Bonds Through Time
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Team Work
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Sakura…with Team Minato
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They were running out of time to complete the Bell Test. Sakura and Kakashi had reached the lake where Rin and Obito were literally splashing about playing in the water instead of searching for Minato or doing anything useful. Sakura could definitely relate to the irritated looks Kakashi would send towards his teammates. She, Naruto, and Sasuke hadn't been good teammates when they first formed as well, but they'd improved within a couple of hours. These kids had been together for a few months.
Was this really the team that Kakashi modeled their Team Seven after? Or was this more like what he wanted his team to be the opposite? Frankly, Sakura was not impressed with these twelve year old genin, though she supposed Kakashi was a chunin. He was acting like a chunin at least. Though, since this wasn't actually a trip to the past, but a weird time skip, it was possible that Obito was simply letting loose and having fun.
If the person you loved died and you could go back to a single day in the past— would you work hard or play hard? Memories of being twelve and having Sasuke scold her on the bench when she ignorantly complained about Naruto's behavior came back with those familiar feelings of shame. What did the little girl with two parents that nagged and scolded her know about the feelings of an orphan?
"You alright?" Kakashi asked quietly, his charcoal eyes observed her and she was impressed that he noticed.
Sakura nodded, but didn't flash him a fake smile. She could also hear Sai's chiding voice complaining about her fake smiles when she was on him about being honest. She held up the two kunai in her hands, Kakashi held up the the three in his. Minato had left more tagged kunai than they'd originally thought he would have used.
"Let's put them here," Kakashi advised, his seniority as a chunin allowing him to pull rank within his team, even if they didn't listen to him. The two of them started to place the tagged kunai into a circle on the shoreline. He glanced up briefly at Sakura. "Are you a genin?"
She shook her head. "It took me two tries, but I passed the Chunin Exams."
"What are you doing?" Obito asked, as he and Rin waded out of the lake and noticed the kunai. He shot Sakura an irritated look before focusing his ire on Kakashi. "What's the point of that?"
"Minato-sensei will come to us," Kakashi explained. "Sakura and I will hold him in place and you and Rin should snatch the bells from his belt."
"How do you plan to hold him in place?" Rin asked, crouching down and touching the handle on one of the tagged kunai. "Pretty smart, putting them together in a circle to draw sensei to one place."
"I'll latch onto his feet, use Earth Style Headhunter jutsu," Kakashi suggested. He turned towards Sakura. "What can you do?"
"Chakra strings," Sakura answered. She didn't use them much, but after her battle with Sasori years ago, and being used as a puppet herself, she'd learned. Kankuro hadn't been the most patient of teachers, but considering she saved his life from that nasty batch of poison Sasori used on him, he'd made certain she understood the basics.
"And then we just snatch the bells," Rin said, nodding her understanding. She turned towards Obito and held out her hand. "Let's stand on either side of them, Obito-kun. Then we can lunge towards him together."
"We just have to lie in wait now," Kakashi murmured, and then he disappeared into the earth, no doubt waiting in the pocket within the center of the gathered kunai.
"You didn't have to take this so seriously, Sakura," Obito murmured under his breath. "Everything you do here is useless and inconsequential."
Sakura said nothing. What could she say? Was he right? Or had he just not changed things of consequence when he ventured back to this point in time?
"Ready, Kakashi-kun," Rin whispered, her cheeks flushed in excitement and her fists curled so tight, her fingers were white.
"Hn," Obito grunted, sounding remarkably like Sasuke at the same age.
A moment later, the air was displaced and the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze teleported to one of the tagged kunai. Mild surprise flashed across his handsome tanned face before he was trapped by Kakashi underground, latching onto his ankles and chakra strings from Sakura — one attached to each wrist.
Minato was only stationary for all of three seconds, but it was long enough for Rin and Obito to snatch away the coveted bells tied to his belt.
Sakura's strings were severed by Minato's sheer power.
The Yellow Flash seemed to vibrate and then vanished again, to some other tagged kunai before reappearing before his youthful team (and guest). He was laughing, the sound so akin to Naruto's laughter that it warmed Sakura's heart. Her best friend would love to hear about this adventure!
"Okay, I'll give it to you, that was clever," Minato said, catching his breath, his bright blue eyes twinkling in mirth.
