Chapter 35

"Yamato." he repeated again when she didn't reply.

"Yamato?" Sakura finally parroted back to him, "I'm not quite understanding."

The look on Kakashi's face was obviously surprising. Did she miss something? A lot happened in the last few days, hell, in the last few hours that she was still trying to sort it all out.

"The hitman at the cabin kept calling him Yamato." the man continued, calm yet excited, "Said that he was telling them to call him Yamato, not Tenzo!"

The pinkette sat there for a second and nodded as she tried to reason why the young advisor was requiring this name change. The damned head wound seemed to affect her mental state enough that critical thinking was difficult.

"I think that's why everything was coming up clean on Tenzo because he wasn't using that name to do his dirty work." Kakashi added when she didn't reply.

Everything was starting to click instantly in her brain at that moment. She stared wide eyed up to him as her mouth began moving a mile a minute. She fought against the urge to wince and cry out from the throbbing she experienced in her head.

"He's trying to cover his tracks under the name! He's done a damn good job since we didn't find any trace of a cover name or second identity attached to him. But, but… that creates so many other questions. The fact that he isn't coming up means that someone has to be helping him. There's no way he could be doing this by himself. Where is he getting this money from? This has to be costing him a fortune since there's been so many attempts at your life."

The gray haired man looked confused at the idea of an accomplice. It wasn't something either of them had thought of. She felt extremely upset with herself to let that slip by her. There was no way Tenzo could have done all the dirty work himself. But who? Who would be his right hand man?

"You really think someone is helping him? Who else would want me dead?" he spoke quietly, "I- I know I wasn't the best person in the past. I was an egotistical dick to say the least… But… to want me dead?"

Sakura watched him have an internal struggle. She wanted to comfort him, but this wasn't something she could help with. All she could do was reach out and grab his hand and give a reassuring squeeze.

"If I was simply nicer, none of this would have happened." he explained his theory, "My dad would still be alive. None of this would be hap-"

"Stop that." she quickly interrupted, "Don't go shouldering all this guilt. We can play a regret game all that we want, but it doesn't fix anything. We've all made mistakes and the only thing we can do is make our future a better example."

A small nod came from him at her words. He understood what she meant, but she knew that it didn't make anything better. He would be dealing with all these "what-ifs" for the rest of his life. It would be her duty to him to help him process them as much as possible. She held her fair share of "what-ifs" herself, so she knew she could help him. They would get through this together.

"We'll get through this. We'll leave at dawn tomorrow and head for the hunting village. We're north of the cabin, so it should be a day's hike if there isn't any inclement weather. I want us to stay out of sight of any houses or roads. I don't know if they're still searching or not."

Kakashi nodded as they sat in silence for a few minutes. The rest of the evening was somber as they chatted about their plans. The CEO wouldn't let her move too much for fear of her head wound.

'I pray I can get us to safety. I don't know how far I can get if just sitting up hurts. I can't let him carry me. If I pass out again or worse… die. He's doomed. I can't let that happen.'

Sakura stared at the fire while Kakashi quickly ran out to get more water from the small river. He had definitely done his reading. He kept her safe and warm while she was injured. He had done that just the other month when they had been hit by that car and she suffered broken ribs and debilitating bruising. He was always worrying about her and her safety. Sometimes more than she worried about his safety it seems, she thought to herself.

'He would've made a good bodyguard if he had gone down a different path.' she mused to herself in amusement.

They finished up the bag of jerky together before calling it a night. They reserved the other two bags for when they woke up and for when they were halfway to the village.

Kakashi tossed a few larger pieces of wood onto fire before he laid down next to her.

"We need all the rest we can get." he mumbled as he pulled her closer to him, "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Sakura hummed in agreement.

"I'm just nervous since we can't really bring any water along with us and we can't stop too long either to start a fire to boil some snow." she revealed her worry.

"We won't over exert ourselves. We can do this. We're both in great shape and managed to run for hours the other night in a snowstorm, I think we can hike for a while longer in this situation."

