Bonds Through Time
Chapter Forty-Five: Memories
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Sakura
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It had been two weeks since Kakashi had returned into her life — like the sun brightening the sky after days of stormy weather. He'd made it his priority to serve as her primary guard her last few days in Suna and was always close on their journey back to Konoha.
To be honest, she and Sasori had both been pleased to have such an intelligent observer as they explained what they'd learned about cloning. He'd even agreed to give them DNA samples so they could clone an eye for him — like the one he'd lost when he'd been a teen back in the Third Shinobi War. He'd joked that he hoped it wouldn't be necessary to use said cloned eye, so long as his vision was only mildly impaired. He did admit that the eyesight was gradually degrading.
On the journey back home, he told her about the railways he'd seen in lands far away where there were predominantly merchants and very few ninja. He and Itachi had spoken at length with Sasori about the idea and he said it might very well be possible in the near future as Suna had discovered vast quantities of natural gas in the parts of Wind that had previously been thought to be barren wastelands.
It only grated a little that at night, Sakura slept in the tent with Izumi and Sarada while the men-folk slept under the stars. But, it was the middle of the autumn season and there was no way her daughter was going to be exposed to the cold weather. She slept well, but wondered what Kakashi and Sasuke talked about while she was zipped up cozy inside the canvas shelter. They took guard duty together and she just knew the two men were talking about her, especially when she caught their heads low together during the day and they'd both had guilty expressions.
She did not like being talked about, having others decide her fate. It was incredibly frustrating. She'd been apprenticed to the two strongest kunoichi alive in Fire and Wind countries. She was formidable in her own right, yet she couldn't help, but feel like a kept woman.
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Kakashi
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They were two days out from Konoha. Kakashi and Sasuke had second shift, same as usual, watching over the camp. They'd both set clones about so they could chat privately, ensconced in the upper boughs of the trees now that they'd returned to the forests of their homeland.
His gaze drifted towards the tent where Sakura, Sarada, and Izumi were secured for the night, privacy noise seals muffling any possible cries from the baby. Kakashi's ninken Shiba and Bull were perched right outside the tent and could warn if there was any need for help from the occupants inside. Pakkun had managed to worm his way inside the tent, claiming to be very good with babies. Frankly, he was. Kakashi still remembered when he'd been a young boy orphaned at the ripe age of five and only the snuggles of a certain pug had kept his frail little heart from completely shattering.
"I see the way you look at her," Sasuke murmured.
"I've seen the way you don't even touch her," Kakashi answered.
Sasuke's face crumpled into a scowl. "I'm keeping my hands to myself. That's different."
Kakashi dropped his voice. "It's more like you're keeping your cock in your pants. You don't have to punish Sakura just because you failed to wear a condom. It's an easy fix. There's no need to be an idiot."
"I know about condoms," Sasuke hissed.
"Knowing and utilizing that knowledge are two different things," Kakashi retorted. His jaw was set and he was annoyed with himself for trying to encourage Sasuke. "Sakura shouldn't suffer because you like to torture yourself." Pot calling kettle black right there and Kakashi knew it. He couldn't act on his own burgeoning feelings for their teammate, but, Sasuke was age appropriate. Sakura was hands off for Kakashi right now. The brooding man at his side wasn't the only one that was keeping his cock in his pants. It didn't mean he didn't look for any opportunity to casually brush his calloused fingers over Sakura's delicate yet powerful hands, tuck her hair behind her ear, offer to massage her shoulders. He wanted to do more, so much more! He knew she was officially of the age of consent, but it didn't feel right to him. He had a lot of experience and he didn't want to pressure her. He was determined to be her affectionate friend.
"Just because I'm practicing restraint and don't walk around in public like a pervert with a book of porn in my face, doesn't mean I don't appreciate a beautiful woman — especially the one that gave birth to my child." Sasuke's dark eyes bored into Kakashi with a scalding intensity. "Don't you think you're a little too old to be looking at the mother of my child that way?"
"It's going to be harder on her than on you," Kakashi pointed out, completely ignoring Sasuke's piercing barb. "You have your family and you can pretend your daughter is your niece. No one will question your involvement."
Sasuke grit his teeth, his gaze drifted towards Itachi. "I'm not sure about that, having my perfect older brother lay claim to the first child of this next generation? That doesn't exactly sit well with me either." He stared at the tent. "I wish I could help her reconcile with her parents. I know it upsets her. Itachi told me about his run in with them in Tea." He turned back to Kakashi. "Maybe that's something you can do. Help her reconnect with her parents."
