Chapter Twelve: The Gutsy Ninja
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Sakura had to remind herself that she couldn't kill Jiraiya and if she maimed him — she'd have to waste valuable chakra healing him. The acid had started eating away at her clothes and he didn't seem to be bluffing. He pulled out an art pad and started sketching— was that pervert sketching her? Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She needed to calm her temper. There was no reason she couldn't escape these organic bonds, she just needed to focus her chakra at the right places.
Craaaack.
The bonds around her shattered like brittle parchment. Sakura created a water jutsu to neutralize and wash off the acid. "You objectify women, try to use my body to shame me, and you wonder why Lady Tsunade rejected you? I am not here to harm Naruto — quite the opposite. My business does not need to involve you." Sakura shook the water off herself and peered around the toad. "Now, you can let me out, or I will punch my way out. If this is a living creature, I suggest you respect your summons enough to let me out peacefully."
Jiraiya stuffed his sketchbook back into his pack. "I admit, I'm impressed." His expression was completely without chagrin as she stood half-naked before him.
His unapologetic attitude pissed Sakura off even more than the original violation. She could spare some chakra. A little maiming was justified since obviously words weren't enough to get though that thick head. Using the chakra blade attack she'd learned years ago, she created projectiles, barely visible and aimed them at several vital points. Jiraiya dodged many of them and the strange living cavern that surrounded them quivered. But he didn't dodge them all and two struck home, effectively paralyzing him.
Sakura threw a few more for good measure and once she was confident he was secure, she walked closer, her fist enveloped in chakra, deciding which part of his anatomy she should crush and then slowly, painfully heal. "I had my arm torn off in battle once, hung on by a single tendon." Sakura rotated her arm. "I reattached it and healed it. You have certain appendages I'm sure you're fond of — I wouldn't do any permanent damage to you, but you would remember the feeling, the experience."
"Now, now, don't be hasty, Sakura," Jiriaya protested, a fine layer of nervous perspiration scattered across his forehead. "I shouldn't have done that. I apologize. I crossed a line. This isn't war — sometimes I forget."
"Even in War, Jiraiya, there are certain rules of respect one must offer their opponents. They too are living creatures and if you treat enemies in such a disgusting manner there is no way that enemy might one day become your ally." Sakura stood right in front of him and looked up. She may have been shorter, but that didn't mean she was intimidated. "Was that not the message of the Gutsy Ninja? The book that you wrote that I actually respect."
"So you read that book, huh?" Jiraiya asked sheepishly, his arms hung limply at his side.
"Naruto is named after the titular character," Sakura pointed out. She held her hand in front of Jiraiya's face. "I could remove your nose — the part of your body that offended me. You sire no children, I could also remove another appendage — you aren't using it to the benefit of society."
Jiraiya swallowed thickly.
"Perhaps you underestimate me because I'm a woman." She could crush his hands, but healing that would take more chakra than she'd want. There were so many tiny bones in the wrist. "Shisui is a trusted shinobi of the Leaf and he knows the whole story — and he vouched for me. You should have listened to that. Kakashi is a trusted shinobi of the Leaf — he's beyond deceptive arts. He can smell bullshit miles away. You should have listened to that. There was no reason for you to shove your nose into my vagina. It was sexual assault. And I just met with Lord Fugaku Uchiha. I think the Konoha Police would love an excuse to press charges on the infamous Sannin. What would Lady Tsunade say when it became public knowledge?"
Actual tears glistened in Jiraiya's eyes. "I am sorry, Sakura."
Sakura stepped back, creating distance and sent a blanket of healing chakra over Jiraiya, reattaching the nerves she severed even fixing the torn ACL of his left knee as a sign of her generosity. "It is only because of the optimism I know from the Namikaze that I am willing to give you the benefit of a doubt."
Jiraiya slowly raised his hands up in a non-combative stance. "I understand. You won't regret your leniency. However, I am a spy master and I will still continue to watch you."
"Yes, that is to be expected." She gestured towards her tattered clothing. "This was unethical."
"I apologize," Jiraiya said again.
"Let me go," Sakura said. "I have no business with you."
Jiraiya released the toad summons that had encapsulated them and Sakura wasted no time hurrying to her apartment.
Her clothes were destroyed- rags that barely covered her body. Once in her apartment, she tossed them into the trash and stepped into her shower. She used the entire bottle of soap and scrubbed her flesh until she bled.
