Chapter 14
A knock came to his closed office door and Kakashi called out to whoever it was to enter. Tenzo and Shikamaru stepped inside large room and the CEO smiled warmly to the two men.
"Kakashi, can we speak with you for a moment?" Shikamaru asked before he had a chance to properly greet them.
"Sure, what's up?" Kakashi raised a silver brow.
The two men suddenly looked uncomfortable as they shifted on their feet.
"We wish to speak with you… privately." Tenzo added as his dark eyes glanced briefly over to Sakura.
Turning to look over at his bodyguard, Kakashi found that Sakura was already standing up with some papers and heading to the door.
"I need to go speak with Minato at security anyways, so this is perfect timing. I'll be back within the hour!" she quickly explained as she walked out the door.
Kakashi glanced back over to the two men who had taken seats in the chairs that sat in front of his desk.
"Okay, what do you want to talk about that you don't want Sakura to hear?" he asked as he eyed them, "You know she's probably going to ask about this."
"Sakura is actually what we wanted to discuss with you." Tenzo was the first to speak, not holding back.
Kakashi half gawked at the man at the sudden directness he displayed.
"And, what about Sakura?" he asked.
Tenzo cleared his throat before replying.
"We've noticed that you two seem much… closer lately. Is there something going on between you two?"
Kakashi paused for a moment at the question. He felt himself get slightly irritated at the slight accusing tone Tenzo was giving him. As if being with Sakura was a bad thing. Or that he was being judged by the men for his choice of girlfriend.
'Great, here we go.'
"And what if something is going on between us?" he asked back as he leaned back into the leather chair.
Shikamaru and Tenzo looked surprised at the bold question. Kakashi smiled to himself at the reactions.
"Kakashi we're just worried about you in this." Shikamaru finally spoke, his usually lazy voice sounding genuine and kind. The voice of a friend.
"We're paying her to protect you, not to be your girlfriend. This is clearly a conflict of interest when it comes down to it. If you two are seeing each other, we'd like to see to it that a new company be hired on and assign you a new bodyguard then. And, as soon as possible. There can be no connections." Tenzo added.
It felt like he got slapped in that moment. The audacity of such a thing gave him mixed emotions. What suddenly brought on such a urgent need for change?
"You mean I'm the one paying her, this is my company after all. Let's not forget I'm the one paying your two salaries too. My investments are in the company that she works for. And, my answer is simple, absolutely not." Kakashi snapped back as he leaned forward onto his elbows and stared down the advisors.
Shikamaru let out a sigh and Tenzo frowned intently at their bosses response.
'It seems they've forgotten how much of an ass I can be when I'm trying to be manipulated out of my own choices. I refuse to be controlled.'
"What if you are attacked again? Her judgement could falter." Shikamaru pointed out.
Kakashi took a deep breath and leaned back once more to help slow down his already thinning patience from snapping.
"Don't you think she would become more vigilant instead?" Kakashi argued, "She has a subjective involvement now instead of being strictly objective. Would she not want to protect someone she actually cares about more than versus just another client?"
He couldn't believe he was having this conversation right now. It had been well over five years since he'd been lectured about who he was dating and it was his own father that had lectured him. Not his advisors.
"Your judgement could falter, Mr. Hatake. You could put yourself in more danger. And that is what we're really trying to say." Tenzo spoke up next, "It's very obvious that you don't want to see her to get hurt, so if you were attacked, we don't want you acting rash and trying to protect her when it's supposed to be the other way around. It is your life and your actions due to your feelings that we are concerned about. We're looking out for your best interest."
Kakashi drew both hands into tight fists on his lap to help hold back his anger. They had made great points, but he knew he had already made a promise to Sakura about this. And he would keep good on that promise.
"I see what you're trying to say, but my answer is still no. Sakura will remain as my bodyguard for the remainder of this investigation."
There was a long silence that followed as the three businessmen stewed in the results of the conversation.
"Don't you think you're being a little bit irritational, Kakashi?" Shikamaru finally spoke, breaking the tense silence between the trio.
"You're not seeing this objectively." Tenzo huffed, taking it a step further, "You're already letting you feelings blind you."
