Chapter Six

More Planning and More Complications

'It's a lucky thing to have the heart of such a talented healer.'

For some reason he couldn't name, his father's comment played on a loop through his mind as they walked back to the Haruno residence. He didn't really have her heart—not that he wanted it. That belonged to Sasuke. But Sasuke wasn't there. The grumpy brat wasn't even born yet. For better or worse, so long as they were in the past they were stuck with each other. At least until someone else caught her eye, someone younger and… definitely better than Sasuke. Someone he wouldn't have to save her from.

But then again, she wanted to raise Tenzō—together. Had she thought about what that might mean at all since making that decision? Did she realize how it could limit her? He didn't think for one second that she would ever abandon Tenzō for a relationship, but not every man would want someone with a child. Especially if that child also tied her to him in such a permanent way.

What would their relationship look like after years together? Their real relationship?

Admitting to himself that she was beautiful and accidentally picturing her naked did not mean he had changed the way he saw her. She was twelve and a half years younger than him, she used to be his student… And even if he could ever look at her differently, she deserved infinitely better than him.

No, he would never have her heart, but he did have her trust, her friendship, and yes, her impressive healing talent always on his side. He guessed that probably did make him lucky.

When they returned to their temporary home, he shelved thoughts of their relationship and of Tenzō. They needed to talk, to plan. He had made her wait long enough while he sat with his thoughts. After his indiscretion that afternoon, he felt like he owed her answers.

Unlike every other night that week, he waited up for her while she got ready for bed. Sakura gasped softly when she slipped into the room, seeing him still sitting up in the dim moonlight. "Oh. You're awake."

Letting out a tense breath, he clasped his hands around one knee. "How much do you know about the third war and everything relevant leading up to the one we left?"

She shifted her weight to her right foot and then her left, looking a little taken aback by the abrupt question and then thoughtful. "Not much, unfortunately. Well, nothing helpful anyways, definitely less than you. From what little I gathered from Obito and Madara, they seemed to have fairly different motivations. We know why Pain did what he did. In hindsight, I wonder how much he was manipulated by Obito posing as Tobi." She flopped down beside him, resting her chin on her hand. "Naruto's parents were killed when they sealed the nine-tails in him, which they only had to do because someone kidnapped his mother and freed Kurama. That was blamed on the Uchiha, but…" She bit her lip, giving him a cautious frown. "Do you think Obito could have been responsible?"

There was a knot in his chest. The possibility that he had been responsible for Minato and Kushina's death was one of the first seven things that occurred to him when he realized he was alive. It filled him with a confused mess of hatred and heartache to think about. "I believe Obito was responsible."

When she didn't have a response to that, he went on. "I've been thinking all week about what we should do. After everything that happened before we were sent back here, with Obito… I should probably tell you what happened to him and to Rin. To explain." The guilt slowly winding its way around his neck made his eyes twitch. He glanced at her, hoping she couldn't see, hoping she would and understand why this was so hard without him having to tell her. "It's important, and we'll have to change it if we want to prevent the war we left behind. But…" He swallowed around the tightness and sighed. She needed to know this story. It was the key to everything they needed to change. But she had already seen so much of him—too much—and it had barely been two weeks. Revealing so much to her made him feel naked. Which, considering his earlier imaginings, was probably fair.

"Kakashi…" His eyes flicked back to hers. "You don't have to tell me tonight. All of that's still years away." She sat up, pulling her pillow to her chest. "We can worry about that when we come to it. For now, let's focus on more immediate problems. The war will be in full swing by the end of the year. How do we prevent the Hokage exploiting babies and get him to clear your father's name without actually interacting with him?"

An exasperated scoff tensed in his chest but he held it in. "Babies, Sakura?" She gave him a half hearted glare but he felt himself relax. "Since my father is alive, he can keep me… or well." He sighed, feeling a headache beginning behind his eyes. "Fuck, this is so confusing. Sakumo can keep the kid from graduating early. But if the Hokage presses the issue…" He paused, looking over at her. "Most people didn't see anything wrong with sending young kids off to war, Sakura. Your father agrees with you though. Did you know he graduated when he was nine?"

"No." She straightened, looking a little put out. "How do you know that? When did you talk about any of this with him?"

