Chapter Twenty-Nine: Healing
Quickly, Sakura headed back to her own apartment, more than looking forward to a nice, hot shower and probably a nap. She had been tired and travel weary when she had returned to the village and, after the scare she had just had with Kakashi, she now found herself emotionally drained as well as physically.
Sakura had always known that one day she would lose Naruto and Sasuke, and a smaller part of her had known that she would most likely lose Kakashi first. But, he had become such a constant in her life – especially over the past year or so – that it was hard for her to imagine how things would be without him around. The thought of really, truly losing him had always scared her, but she now realized that it actually scared her more than the thought of losing her other two boys. The intelligent medic knew why, of course – however, she didn’t really know what to do about it. To tell him would probably be a mistake, yet… could she live with herself after he had passed, having not told him?
Frustrated with both herself and the situation, she shook her head and decided to skip the shower and nap in favor of a long, relaxing bath. Kakashi had just recently given her some lovely bubble bath in the guise of her secret admirer… and she had a lot to think about.
~*~*~*~
Feeling much better for having had a nice, long soak – though no closer to figuring out what course of action she would take regarding her former sensei – Sakura casually made her way over to Kakashi’s apartment. Upon entering, she was immediately struck at how neat, tidy and, above all, impersonal everything seemed to be. In fact, the flat didn’t have the feel of an occupied living space; instead, it had the generic feeling of an apartment waiting to be rented.
Then, as she entered his bedroom and found the same almost scrupulous neatness she had found in his living room, it hit her – he hadn’t expected to make it back from his last mission. The realization was so hard and painful that it almost took her breath away. She had known that, like all of the elites, Kakashi was fully prepared to go on a mission from which he would not be expected to return. Still, it disturbed and upset her on a very deep level to find this physical evidence of his unquestioning loyalty to the village. His fate was sealed, as simple as that: one day he wouldn’t come back.
Hastily, Sakura shoved those thoughts aside, knowing that no good would come of them. Instead, she concentrated on packing a bag of clothes and toiletries for Kakashi, making sure to include his shaving kit. Once she had finished, she realized that she hadn’t come across any of the components of his Icha Icha collection. Stopping for a moment to think about it, Sakura realized that it was strange – she knew he had a rather large collection, including multiple copies of each volume and all the special editions. Usually he kept the books out of sight in his bedroom, but she couldn’t find any trace of them.
Wandering out of the bedroom, she made a quick sweep of the living room, looking for the smutty books. Puzzled, she then tried the kitchen where she spotted an unadorned storage box she had never seen before sitting on his table. Curious, she lifted the lid and saw that she had found Kakashi’s stash of dirty novels. She wondered for a moment why he would put them in a box in his kitchen before realizing once again that he had been unsure if he would return from his last mission. Kakashi had probably packed up the books to save her (Sakura knew she would be the one to clean out his apartment if, or rather, when something happened to him) the embarrassment of having to do it herself.
Just as she was about to pick the top few books out of the box, she heard someone else enter the apartment. Not wanting to be caught rifling through Kakashi’s porn, she hastily closed the box and, picking up her bag, got ready to leave with the entire collection.
A moment later, Naruto bounced into the room. “Sakura! I’ve been wondering where you were!” the blonde ninja cried.
He happily bounded over to her and pulled her into an almost bone-crushing hug. “I thought I might find you here…” he said with a grin. “Well, after checking the hospital, Ino’s, the tea shop you like, the dango place near the hospital, and your own apartment… Welcome back! How was your mission?”
“Can’t… breathe… Naruto!” she gasped.
“Oh, heh, sorry ‘bout that.” He released her and lifted his hand to the back of his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Just happy to see you again. I guess I was a little worried. How'd it go?”
She chuckled. “It’s okay Naruto. It went well, I think. I have some new avenues of research to pursue now. I’m looking forward to it.”
“That’s good.” He tilted his head a little and asked the more important question. “I heard you got stuck in an earthquake?”
“Oh, yeah, it was kind of scary – one of the largest in recent history. But, I was with the Kazikage at the time, so I didn’t really have to worry about it. When it was all over, I stayed behind to help care for the wounded. A large portion of the city was destroyed… But, well, knowing Gaara, it will probably back to normal sooner rather than later…”
“That’s good, then – glad to hear that you’re okay.” Naruto grinned. “Me ‘n Sasuke are gonna get some ramen later. You’ll come, right?”