A loud sigh came from the CEO at that point as he slumped back into his arm and swiveled it to face towards Sakura's chaotically organized desk.
"Probably, but you two fail to realize that I'm also looking out for her best interest. This is not all about me anymore. All I know is Sakura has already gone above and beyond in performing her duties protecting me so far." Kakashi spoke quietly as he glanced back over to the advisors, "Yes, her and I are involved with each other. But, she has made it very clear that she places her job before us. She even has threatened to end things, and physical harm towards me too, if I try stopping her from completing her duties or get in the way if things do go south."
"And are you sure she's not only with you because of your status?" Tenzo bit out.
Kakashi shot the young man a scary look that caused a physical reaction from both advisors.
"Absolutely not!" he bordered on yelling, but quickly reeled himself in, "It's insulting to me and towards her to assume such a thing, Tenzo. Sakura has zero interest towards my status or wealth! She won't even let me buy her nice clothes without trying to pay me back. Do not dare of thinking so lowly of her. She is not some shallow woman."
He loved Sakura. He wasn't about to let these two tell him to rid himself of the only source of happiness in his life. He wasn't about to let them insult her or her intentions in such a way.
They don't know the details. They don't know the bond they've created. He knew Sakura didn't care about his position in the social hierarchy or how many millions he had in his accounts.
Her intentions were as pure as they came and for that he was so thankful. In that moment he decided he was going to tell Sakura about something he did for her when she got back. He needed to see that dazzling smile of hers after dealing with this.
This was the first relationship that he felt would last. He wasn't going to let her go that easy. He was willing to fight for her until the end.
"Well, I guess I can't argue with that." Shikamaru replied with instantly as he slouched back into his own chair with a sigh, "She does seem to take her job very seriously."
Kakashi smirked to himself at the admission of defeat.
"So if neither of you have anything else left to say, you're dismissed. We all have lots of work to do since the holidays are coming up. You both should know first hand that I don't like things being delayed." Kakashi said in a serious tone to force the subject to be dropped, switching into a more professional attitude.
Without another word, Tenzo and Shikamaru both stood and bowed to Kakashi before exiting the office.
Kakashi shagged his shoulders the second the door closed. Reaching up he roughly ran his hands through his hair and let out a tired groan.
'I need a damn nap.'
"Ahhh, Minato, you're such a life saver! What would I do without you?" Sakura sang as the blonde haired man smiled warmly back to her.
"Anytime, Sakura. I'm glad everything seems to be in good working order for you."
Sakura closed up the file in her lap that Minato had given her. Every Friday she came down to the Head of Securities office for a weekly meeting to discuss everything security related when it came to the building and Kakashi's safety.
"Everything always is in working order with the Hokage level security that's stationed here." she teased lightly, "Since Kakashi rarely leaves the building these days, it's making our jobs so easy that these meetings are becoming more of gossip and chat sessions."
Minato just laughed at her light hearted joke.
"By the way, how's your family doing? You said your son was trying to get into Konoha University? Any news?"
"Yes!" Minato perked up, "Naruto got his letter of acceptance last week! Thank you so much for sending in that letter of recommendation! Kushina and I are extremely proud of him. He'll be studying criminal justice like his old man did, so your word as a top official of Senju Securities worked wonders on his behalf."
Sakura grinned at the proud and doting father. She loved hearing about his family whenever they had meetings. It gave her a sense of belonging. She briefly wondered if she'd ever experience having a family of her own one day. They talked for a few more minutes before Sakura finally dismissed herself to return back upstairs to Kakashi.
As Sakura walked into the office five minutes later, she immediately felt the atmosphere had changed from when she had left just over an hour ago. She looked over and found Kakashi brooding at his desk and she wondered what caused him to be in such a foul mood.
'Oh goodness, what happened. I've never seen him look this put out before.'
"Did everything go alright with your meeting with Tenzo and Shikamaru? Did something happen?" she asked as she made her way over to her desk and sat down the file she was holding.
Kakashi just glanced up to her before a tired sigh left him and he stood up. He looked completely exhausted for a brief moment and it only caused more concern for the pinkette.
