Chapter 5

Eleven arrived and Kakashi and Sakura found themselves riding the elevator down to the parking garage to head into downtown Konoha. The pink haired woman looked up to the man beside her and smirked when she saw that he looked slightly uncomfortable.

'Let's see you try to best me again, pretty boy.'

"Okay, so let's have a quick run down since this is literally our first time outside the building since I started working for you." she spoke as she faced forward again.

"Alright, shoot."

"I will be doing that if it comes down to it, yes." she deadpanned with another smirk.

A chuckle came from her right at the comment.

"But seriously," she added in a more stern tone as she looked back up to him, "You are being targeted. So if anything does happen, if I see any signs that you could be in danger, you need to follow every single one of my instructions. Okay?"

She watched as Kakashi switched from his current laid back and goofy demeanor to a much more serious version of himself. He gave her a stern single nod back before replying.

"Okay."

The elevator dinged and opened in that moment. Switching from her own serious expression to a large grin, she winked at Kakashi.

"Alright! Let's go have a wonderful day!" she sang as she basically skipped out of the elevator towards the SUV waiting for them, leaving a now stunned CEO behind.

"How can you do that so easily!?" she heard him call from behind her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." she replied with a shit eating grin as they settled into the back of the SUV.

She watched as the silver haired man rolled his eyes are her while shaking his head.

Thirty minutes later they found themselves inside the local bookstore that Kakashi loved shopping at. Sakura followed alongside him as they browsed the expanse of shelves in a comfortable silence.

"Do you read much?" he asked after a while, breaking their comfortable silence.

Still focused on the books, she replied.

"I use to read a lot, but the last few years I don't really get much time. I'm actually quite jealous of your personal library. It's looks like heaven. It's obviously a passion for you, right?"

She looked over to find him pulling a book off the shelf and begin reading the back cover.

"It is. After my mother died when I was five, I spent a lot of time alone. See, my father was gone a lot on work trips and company business. So to fill the time, I would read."

Sakura suddenly felt a deep sadness consume her at the thought that he had to spend so much time alone. And that he lost his mother at such a young age too.

'That could explain why he's so introverted.'

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother. If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" she asked tentatively.

Kakashi put the book back and looked down to her, his face unreadable.

"Stage IV lung cancer. When they found it, it was already too late. She died three days after Christmas that year."

Sakura bit her lip to stop herself from crying then. It was a horrible way to die and she couldn't imagine what Kakashi must have experience since he was only four when she was diagnosed and barely five when she passed.

Before giving her a chance to reply, he shot her an eye crinkling smile and spoke again.

"It's okay though. I've accepted it. It's been almost 25 years after all. What about you? Are your folks still in your life?"

Sakura stiffened at the mention of her own parents. Looking away and back at a random book on the shelf, she frowned slightly.

"No. They're both gone too. Plane crash shortly after I started college. My dad was an amatuar pilot. The plane they rented malfunctioned and it crashed, killing both him and my mom."

There was silence between them that felt like minutes, but probably was only a few seconds. Kakashi was the first to break their silence as he spoke.

"Sounds like we've both know what it's like to be alone."

'We've both been alone for a long time.'

Nodding and forcing a small smile on her face, Sakura turned and faced Kakashi.

"I'm sorry to hear that they had to die so suddenly like that." he added softly and she felt her forced smile waver momentarily.

"Like you said, it's okay now. I've accepted it. It's been over eight years for me. They passed right after I graduated high school."

Kakashi just studied her for a few more moments and then nodded back. Turning away, he continued his search for a new book.

"So what'd you study in college then?" he asked in attempt to lighten their moods.

"Medicine."

This caused Kakashi to stop and turn to look at her. He wasn't expecting that answer to come out of a bodyguard. Raising a brow at her, he asked his next question.

"Medicine? But you're a bod-, uh, I mean, a personal assistant? What field of medicine did you study?"

"Toxicology major and psychology minor."

He stood there baffled by her nonchalant replies.

"Did you finish your degree?"

"I did." she nodded.

He noticed that she was avoiding eye contact.

"So… you're a doctor?"

"Technically speaking, yes, I am."