Kakashi pressed his lips together thoughtfully. He always felt a little strange about the vibes of Sakura's parents. Maybe he just didn't understand civilians, they had different ideals after all. "You're joining Anbu," Kakashi stated. "The Commander is a good man." Sasuke wouldn't know it was his uncle until he'd actually been inducted.
Sasuke nodded. "I know Shisui and Itachi were both a lot younger." His dark eyes narrowed as he looked over at Kakashi again. "As were you. But I think sixteen is still a respectable age."
"You'll be the fourth youngest member, that wasn't brought in by the Root program anyway," Kakashi pointed out. His jaw tightened as memories of the corruption of Anbu under Danzo and the Root initiative. Thankfully, that chapter was closed and that man was nothing but dust on the wind these days. "It's a big achievement. I'm actually pretty proud of you." He reached over and punched Sasuke lightly in the shoulder earning another scowl from his young friend. "As your former sensei, I'm proud of you."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Oh please, don't you dare try to claim any credit for my achievements."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Kakashi said with a faint laugh. In spite of their conflict in regards to Sakura, it actually did feel good to share a laugh with the younger man. They really were a lot alike in their base personas. Sasuke acted a lot like the way Kakashi himself acted in his youth before he lost Obito. Thankfully, Sasuke hadn't endured anything quite so tragic as being orphaned at a young age or losing his teammates.
Sometimes, Kakashi was a little bit envious of the younger man, for more reasons than one. His gaze drifted back to the women's tent. As if sensing his attention, Shiba's head popped up and his sharp canine eyes caught Kakashi's.
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Sakura
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She'd been back in the village for at least two weeks, trying to adjust to a new normal. Her parents' house had been rented out, so staying there wasn't an option even if she wanted. Ino had happily volunteered sharing her space with Sakura, but it was too hard to keep quiet about Sarada to Konoha's number one gossip. So, she stayed with Master Tsunade for the first two weeks at the Hokage tower. Every evening, she went to the Uchiha district to see her daughter under the care of Sasuke's mother. It grated to overhear the clan members talking about Itachi and Izumi's precious little daughter and not being able to correct them.
She'd finally decided that she would move into Shisui's guest room by the end of the week. Of all the Uchiha clan, he remained the one she felt most comfortable with and frankly if she wanted to cry, he had a good shoulder for that. Sasuke and Naruto both had been promoted to Anbu and it wasn't exactly a secret amongst their old genin class.
Naruto had hosted a celebratory dinner, but Sakura had left early. Sasuke had offered to leave with her, but it was his party and she didn't want to ruin it for him. She was incredibly proud of both his and Naruto's achievement and wanted them to enjoy the big fuss their friends had put together. Honestly, after the day she'd had at the hospital, the soreness in her tightly bound breasts as she tried to force her body to stop lactating, she just wanted to go home and snuggle her daughter, if only for a few hours before her bedtime. If she hurried now, she'd get a half hour with her nine month old baby.
She'd walked home by herself, a little lonely perhaps not to have an escort, but who would care about her now? She was safe within the walls of Konoha. Kakashi, Shisui and Itachi were all out of the village on a mission regarding Orochimaru — other than that she didn't know the details. She only knew that much when Shisui had explained why he'd be out of the village for the past week. It was the only reason that Sakura hadn't moved into Shisui's guest room yet.
By the time she got to Mikoto and Fugaku's house, Sarada had already gone down for the night. So after running her fingers over her sleeping daughter's fine dark hair, Sakura sat in the nursery rocking chair and watched Sarada sleep.
After about a half hour, Sakura felt the familiar prickle of tears in her eyes. Not wanting to disturb Sarada, she stepped outside onto the porch. She sucked in a deep breath of the chilled November air, trying to calm down her emotions. Maybe it was selfish, but she had just wanted to hold her daughter and it really hurt not being able to put her to sleep that night. She'd hardly seen Sasuke at all since returning to the village — he and Naruto had been busy with Anbu training and she'd been slammed at the hospital. Ino was busy with clan business and Kakashi and Shisui were out of the village on a mission. Master Tsuande felt the best way to help Sakura, was to keep her busy and out of her own head. Plus, she'd been so excited about Sakura's Yin seal and learning about the various things Sakura had studied with both Lady Chiyo and the Kazekage. They'd stayed up late several nights along with Shizune discussing what Sakura had learned in both Suna and in Amegakure.
