The room was still dim when Sakura woke up; blackout blinds had been lowered at some point, but she could see pinpoints of light shining through. The sun was up, and she was still naked in Kakashi's bed.

She sat up so quickly that Kakashi followed suit out of pure muscle memory.

"What's wrong?" he said, when an enemy didn't jump out of the closet.

"What time is it?" Sakura went to kick off the blankets, but Kakashi reached out and gently held her in place.

"Still early. It's summer in Suna, and we're not expected anywhere until ten anyway."

Now that she was awake and full of panic it would be impossible to go back to sleep, but she allowed herself to settle back against her pillow. "What's at ten?"

"Boring stuff. Kages sharing reports mostly. I've got my notes somewhere if you want to read over them." Kakashi rolled onto his side facing her, twitching the blanket down in the process. He began to trace a finger along her bare torso. "We could just skip it, actually."

"We're not skipping it and we're not turning up late, either." Sakura glared at him, but there was no heat to it. "I take my duties as Hokage-wrangler very seriously."

The finger reached the top of the blankets and became a palm resting against the dip of her waist. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes, I'm a natural pink."

He smiled, but it faded quickly. "No, I wanted to talk about – something I was told recently." Just like last night, his thumb began to rub the space between her ribs, where the hard plate of her sternum met the underside of her breasts. "I was told that you have a birthmark in the shape of a heart." He thumbed the blank skin again. "Right here, they said."

She stared at him, scanning his expression for any sign of scorn or disappointment. "Please tell me that isn't why you slept with me."

"No, I slept with you because I love you," Kakashi said, "but I wanted to talk about this just in case you needed to talk about it. Because clearly there's no birthmark, but I assume there's still a reason this person thought there would be one?"

About ten seconds passed before he seemed to realise she had gone silent, his gaze travelling from her chest back to her face. "What's wrong?"

Sakura was blushing so brilliantly that Kakashi's hand suddenly felt cold against her skin. "Did you mean to say that just now?"

He stared at her, and just as she was starting to think she'd misheard, he blinked. "You mean that I love you?"

She nodded.

"I didn't mean to say it," he confessed, and Sakura's heart dropped, "but it's true."

"It is?"

"You don't need to say it back or anything." It was Kakashi's turn to blush, and whilst it was nowhere near as brilliant a shade as Sakura's, it was still a sight to behold. "But I wouldn't be doing this if I weren't sure about my feelings. Sorry for the weird timing, though."

"Don't be," she rushed to assure him. "I was just surprised. No one's ever said that to me before."

He frowned. "Never? What about in your dream? Didn't Sasuke…?"

"Hmm, not often."

"How often?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe three times?" She counted on her fingers. "Proposal, wedding, birth of Sarada."

Kakashi sat up properly, taking her face in his hands. "Haruno Sakura: I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you." And then he kissed her, and it was as if every ounce of his sincerity were expressed in that moment. "So," he said, once they parted, and Sakura forced herself to pay attention to his words instead of just staring at his beautiful mouth, "about the birthmark…?"

"Oh, that." Sakura waved her hand dismissively. "Insurance against genjutsu victims who don't understand the meaning of the word 'discretion.'"

"Genjutsu, huh?"

She wrinkled her nose. "You didn't think I'd actually sleep with that scumbag, did you?"

He shrugged. "We're ninjas. Sometimes that means sleeping with scumbags."

"Only if we get paid. Blackmail only gets you an illusion and my eternal hatred."

"He blackmailed you?" Kakashi looked suddenly murderous.

"I handled it, so don't worry. Let's just leave him alone and hope he does the same to us."

"Hmm."

"I'm serious, Hokage-sama," she warned. "Don't talk to him at all from now on. Promise me."

He smiled obediently, reaching over to kiss her again. "I promise not to talk to him at all." His stubble scratched against Sakura's neck as he pulled her into his lap. She could feel her latent annoyance melt away, replaced with a different emotion entirely. "From now on."


"Okay, now we really need to start getting ready." Sakura flopped back onto the sweaty sheets. "What time is it now?"

"Er…" Instead of looking for a timepiece, Kakashi pressed the button that raised the blackout blinds and let the sun shine fully into the room. "Mid-morning?"

She sprung back up, staring at the distractingly sexy, frustratingly vague man next to her. "And you said the meeting was at ten?"

"Yep."

"Are you trying to make us late?" She shook his shoulders, contemplating just throttling him and declaring herself the new Hokage. "We have to get ready!"

