~A/N: Has everyone heard about the ANBU Kakashi special that's going to start up in February for Shippuden? Featuring Yamato, Itachi, Minato, and the Third Hokage? (At least based on the promo pic). I'M SO PUMPED! Like, this is probably the only way to get me excited to watch filler.

Chapter Forty: Dangerous Territory

"Are you sure about this?" Benni asked in a hushed whisper as she followed Sakura down the hall and away from her family's sleeping quarters.

The guardsman had been easy enough for a kunoichi to get by, but Sakura was still thankful it hadn't been Osaki standing guard that night. She would have had a much harder time sneaking a noble past him.

"Do you trust me?"

The brunette girl nodded.

"It'll be fine. As long as you were able to get by your family without waking anyone up?"

"Yeah. That's easy enough."

"Then we've got nothing to worry about," Sakura grinned. "At least for a few hours. Kosuke knows where to meet you?"

"Yes! I can't wait for you to meet him!"

The pink-haired medic stopped, pushing the maintenance door open to reveal the glamorous upper deck of the ship.

"Then let's go."

"Ooh! I see him! Over there!"

Benni grabbed onto Sakura's arm and started dragging her over to where she had seen her betrothed. Sakura smiled, amused at the girl's enthusiasm—and slightly jealous. Benni was obviously deeply in love, and it was in a way that every girl dreamed about.

"This Kosuke must be something else," Sakura grinned, causing the younger girl to blush.

"Yeah, he is."

"So this is your ninja bodyguard?" a somewhat short, dark-haired boy around Sakura's age said, coming up to stand by the girls.

"Kosuke, this is Sakura. She's the one who suggested we sneak out."

Sakura laughed. "When you say it like that it makes me sound bad."

Kosuke smiled—it was a genuine smile—and held out his hand for Sakura. She thought he would only shake, but he surprised her by bringing her hand to his mouth and kissing it gently.

"Kosuke's also a little old-fashioned," Benni said.

"Well, he's certainly much more polite than most of the people I encounter on missions," Sakura teased. "I approve."

"Well, since you were the one who planned this clandestine meet-up, what would you like to do?" Kosuke asked, turning his full attention back to Benni.

"I—"

She turned to Sakura, but the pink-haired kunoichi just shrugged.

"It doesn't matter, as long as you stay within range of me."

"Okay, let's go get something to eat and then sit on that bench over there!" Benni said excitedly, grabbing Kosuke and dragging him along like she had with Sakura earlier.

Sakura smiled fondly at the pair. They looked so happy. She hoped everything worked out with their families. She never really understood the clan-loyalty thing, but she wasn't an Uchiha, or a Hyuuga, so she supposed she probably wouldn't be able to even if she tried.

Sakura didn't want to intrude on their date, but the only other place to sit down on the upper deck and get something to drink was the bar from the previous night. The medic didn't particularly want to go back there, but she didn't want to look suspicious by just standing around, so she settled for going and grabbing something non-alcoholic to drink.

She sat down at an empty barstool—away from most of the other patrons—and signaled for the bartender. He gave her a strange look when she only ordered a Sprite, but she just shook her head.

"Rough night."

The man nodded in understanding before sliding her the drink.

Sakura sighed, settling into the uncomfortable stool and casually scanning the area, checking for threats. She wasn't particularly concerned, but she wasn't going to be caught off-guard. Her eyes rested on the couple for a moment, and she couldn't help but smile at how happy they looked.

"Soda?" a voice asked a few minutes later, and Sakura couldn't say she was surprised to turn around and find it was Kakashi. She was surprised that he slid into the empty seat next to her, and ordered something a bit stronger for himself. "I thought you'd be going for something a bit more fun."

"Yeah, well, I'm on duty," she said glumly, nodding toward where Benni and Kosuke were talking in hushed voices across the ship's deck. She didn't meet his gaze.

"You're still upset with me," Kakashi said, but Sakura couldn't tell if it was a question or an observation. He just sounded resigned.

"Not really. I'm more upset with myself. You were right, I should have known better. I know I'm held to a higher standard than most other ninja of my age. How are you supposed to trust me on ANBU missions if I can't keep myself under control for one night on a cruise ship? I understand if you'd rather be partners with Yamato or someone else now."

She was prepared for a lot of different reactions, and had braced herself for the worst, but the one thing she didn't expect was for him to start laughing.

"Is that what this is about?"

"Is that what what is about?"