The bodyguard just hummed again. She kept her worried thoughts to herself as she felt the call of sleep overcoming her. She knew he was trying to keep their spirits up, but they both knew how dangerous this trek tomorrow would be. He had left out that it was fear and adrenaline that allowed them to run for hours. He also left out her injury that seemed to only be getting worse.

'It's starting to hurt more… I think it's becoming infected.'

"I love you." she whispered as she felt her body grow heavy, praying that this time she would wake up the next day.

"I love you too." he replied back as she felt a soft kiss press into her beanie.

Kakashi woke up at the brink of dawn and thankfully it was easy to wake up Sakura. He quickly grabbed a couple branches and added them to the fire to revive it and ran out and grabbed water. He wanted them to be hydrated enough for the day ahead of them.

"We have to get going within the next hour at the latest." Sakura spoke for the first time since waking up as she munched on the piece of the jerky that Kakashi had given her for breakfast.

He agreed as he watched the water begging a slow bubble. He wanted them to stay here long enough to have two cups of water each, but it might not happen. Every minute counted now until they reached that village.

"Do you know how far we have to go roughly?" he asked as they began packing up.

They wanted to leave little trace of their presence before they departed.

"Well," she started as she stepped outside and glanced up towards the sun, "We ran north of the cabin and a little west to this place."

Kakashi glanced at the smoldering fire as it died down before he followed her out, backpack slung over his shoulder. He watched as his girlfriend stared up at the sky and mumbled to herself. He loved watching her in action.

"We need to continue north to the hunting village. The main city is closer to us towards the west, but like I said, those guys will be looking for us there first." she spoke with authority, "I want to skip over that and get ahead. Get a motel room to clean up, rest a night, get supplies, and secure another car and then book it. I want to get in and out of there in less than twelve hours from the moment we arrive."

Without another words, the couple began their trek towards their destination not knowing truly how long they would have to travel. He stared at the back of her as they trudged through the thick snow. It looks like the snow storm had added nearly half a foot of more than before. He could see the snow almost came up to Sakura's knees. He already felt cold, he couldn't imagine how she felt.

"How does your head feel?" he asked as he held up some snow covered branches to help her walk under easier.

"It hurts, but I guess I'm adjusted to some of the pain because it doesn't hurt like yesterday." she spoke in even breaths.

She was maintaining as much energy as possible, even down to controlling her breathing. He nodded at her even though he knew she didn't see so he added a hum to let her know he heard her.

"Good. When we get into town, we'll get some medical supplies to at least get it cleaned up and healing started." he added.

Sakura remained silent and they continued. She was too lost in her own head to maintain a conversation. They both focused on their breathing and stride as they worked at a steady pace towards their destination. When the sun reached the highest point, Sakura slowed down and they stopped.

"Let's take a break and eat." she spoke quietly.

Kakashi swung the backpack off his shoulder and the two made quick work finding a fallen log and swept off the snow and laid some pine branches to stop the snow from melting against their pants. He pulled out a bag of the dried meat and tore the seal off with his teeth. He watched as she pulled off a glove and reached in for a piece. He mimicked her and together they ate in silence.

"How much further do you think we need to go?" he asked when he reached in for another piece.

He didn't realize how hungry he was as he devoured the meager meal. He wished they had a canteen of some sort since the jerky didn't help with the already incessant feeling of being thirsty. He knew that she had to be feeling the same way. They were slowly becoming dehydrated. They needed water soon or it could start affecting them both mentally and physically. The human body could only go a few days without water and they had only gotten a little bit each and with how they were exerting themselves, it was becoming more and more dangerous by the hour.

"Hopefully not long. We've covered a lot of ground. We're taking a direct route. We have to be coming across a road or building soon." she spoke as she swallowed her food.

He extended the bag out and she eagerly grabbed another piece.

"So what's the official game plan?" he asked next, "I know we discussed what we want to do, but what will our itinerary be?"

"Find a motel immediately. Shower and clean up. Go out and get food and supplies. Secure another car. You said you grabbed that money?" she explained and then ended with the question.