"Sure thing." Kakashi smiled angelically, hopping out of bed and opening his wardrobe. "I'm going to wear my robes of office. Are you planning to wear last night's kimono, or…?"

"Oh shit." Sakura sprang out of bed, dragging half the bedding out to wrap herself in.

"This morning's bed sheet. Excellent choice." Kakashi began pulling on his own clothes like Sakura wasn't currently having a crisis. "You'll cause quite a sensation."

"I'm borrowing a shirt," she declared, pulling out a navy-blue shirt long enough to cover a decent amount of leg. She could cinch it with one of the smaller ties from her kimono. "And a pair of shorts." That would be enough to get back to Ino's room where she could find proper clothes. "Where's the venue? I'll meet you there."

Kakashi gave her the details. "Did you want me to wait here for ten minutes after you leave, like your dirty little secret?" he smirked.

Sakura turned back from the door she had just been about to sprint out of. "Make it two minutes, otherwise you'll take twenty, and if you can grab me a coffee on your way, I'll love you forever."

She slipped out and was halfway down the (blessedly empty) hall before she realised what she'd said, but there was no time to debate with herself whether or not that counted, because the second she walked through her door, Ino jumped her.

"And what time do you call this?"

"I call this late, so make your lecture brief." Sakura rifled through her pile of new clothes, dressing quickly in an elegant patterned blouse and dark pants.

"Where to begin," Ino said, circling Sakura with a smile like a shark's. "Turning up the morning after a party without the clothes you went out in, wearing nothing but a strange man's shirt…"

"Strange man," Sakura echoed, rolling her eyes. "I'm leaving now."

She turned for the door but stopped when a finger landed on the crook of her neck.

"And then there's this. Might I suggest adding a scarf to your outfit?"

"What?" She wheeled back toward the modest ensuite, examining her neck in the mirror above the sink. "Oh, you are kidding me…"

Stupid Kakashi and his sharp teeth…


Kakashi met her outside the meeting room at 10:04, with a sweet black coffee and a gleeful grin that Sakura could see even under his mask.

"Thanks," she grumbled, taking her coffee and trotting past him into the meeting room.

"Forever…" he whispered teasingly, and she could have decked him then and there if not for the feeling that the leaders of the free world were staring right at them.

"Shall we begin?" Gaara said, and the door closed behind Kakashi with the ominous click of a sound-proof lock.

Sakura took her seat sheepishly, fighting the urge to scratch at her neck. She had turned the smaller tie from her kimono into a makeshift neckerchief, with some assistance from Ino (once she had stopped laughing). If only she had brought the scarf Kakashi had gifted her along on this trip. She had worn it for sentimental (and slightly self-pitying) reasons when it had been a mixed token of both affection and rejection. But now she could have worn it with pride and neatly fixed the 'love bite' issue.

There will be plenty more hickeys to hide in future…

Pleasantly warmed by that thought, she settled into the formalities of the meeting. It was nowhere near as boring as Kakashi had implied. The reports from other nations skirted around a lot of issues (the instinct to keep one's vulnerabilities close to their chest was still strong) so listeners were forced to pay attention to what was left unsaid. Sakura could see the threads of Yoshio's influence here and there: a feudal lord and his heir who both contracted some mysterious illness before dying and leaving the second son in charge. Squads of shinobi whose loyalty was previously considered above reproach, suddenly going AWOL. All the deep-dreamers Sakura had asked them to find for her, suddenly acting stranger than usual.

Appraising glances began to be cast her way. At first, she thought her neckerchief had slipped and they were admiring Kakashi's handiwork; but as more reports came to light, she realised that these people, her friends, were connecting the same dots she was. But without knowing about Yoshio, everything pointed toward her instead.

Kakashi was slated to give his report last (possibly coincidence, possibly awareness of his reputation for lateness). While Kurotsuchi (the newest Kage, who had taken over from her grandfather as Tsuchikage just like she had in Sakura's dream) wrapped up the report from the Hidden Rock, Kakashi scribbled something on the corner of his notes and slid it across to Sakura.

WE NEED TO TELL THEM.

Almost immediately he took it back and added another line.

ABOUT S.Y. I MEAN. NOT ABOUT US.

She gave him her most deadpan expression, writing on the corner of her own notes.

THANKS FOR THE CLARIFICATION.

Then she leaned over and scribbled out Kakashi's messages until they were nothing more than ink stains. In truth, she was relieved. Telling the world leaders and their assistants about Sato Yoshio had its risks, especially if he had already gotten to one of them. But it meant eight more pairs of eyes monitoring the chunin exam, and she didn't need to go into details about her plans for catching him.

