A/N: Thanks for all the reviews I haven't had a chance to respond to. I'm sorry this took so long, but I'm finding this such a hard story to wrap up. How do you put a lid on a monster? Only ONE chapter left to go! Also, LolaLot and I just finished our joint story, Under the Moon's Eye, on my profile, with only an epilogue left. In addition, she has also published a new story I'm in love with. I appreciate the patience of each and every one of you.

If there was anything Kakashi had learned about Sakura, it was that if she got it into her mind she would do something, there was no stopping her. When she told him she transferred her primary department to Intelligence, he told her it was a good idea, because it probably was. When she told him she volunteered to tutor the Academy students in medicine again, Kakashi ruffled her hair. When she told him she was working with Youba, Kakashi just laughed and made a mental note to stay away from that. When Sakura told Kakashi she had devised a way to put Wakahisa Ryuu back into the field, Kakashi said nothing. If she wanted to go out of her way to help the man who took advantage of her at her lowest, then she would. When Ino gave Kakashi a high-arched look over Sakura's shoulder as if to say, "What are you going to do about this?", Kakashi just shrugged. There was no point in arguing. Sakura would do what Sakura would do. It was her way.

And so Sakura was never around. She was always holed up underground with Ibiki, or at the hospital, or the Academy, or out in the forest. She would pop up in Kakashi's days only for brief moments to baby him, or force him to eat, or laugh at him when he nagged her not to neglect her own training.

"Come spar with me, old man," she'd tease, but only half of the time had time to do it. Sometimes, he was the one with no energy; never had he felt the truth of the "old man" jab more than when he was challenging the limits of his Sharingan.

When Riko found out his age due to his upcoming birthday, her jaw dropped in obvious relief. "Thirty two? That's nothing! And here I was thinking..." She had trailed off into laughter.

Because of his hair and his reputation, the reaction wasn't strange. The truth was, Kakashi felt old. But sometimes, with Sakura, he could forget - when she crawled into his bed at night and smiled at him.

Kakashi had never thought of himself as single before, had never imagined he would think his tiny apartment felt empty, would never have seen himself waiting up at night for someone else to get off of work - and yet, here he was.

He turned another page of Icha Icha, hardly paying it any mind, when Kakashi finally heard Sakura's boots coming up the stairs. But she wasn't alone. Kakashi frowned until he heard them both skip the squeaky step and realized who it must be. Naruto was the only other person familiar enough with his apartment to know that. They stopped in front of the door.

"You said 'walk me to Kakashi's,' not 'walk me home,'" Naruto said. "But you're here all the time now."

Kakashi swallowed. He knew Sakura talked to Naruto in a way she did no one else, when they were alone. Kakashi shouldn't listen, but he couldn't help himself.

Sakura giggled. "It's not really my home. I don't even have clean clothes for tomorrow. But he's here, so it's close enough."

"Wouldn't you have more room at your house, though?"

"Yes, but I think he's got some bad memories of houses. He doesn't like it there."

"You think? So he hasn't even told you about it?" Naruto sounded skeptical. "And you like it there, with your seals and all - you used to have nightmares without them, right? And you worked so hard for it."

"It's only money, Naruto," Sakura sighed. "That's what love is. It's not really about just you, is it?"

"Is that why you didn't tell me about Sasuke? Because it's better for Sasuke?"

Sakura paused. "Naruto..."

"It's okay, I told you. I get it. You're probably right. You usually are. So I'll see you later, Sakura-chan. Tell Kakashi-sensei hey for me."

"He should be sleeping at this hour. See you later, Naruto."

Naruto's footsteps trailed away and Sakura slipped inside the door, re-locking it behind her.

The funny feeling that had overcome Kakashi while eavesdropping evaporated the minute he saw her. A smile spread across her face as she crossed to him.

"You're up!" she said like it was a pleasant surprise. "You ought to be resting for tomorrow, but it means you didn't overdo it today, so it's probably better." She pulled a bento box from her pack and flopped on the bed. "Look what Naruto brought me. Split?"

Out of habit, she handed the box to him so he could inspect it. He did, and they ate quietly.

"He was mad at me," she said after a while, "for not telling him Sasuke was here."

"Hmm." It had been Sakura's split second decision not to tell Naruto, and like so many other things, Kakashi had accepted it.

"Naruto's right. I should have. But I think he's over it now."

Sakura ate a piece of pickled daikon, which Kakashi always saved for her. He liked them, but not as much as Sakura did.

"I thought you would be mad at me too," she said, looking at the daikon instead of Kakashi.

"For what?" he said, and kissed her, the vinegar taste still strong on her tongue.

"Oh, fine. Pretend it didn't happen," she said, and kissed him again, but lightly this time, with no fire behind it. Already he could see her eyelids drooping.

Kakashi pulled away with a last peck to her forehead and began to peel her elbow warmers off. Because he knew Sakura was like one of his dogs with a scent in its nose, and would not drop the subject of her awkward morning delivery of orders that put him back in the teacher role, Kakashi elaborated. "Not pretending. It just has little to do with you."

Sakura shrugged, letting him undress her with no resistance, limp as a kitten. When they were both naked, she settled next to him under the covers with a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry," she said at last. "I didn't realize Shikaku was playing me for a fool, using me against you like that."

It was just as Kakashi feared. "What did Ibiki say?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Sakura frowned, pressing her face into Kakashi's chest. "Maybe it was a mistake, taking his offer. It's put us in a strange position."

Kakashi chuckled, running circles over her back, the pads of his fingers brushing the tiny, almost invisible scars out of habit. "Don't worry about me, Sakura-chan. It's temporary. Besides, I failed plenty of genin hopefuls before I met you three. At least these ones show some promise. Theoretically."

Her fingers tightened on his bicep. "But what if - what if that's all that mattered to them at all, someone to reign you in, make you the lapdog they've always wanted you to be? Even this jounin thing, it's all because of Zetsu, and I just happened to be there because you were -"

The strangled pain in her voice stilled Kakashi's hand on her back. "We were there together, and besides, there was quite an impressive list of recommendations for your promotion, if you recall -"

Sakura snorted disdainfully. "Pity! Shizune suckered them into it because it didn't matter since I was already dead. My point is, it would have been better to keep a low profile, which I had anyway before I fought to give it up like an idiot."

"You haven't had a low profile since the Academy," Kakashi said with a frown. "You were put on a team with those two for a reason, and you've proven it. I don't know what -"

Sakura silenced him with a giggle, scooting up to place a quick kiss to his cheek. "You're sweet. I bet no one else knows you're sweet like this. They all think you're an asshole."

"I trust you to keep my secret, Sakura-chan," Kakashi said, smiling, hoping he had reassured her but at least glad to have driven the gloominess from her tone.

Sakura curled back up against him, a smile finally back on her face as she closed her eyes for sleep at last. "It's okay. You're still an asshole too."

Kakashi pulled her closer, closing his own eyes. "Such a charming girl you are."

In the still quiet of the night, they lay there, drifting off to sleep. Just as Kakashi's consciousness was slipping away, she stirred.

"Do you have any idea," she whispered, "how nice it is to come home to you?"

He was too sluggish to answer, so he just dragged a heavy hand up to lay on her head in a drowsy attempt to ruffle her hair.

Yes, he hoped she understood by that. I do.

The next morning Kakashi rose with the sun and Sakura was already gone, as usual these days. Only the slight scent of her that lingered in the rumpled blankets indicated that she'd been there at all, Kakashi realized with an unpleasant start. Even her toothbrush she hid away in her one designated drawer, while his own toothbrush sat in a cup on the bathroom sink, where it always had. Once, it had comforted him, the ability to shove thoughts of her, like her things, into a drawer that could be opened and closed at ease. Now...

Kakashi finished showering and dressing, weary already with the prospect of the day ahead. Still, he began it like he began every day, with a trip to the training field to center himself with meditation. Inwardly, he focused on his chakra flow and where the foreign feeling of the Sharingan began. What was its root? Where did it lead?

He was so close, right on the cusp. He could feel himself teetering on the edge of a new discovery - and then, like every day or night or afternoon, time regardless, Kakashi had to go. Sleep or hunger or Sakura called, or like today, duty.

When Kakashi arrived at the Academy, everything was already underway. The eligible genin were training in their own teams of three, a range of ages but most young, the war claiming the time of the elders that may have competed in peacetime. Some teams were already well-oiled units and some had clearly been cobbled together haphazardly. Iruka was waiting, arms crossed and prominent scar accentuating his irritation.

Kakashi chuckled and scratched the knot of his headband. "Late again, huh?"

"I thought you volunteered for this," Iruka said, jaw clenched.

"Not exactly," Kakashi said with a casual shrug, stretching out his muscles after being locked in meditation for several hours. "But I'm here."

"Damnit," Iruka swore, surprising Kakashi with the vehemence of it.

Kakashi straightened, raising an eyebrow. "Am I truly that bad?"

Iruka, like Gai, took his job as an instructor seriously - too seriously to be much of a fan of Kakashi anymore, yet another reason Kakashi wished he were anywhere else. He and Iruka had never quite seen eye to eye.

Iruka waved a dismissive hand, shaking his head. "No, no... But if they put you here on purpose, this is more than a formality. They're worried. The treaty isn't as sound as they hope."

Kakashi dragged a hand down his face, not really ready to face another paranoid do-gooder so early in the morning. Sakura was quite enough in that department. "Even if they are worried, you should be glad they're taking precautions, eh?"

Iruka scoffed, showing little of the warmth he had in spades for his students and especially Naruto. "Flippant as usual. It's not as if children's lives are on the line."

With a sigh, Kakashi moved to put a hand on Iruka's shoulder and then thought better of it, dropping it back to his side. "Look, the only ones with any motivations to pull a fast one like Sound did would be Mist, and Mist will never act alone. Any precautions are just that. Relax."

Iruka shifted his weight, some tension eking away but still ill at ease. "What makes you so sure of Cloud's loyalty? Didn't you command an entire force against Cloud and Mist armies not too long ago?"

Kakashi flashed Iruka a winning smile and tweaked him on the nose. "Because, that's why. And yes, I did."

Frustration clearly building again, Iruka stepped out of Kakashi's reach. "You were supposed to be here an hour and a half ago so we could develop a game plan, but now we'll just have to wing it -"

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi's spine stiffened at the sound. Only Naruto called him that now, an old habit that was somehow acceptable from Naruto but not from whatever young genin had innocently called it out. Still, Kakashi forced himself to turn around and smile.

"Remember me?" the boy said, beaming, pointing at his eyepatch.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Yoshikazu-kun," Kakashi said, voice a little too stilted but trying to sound natural.

Yoshikazu's smile faltered, eyes turning down and to the side. "Well, Tamiko isn't. She always wanted to be a teacher, but after - you know - she says she'd rather keep working in the mews..." He shook himself, plastering pleasantness back on his face. "But I found a team whose third died in the Wave battle."