"This. You." He gestured at her clearly slouching form. "You're visibly more upset than the boys. Is it because you think I'll request a different ANBU partner? Because I'm not going to. No one works better with me than you, Sakura."

The pink-haired girl blushed slightly, turning away from him. She didn't know why the idea of having a different ANBU partner bothered her so much, but she just knew she didn't want him to work with anyone other than her.

Am I…jealous?

"Well, good," she stammered. "I'm glad. I mean, I would've understood, but I'm glad you're willing to give me another chance. It was beneath my level as a shinobi to make such a rookie mistake, and I—"

"Sakura," Kakashi interjected gently, "you're rambling."

"Oh, am I? I'm sorry."

He sighed. "No. I'm the one who's sorry. I was too hard on you guys. And it was completely out of line for me to suggest transferring you to another team. I really do regret saying it."

Sakura could only nod.

"You grew up in a different time than me, so I forget sometimes that you're still just kids—well, teenagers—because I was never allowed to be."

Sakura frowned. It was unlike Kakashi to be so forthcoming about his past—especially his childhood. But she wasn't going to prod him further. That would only succeed in pushing him away. If he wanted to offer more, he would. He knew she would listen.

"I grew up during war, and my childhood was spent on the battlefield. I don't regret it—I could never regret doing something that kept Konoha and the people I cared about safe—but I sometimes wish…"

He trailed off, breaking their gaze and looking sadly at the stars above them. Sakura wondered what he was thinking about. He hadn't finished his sentence, but she didn't need him to. She knew what he wished. He wished he could have been normal. That his life hadn't always been surrounded by tragedy.

He wished that for once, someone—someone he cared deeply about—would stay with him and he wouldn't be alone.

Sakura could almost feel her own heart breaking. Whether it was instinct or if she actually meant to take action, Sakura would never know, but she found herself unable to resist placing her small hand lightly on top of his much larger one. She squeezed gently—careful not to put any of her super strength into it—before her courage disappeared and she chickened out.

"Sakura?"

She turned back to him, and he must have seen something in her eyes, because his visible eye closed and he took a weary breath.

"Yeah?" she asked, but it came out a bit more breathless than she'd meant it to.

Kakashi said nothing, instead staring at her with a gaze that wouldn't allow her to look away. In that moment, Sakura was glad his Sharingan was covered, because she could barely handle the intensity coming from his normal eye. If it were anyone other than Kakashi, she would have said the look in his eyes was one of—

He leaned forward slightly—hesitantly—all the while keeping his gaze fixed on the pink-haired kunoichi in front of him, as if gauging her reactions. Sakura knew him well enough to know he was formulating his next action just as he always did—by watching and feeding off of those around him—but something seemed different this time, and she found herself leaning closer to him as well.

She wasn't stupid. She knew what that look in his eyes had been. She'd seen it in plenty of men before—but never directed at her. It was the look she saw Naruto give Hinata when the dark-haired girl had his full attention. It was the look Shikamaru would give to Temari when he didn't think anyone was watching.

And she was fully aware of what her own body was doing as she leaned slightly more toward him as he closed the gap on his end as well. Her eyes closed, but she didn't feel nervous. Not at all like she thought she would feel when she had her first—

"Hey guys! Whatcha doing?"

Kakashi and Sakura snapped straight up—both of them glaring at the sudden intruder.

"Naruto," Sakura said evenly, fixing the blonde standing behind them with a flat stare.

"Oh, hello Sakura, senpai," Yamato said, coming up to stand beside Naruto. "We weren't interrupting anything, were we?" He looked at Kakashi when he said the last part, shooting him a pointed look when he knew no one else was looking.

Kakashi, annoyed at the interruption, opened his mouth to say yes, they had interrupted something, but Sakura quickly spoke, sparing him a potentially awkward explanation.

"No. We were just having something to drink, that's all."

"Oh. Well I saw you guys over here as Captain Yamato and I were heading back to our rooms and I thought we should come say hi," Naruto said.

"Hi," Kakashi said unenthusiastically, although he was secretly glad for the pair's appearance. He didn't know what had come over him, but if Naruto and Yamato hadn't come along when they did, he wasn't sure what he would have done.

That fact didn't sit too well with him. He was a man of control, and he hadn't been in control right then.

"Well Naruto, I think we should be on our way," Yamato said, nodding goodnight to Sakura before turning to Kakashi and giving him a look.

Kakashi nodded, understanding every word of the wood-style user's unspoken message. They'd been ANBU partners long enough for that, and Kakashi knew exactly what the other man was telling him.