Kakashi nodded as he popped one last piece of jerky into his mouth and spoke between his chewing. He motioned for Sakura to take the bag and eat the rest. She didn't protest. He was bigger than her, so he could tough it out longer. He wanted her to have the most energy of the two. Her health mattered more than his in his eyes.

"It's in the bottom of the bag. There should be a little over nine thousand left."

Sakura looked relieved to hear the number.

"Hopefully we can find a car for sale that works in that price range." she said after finishing off the bag, "Or we'll just have to steal one."

His head snapped towards her as he let out a grumble of complaint.

"We can't steal a car!"

"How else do you suggest we get back to Konoha?" she shot back as she stood up, "I'm sure as hell not going to hike over two hundred miles that's for sure."

Kakashi followed suit as he stuffed the empty bag into the backpack and swung it back over his shoulders.

"Yeah, but it's not nice." he continued, "What if it's the person's only source of transportation?"

The CEO only got a pointed look back from his girlfriend as if she's annoyed by what he's saying.

"We'll return or replace their car." she explained, "I want us to get out of here without minimal delay. Senju Securities has insurance that replaces damage done in the line of duty. The person will receive something back within a few days."

He just stared back at her for a moment and then nodded. Without another word she turned and started their direct path forward. They wasted too much time chatting, so they picked up their pace as they continued.

'I really need to sit down with Tsunade and discuss what exactly my company is investing in…'

Sakura's head throbbed with each step she took. She couldn't let this slow them down. She felt like throwing up every other second since the beginning of their hike. Even when they had stopped to eat their lunch, she wanted to gag and puke it out because her stomach had been in knots for so long. She forced it down and prevailed. She was growing more and more thirsty with every second that passed. She knew Kakashi had to be in the same state.

She wasn't sure how much further she could go. This injury was affecting her so much that she started fearing the worst.

From her calculations, they had been walking for nearly six hours at this point. They had stopped around two hours ago to eat. The sun was falling west quickly and she estimated they had not even two hours left of sunlight before their situation turned from bad to worse.

"Car." Kakashi spoke loudly, "That sounds like a car on a road."

The bodyguard snapped out of her train of thought at his revelation. She stopped dead in her tracks and listened and she faintly heard the noise of a vehicle in the distance.

"North, north-west a bit. Hopefully there's a road sign and it'll point us in the right direction." she spoke quickly as they both moved with a new sense of eagerness, "We can't walk on the road, we have to stay off them and in the woods, out of sight. I don't want to chance them driving by and us be a couple of deer in their headlights."

She couldn't believe that they managed to make it back to civilization. She would never admit it to him, but she was desperate and this was the only option she could think of that managed to keep them both relatively safe.

They heard another car pass around ten minutes later as they edged closer to the road. They noticed a slight slope upwards and the clearing and they knew they made it.

"Wait right here." she motioned for him to stop as she continued and walked up the slope and found herself faced with a paved road.

It was a long straight road that seemed to go for miles in each direction. Sakura whipped her head in both directions to see if there was a road sign and noticed one about a quarter mile down the road to her right. Frustrated that she couldn't make out the writing, she turned and trotted down the side of the road and into the thicket where Kakashi was waiting for her.

"There's a road sign a quarter mile this way." she said as she pointed in the direction they needed to go, "We need to move closer for me to read it."

Without any words exchanged between them, they all but ran in the direction of the road sign.

Fifteen minutes later Sakura motioned for him to wait again as she made her way up the road again.

"Yatta!" he heard her call excitedly and she burst through the thicket with a wide grin, "Aota village is two miles up the road!"

He grinned back at her as they quickly continued their journey. His heart was pounding in his chest with his own excitement. The simple thought of laying down in a proper bed and taking a hot shower sounded like pure bliss. The two were going as fast as they could at this point, the sun was beginning to set and the temperature would begin dropping to dangerous levels if they didn't move faster.

