Chapter 24

Separated but not Alone

Tenzō had taken almost an hour to settle after Kakashi left. He kept looking towards the door and whining for him. Eventually he fell back asleep in Sakura's arms after breakfast, and after a nap, spent the rest of the morning attached to her.

Leaving him with Ume so she could go to the hospital would have been a disaster if Kakashi-kun and Kusa hadn't been there too. He cried, clung to her, definitely said 'Mama' and had to be pried off of her by her grandmother. Kakashi-kun had taken him and they'd sat in the living room with Kusa and by the time she walked out the door he had stopped crying.

Now she stood in front of the hospital. The old hospital. When Pein had attacked, she had essentially been put in charge at fifteen. She had years more experience, now. She had kept Naruto alive by manually pumping his heart with her hand in his chest. Sakura was the protege of the Sannin Senju Tsunade and the best hope this hospital had.

Hopefully the director wouldn't try and get in her way.

Head held high, she strode through the front door.

Director Ryoshi, it turned out, was a woman. An older woman, around sixty. Ryoshi Asamida took one look at Sakura, nodded to herself, and herded her out of her office and down the hall to major surgery.

"If you disappear on me before this war's over I might kill you, girl. Tsunade has some damn nerve. We've lost four shinobi since she left, and a young Kunoichi just yesterday that she could have saved. I don't have anyone else anywhere near her skill." She side eyed her as they walked. "Hiruzen tells me Tsunade said you're as good as she is."

"At least."

She nodded sharply, clearly pleased. "He also tells me I only get you four days a week because you have two little ones at home that your husband thinks need you more than I do." She huffed. "I never had any myself because I always knew that was true. So I'm not going to waste any time I have with you. I've got someone in surgery right now, and I don't think my best will be up to it."

She had not expected to start working so suddenly. It had been ten months since she'd done any serious healing.

This is fine. I can handle this!

"What can you tell me?"

The older woman looked down at her clipboard. "How are you with poisons?"

Sakura, grinned.

Sinking into the nearest chair, holding her hand out for the cup of coffee someone was handing her, Sakura sighed. She was exhausted but she felt so satisfied. She had saved a man's life. Some kind of poison jutsu that no one had ever seen before had been slowly destroying his internal organs. After analyzing the poison, she had formulated an antidote and then been able to regenerate the degraded tissue.

"Alright, I am impressed, Hatake Ayame. You can expect what I was paying Tsunade. I would like to have you scheduled for three days, and on call for emergencies the rest of the week. It will probably average out to thirty hours unless we have a particularly bad week. Would that be acceptable?"

Sakura nodded. "Of course, Ryoshi-sama."

The Director let her graying hair down, running her fingers through it. "Excellent. Go home to your children. I'll see you the day after tomorrow at seven. I'll send my summons to you if you're needed before then." Her tired blue eyes took Sakura in. "I'm thankful you're here, Hatake-san."

Sakura inclined her head. "I hope I will make a difference, Ryoshi-sama."

"Mama!" Tenzō crashed into her legs when she got back to her grandmother's home.

She scooped him up, kissing his cheeks. "Hello, Tenzō-chan. I missed you!" It was the first time they had been apart since rescuing him, and once the adrenaline of performing surgery wore off, she had missed him so much. "I told you I would be back for dinner."

Ume smiled, her hands on her hips. "He did just fine. He played with Kakashi-kun for a while and helped Yōko with her knitting. The yarn is evidently fascinating." She laughed at Sakura's incredulous face. "Well, Yōko has really taken to him. And Kakashi-kun helped me with dinner. You'll stay tonight, won't you?"

Sakura sighed. "Yes, thank you. I'm sure you guessed since I was gone so long, but it wasn't just an interview." She followed Ume through to the kitchen, Tenzō content in her arms. "The Director threw me right into an emergency surgery."

"Oh? How did it go?"

"Very well. I saved the man. I'll be paid well and scheduled three days a week, on call the other days in case of emergencies."

Ume looked proud of her. "That's wonderful dear! You can drop them by any time, I'll be here. Kakashi-kun is very helpful and Tenzō is no trouble."

"Thank you, Obasan."

After dinner, she took her boys home. As they walked towards the Hatake property, Kakashi-kun stuck closer to her than he usually did. "Are you alright, Kakashi-kun?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I just…" He gave her a funny look like he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say. "I guess I've gotten used to always having you around. I kind of missed you too."

Sakura scoffed. "Only 'kind of?'" He shrugged, looking away. "Well, don't worry. It won't be every day. I'm not leaving you."

Later that night, after she had gotten Tenzō to sleep, Kakashi-kun knocked on her door, sliding it open to peek inside. "Me-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Can I…" He sighed. "Can I sleep with you and Tenzō-chan? I think I should since it's just us here. You know, for safety."

Half asleep, she thought she wanted him closer too. Just in case. "Sure." She lifted up the blanket on Kakashi's side of the futon and he quickly joined them, curling up beside Tenzō. "Goodnight, Kakashi-kun."

"Goodnight, Me-chan."

