Chapter Seventeen

Cloak and Dagger

It was midafternoon in Fire Country, and a sea of dark clouds had rolled in on a foreboding sluggish eastern wind. Thunder crackled through the sky, deep and resounding, followed by a scattered sheet of rain that blurred the green landscape. Kakashi stood at the sliding glass door in Sakura's living room, gazing out into the side yard and the empty sodden street beyond. The tea in his cup was still steaming, the molecules of vapor snaking through the air like a slow hypnotic dance. How rolling steam could somehow remind him of Sakura's curves and the way she moved beneath him was beyond reasoning – and yet here he was, half aroused by the mere thought of it.

The morning had been a good one – the best morning by Kakashi's recounting – that he had had in a very long time. Possibly ever. He'd made love to Sakura ever so slowly, experimentally, as if to memorize what sort of movements and little tricks elicited the softest of moans, or the prickling pressure of her nails on his back. They'd showered after that, and he may have taken her from behind, pressing her against the wall of the shower. That little delightful memory would forever be scoured on the backs of his eyelids, forged and seared in the occipital lobe of his brain.

Kakashi had taken lovers before, but he had not known desire like this… had not known that he could want someone as fiercely as he wanted Sakura, and yet have that desire go beyond the physical. He also had a desire to protect her, (of course, that had always been present, but deeper now – down to his very roots) a desire to be loyal, a desire to protect her heart. Gods, Kakashi thought, Sakura was turning his steely resolve into a soft puddle of goo… Konoha's famous Copy-nin, reduced to a plush teddy-bear because of the one woman that had somehow managed to steal his heart.

The aforementioned woman responsible for this treachery, slid her arms around his middle, and tucked herself against his side, pressing her lips to his peck. "Your tea is getting cold," she noted.

Kakashi eyed the teacup as if it were the first time he noticed it was in his hand, and then deposited the tepid thing on an end table. "I was distracted," Kakashi said, tightening his arms around her.

"Distracted by what?" She nuzzled into him.

"Oh, just the path of life, I guess," he lamented, bending to deliver a kiss to the top of her pink head.

Sakura giggled. "You're something else, Hatake." She looked up at him with a soft smile on her face, (makeup free, Kakashi noted) and found her to be stunning. She had always been a natural beauty.

Kakashi tipped her chin up with his fingertips and kissed the lush curves of her lips, breathing her in. The warmth of her mouth spread through him like honey and sunlight. She tasted like honey and sunlight, too, and gods, the little flick of her tongue against his was going to be a problem…

"This will wear off, right?" Sakura said breathily after breaking the kiss, gesturing vaguely between them.

"I hope not," Kakashi answered, diving for her mouth. Realistically, Kakashi knew that the newness would eventually fade as they familiarized themselves with each other, but Kakashi could not fathom the idea of ever not wanting her. Maybe it would turn to something rooted in comfort, but right now… he was content to ride the heated wave of lust and desire for as long as she would tolerate it.

"We can't seriously be this ravenous for each other every two minutes," Sakura insisted, "how will we ever get any work done?"

Kakashi chuckled against her mouth. "I was thinking of retiring soon anyway."

"Liar," Sakura said, dragging her fingertips over the indentations of his abdomen. "You're not old enough to retire and Tsunade would absolutely have a coronary if you ever quit before her."

"That does seem problematic," he said, splaying his fingers through Sakura's hair. He was overcome by the sweet scent of her, and dropped his hands to her waist to lift her up, spinning her once before dropping to the couch rather unceremoniously with her on top of his lap.

Sakura laughed, her thighs settling on either side of his as she looped her arms around his neck. She toyed with the hair at his nape, and Kakashi melted under her touch. "So," Sakura began, somewhat timidly, "what should I call you?"