They stayed far enough away from the road so they couldn't be seen, but they could hear the occasional car drive by. With each car, he feared it may be those men hunting them down. Who knew where they were at. He was nervous that may be seen and shot down like wild animals.

"Lights, look!" Sakura said in between her pants, "Looks like street lights and maybe a sign to something!"

Relief washed over him as he noticed the sparkling lights through the trees.

Not long after the two made their way out of the woods and quickly started walking behind cars and in between buildings as they quickly scanned for enemies and for signs of a motel or a store to get supplies.

A blinking neon green light caught his attention just down the road from them and he glanced and saw the words "vacancy" idly blinking with the word "no" not lit up. He grabbed Sakura's arm and pointed in that direction and with a sigh of relief from her, they quickly made their way over to the building. Looked like the rooms were outside access and a few cars were parked at various doors. No more than twelve rooms it seemed.

They found the main office and the pinkette stopped before they walked in and motioned for him to give her the backpack. She quickly fished out the envelope of cash and pulled out a handful of bills and stuffed the envelope into the bag again and motioned for him to take the cash from her.

"We're a couple hikers from near the Kiri border who are on a self discovery journey across the country. Today is our thirtieth day of our journey and we're stopping in to have a couple days rest and restock supplies."

Kakashi immediately understood the assignment she was silently giving them. Don't let anyone know who they are. Play the part and get in and out.

"We don't have our ID's on us, so we're going to have to convince them to give us a room with a little extra money. Use those negotiation tactics of yours." she added quietly as she gave him a cheeky wink.

"I'll get us a good deal." he teased as they walked in.

"Ah, you two look a little rough." the older man behind the counter spoke in a tired voice.

It looked like he had been reading from a magazine before they entered.

"Little bit," Kakashi spoke with confidence, "Me and my gal here decided we wanted to go on a discovery journey across the country. We needed to stop to rest up and restock our things before we continue."

He noticed that Sakura stood half behind them and gave the man a small wave, acting purposely shy.

'She's probably trying to hide her injury…'

"Ah." the man spoke up again, "We get a few of your kind through here throughout the year. Not so much in the winter, you guys must be experienced hikers."

Kakashi nodded as he stepped up to the counter and felt Sakura close behind him.

"We live for the outdoors. Being one with nature is an ethereal feeling." he gave the worker a warm smile, "How much is it per night?"

"Thirty-five a night for doubles, forty-five for a queen room."

Kakashi pulled out a hundred from his pocket and slapped it down on the counter.

"Sounds good to me! Two nights for a queen room, please." he upped his enthusiasm.

The motel worker just raised a brow at him as he turned and grabbed a clipboard and a set of keys off a hook.

"I'll need you to fill this out and I'll need a copy of your driver's license and you'll be set." the older man spoke the line he's said a thousand times before.

Kakashi froze up for a second and he felt Sakura behind him grab at the backpack off his back.

"I'll grab your license, love." she spoke with confidence, "Should be in the keepsafe pouch."

He knew she was searching for something that wasn't there and pretended to go along with it as he watched her work through the bag.

"Umm…" she sang with a hint of worry after a few seconds, "I can't find the pouch."

Kakashi squatted down next to her and began searching in the bag with her.

"What do you mean?" he spoke up with anxiety filling his voice, "It has to be in there!"

Another minute passed and he stood up and feigned anger with Sakura.

"Did you lose it?!" his words sounded harsh.

"Did you lose it?!" Sakura parroted back with equal emotion.

"You had to have left it somewhere. We can't continue our journey if we lost our ID's!" he pretended to grow more frustrated as he threw his arms up in the air.

Sakura gave an award winning look of pure remorse. He even noticed the tears swelling in her eyes. He briefly almost broke character when he grew nervous he may have really hurt her feelings. However, he quickly reined himself in.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered.

He stared at her for a couple seconds before he turned and faced the man again. He had silently watched their interaction and had a brow raised. Probably was the most drama he had seen in a while.

"Sir, is there any way we can still stay without our ID's? We desperately need showers and to rest."

The graying man sighed as he leaned forward and motioned at the clipboard.

