to spurt a venomous retort.

"And being a man doesn't give you a license to completely ignore a teammate when they're trying to think logically about a situation—"

"Logically?!"

"Yes, logically, and how dare you make such an accusation—"

"We're not playing in your turf right now, Shizune. This isn't some hospital were you get to make the rules; this is a serious mission. Tsunade-sama allowed you to come only because she needed a medic out here to help her student, and seeing as Miss Haruno is already being looked after, you're not really needed. As the captain, I am free to dismiss you as necessary. So either you cool it, or you're going home. Understood?"

The woman stared at him in complete shock before her expression caved in with her building rage. She bit her tongue however and did not speak, though her shoulders continued to shake with resentment and her fists never quite unfolded. The team captain examined her emotionlessly before moving to address both teammates.

"As of now, we don't have the man power or the orders from the Godaime to conduct any sort of retrieval mission. So what matters right now is the completion of our current mission; getting Haruno-san to the Konoha hospital. When the medic team arrives we'll send a request back to Konoha requesting an ANBU squad to execute a retrieval that. Sound appropriate?" The man directed this question at Kakashi, completely ignoring their female accomplice.

The gray-haired jounin shrugged mildly, expression indifferent.

"The safety and retrieval of a nukenin that's been gone for as long as Uchiha Sasuke has is hardly worth the time of Konoha's elite shinobi, Shikaku-san." He rolled his shoulders boredly before shifting his weight, seemingly immune to the dagger of stress that had sliced its way through his teammates.

"By now he's probably leagues away, and it would put our men at risk to have them out in the field chasing after a missing nin when so many questions are still out on the table. We don't have enough information for a retrieval team to go by, and it would be impossible to clock how many men might be needed for the job, what rank those men should be, and what the possible dangers could be during the mission. To put it simply; we have no leads, and it's pointless to pretend like we do. I suggest that we take care of Sakura and just let this one go."

A feral Shizune rounded on the jounin, unable to keep her rabid tongue.

"Kakashi, have you no idea what that would do to Sakura?! How the hell do you think she'll take it if we told her that the man that she loved has suddenly vanished and that there's nothing anyone can fucking do about it?!"

"Shizune, I hope you aren't forgetting that she was once my student, and that I know her just as well if not better than you. She's a strong girl, she'll be fine."

Shikaku slanted his eyes towards his fellow male, brow raised in a passively questioning glance. Kakashi's eye crinkled in a wry grin, though he quickly hid it when the female looked his way.

"Do not put words in my mouth, Kakashi. I know Sakura is strong, but she's already had so say goodbye to that traitor once—"

"Shizune-san." The woman froze as her name was spoken by the captain, her teeth gritting together bitterly as she bit off her words. She glared profusely at both men, seething with fury. Shikaku ignored her and pressed on.

"The medic team is going to be here any minute; I'm going to go wait for their arrival outside. Kakashi, prep Sakura-san for the trip. Shizune, come with me. Got it?" With that the Nara had turned and was trudging warily down the sterile hospital hallway without waiting for replies, his expression blank.

Shizune stomped furiously after Shikaku, her petite fists clenched against the sides of her kimono.

The gray-haired jounin slipped his orange novel back into his pocket quietly before slowly moving towards the large staircase, his brow knit together in deep concentration as he sought to complete his orders.

He pushed open the mint-colored door slowly, wishing not to wake the duo he knew to be sleeping peacefully within. He quietly poked his head around the corner just to see the state of things inside and his expression visually softened.

The pinkette kunoichi was curled into a loose ball on her side, her shimmering, pink-pastel hair falling in lose rivulets about the throng of sheets and blankets about her thin body. One of her delicate hands was tucked neatly beneath her flushed cheek while the other was draped comfortably through the thick mane of the wolf that slept at her side. The dark creature had itself buried warmly between the girl's body and the layer of blankets she'd evidently pulled up for him, his face burrowed into the crook of her elbow and thus hidden from view. The canine was evidently fast asleep; his proud head resting easily across his forepaws, his shoulders slowly rising and falling with each intake of breath.

It was cute; how the female's body curved naturally around the wolf's form, and how he fit so snugly next to her.