Ah, yes, Kakashi thought… the weighted 'what are we' conversation was looming between them. He'd been thinking about that for a while of course, long before they ever crossed any physical barriers. Back when he realized that he had feelings for her, he began imagining the little 'what-if' scenarios – a total servant to the fantasies running rampant in his mind – and wondered how she would feel if their situation ever changed. "What would you like to call me?" Kakashi asked her, tipping his head back into the cushion.

A light blush dusted Sakura's cheekbones. She dropped her gaze from his, reaching up to tuck a candy-colored lock of hair behind her ear. Slowly, Sakura dragged her teeth over her lower lip; a mannerism that came across coquettish, but Kakashi very much doubted Sakura was aware she was doing it. "Well," she began, "the word boyfriend seems too… juvenile, doesn't it?"

Kakashi's lip twitched as Sakura risked lifting her gaze to his.

"You're laughing at me."

"I'm not," Kakashi said, his fingers skating up her spine. They'd made love three times now and he'd seen her at her absolute barest. Was learning her intimately. How was it that talking about emotions and relationship labels seemed to be a more vulnerable topic? Perhaps for ninja that was the norm. They were hardened by their jobs; crafted and honed to become a blade – the sharpest of weapons – and softness, in any measure, seemed foreign and uncomfortable. But Sakura had always been compassionate, and despite all she had been through, never lost that tiny grain of softness. It was one of the many reasons Kakashi loved her. In spite of all they'd encountered, they could be soft (where it counted) for each other. "Boyfriend is fine," he told her now, though he agreed it did sound a little immature.

Sakura's hands slipped from the back of his neck and skated over his shoulders, settling on his chest. "I just wanted to name it something that declares commitment." Her jade eyes were searching his, her blush deepening.

Kakashi fought back another smile. "Why, Sakura-chan," he began, using the suffix to annoy her more than anything, "I thought we had already declared our commitment to one another… Over, and over," he said, leaning forward to kiss her shoulder, "and over," he kissed her neck, and then whispered something in her ear that made even the tips of them blush crimson.

She playfully swatted his chest and then buried her face in her hands with a giggle. "I don't want to hide you," she said. "I want the whole world to know you're mine."

A twinge passed through Kakashi's chest. The self-deprecating inner shadows of Kakashi's mind still doubted that this lovely creature sitting on his lap could ever want to claim that he was hers. That he belonged to her because she wanted him… Kakashi wasn't sure anyone had ever chosen him the way that Sakura was choosing him.

"Is that okay?" Her mossy gaze bore into his. "I seem to have struck you speechless."

Kakashi framed Sakura's cheek in his palm, replying in earnest, "It's more than okay," he managed to get out.

Sakura latched on to his wrist, leaning deeper against his palm affectionately. "Good." She smiled at him, turning her face into his hand and pressed a kiss there. "Maybe we should put on some actual clothes and head to the training grounds – do something productive–"

Kakashi leapt from the couch before Sakura could finish that thought and Sakura locked on to his waist for dear life as he carried her towards the staircase. "I have other ideas for productivity, and besides, it's raining."

Discretion was an utmost priority for the ANBU Black Ops; a certitude that Sakura would have been grateful for under any other circumstance, but today, Tora's wraith-mode appearance on her balcony ledge was more of a disturbance. Especially because Kakashi was sitting on the edge of her bed, lacing his boots as Sakura pulled the curtain aside and wrenched the window up. The operative didn't seem at all shocked to see the Copy-nin in a rather intimate setting of dressing in Sakura's bedroom. Then again… Tora was wearing his tiger-faced mask.

"I have a door you know," she said, crossing her arms at the turn of an eyeroll. She'd known her little 'honeymoon' stint with Kakashi was coming to a close when the sun had set, but she hadn't expected it to end so abruptly.

"I sensed your chakra signatures," Tora shrugged, "your presence is required at HQ immediately, Kitsune. The Six have returned, and two of them have been infected by the Black Salamander poison."

Sakura's annoyance evaporated as she rose to attention. "Did they use my antidote?" Sakura swept her cloak and mask from her dresser as the nin moved in quick succession down the stairs.