"Rules are rules, son. For legal and safety reasons, I need an ID to book a room."

Kakashi reached up and pretended to ponder his options by rubbing his hand over his mouth roughly before rubbing the side and back of his neck.

"We'll pay double the price of the room for the inconvenience." the gray haired man offered as he pulled another hundred and sat it on top of the hundred already on the counter.

The two men made serious eye contact for a moment as he contemplated the offer.

"That ain't gonna be enough, boy." he replied with a small smirk.

The CEO kept his cool as he smiled back and nodded.

"I have to keep something for food, man. Now that we don't have ID's I have to pay for us to get back home." he fired back in negotiation.

The motel worker shrugged as he stood straight again and gave them an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, son. No deal then. I have to keep myself protected."

Kakashi pulled out a fifty and slapped it on the counter.

"That's my final offer." he shot back as he watched the man smile big as he grabbed the money.

"Works for me, room 12. When you walk out, turn left. Last door of the building." he switched back into a tired voice as he handed them two keys on a small keychain with 12 written on them.

Kakashi nodded at him and said his thanks and Sakura waved as she quickly turned and followed him out. They basically ran down the sidewalk to the room and made quick work unlocking and rushing into the room.

Sakura slammed the door behind her and locked and grabbed a chair and shoved it in front of it and made sure it couldn't be opened from the outside. When she turned and faced Kakashi, she watched as his shoulders sagged in relief.

They were safe for the time being.

The bodyguard dropped the backpack to the floor and rushed over to him. He met her half way and they embraced into a tight hug. She ignored the pain that shot through her head from their collision and just rejoiced in the sense of peace that she felt. This was the first time in three days that they have been safe and didn't have to worry about looking behind them.

"Go shower." he suddenly said, "Then I'll shower and we can run and get supplies and some food."

She reached up onto her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss. She realized they hadn't really kissed since before they were attacked. It felt nice.

"Okay. I noticed a convenience store across the street and a pizza place next door to it. We'll go order a pizza and run next door while they're making it and get things. We need to be quick. Tomorrow morning we'll go find a car and get out of here."

Sakura and him stripped out of the layers of clothes they had been wearing for the last couple days. She made her way into the bathroom and he could hear the audible sigh of pleasure from her as she stepped into the hot shower.

Kakashi smiled to himself as he laid out what clean clothes they had on the bed. He had a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. The black shirt he had was used the other day to clean up Sakura's blood-caked face. He grimaced the item and tossed it into the corner of the room. She had a pair of jeans and a graphic tee and pull over sweater. He realized that they had packed no underwear or clean socks.

She was out fifteen minutes later and he informed her of what they were lacking and she sighed in defeat.

"We can go without until we can hopefully buy some across the street." she groaned, as she sat on the edge of the bed and eyed their sparse clothing.

He quickly jumped into the shower and sighed a happy relief himself as he felt the hot water run down his body. He wished they were back home in his shower together. He grabbed the little bottle of shampoo the motel provided and poured some into his hands and roughly washed his hair before rinsing it. He grabbed the tiny bar soap and lifted his arm and recoiled at the stench emitting from his pits before he quickly began scrubbing himself down. He saw the rag Sakura had used and reused it on himself to help scrub it all away.

'God damn. I'm surprised she didn't run away from me.' he allowed himself to enjoy his joke as he cleaned his body.

He rinsed his body off and then stuck his head under the water once more and ran his hands over his face. He felt the scruff of an incoming beard and wondered if he should shave or worry about it later. Against his wishes, he forced himself to turn off the water and step out and grab a towel and roughly dry himself off as he walked into the main room.

He found Sakura fully dressed and standing at the end of the bed. She glanced over and took in his naked body and gave him a devious smile.

"Well hello there, handsome." she winked at him as she continued what she was doing.

She had the envelope of money out and had pulled out two hundred dollar bills and another fifty dollar bill. He smiled as he continued to dry himself off.

He noticed her forehead looked a little bruised and walked over closer to her and spoke softly.