“Hmm, well…” Sakura thought about it. She had intended on spending some quality time in the hospital… with a certain silver haired patient.
“Aw, c’mon Sakura! It’s been ages since we all got ramen…” he whined, sensing that she was going to decline.
The kunoichi looked at his pleading expression and found herself unable to refuse. “Okay, okay, Naruto,” she said smiling. “I’ll come. Just let me run a couple of errands first.”
“Oh, you’re gonna drop some of Kakashi’s things off for him at the hospital, aren't you? That could be dangerous, enabling him, you know. Once he has pants, you might not see him for a couple weeks…”
“Don’t worry about that Naruto. He’s not going anywhere in the near future.”
The blonde man eyed her skeptically for a moment before shrugging. The implication was clear – it would be her funeral if she let their former sensei escape before he was fully healed. “Whatever you say…”
“It’ll be fine Naruto. I’ll meet you at Ichiraku when I’m done.”
He grinned happily. “Okay, Sasuke ‘n I will save you a stool!”
With a sigh, Sakura gathered everything she needed, including Kakashi's box o’ porn, and followed Naruto from the apartment.
~*~*~*~
With a slight feeling of dread, Sakura knocked before carefully opening the door to Kakashi’s hospital room. Naruto’s earlier comments had begun to prey on her mind and she was now almost afraid that the jonin wouldn’t be there. Her heart stopped for a moment when she realized that she was looking at an empty bed – wide-eyed, she stepped in and closed the door, unsure of what to make of the situation. But, she thought, he’d promised… It was then that she realized that she hadn’t thought to make him promise, which might have been her undoing.
While she was contemplating her next move, too shocked to feel the sting of betrayal, the toilet flushed in the little attached private bathroom. Sakura heaved a sigh of relief.
A moment later, the door opened and, rather unsteadily, Kakashi made his way out and started for the bed. Quickly, she slipped to his side to aid him back onto the bed. He smiled gratefully at her once she had settled him back into the blankets and pillows.
“Good to see you up and about, however briefly.” Sakura grinned, having gotten to see more of him than he would usually allow – the hospital gowns were not known for their modesty.
He smiled faintly, glad for the company even though he was fairly certain she would soon be yelling at him about his Icha Icha collection. “I still feel like hell though,” he replied.
“Yeah, well you look it – and probably will for at least the next couple of weeks.”
He sighed and refrained from commenting. He knew anything he might say would either upset her or sound ungrateful.
“Oh, here, I brought you some of your things – clothes and the like.” As she spoke, Sakura lifted the bag she had packed as well as the storage box for him to see.
His eye widened when he realized that she had brought his whole Icha Icha collection, and that apparently she had not looked at it since she didn’t seem upset with him – yet.
Sakura then held up a fresh set of clothing from the bag. “Here, I can help you get changed if you like.”
He shot her a startled look and she chuckled.
“It was only an offer Kakashi. I’ll leave a change of clothes for you here,” she added, placing a stack of neatly folded clothes on one of the bedside tables for him, “and, you can get changed later. Just don’t try and leave now that you have clothing again, okay?”
He sighed and nodded, knowing that as much as he wanted to make a break for it, he shouldn’t. Sakura was right – he was in no condition to really care for himself, and if the pink haired medic couldn’t care for him in either his or her apartment, then the best place for him would be the hospital.
Sakura brightened at his response. Then, to his immediate consternation, she turned her attention to his Icha Icha collection. “So which book do you want first?” she asked, as she opened the box and pulled out a couple novels. As she did so, her eyes fell on the original manuscript. “Oh, here’s the one Jiraiya wrote for you… I’ve been meaning to ask you if you liked it – or rather, how was it? Jiraiya wrote it just for you, so I’m sure you liked it." Sakura held the original piece of porn up for him to see before flipping it over in her hands, curious as to the content.
Wide-eyed, he reached for the manuscript, wincing at the pain that the sudden movement had caused. "Oh! You don't..."
He was too late. She had flipped open the book directly to a page holding one of the first sketches of herself. Sakura flushed upon realizing that, not only was she accurately sketched, but that she also remembered the incident in question: the hot spring vacation she had taken with Ino, Tenten and Hinata. Although, strangely enough, none of them were in the drawing with her. Shocked and absolutely mortified, she pulled her gaze away to look at the man in front of her, her cheeks turning a dark shade of red.
