Ooooh...it's been a while, huh?

So sorry for the long update, I was going to keep this a short one, but it ended up dragging on and ON...so I hope the length is okay.

So, keeping in mind a piece of advice a reviewer gave me about limiting the amount of angst, here's a pretty light-hearted chapter.

If you have any questions as to why I make the characters act the way they do in these particular situations, feel free to pop me a review and I'll get back to you!

Without further ado, here is an all Kakashi POV, because let's face it, I'm in love with the man.

=D

Disclaimer: I own othing-nay, ease-play y-tray o-tay et-gay the essage-may.

-x-X-x-

Chapter 13: Give and Take

-x-X-x-

Kakashi snapped into awareness, his senses going on red-alert and his body tensing in preparation for a fight. Even in the safety of his own apartment back in Konoha, Kakashi always awoke in this manner. It had saved his life out in the field more times than he could count, so he wasn't about to start complaining. It also made coffee rather unnecessary – a cup of the bitter liquid couldn't hope to compare with the quick jolt of adrenaline.

The silver-haired jounin was reclined against the padded booth, an unconscious Sakura Haruno lying on the bench beside him, the top of her head just barely brushing against his knee. Lying on the other side of Kakashi was an equally comatose Naruto Uzumaki, the boy freshly scrubbed and clad in clean clothes bearing the Fangtasia logo. His eyes were shadowed with exhaustion, and when Kakashi leaned forward to look closer, he noted that the boy's fingernails were stained with blood. So the boy had killed last night. If the jounin focused his sense of smell and leaned forward a bit more, he could detect that it was deer – more than one, by the slight varying of scents.

That was something to be grateful for, he supposed. At least Naruto hadn't been so far gone that he couldn't tell the difference between human and animal. That had happened once or twice in the time since the war. Naruto losing control never ended well.

As quietly and carefully as he could, using chakra to mute his progress, Kakashi eased himself from in-between the two shinobi and stepped over the table and onto the main floor. The bar was light tight, but glance at the clock on the wall let Kakashi know that it was 8:35 AM. It was daytime, so the vampires were in their coffins, stowed away somewhere in the bar.

Kakashi sighed, leaning against the bar and carefully recalling the events of last night. His hand pulsed painfully, and he examined the bruised and battered appendage with a blank expression. Sakura hadn't been aware enough to comprehend that in the midst of the cleansing, she had been gripping his hand so hard that Kakashi had felt several bones crack. But Kakashi didn't mention it; he was willing to take a little bit of pain if it meant helping Sakura.

After the wounds were finally clean, it was the Sheriff who volunteered to give her blood. Bill seemed especially adamant about not giving Sakura his blood, which put a bit of suspicion in Kakashi's mind. What exactly was behind the giving of vampire blood?

-x-X-x-

"The process is nearly completed. Compton, will you be providing the blood?" the stout healer asked gruffly, and Bill was shaking his head before the healer finished her sentence.

"No," he stated shortly, his eyes dark and indecipherable. Sakura let out a hair-raising scream at that moment, chilling the air around them and yanking at Kakashi's chest like a fishing hook. He ignored the agony in his hand and sent Bill a sharp look.

"What exactly are the consequences of ingesting vampire blood?"

Bill seemed relieved that Kakashi had brought that point up, while the Sheriff looked simply bored. But there was a tightening to his gaze that Kakashi didn't miss, and his suspicion rose even more. Sakura's yell dwindled to a whimper, and Kakashi's other hand was brushing the hair from her sweaty face before he could think to restrain the urge.

"Vampire blood, as you know, is an incredible healing agent. It can mend injuries that common medical procedures cannot hope to heal. But if taken excessively and in large quantities, it is a drug of sorts. It results in enhanced senses, increased strength, and increased sex drive. If ingested directly from the source – the source being a willing vampire – then the human creates a temporary link with the vampire. The vampire can feel the human's emotions, and can track the human wherever they are. The human also gains a very strong sexual attraction to the vampire in question," Bill explained.

Kakashi's stomach twisted, and his injured hand tightened on Sakura's. No, there was no way that he was going to put Sakura in that sort of position.