Kakashi pulled himself out of the earth and stood close to Sakura, their shoulders touching in their proximity. He leaned close so that his mask covered lips were near her ear. "It was a pleasure working with someone so competent," he whispered. He straightened immediately, his hands tucked into his pockets and he stared back at his golden-haired sensei impassively.
"Kids, that was an impressive strategy and execution. I wanted you to understand the value of teamwork!" Minato braced his hands on his hips and peered close to Obito and Rin. "Now you two, as reward to actually acquiring the bells, how about I treat you to some dango?"
Obito's expression was smug as he looked back at Kakashi and literally stuck his tongue out at him. Kakashi merely rolled his eyes.
"Oh! But, Minato-sensei! We couldn't have done this without Kakashi-kun! He should get dango with us as well!" Rin cried out.
"Sakura was just as instrumental in restraining Minato-sensei as I was," Kakashi pointed out. "And besides, I don't like dango."
"Neither do I," Sakura lied. She loved dango, but she wasn't about to abandon Kakashi.
"While the point was understanding teamwork, I would like to reward you two for actually getting the bells from me." Minato shifted his eyes between the two pairs of kids. He smiled sadly at Kakashi and Sakura. "You two sacrificed yourselves for the greater good of the team. I commend you for it. But to the victor goes the spoils," he added, shifting his gaze back to Obito and Rin. "We have to hurry, it's getting close to my dinner date with Kushina."
"But," Rin started, chewing her bottom lip and looking torn between Kakashi and Obito and Minato.
"It's fine, Rin, stop worrying," Kakashi answered. "I don't like sweets anyway. I'll see you guys later."
Obito hooked his elbow into the crook of Rin's arm. "Let's go, Rin-chan! Sensei is buying!"
Sakura said nothing as Team Minato with Rin and Obito took off, leaving her and Kakashi behind. She frowned slightly at the mixed message. Kakashi might not have been a great teacher, but he'd been the best leader hands down. He had tied up Naruto on that test long ago, but the point was that Sasuke and Sakura would care about the team as a whole, not their individual bellies.
And if the point of this foray into the past was to show Sakura what a brat Kakashi was and how special Rin was — the lesson was lost on her. Rin seemed sweet enough, but like Sakura, she wasn't particularly skilled as a shinobi at that age. Young Kakashi was overly serious — the way she recognized Kakashi to be in battle. She was starting to suspect that maybe he'd developed a type of split personality — the lazy, chronically late, full of excuses, avoidance version. And then there was the serious, analytical by-the-book Kakashi. This was the Kakashi after the tragedy of his parents' deaths, but before he lost his whole team in three separate incidents.
"It's not dango, but if you're hungry we can get some miso soup? I know a place that makes some amazing fried eggplant and miso soup," Kakashi said. "I was planning to have that for dinner."
"Can we go fishing?" Sakura asked. She tried to think back on Kakashi's hobbies as a kid. He wasn't into reading a certain book series just yet. He had a love for saury and with his talent at catching fish when they were on missions, she suspected it was a safe bet.
When she was a genin under his tutelage, they'd usually catch fish for dinner. He taught her and the boys how to prepare and cook the fish. "It would go well with the miso and eggplant."
His dark charcoal eyes lit up at the suggestion. "You like to fish?"
"I prefer dangling my feet in the lake while enjoying the summer breeze while my friends fish," Sakura admitted. "But I like eating fish for dinner."
Kakashi snickered. "At least you're honest." He started off back towards the village. "Let's go. We'll pick up the soup and vegetables to eat later then."
She fell into step beside him and they walked silently for a while. She wondered if Obito was going to show up and whisk her back to his time or if she would just magically return after a certain time expired. They passed by a couple of Uchiha police officers on patrol during their short walk. It really was something the people of the past took for granted — having police around for an extra safety measure. She imagined they'd have been very handy in relation to if someone were in danger health-wise, they'd be able to flash-step them to the hospital for emergent care.
"You seem to be lost in thought," Kakashi observed, darting his eyes towards her briefly.
"Just thinking about how the police could carry an injured person to the hospital. It would be convenient," Sakura answered, turning back towards him and smiling faintly. "Where I'm from, we don't have police."