"K-Kakashi... this, this is..." She couldn't complete her thought – the very idea that Jiraiya would choose to draw her had left the pink haired woman speechless. She had suspected that he might try something of the sort, but hadn’t quite thought he would really do it, never mind faithfully represent her likeness down to the smallest detail.
Kakashi acted fast, knowing that if he didn’t the damage would be almost irreparable; he snagged the novel from her loose grasp with another wince of pain. “You?” he effortlessly interjected, knowing that he would have only one chance to smooth this over in such a way that he wouldn’t damage his current relationship with the volatile kunoichi. “Yes, I remember you mentioning that you thought Jiraiya might do something like that… Knowing his sense of humor, I’d have been surprised if he hadn’t You did ask him to write a book for me, after all.” He smiled a little as her face turned an even deeper shade of red and promptly decided that he would be wise to continue speaking before she could think and react. He was also feeling very thankful that she had found one of the least dangerous pictures in the manuscript. He quailed to think of trying to explain some of the later drawings to the surprised kunoichi… and feared for the Sannin’s life if she should ever see the action illustrations at the end of the story. “It’s quite an artistic sketch really, more so than his usual stuff,” Kakashi added allowing himself a quick look at the drawing as he gestured to it. “I would have to guess it’s because he respects you more…”
“B-but, I’m not… I’m not Icha Icha material…” Sakura said, shaking her head. “I mean, look at me.”
As she then gestured to her non-Tsunade-like proportions, Kakashi had a hard time not allowing his eye to rest anywhere too long as his gaze automatically followed her hands. He laughed, and quickly turned it into a cough when she shot a startled look at him. “Sakura,” he answered unable to suppress all of his amusement, “not everyone appreciates a woman with the Hokage’s figure…”
She felt her cheeks heat again, and avoided Kakashi’s gaze – it was quite an unexpected compliment coming from the generally stoic man. “But, Jiraiya drew me nearly naked in a book for you…” She trailed off as the implication finally hit her. Wide-eyed, she turned her eyes back to Kakashi’s. “He drew me for you? Why the hell would he do that?”
As casually as he could, Kakashi ignored the pain and shrugged, correctly concluding that now probably wasn’t the right time to tell her of the perverted old man’s suspicions. “I’ve no idea… If I had to guess, I’d say it was because you asked him to write something for me and he read a little too much into your request. He probably even thought that he was doing you a favor, helping you confess or something.”
She stood still for a moment or two, considering what he had said. Finally, she shook her head, still a little unsure, but feeling better nonetheless. After all, Kakashi had kept the book, even though it had included a sketch of her nearly naked; on a deeper level, she found that she was feeling a little pleased that he hadn’t rid himself of it as soon as possible. Although, a certain Sannin would have to watch out the next time she came across him – there were definitely a couple of things that she wanted to discuss with him...
Nevertheless, though her anger was temporarily assuaged, her curiosity was not; she couldn’t help but ask, “Why didn’t you burn it? Or, at the very least, tell me?”
He chuckled a little at how fast she had moved on after accepting his explanation – something for which he was very grateful since there were plenty of holes in it if she had bothered to stop and actually think about it. “Are you kidding?” he answered, “Seeing how you reacted right now, do you think I would want to be the one to tell you?” He could see a little doubt in her eyes and added hastily, “Or, would you tell me that Jiraiya had given you nude pictures of me?” Immediately, Kakashi mentally cursed himself – he hoped she wouldn’t notice that he had said ‘nude’ instead of ‘nearly-nude’ and said 'pictures' instead of 'picture.'
Sakura’s cheeks heated again in surprise – the thought of the legendary pervert giving her nude pictures of Kakashi was more appealing to her than she felt it should be. Hastily, she brushed those thoughts aside. “Oh… I guess not… But that doesn’t explain why you didn’t just burn it or something.”
He shook his head and smiled faintly. “It was a gift from an important person. I couldn’t do that.”
“Kakashi!” Sakura exclaimed, though she also laughed, not able to take his statement seriously.
He chuckled again and decided it would be okay to tease her a little. “Besides,” he added with a hint of mischief in his voice, “I quite like it.”
Startled, she stopped laughing and eyed him – she was unsure what to make of his statement.
“I really like the way Jiraiya captured the natural beauty,” he said then. “The rocks, the trees, and even the way the light reflects off the water.” Kakashi didn’t duck, even though he knew the swat was coming.