Now he was curious at how being a doctor transferred to becoming a top rank bodyguard.

"Why'd you stop to become a body-, to become an assistant?"

He watched as she visibly stiffen up at his question. Her usually bright eyes seemed to have dimmed and her expression dropping to something he couldn't register to an emotion. Maybe fear? What could have possible trigger this response from her he thought.

"Personal reasons." she stated flatly.

Kakashi didn't reply right away as he continued to watch her closely. He knew she wasn't giving him the full truth, but he didn't dare try and push it. It wasn't his right anyways to ask such questions. Maybe she'd tell him one day, but right now this was fine.

"So how long have you been, uh, in your current position?" he asked, to begin diverting the serious environment they accidentally found themselves in to something more positive.

He watched as a small sigh left her lips and her appearance relax some right before his eyes.

"It'll be four years here soon." Sakura said as she turned to look up at him.

He felt relief flood him when he said the spark had returned to her bright green eyes.

"Really? Only four years? And you're already at the top?"

A smirk came to her lips and he felt another wave of relief hit him knowing that she was in a far better mood now. He didn't want to upset her after all. She was responsible for his life and he'd rather have her on his good side.

"What can I say? I'm good at what I do."

He chuckled at her bold statement.

"I'm gonna believe you on that." he replied, "I'm not seeing anything worth buying, so we can go do your thing now. It's just a couple blocks away from here."

Nodding in reply, the two of them exited the bookstore and walked the few blocks to the clothing boutique Kakashi recommended. He noticed that even though she was calm on the outside, that she was very observant with their surroundings. She never once looked at him when they spoke, but to the world around them.

'I guess she is good at what she does.'

The moment she walked into the store, Sakura's eyes went wide at the sheer size of the place. Before getting a chance to even to reply a worker swooped down onto them.

"Hello there, Mr. Hatake! We haven't seen you here in awhile. Can we help you find anything? We just had a new line of suits come in a few weeks ago! Right from Kumo too!"

She watched the girl closely to make sure she wasn't a threat. Glancing up to Kakashi, she found he actually looked bored and maybe annoyed? She chuckled to herself at the sight.

"No, I'm fine. We're actually here for her." he replied as he pointed over to her, "She's my new assistant and I recommended this place to her."

The blonde woman finally turned to face her for the first time since she launched at them. Sakura instantly knew she was faking a smile at her.

'She knows I'm not made of money.'

"Well, that's wonderful you felt good enough about our products to bring others here! What are we looking for?"

Sakura sent back her own fake smile to the woman.

"I'm not sure. I'd like to look around on my own for now. I'll call you over if I need anything."

The sales associates smile fell for barely a second before she caught herself and continued to smile. Giving Sakura a small nod, she turned and face Kakashi again and all but kissed the floor he was standing on. The bodyguard rolled her eyes as she turned away to begin browsing. Kakashi was next to her a few seconds later.

"You were a bit… vicious." he teased lightly.

"She's obviously paid on commission. So, when you walked in, all she saw were dollar signs. She wants to kiss our asses and convince us to spend more money on things we don't need." she reasoned as she continued looking at the racks of clothes.

Kakashi just hummed in agreement.

"You're right. I only come in here like twice a year, so I think you're right in guessing that was her goal."

"Plus, you're stupid rich." she added when she stopped at a rack of dress pants and began sorting through them to find a pair she liked, "I'm sure everywhere you go, people kiss your ass in hopes for an extra large tip."

His hum turned into a quiet laugh. Finally looking up to him, she found him smiling warmly down to her. She felt a shiver run down her spine at the sight. It was the same goofy grin he was giving her the other night when he got them Chinese food.

"You're very blunt, you know that right? Now you understand why I don't go out often. I don't enjoy being served hand and foot like that. I actually enjoyed watching you dismiss her like that. Such a power move."

Sakura felt her face start to get warm, so she turned back to the rack of pants and pulled out a pair to examine. They were beautifully tailored and the pair she grabbed were her size too! Grabbing the tag, she flipped it over and started choking on a cough when she saw the number

"Kakashi!" she said in a low whisper as she whipped around to look at him, "These pants are nearly two hundred dollars!"

