(I'll format and edit tomorrow, but right now I'm posting before bed.)

Thank you so much for everyone who has stuck with me. We'll finish this fic!

ooOOoo

Day Four: First Touch

After leaving Kiba and Shino in the hospital, and Shinoda in custody, Kakashi and Hinata head to their assigned safehouse for a debrief. Before they arrive, Iruka and Sasuke do. Creeping the van into a carport covered with ivy, they hide the vehicle in the foliage and pre-dawn shadows.

Dampening their steps by walking in the grass in front of the little cottage they are parked next to, Iruka stops at the front door. Easing open a small, palm-sized panel that looks like a large doorbell, he reveals a smooth camera lens inside. From the machine, a small beep sounds. Gesturing Sasuke closer to see, Iruka places his thumb on the dark surface.

"Hello, Breakwater," a quiet, mechanical voice greets as a green light moves down Iruka's thumb like a tiny printer.

It beeps, and the deadbolt on the door unlocks. Jubilantly, Iruka gives a little laugh as he pushes open the door.

"Keypads don't usually work that easily," he explains.

Leading the way, he flicks on the lights as he moves through the tiny house. Making sure to firmly shut the door behind him, Sasuke follows.

"Never hurts to start some water," Iruka continues to narrate his actions as he walks to the small kitchen and fills an eclectic teakettle. "Oh, can you set that on the table?"

Putting the large, hard shelled suitcase on its side, carefully, where he was told, Sasuke waits for Iruka to hustle over and open it with another press of his thumb to the fingerprint lock.

"Quit making that face, you'll get your own permissions too after you're done with your probation."

Relaxing the furrow of his brow, Sasuke says: "I wasn't making a face."

"Sure," Iruka laughs.

The box quivers for a second before it lets out a quiet hydraulic hiss and the lid hinges open. Under the lid is dense foam and resting on the bottom half in carved out niches in the foam is a laptop, a cable, and a voice recorder. Various other objects rest in the suitcase but Iruka only grabs the first three items.

"When the two operatives arrive, they'll debrief with us and the voice recorder will transcribe everything to the laptop. Xeroxing was a pain in the ass when we had to make multiple copies of our handwritten notes, so it's nice having an electronic version, now. You even know what xeroxing is?"

"Zero idea," Sasuke jokes before smirking. "I'm not that young.

Iruka rolls his eyes and flicks Sasuke on the shoulder. "Anyway, I'll show you how we set this up.

ooOOoo

The main living area is barely big enough for four adults, and most of the room is filled with furniture. On the right-hand side is the kitchen. On the left-hand side are two small couches facing each other with a coffee table crammed between them. And by the door is the dining room table. Sasuke only has enough time to orient himself before Kakashi and Hinata arrive.

When Kakashi and Hinata enter, it almost feels like time slows. Kakashi opens the door, then ushers Hinata through. He is holding an ice pack to his masked cheek. Hinata does not have any bandages, but she walks stiffly. They both are in soft, black crew neck sweaters and black sweatpants.

Hinata gingerly lowers herself onto the nearest sofa, right in front of the voice recorder on the coffee table. Kakashi waves off Iruka's attempts to see underneath the ice and joins Hinata.

Iruka makes some tea and instructs Sasuke to deliver it. Sasuke serves Kakashi first because he is closest, then Hinata.

Their fingers brush. Sasuke watches her face closely but her smile is polite.

She does not remember him. Her eyes do not spark with any recognition.

He feels like he would know her no matter how she looked or how old they became. But she does not know who he is.

Sasuke sits down in a chair out of the way, and lets Iruka guide the debrief. He feels a bit numb. A bit sad. He supposed it would be the case, but having his worst suspicions confirmed is never great. He spent years trying to pay his dues to his father to come back to this spy agency. If only for the chance to work with someone who does not know him.

When they are done speaking, Iruka switches off the voice recorder.

"How does it feel," he asks, "since this is your last mission?"

Sasuke is taking the time to peel open a bag of salted peanuts, now that the sound of the plastic crinkling will not mess up the recording.

Huh, he thinks. No one told Sasuke that Kakashi is retiring.

To Sasuke's shock and horror, Hinata answers. "It's very disappointing that my last mission ended up with my teammates getting injured. But I've been planning my retirement for a while, so it's satisfying to finally be done with everything."

Panic stabs through Sasuke's and through his brain. He freezes and then is grateful that he is at the periphery of the room so he can slowly relax his muscles in a way that does not draw attention to him. There is no stress ball to channel his frustration to, and crushing the bag would be too loud, so he relies on controlling his breathing.

He glowers down at his peanuts as he tries to process what he is hearing.

"Maa, do you know what Red Hound and Green Beetle are going to do?" Kakashi asks.

"Red Hound is going to join his sister's team, since she has an agent who is going to retire. And I think Green Beetle might retire and focus on his clan. But he has been talking about becoming a handler."

"We'd love to have him!" The enthusiasm in Iruka's voice is hard to miss.

Sasuke is panicking. He finally achieved his goal of getting back to Hinata and she is leaving? His plans are crumbling.

"Where are you going, if I may ask?" Iruka says.

"I'm going to work for my father's security company. He wanted me to stay, but we already have two really amazing Hyuga operatives working for Tsunade."

Kakashi lazily waves his hand in the air. "You need to do what is best for you."

Sasuke feels like he is underwater. Like the dock collapsed underneath him unexpectedly and he is drawing before he can even comprehend what is happening.

This was his chance.

His chance to finally be on Hinata's team, like he wanted since he was a baby trainee.

But just like that day, when Kurenai led the girls through picking their teams, Hinata has left him behind.

ooOOoo