"Yes," Tora reported. "The application of medicine seems to be circumventing the symptoms from worsening, but the elite are suffering."

"Symptoms?" Sakura asked as they exited her house and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"Shallowness of breath and supposed fever," Tora said as the nin flash-stepped through the night.

Sakura allowed the slick, darkened streets of Konoha to blur around her, using the time to process the information Tora had given her. One: The Six were all alive, and two: her antidote seemed to be working well enough to keep those who were infected from being entirely debilitated. That little detail provided little relief, as she now faced an even bigger problem. Extracting the Black Salamander poison and creating a new and improved antidote that would ultimately give the Konoha elite the upper hand against Hattori and his rebel army.

Kakashi was a silent sentry at her back, his mask(s) in place as they entered HQ and began winding through the maze of hallways that would take them to the laboratory. When they reached the door, Sakura didn't hesitate as she swept into the room and located the two operatives slumped over on a pair of cots that must've been wheeled in for the occasion. Sasuke was present, along with another masked operative, both appearing to speak in hushed tones and only looking up when the three nin rushed inside. Whoever had been talking to Sasuke took their arrival as his cue to depart, and the masked nin quickly left the room.

Sakura knelt beside the closest poisoned operative, index and middle finger landing on a pulse point in the nin's wrist while she pushed his mask off with her other hand.

"Kitsune!"

"Oh, save it," Sakura said, pressing the back of her hand to the nin's pale, clammy forehead. "I'll sign some confidential paperwork bullshit if you want, but as a doctor, I kind of need to see who I'm treating." The operative was a man she didn't recognize, perhaps in his thirties, with bronze-colored hair and a small, tight mouth. His pulse, by Sakura's estimation, had dropped well below a normal resting rate, and his skin felt like the inside of a brick oven. His heavy-lidded gaze was glassy and dull, alert, but barely. "Do you know what time you administered the antidote?"

"Six… hours ago," the operative replied in a labored tone.

"Shiori Kiba, will you please get my medical bag? On the counter – just there," Sakura asked Kakashi who responded quickly and handed her the med gear. She withdrew a thermometer, scanning the nin's forehead and temple until the little machine beeped, and informed her that he was running a fever of one hundred and one point seven. Not good. He needed something to bring the fever down, and since he would be stuck in this condition for a while, Sakura figured she better start him on an IV to prevent dehydration. She still needed to check the other operative, too.

"How can I help?" Kakashi asked when she rose from the cot.

"I need an IV drip going on both operatives," she said, passing him a box of latex gloves. "And I'd like for someone to tell me what happened."

Behind her, Sasuke snickered.

Sakura moved to the next cot, removing the mask of the poisoned nin and froze as recognition sank like a weight in her gut… "Tenzo," she said softly, shaking her head. "Somehow I knew you would be a part of this operation."

Her former stand-in team leader cracked a half smile. "Wish… I was seeing you… under… different circumstances, Kitsune." He said her codename in a teasing nature, as if to rib her, knowing full well who she really was. Sakura didn't have to look to know that Sasuke was scowling behind them. She absolutely adored his air of annoyance over the matter of unmasking his operatives.

Kakashi passed by Tenzo's cot, pressing his palm reassuringly to his shoulder. "Good to see you, brother."

Tenzo coughed. "Likewise."

"I'm going to get some medicine in you to bring your fever down," she told Tenzo after checking his temperature. He, too, was bordering the one hundred and two range. Body aches with fevers that high were nothing to joke about, and she knew he must be in a great deal of pain.

"So," Sakura said, starting the second IV, "what happened?"

"They made it into the campsite through the abandoned factory entrance without being seen," Sasuke told her. "Tenzo was kind enough to re-route the tunnel systems, making a separate entrance that ran parallel to the original. They sectioned out a small opening into the original tunnel, and Tori, Tenzo, along with Aoto–" Sasuke nodded towards the nin on the cot beside him "–used their abilities to break into the armory–"

"–What abilities?" Sakura interrupted.

