Chapter Six: Unruly Silver Hair
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When Sakura first woke up, she was disoriented. All she could see was a head of unruly silver hair laid across her chest. Sometime during the night, Kakashi's dog, Shiba, decided she was a worthy snuggle buddy. The sweet canine had appreciated the dog food and treats she'd given him, but she didn't expect him to accept her quite this readily. It wouldn't be good if Kakashi's Ninja Hounds offered their affection to anyone that fed them. He trusted them to be his allies.
"I'll have to talk to Kakashi— make sure he's feeding you," Sakura murmured, scratching the dog behind the ears. "Who's a good dog? You are! You are!"
Shiba tried to lick her face in appreciation, but Sakura angled away from the determined dog with a laugh. "Come on, we need to go visit your master. As much as I appreciate your company, I can't afford to get evicted from this place for having a pet."
Shiba glared at her and gave a quiet bark of protest. "You're right, you're not a are a loyal Ninja Hound of Konoha." She gently touched his forehead protector. "They don't just give these away."
Sakura leaned back against her pillow and stared at the ceiling. "I have no idea what Kakashi eats for breakfast. He doesn't care for sweets — so no pastries." Shiba's warm weight settled back on her chest and Sakura ran her fingers through the soft fur while enjoyed the tickling sensation of the wet nose against the base of her neck. "I'm a medical professional, so I should probably make something nutritious with plenty of protein."
She gently moved the dog aside again. "Well, let's go, you might as well help me."
The dog followed her into the kitchen and sat on the floor watching her carefully, his little tail wagging all the while. As Sakura cracked open a few eggs one-handed, she giggled. "You know, I think he sent you to spy on me, Shiba. Not to beg for food."
Fifteen minutes later, Sakura had two omelets full of vegetables packed away, a container full of oatmeal with blueberries and flax seeds, and a couple of oranges. On some of their missions they'd have similar meals, so hopefully he'd like it okay. He generally turned his back on them to eat, but his bowl was always empty afterwards.
She changed into a fresh outfit and then focused on her transformation genjutsu. Her hands formed the familiar Dog, Boar, Ram. The plain brown eyed- brown haired girl she'd been disguised as stared back at her. She would only wear it for a while longer. She hadn't quite decided what to do about her hair — dye it brown or keep it pink so people that had seen her before will just assume the pink was the dye.
Shisui was right, she couldn't maintain an illusion forever— not with an Uchiha Police force roaming the streets. She was talented, but that was begging for trouble that she wanted to avoid.
"Okay, boy, let's go." Sakura opened her door and with Shiba at her side, started for the Memorial.
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"I managed to sleep without nightmares last night," Kakashi murmured. He stared at the engraving of the stone at his best friend's name. Obito Uchiha.
"I didn't see you getting crushed and I didn't see Rin stabbed through the heart with my own hands. I didn't see Minato and Kushina's dead bodies cold and lifeless with their newborn son screaming all alone. I didn't see my father, dead with a pool of blood oozing out of him. Or my mom laying cold in her grave with my dead brother in her arms— nope. Not a single nightmare. I slept without a single thought in my head— well — except this girl. Woman really. Somehow, she's befriended your younger cousin — Shisui. I remember he was your favorite family member."
Kakashi was silent after that. Obito never answered back — he very rudely stayed silent on the other side of death. The chill of night prickled Kakashi's skin - his arms bare in the early summer morning. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon.
He wondered if Sakura was going to show up. She hadn't caught the attention of the ever paranoid Danzo yet, but it was only a matter of time. The old man had eyes everywhere. Life was easier outside of the village. He was being torn between loyalties to the Hokage and to the leader of Anbu. Weren't Hiruzen and Danzo supposed to be friends? It was so much easier to just travel and do a few assassinations.
He didn't even have to talk to anyone most of those times.
The faint scent of lilies tickled his nose. Kakashi had inherited his mother's keen sense of smell and affinity for dogs. However, even he was caught off guard to see Sakura walking towards him with Shiba — the dog he sent to spy on her — eagerly keeping pace at her feet.
"Your dog misses you," Sakura said, sitting beside him on the grass and setting a small neatly wrapped bundle on the ground. "Breakfast."
"Traitor," Kakashi quietly accused, scratching Shiba behind the ears. He kept his visible eye focused on the dog. "Why do you think he's my dog?"
"I know he's your Ninja Hound," Sakura said. "The forehead protector is adorable. He's such a good doggy." She reached over and ruffled his fur, fingers brushed against Kakashi's ever so slightly.