"Turn your head, please."

Sakura turned and showed him what he requested to see and began speaking before he could.

"It looks bad. It does hurt and it looks like I have a minor infection, but we can go get some stuff and help it. I cleaned it the best I could in the shower."

Kakashi started at the cut now that it was cleaned up. It looked to be two inches in length and the skin around it was red and inflamed. He could see a bit of yellow puss coming from the untreated wound. Nearly three days of being hidden under a hat mixed with sweat and not the most sanitary first aid hadn't helped much.

Kakashi quickly dressed and Sakura grabbed her grubby beanie to cover the cut and bruising, she made sure to line the inside brim with some toilet paper to protect the clean injury from touching the dirty hat. She put the gun in the holster inside of her jacket and together they quickly departed the motel room.

Seconds later they were in the pizza shop ordering basically everything on the menu. Nearly three days of limited food causes a big appetit. They order a large supreme pizza, garlic knots, bread sticks, and a brownie cake. They paid for the food and gave them a generous tip and informed the teenaged kid they'd be next door and would return to pick up the order.

"God, I'm starving." she heard Kakashi moan as they walked through the convenience store. They were currenting in the medicine aisle and grabbing everything they needed to tend to her giant infected cut.

"I know." she replied, "We'll be done in a few minutes."

They had already grabbed items like a hairbrush, deodorants, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and a small bottle of shampoo and a bottle of body wash since they both knew they'd want to shower again in the morning and the tiny bottles the motel offered would not be enough. Kakashi found a backpack for them to use to expand their storage options. Sakura grabbed a traveler sized bottle of laundry soap to wash the dirty clothes, even if it was a half assed wash, they needed some fresher clothes.

As they rounded the corner to the next aisle, they sighed in relief finding a small section for socks and underwear. She found a small section of clothes and grabbed a pack of t-shirts in Kakashi's size and two pairs of flannel pajama pants in their respective sizes. She figured she could use the t-shirts for sleep shirts. Sakura also managed to find a burner phone and reusable metal water bottles and grabbed two.

"Anything else?" she asked as they stood in a random aisle.

Kakashi reached up and touched his face and his brow quirked up as he glanced at her.

"Should I shave?" he asked her as she rubbed the stubble on his chin.

The pinkette could help but smile as she looked at him.

"No, you're good. You look exceptionally rugged like that. Kind of hot, honestly."

His smile back at her matched the dark looks they were given each other.

The two quickly brought the overfull basket up to the front and had the young woman working the register fill as much as she could into the backpack to help save them the struggle of carrying a ton of bags back across the street plus the copious amount of food they ordered.

With words of thanks they quickly said their goodbyes and got back over to the pizza parlor and their food was just sitting on the counter. Within five minutes they were in the motel room and devouring their food.

"My goodness, pizza has never tasted so good before." Sakura moaned in pleasure as she drank from her water bottle to wash her first slice down. They had decided they would stick with water for dehydration sake.

All she got in reply from her boyfriend was a noise she assumed was him agreeing. He was half way done with his second slice at this point. He had given her most of the bag of jerky earlier and she was thankful, but knew he must have been starving. She leaned over and popped open the box of garlic knots and picked one up and put the whole thing in her mouth as she got up from the bed.

She started taking off her clothes and noticed Kakashi's chewing slowed as he watched her close.

"I'm just getting into something comfy. I'm so tired of jeans." she commented idly as she located one of the plastic bags holding their clothing items.

The pinkette relished in the soft fabric sliding up her legs. She found the pack of gray shirts and tore open the bag and quickly pulled one out and pulled it on. If the last few days had proved anything, it was that Sakura hated the bitter cold. She felt frozen to the core and wanted nothing more to just feel warm at all times. She turned to the thermostat on the wall and pushed the button up a few times to have the heat on high so their room could be warmer than it already was.

"I want to be so warm, I sweat." she sighed as she turned back around and grabbed another garlic knot and continued working around the room.

"Agreed." he finally spoke as he stood up and grabbed his own pajamas to wear.