"Shadow cloaking," Tora said, nodding towards Aoto. Sakura wondered if perhaps the man was a relative to Shikamaru.

"And… Byak–" Aoto tried to say, grimacing in pain as Kakashi pushed the IV needle into his skin.

"Byakugan," Sakura guessed. "Tori is Neji," she decided at once, linking his codename to his bird mask.

"Gods…" Sasuke ground out between clenched teeth.

Ignoring him, Sakura took off her mask and set it aside, pulling the length of pink hair up into a ponytail as she turned from Tenzo and looked at Aoto, checking over Kakashi's work. (Not that she needed to. If Kakashi had the patience for it, he would've made a good doctor.) "We're all Konoha," Sakura said, burning a hole in Sasuke's mask with her pointed gaze. "I understand that times have changed and you wish to run things differently, but you wanted me for this mission, and I swear on my life that I will never betray my Konoha brethren." She remembered a time, long ago, when the Konoha elite were only sanctioned to wear their masks while on a mission. She respected Sasuke's decisions as Baku to change that, but wearing a mask while working to save lives among her own men (most of whom she'd grown up with) was too outlandish for her.

Sasuke squared his shoulders, rolling his hands into tight fists at his side. Power, like threatening black tides from a storm-promised ocean, radiated from his skin. Sakura could feel the depth of it standing several paces away, but it was nothing new to her. She wouldn't cower, not in front of him, not ever again. "The rules are there to keep you safe," he bit out. "If you belonged to the ANBU elite, you would be free to discard your mask among your brethren, but I think you and I both know that you aren't cut out for this life, Sakura."

The air froze between them. His words meant to bruise and sting.

Kakashi stood behind Sakura, silent as a wraith, hands clenched at his sides in a stance that mirrored Sasuke's. Every line of his body pulled taut, as if he were a cobra – coiled, and ready to strike.

"Perhaps," Tora said calmly, "an exception can be made for the doctor in this circumstance? It is impossible to treat her patients properly with their masks in place." Tora, Sakura knew, had been around longer than Sasuke and Sasuke valued him as his most trusted advisor. "Kitsune has accepted the risk involved for the mission and can be trusted, Commander."

Sasuke flexed his fingers. Slowly, Tora's words worked as if to release the air from Sasuke's stubborn sails.

Tora went on, "The Six made it out of the hideout successfully, but as they crossed into the woods away from the city, they were attacked by a rebel squad. Hattori was not among them, but the squad had Black Salamander poisoned weapons and used them against The Six."

"What kind of weapons?" Sakura asked.

"Poisoned shuriken," Tora told her. "Tenzo and Aoto were the only two injured."

"I'm… getting… old," Tenzo attempted to joke.

Sakura brushed a lock of hair from his forehead and sighed. "Where were you hit?"

"Right… side," he said.

Sakura lifted up Tenzo's shirt hem and saw a clean white bandage adhered to his side, the center marginally saturated with a mix of blood and something… black.

"Aoto was hit in the chest," Tora continued to explain. "We cleaned the wounds as best as we could, and both look the same."

Carefully, Sakura peeled back a layer of bandage, swallowing thickly as she took in the sight of the puckered wound in Tenzo's side. Most alarming, the skin around the opening had turned black. Tiny black spindles forked away from the wound, resembling an angry spiderweb-like design. The poison, Sakura realized, attempting to spread through his entire body, halted only by her violet-spotted salamander antidote.

Sakura smoothed the bandage back in place. "Did you manage to bring back a sample?"

Sasuke stepped toward her, pulling a small jar out of his uniform pocket and presented it in an open palm. In the fluorescent lighting of the laboratory, the black liquid shimmered and undulated like an opal-metallic ink that was trapped within the glass. "The rebel squad that attacked The Six was eradicated, but we need to move as fast as we can. It won't be long before Hattori realizes the Konoha elite have infiltrated his campsite and successfully obtained the poison."

