They were in Kirigakure by just after three that afternoon. The clear morning sky had given way to the land's famous mist by noon, much to Sakura's disappointment. They checked the dock first, finding that Kakashi's gut had been right. The next ship departing for the Sky District would be leaving at five the next morning. It would be a five day journey over the Kaizoku Sea and through the turbulent Kasumi Strait that would port in the one thriving village in the land, a place called Nigai Yama that apparently had a healthy economy supported by bitter roots grown in the higher slopes of the nearby mountains.
After securing two tickets on the ship, a small passenger vessel with cramped quarters and few amenities, Kakashi found a small inn nearby and rented a room for the evening. The two of them shared a simple meal at the attached restaurant before retiring to their room, where he quickly excused him to the bathroom. Sakura heard the audible click of the door's flimsy lock and frowned at the obvious request for privacy.
The two hadn't spoken much at all while they'd walked from Ine to Kirigakure, a casual conversation about the weather when they'd stopped for a light lunch along the shore of the ocean. He hadn't mentioned the kunoichi again after telling Sakura about her at the cafe that morning, though she'd known by the tightness of his features and the deep lines etched into his forehead that he hadn't stopped thinking about her.
Sakura tried to distract herself from his obvious anxiety by flipping through a month-old magazine that she'd picked up in the lobby, but it was of no use. By the time he came out of the bathroom with damp hair and a towel around his waist, she was too frustrated with his lack of communication to keep her mouth shut anymore.
"Stop thinking about her, Kakashi," she told him sternly, sitting with her arms folded across her chest. "There's nothing we can do about it right now, and we're in the middle of a mission."
He glanced up at her, using a second towel to dry his hair before he tossed it over the arm of a recliner positioned against the wall. "It could be related to this mission, Sakura. Have you stopped to think about the fact that we haven't run into any other shinobi since entering the Land of Waves?"
He reached into his weapon pouch, pulling out a kunai with which he sliced the tip of his thumb. He grabbed his summoning scroll, calling forth Ūhei. The bandaged dog gave a wag of his tail and looked up at his contractor expectantly.
"I need you to deliver a message to the Hokage," Kakashi told the dog, his hand already fishing a pen and a slip of paper out of the same bag. He hastily detailed both encounters as well as both descriptions of the kunoichi before he folded it and tucked it securely underneath Ūhei's bandages. He slipped the vest off and continued, "Blend in as a stray. Avoid human contact if possible, and be quick about it, Ūhei."
The dog gave a gruff bark in response and hopped out the window as Kakashi opened it. Sakura sighed, laying back against the pillows. She knew he was right to worry, and she was regretting snapping at him. Kakashi sat on the other side of the bed, letting his hand rest on top of her knee.
"Do you think she knows where we're going?" Sakura asked him quietly.
"I don't know," Kakashi answered truthfully, his chest heaving in a sigh before he continued, "I do know that she gave me a suspicious vibe. She was heading the way we came when she left the ryokan, but we can't trust that she was actually heading the opposite way. It's entirely possible she spotted me, too."
Her eyes were wide, her mouth agape. Kakashi knew that she'd just realized what it was that had been troubling him all day. He knew she was now wondering the same thing he was; was the mystery kunoichi a fellow Leaf nin? She had, after all, walked right up to Kakashi.
"Danzo," Sakura spoke the name like it was venom on her tongue, her eyes flashing green fire as they met his grey one. "Kakashi, there's no way it's a coincidence. Didn't Itachi tell you the woman in the Sky District had seen Root agents nearby?"
Kakashi nodded, folding his hands in his lap. He'd always known Sakura was the brightest of his three students, but he hadn't thought she'd catch on to his theory so quickly. "I think it's possible that Danzo is connected, but with no proof..." he trailed off, letting his eye close as his head fell back against the wall.
