Shit. That was exactly the word that Kakashi was thinking. He didn't say anything though. No, he couldn't bring himself to do more then just stand there with a stupid look on his face. He just stood there as his throat began to feel a bit restricted. It was as if he could actually feel the leash that was bound between the two of them tighten right there on the spot.

"Okay," Tsunade broke the strained silence that had blanketed the room. "We need to figure out just how far you can go from eachother." She pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. Yes. Kakashi internally nodded to himself. That indeed needed to be the first step. They would need to do that and soon. Kakashi awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other. All eyes looked at him. Where they waiting for an answer from him? Or should he just start walking away? What did these women want from him?

"So, I should, just, uh, start to walk away?" He asked as he settled onto both feet and shoved his hands in his pockets. He looked to Tsunade who had one brow arched as she stared at him.

"No, " She said with a shake of the head. "That wouldn't give us a proper idea of the distance. I want it exact, down to the foot." Her eyes kept on flicking between Kakashi and Sakura. This was probably not what she wanted to be doing at the moment. Hell, it wasn't what he wanted to be doing at the moment. He would much rather be reading a book perched in a tree or be on some type of mission. Anytype of mission. But, no, that wasn't going to happen because once again this situation had thrown a curve ball at him. "We will walk down to the village find a long straight road, or ally, and then go from there. Ino, go grab a wheel chair," Tsunade said as she spoke to Sakura. Both of them nodded in response.

It only took a moment for the two women to get Sakura situated in the chair then they were off to exit the hospital. It was quiet in the building and all Kakashi was thinking was that he wanted the place to be busy and full of life. Not this quiet were he could hear everyone's foot falls, the low whirl of the wheels of the chair and there was also the drumming of his own heart beat that he could feel and hear in his ears. He wanted something to distract him from what they were going to do. Something loud and annoying like Naruto. That wasn't meant to be. No, there were a few nurses here and there that went into rooms but they only just glanced their way before continuing on to what ever it is that they were doing moving as silent as ghosts.

As they walked towards the exit Kakashi could feel his mouth begin to dry. He had thought that he had come to terms with what was happening. Well, he had come to terms with what he thought was happening. Those were the terms he was some what comfortable with. Hell, he figured that things wouldn't be too increadibly different. That day to day within the village would remain the same and that when they got missions the two of them would just have to partner up. Then when they found a way to reverse the jutsu everything would be fine. This he could handle. He would welcome having Sakura as a partner, she was more then capable. Now? He wasn't sure. What if he could only go a small distance? How much would everything once again change? He glanced down at Sakura in her wheelchair. She was worrying the blanked that was over her lap and had her bottom lip tucked under her front teeth. That was when guilt hit him like a fish to the face. Here he was worrying just about himself when he wasn't the only one that was effected by this. No, she was just as bound to him as he was to her. To be tied to him… That was probably worse.

With a sigh they left the door of the hospital. Kakashi could feel the gaze of the front desk staff watching them as they left. Not only were they going to find out how far they could go from one another, this was also the first appearance that Sakura was going to make to the village. Licking his lips he forced his eyes to take in his surrounding. Just as the hospital was settling for the night the village was also. There were a few shop keepers closing for the night and a few people taking a walk, but for the most part the streets were cleared of it's population. Kakashi felt relief. Which was kind of laughable since only a moment ago he was yearning for there to be hustle and bustle around him. Now, he was glad that there weren't going to be many witnesses to what they were trying to figure out.

Abrubtly Tsunade came to a halt which caused the rest of the group to also stop. Kakashi looked to her, her mouth was quirked to one side while her eyes were narrowed as she looked down the ally way that was in front of them. "This should do," she murmed as she turned her attention to Kakashi. "So, now you just go ahead and walk down the street until you hear Sakura say stop." She lifted her chin in the direction of the gravel road ahead of them.

Kakashi nodded at her then looked down to Sakura. She had a hesitant smile on her lips as she looked up for him. The sight caused his stomach to twist a bit. This was it. They would soon know what hand fate had dealt to them. He tried to smile back at her, but only one side of his mouth would raise into a semi smile. He looked at the other women who were looking at him with their brows drawn. With a deep breath he turned his body and began to walk away.

He felt as if he was walking a plank. One he didn't know where the end was. With each step he calculated the distance he was going. Twenty feet. Fifty feet. One hundred. One hundred and seventy five. The farther away he went the more relief he felt ,but at the same time his stomach continued to twist. He tried to just remain focused on his foot falls and calculation but his mind just kept on trying to wander.