Kakashi's turn came up, and he stood.

"My report was actually pretty dry, to be honest. But after hearing all the things happening elsewhere, I believe my assistant can speak to the issue best."

The attention was on her fully now, and even those she knew well like Gaara, Kankuro and A wore serious expressions. She stood, and Kakashi sat.

"There is a deep-dreamer named Sato Yoshio. He isn't from a large village so I doubt you've heard of him. In truth, before the war he was completely unremarkable. But then, like other deep-dreamers, he had more time to change that. And like the others, waking up had a strong impact on his mental state."

She briefly explained his abilities and broader plans for global control, but the Kages were smart enough to understand that the chunin exam, and all of them in the same room together, would basically be an irresistible opportunity for such a man.

When she was done, the Tsuchikage raised her hand.

"Yes?" It felt strange calling on one of the most powerful people in the world like she was a student in a classroom.

"Meaning no disrespect to Konoha, nor to the Hokage's new assistant, but do you have any proof that this man exists? You're the longest deep-dreamer any of us know, and you've travelled through all of our nations recently. A mastermind with a nebulous long-distance jutsu sounds like an awfully convenient cover story."

Sakura shrugged carefully. "If I were to blame for these incidents, I would have simply kept quiet instead of explaining about Yoshio and drawing any additional attention to the deep-dreamers involved."

Mei from the Hidden Mist raised her hand to speak. "Can you tell us more about this man, and how you came to meet him?"

"He was a deep-dreamer I met on my travels, one of the few that sought me out instead of the other way around. Apparently he had been doing similar work finding other deep-dreamers and helping them to adjust, and suggested we combine our resources." She swallowed, mouth dry. "When I realised these people were being controlled by him, several of my own patients were already compromised."

Gaara spoke up. "If you knew about this threat, why not inform the other villages immediately?"

Sakura wasn't sure if that question was directed at her or Kakashi, but she fielded it anyway. "Because that's exactly what Yoshio wanted. Causing mass panic and distrust would only make his mission easier. We have the strongest pan-national alliance we've ever had, thanks to Naruto; but who is to say that the fear of our neighbours succumbing to infiltration wouldn't have broken that? Shinobi don't trust easily, and we always assume the worst until proven otherwise. That helps us to survive, but it makes peace fragile. I only wanted to protect that peace we all fought for a little longer." Perhaps it was arrogant to assume she could have handled Yoshio without help from the other nations, but Sakura was a medic; hubris was par for the course. Only time would tell if she had made a mistake.

There were several more questions, some supportive and some bordering on interrogation. But Kakashi was on her side, and Gaara and A were quickly convinced after she mentioned Naruto. She knew the holdouts weren't making it personal, but carefully safeguarding their villages' interests. She couldn't blame any of them for doubting her, as terrifying as it was.

When they finally ended the meeting (an hour over time), it was all Sakura could do to remain standing.

"I'm so hungry," she groaned, tossing her long-since emptied coffee cup into the trash on her way out.

"You handled yourself well in there," Kakashi said. "I think they all believe you, and even if they don't, they definitely respect you now."

They weren't allowed to go into details now that the doors were open and the privacy compromised, but Sakura couldn't think of a less appealing conversation anyway. So instead of venting about how much the other Kages' assistants interrupted her, or how her voice trembled at one point, she said, "hey, what are you doing now? I have somewhere I want to visit, and I don't really want to go alone. We can even grab lunch along the way."

"Are you treating me?" Kakashi asked, batting his eyelashes. "Because if you do, I might just love you forever."

"Keep that up and the only thing I'll treat you to is a trip to the hospital."

"Threatening your Hokage on the first day of the job? Tsk, tsk."

"Oh, don't worry about it. The place I'm taking you is somewhere secluded I can bump you off and become your successor."

"Bump me off?" Kakashi snorted. "You sound like one of those crime novels civilians write."

The easy banter continued through lunch, but petered out when they approached their destination.

Chiyo's grave was marked by a gourd-shaped slab of stone, inscribed with her name and deeds. Sakura knelt in front of it, saying a brief prayer and paying her respects.

"I try to visit whenever I'm in the area," she explained. "I like to believe it's appreciated."

Kakashi stood a little off to the side. "I'm not sure she'd appreciate a visit from me, though."

Kakashi's father had killed Chiyo's son and his wife, and even though Chiyo had accepted Kakashi as an ally, her desire for vengeance had run deep.