She watched as his face twisted up in confusion.

"Yeah, and?"

"I can't afford these! Or anything in here for that matter!" she cried in an even lower whisper.

Kakashi just shrugged and shot her a lopsided smile.

"Well, I can. I'll just buy your clothes then."

A small gasp left her as she gawked up at the CEO.

"Absolutely not!" she snapped at him.

He twisted his face back into its earlier confused expression.

"Why not?"

"Because you're my boss, not my sugar daddy!" Sakura shot back immediately.

She stood there horrified when Kakashi busted out in a loud and hearty laugh to the point that tears came to his eyes. She felt the eyes of every other person in the store move to look at them. The urge to hide in the rack of clothes seemed better than this embarrassment she felt now. It took a lot to embarrass her and Kakashi somehow figured it out in seconds.

"What are you laughing at!?" she asked with a huff.

Still wiping the tears from his eyes and laughing, more quietly thankfully, he looked at her and smiled big.

"That was just really funny. I've been called a lot of things over the years, but never have I been called a sugar daddy before. You just caught me off guard with that."

Now she was just plain annoyed. The urge to put him in a headlock briefly passed through her, but she restrained herself.

"Well, I'm serious! I'm not going to let you buy me these. We can just go somewhere else that's cheaper."

Kakashi suddenly stopped laughing and shifted his weight back to standing up straight, his expression more serious as a small frown come to his lips.

"Well, I'm serious too. Let me buy whatever you need. I'm the one who recommended this place to begin with knowing what their stuff runs at. You need it for work after all."

"You'll end up spending well over a couple thousand dollars on what I need! I can't let you do that, Kakashi. It isn't ethical given our relationship. Do I have to remind you that you're my boss." she tried reasoning with him.

He scoffed and shook his head.

"Screw ethics. I've got the money and nothing to spend it on. Stop being stubborn and let me do this for you. Call it a work expense or whatever you'd like."

"Kakashi…"

"We can stand here all day arguing, but I'm not going to relent until you say yes. I'm just as stubborn as you, bossypants."

Sakura glared at him for a few moments, before groaning quietly as she looked back down to the pair of pants in her hands.

'He is so infuriating!' she screamed in her head.

"Fine… But I'm only going to get a couple things."

"Nope, you're getting everything you need here." Kakashi quickly shot back.

Another groan escaped her as she pouted and managed to frown at the same time at him.

"I can see how you're a successful businessman…"

Kakashi just snorted in reply.

Over the next hour, and with the help of a very excited sales associated, Sakura picked out seven new outfits and five pairs of shoes. This was much to her annoyance when she tried arguing that she only wanted to get five outfits and a single pair of shoe to begin with, but Kakashi wouldn't listen to her.

Once they reached checkout and the cashier told them their final charge, Sakura nearly fainted standing there.

"I cannot believe you just spent that much money. I need to pay you back for it." she finally spoke up as they walked together towards the car.

"I won't accept it. Seriously, don't worry." he shot back.

She sighed as the trunk of the SUV opened up and they deposited the bags inside. Walking to the car door she noticed Kakashi was still standing on the sidewalk.

"Let's get going." she spoke as she opened the door.

"Let's go get something to eat. There's a nice Italian place ten or so blocks from here."

She stood next to the open door and stared at him dumbfounded.

"What? No. We didn't plan for that."

"Come on, it's just dinner. We can walk there from here."

Glaring at him, she was going to put her foot down to this.

"No, it's not safe. We need to go home. We can order in if you want food from there so bad." she reasoned.

Before she knew it, Kakashi turned and walked away down the street. Slamming the door of the SUV, she practically had to jog to catch up with him.

"Kakashi! Do not walk away from me like that!" she scolded him harshly, "Are you trying to get yourself killed!? We could've just driven there if you were so adamant!"

He didn't look down to her as they continued walking along the sidewalk. She frantically began scanning the crowds of people and quickly noticed a face she had seen a couple hours early when they left the bookstore to walk to the clothing boutique and instantly went on high alert.

"No, I'm just hungry." he replied lazily, "Plus, it's a beautiful day out."