"Stop, please," It was barely audible but he heard her. The sound of her voice made the hairs on the back of his neck and arms raise as it reminded him of the whisper of voice she had when she didn't have a body. He turned around looking at the ground at first as he finished his calculations. Less then one thousand feet. Nine hundred and eighty seven to be exact. That was the distance that they could go from each other. Pursing his lips he finally let his eyes look up to meet Sakura. Her body was visibly tensed. Her face was slightly contorted with a grimace and her hands clutched tightly to the arm rests of the wheel chair she was in. Guilt. The all too familiae feeling washed over him as he quickly began to walk towards her. Her discomfort was because of him. She was feeling this way because he was too far away. It was a cruel joke. It seemed no matter what he did the ones that were the most important to him seemed to suffer.

The moment he started to walk forward he could see her body relax. By the time he was next to her it was like as if nothing had happened. She looked up to him again with a hesitant smile as she reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears. Her hand had a tiny shake to it as she moved it. If he wasn't fully paying attention he was sure he would have missed the small tremor. There was a sigh that brought his attention to Tsunade who was once again pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Okay. Let's get Sakura back into her room. That was a long enough field tip," she said with a frown.

The walk back was just as silent as the walk out. Though now it felt as if it was loud with all the thoughts that were whipping through his head. He was so deep in thought that he had almost walked past Sakura's door. In fact he was sure that he would have if he didn't slam into Ino as she stopped to go into the room. She looked over her shoulder and glared at him. All he could do in return was a nervous smile and shrug.

Once Saukra was once again in her bed Tsunade shut the door and placed a seal on it. Much like the seals that she would use in her office when she was discussing highly classified information.

"Who knows of the binding?" She asked as she turned from the seal. Her eyes were hard as she looked at them.

"Um, I think just team Kakashi and me. I mean there have been whispers that Sakura is alive but I have not heard anything about what happened," Ino said slowly with her brow drawn.

"Good. Lets keep it that way," Tsunade said as she walked next to Sakura's bed. "We don't want this getting out. Having two of the Leafs most prized shinobi bond to each other so closely would be a bounty hunters wet dream," she said as she crossed her arms. Honestly if it were a different situation Kakashi probably would have laughed hearing the Hokage say something like that. Though, at the moment all humor was falling flat. "This does make things a but more complicated then we had previously thought," She murmered. "I think that we all need to let this information settle over the night. There isn't much we can do about anything right now. So let's get some rest and discuss this in the morning. Sakura you look exhausted and Kakashi you look like shit." He pursed his lips at that statement. Going with out much sleep for three weeks tends to do that to people. "I am sorry Ino, but it seems that your girls night is going to be cut short as we need Kakashi to stay here with Sakura."

"I understand," Ino said with a nod. She looked to Sakura with a soft smile. "We can catch up once you are released." She said as she gripped onto Sakura's shoulders with a light squeeze. Sakura smiled back at her and nodded her head.

"Alright. I'll be here first thing in the morning. I was going to have you stay for a few more days, but since the situation has changed, I may have you released if the rest of the tests come back normal. I know being in the hospital is like a slow torture for Kakashi, and since you are stuck with him, I don't want to put you through that. We'll have to figure this whole situation out as we go I suppose," she said with a sigh. "You have a good night and get some sleep. Don't fret. It won't do any good," She began to turn towards the door and pulled the seal. She nodded to Ino who quickly followed after her. Leaving Sakura and Kakashi alone in the room.

The silence that filled the room felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. Kakashi wasn't sure what to do. He stood in the same place that he had been since he entered the room. slowly he shifted his weight from foot to foot. What now?

"You should sit," Sakura said softly after a few minutes of complete and utter awkwardness. He looked at her and nodded taking the seat next to her bed. It was a spot he had been very familiar with. Since it was the place where he had spent most of his time since they had put Sakura back into her body. Though, at the moment the chair and the room he had grown accustom to felt very alien. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. Instead he kept his gaze fixed on the blanket that was falling off of the bed slightly. He could feel her gaze on him. He couldn't look because the guilt that he felt was so overwhelming. He was a chain on her. He was the one that was going to set restrictions on her life. She would be miserable having to be stuck with him all the time.

"I am sorry." His eyes snapped up to her face. She wasn't looking at him instead she was looking at her hands as she rubbed one over the knuckles of the other. His brows lowered as he looked at her. "I am so sorry," She whispered in almost a sob. This caused all the muscles in his body to coil. "I am sorry, it's because of me..."