War… Sakura thought bitterly to herself.

She joined him, taking his hand in hers, and for a moment all they did was stand and reflect on their losses.

"I tried to find a record of the jutsu she used to save Gaara," she admitted quietly. "Not long before the war started, and then again last year."

Kakashi turned, watching her closely. "Why?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "just in case? It seemed useful to learn how to do something like that."

"To learn how to die, you mean."

"How to give someone life. How to save someone important." How many times had she thought Naruto might die before he lived up to all his promises? How many times had she failed to save Sasuke? "You really wouldn't want to know how she did something like that?"

"I already do," Kakashi said. "I copied it with my sharingan that day." He gave her a wry smile. "Just in case."

"Really? Will you teach me?"

"No." His reply was immediate, brokering no argument. "Life pays for life, and you already give too much of yourself as it is."

"And you don't?"

He frowned at her. "I've known the jutsu for four years, and as you can see, I haven't died yet."

"Except when you burned yourself out saving Chouji from Pein," she pointed out, smiling when Kakashi's frown deepened. "You didn't think I knew about that, huh? Well I do. We're more alike than you care to admit."

"All the more reason to keep it to myself."

"Fine," she sighed, her hand tightening around Kakashi's. "At least that's one good thing about you becoming Hokage: if there's nobody more important, you'd never have a reason to use that jutsu anyway."

Kakashi didn't respond, and for a few more minutes they simply stood and enjoyed the bittersweet tranquillity that only a grave could instil.


"Remind me again what tonight entails."

Kakashi and Sakura had left the caldera of the village, heading along a stone path lined with torches. It led to the fighting arena where, Kakashi knew, the finalists of the chunin exam would eventually fight their one-on-one battles to determine their eligibility for promotion. But that event would be witnessed by huge crowds of both shinobi and civilian spectators. Tonight's festivities were charged with a different, more elicit energy.

"It's a tradition among the five nations, to pit their champions against one another in the name of comradery and friendly relations." Sakura grinned. "Basically, it's a bloodbath."

"And you're excited to participate?" Kakashi couldn't quite mask his distaste. Even if he hadn't been in love with his assistant, it felt odd to pit them against the seconds of every other Kage in the name of 'friendly relations'. And the fact that he was in love with his assistant made the prospect all the more nerve-wracking.

I don't want her to get hurt…

It was the classic shinobi blunder: love a fellow weapon, and you'd be guaranteed nothing but grief when their work eventually brought them death. Sakura may have been tougher than anyone he'd ever met, but accidents happened all the time, even in friendly matches.

Sakura seemed unaware of his dramatic thoughts. "I'm excited to see how much I improved from last time. And this time I won't have Tsunade cursing me by betting on my victory."

"Oh, it's a betting thing."

"Naturally."

"So why were you the Fifth's champion? Why not Shizune?" Sakura may have been Tsunade's protege, but Shizune was her actual assistant and bodyguard.

"Shizune's fighting style isn't well suited to this kind of thing," Sakura explained. "She's a poison specialist, so she doesn't get much practice fighting without the intent to kill her opponents."

"Hmm, I can see how that would be a diplomatic incident waiting to happen."

"Yeah…"

"So, how did you do last time?"

"Oh, I got my head kicked in," Sakura's tone was as cheerful as ever. "Bled like crazy and left me concussed for a week, because heads are a bit tricky to self-heal. Considering I was only a chunin at the time, I think I did alright. But this time, I'm gonna win the whole thing."

"I think you might still be concussed."

"Har, har. Joke all you want, but Konoha has a reputation it needs to uphold. It wouldn't hurt your own reputation either, if your champion put on a good show."

The path opened out to a circular pit, like a mini, empty version of the village they had just left; but it was ringed with tiers of seats and the edge of the pit glowed faintly gold.

"Chakra seal," Sakura noted. "They activate it to stop any really big jutsu leaving the pit and hurting the spectators. It also makes climbing the sides a real bitch."

The other Kages were already present, along with their assistants, bodyguards, and a few other high-profile ninjas. Kakashi knew they were also surrounded by dozens of ANBU and other guards who would be ensuring there were no 'interruptions' to this little tradition. In theory, Yoshio wouldn't have any reason to expect the Kages to assemble at this particular place and time, so the likelihood of attack was low.

In theory…

"You look worried," Sakura observed, nudging him in the side with her elbow. "Think positive thoughts."

"I am positive that this is an insane tradition."