"Incomplete or new teams will struggle most," Kakashi said, finally back on solid ground as advisor. "Concentrate on learning to truly work together."

"Yes, sir!" Yoshikazu ran back to his team, excitement clear.

"I never thanked you for helping him back then. It meant a lot to him." No longer was Iruka angry, only sad, his expression pulling the corners of his scar down so it frowned with him. "What is the use of this? They know what high stakes feel like already. Must we simulate it?"

"And you finally come around to my way of thinking," Kakashi chuckled. "Get it over early, as it's a farce."

Iruka didn't respond, just followed Kakashi around as he watched the teams training, observing their varying skill levels. Overall, it was better than expected. But then again, it was once again a time in which the untalented were thinned out quickly, buried and engraved in stone to be mourned by their mothers.

Finally, Kakashi nodded at Iruka, who moved to the middle of the clearing and clapped his hands. "Attention!"

Iruka's practiced teacher voice carried effortlessly, immediately pulling the genin and their sensei back to the center with only a bit of shoving to be closer to the front. "Allow me to introduce Hatake Kakashi, not that he truly needs any introduction from me."

It was clear that Iruka was right, as the genin's faces were all shining with excitement. Kakashi recognized far too many of them as faces of his previous soldiers. He shifted uncomfortably.

Iruka cleared his throat and continued. "Hatake-san has been selected by the Exam Committee to help prepare you all in an effort to ensure Konoha represents well. Please give him the respect he deserves. Any advice he has for you will be invaluable. You may call him Kakashi-sen -" Iruka feigned a cough, his eyes far too pitying for Kakashi's taste. "- Commander Kakashi. Some of you already know him as this."

There was a pause that stretched too long, and eventually Kakashi realized that Iruka was waiting for him to speak.

"Most of you are not green, few of you untested. I won't pretend that playing war games isn't a waste of your time. It is. You know more of war than games can teach you," Kakashi said, and they hung on his every word. "But one thing most of you still lack, the one thing that will keep you alive when the situation gets out of control, is teamwork. Already, you are fighting amongst yourselves. The first thing you must realize is that this test is not just a tournament, and it matters very little who wins or loses. The tournament exists only as a political smokescreen. The true purpose of the Chuunin Exam is to evaluate who among the participants is worthy of promotion to chuunin. Understand that such a promotion will likely lead to wartime command, and soon. Comrades' fates will depend on your decisions. So really, this isn't a game at all. If you aren't prepared for the responsibility, your friends could die."

Slowly, throughout his speech, the genin lost their excitement, faces becoming more glum. But none were surprised. As Kakashi said, they knew war already.

Kakashi smiled. "Too serious? Let's try again. Who's in the mood for a friendly little game of capture the flag?"

They looked at each other askance, skeptical.

"Against your sensei," Kakashi finished and they were incredulous once more.

"Seems a bit unfair, don't you think," grumbled one of the jounin.

Kakashi wagged his finger. "Don't be so hasty. They outnumber you three to one, after all."

Once the game truly began, Kakashi settled back to watch it. He was sorely tempted to pull out Icha Icha Violence, but Iruka's critical stare, as if he knew what was on Kakashi's mind, deterred him.

When Sakura showed up holding a bento box, Kakashi stopped caring what Iruka thought of distractions and rose to greet her.

"Want to spar, old man?" she challenged out of tradition. The epithet set Iruka's eyebrow to twitching, making it doubly satisfying.

"If only I could ditch these brats."

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, looking Sakura up and down. Despite the boldness in her voice, her knees were bowed and her eyes were down turned in classic signs of anxiety. Brow furrowing, he stepped forward and placed a hand on her hip.

"Maybe we can show them a thing or two, though."

Sakura giggled, shoulders loosening as she looked up at him. "You know I can't. I'm an Examiner. I have to maintain decorum and remain unbiased."

"No chance of recruiting you as my assistant then," Kakashi teased, gaze lingering on her long legs, framed as they were by her tight blue miniskirt and cream-colored shirt, her de-facto Intelligence uniform. "Your skirt's short enough to fit the part, at least."

Predictably, Sakura's cheeks and the tips of her ears enflamed and she slapped him on the chest. "No! You can't even talk about the entrants tonight."

"Hmm." Kakashi ran his hand up to settle in the curve of her waist. "Not what I had planned anyway."

She leaned closer, mischievous twinkle in her eye, embarrassment shed. "Oh? I can't imagine what you have planned then."

"Can't you?" Kakashi pouted, pretending disappointment. "That memorable, am I?"

But Sakura didn't answer, looking behind him with a frown. "Hello, Iruka-sensei. Don't you have some sort of game to be looking after?"

Kakashi turned slightly to follow her line of sight to a flabbergasted Iruka, brows practically disappearing under his forehead protector, eyes glued to Kakashi's hand on Sakura's waist.

To Iruka's credit, he regained composure quickly, flashing a nervous smile. "That's not quite my job."

The attempt at a joke did not defrost Sakura, who iced over quickly at any sort of negative attention they garnered. "I issued the order myself for Kakashi to take charge here with the understanding that you would see through the minor details of his vision. Don't approve of my choices, do you?"

Iruka winced. "I'm not questioning the committee. My apologies," he said, skipping right over the plain double meaning to her words.

Kakashi rubbed little circles into Sakura's side with his thumb, trying to soothe her. His solution so far had been to avoid such situations, even if it took more effort than it was worth, like at Temari's party. But how much did it help, in the end?

"Quite the firecracker today, hmm, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi pulled her closer, demanding her attention. "The lads in the basement not cowering enough to please you?"

Sheepish, Sakura turned back to Kakashi, disregarding Iruka for the moment, though her whole body remained stiff, knees locked and rigid. "Shikamaru's assistant is in love with him but terrified of me. Tell me, am I really so scary that I should cause a girl to drop an entire stack of scrolls just because I look at her?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Why not ask dear Iruka-sensei that same question?"

"Oh, shut up." Flushing, Sakura batted him away and sat down heavily, opening the bento as if he didn't exist.

Undeterred, Kakashi sat next to her. Without a word, she offered him the lunchbox and they split it as was customary. As they ate, she turned her observant gaze to the game before them, which was at something of a stalemate. Sakura's mere presence gave Kakashi fresh eyes as well, and he noted some new details.

"That one," he said, pointing, "favors her left arm. But it seems like a new habit."

"The burns," Sakura agreed with a nod. "I'll bet you the rest of this carrot that she was in the battle at Grass. I'll send Michio to consult tomorrow." Then, with a slight wrinkle of her nose, she pushed the rest of the box at him. "I don't even like carrots."

"You never have." Kakashi ruffled her hair, tied as it was into pigtails, now just long enough not to stick out like she'd been electrocuted.

But she was still concentrating on the genin, as unbiased as she pretended to be. "It's a good idea, this game, but it won't work."

Kakashi shrugged. "I know."

"Why won't it work?" interrupted Iruka curiously, though he had remained silent since being chastised.

Sakura blinked at him, face blank. "What do you mean? How can it, when the jounin are barely trying?" When Iruka still showed no comprehension, she tried again. "They're deterring attacks only."

"If they went on the offensive, the contest would end quickly," Iruka said.

"Exactly." Sakura smiled triumphantly, but upon realizing Iruka was still confused, she gave up, shrugging and turning back to the battle.

"Tell me," said Kakashi, "how much have you ever learned from winning a fight?"

Sakura bumped him with her shoulder. "Except how to best exploit your enemy's weaknesses, am I right?"

Kakashi smiled, thinking like her of the time she and Naruto had used Icha Icha against him.

"Of course one can learn from winning," Iruka argued.

Kakashi tapped the side of his nose playfully. "The lesson sticks better when you have to work for it, don't you think?"

Laughing, Sakura stood and dusted herself off. "It's always the same old trick with you. You really ought to try for some variety. It's the spice of life, people say."

Quick as a flash, Kakashi yanked her back down onto his lap. "I prefer consistency."

She steadied herself with her arms around his neck. "Consistently lazy, consistently late -"

"Most women don't complain about consistency - a steady rhythm, if you will," Kakashi interrupted, smirking into her collarbone. "You don't, in fact."

Sakura rolled her eyes and gave Kakashi a quick kiss on the cheek. "Consistently incorrigible."

"You're more than enough spice for me, Sakura-chan." Kakashi graced her with his most charming smile.

"Ha ha, you are the wittiest man I know," Sakura said flatly, yawning once before pushing to her feet again.

Kakashi grabbed her arm when she was halfway up. "You ought to go home and take a nap. That surgery yesterday -"

"Pot, meet kettle." Sakura ignored him airily, straightening her uniform. "I've spent too much time here already. Ibiki will be swamped with complaints from all the foreigners about their accommodations. It seems that's the new fad... Oh! I'll shove off all the ones from Wind onto Temari. Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Her typical Sakura enthusiasm returning in full force, she pulled Kakashi to his feet and stood on tiptoe to plant another kiss on him. "Maybe I'll introduce her to Shiho too, and then I'll seem really nice by comparison, eh? Temari's a bit territorial, don't you think?"

Kakashi patted her on the head, already starting to tune her out. "Yes, Sakura-chan," he said blandly, but she steamrolled ahead. He only started to pay attention again when he realized she was reminding him to be somewhere he was clearly supposed to be aware of already.

"You'll be on time, won't you? Early, even? I know my mom doesn't expect your help, but she'd appreciate it -"

"Er, sure," Kakashi hazarded, hoping she'd elaborate, but Sakura turned to Iruka instead.

"Has Naruto invited you yet? He was supposed to, but, y'know, he's Naruto -"

Iruka waved his hands in front of him. "Oh no, I couldn't impose last minute -"

"Don't be silly," Sakura said, "it's a test run for meal service at the inn, so it's a favor really. The more the merrier."

"Then how could I refuse?" Iruka said, smiling.

Sakura beamed. "Great! Seven o'clock at the new inn, okay? And I'm sorry for earlier. I get too sensitive sometimes. But I haven't forgotten you were there when things fell apart, and I appreciate that."

"Sometimes," Iruka said slowly, looking between them seriously, "things have to fall apart in order to be rebuilt on a stronger foundation."

"Yeah, thanks." Sakura was rosy-cheeked and looking a little awkward, but she pushed forward anyway. "So I'll see you tonight, Iruka-sensei. And you," Sakura said, turning back to Kakashi, "had better not be late, mister."

Kakashi shrugged. "Free dinner."

It was more than that, of course, as Kakashi now remembered. Whatever else she liked to call it, it was a dinner to celebrate her promotion to jounin, and Kakashi intended to be on time for once. It was a testament to how distracting this teaching business was that Kakashi had forgotten the dinner was tonight.

Sakura just smiled and kissed him one last time. "Your favorite type of dinner, I know."

And as quickly as she'd come, Sakura was gone again. Kakashi's fifteen minutes of reality suspension was up. Iruka was looking at Kakashi curiously, head cocked in thought and all frustration vanished, leaving only his normal self.