Three nights into their five day march to Iwa, Kakashi found himself on night watch. Halfway up a particularly tall tree, he missed the cigarettes kept in his rucksack. He resented traveling with an entire company. So many shinobi traveled slowly. Were he alone, he would nearly be there already. Not that haste now would get him home any sooner.

He swore under his breath, letting out a long sigh that clouded the frigid air around him. Leaving Sakura, leaving Tenzō, had been physically painful. Everything in him, that voice he was ignoring, had been screaming to stay, that she needed him, that his pup needed him, that leaving was a mistake. When Tenzō had called out to him, ran after him and clung to him so desperately, it had hurt to leave. Had it been like this for his father? Had Sakumo felt like a bastard every time he'd taken missions and left a little Kakashi home alone?

By the time he'd shown up to the village gates to join the rest of the company, he had composed himself and appeared as aloof and disinterested as ever. No one needed to know about the detour he had taken to banish the stinging in his eyes and pack away all the new and painful emotions so he could be a cold, calculating shinobi again. Now, staring out into the dark night, he wondered if it had always been this difficult.

He wanted to end this war early so he could go home, so young Rin and Obito would live and his son could grow up in a time of peace. For perhaps the first time in his life, Kakashi had real, tangible dreams for the future, for his future. Those dreams required an early end to the war. They required an elimination of the threat of Akatsuki and Madara.

They required him to survive.

An approaching chakra told him his shift was over. Straightening from where he'd been leaning against the tree, Kakashi waited for his replacement.

"Anything to report, Hatake-san?"

He squinted through the darkness and realized he recognized the man. "No, it's quiet, Nohara-san."

Rin's father sighed, digging out a pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket, offering him one.

"Thanks." Kakashi let the other man light it. "I was just wishing I'd grabbed mine."

"Damn war. I retired so I wouldn't have to leave my little girl to die in some foreign country." He took a long drag of his cigarette and cracked his neck. "I've gotten soft since she was born. I miss my bed and my wife's cooking and it's only been three days." Looking down at the cigarette in his hand, he laughed. "At least we're allowed simple pleasures. I think I'll survive so long as I have these.

Kakashi slouched back against the tree. "Poor substitute."

"Eh, well…" He coughed, shivering in the cold night air and was quiet for several minutes. "I'm surprised to see you here. I wouldn't have thought a civilian refugee hailing from an enemy nation would be conscripted so early."

"The Hokage tried to go against Sakumo's wishes for his son. Apparently our clan wasn't doing enough to support the war effort." Kakashi shifted his weight and sighed. "Better me than the kid."

Rin's father gave him a long look before taking a last drag of his cigarette and putting it out against the sole of his shoe. "That's admirable of you. I don't know if I could leave my family for someone else's kid."

"He is my family, and only six."

"Fair. I just hope this is all over before my daughter graduates. I'd rather her come up in peace than in the middle of a war."

A sudden roll of nausea hit Kakashi. He tried to ignore the images of Rin as the light left her eyes, his arm through her chest. It won't happen.

"Yeah." Kakashi put out his cigarette too and pushed off the tree, suddenly exhausted. "I'm turning in."

Two days later they arrived at the front. It was different from what he remembered. The first time he had been sent with Minato to Konoha's camp in Iwa, it had been disorganized. Less than a year into the war and already casualties were high, morale was low, and prisoners were being treated horribly. He may have only been six, but even he had had some idea of what constituted a 'war crime'. Ostensibly, they were at war and desperate for information. But really, they'd been floundering and the ranking shinobi were already worn down and impatient, making it easy to justify sadistic behavior that normally resulted in a court martial and a hanging. It would not improve as the war dragged on.

There was none of that this time. As the fresh shinobi made their way into camp, Kakashi saw smiles and good humored greetings between friends. Those that would finally be going home for a short break were clearly relieved, but they were not the war-beaten, desperate, angry men he remembered. 'Some success' the Hokage had said.

Clearly he'd been underselling it.

Sakumo himself was there to greet them shortly after they'd arrived, meeting Kakashi with a grim smile once the rest of the company had been disbursed. "I'm surprised Hiruzen sent you to me. I was afraid he would send you to Suna." He threw an arm around his shoulders as they walked, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "You would probably be targeted for looking like me."

Kakashi scoffed. "The last time I was there, I was. Even more than twenty years after your death, you were still hated in Suna."

"Hm…" He frowned, disturbed. "That is going to be a problem. This young puppet user I keep hearing about, Sasori of the Red Sands, is he related to the puppet users I killed in the last war?"

"Yes." Kakashi followed Sakumo into his tent. "Their son. Eventually he leaves Suna and joins Akatsuki. It was his grandmother, Lady Chiyo that tried to attack me, she thought I was you, actually. It was an interesting trip, to say the least."

Sakumo sank down onto a camp chair with a tired sigh. "I'm sorry. Hassling you from beyond the grave. Were we ever able to have peace with Suna?"

Kakashi thought about the attack on the Chunin exams. "Eventually."

"Well…" He folded his arms. "How are things at home?"