He ignored the static electricity he felt the moment her skin touched his. He reached for the bundle and unwrapped it. Neatly packed inside of a bento box was a very colorful omelet full of spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms and within a small covered bowl oatmeal. A couple of oranges were stashed in there loosely. "Thanks for the breakfast." He held the box for a moment, not sure how to eat in front of her.
"I'm going to be transparent, Kakashi." Sakura took a deep breath and then dispelled her transformation genjutsu. She waved her hand across her face. "Ta da, this is what I really look like." She was biting her lower lip nervously.
He already knew that. "Okay."
"Okay?" Her eyes narrowed and the serene jade pools became molten infernos. "Okay?"
"Temper, temper," he chided quietly. It was an amusing attitude metamorphose. It reminded him of Obito's easily aroused anger. "I saw past your transformation at the bar." He tapped his scarred cheek, under the eye hidden behind his forehead protector. "Pretty hard for a Genjutsu to stand up to the scrutiny of the Sharingan."
She stared at him and kept opening her mouth to say something then closing it. The uncertainty dancing across her expressive face reminded him of why he wore a mask. She was way too revealing. "I'm actually pretty hungry, do you mind? While you're still trying to figure out what to say?"
"Oh, right, you can't eat with that damn mask," Sakura muttered. "I'll just sit behind you and you can enjoy the fruits of my labor from when I slaved away for you over the stove this morning." She scooted and next thing he knew, her back was pressed against his and her arms were wrapped around her legs.
He glanced at her over his shoulder and feeling reasonably comfortable, lowered his mask to eat the omelet. If he was going to trust that she didn't poison him, he'd trust her with this. He'd have smelled poison — probably. Shiba wouldn't let him eat poison— probably.
"Shisui said I should just lay it all out for you. He said you'll smell bullshit a mile away," Sakura said, seeming to find her words easier now that she wasn't looking at him. She seemed to press her back against his more firmly. "Here's the deal. I'm from the future, Kakashi— fourteen years from now to be exact. You and I - we are precious friends. You gave me these bangles on my last birthday, said they belonged to your mother. I'll let you examine them after you eat if you want."
Kakashi set the bowl down. Thankfully, he'd finished eating the omelet, otherwise he might have choked in surprise. That was not the explanation he'd been expecting. "I see. How do we become friends?"
"I don't think I should tell you that. It might affect the future in ways I can't comprehend," Sakura said. "Just believe me, we are."
"What's something I would have said that only a close friend would know?" Kakashi asked. He still felt she was full of shit, but he couldn't ignore the bangles. He didn't even need to look at them — he knew.
"Those that abandon their friends are worse than scum," Sakura said.
Kakashi stiffened at those words. His gaze shifted towards Obito's name on the Memorial. How had she learned those words? "So what did my future self have to say about you time traveling?"
He could feel her shift uncomfortably against his back. "I wrote you a letter and tried to time travel before you could tell me your thoughts."
"Is that because tampering with the time space continuum is a foolish idea? And who knows what sort of damage you'd do?" Kakashi slipped his mask in place. The meal had been good, but now it churned in his stomach. What sort of impossible scenario was this? He turned towards her, grabbed her shoulder and forced her to look at him.
"You tried to stop me — you arrived just in time to shout out to me. I still don't know how you managed to catch up." Her face was open, honest, and anxious. She was telling the truth. "But if I wasn't supposed to to travel back — I wouldn't have found the artifact and I wouldn't have met Shisui of all people on my second day here."
"Why hasn't anyone else followed you?" Kakashi asked. He grabbed one of her wrists and brought the bangle closer for inspection. It was exactly like the one locked up in the family safe.
"There's a recharge," Sakura said slowly. "The soonest anyone can use the device is two weeks apart— longer depending on the distance in time."
"So why are you here?" He looked back into her eyes, not releasing her wrist. She didn't pull away, which surprised him. He knew he was looking at her with killer intent, he'd perfected that menacing aura, yet she stared back at him calm and trusting. Was she really such a fool? Did she not know who she was talking to?
"I'm here to stop the Uchiha Massacre."
"How can anyone massacre the strongest clan in Konoha?" He released her wrist. "You're delusional. I appreciate the breakfast, and you taking care of my dog. Now, if you don't mind — I've got actual work to do." He rose to his feet in a single fluid motion.