"There's nothing Lady Tsunade can do without proof," Sakura surmised with a sigh, letting her head fall into his lap. His hand went to her hair, loosely carding through it as they sat in silence for awhile. The shadows began to pass over the wall as the sun began to set. Sakura was dozing lightly as Kakashi hummed to her, a habit she'd only just noticed he'd picked up. He shifted her off his lap when he heard her first snores beginning, sliding her sweater over her body so that she wouldn't overheat in the night before he stripped to his boxers and crawled into bed next to her. Sleep wouldn't come as easily for the worried shinobi, who tossed and turned for a few hours before giving up on it at all. He resigned himself to staring at the ceiling, the pieces to the puzzle spread out in his mind but not fitting together. Something told him he needed to figure it out soon, before the viper-like Danzo made whatever strike he was planning.
-x-
He woke Sakura up at four o'clock the next morning and she pulled her sweater back on as Kakashi redressed in silence. They left the inn a few minutes after that and made their way quickly to the dock, where Kakashi presented their tickets to the steward ushering people on board. It was a crowded cruise and he kept hold of Sakura's hand to avoid losing her in the throngs of people joining them on the ship.
He led her to their cabin a few decks below and sat down on the small bed, his stomach already lurching as a wave rolled the steel beast holding them. He pulled legs up, ignoring the unsettling feeling as he pulled out his Icha Icha while Sakura unpacked their things before sitting at the desk in the corner of the cabin. She pulled out her notebook, ignoring Kakashi's curious glance as she began to jot away.
A few hours later, the ship had pushed off the dock and they were making their way across the sea. While the water had looked calm when they'd boarded, the waves had become more violent the further from shore they got. Kakashi's upset stomach had worsened, and by noon he'd abandoned his reading and was clutching his stomach tightly, his forehead flushed red and beaded with sweat.
Sakura frowned, closing her notebook and putting it back in her pocket before she took her spot next to him on the bed, placing her hand gently on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" She asked him softly, using her other hand to brush his matted hair away from his brow.
"Are you okay?"
Kakashi closed his eyes, groaning out, "Yeah. The ocean doesn't suit me."
His mouth puffed and Sakura grabbed the waste bin sitting next to the bed, pulling his head down to it just in time for him to violently heave into it. Her hand rubbed his back, biting her lip in concentration as she activated her medical chakra. Kakashi jolted when he felt it, his eye searching for hers as another wave of nausea overcame him.
"I'm targeting your vestibular system," she explained, focusing on sending her chakra through his back, up his neck and towards the connections in his inner ear. Kakashi's stomach flipped again and he lost it again in the waste bin. Sakura's chakra flickered for a moment as she lost her concentration. Trying again, she closed her eyes and retraced her previous path.
She let her chakra flow into him strong and steady once she'd successfully connected to his vestibular system and within minutes his nausea subsided and he leaned back against her hand, taking raspy breaths as he looked up at her again.
"Thank you," he managed to croak out. She handed him a bottle of water she pulled from her bag, holding it steady for him as he drank slowly. When he was finished, he continued, "Did Lady Tsunade teach you how to do that?"
Sakura blushed, giving a gentle shrug of her shoulders as she placed the bin back on the floor. "Sort of," she answered. "She taught me how to connect to someone else's chakra, but I've never worked on someone's head before."
"You're a natural healer, tenshi," Kakashi told her, reaching for her hand as his head leaned back. "Take it from someone who escapes hospitals on a regular basis."
His words caused her blush to darken and she cleared her throat as she pulled the bag out of the bin when she stood up. "I'm going to take this to a bin out there so it doesn't stink up our cabin," she murmured, pulling the metal door open and stepping out into the narrow hall. She looked first down the right and saw nothing but a dead end, so she headed left.
Around the corner at the end of the hall, she found a public trash can and dropped the bag into it before turning to head back. She found him with his eyes closed and the blanket pulled up to his neck and she smiled in spite of herself as she turned the light off and undressed in the dark before sliding into bed next to him. She pulled him close, smiling as his head rested on her stomach. Sakura fell asleep playing with his mussed silver hair, feeling content despite the worry that ate at her gut.
-x-
The next four days were rough on both of them. Kakashi's seasickness didn't improve even with calmer water over the rest of the journey. Sakura did the best she could, rotating between using her chakra and ginger tea to ease his nausea. It was minimally helpful and by the time they arrived in Nigai Yama, he looked ghastly; his face a sickly shade of greenish-white, cheeks and forehead flushed red with a fever he hadn't managed to sweat out.