"I will give her my blood," the Sheriff murmured from across Sakura's prone body. His hand was still on her shoulders, but now the vampire released the young woman, moving toward her.

"Go ahead and give her blood, Sheriff. Her body is too weak to effectively use chakra to heal itself," Dr. Ludwig stated casually, beginning to collect her equipment into her large medical case.

Kakashi flicked his eye patch up, and his Sharingan spun. The enhanced speed allowed Kakashi's calloused hand to intercept the Sheriff, fingers tightly gripping the vampire's wrist in a hold that would have crippled a human. The vampire merely hissed in warning.

"Release me if you want to keep your arm attached to your body, human," the Sheriff stated calmly, his fangs glinting as he spoke. Kakashi ignored the threat – it was an empty one, anyway – and fixed the vampire with his gaze.

Dr. Ludwig suddenly cut in, "The poison is all gone, but her body is very, very weak. If she doesn't get some vampire blood in her immediately, she will die within a day or so. Make up your minds, she doesn't have much time."

The two battled silently for several moments, and it was the vampire who finally broke the silence with a smirk.

"If you're so against me giving her blood, then fine. Enjoy watching her die."

The vampire made to pull back, but Kakashi felt a stab of panic, and tightened his grip. The Sheriff raised a brow, and Kakashi gritted his teeth so hard that his jaw ached. He was closed in on all sides. There was nothing he could say that would justify refusing the Sheriff's help.

Sakura would die without the vampire's blood.

But the tie they would have…could he handle having Sakura bonded to the vampire in that way? Would she hate him for it, even if it meant life or death? Sakura was the most independent women he knew – she hated being tied to anyone, having learned her lesson after the losses of the Fourth Shinobi War.

"How long will this...connection…last?" the shinobi asked coldly, and Dr. Ludwig pursed her cracked lips.

"For the average human, vampire blood stays in the system for a little more than a month. But Sakura's healing is so advanced; it's unlike any sort of magic I've ever seen. With her 'chakra', I'm sure that her body will flush the vampire blood out in a week or so, two weeks at most."

The Sheriff looked to Kakashi, and the shinobi saw the smug victory in the vampire's gaze. It made Kakashi's nostrils flare, but he managed to keep his temper under control. Think about Sakura, think about Sakura–

"Fine…" Kakashi breathed, and reluctantly released his hold on the Sheriff's wrist. The Sheriff sent him another cool glance before continuing to maneuver Sakura onto his lap. Kakashi smiled softly – even with all of the movement, she never once loosened her hold on his hand. The Sheriff draped the girl across him so she was cradled against his chest and abdomen, her legs dangling helplessly over the edge of the table.

Sakura's upper body was only clad in her chest wrappings, and Kakashi felt a rush of anger when the vampire's cold fingers brushed sensually against the woman's delicate rib cage. There was no need for the vampire's hands to be wandering as much as they were–

"Sakura, can you hear me?" Kakashi asked hurriedly, more to distract himself from the sight of the Sheriff holding Sakura so intimately. The pink-haired kunoichi's eyes fluttered, but the vampire was holding his bleeding wrist to her mouth before she could fully awaken.

Sakura sputtered, but the Sheriff murmured to her, smooth nonsense syllables that were obviously meant to soothe and encourage. Sakura's hand tightened around Kakashi's, and when Kakashi squeezed back, the woman sighed and began to drink the Sheriff's blood.

-x-X-x-

Kakashi was the one to move Sakura to the padded booth bench. The Sheriff and Dr. Ludwig retreated to the older vampire's office to discuss the healer's payment, and Bill settled Sookie down on one of the padded benches close to where Sakura was located. It was nearly dawn, and there wasn't enough time for Bill to take her home, or so the vampire claimed.

Pulled back to the present by that recollection, Kakashi walked over to where Sookie was situated. Her wavy, silvery blonde hair was strewn around her head, and her smooth forearm was clean and unflawed; as if a large piece of glass hadn't been shoved clean through the previous night. The sight of it made Kakashi both wary and at ease – wary because of its lack of logical explanation, and at ease because it would undoubtedly heal Sakura just as effectively.