"They're going to think you don't have any faith in your champion," she complained, and Kakashi couldn't help a fond smile. No matter how many changes she went through, she was still so quintessentially Haruno Sakura sometimes. Her competitive streak looked the same on her now as it did when she was a genin.

The group exchanged pleasantries, and for all that they had nearly thrown Sakura out of the morning's meeting as a possible spy, they showed her nothing but respect now.

"It's a shame we won't get that rematch you promised me," Kurotsuchi, who had been one of the harshest interrogators, was grinning at Sakura like they were buddies at the academy. "I was looking forward to seeing firsthand how far you've come since then."

Sakura smiled. "I'll be sure to give a thorough demonstration."

"Just remember to protect your head this time." She winked, turning to chat with Mei and her bodyguard, Chojuro.

The Kages drew lots to see who would fight first. It was technically round robin, in that if the fight ended and both competitors were still conscious and willing to continue, both could join the next pool of match-ups. But A assured Kakashi that in reality, if you were still standing after your first fight, you'd almost certainly get knocked out in your second. The only way to win was to win every time, and take as few hits as possible along the way.

Sakura was first up, against the Hidden Rock's champion, Akatsuchi. The man towered over her, making her look like a doll standing up to a bear. But his smile, Kakashi could see even from the arena's VIP box, was genuinely friendly as the pair made the seal of confrontation and assumed fighting stances.

Almost immediately, Akatsuchi summoned a stone golem about the same size as him. Instead of sending it to fight head-on, he engaged Sakura while the golem tried to get behind her. Sakura, forced on the defensive, seemed to be either holding back her power or struggling to gain an opportunity to act. She was getting hits on both of her opponents, but before she could push her advantage with a barrage on one, she was forced to break focus and deal with the other.

She started slowing down far faster than Kakashi would have expected. It was probably a ruse, he thought to himself, trying not to let that thought show on his face. The other Kages were making bets among themselves, and the odds on Sakura were lengthening. He considered placing a bet on her, and giving her the winnings if she won, but he wasn't sure he could look away long enough, nor bear Sakura's disappointment if she then lost.

Akatsuchi formed a giant layer of rock around his right fist, extending all the way up to his shoulder. He punched the ground with it, which broke into dog-sized fragments at his feet. He flung them at Sakura, who was once again forced onto the defensive as she tried to dodge them. One hit her left shoulder and she cried aloud in pain, her arm hanging limp.

Kakashi had seen (and experienced) enough dislocated shoulders to know how painful they were. He gritted his teeth and watched as Sakura used precious seconds to grab the dislocated shoulder with her good arm and attempt to pop the bone back in the socket.

But Akatsuchi's golem, which had blended in amongst the rocks strewn about the arena, rose up and grabbed Sakura from behind. It wrapped its treelike arms in a bear hug around her middle, pinning both arms to her sides. She screamed again, and Kakashi almost looked away as Akatsuchi moved in for the final blow.

Sakura couldn't form seals or even move enough to dodge out of the way. She raised her leg as if preparing to kick Akatsuchi's rock-reinforced punch.

"Is she crazy? She'll break her leg!" The Tsuchikage was leaning over the railing, watching her champion prepare to destroy Kakashi's.

He didn't bother to reply. She would see soon enough what Haruno Sakura was capable of.

Leg met fist, and shards of rock flew in every direction as the chakra in Sakura's foot obliterated it. Akatsuchi, sure of his victory, had overcommitted his blow and was unable to retreat fast enough to avoid the foot now flying toward his forehead. The crack was enough to warp the steel plate of his protector. The momentum of the giant man met the momentum of the petite girl, and somehow still lost. He blinked twice, as if pondering this new development, and then toppled backwards with crash.

"Knock out!"

Most of the viewers groaned and handed over their money, and Sakura finally freed herself from the inert golem. Once she had popped her shoulder back in, she raced to her opponent's side and formed healing seals.

Don't waste your chakra! Kakashi wanted to shout, but it would have fallen on deaf ears. Akatsuchi was up within a few seconds, and even though there was a steady trickle of blood running down his forehead, he seemed somehow even more cheerful than when they started.

"I shouldn't have underestimated you!" he grinned, making the seal of reconciliation with Sakura before raising her uninjured hand above her head to a round of enthusiastic applause.

The chakra dampeners over the door to the antechamber were switched off, and they cleared the arena for the next fight. Sakura had made it through to the next round, but not without a cost. She could probably heal everything fine, but that would take chakra, and though her control was perfect, her reserves weren't infinite.