He insisted that he was fine to continue traveling, so Sakura insisted that they at least stop for a couple of hours and resupply themselves since they were heading somewhere with limited availability of products. He agreed to that much, though he didn't agree to sit in the village square to wait for her and she wasn't happy about it.
"You're not well, Kakashi," she tried to convince him, her eyes narrowed. "You need to rest if you want us to start making our way to Sora-ku."
"It isn't safe to split up right now," he retorted, his voice weak even as he held her wrist in a strong grip. "This is where he said they were spotted. I'm coming with, and that's that."
She huffed under her breath, knowing she wasn't going to win this argument. She relented and his grip loosened as they headed towards a shop at the end of the pier that advertised ninja gear.
They spent about half an hour inside the shop, gathering some rations to replace what they'd consumed since leaving Konoha. Sakura found a book to replace the one she'd lost in Ine, tucking it safely away in her pouch before they headed out of the village towards the abandoned city that Itachi had told Kakashi he'd find the girl and her caretaker.
It was a day's journey to the abandoned city, and at dark, Kakashi insisted on stopping to make camp even though they were only an hour outside the city limits. He didn't explain his reasoning as he pointed up a large, bushy pine tree before he began to walk up it to the highest branches that would support their weight.
"Why up here?" She asked him as she settled on the branch he'd chosen. He looped a rope around the thick tree trunk and then sat behind her, pulling her so that her back was pressed tightly to his chest as he secured the rope around their waists.
"There are a lot of criminals in Sora-ku," he explained quietly to her. "I don't want to draw unnecessary attention to us with so little cover down on the ground."
Sakura nodded, letting her eyes shut as she tilted her head so that it was in the crook of his neck and shoulder. "I assume we're leaving at daybreak?"
"Yes," he answered, keeping a close watch on the ground. "Get some sleep, Sakura. Tomorrow will be a long day."
She felt like her eyes had only just slipped shut when Kakashi was waking her up the next morning, the first rays of light beginning to peek through the pine needles surrounding them. He dug four energy bars out of his bag, handing her two of them and they ate in silence before descending down the tree.
"I want you to stick close to me when we get to the city," Kakashi told her as they began walking. Sakura fell in line next to him, nodding.
"You said last night there are criminals there," she spoke slowly. "What kind of criminals, exactly?"
"It's inhabited by weapons dealers, mostly," he answered her before continuing, "Weapons that are banned everywhere else. They're dangerous, and we're going to avoid any run-ins with them if possible. Itachi told me his friend lives on the western edge of the city and that the main street will take us most of the way there."
"And she's expecting us?"
Kakashi nodded. "If Itachi is to be believed - and in this instance, I believe he is - yes," he told Sakura. Before she could ask her next question, he added, "I don't know if the child knows he's her father, or if she knows she's an Uchiha at all. She's been here since infancy."
They walked in silence the rest of the way. The Sky District was cold, with jagged, snow-capped mountains on either side of the valley they were passing through. Unlike the Land of Waves, where they had encountered occasional passersby, there was no one else on the road the two walked along. As they neared Sora-ku, Sakura could make out the skyline of the city. The closer they got, she realized that the tall skyscrapers she'd seen in the distance were decaying and decrepit; their siding long lost gone, exposed concrete dingy and falling apart in many places. Most of the windows in the buildings seemed to be broken, and a slightly sour scent began to sting her nose as they passed into the city's gate, Kakashi pulling her close to his side and gripping her hand tightly in his.
"Welcome to Sora-ku," he murmured to her, eye alert and scanning the place. He'd pulled a plain black bandana out of his pouch a few miles before, keeping his eye and scar concealed from any unsavory people who might recognize him. "Let's move quickly."
Sakura didn't argue with him, nor speak at all as he pulled her through the empty streets. She kept her head down, not making eye contact with any of the few people she saw making their way to one shop or another. Kakashi told her that while some of them sold basic goods, most of them dealt in exotic and sometimes illegal things as well. When she pushed for specifics, he shut the conversation down and continued the rest of the walk quietly himself, a dark and angry look on his face.