Sakura scanned the Uchiha head family's backyard, appreciating the sound of the nightingale singing in the nearby trees. She could hear Mikoto and Fugaku talking quietly in the kitchen. Itachi and Izumi lived next door to the Uchiha main house and Sarada stayed in the nursery in their home half the time and the crib in the main house nursery the other half of the time in Sasuke's old room. He'd been able to continue sharing space with their daughter since their return, though when he started taking missions with Anbu, his time would also be cut short.
Sakura braced her forearms on the porch railing and stared out into the night. The sounds of the cicada were few and far between, most had started to go dormant for the year as Autumn would soon turn into Winter. Idly, she started humming Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star — the same tune she liked to serenade Sarada to sleep. She wondered when Sasuke would return home and if she should stay until he returned.
Maybe she'd just stay the night and sleep in Sasuke's bed. Her chakra control was still a little wonky since her pregnancy. Master Tsunade assured her she'd be back to normal by the time Sarada was a year old. It wasn't unusual to take that long for the chakra pathways to resume their normal flow after a child.
The songbirds grew quiet. Sakura felt a chill and scanned the area, but didn't see anything unusual. Something was definitely off though.
There was a displacement of air and the buzz of electricity around her, followed by a sudden chill. Belatedly, Sakura could sense an intense flare of chakra behind her. She turned to see a man with wild black hair, the right side of his face pale and scarred, his left eye closed. He stared at her with the spinning tomoe of a crimson Sharingan and she felt her consciousness slip away from her.
"Oh Sakura, Sakura, Sakura! We have so much to catch up on," the playful sing-song voice of the man whispered in her ear.
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Kakashi
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It had been jarring when one of Sasuke's hawks had disrupted his team's camp. He watched as Itachi's pale face grew paler upon reading the missive. They'd been following a lead about the Akatsuki, something Jiraiya had found. All they'd found were some abandoned laboratories that had belonged to Orochimaru and few more remnants of Root.
"What is it?" Kakashi asked. They were only a few hours from Konoha, already on their way back. What was so important it couldn't wait until the next day?
"We have to go back," Itachi said quietly, handing the missive to Kakashi. "Immediately." He began to pack up his things.
"What is it?" Tenzo asked, coming to stand at Kakashi's elbow. "Sakura? Isn't that your old genin student?"
"Hmm," Kakashi agreed. Fugaku was dead. Sakura was taken. Who would take her? Was it Orochimaru? Did he find out about her Yin seal? Who could have taken down Fugaku? Sure, he was a little past his prime and blind in one eye, but he was still a formidable opponent. Who would be able to make it past not only the village guards, but the Uchiha police force especially now that it had been fortified with Anbu for the last ten plus years?
Their team made haste and ran through the forests at top speed, empowered by a couple of soldier pills, and made it back to the village within four hours. They were greeted by the Anbu Commander Taki Uchiha, Shisui's father. They were led to the scene of the crime immediately, their packs still slung over their shoulders.
There was quite a bit of blood in the backyard of the Uchiha head household. Sasuke paced back and forth, his infant daughter cradled against his chest, his eyes swirling pools of crimson and black — his Mangekyo Sharingan was activated. His intense gaze shifted between Itachi, Shisui and Kakashi before he stared back down at his father's dead body. Naruto sat on the porch, standing silently, clasping the banister with a white-knuckled grip.
Mikoto kneeled on the ground, cradling Fugaku's head, though he was long since dead. Izumi rushed from the porch beside Naruto towards Itachi and threw her arms around him, crying into his shirt-front.
"Who could have done this?" Kakashi demanded. His senses were on high alert. His hand hovered over the hitai-ate covering his Sharingan out of habit. There was a lot of blood, but he knew the human body had a lot of blood in it. Hopefully, it was all Fugaku's. He didn't want to think of the alternative. Who would murder the Police Chief in his own home? "Who would be brazen enough for such an act?"
"It was Obito," Mikoto said quietly.
"That's not possible. Obito died eighteen years ago." He'd died when Kakashi had been barely twelve years old on his first mission as a Jonin. He shook his head in disbelief, his transplanted eye tearing up. He stared at Shisui with his mismatched eyes. "He died on the day Rin transplanted this eye."
Shisui's hands twitched at his side. "Surely, you know something is wrong with your memories. You've always thought it was something the Yamanaka did after a mission. But it was me — you asked me to lock away certain memories — afraid it would destroy your future if you remembered." Shisui's voice shook with emotion, but his eyes were dry. "Obito is alive — we found him ten years ago. And I was supposed to die — a victim of Danzo's machinations."