"She's just as full of energy as when she was a girl," Iruka said finally.

"Hmm," Kakashi hummed, eyes trained on the genin.

"Too spunky for you, I would have thought. But then you're headstrong in your own way, too."

Kakashi sighed. Merely to exist was to invite unwelcome opinions. It was no surprise - once, the realization had driven Kakashi to don a mask, but it was no longer an effective barrier. When it came to women, it seemed, the effect was magnified.

"It's time to switch the exercise up," Kakashi said, not bothering to address Iruka's unasked for assessment of his love life.

Without skipping a beat, Iruka followed along, taking the hint. "What did you have in mind?"

Kakashi sent the genin off for individual practice well before he was expected at the inn. The genin were complaining of hunger and their attention was waning, so it was no true loss, but it left Kakashi a bit aimless. He wanted to train, but it would exhaust him too quickly. The usual alternative was to visit the memorial, but that wouldn't do either - not tonight.

As it always did these days without a prescribed reason otherwise, Kakashi's mind turned to Sakura. Who knew where she was at the moment. With the exam preparations taking her all over the city, Kakashi didn't bother keeping track. But one thing he knew for sure is that she would go back to her house to do the womanly things that occupied so much of her time - so he would meet her there.

But once he reached Sakura's quiet house and flopped down backwards on the bed, he wondered what he was doing there. Never before had he given a social obligation priority over a pending breakthrough, especially when the stakes were so high. When he had been Sakura's age, Kakashi regarded all time not spent training or on a mission as empty hours. And here he was, wasting perfectly good daylight hours when he was at full energy just because it might make him late for a social function with which he had little actual involvement. And the reason he was stuck in Konoha in the first place was mostly that Sakura was too busy to deploy. In the past, Kakashi had demanded new placement in such times, preferring to stay busy. He would not be doing so now.

But still, Kakashi kicked his feet up on the headboard and pulled out Icha Icha Paradise. What annoyed Kakashi most of all was that he didn't care about any of that as he used to. All he wanted was to go to this dinner party - a disaster waiting to happen, surely - simply because Kakashi showing up would make Sakura happy. The "empty hours" had become a luxury instead of an unfortunate necessity. It wasn't a complicated concept, in theory, but Kakashi hardly recognized himself.

After only a few chapters, Kakashi's prediction proved true. Sakura stomped through the door, scowling, one pigtail half fallen out. Seeing him there, she did a double take, and he smiled at her upside down.

"I've been thinking about you all day," she sighed more than said, sinuously lifting her shirt over her head to drop it to the floor.

"Oh, what about?" Bemused, he sat his open book on his chest to hold his place.

She dropped her bra to the floor next, and then wiggled her hips to yank her skirt and panties down as well, but didn't answer him. "I didn't think you'd be here at the house," she said instead.

"Don't want me here, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi faked a pout.

Sakura kicked her boots off and tugged the other hair tie out so her pink mane was loose about her shoulders as he liked it. "I didn't say that, now did I?"

Without hesitation, she clambered atop of him, her naked body straddling his entirely clothed one. Kakashi raised one questioning eyebrow at her, but she registered it only with a slight blush. Primly, as if she was folding laundry, she took his book and closed it, tucking it under the pillow at his feet. She began to disrobe him summarily, peeling off his gloves and then unzipping his vest. Kakashi offered neither resistance nor assistance as she manipulated his arms out of the holes and tugged the flak jacket from underneath his body.

"The Water daimyo," she finally said, brow still furrowed, "is the most annoying man alive."

"I thought I held that title," Kakashi said, not commenting on the way her hands were yanking his shirt untucked, fingers sliding underneath to glide over his skin. His muscles jumped and tightened at her touch.

"Well, you're tied, maybe." Sakura's face softened, not quite smiling but the frown lines smoothing away. "But I like you."

"You like me?" Kakashi kept his tone innocent, despite the very non-innocent tenting of his trousers against her.

Sakura only rolled her eyes. "I love you, stupid. I'm just saying, the Earth daimyo was never so irritating. Maybe we were sent for the wrong guy that time..."

Kakashi chuckled, running his palms up her splayed thighs to cup her bare rump. "Didn't we have someplace to be?"

Sakura's scowl snapped back into place and her hands paused in their perusal of his abdominals. "I don't think I can get through this stupid dinner party if I don't relax first. You complaining?"

"I didn't say that, now did I?" Kakashi echoed, putting his hands behind his head casually. "Do as you please, Sakura-chan."

Slowly, impish grin inching onto her face, she reversed the trek of her hands so that they dragged back over his stomach until they were at the band of his pants - and then pulled them down just enough to grant her access to his erection. She scooted down his legs and bent to take him in her mouth, eyes locked deliberately with Kakashi's. Her hands moved to assist in quick, practiced motions, cupping his balls and following her mouth up and down his cock with strokes of varying pressure.

Kakashi tangled one hand in her hair, grunting with the effort of not shoving her head down onto him, the warmth of her mouth and the feel of her tongue more than enough to drive him mad. But with mischief in her eyes - she knew exactly what was on his mind - she swallowed him at a devastatingly slow pace, suction increasing as she plunged down and then up again. Kakashi tightened his fingers against her skull, breaths coming more quickly.

After what seemed like an eternity, her lips lifted off of his penis with a distinct pop. "My turn," she said, gravel in her voice, and he was too far gone to argue as she slid higher to rub herself along his member, sighing upon impact.

"Make your turn shorter," he panted.

She just grinned and sat up straighter, running hands up her body to roll her own stiff nipples between her fingertips. The sight of it constricted his throat and in spite of himself, he grabbed her ass in an attempt to direct her entrance towards his shaft.

Sakura resisted, laughing. "You're bad at playing this type of game, aren't you?"

In response, he squeezed her ass again, groaning.

"All right, old man," she said in mock pity, and one hand dropped from her breast to guide him into her.

The jokes stopped and it became something else entirely, something more frantic and hurried. She was no longer entertaining him, face distorting in bliss as she ground her way to completion. As she leaned forward to grip the sheets for balance, swallowing a moan, he took over on her breasts, kneading in rhythm with her thrusts as he returned them. Her jaw dropped in ecstasy as their bodies crashed into one another.

Sakura's arms extended as she began to lose the ability to support herself, and Kakashi heard the clunk of what must have been his book hitting the floor. He barely noticed because Sakura's fingers were curling into the sheet, legs spasming, her breaths a mix of gasps and throaty, pleasured sounds. At last, she cried out and tensed around him, her movements slowing over the course of a few thrusts until she stopped.

But Kakashi wasn't done with her. "Turn over," he said urgently, and she was quick to comply.

As soon as she had scrambled into position, ass up in the air and presented for him, Kakashi entered her again, driving a hard pace. She bit down on the bunched blanket as her limp body received him, still riding out the wave of her climax.

"Oh, fuck me," she sighed, muffled into the comforter, as if he could fuck her any more than he was already.

But it sent him over the edge anyway, gripping her hips too tight as he came, stretching it over a few last strokes. "Well shit," he swore in amusement as she slumped back on the bed, spent. "Where did that come from?"

Immediately, she flushed and hid her face in the comforter. "I don't know..."

"Hey." He took the blanket away from her with a kiss and settled in next to her. "Like I said, I'm not complaining."

Once, Kakashi never would have believed Sakura could be so forward. Even now, it embarrassed her, but still, things had changed.

Head against his chest, her breath started to even out. Before she could tempt him into a nap, Kakashi rubbed her back to rouse her. "We should go, hmm?"

She pressed herself further into him. "Why? Do you know how many times I tried to talk her out of this?"

"I do." Kakashi smoothed strands of hair away from her face. "I was there."

Sakura sighed. "Okay. Fine."

They got up and began a utilitarian shower, after which Kakashi re-dressed into his uniform and sat back to watch her engage in her feminine rituals. It might be boring with another woman, but Kakashi imagined few women did it quite the way Sakura did.

"Shit." She winced after plucking a particularly stubborn stray eyebrow hair, muttering more curses as she moved on to light makeup.

Kakashi knew she hated the whole ordeal and agreed to endure it for her mother's sake, so Kakashi would endure it with her.

At last she emerged, paying him no mind as she crossed to her closet. She leaned over to fiddle with something her naked body blocked from view, but Kakashi's gaze had wandered to her ass anyway, admiring its inverted heart shaped curve and the way her hips gradually gave way to waist. He would never tire of the sight, he knew in the same deep-down way he knew that he would one day die for Konoha like so many before him - perhaps one day soon, perhaps not. How odd that a woman bent over and swearing softly to herself as she stubbed her toe would be the first thing to make him wonder if he regretted the path he had chosen.

And then the strange feeling battering at his chest and tingling up and down his spine exploded all at once as Kakashi realized what exactly she was doing. She had grabbed a hunk of her own hip and was preparing to plunge a needle into it, another syringe perched precariously between her lips. At her foot, the culprit of the stubbed toe became clear as she shifted. It was her refrigerated medical safe, locked down by elaborate jutsu for ample reason - for it contained mostly poison, the majority of them deadly.

As she discarded the first syringe and prepared the second, Kakashi could no longer help himself. "I don't see the point in this risk. You hardly employ poisons anymore. You don't need them."

Without hesitation, Sakura tapped the needle one last time and inserted it into her flesh, calmly administering whatever lethal substance it contained. "I'm glad you know what I need. Thanks for asking."

Kakashi sighed, recognizing that dangerous tone of voice. "Sakura..."

"Maybe," she said, feigning indifference, "what I need is to continue gathering data for my long term study of immunization of cardiac pace deregulators. Maybe I don't want to waste being living proof that they can be immunized against. No one had ever done that before. Kumatori is organizing an entire empirical study based on it. Did you know that? Do you care to understand?"

Kakashi's jaw squeaked from clenching his teeth. "But Kumatori understands, is that right?"

"Yes!" Sakura cried in frustration, closing the safe back up and yanking a familiar sundress over her head before shimmying into panties. "He leads the whole country in chakra-based medical research now, and you'll have to get used to that. I won't quit being Tsunade's pupil just because she's dead and it means I have to talk to my ex-boyfriend occasionally."

And now Sakura's voice was as unsteady as her hands dragging a brush through her hair, her glossed lip wobbling just like most times Tsunade was brought up.

"Come here," Kakashi said, patting the bed next to him where she should sit. "I wasn't saying all that."

Sakura obeyed, resting a palm on his heart over his flak jacket. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I know. I shouldn't have brought him into it anyway. It was stupid."

When her eyes opened, they widened in surprised and she reached down to the floor out of Kakashi's line of sight. She came back up with his long forgotten book, pages crooked and spine newly creased from where it had fallen.

"I'm sorry..." Her eyes were watering, threatening to spill over again. "I didn't mean to."