After about forty minutes of walking down the main road, Kakashi stopped and casually checked their surroundings, ensuring they weren't being followed before he turned down a narrow side street with crowded row houses built of shoddy materials. At the end of that street, he turned down another and then another before Sakura gave up trying to keep her bearings straight.
He at last came to a stop outside a small house that looked just as neglected as the rest of the city did. There was a small yard with a few clumps of grass that had managed to survive the harsh environment, the shutters on the house lopsided and one of the railings leading up to the porch missing.
"Is this the right place?" She asked Kakashi, glancing up at him dubiously. He nodded, keeping his eye trained on the front door, its faded red paint chipping and showing the brown wood beneath.
The door creaked open just then, revealing a stern looking woman with grey hair that stuck out around her head like a ball of cat whiskers. Her face was feline in appearance, right down to the grey cat nose where a human one should sit. There were deep lines along her cheeks, her thin lips pulled into a neutral expression.
"You must be the friends I'm expecting," she spoke clearly, her narrowed eyes meeting Kakashi's face and studying it for a moment. She barely glanced at Sakura before continuing, "You may call me Nekobaa. Won't you come inside?"
She was already turned around and heading back inside as she asked the question. Kakashi and Sakura glanced at each other before Kakashi nodded for her to walk ahead of him into the small home, glancing around once more before he entered and shut the door behind himself, sure that no one had followed them.
-x-
The inside of the house was much different than Sakura had been anticipating it to look, given the rundown appearance of Sora-kun as a whole. The tile floors shined bright, evidence of a recent waxing as Nekobaa led them through the living room into which they'd entered, leading them to a red dining room furnished with a simple, but nicely carved wooden table and three striped zabuton cushions. She took her seat at the head of the table, motioning for Kakashi and Sakura to take their seats across from one another on the longer sides of the table.
Nekobaa didn't speak for a few moments, and Kakashi didn't either. Sakura watched both of them during the brief silence, wondering who was going to be the first to speak when the old woman's coarse voice sounded quietly. "Where shall we begin?"
Kakashi hummed for a moment as he thought about it, his eyes glancing over at Sakura before he met Nekobaa's gaze. "Why don't we start with the child," he suggested slowly. "Itachi didn't tell me anything about her other than that she exists."
"He wouldn't know," the older woman said, her words tinged with a heavy sadness that reached her eyes. "He's not seen her since the day he left her with me all those years ago. She wasn't even a year old," she tutted, folding her hands across the table before she narrowed her eyes at Kakashi, sharply adding, "It's not for lack of love he's stayed away."
Kakashi didn't argue with the woman, nor give any indication that he believed any differently than she did before he asked, "What's her name?"
The old woman reached into a pocket on the side of her long, orange dress and handed Kakashi a photo of a small child that was undeniably an Uchiha. She had long, black hair contained in a girlish, single ponytail on the side of her head. Like her father, the girl's eyes were deep pools of endless black; though, Kakashi noticed, they lacked the weariness and impatience of Itachi's own eyes. She had a birdlike frame; her cheek bones less pronounced than her father's, a long nose that turned up just a little at the end. Her most striking feature was her smile - big and bright, and completely unlike any expression Kakashi had ever seen on any Uchiha's face before. Her frame was thin, but she looked to be growing tall.
"Kotori," Nekobaa spoke the name gently with a smile as Kakashi pocketed the photo. The smile faded as she added, "She does not know who Itachi is to her; nor does she know that she is an Uchiha."
Sakura glanced over at Kakashi, her eyebrow arched. As if he were reading her mind, Kakashi spoke again, "Has her Sharingan-"
"No," Nekobaa cut him off with a shake of her head. "That's precisely why I haven't told her anything of her heritage. She's better off without it."
Kakashi frowned, thankful for the cover of his mask. Sakura was about to reply, her green eyes flashing with anger. Before she could speak her mind, Kakashi took control of the conversation again and said, "Ah, but she's not just of Uchiha blood, is she? Her mother also possessed a kekkei genkai; one that may, perhaps, be harder to keep repressed."
Nekobaa did not respond, but both of them could tell that she didn't like his reply. Finally, she spoke again, her tone not betraying her emotions. "I didn't know her mother, and Itachi didn't speak about her with me. I don't even have a photo of her for Kotori."