She still felt dirty and gross. Only after the water ran cold did she finally step out, goosebumps pricking her skin as she stood in her towel before the mirror. Catching sight of her cheerful blond hair, she contemplated using the dark hair dye Itachi gave her, but decided against it. She choose Namikaze yellow because it meant hope for her. She would remain hopeful.
Dressed in tactical gear once more, Sakura used sealing scrolls and packed additional clothing, weapons, medicinal supplies, and food. With one last look around, she bid goodbye to her home for the last week and a half — she didn't plan to return.
Sakura headed to the coordinates Shisui gave her and readied herself for the upcoming mission. She stuck to the rooftops and then the trees, keeping to the shadows. It took forty minutes to arrive at the stream's shore.
She wasn't alone.
Kakashi had left two of his Ninja Hounds behind — Shiba and Biscuit. Sakura crouched down and opened her arms and was immediately pounced by Shiba and after a minute of hesitancy, Biscuit did the same.
With a relieved cry Sakura hugged those two dogs for dear life, comforted by their furry friendliness.
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Kakashi read through the mission scroll with his team — a four man cell consisting of himself, Yamato, Itachi, and the man in the Tiger mask. The latter always stuck close to Itachi, keeping a protective eye on the younger shinobi, but he seemed more loyal to Danzo than to the Leaf in general. Kakashi always kept his guard around such a person.
"Does everyone understand their assignment?" Kakashi asked. He handed the mission scroll to Itachi and let his younger teammate incinerate the paper as was standard for Anbu missions.
"I understand the orders, but the reasoning is wasteful. The Mist shinobi are only the messengers. This is supposed to be a time of peace. Are we trying to make war?" Itachi asked.
The Tiger shifted slightly at Itachi's side.
"We are only tools," Kakashi said quietly. "If you wish to change the way of things, you must one day become the leader."
"In the meantime, we keep up this cycle of hatred and suffering," Itachi said quietly, his voice flat.
Kakashi sighed. This was why he didn't want Itachi to be captain yet. He had talent, but he didn't understand the way of the shinobi — not yet. "We are tools of the Daimyo," Kakashi answered. "He profits and even our Hokage is powerless against the greed of of war profiteering. Konoha is the richest of the Five Great Hidden Villages because of these tactics."
"It's wrong," Itachi stated.
"We all must find out moral gray so that we can live with the work we are given," Kakashi said, clapping a hand over the younger boy's shoulder. He focused on keeping his teammates safe and disabling enemy as quickly and painlessly as possible. And killing enemy when necessary with immediate death — hence the chidori.
Itachi met his gaze, his dark eyes solemn. They understood each other.
"Let's go!" Kakashi took off and his three teammates followed after. Yamato flanked Kakashi while Itachi and Tiger created the second formation. Mist had officially refused a request from Konoha— their Daimyo had insulted the Fire Lord.
Itachi was right that it was a spitting match between the two Daimyos who never risked their own lives, but treated their subordinates as fodder. In a perfect world, there would be no Feudal Lords. Every life— civilian to military— would be considered precious. As he grew older, Kakashi understood Minato Sensei more and more.
The Yellow Flash had single-handedly slain a thousand enemies. Yet, he'd been the most gentle, kind soul Kakashi had ever known. Lord Fourth had sacrificed himself, died alongside his beloved wife, and imprisoned the fearsome Nine-tailed beast inside his infant son. He'd taken that as punishment for his war actions.
"I've not seen you much lately." Kakashi glanced at Yamato briefly when they both touched their feet on the same branch before moving on to the next tree. They would run out of trees in about an hour at their current pace.
"You know how it is," Yamato murmured. "We take the assignments we're given."
Kakashi could hold a conversation if he wanted, but with his current teammates, only Itachi really showed any conversational skills. Which, apparently, was unusual. Most people that knew Itachi said he rarely spoke. Maybe he just thought Kakashi was worth speaking with — who knew? While they crossed the distance to their destination in relative silence, Kakashi's mind drifted towards his other mission.
He wasn't completely disappointed by the Hokage's cancelation of his infiltration of Root — it had seemed like a lot of trouble. Kakashi wasn't lazy by any means, but that didn't mean he wanted to work harder than he had to. It was better if the Hokage himself worked on cleaning up both Anbu and eventually taking care of Root himself. Danzo and the Daimyo were both bloodthirsty, power-hungry men that didn't bat an eye when it came to sending young warriors to their doom. Lord Third at least cared. Kakashi had learned that especially over the last couple of weeks.
There had been a time not long ago that Danzo had tried to send Kakashi out to assassinate Hiruzen. There would be others with the same mission brainwashed into them — possibly young, impressionable shinobi like Yamato?