"Wait!" Sakura scrambled to her feet, less gracefully, but still quite quickly. "Fight me."
"Excuse me?" Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow.
"Let's spar. Let's go to some training grounds somewhere. I'm a skilled kunoichi," Sakura said. "Let me prove to you that I'm an asset."
Kakashi let his eye roam blatantly over her head to toe. "I don't doubt you have a great ass, Sakura, but I don't have time for games. Next time Shisui wants to try and pull a fast one over me — tell him not to bother."
He did a substitution jutsu, leaving a log in his place. Smiling to himself as he imagined her bewildered expression. He could feel Shiba dismiss himself with a pop.
Then a moment later, Sakura stood right in front of him, having done a substitution the same as him and identifying his location. Most concerning, she held onto his wrist and he couldn't move his arm.
"What kind of monstrous strength is this? How did you find me?" Kakashi demanded. He started to draw chakra into his arm, he'd singe her with some lightning — see if she held on then.
"Please, Kakashi. Don't make me sever the nervous system in your arm — I mean — it would only be temporary, but I'd rather not do it," Sakura said. "I know you. I knew you'd do a substitution — you love running away from messy entanglements. I found you, because I have perfect chakra control and have the ability to scan the environment and map out the area and find certain objects or people. And I have Monstrous strength because I'm the Apprentice of the Fifth Hokage. I am the greatest medical ninja in my time."
"You cannot access the Leaf training grounds without proper credentials," Kakashi deadpanned. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of hearing him shocked at her declarations. "If you really want to spar, I have a few hours free — you did feed me." And he tried not to show up on time to things— being late often lent a certain amount of satisfaction. He could spare two hours.
"Where? The fields at your clan's estate?" Sakura asked.
"So it was you that laid the flowers on my parents graves."
"I had just gotten here — I expected to find you right away and I was feeling a little lost," Sakura admitted. "Besides, I need to give you the shampoo — I'm assuming for Pakkun."
She had his mother's bracelets, she knew his modus operandi, she knew his dogs. As ridiculous as her story seemed — time traveling, really? He was distrustful by nature, but he really wanted to believe this pink-haired, green-eyed woman. And frankly, it had been a long time since anyone had piqued his interest.
And he did need to find a partner for infiltrating Root. An unknown that Danzo couldn't manipulate. Had just the right person — a precious friend from the future — come to aid him? But, why would he give a friend his mother's bangles? Just who was she to him?
"Are you going to do something about that petal pink hair?" Kakashi gave her a sidelong glance. "Not too many people with that color hair. I assume you're trying to be inconspicuous."
"Oh. Right." Sakura rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a dark gray silk scarf. She bundled her hair under it and secured the wrap around her head. "Better?"
"Not really." Kakashi shifted his gaze back to the path before them as he led the way through the woods towards his family lands. "Now you look like a housekeeper."
"That's who you can say I am if anyone notices me," Sakura said. "I met you for a job interview and now I'm going to clean the cobwebs out of your family estate."
Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets and walked alongside the strange woman. He didn't intend to talk to anyone about her— at least not yet. He'd already tried escaping her, but she'd tracked him down — she was determined. Frankly, it was starting to become clear that if he wanted her to leave him alone — he might have to resort to more permanent methods.
But he didn't kill for the sake of killing. He was an assassin, not a murderer. And no one had ordered her death.
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He couldn't sleep. Itachi laid in bed, hands crossed over his chest, and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. It was before five and he could hear the stirrings of his parents in the kitchen down the hall. His father, Fugaku, would be heading to the station soon and his mother woke up early to cook him breakfast. Lately, father worked longer hours and often went to the station on weekends, he was hardly ever home. If mother wished to spend time with him — she woke up early and prepared breakfast.
Itachi waited until he could hear the front door open and shut, indicating his father had left before he swung his legs out of bed and ambled down the hall to join his mother. "Good morning," he greeted.
Mikoto wore her morning robe and sat at the table, one elbow propped on the table, chin resting in her hand, and stared out the window into the darkness. She startled at his greeting. He hadn't even masked his chakra and wasn't particularly quiet walking down the hall. Her lack of notice was concerning. She turned towards him, a blank look on her normally warm face, before she smiled softly in his direction. "Good morning, my Love." She gestured towards father's uneaten food. He'd only drank the coffee she made. "Plenty of food if you're hungry."