There was a long silence and the woman excused herself for a few minutes to the kitchen. Kakashi and Sakura listened as she set a kettle on to boil, the clinking of dishes ringing out like chimes. A few minutes later, she returned with a tray containing three teacups. As Kakashi took a sip and then looked over at Nekobaa, a shadow over his face.
"How close were the Root agents you saw?" He asked her, his tone serious as he took a second sip of tea. Nekobaa sighed, shaking her head as she sat her own teacup down.
"Too close," she admitted quietly, glancing up at him. "I've managed to keep her out of sight, but I worry that they're going to spot her and..."
She didn't need to finish her sentence. Kakashi and Sakura both knew what she'd been about to say. The older woman was terrified that Kotori would be kidnapped; it was written all over her weathered face.
"Has there been any direct contact between you and them?"
Nekobaa shook her head. "No, no. I'm fortunate, you see. I have my own shop, so I don't need to venture out into the city for much, or very often. The girls stick to the property."
"Girls?" Sakura glanced up. "I thought there was just the one girl."
"Tamaki," the old woman smiled. "She's my daughter's girl. She lives with me, has ever since the...tragedy," she glanced down, her eyes darkening with a distant memory before she continued, "Tamaki and Kotori have been raised as sisters for their entire lives."
Sakura didn't ask the woman to compound on what tragedy had befallen her daughter, but she could tell by the misty look in her eyes that she was all the family her granddaughter had left in the world. Kakashi cleared his throat and finished his tea before he spoke again.
"The Hokage has given us two options," he shifted the conversation. "Either Kotori stays here with you for the time being, given the recent turmoil Konoha has found itself in; or, Sakura and myself take her back with us now. Lady Tsunade would prefer to keep her here until things are sorted out."
"Until, hmm?" Nekobaa asked, her eyebrow arched and a frown tugging at her lips. Kakashi nodded, his eyes and tone firm with his next words.
"She will eventually be brought to Konoha, yes," he told her. "The girl is one of the last of the Uchiha, as well as a descendant of a powerful clan in Iwa; a clan that will no doubt try to sink their claws into her and drag her to the Land of Earth. Her very existence could cause tension between the Tsuchikage, her grandfather, and Konoha."
"Does the fact that Itachi deliberately took her away from the Leaf mean anything to you at all?" Nekobaa asked him pointedly, her eyes slightly narrowing. "If he'd wanted her to be raised in Konoha, he-"
"He asked me to ensure her safety, and that's what I'm doing; what we're here for," Kakashi cut her off quietly. "The only threat Kotori faces in the Leaf is Danzo; once he's been taken care of, the only threat she'll face at all will come from Iwa. Are you alone prepared to deal with them when they come? Because they will come. They will learn about her existence."
"How do you know that, hmm?" Nekobaa retorted. "She's lived nine years, and I only just started seeing the Root agents within the last month or so. No one else has ever come looking for her."
"Danzo has already put his plan into place. He has drawn Iwa's attention to Konoha; they now know bits and pieces of a story he weaved for them, and they want answers. Lady Tsunade will be left with no choice but to reveal Kotori's existence to the Tsuchikage to avoid a conflict."
Nekobaa didn't reply, and the dining room fell into silence. A few minutes later, a door at the back of the house clicked open and then slammed shut a few seconds later. The pitter-patter of children hustling across the floor filled the quiet and a few moments later, two little girls rounded the corner. They came to a sudden stop when they saw Kakashi and Sakura sitting at the table, their eyes wide.
"Tamaki, Kotori," Nekobaa spoke warmly, smiling at the girls. "These are some friends of ours. They've traveled a long way to visit us."
"A long way?" The girl with long, brown hair parroted the older woman, peering at Sakura from behind her long bangs. Nekobaa nodded.
"All the way from the Land of Fire," she told them.
"Why haven't they ever visited before?" The girl with black hair asked, her voice quiet as she stood back, obviously still not trusting them. Sakura felt the air leave her lungs as she studied the little girl who was so obviously an Uchiha. This was Sasuke's niece but she could see him in the roundness of her cheeks, in the almond shape of her eyes and the frown pulling at her thin lips. She was an Uchiha through and through, there was no doubt in Sakura's mind.