Kakashi's mind drifted towards his other mission. Safeguarding members of the Uchiha clan that didn't wish to join in an uprising against the Leaf village. He was always a fan of avoiding needless slaughter.
"Who is the blond?" Yamato asked, surprising Kakashi a few minutes later.
Kakashi felt his lip curl at the question. Who was she indeed? "An acquaintance — we're working on another mission together for the Hokage."
"You seemed—-fond— of her." Yamato looked over at him, curiosity in those dark wide eyes of his.
"Are you asking for your own sake or rooting out information to give back to our superiors?" Kakashi asked. Yamato was honest — the boy couldn't tell a lie or even a fanciful semi-truth if his life depended on it.
"I was just curious, for myself. I saw you walking down the street with her this morning." Yamato reached up to adjust his mask. "You seemed comfortable with one another."
"I think you would like her," Kakashi said.
"I—think I would too," Yamato agreed.
An hour later, they walked carefully through the marshland separating the Lands of Fire and Water. The foul stench made Kakashi's eyes water even through his mask. He had a heightened sense of smell— even greater than the Inuzuki clan members. It was a trait he inherited from his mother's lineage and another practical reason he wore a mask.
Itachi tapped Kakashi on the shoulder and signaled that there were two enemy at the 3o'clock position, roughly four kilometers away. That would seem like a big distance, but for shinobi it was only a five minute journey.
The Anbu member in the tiger mask signaled that there were a dozen enemy in the nine o'clock position, less than two kilometers away. The four man cell teamed up two on two and prepared. Kakashi summoned some of his ninja hounds, he'd left two behind in Konoha. The loyal beasts dispersed and hid amongst the terrain.
Their orders were to not attack until they could claim defense.
Politics.
It wasn't long before a barrage of shuriken rained down on their position. Yamato created a wooden shelter to defend against the deadly projectiles. Kakashi's fingers tingled in anticipation. He looked towards Tiger and Itachi — both stood perfectly calm.
Then the deadly dance began and it was four Leaf Shinobi against twelve Mist Shinobi. Very few words were exchanged. They all had their orders. Kakashi and Yamato took out six opponents, his ninja hounds had incapacitated two of them. The smell of singed flesh permeated the air. Tiger killed two and Itachi had incapacitated two— locked in a prison of their own mind.
Tiger slid his blade into the heart of one of those Itachi had immobilized. "Our orders are to kill, Crow."
"They are no longer a threat," Itachi pointed out. "The other two are fast approaching."
"Are you disobeying your orders?" Tiger asked quietly. "And you must use your own hands. You cannot make them kill themselves."
"A kill is a kill," Kakashi argued. "Crow may use whatever technique he deems most appropriate."
"His orders supersede yours, Fang," Tiger croaked, his voice a jarring cacophony.
This was more than Kakashi had ever heard Tiger speak. There was something unnatural and disturbing about the voice that he couldn't quite identify.
Itachi dispelled his Genjutsu and when the remaining Mist shinobi lunged towards the Uchiha prodigy he broke into a murder of crows that began to peck at the man and then as he stumbled, Itachi plunged his kunai into his heart— an immediate death. He let the body fall to the ground completely unfazed. "Simply, because I chose to not dispatch my opponents through lethal force when it is unnecessary, do not mistake me as incapable." Itachi looked over towards the two large chakra signatures at the 3 o'clock position.
A behemoth shark-like man stood there with a gigantic sword strapped across his back and another man stood beside him wearing a black robe with red clouds. The shark-like man sent a salute towards Itachi and the two men vanished.
Tiger began to amass a cloud of insects. "Those were not part of the Mist contingent," Kakashi stated. "Do not pursue," he ordered. His gaze drifted down to the fallen enemy shinobi. He hated leaving them in the field. Didn't want buzzards and insects to feast on them, traumatizing their families. "Tenzo."
Yamato created twelve coffins for the deceased. It wasn't in their orders, but it wasn't forbidden either. This battle had been for the pride of the Daimyos. But the other shinobi would recognize the respect the Leaf shinobi had for their enemies.
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The Academy let out at the usual time. Sakura had been surprised when Naruto had given her a colored picture that morning— it had been kind of him. It actually looked very pretty too. He'd obviously taken great care in making sure he stuck within the lines. At lunch time, normally, Sakura would eat under the tree in the playground by herself — ever since she and Ino had cut ties. But today, she joined Naruto at the picnic table he normally sat at by himself.