"That I am alive," he growled out between clenched teeth. Her whole body jumped at the force of his words. "Stop. Stop apologizing. There is nothing that you have to do that for. Because of you I am here. I didn't see that nin. I don't know what jutsu he was going to place on me. I don't know if he would have killed me or would have done something worse. You are the one that stopped that. You are the one that saw what I should have. You sacrificed for me, even if I don't deserve it." The anger was fading from his voice, fleeing with each word he spoke. This was not her fault. Not at all. If any one had to take the blame then it would be him. She layed in her bed staring at him with wide eyes. There was a moment when both just sat there looking at each other. It was as if she was searching for something, but he couldn't tell what.

"Fine," she said with a sigh. He raised a brow as he watched her slowly shake her head. "But if I need to stop, then so do you. You are human and you make mistakes. We work as a team to cover each others backs. That's all I was doing. I would do it every single time with out a second thought. Don't say you don't deserve it. I don't think that is something you get to decide," she glared at him as she crossed her arms under her breasts. He couldn't help the smirk that lifted his lips as he looked at her. At that moment she reminded him of a very angry kitten. One that was trying to roar like a lion. That was just on the outside. He knew she was more lioness then tabby.

"Fair enough," he said as he leaned back in his chair lifting his legs to rest on the side of her bed. Her eyes were narrowed as she watched him move. After a moment she nodded her head and shimmed herself lower in her bed.

"Good," She said as she turned herself on her side and positioned her pillow. "Good night, Kakashi."

"Night, Sakura," He murmmered back at her. With in seconds he noticed her breathing shifting as she succumbed to sleep.

He awoke the next morning surpised that he was actually able to find sleep the night before. He'd guess that he had fell asleep shortly after Sakura. While sleeping in a chair didn't help his stiff joints, he did feel more awake then he had since he had thought that Sakura was dead. He shifted his back letting it crack and pop with the movements then pushed himself up in the chair so he was sitting up right. As he did there was a soft knock on the door and Tsunade entered the room.

"She's still sleeping," she said softly as she walked in. He looked over to the lump of blankets in front of him to see it rise and fall slowly.

"Seems like it," his voice was gruff as he ran a hand through his hair. Tsunaded nodded and grabbed the chart that was at the bottom of her bed.

"Ideally I would want her to stay here for a few day just for observation. But, I know that the hospital is not where you want to be. So the observation will be up to you," she half whispered as her eyes scanned the chart. "We do have a problem, though. Where is it that the two of you can stay while we figure everything out." Kakashi pursed is lip. He didn't think about that. A thousand feet away from each other and Sakura would be in pain. That meant that there was no way that he could stay in his apartment and her at her place. The distance was too far. "I checked with the landlords of each of your complexes to see if there were any vacancies, but neither had any," She looked up to him her finger tapping on the clip board. "We don't know for how long we are going to need to keep you two together. I can't imagine the both of you staying in the shoe boxes you both call home." She was right. Neither of them had accomodations for more then one. "What about the Hatake estates?" She asked as she gently placed the clipboard back into it's holder.

"No," he said as he shook his head. "It hasn't been taken care of. It may be in complete shambles. I haven't been there in over fifteen years," he rubbed the back of his neck. Tsunade's eyes narrowed. He knew that was not something she wanted to hear. He knew that she had been friends with his father. That it was probably was a little disappointing to hear that Sakumo's son had let their home in such disarray. For a long time he had wanted to just sell it. He couldn't though. So there the house sat vacant except for the dust that covered it and the rodents that had taken shelter in it. He really should fix it. Especially since he had made peace with his father.

"My parents house," croaked the lump of blankets. He looked to see Sakura roll over on her back. Her arm was placed over her eyes as she let out a long yawn. "I'll just need a genin team to go early for the monthly maitence," she said at the tail end of the yawn.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Tsunade said as she went to stand next to the head of the bed.

"It's fine. I would probably have woken up soon anyways," she lifted her arm away from her face and began to stretch them over her head as her back arched. Kakashi's eye was drawn to her chest that was raised up. Suddenly it hit him that she neither had on a bra or bindings. Quickly he adverted his gaze and cleared his throat. He looked to Tsunade who was observing him with a raised brow.

"So the Haruro estate," Tsunade said slowly not breaking her gaze from him which made Kakashi want to squirm but he forced himself to remain still.

"Mmmhmmm," Sakura hummed as she finished her stretch. "I have had it taken care of since my father passed. I never could figure out if I wanted to keep it or sell it. I guess it's a good think I held onto it." Out of the corner of his eye he could see her wiping the sleep from her eyes. He didn't look though. No, he couldn't with the way Tsunade was studying him.