Deciding not to worry him or argue the point further, she quickened her pace and replied.

"Alright, let's get going then if you're that bent on getting food from there."

They walked the last few minutes to the restaurant in silence. When they rounded a corner, she glanced back and noticed the same man was still following them.

'This is no good…'

Sakura instinctively pressed her arm against her side as they walked inside the restaurant to reassure herself that her gun was still holstered safely inside her jacket.

The next hour and half was spent in anxiety for the pink haired bodyguard, but she refused to let Kakashi know of the situation. He didn't need the unnecessary stress. She constantly glanced over to the entrance to make sure the man didn't walk in and prepared a mental plan of escape for her and Kakashi if he did.

Once their bill was settled, they made their way out back onto the street. Grabbing Kakashi's arm, Sakura yanked him in the opposite direction and did everything but run and drag him along.

"Hey! What are you doing!? The car is the other way." he complained as he pulled his arm from her hold and tried to keep up with her brisk pace.

Pulling out her cellphone, he watched as she quickly dialed a number and looked at Kakashi with a serious expression.

"Do not react, but we're being followed."

He quickly composed himself from his earlier irritation and shot her a worried look.

"How do you know? We just stepped out of the restaurant." he asked with urgency.

"He's been following us since the bookstore. Now please, please, just do as I say. Okay? I'm going to get us out of here without an incident."

Kakashi just nodded as she started talking on the phone. He watched in awe as she suddenly transformed into another person in front of him. Pocketing the phone back into her jacket, she turned to face him with a smile.

"Okay, they're bringing a car towards us. But it's going to take a few minutes because of this traffic, so I need you to act completely natural. Like you have no idea that we're being followed, okay?" she explained.

"Okay…"

"I'll guide you along. Smile with me like we're talking about something pleasant. Say like how I kicked your ass on the treadmill this morning!"

As they quickly walked and zigzagged through the streets and side alleys of downtown Konoha. Sakura guided and helped him along through the motions. He was in shock with how relaxed and attuned she was with the situation.

"Are we still being followed?" he timidly asked as they rounded another corner.

He watched as Sakura glanced behind them and then nodded slightly before smiling back up to him.

"We are, but the car is right over there. When we get in I want you to duck and keep you head covered. I can't tell if he has a gun on him or not."

Kakashi felt breathless at the mention of a gun.

"Okay." he whispered.

When they rounded another corner and left the alley they took a shortcut through, he saw the SUV and they nearly ran to the vehicle. The moment Sakura closed the door, the SUV literally zoomed into traffic and began speeding away.

"Okay, you can sit up now." she spoke after a minute.

A loud sigh of relief escaped him as he sat up and saw that Sakura was looking out the window and closely studying the street behind them.

"Thank you." he spoke quietly as he watched her.

Turning to look back to him, he watched her eyes soften as a small smile graced her lush lips.

"No problem. Now do you understand why I said no at first? I don't want to ruin your fun, but sadly that type of spontaneity just can't be done right now."

He just nodded quietly in understanding as he sank into the seat. He was suddenly exhausted after the whole ordeal. It lasted only about ten minutes, but the situation felt like it had lasted hours. He looked back over to Sakura and found she was furiously typing away on her phone, probably reporting what happened.

'I don't know how she makes is seem so effortless, but damn… I guess she really is good at what she does.'

The rest of the ride home was spent in a tense silence.

A/N: This chapter ended up a little longer than I planned, but I'm happy with the results! I hope you guys enjoyed it as well! I hope this make up for the delay of chapter four earlier this week!

So we finally got our first taste of "action" in this story! I've never written action scenes or fights before, so bare with me as we go on this journey together, lol. I think Sakura and Kakashi both handled the situation pretty well!

As always, please leave a review if you can/want! I love hearing from you guys and your thoughts on the story/chapters!

Thank you to my wonderful friend and beta, Taytay95, for working hard on this story and my other story as well. She's actually starting to do rewrites on her story, To Love A Life right now! It's a KakaSaku fic! She just reuploaded chapter one and you should go check it out! She'll be doing rewrites in between her regular updates!