“Pervert.” Sakura muttered, as she smiled and gently smacked his arm.
~*~*~*~
“Kakashi, this is the last time! If Sakura catches me I’m a dead man!” whined Naruto, as he handed over the packed lunch he had picked up for his former sensei. It was the fifth time that week that the blonde man had been talked into making a covert food run.
“Thanks Naruto.” Kakashi smiled with appreciation at the younger man. “You know the food here is terrible… and, I don’t think Sakura would actually kill you… maybe smack you around a little, but, I'm fairly certain that she’d heal you after.”
“Yeah yeah…” Naruto waved his hand dismissively, already knowing that Kakashi would somehow manage to convince him to bring more food the next day. “You’re right about the food, though. It’s awful! Even worse than Sakura’s and that’s hard to do!” The blonde man snickered a little, then quickly sobered as he remembered a particularly bad meal. “She’d still be very upset with me if she knew I was sneaking food in for you…” he added with a bit of apprehension tinting his voice. “Hospital food is supposed to be good for you… full of, um, stuff that you need to get better and, um, stuff. That’s why it tastes so bad… Gee, I wonder if Sakura’s cooking is full of the same stuff? That'd explain why it tastes the way it does…”
Kakashi chuckled and refrained from correcting his former student – he knew that if Naruto or anyone else were to find out that Sakura could cook, and was actually pretty good at it, his convenient set up of mooching off the pink haired woman would be at an end. He had to admit to himself, it had been a slippery slope, but after (fairly) regularly receiving homemade meals from the capable kunoichi for a couple months… he found the experience to be something he did not want to give up. There was just something so completely normal about it and, to a man who had spent most of his life on guard and in extraordinary situations, he had to admit that sitting down to a homemade meal was now something that was incredibly appealing to him.
~*~*~*~
Sakura sighed as she finally made her way back into the high security ward where Kakashi was staying. It had been a tiring day but she had still been determined to stop by his room before heading home for the evening. From what she knew, Tsunade had not had a chance to check up on Kakashi yet and, as far as Sakura was concerned, he was still her patient unless the Hokage told her differently.
After reading all of Shizune’s notes on Kakashi’s file in more depth, Sakura had gone looking for the busty blonde medic. However, she had been surprised to find that, having put so much effort into healing Kakashi, Tsunade had herself ended up hospitalized for a couple days. And, unfortunately, in those couple days, enough day-to-day business had piled up that the Sannin hadn’t been able to leave the Hokage Tower.
As Sakura was rethinking the seriousness of Kakashi’s injuries – and just how close he had come to dying this time – she found herself at his door. Hastily, she shook the thoughts from her mind and knocked briskly before entering.
Upon stepping into the room, she found that she had disturbed a little get-together. Genma and Kurenai were gathered about Kakashi’s bed, and in the middle of what appeared to be a very animated discussion.
Genma looked up with a self-satisfied grin. “Well, speak of the devil… Or, should I say- umph.” The brown haired shinobi grunted and rubbed his side where Kurenai had elbowed him.
“Nice to see you Sakura,” said the red eyed woman. “We were just on our way out.” She smiled at the younger kunoichi as she pulled the lecherous man along with her toward the door. “Take care,” she then called to Kakashi before waving and slipping through the door.
Genma followed a bit more reluctantly with a wide grin. “See ya Kakashi… don’t do anything I-” Once again, he was abruptly cut off (presumably by Kurenai) as he suddenly disappeared from their sight.
A little surprised, Sakura turned to Kakashi. “Did I interrupt something?”
“Eh-heh, no, no… nothing. It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Feeling a bit embarrassed, (and realizing that Sakura was giving him a strange look) Kakashi lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. Her timing had been perfect, he reflected ruefully – she would enter just as his letch of a friend had really gotten going about Kakashi’s relationship with the pink haired medic. It had been the first time Kurenai had heard any of it and, unfortunately, she had been both interested and encouraging. The two shinobi had obviously wanted him to make some sort of a move in regard to Sakura. But, Kakashi had disagreed – it wasn’t something he was prepared to do. In fact, judging by how she had reacted to his serious injuries, he was even more convinced that she would be better off not knowing.
~*~*~*~
The door to the hospital room flew open with a bang, rousing the sleeping patient within. The Hokage then marched in, slamming the door shut behind her.