"Are you sure?" Tsunade finally broke eye contact and looked at Sakura with a much softer gaze. He could see the pink hair bob as she nodded. "Okay, I will have a genin team go and clean it up. It should be complete by early evening. In the mean time, I want to run a few more test to make sure everything is normal."

"Sounds good with me," Sakura said as she sat up in her bed. Tsunade looked back at Kakashi for a moment, then turned and left the room.

The rest of the morning and after noon was much like the previous day. The moment visiting hours came the rest of the team and Ino had shown up and every few hours Sakura was wheeled away for some type of test. There was a lot of noise and movement that made the early part of the day go by quickly.

Mid after noon was when Tsunade returned. She walked into the room reading several sheets of paper. Everyone became silent as they watched her slowly walk in.

"Everything is absolutely normal," she murmered as she continued to read the papers. "I really don't have a clue how you did it. Even now. Not a hint. We will be having to go over what happened and what you did in much greater detail very soon," she looked down at Sakura with what seemed to be aw.

"Sakura-chan gets to go home? Alright! Let's have a welcome back party!" Naruto yelled as he stood from the chair he was sitting at. Behind him Sasuke let out a sigh.

"Dobe, I think that a party will have to be later. I think Sakura will just want to get settled in," he scowled at Naruto, but then his gaze fell to Sakura and it became soft. That small change in expression had Kakashi narrowing his eyes at the man.

"Well, we can help her get settled in," Naruto grumbled as looked to Sasuke.

"No, I think Sasuke-kun is right," Sakura said with a blush spreading over her cheeks and Kakashi couldn't help but narrow his eyes even further at her response.

"I agree. Wait to have the party. The retraction of Sakura's obituary won't be out for a couple more days. That should give Kakashi and her time to settle in," Tsunade gaze went from face to face to finally settle on Kakashi. Once again he fought the urge to fidget. Why was she constantly staring at him like that?

"Kakashi and Sakura? Why would Kakashi need to settle in?" Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Tsunade make sure that you don't send Naruto out on diplomatic meetings that happen over dinner," Tenzo sighed as he shook his head. "We discussed this over lunch. Sakura and Kakashi can't go far from each other until we figure out how to undo the jutsu. So until then they will be living together in Sakura's families old house," Yamato spoke slowly as he looked at Naruto who's mouth was formed into a perfect "o". Naruto then looked from Kakashi to Sakura.

"You okay living with an old perv like him?"

"It's not as if they have much of a choice in the matter, you idiot," Sasuke growled as he slapped the back of Naruto's head. Kakashi raised a brow at that. While Sasuke often yelled at Naruto he had never really taken such and aggravated tone with him since he had come back .

"It'll be fine," Sakura sighed. "We will get settled in, then in a few days you can throw your party. Okay Naruto?" She said with a smile. Naruto looked at her for a moment before he grinned and shook his head. "Okay, good. Now why don't you all let us get settled then you can come over tomorrow?" She glanced to the faces of her team. Kakashi was surprised they all took the hint and said fair well as a nurse came with the paperwork for her release. Which was fine with him. He didn't need his rag tag team following him back to his place while he picked up essentials. Luckly Sakura had Ino grab her a bag so they only had one stop to make.

"Ughh, I don't see why you can't just let me walk out of the hospital. My legs are good and actually need to move around," Sakura grouced as she was wheeled through the halls. The nurse behind her just hummed as she kept on pushing.

"You know hospital policy, Sakura-sama. Once you get out of the doors you can walk on your own if you did not arrange to have transport," she said in an utterly sweet tone as they turned to enter the foyer of the hospital. Sakura let out a grunt as she pouted in her chair. Kakashi reached out to tussle her hair. The moment his hand touched her scalp his skin once again warmed and he nearly let out a purr at the feeling. It took everything in him to continue to continue the playful action and not recoil or just stroke her hair in a much less playful manner.

"You'll be able to stretch your legs soon enough Sakura-chan," he forced a smile as he looked down at her. She looked up at him with wide eyes and he knew that she must have also still feel what ever the hell it was that was happening between them. Blinking she shook her head as she broke eye contact.

"I know, you're right," she sighed slumping in her chair.

Almost before they made it to the door Sakura was out of her chair. Stretching arms above her head and legs out. Her bones letting out pops and cracks with the movements. "That feels soo good," she nearly purred as a shudder went through her body. "It really is amazing that there was only a little atrophy," she remarked as she finished her stretch. Kakashi couldn't help but stare. Yes, she was attractive and it was always nice to appreciate a woman as she stretched. That wasn't the reason his eyes were glued to her. No, because this was so normal. Here they were standing outside in the village they called home, both of them solid flesh and bone. She was here. He could hear her. The nightmare of having her dead was finally over. It didn't matter that there were new limitations to their life. No, because she was here.