"Sounds like anarchy," Kakashi mused. "When do you go back?" He flicked his eyes towards her briefly again before looking back at the path in front of him.
Was he feeling shy?
"I'm not sure. I won't be here too long."
"Oh," he sounded disappointed. "Do you have a place to stay? Are you staying in the Uchiha district?" Kakashi asked. "Are you staying with Obito?"
"We're not really friends. We're still getting to know each other. If I had to pick a favorite Uchiha, it would be Shisui. But we don't really know each other either. I don't have lodgings just yet," Sakura admitted. Would she still be there that night? "I didn't think I would be here, but for a few hours."
"I like Shisui. He's just a couple years younger than us, but he's solid. Very reliable and smart. You can stay with me," Kakashi offered. "It's just me at my family's estate. It's a pretty big residence. There's a lake on the property and I'll need to get some fishing supplies from storage there."
She was curious how the estate would look at this time. It was clear when she visited in the past, that he didn't spend much time there. She couldn't fathom a boy his age living alone on such a big property. He must have been such a lonely boy.
They went by the restaurant and Kakashi carried the takeout bag with their soup. The proprietors of the store seemed to be pretty familiar with him, as if this was a common routine. Sakura followed after him, wondering about the ease he'd accepted her presence and invited her to his home. Did he sense a kinship between them? Was it for their brief bout of teamwork on the bell test?
The Hatake estates were becoming familiar grounds for Sakura. It looked pretty much the same, vines growing on some of the extra housing, but the main house definitely looked lived in, though quiet.
As they crossed the barrier, Kakashi murmured under his breath. "Tadaima." A habit from long ago, when there used to be a father that greeted him upon his returns.
There were books! Stacks and stacks of books all over the place. The bookcases were overflowing and the floor was littered with so many books. Sakura picked up a handful — cooking books, hunting books, mathematics, botany. The subjects were wide and varied. Maybe he got rid of the physical books once the Sharingan allowed him to memorize the materials. "You read a lot," Sakura commented.
"Yeah. There's always more to learn," Kakashi said, setting the meal up on the coffee table in his living room. "I graduated the Academy at six. Without books, I'm not sure how else I was supposed to learn." He placed the meal in the refrigerator for later. "The fishing gear is in the storage closet." He led the way down the hall and grabbed said gear.
"You're twelve now, right? Have you been doing missions this whole time?" Sakura asked, falling into step next to him and taking the tackle box. He took the fishing rod and a bucket for whatever fish they caught.
"Minato-sensei took me under his wing. We've worked together for a while. He knows I don't like dango. He thinks Obito and Rin are jealous of our bond." He glanced over at Sakura and frowned. "I'm sorry that means you didn't get any dango."
Sakura shrugged. "It's fine. I don't really like dango."
Kakashi smiled. "Liar. But thanks for that. Fishing is definitely better with company." He adjusted his gear as he secured the doors behind them and continued towards the lake. "I did a few missions with my first genin team. We weren't really close and they were several years older than me."
Sakura didn't ask what happened to them. Probably the same thing that happened to Shisui's genin team. Dead on the fields of war.
They walked past a half-dozen vacant homes, long since abandoned to the elements. "I can't believe you live here by yourself," Sakura murmured, adjusting her grip on the tackle box. She couldn't imagine being twelve and not having two parents watching over her, even if they didn't get along, they were present.
"The majority of my clan died on the front lines in the Second War or in the illness that swept through a few years later," Kakashi answered. "For some reason, the Senju have practically been wiped out too. It's sad, since the first two Hokage were Senju on their father's side, but Hatake on their mother's side. My father used to say that some candles burned too bright to last."
"War is so wasteful," Sakura growled in anger. "Who does it help anyway? Certainly not the citizens."
"We're a shinobi village. We're raised from birth to be weapons. Have you fought in war?" Kakashi asked quietly.
She was supposed to be twelve. She'd fought in war, but she'd been older. "In my village, you cannot even join in battle until after the age of twelve. The adults protect the children as much as they can before then. War is supposed to be a means to an end. The end goal is supposed to be peace."