Kakashi took the book from her and laughed. "What do I care about that? I've already replaced this volume three times anyway. It keeps getting blood on it."

"That's because you take it on missions." Sakura smiled weakly and Kakashi tried to kiss her, but she swatted him away, scowling. "Don't fuck up my makeup!"

He lifted his hands in submission. "Shall we go then?"

"I suppose," Sakura said, offering him a hand to pull him up. "We're already late, you know."

"Hardly my fault this time," Kakashi protested, settling his forehead protector into place.

Sakura giggled and stood on tiptoe to give him a quick kiss despite her makeup. "But everyone will blame you anyway," she said, tugging his mask up to complete the final step to be ready to go out into the world.

The new inn, dubbed Madoka after Riko's maiden name, lay a little off the beaten path. But with little competition and clan affiliation with both the Nara and the Akimichi, no one seemed quite worried. The concern was more if they could handle the upcoming volume of business for the Chuunin Exam. The plan was to open next week as the first contestants began to roll in, the test run for meal service being tonight.

And they took the task quite seriously, it seemed, as the first thing Kakashi noticed when they walked in was over thirty guests, quick estimation a skill honed long ago. Sakura noticed too, face dropping in dismay as she took it all in. But almost immediately her expression brightened again as little Masako toddled towards her on unsteady feet, holding out stubby little arms covered in red silk.

"Auntie Pinky!"

Sakura swooped the child up, propping her on one hip. "My my, Masako-chan, what a pretty dress you have there. Did your mommy make it for you?"

Suddenly shy and peering up at Kakashi through splayed fingers with eyes far more like Asuma's brown than Kurenai's red, Masako nodded.

"Don't you remember? Tell me who that is," Sakura cajoled sweetly, smoothing the little girl's chestnut ringlets.

The girl hesitated. "Auntie Pinky Daddy."

The room lifted in uproarious laughter, but Masako reacted to the stiffening in Sakura's body instead, burying her head in Sakura's sundress until only chestnut curls were showing. Kakashi shifted his weight, looking at Sakura comfort the child rather than at anyone else.

"It's okay, Masako-chan," Sakura murmured, cheeks flaming. "Close! But this is Kakashi. You've met him before. He might seem a little scary, but he was good friends with your daddy. Isn't that nice? You'll have to ask him about it sometime."

''My daddy?" Masako peeked at Kakashi again, more curious this time.

Kurenai saved the day by taking Masako from Sakura, patting the child on the back. "Sorry about that," she said with an apologetic grimace to Kakashi. "She's been excited all day to see Sakura since I said it was her party, and she's just beginning to grasp that other people have fathers and she doesn't..."

Kakashi forced a smile, scratching the back of his head. "No worries."

Sakura leaned over to tweak Masako on the nose. "Let's go visit Uncle Kiba and Uncle Shino, hmm?"

Before she left, Sakura turned and yanked Kakashi down by the collar to whisper in his ear. "Behave," she hissed.

Pointedly, Kakashi arched an eyebrow at where her hand dug into his flak jacket. "Subtle," he said casually. "Got it."

She flushed again and let him go. "Oh, shush."

And with a flounce, she was sucked into the throng, surrounded by people as she helped Kiba bounce the baby on his knee while simultaneously trying to fight Ino out of forcing her hair into some sort of elaborate braid. Ami leaned in to whisper something and the girls tittered in the direction of Tenten and Neji, who were standing just a hair too close, Neji stiffly keeping his palm on the small of Tenten's back. Just the idea of this being the exciting news Sakura thought it was bored Kakashi and he immediately lost interest.

Kakashi was left to his own devices. Hands in his pockets, he wandered over to his usual crowd.

"Smooth entrance," Genma greeted, tipping his beer. "Not awkward at all. Well done."

With a cackle, Anko handed Kakashi a shochu of his own. "Here. You'll need it. It's at least half the reason I'm here."

Kakashi shrugged as he took the can from her. "Fair enough."

Raidou and Aoba cheered and toasted him.

Gai seemed to be working to control his facial muscles, but calmly took a sip of his own ale. "How fortunate that young Sakura-san is so deft with children to smooth it over quickly. It bodes well for the future."

Aoba turned red as a beet and Raidou just rolled his eyes. Yamato actually choked on his drink, bashing his fist to his chest to clear it.

Genma laughed nervously and clapped Gai on the back. "Gai, old buddy, old pal, I think you've picked the wrong candidate for mother of the year there..."

"Don't count her departmental affiliation against her!" Gai said eagerly, no longer able to keep the grin off his face. "She's giving quite a good face to Torture and Interrogation, I hear, and besides, she's also a medic!"

Kakashi's hand slightly crushed his can of shochu as he looked off to the side somewhere.

"Men. Such romantic fools." Anko shook her head in disgust. "Don't go filling his head with that shit, Gai. You'll only disappoint him. She's not that type of person just because she's got ovaries. And who says Kakashi's that type of man anyway? He looks at kids like they're elaborate trap jutsu that could explode at any second. If she gets knocked up, they'll deal with it then. None of our business. Don't pressure him just to overcompensate for being a douchebag before."

"Say what you want, but look at Kurenai," Raidou said. "Most women have that bone somewhere in their bodies."

As if the topic had summoned her, Sakura appeared at Kakashi's side with a light touch to his elbow, her mother in tow. Riko began plying Yamato with appetizers, smiling brightly at him. He was the new golden child after his role in building the inn on the cheap.

"Have you seen Ibiki?" Sakura asked, frowning. Someone, likely some combination of Ino and her mother, had entirely redone her hair and makeup. "I wanted to know if the courier team from Rain was back yet."

Kakashi shook his head and even her well-made up eyes couldn't mask her disappointment. Kakashu forcibly relaxed his fist around the can of alcohol.

"Ibiki is the creepy one?" Riko wrinkled her nose. "Haven't seen him," she said with a hint of relief.

"My boss, you mean?" Sakura said, her smile brittle with a hard edge to her tone.

Riko paid Sakura little mind, now waving a fried fish cake under Genma's nose, trying to entice him. Sakura, too, lost track of the conversation as she looked around at the small group. Her fingers tightened on Kakashi's elbow.

"What are you all staring at me like that for? Have I got something on my face? In my hair?" She glared at Kakashi suspiciously.

Nervously, Kakashi chuckled and took a step back. "Now, now, Sakura-chan. You look fine."

Her eyes narrowed. "Then why are your freak friends looking at me like something's sprouting from my forehead? It has to be your fault, I know it -"

"Be nice," Riko warned, smile plastered on as she elbowed Sakura in the ribs.

Anko just laughed. "Don't worry, Princess. They just think women are mysterious mythical creatures that transform at the touch of a man. You're like a unicorn to them. It's kind of precious. Except really annoying."

"Oh, Jesus fuck," Sakura groaned. "How did it take me so long to realize half of you were gay?"

Anko sniggered and snatched a fish cake off the platter. "Quicker than Ol' One Eye, though, I bet - weren't you?"

"No shit!" Sakura laughed heartily, slapping her thigh in mirth. "Naruto figured it out before Kakashi. They had to literally make out in front of Kakashi and he was still looking at me like I was going to tell him it was a prank or something."

Riko shook her head, clucking her tongue. "Must you always harass this poor man?"

Sakura giggled and stood on her tiptoes to kiss a beleaguered Kakashi on the masked cheek. "Always."

"C'mon, Princess. Have a drink with me and forget about these goons."

"Yes," Sakura said immediately and dragged Anko away.

"Who let that happen?" grumbled Genma, shaking his head and taking another sip of his drink as he stared after the pair of women.

Aoba gulped down his own ale, his glasses sliding down his nose. "A horrible monster, that's who."

"Don't look at me," Kakashi said with a shrug. "Last I checked, they were assaulting one another in tea shops."

"Sounds about right." Raidou chuckled, clapping Kakashi on the back. "Have fun with that."

Riko sighed heavily. "I would apologize for my daughter's manners, but what's the point?" She started to move on to the next group of guests, but stopped in hesitation and eyed Kakashi sidelong. "She's tense."

Kakashi shrugged. "Something about the Water daimyo. He's irritating, I take it. Perhaps he breathes funny. Or exists."

Riko didn't laugh at the joke, guilt flashing in her teal eyes. She understood the real culprit of Sakura's grouchiness was this party and being the center of attention. "She should be celebrated," Riko insisted quietly. "How else will she feel she's enough at last and stop, finally?"

"Hmm." Kakashi's smile was mild, his head cocked, but he couldn't hide the truth from Sakura's mother. Sakura would never stop. Nothing would ever be enough. She would push and push and push until one day, she pushed just a little too far. He was much the same, even now.

Riko, too, sidestepped the serious turn of the conversation and smiled back at Kakashi. "So help her relax, would you? You're usually the one to manage it."

"Usually, perhaps," Kakashi said with a grin, tapping the side of his nose. "But I've already tried my best, and if that didn't work, nothing will."

Catching the dirty implication immediately, Riko huffed, though it didn't phase her. "Be that way then and wait to step in until she breaks something."

"Or someone," Kakashi supplied helpfully, chuckling. "Don't worry. It will probably be me. Or maybe Sai. We can take it. Besides, she always puts us back together again afterwards."

"Oh, you," Riko scolded, lightly slapping him on the arm. "You egg her on because you enjoy it too much."

Kakashi lifted his hands as if to say "guilty as charged," and with a final roll of her eyes, Riko was gone. His friends had remained silent through the conversation, listening in, especially Gai, who looked quite thoughtful.

"You're nicer to your mother-in-law than you are to any of us," Genma wheedled and then laughed raucously at Kakashi's thunderous expression.

"Maybe because she's nicer to him," Gai said, quiet and subdued.

"Oh, she is," Raidou said sagely, and snatched a drink off of the tray of a passing waitress, a young Akimichi girl. He handed it to Kakashi. "Here you go, buddy."

"Shut the fuck up," Kakashi snapped, his sour mood from earlier that day returning with a vengeance.

They just laughed at him, Aoba throwing a friendly arm over his shoulder. "Remember that girl Raidou said he pulled last month? The one we only saw from behind?"

"Of course," Yamato said, sounding bored as he sipped his drink and munched on his pile of fish cakes.

"I saw her again the other day," Aoba said eagerly. "Face like a trainwreck. And here he was bragging."

Raidou sniffed. "What can I say? I'm an ass man. I'm sure Kakashi understands me."

The thinly veiled reference to Sakura and her shapely derrière did not escape Kakashi. He fought a frown and simply followed the tradition of Raidou, Aoba, and Genma being rowdy while Gai, Kakashi, and Yamato endured it quietly.

Genma laughed, almost losing the senbon in his mouth, and punched Raidou in the shoulder. "You better watch yourself there. That's not how you talk about someone's old lady."

"What?" Raidou asked innocently, winking at Kakashi. "It was a compliment!"

Genma shook his head. "A compliment that'll put you on the floor if you're not careful."