Sakura reached for the jar, nodding as she tightened her grip around the precious contents. "Twelve hours," she said. "I should be able to manipulate the sequence faster because I have the blueprints of the violet-spotted salamander already in place."

Sasuke nodded. "Let us know if you require anything." He turned his face towards the fever-stricken Aoto on the cot and said, "I'll leave you to your work."

When Tora and Sasuke had vacated the lab, Sakura nearly breathed a sigh of relief. She aimed for the sink and medicine cabinet, located some fever reducers, and distributed them to Tenzo and Aoto. "Try to get some rest," she said softly, "and let me know if the pain worsens."

"Thank… you…" Tenzo said, poorly attempting to squeeze the back of Sakura's hand.

"Keep an eye on them, will you?" She swept a palm across Kakashi's arm as she started for the counter.

"Sakura…" her name was a gentle whisper.

"What?"

"We'll need respiratory masks," he said. "Even breathing the fumes would be potent enough to contract the poison."

"Right," Sakura said, sweeping her thumb across the lid of the jar. Her mind was already spiraling, turning over calculations and chemistry. "Right," she repeated.

Kakashi stepped towards her, his palms rolling over the rounds of her shoulders. She could feel the heat of his skin seeping through the fabric of her cloak and shivered. "Are you ready for this?"

"I'm ready," she said.

Kakashi squinted his visible eye. "What Sasuke said…"

"I'm fine," she promised, setting the jar down on the countertop, and allowing herself a moment to step into Kakashi's embrace. His arms went around her, swallowing her like a blanket. She breathed in the clean, woodsy scent of his skin and sighed – tension leaving her body.

"Not that you need me to tell you, Sakura," Kakashi said, his chin settling on the top of her head, "but you are capable of anything you set your mind and heart to."

She smiled against his chest and pulled out of his arms just enough to look up at his masked face. "Thank you," she said earnestly. "He's right, though… I couldn't be an elite, not… not always."

It wasn't a matter of strength or ability. It was a matter of heart.

It had taken a long time for Sakura to realize that her softness was a strength of its own, and she didn't want to lose that. Previous wars and losses of teammates had stolen some of that softness from her, sure, but she'd needed that… It had shaped her foundation, and helped to mold her into the ninja that she'd become. Into the woman that she had become. She was equal parts light and dark, and knew how to lean into that which called to her. She was a weapon, yes, but she was also the embodiment of hope.

"Me either," Kakashi said, his thumb sweeping over her cheek.

She was glad for that, too. Sasuke may have chosen to thrive in the shadows, and Kakashi may have his sullen darkness… but at the end of the day, light still shone from him like a star. "Go and find us some respiratory masks, we have a lot of work to do." She grinned at him. "And I need your help."

"Anything for you, Kitsune," Kakashi teased.

oOoOo

Outside, the storm gods are angry, and unleash their wrath against the mountain. Lightning forks through the sky, splintering and harsh, a compliment to the roiling thunder that follows. Inside the stone fortress, the ANBU elite and the medical nin with pink hair are none the wiser. Sakura is diligently working to keep her patients comfortable in succession with developing the new and improved antidote to the treacherous Kuro Sanshōuo, Black Salamander. A frown creases her brow as she hunches above the microscope, scrupulously inspecting the slide. She adjusts the scope, praying that something is wrong with her eyes – that she's just seeing things – that she's been awake for too long… But the reassurance doesn't come. An iron weight slams home in the pit of her stomach as she pulls her attention away from the microscope and looks at Kakashi.

"We have a problem," she says, her skin going as pale as the petals of a white camellia.

Kakashi bristles, gauging the expression on Sakura's face.

"It's a fake," she breathes, icing the air between them.

Thanks for reading.

XOXO,
~Sparrow