"What are you talking about?" Kakashi demanded. Images of blond and green flashed in his mind's eye.
"It's better if I show you." Shisui held his hands on either side of Kakashi's temples, inches away from his face. "Trust me in this, Kakashi." His dark eyes brimmed with tears. "I need you to return — all of you."
"Fine. Do it." Kakashi, shoved back his hitai-ate further into his hair, clenched his jaw, and allowed Shisui to dip into his mind, staring into those familiar crimson and black Sharingan that spun in slow, lazy circles.
Memories from that blank period of time came flooding back, the intensity enough to knock Kakashi's breath right out of his lungs. Blond — no — pink hair, green eyes, a diamond seal on the forehead, a beautiful woman — strong, fierce, sassy, brilliant and determined. Saving Shisui, bringing him back from death's door, a time-traveling version of himself and his team — saving the Uchiha clan.
And Sakura. He remembered Sakura. And he felt a rush of shame for the deliberately callous way he treated her when their paths first crossed when she'd been an Academy student and then his genin. He thought he'd already dealt with that when they'd made amends in Amegakure, but he realized he owed her so much more than a simple apology!
And Obito.
"How the fuck could I possibly forget this?" Kakashi pulled at his hair and stumbled back from Shisui. Obito was insane and extremely powerful. He could teleport! Fugaku had placed him under some sort of forbidden Sharingan magic that blinded him in one eye. "Why would he take Sakura?"
"Because Obito knows she traveled into the past once and wants her to save Rin like Sakura and you saved me. Though our Sakura now doesn't have those memories," Shisui explained. He ran a hand through his own dark, curly hair and let out a frustrated sigh. "Damn, I'm so glad to have you back, Kakashi. I'm so damn glad!" He grabbed hold of Kakashi's flak jacket and shook him.
Kakashi knew Sakura. He knew her better than anyone. She'd been the girl that had helped his team pass the Bell test when he was twelve, she'd traveled through time and found him when he'd been at his lowest in Anbu. They'd saved Shisui from Danzo's evil clutches. They'd prevented the Uchiha massacre. Then his future self, Sasuke, Naruto, Ino and Sai had all traveled back in time after her. They'd stopped a terrible tragedy from occurring.
And Obito had kidnapped her. And Kakashi had gotten her back and the Kazekage. Damn! Is that why Sasori was always so intrigued by Sakura?
Then, twenty-year old Sakura had returned to her own time. He lost her. Lost them. His memories had been locked away. Sakura had been pregnant with his child — and he'd met his grown son. And…he had to get her back.
Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate back over his eye and took a deep breath before gently brushing off Shisu's hand from his jacket. This was not the time to try to examine the feelings he had for future, past, and present Sakura. The timeline was altered now and who knew — maybe she ended up with Sasuke this time around. They had a daughter together after all. Though, he also remembered an older version of Sarada and a boy— Takashi— the one she'd been pregnant with?
He shook his head. He had to find Sakura first. They could figure out if there was a future between them later. He had fallen in love with her, as much as it was possible for someone like him twice now— maybe three times if he counted his future self that had time traveled back then as well.
"You alright in there?" Shisui asked, his brow creased in worry. He laid his hand gently on Kakashi's shoulder this time, wary of being knocked away again. "I'm only standing here today because of you and Sakura. I won't stop for anything until we get her home, I promise you, Kakashi."
"We'll get her home," Sasuke growled, his eyes flashed in fury. While he'd been celebrating with his friends, an international terrorist had been escaping imprisonment in his own backyard. His father was dead, his daughter could have been killed, and Sakura had been kidnapped. He held his daughter, Sarada, secured against his chest and marched towards Kakashi, having observed the exchange between Kakashi and Shisui. "Don't make the mistake of thinking you're the only one that loves her, Kakashi, Shisui. Let's get her back."
He handed his daughter to Itachi. "If anything happens to Sarada, I'll kill you myself," Sasuke warned. Then he gestured for Naruto. "We're going on a hunt for a dead man."
"We wont be able to track them through normal methods, not with Obito's ability to teleport," Kakashi reasoned. He touched the scar over his left eye on reflex. He'd learned how to use his kamui to a limited extent. Perhaps, he'd be able to use that connection to find them. "We should get Ino and Sai Yamanaka to join us." He met Shisui's eyes and the younger man nodded. They'd been a formidable team once, they would be again.
Kakashi met Sasuke's eyes. "We will bring her home," he vowed.
"Ah," Sasuke agreed with a sharp nod.
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