Unfolding another camp chair, Kakashi sat beside him. "Sakura is working at the hospital part time now, taking up the slack Tsunade left. It was part of the deal with Hiruzen to leave the boys alone."

Sakumo glowered down at the ground. "It shouldn't have cost you anything. Kakashi is my son. He does not belong to Hiruzen."

"No, but he will, and Hiruzen knows that. Sakura will keep him safe."

He sighed again. "And your son? How is he doing?" Kakashi thought about the last time he'd seen him again and it must have shown on his face. "Didn't take it well when you left?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No. I…" He dragged a hand through his hair. "I've never had to leave anyone behind before. Long missions were easier when there wasn't somewhere I'd rather be."

Sakumo watched him for a moment, the corner of his lip trapped between his teeth. "I won't lie and say it gets easier for you, but he'll be okay. You always were. And Tenzō has his mother and Kakashi. I didn't have anyone to watch you so I had to leave you at the shinobi day care center." He rubbed a hand across his mouth and laughed to himself. "Didn't last long once you got teeth. You were a biter. They wouldn't take you after the fourth incident, so I left you with a ninken or two."

He bit other kids? Kakashi frowned. That didn't seem that far fetched, actually. "I don't remember any of that."

Sakumo laughed again. "No, I wouldn't expect you to, you were barely two." He smirked. "I was the last Hatake born in Konoha before you, so for all I know, that was just normal behavior for us. I guess you and Ayame will have to have a few pups together to know for sure."

"Ahha…" Kakashi looked away, shifting in his seat. They had not discussed the possibility of having more children. She was only nineteen and they had Tenzō. In his old life, he knew the Hatake clan would die with him. Now, if Sakura was willing, it might flourish.

"Another thing to think about after the war." Sakumo leaned over and grabbed a scroll off his desk. "For now, this is the transcript of the interrogation of one of the shinobi captured from Iwa this month. I want you to read through it and tell me what you think."

Thankful for the change in subject, Kakashi took the scroll. It did not take long to notice several glaring discrepancies. "You said they were from Iwa? Why is the prisoner ID listed as 'unknown origin?'" He kept reading when Sakumo did not immediately answer. The further he read, the more strange it got. "This… are they still here or have they been sent back to Konoha?"

Sakumo shrugged. "It's the strangest thing. Normally we keep prisoners until a rotation comes and they get sent back with the outgoing troops. We had this one less than twenty-four hours before ANBU showed up to collect them. There is no way they could have even known about him yet. When I asked about it, they claimed it was a random inspection and prisoner confiscation. But why only him? We had four others at the time."

"Was he captured alone?"

"He was part of a three man cell attacking our supplies. The other two managed to kill themselves when we tried to apprehend them. He wouldn't say anything other than a few tired, anti-Konoha propaganda lines." He shook his head and handed him another scroll. "Every other Iwa shinobi we've interrogated has been adamant that we are the aggressors and honestly, beaten down and war weary already."

Kakashi opened the next scroll. This time everything seemed normal and in line with what Sakumo said. Getting to a particular line of questioning, he huffed, vaguely amused. "This one seems to think being a prisoner of war is a trade up from soldier. Civilian?"

Sakumo nodded. "Yes. He surrendered rather easily. Apparently the Tsuchikage is blaming the entire thing on us. The wealthiest and most powerful nation, picking on her poorer neighbors." He scoffed. "Not a single shinobi we've captured from Iwa has any idea about the 'supposed' groups of Iwa invading our borders and attacking our villages."

Something in the back of Kakashi's memory itched. "Supposed? Do you believe them?"

"We have a Yamanaka interrogator. They fully believe it."

"Let me guess, your Yamanaka couldn't get anything out of this guy ANBU came for?"

Sakumo nodded. "Steel trap."

Memories, half formed ideas and secret conversations he hadn't really thought about in over a decade came back to him. Danzō. "Have you had any word from the front in Kumo?"

"They're not doing as well as we are, but from what little I've heard, neither is Kumo. If they've had any mysterious prisoners, they've not written to me about it."

Kakashi nodded. "Who is in charge?"

Sakumo scratched the stubble on his face. "Uchiha Fugaku."

"When I turned up, you assumed I was from Kumo. Do you know if there are any other Hatake's still alive there?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. The last I heard from them was before the second war. If there were any survivors, they haven't reached out."

"Hm." Several different ideas occurred to Kakashi. If he was right about Danzō, there wasn't much they could do without more proof. "I have a suspicion about the man you captured and I want to know more about what's happening in Kumo. Send me with something for Fugaku, and I'll see what he has to say. Then I'll look into what might remain of our family."

Sakumo looked skeptical. "What good would it do us to find family in an enemy nation?"

"If they exist, we might be able to help each other."

A/N SO, the last chapter was emotionally rough. After reading everyone's comments, I need to warn you that, while the next few chapters will be less so, maybe even cute at times, there is more pain to come. Like, probably should have been in the story tags, pain. (This story took a turn after I'd already started posting.) I planned to add trigger warnings at the end of relevant chapters that you can skip to and read before hand, I hope that that will be enough for anyone that may be upset by the content. For now, enjoy the next few chapters of plot thickening and tension.