Would she use the One Hundred Healings technique on something as inconsequential as this, a glorified exhibition match? Surely not. She was reckless, and he hadn't been lying when he said she gave too much of herself to ever be trusted with dangerous jutsu like Chiyo's, but it was always for someone else's sake. She wouldn't shorten her own lifespan for personal pride.

"It wouldn't hurt your own reputation either, if your champion put on a good show."

He had no interest in sacrificing even a second of Sakura's life, or a fraction of her health, for the sake of his reputation. All he wanted was for this night to be over, and Sakura to be alive and smiling at the end. Reputation or international standing be damned.

Next up was Kankuro vs Darui. It was an impressive fight, with neither man holding back. At one point Darui created a massive wall of water and caught Kankuro inside; but when he sent a charge of lightning through the water to electrocute him into a KO, it was one of Kankuro's puppets that lay in the puddle on the ground. Making the most of the precious seconds granted him by the substitution jutsu, the puppeteer himself appeared out of the ground behind Darui, attempting a coup de grâce of his own. But Darui was too fast and dodged the attack, and when Kankuro attempted to follow up immediately with his puppet, Darui charged his sword with electricity and used it to cut the special wires through which Kankuro controlled it.

Then, in a baffling move, he threw his sword at Kankuro. Kankuro dodged it easily; but ended up landing in the muddy puddle left over from Darui's early water jutsu. Too late, it was revealed that Darui had actually connected a wire of his own to his sword before throwing it, and when it landed at the edge of that puddle he charged the electricity through it once more. Kankuro, still wet from earlier, didn't stand a chance. He was knocked out and deemed unable to progress.

Then it was Sakura's turn again. She looked like she had taken the time during the last fight to heal her shoulder, and faced off against Chojuro with no sign of pain.

Chojuro, Kakashi knew, was a famed swordmaster. Sakura also had a sword (a real steel one, not the telescopic baton she usually carried these days), and though she could probably be considered a swordmaster in her own right these days, Kakashi doubted she was anywhere close to the other man's level (even without his legendary sword, which had been deemed too dangerous for a friendly match).

Indeed, she herself seemed genuinely surprised at how well she was countering Chojuro's attacks. It was clear that this was no plot designed to lower her opponent's defences, but genuine effort to avoid getting hit while attempting to find any opening at all to score a hit of her own.

Then something changed. Kakashi watched it like it was slow-motion, like he still had the sharingan and it was being burned into his brain. Chojuro made a direct attack at Sakura's lowline, and instead of parrying or dodging, she simply took it. The blade went through her abdomen, and the crowd fell silent. Sakura dropped her own sword with a clang, and the teacher in Kakashi would have disapproved if the lover in him weren't so terrified of once again seeing Sakura's blood.

Chojuro seemed more surprised than anyone that his attack was completely un-countered. But Sakura, it seemed, had been waiting for those few seconds of disrupted rhythm. She grabbed his shoulders in a bone-crushing grip and head-butted him once, twice, thrice.

"Stop being such a gentleman and hit back!" Mei shouted from the VIP box, and even dazed by the blows, Chojuro responded to his mistress' voice. With barely any need to form seals, he used water jutsu to make a second sword in his left hand. He swung it, and Sakura was forced to jump back and let him go or else lose her hands. She bounced back a few feet, blood splattering onto the ground from the wound in her side.

"Is she going to forfeit, or what?" Mei asked, turning to the other Kages. "She needs a medic."

"She is a medic," Gaara said, calm as ever. "But it's the Hokage's call if he would like to pull her out."

He forced himself to shake his head. "She knows her limits." Secretly he hoped she would forfeit. She might even have enough in reserve to heal herself up for the next fight. But she didn't raise her hand, didn't speak, and so Kakashi was forced to trust her.

"She's going to die," Mei sniffed, turning back to the fight.

Sakura and Chojuro were still standing, weighing each other up. Then Sakura took two steps to her left. A moment later, Chojuro surged forward for another attack. His sword sang in the air and his feet splattered mud everywhere as he passed through the dark puddle of Darui's water jutsu…but he was aiming for the spot where Sakura had been standing, not where she was now.

"Genjutsu?" Gaara speculated, and Kakashi nodded absently. It was probably the same one she'd demonstrated for him on her birthday, back when he was pretending he didn't think about her romantically.

Sakura grinned, winding up and punching Chojuro so hard that he flew about twenty feet away and bounced like a ragdoll.