"Must be nice," Kakashi murmured. "I graduated the Academy six years ago. You mentioned Shisui, he's the same as me. Been fighting for so long. It's hard to be around Obito and Rin, they only graduated the Academy a few months ago. They have no idea what they're getting in to. They're both so sheltered. I worry they won't survive the year."
That was a legitimate concern, so Sakura didn't try to give him any empty platitudes.
"This is the best spot," Kakashi said, gesturing towards a raised area above the lake with a massive willow tree shading the area. "You can rest your back on the trunk and the fish seem to like the cool area under the leaves."
He sat down lotus style and added bait to the fishing pole before dropping the line into the lake. Sakura sat next to him, close but not touching, trying to respect his space. He'd already built an invisible wall around him at this age.
"I hope Minato-sensei becomes Hokage. I think it would be like that here too if he were in charge," Kakashi reasoned. "Kids wouldn't be on the battlefield." He jerked back the rod and started to reel in the line. It came back empty and he baited it to try again.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Sakura asked. "You don't know me."
Kakashi angled his head to the side, his dark eyes studying her intently. "Call it a gut feeling."
Sakura smiled faintly. He always had a good sense of intuition. "Well, I appreciate it." She took off her shoes and moved to the edge of the hill, her feet just reached the cool waters below and she sighed at the contrast between the summer's warm breeze and the nice lake.
Next to her Kakashi reeled in a whopper of a trout. He unhooked it and placed it in the bucket they brought. He did a few familiar hand signs and a small amount of water from the lake rose up and filled the bucket partway, keeping the caught fish alive.
"Neat trick," Sakura said, impressed. It wasn't a water dragon, but it was useful and perfectly executed.
"It's just a little something my father taught me," Kakashi murmured. "He died a few years ago."
"That's hard," Sakura said.
Kakashi said nothing, but baited the line and recast it. It wasn't long before he reeled back an even larger fish.
"Great job, Kakashi!" Sakura said, tapping him gently on the shoulder. "We'll be feasting this evening!"
Kakashi smiled one of his eye-smiles, the kinds he did when he truly was giddy about something and Sakura's heart just melted. "Let me see if I can catch two more. That way there will be plenty."
Sakura laughed. "How hungry are you?"
Kakashi turned towards her once the line was back in the lake. "For when Rin and Obito come over. They usually come over for dinner. Rin's mom works late, so she doesn't usually cook dinner for her. And Obito lives with his grandmother. His parents passed away a few years ago. If he doesn't want to eat onigiri again, he comes over here."
"So you cook for your team?" Sakura asked, amazed.
He shrugged. "It is nicer to cook for others than just for yourself."
Sakura said nothing, just simply watched him catch a few more fish. Even at twelve years old, Kakashi Hatake was very capable. She pulled her feet out of the water and dried them as best she could with the tail of her shirt before putting her sandals back on.
He cooked for his team. Why the hell did Obito not appreciate him? Kakashi obviously tried to provide for his teammates. He tried to be a good leader.
"We should head back, it's starting to get late. I can get out a bedroll for you," Kakashi said. They'd started back towards the house. They were halfway between the lake and his home. "We're about the same size, so if you need some spare clothes you can borrow some." He gestured towards his black and gray outfit. "Everything is either black or gray though."
"That's fine," Sakura said. "Thank you."
"Tadaima," Kakashi repeated, crossing the threshold of the house.
"Okaeri," Sakura whispered, and he turned towards her sharply, a faint smile on his masked lips.
They set up in the kitchen, washed up and then started to prepare the fish. Kakashi watched her in stunned silence as she went about the exact same technique he used, after all he is the one that taught her — though not for fourteen more years.
They'd just finished smoking the fish and re-heating the miso soup when there was a knock at his front door. "That will be them," Kakashi said, wiping his hands and surveying the kitchen counter where the meal sat ready to be divided up.
Sakura waited while Kakashi's teammates joined them. She could hear Rin's apologies for having dango without him. The four of them sat around the low table in the dining room, one of the traditional tables from earlier generations. Rin sat across from Sakura, giving her a good look at the other girl's face. She recognized the facial tattoos and thought back to the odd photographer from her youth — Sukea. She glanced towards Kakashi briefly on her right. Had he been Sukea in disguise?
"Itadakimasu," Kakashi murmured and Sakura, Obito, and Rin chimed in when he said the blessing.