"They wanted to discuss replacing you as my bodyguard because they figured out we had something going on." he spoke quietly as he stared out the huge floor to ceiling window behind his desk, "Not that we were really hiding anything."
Sakura jerked up to look at him more clearly at the surprising news.
"They wanted to remove me?" was all she was able to get out.
A million questions flooded her mind then.
"Said it was a conflict of interest." he muttered as he continued to look out to the city below, "That it would affect our abilities to perform in crisis."
'Why is this coming up suddenly? We haven't been in any danger and our relationship hasn't gotten in the way of either of our duties. If anything, him and I are more productive so we don't have any distractions when we do want to spend time together…'
Sakura stepped around her desk and made her way over to stand next to him.
"And what did you say when they said all of that?"
She was curious to see how Kakashi spoke about her without her around. Did he defend her? Did he lie and say they're not together?
Kakashi looked down to her and smiled warmly.
"Of course I said no and dismissed them immediately! Told them that you've done nothing wrong and, if anything, your work performance has improved since you've placed emphasis on the fact that your job comes before us." he explained.
Sakura couldn't help give him a big smile in reply. Her earlier questions being answered that second. Of course he would defend her honor and name. He was determined to prove himself with how serious he was in this relationship.
"You're right. I will never let myself slip up when it comes to your safety." she whispered quietly.
Kakashi reached up then and caressed her cheek softly and Sakura let herself sigh and lean into the gentle touch.
'Definitely proving himself.' she thought as she relished in the affection.
"I know. I have absolute faith in you." he whispered back.
They stood there like that for a moment before Sakura made to stand up straight again, causing Kakashi to drop his hand back down to his side. Giving the man a curious look, she silently began her interrogation.
"Who was the one to suggest it? Shikamaru or Tenzo?" she asked.
Kakashi looked off to the side to recall his discussion from earlier. The exhaustion was showing up more and more in his eyes, she noticed.
'His lack of sleep from the nightmares is getting to him. He's working too much on top of it. He needs proper rest.' she worried.
"They both talked about it, but if I remember correctly, Tenzo was the one to actually bring it up? Or was it Shikamaru? I know Shikamaru called me irrational at one point towards the end, but quickly admitted defeat when I argued your case."
'That sounds very much like Shikamaru, but he doesn't seem like the type of person to induce sudden change… He's lazy by nature, so this has to be Tenzo's idea.'
Sakura shifted her weight to one hip and crossed her arms across her chest as her and Kakashi both turned to look out the window.
"Do you know which one said "conflict of interest"?" she asked next even though it was probably Tenzo who said it.
Kakashi hummed for a few seconds as they watched a flock of birds fly around below.
"Tenzo definitely said that. He's the lawyer of the two, so that's very much like him to say that. He was, now that I am thinking about it, the one that brought up replacing you. More like spat it out actually."
'Figures. So Direct. Such a lawyer thing to do and say. He thinks I'm a liability now and wants to lower Kakashi's chances of getting hurt or dying.'
Another question suddenly popped up in her head.
"If I can ask, what's Shikamaru's main position other than your advisor?"
"He does a little in finance negotiations with me, but mainly works and interacts with the other companies and such. Like setting up meetings and appointments. He even helps out a lot when I have to do PR for the company. He's just universally useful. A 'jack of all trades' if I may say."
Sakura just nodded along as she mentally took notes on everything he said.
"I forgot to tell you, but Shikamaru loved the idea of investing in some bookstores and publishing companies." he added randomly, "We're already in contact with a handful."
The sudden topic change ripped her out of the work mode she had entered into earlier.
"Wait, what?" she looked up to find him still starting ahead and smiling.
"He's even already started the process of setting up and funding a handful of reading programs in various libraries, schools, even a couple of community centers."
Sakura gaped up at the CEO as she listened to him list off the various things he had recently started up.
"You were actually listening to me then?" she whispered in disbelief.
Kakashi looked down to her at that point and frowned slightly with a furrowed brow.
"Of course I was listening! I always do. You had a genius idea and so I enlisted Shikamaru to begin working on it on the side."