A familiar stirring of chakra behind him made Kakashi turn around, and he was met with the sight of Sakura getting to her feet, her hand resting lightly on the polished surface of the booth table. Her hair was still in a hazardous ponytail, sea-foam eyes locked on Kakashi's face and her breath leaving her in a heavy gust.

Kakashi watched as she made her way toward Sookie's resting place. The kunoichi knelt down to examine Sookie's arm without actually touching her, chakra pulsing gently. The man smiled slightly, and reached out as if to rest his hand on the top of Sakura's head. But he caught himself, and quickly retracted his hand.

"How is she?" he asked, finally breaking the silence of the morning. Sakura's bright eyes found his in the dim lighting of the room, and she got to her feet. Sookie was a few minutes away from waking up; Kakashi could sense it in the way her breathing pattern changed.

"She's perfectly fine…the vampire blood really works, huh?" she murmured, more to herself than to Kakashi. The older jounin waited until she looked at him again before speaking.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" he asked softly, and Sakura nodded quickly, averting her gaze. Warning bells went off in Kakashi's mind, and he put a hand on her shoulder before she could turn away from him. She stopped, and he let his hand remain there, silently prodding her.

"I'm fine, Kakashi."

"How did the creature manage to catch you off guard? You and Naruto were both–"

"The woman, she did something to Naruto. It was chanting, sort of like the chanting we heard before being transported here. We were handling her just fine, but then she did her magic, and suddenly…Naruto was in his Tailed state. I couldn't get close to him, I couldn't begin to heal him, and I had the woman to deal with. But then, the woman chanted again, and suddenly Naruto's eyes…" She paused, and Kakashi frowned.

"What happened, Sakura?

"Naruto's Fox chakra began attacking me, and not in the crazy Nine-Tailed-Fox sort of way, like he didn't know who I was. It was as if he and the woman were connected, and were working together to bring me down. I tried to focus on the woman, Naruto's chakra wouldn't let up. It got a hold of me, and held me still so that the woman could stab me."

Kakashi blinked, letting his hand drop from Sakura's shoulder. Naruto had attacked her, had held her down so that the creature could inject her with poison. Kakashi could only begin to imagine how terrifying that must have been for Sakura, how totally helpless she must have felt. Facing death knowing that her beloved teammate was the cause…

"Does he know?" Kakashi asked quietly, and Sakura shook her head.

"I don't think he remembers, and I couldn't tell him, not after…not after all he went through last night. Please, don't–"

"Sakura, he can't be kept ignorant of what that creature made him do. If he loses control again, if she uses her magic on him again, he could do an impossible amount of damage."

Sakura frowned. "What will telling him accomplish? You know Naruto, Kakashi; he'll blame himself for falling under her spell. But it's not his fault!"

"I'm not saying that it's his fault, Sakura, I'm just saying that he needs to have the knowledge in order to defend himself. If he knows that the creature is capable of using him to hurt people he cares about, he'll actually listen to us and stay away from her," Kakashi reasoned, and he saw the gears working in Sakura's mind.

Finally, she conceded, and nodded. "Okay, I'll tell him, but not until we get back to Bill's, we've all had some time to calm down."

"Sounds like a plan."

As if sensing the end of their argument, Sookie's face scrunched together, his eyelids fluttering to reveal sky-blue orbs. Sakura moved to her side, and touched Sookie's shoulder.

"Sookie, how are you feeling?"

The curvy blonde slowly shifted into a sitting position, and looked around with a dazed expression. "I feel fine…wait…wasn't there a car crash? What happened; where're Jessica and Naruto?" she asked, her head whipping around in search for the redhead and the other blonde.

"There was a car crash, and that woman you met – Maryann, was it?" Sakura asked, and Sookie nodded. "Well, Maryann isn't entirely human, and she attacked the car. You were injured in the crash, so we brought you back here and Bill gave you blood so that you could heal. Naruto and Jessica are fine; Naruto's asleep and Jessica's with Pam."

Sookie relaxed, and the two shinobi snapped to attention when the faint sound of footsteps was heard outside the back entrance, coming closer every second.