What had been even more odd — Sasuke Uchiha had joined them.
They didn't say anything to each other, the three ate their meals in silence. Sakura had packed an extra orange that day and she offered half of the extra fruit to Naruto and Sasuke. With murmured thanks, the only word the three of them exchanged, they accepted the small gift.
While parents came to pick up their children, Sakura approached her teacher, Iruka. Her father wouldn't be picking her up that day until later, she'd told him about her plan to stay after to practice. He'd been discouraging of the idea, but had allowed it. He promised to pick her up an hour later than usual.
"Iruka Sensei," Sakura said, approaching their teacher where he sat on the steps in front of the Academy. "I was hoping I could practice some shuriken targeting. My dad said he'll come an hour later to escort me home."
"You want to practice?" Iruka asked.
"Iruka Sensei," Naruto said, coming to stand next to Sakura, an eager glint in his eyes. "I would like to practice as well. Please?"
"Well, I suppose," Iruka said. "I am always happy when students are wanting to improve their skills."
Sasuke stood at the side of the building, arms folded over his chest, watching the exchange in silence.
"Sasuke? Would you like to join us?" Iruka asked.
"It's not practice." Sasuke pushed away from the building and started to lead the way to the school yard. "It's training."
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Shiba pawed at Sakura's shoulder and she startled awake. She'd fallen asleep leaning against a tree. The moon's position indicated several more hours until daybreak.
"Yo." Kakashi had his back to her and was rinsing his hands in the flowing water of the creek. He still wore his Anbu gear and his pale hair was almost iridescent in the pale light of the moon.
"Kakashi," Sakura greeted in a loud whisper. "Hey. What are you doing here? Is your mission over?" Shiba settled down beside her, but Biscuit was missing. "Where's Biscuit?"
"Today's mission — yes. I'll have more work tomorrow." He turned towards her, both eyes visible and his Sharingan looked almost infrared. "I traded positions with Biscuit to get here sooner."
"But won't Biscuit's summoning be over when you do that?" Sakura asked. She ran her fingers through Shiba's fur. Her hand still shook a little, but she felt more calm.
Kakashi nodded. "What happened?"
"What do you mean?" She focused on scratching between Shiba's ears, the dog preened under the attention.
"Don't play games, Sakura," Kakashi warned. "Dishonestly is something I don't condone. The Ninja Hounds share a telepathic bond. Shiba is concerned. And I can see you're upset."
"It doesn't matter now and it will only piss you off," Sakura protested. "I took care of the situation. I'm just pissed now. But I'm fine— physically and in time mentally. I just needed some time alone in the woods to center myself."
"Will you tell me later?" Kakashi asked.
Sakura nodded. Maybe in the distant future when they were secure at home and it didn't matter anymore. "The substitution with your Ninja Hound — I didn't know you could do that."
"It's best if I don't do it often. I don't like wasting chakra." He pulled an eye patch out of the inner pocket of his shirt and covered his Sharingan. "Can't wear forehead protectors on Anbu missions." He looked around her little camp. "Did you bring a tent?"
Sakura nodded. She pulled a scroll out of her pack and released the materials for her tent. She started to assemble it and Kakashi watched for a moment before he pitched in and together they finished putting it up.
He traced his fingers over the thick canvas. "This is more durable than I'm used to. Very sturdy."
"It's good in summer for ventilation and in winter for insulation. It's a really cool material—," Sakura trailed off. "How long were you planning on staying?"
"The night," Kakashi said. He opened the tent flap for Sakura. "The dogs were very worried, Sakura."
"Thank you for leaving them behind. I didn't expect that. They were much welcomed company," Sakura said, a grateful smile crossing her lips.
"Get inside," Kakashi ordered. He slipped inside with her, removed his armor, and sat Lotus style. "Lay down, put your head on my lap. We're just going to talk— no training." Sakura did as ordered and was pleasantly surprised as Kakashi's fingers gently massaged her temples. "You have an unfair advantage knowing so much about me. Shisui already spoke to me about locking up these memories with you— I understand. But for now, tell me about you. You grew up with both your parents?"
"I—yes," Sakura answered, not expecting that line of questioning. "They're civilians. Dad graduated the Academy, but never did any missions. Mom is a housewife and he works as an engineer — building things."
"Interesting. And they support your lifestyle as a ninja?" Kakashi asked.
Sakura felt herself relaxing into his lap, the massage of his fingers easing the migraine that had started to form. "Not really. I thought they'd be proud. I mean, I know they love me, but they don't exactly shower me with praise."