Itachi pulled out his father's chair and sat. His mother arched her ebon eyebrow at his audacious behavior — to sit at the Head of the Table! "Thank you, Mother." In the center of the table a fresh pitcher of orange juice and unused glasses drew his attention. He poured two glasses — one for him and one for his mother. "Would you like to talk about it?"
"Talk about what, Itachi?" Mikoto asked. She accepted the orange juice, sipped at the sweet yet sour mixture.
"Father's behavior. He's never home and when he is, he broods. He's never present even when he is here." Itachi's eyes never wavered from his mother's face. She looked so very tired. The change in his father was impossible to ignore. In the past, Fugaku would rain praise upon both his sons— Itachi could do no wrong. He was a prodigy! Now lately, he complained that Itachi lacked a warrior's heart — was too compassionate. And Sasuke— the boy just wanted to practice throwing kunai or learn taijutsu — but father was too busy.
Mikoto's gaze drifted back to the window. "He has a lot on his mind. He's been through a lot — he is one of the last surviving Heroes of the Third Great War. That scarred him in ways you'll never understand unless you fight in a war — see your friends cut down beside you. It hardens you. Things were better when Minato became Hokage." She turned back to him now, her eyes warm with the memory. "He was a devoted father. He absolutely loved spending time with us, but after Minato's death and when the village uprooted our entire clan, blaming us — it broke something in him — in all of us, really."
Itachi remembered the attack. His parents had both been doing their shinobi duty, protecting the village. He'd watched over a three month old Sasuke— protected him while the village crumbled around them. "I understand that. But it is his behavior in recent months that concerns me. The last clan meeting—- was unpleasant. You cannot agree with the sentiment of a forceful coup."
"Minato and Kushina were my friends." Mikoto rubbed her forehead tiredly. "I see their son when I drop off or pick up Sasuke from the academy. He's so damn lonely and malnourished — you see how short he is. I had requested to adopt him, immediately after the disaster that took his parents. But Lord Hokage refused my request, which was fine because I assumed he was going to raise him personally — but he's been living in an apartment by himself since he was two and a half years old, Itachi." She looked across the table and dark eyes flashed crimson, her grief palatable. "What sort of leader does that?"
"I don't presume to understand the reasoning of the Lord Hokage," Itachi murmured quietly.
"I asked again. When I found out — was refused again. I begged, pleaded. I reminded him of my friendship with the boy's parents. Asked how he could treat such an innocent child — the child of heroes — in such disregard. If he was worried about the Nine-Tails, I would train to keep it docile. And you know what he said to me, Itachi? He said, he could not trust a member of the Uchiha clan with such a task." A tear slipped down her cheek, unnoticed. "I dedicated my life to the service of this Village. I fought right alongside Minato as children. I resigned my shinobi status after that."
"That is certainly unfortunate." Itachi pursed his lips thoughtfully. "But do you think father would be a suitable replacement as Village leader? Lord Third wants to focus on progress, leave behind the war mindset. What would father want to do?"
"It's my place to support your father, even if I don't agree with him." Mikoto picked up her juice and took a sip. "Just as it's my place to protect you boys."
"What if by supporting father, you endanger Sasuke?" Itachi leaned forward, elbows on the table, chin in his laced fingers. "What if you cause Sasuke to become an orphan? Who will look after him? Is your pride, more important than your son?"
Mikoto blinked at him, as if snapping out of a daze. "Of course not. You boys are the most important. I will die to protect you!"
"But would you be willing to live to protect us?" Itachi countered. Part of him wanted to ask if she loved his father, but he didn't want to know that answer. His parents' marriage had been arranged and there was a twelve year age gap between the two. He leaned back casually. "Don't answer now. I want you to think about it — really think about it." The first bird songs of the morning began to filter in through the window. Sasuke would be waking up soon. "Tell me, Mother, what do you think about Sasuke's classmates? Aside from the Uzumaki boy being malnourished."
"It's a pretty big class," Mikoto said, staring at him, her mind obviously mulling over his earlier question. "There's of course the Hyuga heiress — looks just like her mother. There's a trio from the Yamanaka-Nara-Akimichi clans. An Inuzuka and Abarame. Plenty of children from some of the lesser clans, but they are hardly worth mentioning — I don't see any of them actually graduating."
"What about the girl? The one Sasuke always seems to be sitting near when we pick him up? The one he's always blushing around?" Itachi pressed.
Mebuki smiled faintly. The earlier tension between them gone as she focused on her youngest son's classmates. "Kizashi's daughter. She's cute, isn't she?"