Sakura was over by the unconscious Naruto in a flash, hovering over him protectively, while Kakashi quickly pulled out a kunai and moved in front of an oblivious Sookie. He ignored her loud questions as to what was going on, and focused his attention on the door. It was opening now, and he prepared to lift the eye-patch covering his Sharingan.

The door opened, and an unhealthily thin blonde woman wobbled in, humming cheerfully to herself and manuvering a box of TrueBlood so that she could close the door behind herself. The thin woman gave a little squeak when she noticed Kakashi and Sakura, and nearly dropped her the box in her arms. Kakashi could hear her heartbeat thumping loudly against her ribcage, as well as smell the heavy cloud of sickly sweetness that was her perfume.

"My sweet Jesus Christ, I didn't know that there was anyone here! Don't you know that the M-Master is a vamp? He won't be up until sundown, so you've got a while to wait!" the woman scolded, flustered and dazed as she moved to set the box on the bar counter.

Kakashi saw nothing threatening about her, and so he stood aside, leaning against the booth and stealing a glance at Sakura, who was also relaxing from her defensive stance. Naruto slept on, dead to the world.

"Hello Ginger! Do you remember me, I'm Sookie," Sookie greeted politely, and Ginger brightened at the sight of the blonde.

"Oh hey there, Sookie! What on earth are you doin' here?"

"Oh, you know, Bill had to crash here for the day so I…oh god…Ginger, Lafayette is here?" she cried, lunging forward and grabbing Ginger's hands. The woman shrieked in fright.

"What in the hell are you on about, Sookie? I just came in to restock, I d-don't know what you're talking about!"

With that, she yanked her hands free and fled the bar, dangerously close to falling due to her six-inch heels. The door slammed shut behind her, and Sookie turned to face Sakura and Kakashi, her eyes bright with unshed tears and her hands shaking with fury.

"What's going on?" Kakashi asked firmly, and Sookie seemed to come to herself.

"My friend Lafayette has been missin' for a while now, and we've been worryin' to death over what might have happened to him, and it turns out that Eric fuckin' Northman has him locked up in his basement! I saw it in Ginger's mind! Well, the hell if I'm just gonna stand around and do nothing!"

With that, the woman turned and strode toward a large metal door found on the other side of the bar, and – exchanging quick looks – Kakashi and Sakura quickly followed. Sookie yanked the door open, and stormed down the narrow set of stairs that wound around a cement pillar. The air was stagnant and smothering, and Kakashi's keen nose crinkled at the raw smells of blood and human filth.

The aura of the place, as well as the coldness, swept Kakashi back into memories of the ANBU interrogation cells. Those terrible rooms resembled the Sheriff's basement, and Kakashi had to steel himself against the chill that trickled up his spine. Focus, Hatake, the jounin commanded himself, not allowing his discomfort to show on his face.

There were several pillars in the basement, as well as a circular metal contraption that had chains and handcuffs attached to various sections of the metal. Kakashi's ears caught the sounds of soft breathing, catching every now and then – a sign of fear. Kakashi glanced to his left and saw that Sakura had the same focused look on her face; she was hearing the same thing he was.

Sookie's head was already turned in the same direction as the sound of breathing, and Kakashi remembered that she had the advantage – even if the captive had been completely odorless and silent, she would have no trouble finding him, because she could simply follow his thoughts.

It would be an impossibly useful tool back in the shinobi world, and Kakashi wondered if the Yamanaka clan had ever thought to use their abilities in such a way.

Sookie rushed forward, crying out the man's name and throwing her arms around him. Kakashi and Sakura stayed back a few feet, not wanting to scare the man. Lafayette was around the same age as Sookie, with dark skin and a well-muscled figure. A metal collar around his neck chained him to one of the far cement pillars. His bare chest and shoulders littered with infected cuts. The worst was in his leg, where there was a huge quantity of dried blood and a gaping wound.

Kakashi felt Sakura stiffen at his side, and knew she was struggling to keep her instincts as a healer in check. This man had obviously been through a great amount of trauma; overwhelming him would only make things worse.