"Well, it is a long journey," Kakashi answered lightly, giving the girls a crinkle-eyed smile. "And I get rather seasick on the ocean, you see."
Tamaki giggled, her head tilting to the side as she glanced up at him. "Why are you wearing a mask, mister?"
Sakura arched her eyebrow, a smile on her face as she wondered how Kakashi was going to talk his way out of revealing his face to the curious child. He laughed and shrugged. "I have a horrible gap in my two front teeth," he told her solemnly, holding his fingers an exaggerated length apart. Tamaki squealed, stomping her feet as she giggled.
"I bet it's because he's so old he doesn't even have teeth."
Kotori's voice was quiet, but there was a playful gleam in her midnight eyes that told Sakura and Kakashi that she was making a joke. He feigned a hurtful look, pulling his hand to his heart as though she'd stabbed him.
"Such sharp wit," he exclaimed before chuckling. Kotori smiled, cautiously approaching the table to stand next to Tamaki.
The next few hours passed by in easy conversation. The topics of Konoha and Itachi were not brought up again, though it was on all of the adults' minds as the girls told them all about what they'd done that afternoon. Kakashi regaled them with a few tame stories that delighted them, and the whole time Sakura was watching the way he interacted with them, she felt her heart warming. He was much more comfortable with children now, it seemed, than he had been when he'd become a sensei.
They left a few hours later, politely declining the dinner invitation that Nekobaa extended to them. She sent the girls off to their room and Kakashi reassured her that he and Sakura would do a sweep of Nigai Yama before they boarded their ship. They left Sora-ku just as the sun was setting and by the time they reached the midpoint between the two communities, it was nearing midnight. Kakashi treed them again for the night, and the dark hours passed by uneventfully.
The next morning was cool and Sakura could see her breath as they made their way back into the port village. Kakashi managed to secure their passage directly to the Land of Fire on a fishing vessel that was leaving three days sooner than the next ship heading for Kirigakure. The captain had told them to be ready to depart at 3 AM the next day, so they spent the afternoon discreetly and slowly meandering through Nigai Yama's cobbled streets. By the time the sun was setting again, they'd checked everywhere and had seen no trace of a shinobi presence at all, let alone a Root presence. Satisfied that the threat Itachi had told them about was gone, Kakashi and Sakura spent the rest of their time in the Sky District sitting on the dock beside the fishing vessel, patiently waiting for the crew to allow them on board. Shortly after two, they were ushered over the gangway and escorted to a small room in the lowest part of the ship.
There was no bed but for the price Kakashi had gotten and the shortened travel time, neither of them was complaining and they made the best of it, padding the hard wooden floor with their bedrolls. To combat Kakashi's seasickness that was sure to happen, Sakura spent half an hour before the ship departed the dock connecting her chakra to his body, his mouth slowly chewing a piece of ginger root that she'd picked up that afternoon.
Her regimen worked, and he still hadn't vomited two hours into the journey. Sakura, convinced that he was fine for at least the time being, had decided to get some sleep; her head resting in his lap while he passed the time flipping through his favorite book. He nodded off some time later, his book falling to the floor and his body slumping next to hers as the boat rocked against the waves.
Sakura wasn't sure what time it was when she woke up, and the lack of a porthole in their cramped quarters didn't help her figure it out. Seeing that Kakashi was still asleep, she leaned in and kissed him tenderly over his mask, watching with a smile as he roused from slumber.
"Good morning," she murmured softly, her fingers brushing back through his hair. "Care to come out on the deck with me? Looking at the horizon will help you stay feeling well."
Kakashi thought about it for a moment and then nodded, groaning as he stretched his body out, rolling his stiff neck. "I could go for some fresh air," he told her as she helped him to his feet. She led him by the hand out of the room and they made their way through the maze of the ship. It wasn't too long before they were walking up a wooden staircase, bright sunlight splashing onto their faces as they stepped onto the deck.
"It's a beautiful day," Sakura remarked as she approached the ship's railing. "And clear skies, too. No wonder you haven't been sick. It's much calmer this trip."