The four of them tucked into their meal, Kakashi discretely behind his mask. Sakura shifted her attention to the left. Obito was happily stuffing his face full of the meal and recounting the praises Minato had bestowed upon him and Rin for taking the bells. Sakura wanted to scream that it was a team effort and that she and Kakashi had done the majority of the work.
"Let them have this," Kakashi whispered, his voice barely audible. She caught his eye. "It's nothing. Let them have it."
"Fine," Sakura pouted, shoving another mouthful of soup into her mouth.
"Oh! Kakashi, I finished making a first aid kit for you," Rin said, smiling brightly at him.
"Thanks," Kakashi murmured, staring down at his half-eaten fish.
"Is that all you can say?" Obito asked. "Rin worked hard to make a first aid kit for you."
Kakashi sighed.
"It's fine, Obito. Have you had to use yours yet?" Rin asked, turning towards the dark-haired boy.
Sakura didn't see what the big deal was. Didn't they all have their own first aid kit? "Did you include some special kind of salve to promote regeneration of cells to speed up the healing process?" she asked.
Rin stared back at her like she had two heads. "It's bandages, a suture kit, wraps for sprains, some disinfectant, and a tube of aloe."
"How far are you in your medic training?" Sakura asked. She ignored the glare Obito was directing her way.
"I'm just starting," Rin answered. "Do you know much about medical treatment?"
Sakura nodded. "You should include a burn cream, especially for two fire users on your team," she said gesturing between Kakashi and Obito. "And you should ask to learn how to suture using your chakra. You never know when you might have to perform emergency surgery on the field." She smiled faintly. "I'd be happy to show you a few things before I leave."
"How far are you into your training?" Rin asked, her dark eyes wide.
"A few years," Sakura answered.
"We don't have that long," Obito warned. "You have to go back home soon."
"Surely, I can linger a few more hours," Sakura said, smiling sweetly at him. She gestured towards Kakashi. "He's even got a bedroll for me. Maybe we can all stay the night — have a slumber party?"
Rin turned towards Obito and smiled at him softly. "Obito-kun, maybe we can all stay a little longer. Sakura seems to know quite a bit and there really isn't anybody around to teach me since Lady Tsunade left."
"Sakura is a Chunin," Kakashi added.
Obito's dark eyes bore into Sakura and she thought she saw them flicker to crimson. "We can probably spare a few hours," he agreed.
"I'll go pull out the extra bedrolls. We can lay them out in the den — it has the most space," Kakashi said, practically leaping from the table. His excitement was palpable and Sakura watched him hurry out of the dining room with a smile.
"Don't get your hopes up, Sakura," Rin whispered. "Kakashi-kun is just being polite."
Sakura turned her smile onto Rin and ignored the obvious jealous undertones to the warning. "The most important aspect of medical ninjutsu is chakra control. The more precise, the better the recovery. A lot of shinobi will avoid medics and opt to use their first aid kits instead, because they think medical ninjutsu is sometimes more painful than the injury. You have to unleash soothing chakra at the same time to calm down the pain receptors near the site of injury. Are you well versed in anatomy?"
Rin blushed. "I — uh."
"For medical purposes. Okay if you don't know the mapping of the major blood vessels and nerves, we need to study that. And of course you need to know the bones, muscles, and organs." Sakura had gone into teacher mode and ignored the way Obito gaped at her while Rin had pulled out a journal and started taking notes. Sakura glanced up at the doorway to see Kakashi leaning casually against the frame, an interested look in his eyes as he too was listening.
Two hours had passed and Rin was shaking her hand, trying to work out the cramps from writing so much. Sakura showed her how to use her chakra to sooth the muscles instead. Kakashi had found a book about anatomy and had found the section on the nervous system. Obito was stretched out on the floor, staring at the ceiling, with a scowl on his face.
"Oh," Kakashi said abruptly. He swiftly rose from his spot on the floor and opened his front door. "Sensei! Lady Kushina! What a surprise!?"
"Oh, you're having a verifiable slumber-party aren't you, Kakashi-kun?" Kushina said reaching over and drawing Kakashi into a hug. He stood stiffly while the redhead crushed him against her. "Minato, honey, your adorable little students are having a sleep over!"