"No!" Mei cried, but her dismay was short-lived. They all watched as Chojuro's limp body melted into water, and the real Chojuro rose up from the muddy puddle behind Sakura.

"The blood," was all Sakura had time to say, looking down at the splatters of blood on the ground that must have given away her true position, before the hilt of Chojuro's sword connected with the back of her head.

She collapsed forward; but didn't hit the ground, because Kakashi was out of his seat, over the edge of the railing, and grabbing her before the thought to move had even fully occurred to him.

"Knock out!" Someone called from up in the stands, and Kakashi gave a nod to Chojuro.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." He seemed a little flustered. "Is she going to be okay? That wound…"

"I'm sure she wouldn't have let you do it if she didn't think it was survivable," he smiled reassuringly, but in truth he wasn't sure if Sakura's plan to take the hit had been made on the assumption that she'd be conscious to heal it right away. But there was no point blaming the boy for Sakura's choices. It had been a fair fight.

"That's good," Chojuro smiled. "When you jumped down here, I thought maybe there was a problem?"

"Oh, no," he tried to laugh it off. "I used to be her teacher, so I guess my protective instincts are a little strong."

"I understand." The Mizukage's bodyguard gazed up at the VIP box, a fond smile playing at the edges of his mouth.

"...Yes, I think you do." He hoisted Sakura's body into a more comfortable position, and extended his hand in the seal of reconciliation. "Until my champion comes to, at which point I'm sure she'll congratulate you herself."

They made the seal and cleared the arena for the final fight: Chojuro against Darui. He liked Darui, but he secretly hoped the kind-hearted swordmaster from the hidden mist would win, if only to soothe Sakura's soon-to-be-bruised pride. However, considering the state she had just left him in, that might be a long shot…


Sakura opened her eyes and immediately regretted it.

She was in the antechamber of the arena, and even the small amount of light in the room was nauseating after the brief respite of darkness. Her head throbbed and swam, but battle instincts forced her into a sitting position all the same.

"What happened?" she asked, unsure if anyone was even around.

"Chojuro hit you on the back of the head, and then went on to lose against Darui. They just announced it a minute ago." Kakashi's face came into view, and she forced herself to focus on it.

"Ugh." That summed up her thoughts pretty well. She raised her hands to feel around the back of her head for the injury, and even the gentle prodding was enough to make her double over.

"Take it easy, huh? You said yourself that head injuries are tricky." Kakashi's hands closed around her wrists, holding her gently but firmly.

"But it hurts," she complained. She wanted to lie down again, but that would make the world spin in all the wrong directions.

Kakashi made a noise that Sakura dimly realised was a laugh. Was he seriously laughing at her right now?

"'S not funny, you jerk," she mumbled, hoping her face looked as menacing as she meant it to.

"I'm sorry, I'm just surprised," he explained. "I've seen you literally mortally wounded before, and all you ever did was shrug it off. I didn't think you even felt pain anymore, to be honest."

She scoffed. "Of course I do. Hurts every time." Pain was the body's way of communicating. Removing it was unsafe, so she'd learned to manage it instead. Usually, she could take comfort in the fact that no matter how intense it was, at least it would be temporary. Usually.

Kakashi fell silent, and Sakura groaned inwardly. "Am I being weird about my body again?"

"No, no." The hands holding her wrists tightened. "You just break my heart a little, sometimes. Do you need to deal with your stab wound?"

"Oh, fuck." The one downside to pain was that it prioritised. Sometimes it prioritised badly. "I forgot about that."

She placed her hands where she remembered getting stabbed, and found a wad of cloth had been wrapped there in a hasty field bandage. "Thanks, if that was you. I made sure it avoided anything vital, so it should keep until I can form seals properly." It was hard to tell how much wooziness came from blood loss instead of her bump on the head, but Kakashi knew enough first aid that she trusted his judgement. And there was no way in hell she was going to be the only champion incapacitated. "Let's get out of here."

"Can I help you up?" Kakashi offered, and Sakura nodded before she realised it was a terrible idea.

Everything swirled and twisted, and she tipped into his chest with another pitiful groan. "I can walk."

"Liar," he said, but helped her to her feet instead of just carrying her upstairs to ground level.

The fresh air made her feel a thousand times better, and she let go of Kakashi to stand fully on her own. "I should congratulate Chojuro on our match. Darui too, for winning."