They spent the next thirty minutes eating idly as they organized their room and packed back up what they didn't need. Kakashi organized their toiletries onto the small vanity in the bathroom and Sakura moved the small table in front of the door and made sure the curtains were drawn shut and couldn't be peeked through. She grabbed the two guns and sat one on each night stand and instructed Kakashi that both are fully loaded and that she has the safety off on both incase of an emergency.

She never forgot that they were both still in extreme danger. They had no idea where those men who were hunting them were at. She had allowed herself a moment of peace, but now that she was showered and fed, she felt more alert and better prepared for anything that may come at them.

"We need to get your cut looked at now." Kakashi interrupted her train of thought and held up the bag of medical supplies they managed to get.

Sakura had already grabbed the bottle of pain relievers and took a double dose against Kakashi's wishes, but she insisted she was fine. They had helped a bit, that was for sure. The intense throbbing reduced down to a dull ache.

The CEO helped her clear off the bed. They had eaten half the pizza, most of the breadsticks, all of the garlic knots and all of the brownie cake. They stacked the empty boxes next to their tiny trash can and the rest onto the table blocking the door.

Together they sat down on the bed and Kakashi dumped out the contents of the bag.

"Tell me what to do." he spoke as they looked at the pile and she nodded before pointing to her brush.

"I want to brush my hair out and put it up before we begin."

Kakashi shot up and grabbed the items and before she could reach for it, he motioned for her to turn and she smiled up at him and obliged. Kakashi slowly started to brush her hair in slow and careful strokes, paying special attention to the hair near her cut. She could tell he was being extra attentive and she loved it. It reminded her of last month when he would brush out her hair and braid it for her. It was gentle affection like this she loved from him.

The pinkette knew his love was true and pure. She still felt a fool from that Valentine's diabolical where Ino had gotten to her.

'How could I ever think he wouldn't truly love me? He's done nothing but sacrifice everything so far to make sure we are safe. He told me he'd throw away his wealth to be with me after all…'

Once her hair was pulled back into his signature braid, she turned and faced him and began talking as she pointed along the cut.

"It's going to sting, but grab a cotton ball and get some antiseptic and dab along the cut. I want to do it three times with a new cotton ball each time."

Kakashi nodded and followed the instructions as he took the now wet cotton ball and touched her cut. Sakura couldn't stop the hiss of pain as the solution stung.

"Sorry…" Kakashi spoke softly as he dabbed along the cut like instructed.

He repeated the process two more times and she gripped the blanket under her to help focus.

"Okay…" she sighed once he finished the last one, "Let's let that dry out of a moment. We can prepare the gauze and tape."

Kakashi sat there and watched her expertly assemble a bandage that would cover her head. She took the small square of gauze and folded it in half and took the medical tape and used her teeth to rip it from the roll and create two even strips and laid them on the top of the gauze with the ends hanging on each side.

"Grab that tube of ointment." she motioned, "Squeeze a thin line across the cut and then apply this gauze over it with even pressure."

The cool touch of the ointment felt refreshing on her cut and then a slight sting followed when Kakashi applied the makeshift bandage over it. She looked for confirmation on his face after he pulled back.

"You really need to go to a hospital." he mentioned as they made eye contact.

"When we get back to Konoha tomorrow, we can arrange for that." she explained as she reached out and grabbed his hands, "For now, I'm in good hands."

The rest of the night, they used the thing of laundry soap and dumped it all in the tub and threw in their dirty clothes and hats except their jackets and did a half ass wash of them before draining the tub and refilling it with water to rinse and repeated the action once more. They wrung out the clothes the best they could and hung them around the tiny room to dry out overnight.

Sakura noticed how late it was from the clock on the nightstand and noted they should turn in early and sleep as much as they could. She wanted to leave as soon as possible in the morning. The bodyguard did one last pass around the room to make sure they were secure and turned to face Kakashi, who was standing in front of the small TV he had just turned on, channel surfing and stopped on an evening news broadcast.