Kakashi nodded, letting his eyes focus on the horizon line. Men moved about the deck around them, some of them yelling orders while others hollered back in acknowledgement. She was watching as a dolphin breached the water's surface when she gasped as a small force collided with her legs, sending her into Kakashi's side.
"Oh, I'm sorry, miss," a voice squeaked out. Sakura glanced down, finding a pair of wide brown eyes and a mop of blonde hair staring back up at her.
"Are you alright?" Sakura asked the child, a boy. He nodded, a blush tinting his cheeks as she touched his shoulder gently. "Alright, well, please be more careful from now on. You could really hurt yourself."
The boy nodded and then sharply lifted his head when a man called for him to get back to work. Sakura sighed, looking once up at Kakashi before she went back to watching the ocean. She knew it was a fact of life that in their harsh and unfair world, children worked jobs meant for adults; hard, physical labor that left them crippled and poverty-stricken before they were even past their twenties.
Kakashi had been one of them.
She had been too, she realized.
A heavy sigh fell from her lips and Kakashi's hand went to her back, giving her a light squeeze as he spoke, trying to distract her. "It's a six day journey over the sea to the Land of Fire," he told her. "Once we reach the port, we'll be back home within a day."
They stood there for awhile longer, neither of them speaking. Sakura found herself captivated by the ocean; it was amazing, she thought, just how much life there was hiding beneath the waves. It was like a whole other world down there; quiet and dark and yet so beautiful and busy. A few more dolphins decided to grace them with their presence, their gleeful clicks sounding out in greeting. She found herself in a sort of daze, enchanted by the scene.
A loud commotion broke out behind them, bringing Sakura's attention to it. She saw a group of fishermen surrounding a mast, looking and pointing up with expressions of worry and horror. Her eyes followed theirs, widening when she realized what they were looking at.
The same boy that had run into her not even an hour before was hanging precariously from a rope at the top of the mast, which cracked loudly and sent him swinging as it broke under his weight. She couldn't even fathom what he'd been doing as a chorus of men yelling a name, Touji.
"We have to help him," Sakura told Kakashi. He was already in motion, making his way towards the net of ropes that led up. Her stomach lurched as she watched him climb just halfway up when the mast made another sickening snap.
"Hang on, Touji!" Kakashi called up to the boy. Touji was screaming, his legs flailing below him as his hands clung tightly to the rope. Sakura watched in horror as the broken end of the mast swung around, catching in the netting. It shook violently and both Kakashi and Touji lost their hold. The shinobi managed to find his footing, landing near Sakura before he bounded forward to catch the falling child. His attempt was in vain, and Sakura screamed as Touji slammed hard to the deck, his head crashing with a gruesome sound against the hard planks.
She ran for him, sinking to her knees as she straightened his body out quickly, her green medical chakra already glowing in her hands. A man behind her roughly yanked her shoulder, demanding to know what she was doing. She threw him back with force she didn't even realize, her eyes never leaving Touji's limp body.
"She can help him," Kakashi told the man, who'd flown into a barrel, his weight breaking it and soaking him in water. "She's being trained in medical ninjutsu. Let her work."
Everything faded out as Sakura desperately placed her palms to the center of his chest, closing her eyes in focus as she tried to discern quickly what his injuries were. His spine was fractured in several places, cutting off vital blood flow to his legs, which contained more breaks. She worked fast; sending her chakra directly to the cells of his body, concentrating on stitching together his spine from the marrow out.
Once she was sure his blood was flowing back to his legs, she concentrated on his head. A deep frown etched itself onto her face as she realized the extent of the injuries she found there. Kakashi's seasickness had been the only time she'd ever attempted to heal that part of the body and although she'd been successful, the injuries Touji was dealing with were far more complex. Determination coursed through her as she recalled something Tsunade had told her weeks before in a training session.
"The brain stem controls the breathing. If they can't breathe, nothing you do matters."
She turned her attention there, calling for Kakashi to keep an eye on his chest and mouth for breaths without even being aware of doing so as she lifted her hands to the back of Touji's neck and the top of his forehead. She sent her chakra surging through him, feeling the way his body clung to life, accepting her life-sustaining chakra.