The man cracked open his eyes at the appearance of Sookie, and his eyes were glazed over. Sookie wiped her eyes, nodding rapidly – she must have been reading his thoughts, Kakashi mused.

"Yes, Lafayette, I'm here to get you out of here. I'm so sorry, baby, I'm so sorry. I promise you, that fucker's gonna pay for this," she growled, feeling at the man's neck for the way to get him out of the collar. Kakashi wondered what the man had done to incite the wrath of the vampire Sheriff, and considered whether letting him loose was the best option. Being Sookie's friend didn't necessarily make him innocent of all wrongdoing.

Layfayette let out a wretched cry of pain at Sookie's tugging at the collar; Kakashi saw that the skin there was red and bleeding from excessive chafing. Kakashi could empathize with the young man, as he had been the same situation many times throughout his shinobi career.

It seemed to be the final straw for Sakura, who let out a noise of frustration. She moved forward, and nudged Sookie aside. "Hello, Lafayette, my name is Sakura Haruno. I'm a healer, so please don't try to run, okay? Hold still, I don't want the collar to catch on your skin."

Lafayette stared at Sakura, his dark eyes lingering on her long pink hair and then settling on her eyes. Kakashi watched in awe as the man nodded, lifting his neck in an act of complete trust. Then, Kakashi smiled, because there was no reason to be surprised or shocked. This was Sakura's element; this was what she excelled at. She was a healer and a giver, through and through.

She wasn't born a warrior, though of course that didn't stop her from being a damn good one in the years that followed. Rather than being a natural fighter, it was her surroundings that shaped her into what she was.

Sakura carefully shaped her chakra around her fingers, and with a quick jerk, snapped the collar lock apart. Lafayette didn't make a move to stop the kunoichi when she made to remove the rest of his chains, and Sakura's brow was furrowed as she examined his form.

"I need better lighting. Kakashi, can you help move him upstairs? I need to go disinfect my hands if I'm going to work on his leg."

"Of course," Kakashi murmured, and moved forward. The man shrunk into the pillar at the sight of Kakashi approaching, and the jounin paused a foot or so away, remembering that he and the Sheriff were of similar heights. The prisoner probably associated height and an alpha presence with his torturer, and with that in mind Kakashi was quick to kneel so he was at Lafayette's level.

Kakashi glanced at Sakura, who gave him a silent nod of affirmation. They both knew that if Kakashi tried to touch the man now, he would panic most likely injure himself further. And so Kakashi, not breaking eye contact with Lafayette, quickly flipped his eye patch up over his head so his Sharingan was exposed.

The silver-haired jounin felt the familiar tug as Lafayette was caught by the Sharingan's genjutsu. With the careful manipulation of his chakra, Kakashi created a peaceful state of unconsciousness for Lafayette, a serene softness full of gentle light. It would keep Lafayette asleep and unaware for the twenty-four hours. Kakashi was about to complete the jutsu when he remembered the Sheriff's warning to keep the presence of the shinobi as secret as possible.

And so, with another few tweaks, Kakashi blurred the images of himself and Sakura until they were nothing more than images of the imagination. Lafayette wouldn't remember either of their names or faces, and would wake up remembering only that Sookie was the one to get him out of the Fangtasia basement.

With that final detail in place, Kakashi finished the jutsu with another burst of chakra, and Lafayette's eyes rolled into the back of his head, body going completely limp. Sookie looked from her friend to Kakashi, and grabbed at Lafayette's arm, her eyes fearful when the man didn't respond.

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing permanent. In order for Sakura to heal him, he needs to be completely relaxed. What I did was like hypnosis…when he wakes up, he won't remember either Sakura or me, and I need you to make sure it stays that way. The fewer people who are aware of our existence, the better," Kakashi explained, replacing his eye patch. Then, he reached forward and lifted the younger man into his arms.

Sakura was already upstairs, and when Kakashi reached the tables she was coming out of the bathroom, having and from the heat and smell of soap Kakashi deduced that she had thoroughly washed her hands and arms. The medic rummaged through her pack until she found a pair of surgery gloves, and yanked them on. The movement was so practiced that Sakura made it look effortless, though Kakashi's experience with the things painted a much different picture.