She turned and smiled a bright smile her eyes shone as she looked at him. It was a genuine smile. It wasn't like the forced or hesitant smiles she had been giving him for the past day. She looked so free.

"It is so good to be on my own two feet and out in the village, with you being able to hear me," she sighed as she finished her stretch. He smiled at her as she let her arms drop down to her side. "So to your place?" Kakashi nodded at her and turned to walk to his home.

The walk while it was short felt like it was taking forever. Mainly because everyone was stopping to stare at them. There were even several woman who were holding onto bags from the market that let them drop to the ground once they saw Sakura. There were whispers and murmurs that followed their every step. People saying that they think that they saw a ghost. Others commenting on how much Sakura looked like Sakura, and just some plain "what the hells." While the amount of attention made Kakashi uncomfortable it seemed that it didn't bother Sakura one bit. She just smiled and waved at the people as she walked along. It honestly seemed as if she was enjoying the confusion that she was causing.

"I am pretty sure that I gave the gossiping circles a good amount to talk about," she laughed as they closed in on his apartment door. She giggled a bit as she pushed her shoulder into his. Again the warming sensation took over his body. He tried to ignore it, but honestly it was really really hard to. He hummed to her as he opened the door to his home.

They walked in and that was when things really began to hit him. They were in his home, to get him necessities because he was going to live with Sakura. An awkward silence took over as he closed the door and both of them stood looking into his apartment. Well, at least he had cleaned it up, though the walls were still decorated with holes

"So..." Sakura said as she cleared her throat. He turned to look at her and she once again had that hesitant smile pulling at her lips. "Do you need help packing?" She asked as she rocked on the sole of her foot. He stared at her for a moment before blinking and shaking his head.

"No, It should only take me a moment. You can just, uh, take a seat and I'll be out soon," he nodded in the direction of the couch as he forced himself to smile. Sakura forced another smile as she pushed her hair behind her ears and walked further into the apartment.

He shoved clothes into his bag with out even really looking at them. Not that there really was any need. Most of the time he just wore his jonin gear. So it didn't matter as long as it was dark. He sighed as he shoved some underwear in. Why did it feel so awkward with her? While he was helping her it didn't feel this strained. Hell, even when he was convinced she wasn't real. Why was it so different now? And why did this surprise him? It wasn't like they were really anything more then friendly associates to each other. So of course moving in together and spending so much time was going to be off putting. Then again, it was almost easy being around her when she was a specter.

"You sure you don't need help in there?" He heard Sakura call from the other room. He looked down as his hand to realize that he had probably been holding onto his boxers for a few minutes as he let his mind question his predicament. He shook his head.

"No, I am good. Just need to get some things from the bathroom and we can get going," He yelled back as he shoved more clothing into his bag.

As they left his apartment and started the trek to Sakura's house Kakashi noticed that she had lost all of the carefree attitude that she had when they had left the hospital. Out of the corner of his eye she could see her tucking her bottom lip under her teeth, and occasionally worrying her hands together. He didn't say anything, because he didn't know what to say. As they walked even closer to their destination she then began to chew on her thumb nail. That made him turn his head. It was a habit that she had broke shortly after becoming a genin. She hated that she would chew her nails. She had done everything to curb the habit. She would paint her nails even leave the juice of hot peppers on them. So seeing her gnawing away was a little unsettling. What did she have to be so nervous about?

Kakashi cleared his throat, gaining her attention. She looked over at him with wide eyes and brows raised, her thumb nail still clenched between her teeth. He let his gaze move from her eyes to her mouth, then back to her eye. A slight blush rushed to her cheeks as she pulled her thumb from her mouth. He couldn't help but smirk at the look on her face and the fact that it colored so prettily. That was something he didn't realized that he missed when she didn't have her body. The way she lightly blushed when she was embarrassed.

A light blush looked good on her. Though, she was no where near a light blush as they walked up the path to her families home. No, the light blush has bloomed into something else entirely. Her face was almost alarmingly read, along with her ears and it seemed to be getting worse the closer they got to the house. Kakashi was positive if he touched her skin that she would be hot to the touch. "Sakura, are you feeling okay?" He slowed his pace causing her to stop and turn around and look at him. Her face was red, her mouth was pursed and her eyes were wide with some unknown emotion. A surge of panic ran down his spin. Was there something wrong?

"I am fine," She smiled. Though, the smile was beyond forced or hesitant. It was fake and terrifying at the same time. All of her teeth shone as she bared them, her hands clenching into small balls at her sides.