“Ah, Kakashi, you’re awake,” she said. “Good.”
Wondering how he could possibly have slept through such an entrance, Kakashi settled on a non-committal grunt to show that he was listening rather than a comment that would probably only further irritate her.
“What the hell did you think you were doing?” she asked, obviously beyond annoyed with him.
“Sleeping-” he started to say before she interrupted him.
“Not now, you idiot! Accepting that mission – it was suicide!”
“Ah, that,” he answered. “It was an order, Hokage, and we both know I never refuse…” His mind flickered back to when he had turned down missions because of his concern for Sakura. “The important missions,” he hastily added, knowing Tsunade would be quick to point out the discrepancy if he didn’t reference it himself.
Tsunade shook her head angrily, seeing no actual flaw with his statement. He was, after all, a shinobi of the village and it was his duty to perform missions as they are assigned to him – even if it might result in his death.
“Do you even know how badly off you were when you got here?” she then barked.
Cautiously, he shook his head, knowing that if he tried to tell her that he had known just how close to death he had been, it would only make her even angrier. The fact that he had done the nearly impossible in dragging himself all the way back in the first place would be of no help to him either.
“Damn it, Kakashi!” she yelled. “I nearly lost you, more than once… your heart even stopped at one point! I’ve never seen someone return to the village under their own power in the condition you were in… I don’t think anyone will ever manage to match the feat, and that's not something to be proud of.”
She eyed him for a moment; then, she sighed as she realized that he did know just how close he had come. But, he really couldn’t say that he regretted doing what he had been ordered to do without committing some vague form of treason.
Feeling frustrated, Tsunade huffed, more to herself than to her patient, and decided to tip her hand a little. “Kakashi,” she said, “you might have written your life off as something that will be lost for the sake of the village, but I have other plans for you.”
“What?” he couldn’t help but ask with considerable surprise.
She smiled at having caught him off guard; this might go better than she had thought. “Sasuke doesn’t know yet, but his girlfriend is pregnant.”
The silver haired man raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t been aware that his former student was even dating anyone, never mind seriously enough to get the woman pregnant.
Tsunade decided to continue, seeing as how she now definitely had his undivided attention. “It got me thinking…”
Suspecting that he knew where the older woman was going, Kakashi interrupted. “One team was enough. I’m too old-”
“Yes, you are,” she agreed, then smirked at his surprise. “When the time comes, if I’m still around, I’ll be assigning that particular team to someone else…” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “Regardless, your expertise with your Sharingan will be invaluable in training the kid when it becomes necessary. Sasuke isn’t exactly the patient teacher type – well, not that you really are either, but he's even less so than you. Nevertheless, I’d like to make sure that you’re around for it. Anyway, as I was saying, all of that got me thinking about how Sasuke will no longer be the last of the Uchiha – which is a good thing since it would be a terrible loss to the village to lose his bloodline. And, it also reminded me that there are a couple of other old ninja clans hanging around on the verge of extinction.” She looked at him meaningfully, not really wanting to spell it out for the last Hatake.
Kakashi was stunned at what the Hokage might be suggesting – especially since she clearly suspected that he had feelings for her former apprentice. Wide-eyed, he stared at the older woman, unable to form words.
Satisfied that she had planted a seed in his mind, Tsunade shrugged and decided to continue in a slightly different vein. “I’ve made a decision about your rank and standing. This will be retroactive, as of the moment you stepped foot back into the village.” She smiled with barely concealed enjoyment. “I’ve reinstated your ANBU status and promoted you to senior ops.”
Kakashi’s eye widened again. He had never expected to be thrust back into ANBU full-time. He had expected the occasional mission here and there, since no one ever really left ANBU. But, to be full ANBU again was more than surprising, especially considering his age – never mind the fact that he had also just been given a rank that few ever achieved. ANBU was a dangerous and demanding status; as a consequence, few, like himself, made it out intact and even fewer survived within the organization long enough to obtain a senior status. Kakashi’s ever agile mind also did not fail to notice that with his new status the only person who could order him out on a mission was Tsunade herself.
He shrewdly guessed that she had no intentions of sending him off on a kamikaze assignment anytime soon.