The bodyguard felt a blush begin to creep up on her and glanced away to hide her red face and compose herself before replying.
"That's amazing, Kakashi!" she said as she turned and looked back up to him with a cheshire grin, "I'm so excited to see the results!"
Kakashi reached up and rubbed the back of his head gingerly as he gave her an eye crinkling smile.
"I was gonna wait until Christmas to tell you this since I was thinking of presenting it as a gift, but I also made a donation to the five libraries we picked for the reading programs. I listed your name next to mine as one of the donors."
Sakura clamped her hands over her mouth as a loud gasp left her.
"You what!? Who else donated?" She nearly yelled.
"No one, just you and I." he deadpanned and shrugged his shoulders.
She gasped again. Sakura couldn't believe her ears. She had to be dreaming, she reasoned.
"How much?" she asked next as she eyed the CEO carefully as she felt herself grow breathless.
"Two hundred and fifty thousand each."
Sakura, with wide eyes, took a step back away from the silver haired when he said the amount.
"I think I'm gonna faint. I really feel like I'm gonna faint right now." she spoke out loud as she stumbled and grabbed the side of Kakashi's desk to catch her balance.
Kakashi really just told her that he donated over a million dollars of his own money with her name attached to the donation with his! Is he insane? He has to be! Her mind began racing at the selfless act he said he did. And acted like it was nothing!
Kakashi was next to her side within seconds and helping her over and sitting her in his chair so she really wouldn't collapse onto the floor if she did faint.
"Are you okay?!" he asked as he squatted in front of her and grabbed one of her hands between his, "Did I do or say something wrong?"
Sakura started at him with a bewildered look.
"You didn't do anything wrong! But Kakashi! That's such a large amount of money! You don't need to do that! Wait, what I mean is, you don't need to add my name to that! You need to remove my name!"
Kakashi shot her a confused look at this.
"But it was your idea, Sakura, so I'm going to add your name as one of the donors."
"I didn't think you were listening to me! Plus, it's your money, not mine!" she cried out, "It'll take me like fifteen years to barely even earn that amount of money!"
Kakashi's expression changed into a familiar one at that point. The unimpressed look he always gave her when she argued with him about things he thought were trivial.
"And it was your idea, so I'm not going to claim it was mine. I'm just funding it. What's the point of earning vast amounts of money and not do good with it? Kind of selfish, don't you think? I'm not gonna remove your name because I can't now anyways. The checks have already been sent out."
Sakura just slumped into the chair with a loud sigh and gave Kakashi a dumbfounded look.
"Merry early Christmas." he sang quietly as he gave her an apologetic smile and rubbed her hand in between his.
'He's going to be the death of me, I swear!'
A/N: To sum up my thoughts of this chapters: Our boi is gonna defend his woman, yo. The business world doesn't care about happiness, only profits. *inset eyeroll emoji*
Happy June! I've been posting Unity Without Sin for nearly six months now! I can't believe how far we've come and the story has only JUST started, hehe. I posted about it I think on here last week and over on Tumblr too that for the entire month of June, I will be doing weekly postings instead of every two weeks! I got a little written ahead and I'm way to eager to share it with out guys! So let's kick off this summer with some lovely KakaSaku goodness.
I know the story is a littttttle slow right now, but I PROMISE it will pick up and be more action-y and more bodyguard-esque here soon! I gotta set up so much stuffffffff. Please bare with me, I beg you! I have so much planned of this and stuff will get VERY real VERY fast. Remember this story is rated M for more than the eventual smut that will 45883454% happen (multiple times too hehehehehehe).
Please leave a review with your thoughts and opinions. I love seeing everyone's point of views of the story and unique takes of what I've written so far. Don't forget to hit follow so you don't miss next weeks update! :)
Thank you as always to Taytay95 for being an awesome beta and going through I think FOUR edits and one rewrite I've put this chapter through? She just posted a massive and spicy one shot over on her profile too the other week! It's KakaSaku too! It's literaly over 10k words y'all and gave me many feels. Go give that fic some love. *inserts 36344529 hearts emojis*