There were a lot of things that Yamato would forgive, but Team Seven was his team too, and he wouldn't forgive Kakashi if he screwed that up by hurting one of his teammates. He wanted to make sure his old friend knew exactly what he was doing.

Kakashi turned back to his drink. He didn't dare look Sakura in the eye. Not yet. He couldn't even explain what had happened to himself, so there was no way he'd be able to answer her inevitable questions.

Sakura looked like she wanted to bring up what had—or hadn't—happened, but Kakashi knew she wouldn't know how. He kept watching her through his peripheral vision, glad he'd decided to sit on her left side. Sometimes having only one usable eye had its drawbacks.

The medic fidgeted next to him, clearly not knowing what to say, but Kakashi didn't help her out like he normally would. It wasn't that he liked watching her discomfort, it was just that he didn't know what he could say.

"Kakashi—"

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, finally having worked up the courage to talk to him, but she was interrupted by a loud crash from across the deck. The pink-haired medic snapped to attention, eyes automatically searching for the nobles she was supposed to be guarding.

Please just be a bar fight. Please just be a bar fight.

To her right, Kakashi had tensed up as well. His own eye was scanning the area, trying to isolate any possible threats.

"Sakura."

His voice was low and urgent—none of the playful banter or raw emotion from earlier—and that was how Sakura knew there was trouble. This was his commander voice.

Shit.

The few patrons that still remained on the upper deck rushed back, away from the commotion, but one group was moving against them. Sakura narrowed her eyes, taking in the recognizable, tattered appearance of a group of bandits. A group that was, predictably, heading straight toward the bench where Kosuke and Benni were sitting.

"Kakashi," she said urgently, stiffening next to him in preparation to attack. Three of the bandits seemed to realize the two were the nobles' protection, and although neither Sakura nor Kakashi could be identified as shinobi from their attire, the bandits weren't likely to go easy on them.

"I know," he said, lifting his headband to reveal his Sharingan eye. He wasn't particularly worried about the bandits' level of strength, but it would be problematic for them if the enemy were able to take Benni or Kosuke hostage.

"What do we—"

"Move!" Kakashi yelled, launching himself at Sakura and pushing her across the bar as an exploding tag landed right where they'd been standing. He'd seen it with the Sharingan seconds before it was too late. Perhaps he'd underestimated the bandits.

"Don't move, or I'll kill your girlfriend."

The Copy Ninja turned, startled to find one of the bandits holding a kunai to Sakura's throat. His gut clenched for half a second before he saw the look on the medic's face. She didn't look worried or concerned at all; instead she just looked confused. Frowning, he let his gaze trail from the impossibly weak grip the bandit had on her, to the dull kunai at her throat.

He met the bandit's gaze, almost feeling pity for the man. He must have taken advantage of the fact that Sakura had been a little disoriented after Kakashi had suddenly shoved her across the room and grabbed her then, because there was no way this man stood a chance against the pink-haired kunoichi. Honestly, the only reason he'd probably been able to 'hold' her was because Sakura was so in awe at his ineptitude.

Kakashi shook his head. It was pathetic. The man was in for a rude awakening in about five seconds.

The bandit's face turned from an expression of smug victory to one of confusion when he saw the look on the Copy Ninja's face. Then, without changing her facial expression from its current confused state, Sakura brought one chakra-enhanced finger to the side of his head and flicked, sending the man crumpling straight to the ground. The dull kunai clattered beside him.

Kakashi looked back at Sakura, crinkling his eye and scratching the back of his head. "Well…"

Sakura just looked confused. "I thought he'd at least be…"

"Competent?" Kakashi supplied.

"Yeah."

The two shared an exasperated look before turning to go after the two remaining men. If they were anything like their counterpart, Kakashi knew they would have nothing to worry about.

As it turned out, he was right. The one he faced seemed to be slightly smarter than his fellow bandits—if only for the fact that he realized early on he was outclassed by the Copy Ninja. That still didn't stop Kakashi from knocking him out after less than a minute of combat. If he could even call it combat. The silver-haired jonin wasn't so sure it counted.

"How many more are there?" Kakashi called to Sakura, who had already defeated her opponent and was streaking toward Benni.

"Two!" she yelled, turning back to him.