"Hatake and his assistant have yet to be found in the aftermath of the bombing that took place three days ago at Hatake International building in downtown Konoha. Police and investigators have searched the entire building, including his own home and found no trace of them and have begun searching elsewhere. This comes as an untimely surprise since it's been only seven months since the fateful car accident that took his father, Sakumo Hatake's, life and gravely injured the newly appointed CEO."

"They don't know that he and I were targeted. I paid out the ass to make sure that was covered up." Kakashi spoke quietly as he watched the replay from the other day of the initial attack.

Sakura made her way over to stand next to the man.

"Shortly after the bombing, intense gun fire was heard nearby on the roof of the lower part of the building. Police found two injured men and brought them to the hospital for care before they were arraigned on suspicion of being connected with the bombing. The latest update given by investigators have mentioned that both men refuse to speak and will not accept consultation from a public defender. Investigators are fearing the worst and firmly believe that Kakashi Hatake and his assistant and girlfriend, Sakura Haruno, had been abducted and are being held against their will. If anyone has any information on suspicious activity or has seen either one of them, please dial the police immediately. A Hatake International advisor has graciously implemented a reward of $500,000 each for the safe return of the two individuals."

Kakashi turned off the TV and tossed the remote on the bed. It was quiet for a minute while they let the words of the broadcast sink in.

"Shikamaru probably implemented the reward to encourage public attention." he spoke quietly as he faced Sakura, "I'm sure it's Tsunade and him making sure the information about Tenzo isn't getting out. They don't want to tip him off."

Sakura stared at the black TV screen for a moment. News broadcasts were a bodyguard's worst nightmare. They wouldn't be able to go out and just buy a car with cash now. Someone would see their easily recognizable faces and immediately dial to the police to get the reward money.

She knew Shikamaru meant well, but it irritated her nonetheless.

"They said the two guys from the roof are refusing to even speak." she mumbled as she finally faced him, "Tenzo must have things against them for them to not break that easily."

They both sighed. It seems that things get better for them to only get worse. Who knows where Tenzo could be. He could be two countries over by now running. But who was helping him, Sakura wondered, who was aiding him in funding? She knew his salary and all his stock investments and extra income. Tenzo made damn good money, but not the type of money to hire the amount of men he did and provide weapons and vehicles too.

"We need to go to bed. I know it's still a little early, but we need as much rest as possible."

Kakashi nodded as they made their way to the bed. It creaked and groaned as it shifted around and settled in. Sakura hated the feeling of the lumpy mattress and the cheap sheets and duvet. She had really grown accustomed to the high quality lifestyle she had with Kakashi. But, this was infinitely better than the rock hard ground and lack of blankets they had for the last two days.

She felt the man wrap an arm around her waist and pull her in tightly. She twisted herself and laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled as close as physically possible. He smelled like a combination of the new tshirt and the cheap motel soap. It wasn't his true smell. That's all she craved right now were those comforting smells of the apartment, their bed, and him.

"I love you so much." she whispered as she felt herself suddenly grow tired.

It had been such a long and exhausting day. She felt she could sleep for a week straight and still not feel rested.

"I love you so much more." he replied with a calming voice, his exhaustion clear as well.

Before she realized it, they both had fallen into a deep sleep.

A/N: Hello! I've risen back from the depths! Sorry it's been 9 months since an update! I never intend for there to be big gaps between uploads. But! Good news! I have written FOUR more chapters and I'm working on a fifth! We are close to being done, I can senseeeee it!

So, it looks like Sakura and Kakashi made it to safety! They were scared for way to long! What will happen now? Sakura's injury is geting worse and they safety is never guaranteed. Stay tuned for a new chapter on Sunday (19th!).

Thank you guys for all the support and PM's you've sent over the last year. You are truly my main motivators for writing!

Please if you can, leave a review! We've had months to speculate what can happen. I'm excited to hear your predictions!

Thank you as always to Taytay95 for being a rockstar friend and beta since 2018! Go check out her works as she's prepping to finish her first story!