Minato closed the door and they settled about the den. "I had no idea today's team-building exercise would result in these kinds of bonds," Minato mused, scanning over the kids and the scattered books. "A study session?"
"Sakura-chan is teaching me some fairly advanced medical ninjutsu!" Rin explained.
"You're a medical ninja?" Minato asked, surprised. "Did you train in Suna? I recognized those chakra threads."
"One of my tutors was from Suna," Sakura answered.
"How many tutors did you have?" Kakashi asked.
Sakura had learned her trade from four different sources — Tsunade, Shizune, Chiyo and inadvertently Kabuto. "I picked up things here and there. I read a lot too, so I learned some applications through my own."
"Aren't you a little young?" Minato asked.
Sakura glanced over at Kakashi. "What does that have to do with anything?"
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It was after midnight when they all fell asleep. Minato and Kushina had even stayed over. The Hatake residence was busting at the seams with company. Sakura hadn't gone to sleep, but she was staring at the ceiling. She felt Obito move to her side and crouch over her. "It's time." He held out his hand and with a reluctant sigh, Sakura gripped his hand and they were sucked into his magical eye again.
The reality around them swirled and she and Obito materialized back at the campfire next to Kisame. Sakura stumbled to the ground, disoriented by her normal height and weight, no longer in a twelve year old body.
"Oh, you're back," Kisame murmured bored. "Did you have a good trip?"
"How long were we gone?" Obito asked.
"An hour?" Kisame answered.
"Ah. Good." Obito yanked Sakura up by her elbow and dragged her towards Kisame and shoved her to sit next to the shark-swordsman. "So you understand now. He's always been a prick."
Sakura didn't answer at first. If that's what Obito thought, he was mistaken. "He was a lonely little boy. You all were friends. You ate dinner together almost every night." She resisted the urge to lay her hand over her belly. She could only hope if she had a boy that he'd be as adorable as young Kakashi, but without the pain and suffering the father experienced.
"He was a bossy, bully," Obito protested. "And he got Rin dead. And he left me for dead."
"Your hair is pink," Kisame said, pointedly eyeing Sakura's hair.
That was inconvenient. "So, that was a visit into a memory? Not the actual past?" Sakura turned towards Obito, his orange mask was secured over his face. "Did any of that happen? Or was it just a dream?"
"Hardly matters. Rin is still dead, isn't she? That medical ninjutsu you taught her didn't keep her from having her heart burned to ash, did it?"
"I still think your anger is misdirected," Sakura said softly.
In a flash, Obito's hand shot past Sakura, barely missing her head and he yanked back his fist with a snake clutched within his hands. He crushed it. "It's one of Orochimaru's. We're too close to that damn cave."
"Ryuchi Cave?" Sakura asked.
Obito's visible eye narrowed. "You know it?"
"I know of it." Sakura had learned about it during her time training at the Shikkotsu Forest. "So we're in the same dimension as Ryuchi Cave." She knew how the forest worked, but she didn't know enough about the snakes to risk trying to escape and solicit their help. Obito didn't seem to want to kill her just yet. Honestly, the snakes were more likely to kill her than Obito at present. "Not a fan," she added.
"Hn. Me neither." He stood and wiped the gore off his hands onto her cloak. "Don't fuck things up for me with the next kid."
Sakura kept her mouth shut.
Kisame chuckled. "PInkie, you're finally learning that silence is golden? You keep that up and you just might make it out of this alive."
"Just don't interfere," Obito warned. "I'm not planning to kill you right now. But I could drop you off into a far off dimension and let Kakashi know that his lover and unborn child are in a world he can never get to." He giggled. "That actually sounds pretty fantastic."
"You could make him work for you, holding Pinkie and the baby as hostages," Kisame suggested. "You don't like snakes, Pinkie. What about slugs? Do they bother you? I think they're pretty creepy personally. Or maybe toads?"
Hope spring eternal! "I don't have a problem with slugs or toads." Or dogs, but she didn't add that part.
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A/N: It took me a month to get this chapter just right. We're in the home stretch! Next chapter is mostly written, so it shouldn't take too long before the next update. Chapter 30 is a real monster though...it's been torture trying to write it, so we'll see how long before that one is ready.