Chojuro looked mortified at the sight of her, despite the fact that he looked arguably worse. He was sopping wet, caked in mud, and reeked of ozone from his fight with Darui. "Sakura-san, I'm so sorry I hit you that hard! After watching you fight, I assumed I'd need to put as much power as possible into my attacks, or you'd just keep coming back at me."

"No need to apologise." Her smile felt like a grimace of pain, but it was sincere. "It was a good match, and a well-earned victory."

Darui was with A, and both men shook her hand and congratulated her on her impressive performance overall.

"It's a shame our champions didn't get a chance to face off this time, Kakashi," A said, "but there's always next time."

Kakashi gave a noncommittal smile. "Maybe."

"What did you mean by that?" Sakura asked, when they had left the arena and were back in the village proper. "When you said 'maybe' to A-sama, did you mean 'maybe' you'd let me fight again?"

"I meant 'maybe' I'll still be Hokage by the time this tradition gets renewed, and maybe I won't. That's all." He smiled at her in the eye-crinkling 'teacher' way that shouldn't have placated her, but somehow still did.

"Fine. As long as you're not, I don't know, disappointed that we lost."

"You knew how little I cared about this going in," Kakashi replied, and Sakura tried not to let her own disappointment show. "That being said: you fought brilliantly, and I was very proud to call you my champion."

Her heart swelled at his words, ones she had secretly craved from him ever since her first chunin exam. She wanted to meet his expectations, not just as a lover but as a student, assistant, bodyguard and champion.

"So, I packed myself a scroll with a change of clothes and things," she said, removing it from her pocket. "That way, if I were to spend the night in your room again, I'll still be able to get organised in the morning."

"Hmm, that's a lovely thought, but you seem to have forgotten your head injury and stab wound. Again. I'm taking you to your room so that Ino can fix you up."

"Wow, you're really not interested? I'm practically throwing myself at you here." She tried to laugh it off, and she really did understand why an actively-wounded woman didn't make for the best bed partner; but it was only the second night of their relationship, and they'd had to spend all day pretending to be mere colleagues. She thought he'd have been keener to monopolise on their chances for intimacy. Was it just not a big deal for him?

Ugh, my head hurts too much to overthink this…

"Hey." Kakashi took her hand and led her gently into the darkness of a side street. For all that there were probably half a dozen ANBU shadowing them, it felt decidedly private. "If you weren't injured, I'd love nothing more than to take you right here, against this wall." He pressed her gently against the wall in question. "I wasn't just saying things when I told you that you're all I think about." He leaned in close, masked breath tickling her jaw and making her already-weak knees even weaker. "I've never felt so greedy and selfish as I do about you. I want you in ways I never learned to ask for, before now. But," and here he stepped back, "your judgement is badly impaired right now, and your friend is better at medical jutsu than I am. So I'm going to take you to her and make sure you're not about to drop dead from some unforeseen complication of hit-in-the-head-itis. There will be plenty of time for you to use that scroll of yours later."

She exhaled slowly, peeling herself off the cold brick wall. Kakashi offered his hand like he was a perfect gentleman that hadn't just pressed her against a wall and conjured the mental image of him 'taking' her there, and she allowed herself to be led all the way to Ino's room.

Ino's medical jutsu was limited; she had spent a few weeks with Sakura under Tsunade's tutelage, partly from teenage rebellion against her father and partly out of rivalry with Sakura. But it was enough to perform a diagnostic jutsu and soothe her head injury so that Sakura could close her stab wound without accidentally making it worse. Kakashi stayed with them, sitting on the sole chair in Ino's tiny one-bedroom suite while the girls sat on the bed and griped at each other (Sakura was griping at Ino's sloppy form and terrible bedside manner, and Ino was griping at Sakura for getting injured and needing healing in the first place).

It was only when Sakura had been pronounced fit enough to attempt sleep and bundled under the covers by Ino (who was making the most of the opportunity to boss her around) that Kakashi excused himself for the night.

Ino promptly declared she needed something from the wardrobe, and began rummaging noisily with her back turned.

"If you need to take tomorrow off," Kakashi said, standing at Sakura's bedside, "that's fine. I'd love an excuse to miss my appointments."

"No chance, Hokage-sama." She smiled sleepily. "You're stuck with me."

"I'm glad," he murmured, pressing his fingertips to his masked lips and pressing them gently against her cheek.

When he was gone, Ino 'found' her left shoe and then came around to the other side of the bed.

"So I take it tonight went well, Ms Champion?" she asked, sliding under the covers and turning off the lamp.

Sakura smiled in the dark. "A personal best."