"Are you sure? You really don't look good," He watched her with a lowered brow. She narrowed her eyes at him as she frown.

"I said I was fine. I'm just... Well... Oh, you'll see," she let out a frustrated huff as she turned and stomped up to the door. He stood back for a moment, completely perplexed as to what would cause her to act the way she was acting. He watched her open the door then disappear inside the house.

"You coming or not?" She yelled from inside. He couldn't help as his brow lowered even more. He didn't understand what was going on. Shaking his head and taking in a deep breath he adjusted the strap of his pack on his shoulder and walked in to the house.

Kakashi stood in the doorway completely confused. He did not know what he had walked into. He had never seen anything like it in his life. Well, maybe in fairytale books but never in real life. All he could do was stand in the door way and stare at what was surrounding him. It looked like a candy factory had exploded and created a house. Everything looked as if it was made out of some type of sugary concoction. The walls were painted in overly bright colors, the trim looked like it was made out of some candy ropes and peppermint sticks. To the side there was a sitting room that held chocolate brown sofas with decorative pillows that resembled frosting and gum drops. The kitchen cabinets were painted a ginger bread color with hardware that looked like random hard candy. He rocked on his heels, leaning back to look at the exterior of the house. It was normal. Nothing that would have anyone thinking that this would be the interior.

He leaned back into this candy land and finally looked to Sakura who stood in the entry was pulling at her top. She was still a deep shade of red as she studied him. For a few moments they looked at each other, until she let out a huff and took a step forward.

"Okay, I know that it is weird," she said as she narrowed her gaze at him. Weird may have been an understatement for the décor. He broke eye contact with her as he took a step in looking around once more. That's when he noticed not just the over abundance of candy, but intertwined in the décor were a good amount of snakes. Yeah weird really didn't cut it.

"It is sure... unique," He took another step in. That's when the stale smell of the house hit him. Dust and moth balls filled the air. Sakura rolled her eyes. The red in her face slightly dissipating as her shoulder drooped.

"Yeah, I know," She rubbed the back of her neck then shook her head. "Well, anyways welcome to your home a way from home," she attempted to smile. "Let me show you around." It was a good sized house, especially to be located so deep in the village. It wasn't a sprawling estate like the clans had but there was more than enough room for a small family. A small family with a weird obsession with candy and snakes, that is.

"So that's everything. The only rooms that have beds are my old one and my parents. Which do you want?" Sakura asked as she brought them back into the living room. By that time her color had mostly returned to normal. Kakashi pursed his lips. To be honest, neither seemed like a good choice. If he were to choose Sakura's child hood bed room, well that just seemed odd, but then again so did requesting the room of deceased people.

"I am fine where ever you put me," he smiled at her. That would work. Let her decide. She pursed lips as she looked at him. Her brows drew down a bit as she cocked her head to the side. He wondered what was going on in that mind of hers.

"Well, why don't you stay in my old room. It probably has the least amount of quirkiness to it," she nodded her head. And that was true. Her old room just looked very feminine. But there wasn't any candy nor snakes. He shook his head as he picked up his pack where he left it before she showed him around. "Well, why don't you get settled and I'll order something to eat. To be honest, I will probably wind up crashing after the food. I am getting really tired," She laughed as she rubbed her neck. "It's funny how that works. I slept for three weeks and can barely seem to stay up past eight." He smiled softly at her and reached out to ruffle her hair. Again warmth filled his skin. He really needed to not touch her.

"Take it easy, Sakura," he said as he pulled his hand away. "You have been through a lot. You're still recovering. You'll be good as new in no time," he shrugged as he pushed his hands into his pockets. She smile back.

"I know, I have never been a good patient. Might have got that bad habit from you," she laughed. "Anyways, what do you want to eat?"

"I am fine with anything, just nothing sweet," he said as he walked past her.

He didn't bother taking his clothes out of the bag. He just set his duffel at the end of the pink bed and pulled out his toilet trees and put them in the bathroom that was attached to the room. He slowly walked back into the room. When she was showing him around he didn't really have time to study it, so now he stood in the center and looked around. The bed was covered in a pink duvet cover, which he had to laugh as the pattern on it was very much like his own, dark pink shurikans and flowers pattern sprawled over it. The walls were a light yellow and she had several book cases. Half of them held books while the others had knick knacks and pictures. Kakashi took a minute to look at the one filled with small figurines, they all screamed young girl, cute little animals dressed in clothes, music boxes, but what had caught his eyes was the mask that was behind them. It looked to be an ANBU mask. No, not just looked, it was an ANBU mask. It was actually one that he knew. He frowned as he reached out and let his fingers graze the surface. The surface was the cool as the ogre bared it's teeth. A vast difference from the cutesy animals that surrounded it. Why would she have this in her room?