Her father's disconcerting question about whether or not she was pregnant came to mind again and with it, the various images of her and him and how exactly one came to be pregnant. Damn kid. It was entirely his fault. He should not be, did not want to be, thinking of her like that. Unfortunately, even his mask could not hide the heat on his face. Coughing, Kakashi decided to dodge, hoping she would not notice. "It came up, but it's not really important right now. Forget I mentioned it. We are worried about the Hokage and Sakumo."

Sakura scoffed, her arms crossing over her chest. "So we can talk all about your dad but mine is not important? You're the one that brought it up. I realize he isn't a shinobi anymore—"

"Sakura that's not—"

"And I've done a really damn good job containing my curiosity all freaking week, and let me tell you. It has not been easy. Not only could you not be bothered to reciprocate, now you're hoarding secrets about my own dad? Kakashi, what the fuck?"

Exasperated, embarrassed, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry. You're right, I'm not being fair. That first day I went to work with him, we stopped for a drink on the way back. It just… came up. He said he graduated during the last war. He didn't get sent to the front lines, but he didn't spend his early Genin days chasing cats and helping old ladies." He dug his hands through his hair. "Your grandfather got sick right before he was set to take the Chunin exams, so he retired. That's really all he said."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. Shit. "You look a little feverish, Kakashi. What else did he say?"

Why, why couldn't he have just minded his own business? Throwing his own words back at him… Screwing up his face and trying to ignore the blush he felt all the way to his hairline, he relented. "He seemed pretty disillusioned with the shinobi system, so I was curious why he let you go to the Academy. I asked about hypothetical children." He looked around the room, anywhere but at her. "He assumed I was asking because you were pregnant."

Sakura's face morphed into a comical mask of horrified, open mouthed shock. "What?" She clapped her hands over her mouth when he cringed at her volume. She tried again, her shock coming out as a harsh whisper this time. "What? Please tell me you corrected him."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

Flopping gracelessly back down onto the futon with a groan, she held her pillow over her face. He could hardly make out what she grumbled. "Why couldn't we have come up with something else!"

He watched her, just as embarrassed as he was, and ruffled his hair. As much as their cover story didn't particularly bother him, it did make for some uncomfortable misunderstandings. "As awkward as it may be, it is convenient. We don't have our own place or anywhere we can go besides this room to speak privately if we need to. Being married gives us an excuse to be alone together without anyone thinking twice about it. I'm less suspicious as your husband than unattached, given the current situation with Kumo, and it will be safer for us to be together as a family with Tenzō. The fewer reasons we give anyone to look twice at us, the better."

She sighed, but it sounded strangled under the pillow. "That's not for a few years, what if you meet someone and don't want a fake wife anymore?"

He scoffed. That was laughable. "That won't happen."

Peeking up at him from beneath her pillow, she threw him a condescending glare. "You don't know that. Don't forget, I've seen your face. You could probably have anyone you wanted. I can manage Tenzō by myself."

Something tickled beneath his ribs and the blush that had nearly abated burned afresh. Damn kid. He shrugged the feelings off and tried to make a joke. "Are you saying your old sensei is handsome?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're not old, Kakashi. And you were never Ayame's sensei, remember?"

Shaking his head, he laughed at the ridiculousness of the conversation and explained what he'd meant. "Fair. It won't happen because I have no plans to seek it out. I've been a committed bachelor for years. I don't see a reason to change that now. Besides, I wouldn't want to be with someone I'd have to hide everything about myself from." He thought about it, picturing their indefinite future. "We're friends, Sakura. You know me, and I wouldn't ever have to lie to you. It might be awkward when people make assumptions or inappropriate comments, but it's more comfortable than a complicated relationship built on made-up backstories."

"Hm." She moved the pillow but was staring a little too hard at the opposite wall. "I guess that means I'm stuck with you too." Her sigh sounded intentionally dramatic. He opened his mouth to tell her she didn't need to commit to him like he had done… but the implications of what she'd said—implications he had already decided were impossible—must have hit her because her eyes tightened and the faint blush spread, incinerating her entire face.

At least it seemed like they were on the same page.

They should probably change the subject.

She clearly agreed. "So… Hiruzen? Any ideas?"