"Wait, shouldn't we get him to a hospital? I mean, I'm sure you're good and all, but…" Sookie trailed off, biting her lip nervously. Kakashi shared a look with Sakura before responding.

"The Sheriff had him down there for a reason, Miss Stackhouse. I know that the thought is displeasing to you, but the possibility still stands that your friend was being rightfully punished."

"Rightfully punished? He was in a fucking dungeon, for Christ's sake! That's not punishment, that's torture!"

Kakashi shook his head slightly as he deposited Lafayette on one of the tables, using chakra to flicker to the door, where the light switches were located. He flicked them on, and returned to Sookie's side – only a few seconds had passed.

"Punishment…torture…its all based on perspective, really. Torture to one is just punishment to the other. Not to mention that the saying "A punishment befitting the crime" comes into play. Your friend can't be innocent in all of this, Miss Stackhouse. Wait to make your judgment until you've heard both sides."

With that, Kakashi turned away from the flabbergasted Sookie in order to cut into the cloth surrounding Lafayette's leg. Sakura was by his side in an instant, and in no time at all the fabric on the man's injured leg was gone. Kakashi saw the gaping wound, and smelled the glimmer of metal in the midst of the blood and flesh. It smelled faintly like the "gun" Pam had shown him the night before, and he mentioned this to Sakura.

She nodded, her glowing hands already at work examining the wound. "I can see that, it's pretty deeply imbedded. They call it a 'bullet'?"

Kakashi nodded, and Sakura pursed her lips. "Alright, this is going to take an hour or so," she mused, prodding at the wound, noting Lafayette's lack of response. "How heavy is the genjutsu?"

"Heavy enough. He won't feel a thing for the next twenty-four hours, so don't worry about that," Kakashi replied lightly, and he glanced over to see that Sookie looked a bit green around the edges. Her blue eyes were locked on the gaping hole in her friend's leg, and the jounin decided that she needed to get away from the scene.

"Are you familiar with the area, Miss Stackhouse?" he asked, and Sookie was surprised enough by the question to look away from Lafayette's leg.

"Uh, yeah, I am. Why?"

"Well, Naruto should be waking up in a few hours, and none of us have eaten since yesterday afternoon. Aren't you hungry?"

Sookie rubbed her stomach, nodding in agreement.

"Then it's settled. You and I will go find the nearest market and buy breakfast. Shall we?"

"Um, I left my purse in the car, so I don't have any money…" Sookie said, her face falling in disappointment. Kakashi waved a hand, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a thick wad of green bills – the tips had been better than Kakashi was expecting; if he had counted the money correctly, then he had three-hundred and seventy dollars in his hand.

"Will this be enough?" he asked. It was a legitimate question; the money system in the shinobi world was drastically different from the one in this world. Sookie's eyes bugged, and she coughed in an effort to clear her throat.

"Y-Yeah, definitely!"

"Perfect."

Kakashi handed Sookie the money, and put his hands together. A small dose of chakra later, he had the same illusion as last night – dull brown hair and dark brown eyes. Sakura blinked at the unexpected transformation, but to her credit she took it in stride.

Kakashi gave Sakura one last look. "Do you need any help, Sakura? I can stay if you need another pair of hands," he suggested, and Sakura shook her head, eyes focused intently on her task. The hum of her chakra filled the empty room as she went to work.

"No, I'm fine. Just be sure to get some ramen for Naruto, okay?"

"Will do."

Sookie walked slowly toward the entrance, reluctant to leave. Kakashi followed behind her, sticking his hands deep into his pockets. The sunshine met his face, and he basked in the brightness and the warmth it brought.

It wasn't until the door closed that he asked, "So, does this world have ramen?"

Sookie seemed calmed by the simple, unsuspecting question, and smiled. "Yeah, actually. It comes in all sorts of packaging and flavors. Does Naruto like ramen?"

"Like is a bit of an understatement. We might just end up buying out their entire stock…"

The blonde woman laughed, and Kakashi allowed himself a small smile.