"I—-suppose," Itachi agreed. He didn't quite feel comfortable calling a seven year old cute. "Did you know her father?"
"Yes. He was in my class at the Academy. Civilian family. Pink hair — like his daughter. He did well on tests, but he was never really interested in becoming a shinobi. He wanted to further his education, but his passion was in engineering. He wanted to build and create things. Unfortunately, we grew up during the war. His Genin team had been sent out and his Jonin leader and two teammates had all died. He survived, but the damage he sustained was enough to qualify him for a disability discharge from service."
"Do you know what sort of damage?" Itachi asked. If this was Sakura's father — knowing about her family would help him gauge her character too.
"Hearing loss primarily. Though, he'd broken several bones as well and had some pretty serious internal bleeding — I think he lost part of his intestines and his spleen." She shuddered. "I normally wouldn't know so much, but I'd been assigned to escort and protect the medics during that battle. I remember holding his hand, telling him he couldn't give up. Who would help rebuild the city without the engineers?"
Shisui was adamant that they needed to help Sakura - it was in their best interests after all. But that hair— it was a problem. There would be others in his clan that would see past the Transformation Genjutsu with just a little effort. And since the Uchiha roamed the streets on patrol —. "Mother, do you think you could show me how to make the hair dye you use?"
"I can, but why?" She smiled at him. "Are you starting to go gray, my son?"
"I would like to learn anything and everything that could help me with my missions. As I'm sure you're aware, my status in Anbu often sends me abroad. There may come a time when my black hair will be too obvious," Itachi explained.
"Well, it's a lot harder to dye dark hair because it must be bleached first in order to absorb the dyes. However, light hair," she gestured towards the crown of her head. "Or gray roots, tend to absorb better. I'll show you."
"Thank you." He pushed away from the table. "I'll go wake up Sasuke. Then let us enjoy this breakfast as a family."
"That would really make my day." Mikoto smiled.
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Present Time
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It wasn't often that Kakashi ventured into the Anbu headquarters. He could still remember his first visit after Minato had recruited him twenty-one years ago. He'd stood in the lobby — an adolescent of twelve — waiting for his uniform fitting wondering what Rin would have thought. He'd been waking up with nightmares of her blood on his hands— he'd spend at least an hour every morning washing his hands trying to remove blood that never quite seemed to wash off.
The woman that had took his measurements tutted and fretted— he was so much smaller than the typical Anbu. Of course, most Anbu were in their twenties and thirties. He'd been eager to prove he was capable with his chidori. Obito's Sharingan made his imperfect jutsu deadly perfection. He spared no enemy— swift death to all.
At least until Minato took him off regular Anbu and assigned him to watch over Kushina during her pregnancy. He'd been a vigilant shadow during those nine months, but during the actual birth the duty had been transferred to more experienced Anbu — and she and Minato both died after Naruto was born.
He'd become even more deadly and cold after that. Not even Guy Might had been able to reach him — not for years.
Shortly before the Uchiha massacre, he'd started to crawl his way out of the terrible darkness. Though, it had taken Foxy's predicament and Lion's solution that had reached into the depths of his heart and evoked sympathy after so many years. He wanted to protect — protect the younger Anbu— Yamato, Itachi, Genma, Yugao, Anko. There were others, but they were lost — covert operations wasn't an environment conducive for longevity.
There were several years where everything was a blur of blood and shadows. And after he'd been assigned the cleanup duty for the slaughter, he'd fallen deeper into an almost berserker state.
He was broken out of his reverie by an exuberant blond loud-mouth.
"This is so cool!" Naruto sprinted from one area to another, looking over uniforms, weapons, training equipment. He grabbed hold of Sai's shoulders and shook him. "You've worked here the whole time and you never told me how cool this is!"
Sai looked between Kakashi and Yamato. "I am confused. Why is Naruto here?" He looked past him towards where Sasuke stood inspecting the swords. "And him?"
"Meet the two newest members of Anbu," Kakashi said.
"I don't mean to contradict you, Lord Sixth," Yamato interjected. "The basic requirement for Anbu is status as a Jonin. These are two Genin."
"Fine, they're promoted." Kakashi stepped towards the wall of retired Anbu masks. His was at the top, right next to Itachi's for most kills. There were no names attached to the masks, but Kakashi recognized them well enough.
"Alright!" Naruto pumped his fist. "I need my tattoo, Sai." He rolled up the sleeve on his left arm.