The kunoichi stirred suddenly, a small indent forming between her eyes as she furrowed her pale brow in slight concentration. She was so warm, so perfectly at peace, yet she couldn't help but to wake to that eerie sensation that someone was watching her closely, causing small ripples of anxiety to crawl up the length of her spine, and she cringed inwardly. Her grasp tightened around the handful of charcoal fur that she had intertwined through her delicate digits as she guardedly opened her eyes. She felt the thin body beside her tense against her torso, and she quickly loosened her grip in his mane and chose to run her hand smoothly across his gleaming coat, hoping that would lull him back into his previous sleep. Only then did she choose to glance up and meet the curious eye of her spectator.

"Kakashi...?" she moved to prop herself up on her elbow, but he waved a dismissive hand and she gave up on that and instead remained on her side, idly stroking the creature now sleeping comfortably next to her. Suspicious daunted on her as she scrutinized her old teacher, her emerald orbs narrowing.

"The one and only. Expecting someone different?"

"No, I just didn't expect you to be here...." She trailed off awkwardly, eyeing the jounin cautiously.

"Shizune didn't tell you?" The former ANBU raised a questioning eyebrow and frowned when the Haruno hesitantly shook her head.

"She, Nara Shikaku and I are in charge of you, as it stands. We arrived a few hours after you did, actually. Lucky too, Shizune's medical experience saved your leg, among other things."

Kakashi shrugged mildly before making his way around her bed to look bleakly out the misted window. He then turned around casually and leaned against the window frame, his arms crossing easily over his chest. She watched him warily, wondering blankly why he hadn't even mentioned the wolf next to her.

"High-tempered woman, and she's in a particularly bad mood today. I doubt she's going to let you keep Fido." The jounin chuckled dryly to as he glanced at the wolf. Sakura turned white.

"Anyway, I'm supposed to talk to you about how you're getting to Konoha hospital, but seeing as you work there, I can assume you know how that works?" She nodded in the affirmative.

"So I'll skip that and move onto something more important. Our favorite Uchiha suddenly vanished from his hospital room downstairs a couple hours ago, though I have a hunch that you already knew that." The shinobi's voice remained bland and uninterested as he trudged over to her bedside and surveyed the dark creature casually. A sigh rolled from his masked lips as he gave the canine an affectionate scratch between the ears.

The wolf's ears flattened instantaneously against the back of his neck before one cautiously perked up and swiveled around to listen to the strange intruder. The gray-haired jounin heffed a sigh before straightening up once more.

"You should bring him with you when the medic team arrives, you never know when a guard dog might be useful. Konoha's big, open spaces will do him well, as opposed to the dark alley life of a stray." The man trailed off pointedly before picking up the threads again, his voice twinkling with an odd sort of merry amusement.

"Plus adoption policies there are more forgiving than you may think, so he shouldn't have too much problem getting settled."

The former ANBU member yawned audibly, his dark eye examining the dark creature closely before averting away towards the window.

The Haruno sat up on her mattress, propping herself up on her elbows as she gaped at her gray-haired teacher. Her already-pale face was even more chalky in her utter fear, and her jade eyes were wide with badly-suppressed shock.

"How-?"

"'A good magician never reveals his secrets.'" The jounin tapped his head lightly, chuckling beneath the mask.

"But how—?" Sakura stumbled out.

"Maybe another time."

"Kakashi!"

"Relax, Sakura. I'll explain when we get you two back to the village; don't stress over it."

A furious series of knocks from the door disrupted their short conversation, and a disgruntled Shizune bustled through, her expression hard. The pinkette snuck a sideways glance at Kakashi to see his expression droop considerably.

Behind the woman was the tall and serious Shikaku and three shinobi dressed in pure-white garmets with identical red crossed emblazoned across each of their chests. Sakura felt butterflies fluttering about in her stomach as she realized that the medics were here to pick her up, and that the warm luxury of the bed she lay in and the wolf beside her were about to be torn away from her.

Her master's assistant was the first person to break the following silence, and it was with great reluctance that the pinkette listened to her high-pitched words.

"Sakura, you had several severe infections following your injuries, why on earth would you bring a filthy dog into your bed?" Shizune sighed as she took her place at the foot of the bed, her arms crossed curtly over her chest. Sakura slipped a quick glance to Kakashi in a silent plea for help, her pale expression dripping of raw panic.