"Food will be here in ten." He straightened as he heard Sakura yell up the stairs. He looked at the mask for a moment more before turning to join her down stairs.

Dinner was a quite affair. He didn't know what to say, and he was sure that she was still uncomfortable to have him in her house. So they ate silently. He did have a laugh though, because he had pulled his mask down to eat and there was a moment when she was staring at him with wide eyes. She did manage to recoup apologized for staring and continued with her meal. As she had stated, she did indeed turn in for the night after she took care of the dishes. This left Kakashi in a house that he wasn't familiar with not really comfortable in. He wandered through it a bit, but after a while deceided that it would be best to just get to bed and pull out his book and read until he fell asleep. He did need to fight the urge to check on her every once in a while. That was all he needed, was for her to wake up to see him staring at her as she slept. That's totally not creepy. If that happened it would do nothing to help the current situation that they were in.

He couldn't sleep. Well, no he couldn't stay asleep. It was one of those nights that every movement would cause him to wake up. Sighing, he once again rolled over in the twin bed trying to get comfortable. Which he may have for a while, but then the air began to fill with a sweet smell. In the back of his mind he imagined that the house was coming alive and all the fake candy was real and up to no good, he shook his head as he sat up in bed. The frame groaned under his weight. He smelled the air again, and it was becoming stronger, the smell of sugar, vanilla, almonds. He looked to the clock, it read two a.m. Running a hand over his face he stood. What was she doing up this late?

He took his time getting to the source of the aroma. In the kitchen he found Sakura sitting at the small island in the middle of the room, in front of her a warming bowl of some type of sugary concoction. In her hand were what looked to be plyers and in the other was some type of sculpture. She hadn't even noticed he was near. Her brows were low and her gaze intent on what it was she was working on. She was precise in her movement as she stretched the medium into different shapes. After standing for a few moments we walked further into the kitchen.

"Couldn't sleep?" He tried to keep his voice low, but it came out louder then he had wanted it to. Sakura jumped as she turned her head to look at him.

"Gah! You scared me Kakashi!" She frowned at she pointed her plyers at him. He held up his hands and took a step back.

"Not my intent. I apologize. Though, you really should have been able to sense or hear me coming," he smirked as he walked to the other side of the kitchen island and pulled a stool out to sit. This once looked like it was made of some type of jelly beans. She glared at him and let out a long sigh.

"Yeah, well really not up to par yet, ya know. Something about being dead would do that, and I was a bit distracted," she said as she began to work on her creation. Kakashi sat silently for a moment and just watched as she manipulated the form of what ever it was she was using until a fox appeared out of it. He raised a brow as she placed it next to her in a box were it joined several other familiar animals.

"Interesting hobby," he said as he gestured to the box filled with slugs, birds, dogs, toads, snakes and foxes. She looked at him through her lashes as she reached for more of what was in the pot. "Didn't know you were artistic." She snorted as she looked at him.

"I'm not really all that good at it," she frowned a little as she rubbed the material in her hand. "Not as good as my father was." She began to wrap the sugar around a small stick.

"Ah, so you father was the one that was so into..." He gestured around the house. "Candy?" She once again looked at him through her lashes and he could see that she was trying to fight a smile. Fight as she may, she couldn't stop it nor the snort of a chuckle.

"Yeah, it was my father that was really into candy," she let herself smile as she looked back down to whatever it was she was creating. "He use to own a candy store by the academy. After he was pulled off active duty sugar was his life." Kakashi cocked his head. He was almost positive that Sakura's parents had been civilians. That was the reason neither of them were buried in the shinobi grave yard.

"Active duty?" He questioned. She smirked at him, like she knew something that he didn't. And she did. Her head bobbed as she started to form the what looked like horns.

"Oh, well technically my family is classified as civilians. Though, there are reasons that not all shinobi are recorded with in the ranks," she said as she pressed in what may have been eyes.

"Are you talking root?" He asked cautiously. She lowered her creation and glared at him.