Yamato finished off the last bite of fish cake. "If she overhears you? Yes."

"Raidou doesn't mind a bit of a tussle. He just wants the subject off of the dog he dragged to bed," Aoba sniggered.

"See that's your trouble," Genma said to Aoba. "You're too picky. The ass is what you grab onto when the lights are out. And a girl like that always wants the lights out."

Raidou raised his glass in a toast. "Hear hear."

Slowly, with the lubrication of alcohol and the rabble rousing of his friends to keep his mind just occupied enough, the tension in Kakashi's shoulders began to loosen. People drifted in and out - Gai out to see his team, Ebisu in to regale them with tales from Grass as his team had recently returned from the front, Anko returning when Sakura was pulled by Naruto and Sai into some bizarre contest that involved straws in noses, Kurenai stopping by for old times' sake. Kakashi simply stayed put, letting it all wash over him. At least, unlike anything Naruto was involved in these days, there were no political guests, no obligations - just those people Sakura or Riko wanted to invite. The feel of the party was rather lax and everyone knew Kakashi well enough not to bother him too much.

Probably for similar reasons, Sakura was beginning to unwind as well, making the rounds with the guests, drinking with all of them. Even with so many people, she eventually made her way back to Kakashi, sidling right up to him with a sweet smile, like she missed him.

Kakashi chortled. "Plastered, aren't you?"

"Does that sound like me?" she said, saccharine innocence dripping from her voice as she blinked her eyelashes at him.

Kakashi poked her on the bridge of the nose just to see her go cross eyed.

She wrinkled her nose and pulled her head away slightly. "Kiba's spilled an entire bottle of sake down my back."

"I see that."

Sakura was looking up at him, chest pressed against his arm, face open and affectionate in a tipsy sort of way. She was done going separate ways for the night, Kakashi could tell.

"All right," he said, bemused, without her having to ask the question.

She rewarded him with a beatific smile and took his hand to lead him away, then as an afterthought threw over her shoulder, "I'm stealing him now, sorry. Thanks for coming to keep him company. 'Bye!"

"It's too cute. I'm going to puke," Anko complained loudly and Sakura just giggled until they were out of earshot.

"She's right," Kakashi observed idly as they sat down at the long dinner table next to Naruto and Sai, across from Shiori and Ryoji. "You're cute when you're drunk."

"What's your excuse then?" Sakura teased, then sat right on his lap, legs dangling off to the side and arms around his neck. "How's this for cute, huh?"

Naruto just shook his head. "To you, maybe, Kaka-sensei. She's scary when she's drunk is more like it."

"It must be strange for people to see you being so sexual with Kakashi-taichou," Sai said suddenly, and judging from the flush on his face, he was well into his cups.

Sakura scowled immediately. "This isn't sexual! Don't be weird!"

Sai cocked his head. "Oh? Then would you sit in my lap? Naruto's?"

Quick as a flash, Sakura leaned over and upended Sai's ale tankard on his head. Naruto howled with laughter as Sai blinked in surprise. "Was that observation unhelpful?"

"I don't care about convention. I really don't." Sakura pouted as she slid into her own seat. "Why should we have to stay five yards apart or whatever? It's stupid."

Sai shrugged, straightening his sopping hair. "So don't."

Naruto raised his own cup out of Sakura's reach before she could dump that on Sai too, so she settled for glaring. "Well now after you've made it clear everyone is judging me..."

Naruto threw an arm over her hunched shoulders. "Don't take it to heart, Sakura-chan. Everyone loves seeing you both happy. It is strange, I guess, but not bad."

Ryoji leaned back in his chair, balancing on the back legs. "It's fucking weird is what it is. But it's still better than your little bitchfits."

"Ryoji!" Shiori scolded, and sniffed haughtily. "It is no such thing. It's strange for some of the people here because they have to expand their understandings of them outside of the roles they fill and into who Kakashi is as a man and who Sakura is as a woman. It challenges their perception. But you and me, we know them only as adult teammates, and it's not surprising, it's not anything. And if you paid attention at all, it's a relief."

"Yeah." Ryoji scoffed. "It's a relief because of the bitchfits."

With a little noise of frustration, Shiori shoved Ryoji's chair. It teetered on one leg, wiping the confident smirk off of Ryoji's tanned face as he pinwheeled his arms to stay upright.

Sakura, Naruto, and Shiori snickered. When Sai chimed in - "What's a bitchfit?" - even Kakashi had to laugh.

"Don't front," whined Shiori playfully. "You looked like a little kid with candy when you heard Wolf Squad wasn't dismantled."

Ryoji shrugged, looking a bit sheepish as he set his chair on all fours again. "When a squad works, it works. You don't mess with that if you can help it."

"We'll only gel better now that we've had time to settle in," Sakura said, resting her chin on her palms, a soft smile on her face. "Everything's on the table now."

"No more lies," Shiori said, firm.

Ryoji smiled wickedly. "No more bitchfits."

On a dime, Shiori turned and shoved Ryoji more violently this time, so that he toppled all the way over - but then, amidst the laughter, she helped him up again. "I wouldn't count on that," she said, a twinkle in her eye.

Cheeks turning rosy, Sakura quickly changed the subject. "You're all set to leave for River in two days? Any last questions?"

"Um..." Shiori's gaze flitted to the side as she wrung her hands.

"Yeah!" Ryoji said, brow furrowing and crossing his arms over his broad chest. "As a matter of fact, I do have a question. Why is that little snitch Tsubasa our captain?"

Sakura sighed, putting her index fingers to her temples. This was getting too close to the frustrations of work for her, Kakashi guessed, and rubbed circles into her back.

"Because," she ground out, "we have a long history with Dragon Squad, and half of each is out of commission or vacant, so it makes perfect sense. Of the four of you, Tsubasa is easily the most qualified for command."

"But Sakura, he could have killed you." Shiori's quiet protest was less full of bluster, but no less sincere, Kakashi could see.

"And if I had been corrupted by Rock, he would have been right to do so." Sakura leaned back into Kakashi's hand. "He was correct to report his concerns. It was not his fault how they handled it, ultimately. He is, after all, the one to have realized Rock's true intention."

"He should have spoken to me," Kakashi said, his voice harsher than he intended. "Or even Ryuu. He didn't even confirm the details of our mission before extrapolating -"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "We wouldn't have been able to tell him anyway, and he didn't know they would manipulate his theory into grounds for a trial rather than some other, saner, approach. Whatever you all want to say about it, I think Tsubasa's actions show a clear head and loyalty to Konoha, and like it or not, I'm the one who makes those sorts of decisions now. He's very nervous about seeing you all again and is convinced everyone will hate him. But I'm sure you'll prove him wrong, won't you?"

Sakura's expression had taken on a hard edge, brooking no argument, and Kakashi laughed. "Yes, ma'am."

"That goes double for you, Kakashi," Sakura said with narrowed eyes. "It's a good thing you're staying home after all, because you'd muck that bit right up, wouldn't you -"

Kakashi slid his hand up her back to cup the back of her neck. "Probably," he agreed, smiling at her.

She smiled back at him until Ryoji shook his head. "After what he did? You're mental."

Sakura's smile fell right off her face which quickly covered any flashes of hurt. Kakashi tightened his hold on her neck, trying to reassure her with his eyes.

"Ryoji..." Shiori ventured, unsure.

"Sakura's not mental," Naruto snapped, up to this point observing curiously.

Ryoji blinked in surprise. "I didn't mean it like that. I only meant she could maybe stand to heighten her sense of self-preservation, like, with Ryuu and now this -" Pausing, Ryoji turned to Sakura. "But it's your business. You know I won't interfere. If you say we should let it go with Tsubasa, then we will. It's your call."

Sakura relaxed minutely. "Thanks. Just go with it, all right? He already feels bad enough."

"Of course," Shiori murmured.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but before he got the chance, Sai butted in. "Ryoji-san. Sakura and I once had a conversation about short men because she assumed 'short people' must mean women. I should have used you as an example. How tall are you?"

"That's it!" declared Naruto, laughing at Ryoji's consternated face. "I'm cutting you off, Sai. No more alcohol tonight."

"Oh, have I overindulged?" Sai inspected his fingertips in confusion.

Naruto punched Sai lightly in the arm. "Just stick to water or something for a while, deal?"

Sai shrugged, and Naruto drew him into some conversation about a taijutsu style Lee told him about. Sakura was chattering to Shiori and Ryoji about their upcoming mission as honor guards for the exam. Kakashi just sat back and tuned it all out, one arm over Sakura's shoulders and the other taking slow sips of shochu.

Eventually, dinner was announced and everyone filled the rest of the spots at the humongous table, stretched to its capacity. Everyone ate in relative peace, the only ones apparently stressing being Sakura's mother, Nara Yoshino, and Akimichi Akane, overseeing it all like the busybodies they were.

As everyone was finishing their meals, the three women stood at the head of the table. Yoshino nudged Riko, who appeared to steel herself to speak.

"Now that I hope no one's hungry –"

"Please tell us about your experience later!" Akane cut in, only to be glared at by Yoshino and subside.

"Yes, please do," Riko said with a smile, and it struck Kakashi that she looked like a different woman entirely than just last year, a younger, prettier, happier one. "But this isn't just about the food," she continued, "even if you know I can yap on about it for hours…"

Riko chuckled weakly, clearly battling nerves as she smoothed back her sandy-colored hair.

Yoshino stepped in effortlessly. "Even though we all know there are many battles to come, and we're starting a fight of a different type, the end of war deserves to be marked – and brought about by our very own Hatake Kakashi at that. We are lucky to have him on our side, as we and our enemies have always known."

Kakashi ignored Akane's beaming face that matched Gai's in a frightening way. As they always did, any accolades only made his stomach clench and his urge to leave rise higher. For an instant, he regretted coming until he looked again at Sakura, sunk down in her chair, trying to look inconspicuous and failing spectacularly. How had it taken him so long to see how similar they were, in all the important ways?

And just as Sakura clearly predicted, Riko spoke again, tearing up. "But most importantly to me at least, we're here to congratulate my daughter. She's become the strongest woman I know. Perhaps it's backwards to look up to your own daughter, but it would be a lie to say I'm the example she's followed. I couldn't be more grateful to have her in my life, and I hope you all realize how lucky you are to be in hers."

Though Sakura glared at Kakashi as if it was his fault as Naruto smothered her in a bear hug, she blushed heavily, her own eyes growing bright.

"But – and I'm glad for this –" Riko continued, swiping tears from her face. "—as this full table can attest, I'm not the only one who loves Sakura. Shizune-san has something she'd like to say as well."

Shizune stood in her seat, calm and composed as she was whenever she was being honest, Kakashi had come to recognize. "Sakura is not perfect. We all know this. She's often brash, sometimes too bold, occasionally shortsighted – but she's also loyal, selfless, and undeniably brilliant. It was this imperfection that Tsunade-sama loved about Sakura, because she saw herself in it. Tsunade-sama was also imperfect. But she was a good Hokage, and we loved her as that and more."