"Hm." He followed her gaze to the curtains around their small window. She seemed to be making a careful study of the geometric pattern. "I think we should wait until after Sakumo starts working again. I'd like to see how it goes. If things don't get better for him, he needs to get the Hokage to publicly exonerate him. He won't just do it for no reason. But like you said, the White Fang will surely be an asset for the war. If he were to threaten to retire, take his son and leave…"

Sakura finally rolled over and looked at him. "Would they let him do that?"

Any earlier lightheartedness was well and truly gone, replaced by the new anger for the Third he was growing used to. He released a tense sigh. It was not nearly as satisfying as any of the many things he'd been imagining all week. "Tsunade fucked off in the middle of the third war and no one ever went after her. She could more than handle herself if any enemy nations tried to capture her. Sakumo is the same."

"So you want him to blackmail the Hokage?"

He shrugged. "It works either way. He gets his reputation restored, or they go live on some nice little island in one of the Eastern seas."

"Hm. I wouldn't mind that either."

The next week passed as simply as the first, with the exception of one pint-sized Hatake joining them for dinner at the Haruno residence. With Sakumo finally away on a mission, Sakura had insisted he eat with them. He had put on a show of indifference and grudgingly accepted her offer, but Kakashi still remembered the long, lonely stretches of time when his father was working. The first evening he was quiet and clearly uncomfortable with the affable, friendly civilians. By the fourth night, Kakashi could tell that the kid was starting to appreciate Ume's grandmotherly attention. It was a stark difference to what this time had been like for him.

On the fifth day of Sakumo's absence, Kakashi was walking down the street in the civilian district with Kizashi after another long day in the shop. He was in the middle of shaking out lingering sawdust from between the gray t-shirt he wore and his black masked undershirt, nodding along as his companion chatted when Kakashi-kun slid to a stop in front of him.

"Yo—"

"I need Ayame-san, but I can't find her!"

Kakashi blinked down at him, taking in his slightly panicked posture and wide eyes. "What's wrong, kid?"

"It's my dad, he came home really hurt but he won't go to the hospital. Please, do you know where she is?"

Shit. Apparently he had more in common with his father than he realized. "Okay, don't panic. If he's made it all the way home and doesn't want to go to the hospital, I'm sure he'll live. I think Ayame was going somewhere with her aunt this morning?" He looked over at Kizashi for confirmation.

"Oh, yeah. Mom said something about needing to visit a friend in the next village over. She's a widow too, and mom's been trying to convince her to come to Konoha, though she didn't ever say when she wanted to go." He scratched his chin, glancing at the setting sun. "If they're not at home, that's where they went. Should be home soon."

Kakashi-kun groaned and fisted his hands in his shirt.

"Hey," Kakashi put a hand on his small shoulder in an attempt to settle him. "Let's head towards the village gates and see if we catch her, alright?"

Too anxious to wait, Kakashi-kun took off in that direction, leaving Kakashi and Kizashi to follow. "Are you sure he'll be okay?"

Kakashi shrugged as they quickened their pace. "If it was life threatening, I'm sure he would go to the hospital." He hoped, anyway.

By the time they caught up to him, he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, watching the slow stream of people coming through the checkpoint. Thankfully, they did not have to wait long. Two heads of pink hair came into view, passing through the gates, an elderly woman between them.

"Oh. I guess Mom finally convinced her. I wish she would have told me for sure that she was going today. I would have taken the day off and gone with her."

Kakashi hummed his agreement as he watched a short streak of silver-white hair race through the crowd to Sakura's side. "At least she took Ayame with her."

The younger man scoffed. "Sure. Two old women don't attract much attention, but your lovely young wife? What if these roving bands of Iwa nin or Suna spies we keep hearing about came across them?"

The corners of Kakashi's mouth tugged down in a frown. He did not like what Kizashi was inferring. Sakura could more than handle herself. But there was a marked difference in fighting one or two enemy nin versus a whole band of Iwa soldiers alone while trying to protect civilians. And generally agreed upon rules for handling captives tended to be forgotten during war.

He would be sure to go with her next time.

"Ah well. They made it back all right." Kizashi moved to replace Sakura where she was supporting the old woman as they approached so she could go with the kid. He looked ready to drag her off with him, and if he was bigger, he no doubt would have tried.

"Come on, Ayame-san! He could have bled out by now!"