"Really?" He shrugged his shoulders at her. "No, not Root. My parents were technically rogues from Mist. They came here to seek asylum," she brought her attention back to her work. He frowned as she spoke. He wasn't aware of that. Not that he knew anything really about her family. There were only a few times he had seen them, and maybe passed a handful of words back and forth. "They were trained to be shinobi. They were preparing to try and qualify for genin, when my father found out just what the process entailed. This was still when it was the bloody Mist. My father and mother had been best friends since they both could walk. They loved each other. They were also in the same graduating year. My father refused to kill her. She didn't even know about it. Not until he came and took her in the middle of the night. They fled and wound up here." Kakashi nodded his head. He was aware of Mists past, and it really wasn't a surprise to know that they had taken in refugees. What was surprising was that Sakura said that he was active duty. That wasn't something that happened. Having some one from another village be a shinobi to theirs, that was asking for spies to infiltrate and villages to become angry at one another.

"Then how was your father active duty?" He rubbed his neck. Honestly he felt as if he should have known this. Or something about this since they had been aquatiences for so long.

"Well, it wasn't like they showed up here and he got active duty. No," She shook her head. "They came and I think that they worked at the fish market, but I honestly don't really remember. Anyways, so they were working civilian job and that was okay with my mom. She had decided that she wanted nothing to do with being a shinobi. My father, well, he wanted to serve. So he kept on training and teaching himself jutsus in his spare time. One night when he was walking home he over heard some people talking. Turned out they were from a different village and they were planning to attack the Hokage. He stopped it. He took them down and then turned them in. Well the word spread, and if there was one way of getting into good graces it was to stop an attack on the Hokage. For a while he would just be called to the Hokages office. They would have tea, or smoke a pipe. They developed a friendship. That was when he was offered to enter into ANBU. And that is where he stayed till the end," She looked up to Kakashi and turned the candy in her hand to face him. There was the same face of the ANBU mask that was in her book self.

"Your father was Ogre?" He couldn't help the surprise that filled his words. Sakura smirked and nodded her head. He looked around the house. Now it really didn't make sense. Ogre was one of the few ANBU that always refused to take his mask off. Stern with out a sense of humor in his body. There was no way that man would live in this candy explosion. "Really?" He leaned forward. No. This had to be an elaborate made up story. Sakura laughed as she looked at him.

"Yeah, really," she smirked.

"No, there is no way Ogre would have a house like... like this," He motioned once again to the décor.

"Well, you are right about that. The man that wore the Ogre mask would never have done this," she smiled but this time it there was a sadness about it. "When he was in ANBU our house was very much like everyone else, if not a bit cold. That was how he use to be. He was stern, and I know he loved me and my mother fiercely, but he never showed or said it. He was a perfect soldier and ANBU. He is even the reason I am a ninja. I didn't want to, but he made me. Thought that it was everyones duty to serve the village they live in. Anyways, that was a long time ago," she shrugged as she gathered the last of the sugar from the warming pot. "When I was eight is when the mission happened," she sighed. Kakashi nodded. In all shinobis career there was always one mission that changed them completely. Either the way they saw the world, or even the mission that they survived against all odds and took them off of active duty. "I don't really know what happened. It was classified but I do know the out come. My father sustained massive brain injuries that also affected his nervous system. He was no longer steady on his feet, he had a hard time controlling chakra, and his stamina was much lower then it had ever been. If he came back the same man, I am sure that it would have destroyed him. He didn't though. He came back almost a complete stranger. He was no longer stern, or strict. He was the complete opposite. He was light hearted. Said that life is too short not to look for the joy. That's one reason he got into candy making. He loved to watch the excitement on kids faces when they were able to get a treat, or the look on lovers when they got a box of chocolates. He was a bit obsessed if you couldn't tell," she laughed as she pulled legs with the plyers in her hands. "It was, and actually is still a bit embarrassing ,to have the house like this. I just can't seem to remodel it."

"He taught you how to make those then?" Kakashi asked as he pointed to what was beginning to look like a dog in her hand. She hummed as she nodded her head.

"Yeah, at first it was just for fun. But as his body began to lose more control his hands would often shake too hard. So for the last four years of his life I would come over at night and make as many as I could. It wasn't the same as he would make them, people loved to watch him create them, but it was something I could do to help," she shrugged as she held the sugar sculpture in her hand. Kakashi reached out and took the stick from her. There was a tiny version of Pakun complete with his little vest. Kakashi smiled as he twisted the stick around to see all angles.

"This is really good Sakura," He smiled as he looked up at her. She smiled shyly at him, tucking her hair behind her ears, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Thank you," She looked down at the table, then let a sigh out. "I really should try to get some sleep. You should too," she said as she stood up, the blush spreading over her face. Kakashi nodded to her and watched as she walked out of the kitchen. He turned his attention back to the sugary pug, twisting it in his fingers. He frowned slightly as he inspected it closer. He sighed as he looked back to the space that Sakura had left. Once again he felt guilt bubble up How was it possible that he really knew nothing about her?