The Hokage wasn’t finished. “I also noticed, while going through your files, that you have never taken any leave time,” she said then. “Although I cannot order you on vacation, as a medic, I strongly advise you to take some time off once I release you from the hospital. Almost thirty years without a vacation is too much for anyone, even you.” Then, sensing that she might have overloaded the elite shinobi, she shrugged again. “Think about it, Kakashi – you’re going to have plenty of time before I let you out of here anyway... weeks at the very least.”
He straightened on hearing this, readying a protest. Kakashi hadn't thought that he might be detained at the hospital for quite that long. Granted, any protests he may have would only come out for appearances sake, since he already knew that no matter what he had to say about it, Tsunade would win in the end. Still, it just didn't suit him to accept having to stay in the hospital for an extended amount of time without some sort of token resistance. Before he could put voice to an objection, however, the Hokage interjected.
“Don’t even try to fight it Kakashi, or attempt to get your medic to sign you out,” Tsunade said with a hint of warning. “Generally, Sakura can override any medic where you are concerned – that is, any medic except me. You’re staying put – sedated and restrained again if necessary – until I say you’re fit to leave.” She eyed him for a moment and, sensing that there was still a bit of annoyance left in the stubborn man, she decided to give him something else to think about. “So long as you behave, your medic is free to care for you – but, if you should even think of going against medical orders, I’ll pull her from you and it’ll be back to restraints and sedatives for you.”
Furious for just a moment, Kakashi glared at her. Then, he sighed and flopped back down onto the bed, resigning himself to a long stay in the hospital. Deep down, he knew that Tsunade was right, and that he did need to spend some quality time recuperating.
The Hokage nodded, satisfied that the silver haired shinobi wouldn’t be trying to make a break for it any time soon. She then took her leave, knowing that she had just given the stubborn man quite a lot to think about.
Kakashi ignored Tsunade’s exit, having too many other things on his mind. As he forcibly relaxed himself, his thoughts returned to some of what Tsunade had said, and he couldn’t quite stop himself from wondering if Sakura wanted kids.
~*~*~*~
Wearily, Sakura made her way home. It had been a long and very busy day at the hospital. So busy, in fact, that she hadn’t been able to make time to visit her special patient. Not that he really needed anything from her, she mused – he was more than ready to be released, although Tsunade was dragging her feet. Silently, the pink haired woman had to applaud the older woman. Kakashi might be healthy now, but he could still use a little time off.
Thinking about it, she had to wonder why her former sensei had behaved himself for so long. The last time she had checked in on him, he had been doing push-ups next to his hospital bed – she hadn’t quite been able to scold him for it since he was healthy enough for the exercise (though she had refused to sit on his back). Obviously, Sakura concluded, Kakashi was starting to go a little stir crazy. Yet, he had stayed put – without the assistance of restraints and/or sedatives.
Upon finding herself at her apartment door, she brushed all thoughts of Kakashi from her mind – something that was getting harder and harder for her to do – and turned her attention to what she would have for dinner. It was late, she was tired and, as much as she enjoyed cooking, Sakura just was not in the mood to go all out on her evening meal. Resolutely, she decided to go with the instant ramen she kept on hand for just such an occasion.
Sighing, she made her way into the kitchen and began rummaging around in her cupboards. After a couple of minutes searching, she produced several different flavors of the generally noxious stuff. As she was trying to decide which one looked the most appetizing (none of them), someone knocked on her balcony door.
Hastily, she turned and saw her former sensei standing outside with a couple bags in his hands. Curious, she opened the door to let him in.
“’Evening Sakura.” Kakashi smiled at her expression.
Once the surprise had worn off, Sakura wondered what he was up to – and, more importantly, why he wasn’t in the hospital. “Hi Kakashi…” she said with a hint of suspicion in her voice. “What are you doing here?”
He chuckled as he correctly guessed the reason for her confusion. “Bringing you dinner,” he replied.
She shook her head, unable to make any sense of it. “Eh?”
He raised the bags he was holding. “Dinner. I thought you might be too tired to cook tonight, so I figured I’d bring you something.” He eyed the ramen on her counter. “And, from the looks of things, I’m right on time for once.”
After suffering through weeks of hospital food, Kakashi had originally intended to show up just as she was making dinner that evening in order to secure a nice, home-cooked meal. But, after his release from the hospital he had gone looking for her and, upon finding her extremely busy and showing no signs of slowing down, he hadn’t had the heart to demand a meal from her. Instead, he had gone to one of her favorite take-out places; then, dinner having been secured, he had made his way home. Once there, he had comfortably stationed himself by a window and, with the latest Icha Icha for company, had patiently waited for the light to turn on in the apartment across the street.