"I'm coming, Kakashi-kun. I'm coming."

Kakashi turned and followed them, waving a goodbye over his shoulder when Ume shouted after them, "Let us know if you need anything!"

When they finally made it to the Hatake property, Sakumo had propped himself up against the couch in the main living area. There was blood pooling around him on the floor, and a scattered med kit. The gauze he had attempted to unravel was lying in the gore, soaking up the blood.

"Dad!" Kakashi-kun raced to his side, crouching carefully on the edge of the pool of blood. "I found Ayame-san! She can fix you."

Sakura was not so worried about getting his blood on her, kneeling close to his side and ruining her dress… again. Getting to work at once, her glowing hands and focused eyes ran over Sakumo's battered torso. Kakashi could tell from the set of her shoulders that she was angry. Judging by the hesitant relief in his eyes, his father noticed.

"What happened? Why the hell didn't you go to the hospital?" Before he could answer, she paused and turned to the anxious little boy sitting beside her. "Whenever you get hurt, Kakashi-kun, I expect you to go to the hospital and take care of it, not sneak home to bleed out on your floor."

He looked up at her, extremely skeptical—again, with no idea how close he was to a deadly force of fury—and scoffed. "Why would I do that when I can just find you?"

She leaned over so that her face was inches from his, the dark look on her face enough to make him rethink his attitude. "What, am I your personal medic now? Shall I spend the rest of my life doing nothing but healing reckless Hatake men that can't be bothered to take care of themselves or go to the hospital? You're freaking lucky I like you so much, pipsqueak."

Both Kakashis rolled their eyes but she ignored them, devoting her attention to their father. "What happened, Sakumo?"

He sighed and winced when she peeled his flack vest off of him so she could get at his side. "We were attacked by a group from Iwa. They wouldn't have been a problem for me, but…my team…" He swallowed thickly and couldn't seem to finish. Clearly beginning to realize what had happened, Sakura reached up to push the hair from his face, urging him to look at her. "Considering what they believe, I wouldn't have been surprised if they hung back. I could have handled that. But they interfered. I wasn't prepared to be attacked from behind."

Kakashi swore under his breath. Dammit. It was even worse than he thought. The only question was, was this attack sanctioned by Hiruzen? Surely not. Surely it was just bad blood.

"You need to report them to the Hokage. He needs to publicly clear your name, Sakumo. What you did has nothing to do with the start of this war and if he wants you to participate, he has a choice to make."

Sakumo frowned up at him, calculating. "You want me to threaten Hiruzen? I can't do that."

Kakashi practically growled in frustration. This was so much worse than he ever knew it had been for his father and for some reason he seemed content to let it happen. "Yes, you can. You're going to tell him that if he wants you on his side for this, he is going to publicly exonerate you and punish the shinobi that attacked you. If he doesn't, you are going to take your son and leave. You won't fight for anyone else, but you're leaving."

"Karasu-san, I appreciate how much you obviously care but you're asking me to commit treason—"

"Bullshit I am." Sakura gasped, her head whipping around to gape up at him. He was not usually one for emotional outbursts. Knowing that would get him nowhere, he took a breath and tried again. "He does nothing while the entire village blames you, ostracizes you, shuns you because they think you went soft and single handedly started this war, and now you're being attacked by your own men. You do not owe him your loyalty."

Sakura sighed, her voice soft as she wrapped the worst of his wounds in clean gauze. "We will go with you if it comes to that. I hear there are several nice islands in the eastern seas. It wouldn't be so bad."

Sakumo blew out a long breath, half-lidded, tired eyes watching Ayame. "You have a point, Karasu. I don't want to abandon Konoha during another war, I can admit how important I was to the last one. But I guess I can't help anyone if I have to watch out for any attacks from my comrades too."

"I don't want to live on an island…"

Sakura rolled her eyes, poking Kakashi-kun in the forehead. "How do you know? You might like it."

He rubbed the spot, pouting at her before focusing on his father. "Well, what are you going to do?"

Watching his son with a thoughtful, resigned expression, Sakumo nodded. "Alright. I'll speak to Hiruzen. Don't worry, son. I'm sure he'll see reason. And if he doesn't, Ayame-san is right. You may enjoy the islands. They're nice."