The closest bandit to her took advantage of her momentary distraction, slashing at her with a small, curved blade. Sakura saw Kakashi's eye widen a moment before she felt the breeze from the incoming attack. She leaned back, letting the weight and momentum of her body carry her down and away from the bandit's blade. She tried to flip herself back into an upright position, but she was too slow. Her feet got caught up with her attacker's, and she felt her ankle twist with a sickening crack. Pain shot through her leg, but Sakura ignored it, instead planting her hands firmly on the ground and sweeping her good leg around to land a chakra-laden kick to his chest. They were closer to the ship's edge than the pink-haired kunoichi had realized, because the man stumbled back, looking at her in horror for a few seconds before tumbling back over the edge and into the depths of the sea.

Sakura didn't have time to think about the man she had just unintentionally killed, however. There was still one more bandit, and he was getting closer to Kosuke and Benni. The dark-haired boy and pushed his betrothed behind him, but he wouldn't be able to stand up against even these bandits, who were weak by shinobi standards.

Sakura stood, pushing off the ground only to lurch forward when her injured ankle refused to work properly.

"Kakashi!" she yelled, but the silver-haired man was already streaking past her, impaling the banding with a Chidori. He'd seemed stronger than the other men they'd fought, and he was too close to his target for Kakashi to be willing to risk it.

"Are you alright?" he asked, quickly giving both nobles a once over. As expected, they were slightly shaken, but there would be no lasting damage.

"Ow. Damn it."

Sakura, on the other hand, seemed to have managed to get herself injured.

"Sakura, what happened?" Kakashi asked, kneeling by her side. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "It's my own fault. I twisted my own ankle." She winced as she prodded it with her own hands. "Damn super strength. It hurts pretty bad though."

The Copy Ninja lowered his voice. "Do you need to heal it?"

Sakura looked up. Now that the fighting had stopped, a crowd was starting to gather around. It wouldn't do much good for them to draw attention to themselves. Besides, there was no way she could heal herself in public. It would blow her cover.

"There's a maintenance closet over there where Benni and I snuck in from," Sakura said, reading his mind. "We can hide out there and I can heal this stupid injury."

Kakashi nodded, wasting no time in scooping her into his arms and signaling to the two nobles that they should follow him.

"Kakashi," Sakura protested, squirming in his hold. "I don't need you to carry me."

"You can't walk on that ankle," he said dismissively. "It's faster if I carry you."

Sakura sighed, but she knew better than to argue with him when he took that tone. Besides, it wasn't that far. Kosuke held the door open for them, and the four slipped quietly away from the crowd and into their hiding space.

Sakura expected Kakashi to put her down once they were safely hidden, but to her surprise, he kept holding her as he sat up against the wall and waited for her to heal her leg. The two nobles were understandably fascinated by the medic's healing capabilities, but they respectfully allowed her to go about her work without interruption.

"There. All finished," she said, letting the green glow that signified her use of medical ninjutsu fade away.

"So how long have you two been together?" Kosuke asked, clearly getting the wrong idea from the way Kakashi had been holding her.

Sakura shifted, trying to move away from her silver-haired team captain while denying the fact that they were together—at least in the way Kosuke seemed to think they were. Although, she thought, he had every right to think so, with the way Kakashi was acting.

To her surprise, Kakashi didn't voice his denial; instead, the Copy Ninja wrapped his arms around her tighter and said, thoughtfully, "Oh about two months."

Their entire party was silent for about ten seconds before Kakashi continued. "As teammates. Oh, you meant as lovers?"

Sakura slapped him, but she didn't put any strength into it. Knowing Kakashi, he probably hardly felt it. The silver-haired jonin grinned, but he made no move to let her go.

"We're not together," Sakura said, with what she hoped was a convincing tone. Kosuke and Benni still looked skeptical, but she supposed that was reasonable considering her former sensei and team leader had suddenly decided that today was the day he wanted to be all touchy.

There were a few seconds of tense silence before Kakashi finally sighed, sitting back and unwrapping his arms from around the pink-haired medic.

"No," he said, "we're not."

He knew better than to mess with Sakura too much, especially like this. He wasn't particularly sure why he'd done it in the first place.

Kakashi shook his head. This was getting into dangerous territory.

~A/N: Hey guys. There unfortunately isn't going to be a chapter next week so I can concentrate on finals, finishing all my work up for the semester and get ready to move back home for the break. But I won't be completely slacking. I hope to get a detailed, finalized outline of the next "arc" done. I have a pretty good idea of how I want it to go, but I want to make sure it's as I'm picturing it. (hint, hint: if you haven't noticed how Kakashi and Sakura have been acting, shit's gonna go down)