Shizune met Sakura's eyes solemnly. "I too am imperfect. I struggled with when to give this to you, Sakura, and I hope you won't be angry that it isn't until now."

Eagerly, Ino got up and shoved a scroll into Sakura's hands, so excited she was bouncing on her heels. It was just scripted enough that Kakashi could see that there was some sort of ceremony intended that Ino was throwing out the window. He chuckled and Ino put her nose up, purposefully ignoring him as she helped Sakura pull the scroll open.

"Is this…" The wonder on Sakura's face was a sight for sore eyes, to Kakashi. Sakura looked up at Shizune, lip truly trembling now. "When did she do this?"

"Whenever you were out of the village," Shizune said, her own eyes going glassy. "She began when you went off to fight Akatsuki in Sand for the very first time… She was worried for you. She wanted you to have it when the time was right. She knew this war wouldn't end any time soon, and she knew you would need to be there to fight it."

Sakura's eyes consumed the scroll voraciously. "We practiced the gathering so many times, but I thought… I thought the seals had died with her. She always said I had to learn how to follow the rules before I learned to break them, but – I never thought I would, after –"

Sakura couldn't go on, overcome. Naruto just looked confused, but Kakashi was numb all over. He knew what Shizune had just handed Sakura, and he knew why both Tsunade and Shizune had hesitated to give it to her at all. He wished they hadn't.

Naruto tried to snatch the scroll from her hands, but Sakura raised it out of reach. "What the hell is it, Sakura-chan? What did Baa-chan give you?"

"It's the missing pieces I needed to complete Creation Rebirth," Sakura snapped, trying to keep reading the scroll even as she played keepaway with Naruto. "Obviously."

Naruto stopped struggling immediately. "But that's –"

Naruto met Kakashi's eyes dubiously, clearly thinking the same thing as him. But then Naruto shed his fear as Kakashi couldn't and grinned, turning to Shizune. "Thanks. Did you see that smile when she opened it? I owe you one for that."

Shizune laughed, a little embarrassed, and sat back down. "You do not, Naruto-kun," she scolded gently.

"Thanks, Shizune," Sakura said absently, still poring over the scroll. "I understand."

Since it was clear that Sakura was not going to make a proper response, too engrossed to remember social niceties she cared very little for to begin with, Riko cleared her throat again. "Time for dessert, yes?"

Then the waitresses and waiters served dango and mochi, obviously because they were Sakura's favorites, though she didn't touch them in favor of reading. Her friends knew her well and paid it no mind. Kiba led a rowdy toast to her promotion without bothering to wait for Sakura's participation.

"Look at this," Sakura said to Kakashi, ignoring everything else as she pointed out a block of tiny text to him. "I've never done a seal like that. Have you?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Maybe once or twice. I'm not overly familiar."

She gave him an annoyed look after she waited for him to elaborate and he didn't. "That's it? Come on. You can't even throw me a bone?"

"I have a book at the apartment, I think. You can have it." Weary and starting to get a headache from too much shochu, Kakashi pulled a hand down his face.

"Seriously, Kakashi?" More than miffed, Sakura closed the scroll with a snap and set it down. "What's the use? I can't concentrate here."

"Don't be upset, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, keying in to their conversation. "He's just devoid of enthusiasm, remember?"

"No he's not, Naruto," Sakura said, starting to get emotional. "He's being an ass."

Now Ryoji and Shiori were paying attention too. "I think that's a little harsh, Sakura," Shiori said with a frown.

Sakura looked off to the side instead of anyone else. "He knows what this means to me. But whatever."

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, cursing internally. He'd tried to maintain normality and let her do as she wanted, but he should have known she'd see right through his ambivalence, especially as fragile as her mood had been today.

He sighed. "Sakura-chan…"

"What? What is it?" Sakura snapped at him. "If you're just going to sit there with that disapproving look on your face, you might as well say it."

"Now's not the time." He tried to put his palm on the nape of her neck again, but she shook him off.

"Is there ever a time?" she muttered bitterly.

"Sakura," Kakashi said, alarmed. "You should know how I feel about this."

"Well, I don't!" Sakura burst out. "I don't know why you would be anything but happy about this, so why don't you enlighten me?"

Everyone was paying attention now, but Kakashi couldn't keep his own anger from bubbling over either. "I can't pretend to be thrilled about any encouragement for you to be more reckless."

She spluttered, her knuckles white against the edge of the thick table. "More reckless?"

"Such a jutsu is not to be used lightly," Kakashi said through clenched teeth, trying to keep his voice down but not entirely succeeding.

"So I'll use it lightly, according to you?" Sakura was not even making an attempt to stay quiet, voice ringing out around the room.

The familiar buzz between his ears drowned out anyone else and Kakashi stopped trying to retain composure, ignoring Naruto's raised eyebrow warnings to stop now. "There is a limit and reaching it killed Tsunade. Or do I have to remind you?" Kakashi could hear himself snapping at her but was powerless to reign it in.

As Sakura stared at him, eyes wild with unspeakable anger that tied her tongue, the table started to groan under the force of her hands and she let go just in time to stop it collapsing.

Breaking the stillness, Ryoji leaned back in his chair again, sighing. "This is a bitchfit. Get it now, Sai?"

"Fuck you, Ryoji!" Sakura's vitriol was tinted with something more vulnerable. "I'm so glad that Kakashi shitting on my lifelong aspirations amuses you."

"Sakura," Rika said pointedly. "Didn't someone spill sake on your dress? That has to be uncomfortable. The third door down the first hallway has a spare yukata in it you can change into."

"Yeah, thanks," Sakura said dully, and fled.

There was silence for a split second and then Kakashi rose with a curse, following after Sakura.

"Mommy and daddy are fighting!" Kiba said in sing song at Kakashi's retreating back, far too drunk to read the room properly, and was immediately hushed by Ami.

Sakura was in an old-style room, sitting cross-legged on a tatami and crying into her hands. Kakashi sat down next to her.

"I didn't say a word," he said finally. "I can't help what my face looks like, Sakura."

"I know," she said, trying to calm herself. "I made a scene… I'm sorry. It just really hurts that that's what you actually think."

Kakashi sighed. "Let's talk about this. I don't want –"

"You don't want to fight," she interrupted, the tension still drawing her taut. "Yes, I know. Neither do I. So let's just try and make this less awkward for everybody. Okay?"

She yanked her dress off and pulled a yukata from the closet to wear.

"I've got makeup all over my face, don't I?" Kakashi didn't answer, and she growled. "Of course I do. Because I'm the messy girl who can't ever get through an event without looking ridiculous, or being ridiculous, or making a fool of myself."

Without trying to fix herself up farther, she stormed out of the room. Kakashi followed again, trying to think of some way to help. He stopped her just before they reached the main room again and pulled her closer to him. Reluctantly, she let him.

"I'm sorry," he murmured low. "I never intended to stand in your way of learning it. I just can't promise to be happy about it, that's all."

"Why not?" she cried immediately, tears jumping to the corners of her smeared eyes once more. "Why the hell can't you be happy about it? I'll never die in battle now, and I thought you would be happy, I even hoped you would so you could stop being so damn weird all the time. I hoped you would be happy so that the next time we close in on a target, you won't get cold feet because I can't possibly pull it off. Or when we assassinate a daimyo you won't leave me on the fucking roof with orders to abandon you if you fail to extract."

Though Kakashi had been trying his best to make amends, that she was immediately being loud enough to be overheard again and bringing up the irrelevant past sparked his ire once more. "That's - you're a medic. You know what that means. You can't -"

She pulled away from his loose hold, raising her voice further. "I know I'm a medic! I chose to be a medic!"

"Then why are we having this conversation? Because your place in a team chafes?" Kakashi clenched his fist, losing control of his own volume now. "Did you disobey me in Stone because I stationed you on a roof?"

Incensed, Sakura reached behind her for the first thing she could find to throw at him, which happened to be a hammer, left over from last minute touch ups. She hurled it at him. "Did I what?"

Kakashi dodged and the tool zoomed past the opening to the dining room. In a swirl of leaves, Kakashi teleported to its destination and caught it before it could wreak havoc.

"Was that a hammer? That was a hammer," Genma said incredulously from inside the other room.

"No!" Sakura shrieked, disregarding the others entirely, focused only on Kakashi. "I disobeyed you in Stone because you're a goddamn prick and you tried to kill Ryoji through sheer stupidity! How can you still not know that?"

With every word, she lost steam, until the final question was plaintive, almost a wail, that held so much suppressed pain that Kakashi dropped the hammer at his feet. He couldn't be angry anymore, when they'd misunderstood one another so badly.

In spite of himself, Kakashi chuckled at the absurdity of the whole thing. At the sound of it, Sakura's face distorted in anger again, but he teleported directly in front of her. "That I'm what - a prick?" he asked in amusement. "Or what was it again - a petulant little manchild? No, I'm afraid I rely on you to remind me of such things."

Kakashi pulled Sakura to him again, tightly this time, and she slapped him on the chest too hard, scowling at him. "That's not the point!"

"Then what's the point?" Kakashi asked, wheezing more than a little.

Her anger faded and emotion threatened to take her once more. "I'm not just a medic, and I never will be. I was never meant to be. That's what this jutsu is for! I won't lessen myself for you, or Sasuke, or even Naruto. Not anymore. I never thought you'd ask me to."

Her words pricked him right in the middle of his chest, but he didn't know how to respond, so instead he tried to kiss her. She slapped him upside the head.

"Stop it! You can't kiss your way out of everything!"

Despite the ringing in his ears from her blow, Kakashi detected the shift in her tone. "Wanna bet?" With a grin, he kissed her again, and this time, she did not resist, only somewhat reluctantly pressing her lips to his.

She sighed. "You're not playing fair."

"Do I ever?"

He kissed her one last time and rubbed up and down her arms, inspecting her closely. There was still a brittleness there, but she made the effort to smile at him, albeit weakly. She would play along, at least.

With a sigh, Sakura turned and walked into the dining room. "Sorry, everyone."

"No one heard any of that or sweet little Sakura-chan will be court marshaled. Again." Kakashi pulled out her chair for her, making her roll her eyes.

"So would you. Again. Ass," muttered Sakura, glaring fiercely in the way he was so fond of.

Yugao, seeming as if she was realizing the truth that she had been invited as a courtesy and didn't truly belong, looked awkwardly between them. "Is everything okay? Should we maybe give you guys some privacy?"

Kakashi gave his most charming smile, but directed it at Sakura alone. "Sure, I could do with some."

"Why, so you can yell at her again?" Ami said defensively, exchanging an alarmed glance with Tenten. "No way."

Kakashi cocked his head to the side, looking Sakura up and down. "Hmm, yelling's not quite what I had in mind."