"I apologize, Shizune, I found him outside and thought Sakura could use some company." Kakashi's eye closed in one of his fake grins as he slipped in in Sakura's rescue. The kunoichi slanted him a thankful glance.

"Well she can't take him with her, the transporting jutsu only works for humans. Put him back where you found him."

"Ah, Shizune-san—"

And then the warm bundle was being lifted away from her. She felt instantly vulnerable without his prescense next to her and she glared venomously up at the culprit, only to replace the expression with one of gratitude when she saw that it wasn't Shizune, but Kakashi who'd picked the Uchiha up, and that he'd done it extremely gently as to not wake him. Sakura opened her mouth to speak, to deny him of his taking of the slumbering creature, but his expression took up a sudden hard edge, and she decided against speaking.

The jounin nodded to her faintly, his dark eyes twinkling before he returned his full attention towards the medic team, as both his teammates were. Sakura shifted uncomfortably on the mattress beneath her, her pale expression concerned as she followed his gaze.

The medic team took over from there, much to the Haruno's distress. It was a pretty simple transportation process, but unfortunately it involved standing, which was a near impossible feat. Two of the three members of the small squad managed to hold her up however while the third placed various seals and tags around the others. Finally the remaining member finished up and stood before her, his bland expression looking somewhat skeptical. Sakura matched it with a discomforted frown.

"This will only take a moment, Haruno-san. We will arrive in Konoha Hospital shortly." The man passively bowed his head before launching off into a complex series of hand seals, and then very quickly, Sakura felt a strange tugging sensation at the bottoms of her bare feet.

The odd feeling grew suddenly in intensity before moving up her legs, and she snaked a glance up at the other shinobi in the room, her glittering jades searching longingly for something to hold on to.

A tired pair of gleaming obsidians intercepted her gaze, gazing at her with their normal stoic and serious aura. The dark orbs seemed to swell around her as she gazed into their smoldering depths until, slowly, they fluttered shut once more. She felt an immense comfort ripple through her being at having his godlike eyes being the last thing she saw before leaving. She felt, though she had no clear idea of what the future would hold, that it would somehow work out; that life would mend what it had so brutally shredded, in the end.

Then, swiftly, she was tugged away into another place entirely, where a new beginning would inevitably arise.

A/N: HAPPY HAPPY (late) NEW YEARRRR! WOO!

So I've basically just experienced the most hectic and dramatic week of my life. And now I'm exhausted and I have one more day of break and I am going to DIE because of all the fucking pre-cal homework. UHHHH.

Anyway, so basically my friend finally got serious with this guy and they are officially dating. (finally) So he comes to our new years get-together thing with her, which was fine, but he didn't think ahead, so afterwards he had no ride home. (I'VE GOT MY LEARNERS PERMIT OK?! WORKING ON IT. D:) And so he was going to come with us to another friend's house where we were going to crash for the night and he was going to sleep in another room (awkward. very awkward) and then parents got wind of that plan and started acting like parents.

I, at this point, was totally not in the mood for the drama (as usual) so I went back to my house with my bestie. Apparently, as we heard later, it didn't work out. We didn't press for more info.

The next day I was talking with the friend who just started dating that guy, and she had to hang up because apparently some person she knows from tennis(which surprisingly has a lot of drama for a sports team) was being especially stupid and almost got herself pregnant. So my friend was driving around trying to help her out, and that was one big mess that I somehow got dragged into.

And I had some weird stalker send me like 100 texts yesterday. Freaked me out.

Oh and my best guy friend wants to ask me out. Classic scenario where I LIKED BEING FRIENDS and now its going to be awkward because I def DO NOT see him in that way. UHHHH. UHHGGGGGG! D:

Oh ya, and I've been running on no sleep for the past few days because of all of the late-night phone calls and texts. It's killing me.

I'm unused to the drama. Sorry for ranting, I needed to get that out. ____;;

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Anywho this chapter was actually finished the day after Christmas. And then I realized that the whole beginning part made absolutely no sense so I redid it..... I still think its bad. D: Sorry! I guess my mind is still fuddled from all the sparkling cider? Haha, I dunno.

Expect more fluff in the coming chapters. :] I'm excited, I love writing those kind of scenes.

Thank you SO MUCH for reading and please REVIEW! Thanks!

--xxIndigo