"Why did you have me dismiss everyone from the Anbu tower?" Yamato asked. "And why did you request my presence? I was on the other assignment." He was referring to his assignment of watching over Orochimaru The Sannin wasn't quite pardoned like Sasuke, he was more on house arrest.
"Because no one outside of this room can know what I'm about to say," Kakashi explained. "Sakura has traveled back in time — she intends to stop the Uchiha massacre."
"That—-that's not a bad idea," Yamato considered. "I assume she did multiple algorithms to determine the best probability of success with minimal risk."
"There is no way to know how tampering with the past will affect our present," Kakashi said. "So, we are going after her to stop her before she damages the timeline too much." He picked up a sword and tested its weight. "Or gets herself killed for trusting the wrong person."
"I assume she would reach out to you or me in the past." Yamato sat on a bench and then held his head in his hands. "Oh—that wasn't a good time for either of us."
"Why? What was going on with you two?" Sasuke demanded.
"Danzo wanted me to kill the Third Hokage," Kakashi explained. He pointed at Yamato. "And wanted Tenzo to kill me afterwards. But Lord Sarutobi was aware of Danzo's machinations towards assassination — wanted me to try to infiltrate Root, but then the massacre happened."
"So if the massacre doesn't happen, Root could have been dismantled?" Sai asked quietly.
"Or Danzo might succeed in completely destroying Konoha. He was always tight with Orochimaru," Kakashi explained.
"Orochimaru is the one that implanted the Sharingan eyes in Danzo's arm," Sasuke pointed out. "If you're gathering intel about that time, you could ask Orochimaru. Even if he doesn't remember, he is meticulous with his record keeping."
Orochimaru probably was their best option of gathering intel and Kakashi didn't like it. He'd started Shikamaru doing a deep dive into Hiruzen's records — trying to see if there was any mention of a kunoichi that might have matched Sakura description from the time.
"Come, Naruto, let's start that tattoo," Sai said, leading him towards a room in the back. "This is the best part of my job." He grinned widely. "You don't mind the sight of blood do you? Or a little pain? Or is Kurama going to heal you immediately?"
"Just give me a minute to meditate and I'll let him know before you get started," Naruto said. "Oh! Can we add a fox to the tattoo?"
"No. The Anbu tattoo is standard. But when you're no longer in Anbu, if you'd like a fox tattoo, I can do that. We are only allowed the one tattoo during our tenure," Sai explained.
"Come on, Sasuke! You gotta see this!" Naruto cried out.
"No. I'll stay out here and talk with the other adults," Sasuke said, picking up a sword and rotating it slowly. "If Sakura has changed the past, then why haven't any of my memories changed?"
"Would our memories change in real time?" Yamato asked. "Would we even know?"
"The changes don't take effect until the time traveler returns to their normal time. Then only the ones that traveled would be aware of the changes," Kakashi explained. "She's using an artifact that the Second Hokage had written about — assuming his research is accurate." He hoped his research was accurate, the other alternative was that Sakura went into the past, got herself killed, and then nothing changed.
"So we'll travel back wearing masks and cloaks, concealing our identities from our younger selves and bring back Sakura?" Yamato asked. "Is that the plan?"
"Or we help her, then bring her back," Sasuke suggested. "She would definitely go to you first," he said pointing the sword towards Kakashi. "But I also think she would try to reason with Itachi. Though, if he views her a threat to me — he will kill her."
"Which means, the two people she's most likely to seek out are just as likely to kill her as listen to her," Kakashi said, voicing their shared fears.
Sasuke placed the sword back on the weapons's wall. "I don't understand why she'd take such a risk."
"It's as much your fault as it is mine," Kakashi said quietly.
"I told her I would return. I was literally on my way," Sasuke hissed. He slammed his hand against the wall in anger. "Wait — why is it your fault?"
"Don't fool yourself into thinking you're the only one that cares about her, Sasuke," Kakashi warned. "Not one of us — except maybe Naruto — bothered to let her know just how much we need her in our lives. So she went back to sacrifice herself, thinking she could make our lives better."
"She did dedicate the last two years to opening mental health clinics," Yamato pointed out. He gestured between the two dark eyed men on either side of him. "Two guesses who inspired that idea."
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A/N Thanks for reading! This story has been pretty fun to write so far. Definitely loving my research (rewatching Kakashi's Anbu arc in Shippuden). I have to keep reminding myself that Itachi is 13 at this time.