"What do you mean? What sort of things do they say to you?" Kakashi asked, his tone pleasant and his voice soft and smooth as silk. The tension that had knotted up her back since her incident that afternoon finally started to loosen up.
"Mom nags a lot — when I lived with them it was about my room not being picked up or falling behind on my household chores. I mean, I would have just finished twelve hours at the hospital and completed a C or B ranked mission and come home exhausted and the first thing I'm greeted with upon stepping foot in the house is a lecture about not having put away my laundry the night before." Sakura chuckled mirthlessly. "We'd get into an argument, Mom would slap me for being disrespectful and ungrateful and I'd apologize."
Kakashi's fingers stilled for a moment. "I see. And your father?"
"Dad usually was the one to walk me home from the Academy in the evenings. After my first year, I walked there in the mornings by myself — it was too early for my parents. Which was fine— I didn't need an escort." Sakura sighed, practically melted into Kakashi's lap. He wasn't even using chakra and he'd managed to work out her stress.
"He also finished the Academy. Did he train you?" Kakashi asked, his tone casual.
Sakura shook her head. "No. He thought the Academy was a good source of education within the village, but he didn't actually think I'd decide to be a ninja. He thought it was a good way for me to meet a future husband. My only aspiration should be as someone's future housewife. You know, when I was promoted to Chunin— I thought I might get a little praise. They were both there at the ceremony. Mom made some kind of snide comment about my forehead protector should be big enough with the promotion to hide my forehead and Dad thought it would be really easy to attract a good husband. When I was promoted to Jonin after my efforts in the last battle — they said absolutely nothing."
"That sucks," Kakashi murmured. "They were impressed with your medical skills though, right?"
"Hardly. How was I going to meet anyone working twelve hour shifts and with all that overtime at the hospital? My Master was a drunk, what a bad example for their impressionable young daughter." Sakura chuckled darkly. "I moved out as soon as I could afford to and now I only see them about once a month — which is tolerable."
"Sakura, open your eyes," Kakashi ordered sternly.
Sakura's eyes snapped open on reflex at her team leader's request. His Sharingan stared down at her and he delved into her mind. She was too slow and relaxed to dispel him, but it wasn't a Genjutsu. He was looking into her mind, looking at her memories. She saw the interrogation by Jiraiya.
Kakashi ended the memory abruptly. "What exactly did he do to you?" He lifted Sakura up and held her upper arms in a bruising grip. "Did he—-." He closed his Sharingan eye and looked back at her with his normal smokey gray eye. "I can kill him. How much would that fuck up the timeline?"
"Too much. It was unpleasant, but I got myself out of the situation. Besides, it will pale in comparison to what I might have to face when we infiltrate Root — won't it?" Sakura asked.
"You're not doing any of those sorts of missions," Kakashi vowed.
"But— we trained —I'm prepared," Sakura protested.
"No. You're not doing any of those sorts of missions," Kakashi repeated. He pulled her against him and hugged her. Sakura relaxed against him, feeling relieved at not having to do such a thing and exhausted from what happened earlier. "Dammit. I'm going to have to burn my Make Out Paradise series."
"Don't. Separate the work from the author. It was an effective interrogation method — if I'd not been trying to protect the complete collapse of the time-space continuum I'd have told him something," Sakura explained. "I'm sorry that you'll need to tamper with your own memory."
"I can take that memory away from you," Kakashi said. He yanked down his mask, letting the dark material gather at the base of his neck. "Of this afternoon with him."
"Then I wouldn't know to be wary," Sakura argued. "I only have a few more weeks, then I'll return to whatever my timeline has become."
"I'll come back tomorrow as soon as my mission is complete." Kakashi took a deep breath and kissed the crown of her head. He laid back, bringing Sakura with him resting across the top of him. "Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow is a pretty busy day for us both."
Sakura turned her face agains Kakashi's throat, enjoying the feel of his smooth skin. "I really appreciate you, Kakashi, you have no idea how much I appreciate you."
Kakashi hummed in response. "Maybe you don't need to hear it now," he murmured, hands rubbing up and down her back lazily. "But, I happen to think you're pretty amazing."
Warm tears fell against his exposed skin. She had needed to hear that. "Thank you, Kakashi."
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A/N: Thanks for reading, I couldn't leave Sakura in such a terrible situation as last chapter for long. There will be a brief hiatus. I'm traveling for my anniversary this coming week and my oldest son's birthday is the 15th (same as Kakashi-Sensei's birthday!).