She eyed him suspiciously. Such a gesture wasn’t exactly unlike him… but, it wasn’t quite like him, either. “Kakashi-” she started, deciding just to come out and ask him why he wasn’t in the hospital – and if the food was some sort of bribe to keep him from getting into too much trouble.
The elite jonin knew what she was going to say and hastily interrupted her. “Before you ask, Tsunade released me this morning”
Finally, she smiled at the silver haired man. He might fib on occasion, or tell incomplete truths, but he never lied outright. “Thanks,” she said.
“You're welcome.” He grinned a bit, sensing that she had accepted his explanation. Then, he put the bags on her table and seated himself, happy to be sharing a meal with her again.
Automatically, Sakura pulled out plates, glasses, utensils, a pitcher of water and, after a moment’s hesitation, a bottle of wine someone had given to her as an apartment warming gift.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but was still pleased nonetheless. “What’s the occasion?” he asked.
She grinned. “I heard that you got a promotion, Mr. Senior ANBU Operative…”
~*~*~*~
Casually, Kakashi sauntered into the Hokage’s office a good thirty minutes late – which was actually fairly early by his standards. He chalked it up to guilt over his feelings for Sakura. It was becoming harder and harder for him to ignore said feelings, and he really wasn’t sure what to do. But, he couldn’t quite convince himself that this was okay – that he deserved a little bit of happiness in his rather lonely life. Sakura was just too good for him, and he knew it.
Still, no matter how often he told himself of this lately he had found that he couldn’t help but hope.
Without looking up from a complicated medical text, Tsunade tossed a small mission scroll to the silver haired man now standing in front of her. He caught and automatically opened it, then quickly skimmed through the contents. After a moment, he blinked and looked back up at the woman before him. “Again?” he asked, his tone one of mild disbelief.
She sighed, marked her place and then glanced up to study the elite shinobi. “Yes, again,” she answered. “I’ve no idea why that man keeps running out on his publishers. But, so long as they’re paying good money, who are we to refuse?” Tsunade shook her head in slight disbelief at Jiraiya’s continued lack of maturity. “I’m sending you out alone on this one… and don’t get distracted. You’ve a perfectly capable kunoichi who,” she eyed Kakashi speculatively, “I’m sure, will be waiting for you to come home.”
He opened his mouth to protest… then closed it, not sure what he could say. Tsunade obviously had guessed how he felt for Sakura, so denying it would accomplish nothing. Even more amazing to him, however, was this new discovery that the Hokage considered a match between him and his former student to be a foregone conclusion – that, apparently, she expected him to see his chance and take it without hesitation.
This was an entirely unfamiliar idea to Kakashi – that he would end up with Sakura regardless of whether he deserved her or not. With this new train of thought on the tracks, he nodded and turned to leave. However, as his hand hovered over the door handle, the Hokage called out to him.
“Oh, Kakashi…?”
Wondering what else she could possibly have to say that would merit the self-satisfied smugness he could hear in her voice, he turned back to her. As expected, he was facing a smirking Hokage.
“If you leave tonight,” she said, “you might just have enough of a jump on Jiraiya that you could be back in a couple of days rather than a couple of weeks… You don’t want to make her wait too long or she might get tired of waiting.” The blonde woman snorted to herself as she said this, knowing that Sakura would do no such thing, but figuring that Kakashi might need an extra shove in the right direction.
Tsunade chuckled once the door clicked shut – all of her poking and pushing at the stubborn man finally seemed to be paying off. She was fairly certain that he would be leaving the village as soon as possible, with the intention of returning quickly and, she hoped, maybe finally make some sort of overt move on his pink haired former student.
~*~*~*~
With a sigh, Sakura entered her office. It had been a long day – and had been made even longer by an unexpected shift in the emergency care center. Nevertheless, she fully intended to catch up on a little paperwork before going home for the night.
Absently, she sat down and started pulling folders and papers out; then, she realized that there was something different about her desk. Blinking, she actually took a moment to look at the desktop and saw that, sitting there, was a small (obviously jewelry) box waiting to be opened.