Sakura's cheeks bloomed red to the tips of her ears as she caught his intention, and she smacked him on the shoulder. "Ass!"

Ino was the first to laugh. "You guys are so fucked up. I probably shouldn't love it but I do."

Naruto groaned, looking ill. "Stop being gross. I can't take it anymore. I withdraw my support."

Solemnly, Kiba slapped Naruto on the back. "It's too late, man. They're now engaging in elaborate foreplay right in front of you. That ship has sailed."

Sakura was almost the shade of her borrowed crimson kimono by now. "Kiba," she hissed venomously. "If you don't shut up right now –"

"You'll what?" he guffawed. "Throw another box of chocolates at me? Who's the big bad bitch now?"

Sakura stared for a minute, thrown off, and then burst into laughter. Kiba joined in, and then Ino, and then all of her friends. Even Shino's shoulders shook.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Sakura said, laughing so hard she started to cry in a different way. "I've been so stressed out lately. I'm a fucking wreck. You'd think I'd relax, knowing the war's over, but… Really, it's just beginning. The real one."

Kiba stopped laughing, sobering up. "Yeah, I know. But we'll do it together, you know? Just like we always do."

Shikamaru sighed. "As troublesome as he is, Kiba's right."

Sakura wiped her eyes. "Yeah, I know. You're all the best, really. I don't know how anyone deals with me." She turned to Kakashi and leaned into his shoulder. "Especially you."

Kakashi ruffled her hair, messing up her nice hairdo, but she didn't mind. When he spotted her dango on the floor, forgotten and crushed, he handed her his entire plate of dessert.

"I guess that's how," she said, laughing again as she ate the sweets.

Naruto gathered her in a hug. "It'll be all right, Sakura-chan. Akatsuki can't beat us. No way. We're too awesome. Plus Sasuke looks really stupid in that coat."

"He really does," she giggled, and shoved mochi into her mouth. "Like a great big bat."

The tension finally broken, people began to leave, saying their goodbyes, the more peripheral people peeling out as quickly as possible. Eventually, Genma, Yamato, Gai, Raidou, Aoba, and Anko made their way over as a group.

Yamato lay a heavy hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Follow your own advice, won't you? You'll regret it if you don't."

Sakura smiled weakly, recognizing whatever that meant. "Yeah, yeah," she waved him off with a soft chuckle. "I get it." Then she eyed the group shrewdly. "Off to The Rusty Kunai? Do me a favor and take Kakashi with you. He deserves a break and I still have to clean up here."

Genma clapped Kakashi on the back. "You heard the boss. Let's go."

Frowning, Kakashi reached out and cupped the edge of Sakura's jaw, forcing her to look at him. She put her small hand over his and squeezed.

"It's all right," she said, pulling his hand away to kiss the palm of his glove. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

Kakashi did not miss the expressions of the women left in the room, those that counted themselves as Sakura's closest friends. Ino's lips were pressed into a hard line, her painted nails drumming her impatience into the table. Tenten and Amy were whispering together furiously. Hinata sat calmly, waiting primly with her hands folded inside the sleeves of her yukata. Even Temari inspected a hangnail, pretending to be bored. Naruto, too, was staring at Sakura with furrowed brows, contemplating. Perhaps they could achieve what Kakashi could not, and so he nodded and stood, dragging his fingers through Sakura's hair on his way out.

Hands in his pockets, Kakashi followed his friends to the bar. They said nothing to him, talking and laughing amongst themselves to maintain normality until they got there. Kakashi was grateful, because at the moment, he couldn't concentrate on anything as mundane as Aoba's failed passes at women. Even though everything seemed fine with Sakura, it clearly wasn't. And yet Kakashi was at a loss for what to do about it.

After they piled into their booth, Kakashi last, Momoe served Kakashi the cheap shochu that Genma had ordered for him with a smile on her face. "Tell Sakura hi for me!" she chirped happily and then flitted away.

Kakashi could not hide his awkward grimace from Anko, who cackled in laughter. "You know, it's funny because when you were your little girlfriend's age, you slept with anyone you pleased and gave no shits. Now you care?"

Kakashi tried to play it cool, taking a sip of shochu. "With age comes wisdom."

Anko just laughed again. "Yeah, yeah, tell me another one. She's really got you all turned around, hasn't she?"

Kakashi said nothing, forcibly loosening the tension in his limbs.

Anko clanked her can against his with a devilish smile. "Don't get all pouty now. Someone had to turn you around, after all, or you weren't headed anywhere worth going."

She punched him on the shoulder and returned to her conversation with Raidou, which suited Kakashi just fine. He tipped his head back to rest on the booth, sighing.

Gai didn't leave him at peace for long, clearing his throat in that distinctive way that meant he had something to say. Kakashi waved his hand in a gesture that meant "well, go ahead."

"Did you really give her orders to leave you behind?" Gai asked, quietly nursing his own ale.

"And if I did?" Kakashi asked listlessly, still staring at the ceiling. "What business is it of yours?"

Gai shrugged, uncharacteristically aloof. "None, of course. But you didn't really expect her to obey, did you?"

"And why not?" Kakashi snapped, too harsh. "I obey her orders when it comes to business and I expect the same in return."

"Hmm." Gai swirled the alcohol in his glass, watching it move. "So when she perfects this jutsu – and she will, of course – and activates it to rush into the fray and tells you to keep going, you'll move on to more pressing matters, will you?"

Kakashi finally lifted his head up, fighting and failing to keep the surly scowl off his face. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Is it, though?" Gai said, carefully neutral. "Is it ridiculous? On whose part, I wonder?"

Kakashi slammed his can down on the table. "You think I wanted her chasing in after me just so I wouldn't die alone, is that it?"

The rest of the table went silent, watching him. Gai ignored them.

"So what, then? You die, and she's left to wonder if she could have helped you? If something could have changed, if only she'd been there?"

Kakashi closed his eyes, waiting for the final blow. Gai did not disappoint.

"Do you know what I would give to go back in time and go on that mission with Akane? I had the option, but there was a solo mission that also needed to be done, and –"

Kakashi snapped open his eyes to meet Gai's. "It was a slaughter. You'd both have died."

"How can you know that?" Gai said, voice shaking now. "You can't. No one can."

"You'd have gone eight gates," Kakashi said, suddenly sure. "If there was any chance. And then she'd be left in the same position."

"With the baby," Gai said firmly, as if he had gone over this one million times in his mind already. And he had, Kakashi knew.

"And if that wasn't enough?" pressed Kakashi. He wasn't sure what made him ask, but something compelled him. "If you all died?"

Gai didn't answer, only met his eyes steadily, and Kakashi realized once more that he'd missed something vital with his friend through all these years, something deep and dark in him that he covered up with jokes and smiles. And Kakashi understood, finally.

"Then what about Lee?" Aoba broke in. "What would have become of Lee? Tenten? Neji?"

Gai subsided, looking off to the side at the floor outside the booth. "Life is complicated that way. We make of it what we can."

Genma spun an empty bottle on the table absentmindedly, his customary smile wiped off his face. "That's what we get, you know. For letting someone in. That's the price we pay."

With surety, Yamato put out his hand to stop the bottle, placing it over Genma's. The bottle was pushed aside, forgotten, as their fingers intertwined.

Raidou looked at the pair, shaking his head. "Do you really think it's worth it? Doesn't the path always lead to the same end?"

Yamato smiled into Genma's eyes. "That's something you have to decide for yourself."

Genma, too, had softened, and his answer was clear in the return of his rakish grin. Predictably, such a display had not failed to move Gai, whose walls were back up, as displayed by the fall of manly, yet silly, tears – but Kakashi knew that Gai would gladly suffer any fate for the happy time spent with his wife.

"I either need more alcohol or you all need less of it," Anko whined, flagging Momoe over again. "How am I the only one here with ovaries?"

Just watching them all in their sappy moment was not comforting to Kakashi, as it probably was meant to be. The buzz began between his ears again, fueled by the ache of too much shochu. He crushed his empty can between his palms in frustration. Anko just rolled her eyes at the display, but when she tried to pass him another can, he shook his head. When Momoe finally made it to the booth, Kakashi tried to hand her money for his drinks, the buzz bouncing around his skull, giving him the jitters. It was time to go.

But Momoe passed right over his money, handing out refills for the rest of them. "Your tab's covered from now on. Don't worry about it."

Kakashi frowned, crushing the money in his fist but still holding it out. "Towards my back bills, then."

"Taken care of," Momoe said with a wink and turned to move on to other customers.

Trying not to let his annoyance spill over, Kakashi got up from the booth and followed her. "Towards her tab, then."

With a sigh, Momoe took his money and uncrumpled it, tucking it into her bosom. "If you insist, but you shouldn't be that way, you know. She was just trying to be thoughtful. It's cute."

"Yes, she's always thoughtful, isn't she," Kakashi said, voice flat.

Momoe frowned. "Is it so hard to let her love you? Truly?"

For a split second, Kakashi could hardly think, the disappointment on Momoe's beautiful face pressing down on his chest like an invisible hand. When the hand raised, it left rage in its place, the buzz screaming. Without another word either to her or his friends, Kakashi turned on his heel and walked away before he said something he'd regret.

For all the times Sakura had turned him away, for Kakashi to be accused of the same thing rankled. What rankled even more was that on some level, Momoe was right, and so were his friends, though they beat around the bush more – to spare his feelings like he was a child, or not to scare him off like he was a frightened dog.

Though his thoughts were elsewhere, Kakashi's strides were purposeful and carried him to his destination. Though the hour was late, Kakashi was unsurprised to see Ibiki's office door cracked open, the dull yellow glow of a lamp seeping out from underneath the cracks. Without hesitation, Kakashi opened the door all the way.

Ibiki did not look up, turning another page of seemingly endless paperwork. "Can I help you?"

Ibiki's tone was disinterested and bored, and though Kakashi was still in touch enough to see the irony of it, it incensed him anyway. Kakashi's hand tightened around the doorknob, making it squeak under the strain.

"She looked for you, you know." Kakashi's tone, on the other hand, was sharp and pointed like a kunai. "Feigned some interest in the Rain courier, but it was bullshit."

Ibiki turned another page. "I'll take your word for it. I expect you to be familiar with recognizing her disappointment, after all."

All at once, Kakashi loosened his grip on the doorknob, fingers going limp as the air fled his lungs. "She needs reassurance," Kakashi said, losing some of his edge. "She needs to be reminded that you care about her, or she'll talk herself out of it."

"If you've confused my office for a mirror, Hatake, then reschedule. I'm short on sleep and shorter on patience," Ibiki growled, finally setting down his pen to rub the exhaustion from his face. "Please redirect your impotent frustration where it belongs. You're not the type of man I'd have chosen to reassure her, but that's the task you've taken on, so tend to it."

Kakashi's hand slipped off the doorknob altogether.