It wasn't until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, Kakashi's voice calling to her through the fog of focus she'd lost herself in that Touji was waking up that she released the boy's small body, her body collapsing onto the deck and into his waiting arms. He lifted her, carrying her bridal style towards their room as she mumbled tiredly that Touji would be fine, that he needed rest now. Kakashi barked back her instructions to the group of fishermen as he descended down the stairs. She was already passed out before he laid her down on top of the bedroll. Somewhere in the fog of her exhaustion, she heard him tell her how proud he was of her, and Sakura smiled before slipping deeper into her sleep.
-x-
Six days later, the ship landed in a place called Hinoki-rin, named for the tall, brushy cypress trees that crew in clusters around the small port village. They didn't stay long; having arrived later in the day, they were both in a hurry to be back home. It was the sixth of September, and they'd been gone for sixteen days.
They didn't stop to eat or rest as they had on their way to the Sky District, opting instead to use the food pills they'd managed not to need on their mission. By ten o'clock, they were back in familiar territory. Another hour after that, they were signing back in to the village with Kotetsu and Izumo, who told Kakashi that the Hokage had been expecting them for two days, not needing to tell the two nin that their first stop should be Tsunade's office.
She was sitting at her desk when they arrived fifteen minutes later, her focus actually on the piles of paperwork that routinely littered her desk. Kakashi knocked at the door, drawing her gaze up to them.
"Good, you're back," she spoke curtly, setting her pen down.
"We located the child, and she is alive," Kakashi told Tsunade, fishing the photo that Nekobaa had given him out of his vest. He handed it to her as he continued, "Her name is Kotori. As of right now, she is unaware of her heritage."
"Has she presented either kekkei genkai?" Tsunade asked him, studying the photo. Under her breath, she remarked, "The resemblance to the Uchiha is striking."
"Nekobaa says she has not, and I saw no indications that she has," Kakashi answered her honestly. "The woman seems to think keeping the girl's past from her will keep her capabilities dormant."
Tsunade hummed in thought as she looked up at him. "And what about the threat from Root? Did you see any indication that they were in the area?"
Kakashi shook his head, his eye darkening as he asked a question of his own. "What about the kunoichi? Were you able to track down any information about her at all?"
"No," Tsunade replied with a sigh. "I questioned the Jōnin, and no one seemed to be familiar with anyone fitting either description. Your ninken didn't pick up on her trail, either."
The room fell into an uneasy silence as both Sakura and Kakashi wondered about the woman and why she seemed so elusive. At this point, Kakashi was absolutely certain that she was from Konoha, and even more certain that she was under Danzo's employ. Finally, Tsunade spoke again, her voice edged with annoyance.
"Danzo has not inquired about Yoji's imprisonment as I had hoped he would. It would have given me something to go to the rest of the council with," she told Kakashi.
He frowned, folding his arms over his chest. "He likes to play his cards close to his chest," Kakashi's words were spoken quietly. "I'm sure he suspects you're suspicious of him, at the very least. He won't make any obvious or sudden moves."
"Yes, well," Tsunade sighed. "Every day that passes means the victims from the blasts and their families go one more day without answers. It's been twenty-five days, Kakashi. I've tried speaking with the council separately from Danzo, but they're adamant that without compelling evidence, they will not move against him."
"How many casualties were there total?"
Tsunade glanced up as Sakura spoke for the first time, her eyes softening as she looked to the side. "As of this afternoon, we're up to 44 dead. An elderly civilian succumbed to his burns just after three."
"The next meeting is on the fourteenth, correct?" Kakashi asked the Hokage, who nodded as she swiped a hand over her face tiredly.
"Yes," she answered him. "Shino met with Tenzo this afternoon and swallowed another transmission seed. We'll know anything he knows from now until after it happens. He's been instructed to report in if he happens to learn anything significant before then. For now, you're both dismissed. Take the next few days off."
Sakura reached for Kakashi's hand as they walked out of the office, neither one of them saying anything as they departed. Without speaking about it, they both began walking back towards the village gates so that they could go to the only place either of them wanted to be in that particular moment, the farm.