Almost hesitantly, Sakura lifted the box, noting as she did so that it wasn’t sealed and that Kakashi had clearly labeled it: To Sakura, From Kakashi. Surprised, she stared at it for a moment, unsure of what to do, for she had never expected him to actually come out and publicly claim responsibility for one of the gifts he gave her. If it got around (and who knows how long it had sat on her desk before she had found it) the villagers might guess that he had been playing the part of her secret admirer – and, she wasn’t sure how she felt about that… or what his intentions were. Shaking her head a little, she cleared her mind and opened the box.
Sakura gasped upon seeing the contents: a beautiful silver torc. It was fairly flat and plain, but matched the arm band Kakashi had already given to her. Gently, she removed it from the tissue paper to examine it, and a small scrap of paper fluttered back down into the box.
Curious, she picked up the paper and read:
It’s a little late, but Happy Belated Everything I’ve missed. Thought this would go nicely with the arm band. It’s also a kunoichi tool, stores chakra, and can come in handy in a tight spot. Tsunade can show you how it works.
Kakashi hadn’t signed it but, then again, he didn’t have to – he’d labeled the gift as from him. For a moment, she simply sat with her mouth open, and stared at the gorgeous piece of jewelry as she tried to make her mind work. Kakashi had just given her a necklace, as her secret admirer, but not anonymously… why? She shook her head as she struggled to make sense of it.
Still wondering about the Copy Ninja’s motives, Sakura closed the box and, deciding that her paperwork could wait after all, set out to find the Hokage. At the same time, she was hoping that Tsunade wouldn’t make too big of a deal out of the gift. Though, why Kakashi couldn’t show her how to use the torc himself she wasn’t sure. If he knew what it did, shouldn’t he know how to use it?
Several minutes later found her outside Tsunade’s office in Hokage Tower. Calmly, she knocked, knowing that the Hokage would still be in her office – she might be a little tipsy, but she would still be in the office. Then, without waiting, Sakura opened the door and entered.
Tsunade glanced up from a large stack of scrolls and smiled upon finding the pink haired woman standing in her doorway.
“Hello Sakura. Why are you here so late?” the Hokage asked, the falsely sweet tone in her voice making it obvious that she was readying an excuse to get the younger women to help with her paperwork.
Suddenly feeling a little less sure of herself, the pink haired medic hesitated a little. “Er, well…”
Wanting to feel exasperated, but not quite able to do so, the Hokage sighed. She knew that Sakura had something to say or ask – otherwise she wouldn’t have come – but, for some strange reason, the younger woman couldn’t quite spit it out. “If it’s about that former sensei of yours, I sent him out earlier today,” said Tsunade. “He should be back in a week or so, depending on how things go.”
“Oh, er, um…” Sakura trailed off, feeling a little surprised. That hadn’t been the question she had wanted answered, although it had been something she had wanted to know. “Thanks, but that wasn’t…”
Now curious, the blonde woman shook her head and gestured for the younger kunoichi to continue – Tsunade had been positive that Sakura had come to inquire about Kakashi. “Spit it out Sakura. I don’t have all evening, and these scrolls aren’t going to approve themselves.”
“Oh! Right, well…” Instead of putting words to her question, Sakura held up the jewelry box Kakashi had left for her. “I was hoping you could help me with this…”
Tsunade’s eyes widened as she immediately guessed where Sakura had obtained the box. “Let me see," she said, holding out her hand.
Suddenly feeling unexplainably nervous, Sakura slipped closer to her mentor and deposited Kakashi’s gift in the blonde woman’s outstretched hand. Without further ado, Tsunade opened the box and a slow smile spread across her face.
“Kakashi gave you this?” the Hokage asked, already knowing the answer.
Surprised, Sakura nodded. “Yes, he did. How did you guess?”
The older woman chuckled a little and manipulated the necklace in her hands for a couple moments, obviously looking for something. “This…” she said, as she stopped shifting the necklace and pointed at a small mark on the inside of the clasp.
Unsure what to make of it all, Sakura bent closer to the torc and gasped in surprise. Etched into the clasp were the characters spelling out, ‘Hatake.’ Hastily, she looked back up at Tsunade in askance, her expression making it clear that she didn’t understand.
The older woman smiled. “It was his grandmother’s.”
“But, it matches the armband he already gave me so perfectly!”
Doing her best not to laugh at Sakura’s incomprehension, Tsunade grinned. “Exactly.”
Understanding finally dawned on the younger medic, and she quite suddenly found herself in need of a seat.