"I take it Shizune has given her the scroll?" Ibiki brandished his pen once more and signed his name with a flourish. "If Sakura uses it, I believe it will be for the good of Konoha and towards a worthy goal she is willing to give her life for. Unlike you, I trust Sakura's decisions."

His fists balling at his sides, Kakashi began to tremble. "I'm not the one who has her doubting herself."

Ibiki chuckled, organizing his papers into neat piles. "Is that so?"

Kakashi felt his familiar smile spreading across his face out of habit. "Remind me again how trust works. Is manipulation part of that?"

At this, Ibiki's movements stilled as he blinked in surprise. "Ah, so that's it."

"You used her against me." Kakashi had Ibiki's attention at last. "Now she thinks that was her purpose here in the first place."

Ibiki massaged his temples with thick fingers crossed with thin white scars, left by long-ago wires. "But that's ridiculous. She's smarter than that."

"She's a genius." Kakashi's voice was even and steady now, the cockiness gone. "But smarter than that? No."

Ibiki waved a weary hand in dismissal that Kakashi should go.

"It won't happen again." Kakashi's words were demanding as his body still blocked the doorway. The implication was clear.

"Understood," Ibiki sighed more than said, the usual calculation in his tone replaced with something closer to sheepishness. "Now get out of my office," he said, but Kakashi was already gone.

And Kakashi stood immobile at the crosspath, the spot he would turn left to go to his own apartment or continue straight to go to her house. He longed to go to the apartment he'd held throughout his adult life, the one tiny room of no intrusions and the austerity of a place to pass the empty hours with sleep.

Kakashi walked straight. He lit on Sakura's balcony and passed through the tingle of seals into her room, but it was empty. And yet he knew she must be here, because he knew where she went when she was upset. The door to the hallway was open, and he passed through it tentatively. As he suspected, the door to Riko's room was open also, and Kakashi could see two lumps under the covers.

It felt like an intrusion to disturb her there, but Kakashi passed the threshold of Riko's bedroom anyway, a place he had never been, somewhere he didn't feel he belonged. Riko's piercing gaze crawled like bugs under Kakashi's skin, increasing his urge to turn back around.

But he didn't. Instead, he propped himself on the doorframe and crossed his arms, waiting. After a minute, Riko rubbed Sakura's back until she roused. Sakura pulled the covers off her tear-streaked face and slowly blinked awake, immediately keying into his presence to meet his eyes.

"Come to bed with me," he said gently, stomach knotting with the fear that she might refuse. Why, he couldn't say, but he knew her well enough to know the possibility existed.

Though she remained expressionless, she swung her legs over the bed. "All right," she said and followed him back to her own room.

Once the door was shut behind them, she began to undress him, starting with slowly tugging off his gloves. Kakashi did not resist, letting her pull at his fingers.

"It's okay," she said at last, when they were both freed from cumbersome clothing. "Bit of a rough night, but I'm fine."

"I'm sorry." Kakashi's voice was so low he wasn't sure she heard him until she paused halfway to the bed. "You may not believe me, but I do trust your judgement. I just –"

His tongue tied and she slowly turned around to face him once more, eyes wide in surprise.

Kakashi swallowed the lump in his throat and continued on. "I'm just selfish. The thought of you lying there, withering like a dried husk –"

Her green eyes softened and she crossed back to him, taking his hands in hers. "I understand. I do. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I can't control your opinion. I don't want to. But sometimes, I need you to…."

She trailed off, looking off to the side.

"Need me to what?"

She sighed. "I don't know. That's the trouble. It's just like… You know me, you know? So if you don't think I can do it, can I really? It's just upsetting to face that. Maybe it's best if I don't learn it after all, to waylay the temptation."

Kakashi's throat constricted. Just as he looked to her for absolution, it had never occurred to him that she looked at him the same way. "You can do it. You will."

Sakura's brow wrinkled in confusion. "But you're right. I didn't think of the effect it would have on you, Naruto, my mother… If the worst were to happen. I'm the selfish one."

"So what if it does?" Kakashi said, voice almost breaking with emotion. "If Tsunade hadn't done what she did, I would be dead. If you do something like it someday, it will save someone else. And that's your call. Not mine."

The truth was, as Kakashi faced now, that if they both made it until Sakura was Tsunade's age, it would be a miracle. Such a life wouldn't be something he regretted, just because it ended – even if it ended tomorrow.

"Don't lessen yourself for me," Kakashi said, tightening his grip on her fingers. "Even if I ask you to. I couldn't bear the thought of it."

"You either, hmm?" She smiled up at him in that sweet way that twisted almost painfully in his gut. "You were always destined for great things in this world. Don't let me stand in your way. Even if it seems nice at the time. Okay?"

"Fates aren't set in stone until they are," Kakashi said. If his name were carved in stone first, she would remember him. And he her. Never before had Kakashi understood what that felt like.

He led her to the bed and climbed into it with her. She lay across his chest and he ran his hands through her loose hair. She always wore it up in public now, the pigtails becoming something of a trademark, but in private, she wore it down for him. He could get used to that. He wanted to.

"Let me move in with you," he said at last, startling her into sitting up.

"Here?" she said, incredulous, green eyes wide like a doe's.

Kakashi chuckled. "Here, the moon, anywhere you like."

"But why?" When Kakashi frowned, she laughed and leaned over to kiss him. "I mean, yeah, of course you can. But I don't understand why you want to."

"Because," Kakashi said slowly, seriously, "I want you to know that when you come home, I'll be there."

Her cheeks turned a bit rosy and her nails dug a little into the flesh of his chest. "Well shit," she said, echoing his words from earlier that day. "What's gotten into you?"

Kakashi pulled her down to him once more. "I'm changing," he said simply.

"Don't," she whispered into his ear, trembling against him. "Not for me. Please."

"Don't fret, Sakura-chan," Kakashi said with a chortle, rubbing circles between her shoulder blades. "I think I like it."

After a while of pleasant silence, Sakura stopped playing with the hairs on his chest to look him in the eye. "Instead, I'll move into your apartment with you. How about that?"

"No," he said immediately. "You don't like apartments."

"You don't like houses!" she countered, scowling.

Kakashi met her gaze head on. "You can't control an apartment. It doesn't belong to you. You can't seal it. You can't change it." When she opened her mouth to argue, Kakashi continued on. "You're on edge whenever you're there. You feel safer in your house because you've made it safer. I'll move here."

Sakura sighed. "But I'm sure you don't like houses because –"

"It doesn't matter," Kakashi interrupted. "You've given enough of yourself for everyone else. Let me give you this."

For a minute, she didn't answer, and then slid up his body to kiss him deeply. "All right. I can see you've made up your mind. But you did know that my mom is moving to the inn when it opens, right? Someone has to monitor it at all times anyway." When Kakashi couldn't hide his relief, Sakura laughed at him. "You're so predictable. But you know, this means whenever you come home, I'll be here, too."

Kakashi slid his hand up the small of her back to tangle in her hair. Yes, I know, he meant to say, but couldn't seem to find his voice. Sakura understood him anyway, smiling as she pecked him on the cheek and settled into his side for sleep.

"God," she sighed into the crook of his neck, irritation already twitching her features. "My mom's going to be so annoying. She'll probably cry, and then scrub everything…"

Kakashi laid there for a long time, listening to her breath even out as she dropped off to sleep. It didn't matter where they were – her house, his apartment, another country. If she was there, he was home.

The next morning, Sakura was hopping around on one foot looking for her other boot, which she'd thrown so many different curses at that her mother stopped helping and left for the inn in a huff.

Just as Kakashi located it and she snatched it out of his hand, a knock came at the door. With a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, Sakura turned to him with pleading eyes. Kakashi sighed, yanked some pants on, and padded downstairs.

He opened the door mid-knock to see a little boy no more than six on the doorstep, wearing a surly scowl on his face, and on his back, what looked like his entire belongings in an oversized knapsack.

"You don't live here," the boy accused, glaring up at him through messy black bangs.

Kakashi had no response to that. If a child could see it, how could he argue?

"Well, where is Sakura?" the boy demanded, trying to peer around Kakashi. "And why don't you have clothes on?"

By this time, Sakura had made her way downstairs and was muffling giggles behind her palm. "Shinichi-chan, this is Kakashi, and he does live here now. It's nice to see you. But where are your mother and sister?"

Shinichi stared at his shoes guiltily, but still jutted out his jaw in defiance. "I'm doing what you said. I'll live up to the Will of Fire like my dad. I'm enrolled at the Academy. I start next week."

"Th-that's not quite what I meant…" Sakura said weakly, trying to smile. "But good for you. Where are you staying?"

When Shinichi didn't answer, Kakashi tried to shut the door in his face, quickly realizing where this was going. Sakura, though, was too fast, and stopped the door with her foot, glaring at Kakashi all the while.

"All right, Shinichi-kun. Why don't you come inside? We'll figure something out."

As Sakura took a quick second to grant him access through the seals and led the boy into the kitchen to pour him a bowl of cereal, Kakashi groaned. This was his idea, he reminded himself. And Sakura took in strays. That was simply what Sakura did.

Sakura shot Kakashi an apologetic look as she poured a bowl for him too. With a sigh, Kakashi sat down to eat it. She kissed him on the cheek as she bent down to whisper in his ear.

"You'll drop him off at the inn until I sort this out, won't you? I'm already late for work."

Kakashi grunted and she smiled in gratitude before disappearing out the door. As they finished their bowls of cereal, Kakashi and the child sized each other up.

When they were done, Kakashi threw their bowls in the sink and ran upstairs to quickly pull on his uniform. Shinichi, though as stony-faced as ever, waited patiently until he came downstairs.

"All right, kid. Follow me."

"Why should I?" the boy said petulantly, but nevertheless followed Kakashi out of the door.

"Because I could kill you," Kakashi said casually. "That's how it works here. If you want to be a ninja, get used to it."

That shut Shinichi up, though it didn't cool his glare. Riko accepted the boy with no explanation, clucking her tongue and using spit to wipe dirt off his chin, which he tried to wiggle out of. Thankful, Kakashi turned and walked towards the training field he was supposed to meet Iruka at an hour ago.

But Kakashi didn't hurry, strolling contentedly. Life with Sakura would never stay quiet for long – but absolutely nothing about it would ever be empty ever again.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted Iruka as he approached. The genin were already engaged in exercises.

"Cheerful this morning, aren't you?" Iruka asked, raising a skeptical brow. He didn't even comment on the time. "Somehow I expected you to be more … hungover."

"Oh, I am," Kakashi assured with a smile. "But I'm a kitten compared to Sakura. Why, just this morning, she assaulted my virgin ears with the filthiest word I've ever heard in my –"

"I get the picture!" yelped Iruka, as the nearest genin's interests were already piqued. "Now, let's get started."

"Yes," Kakashi said sagely. "It wouldn't do to waste time, would it? Punctuality is key, don't you think?"

As Iruka's eye began to twitch in suppressed fury, Kakashi's grin only grew. He could definitely get used to this.