22

Chapter 22

"When you said we were going to the bar, I had some expectations," Kakashi, placing the bottles down on the table, dryly observed as Inoichi got out the cups… And found out why he smelled blood and sencha tea, a hastily glued-together cup sitting in the cupboard, an explanation in itself. "Like us going to the bar."

Inoichi had thought that too.

At the moment.

But, after getting some distance from one of maybe ten things he didn't want to engage with at all, ever, he'd been able to think… And he'd realized that talking about Sakura as a possible traitor in a public place might have been a bad idea. Let alone that they'd be talking about a mission that was currently in progress.

So that hadn't happened. But it hadn't been a total loss. Not all of his plans had been derailed.

"We did," was Inoichi's equally dry reply as he slid a cup across the table as Kakashi took his seat. "To pick up the drinks."

"That isn't what I meant," Kakashi grumbled, the urge to cross his arms and pout an audible one. "And I picked up the drinks."

Because Kakashi had bought the booze. And if there was anything good that would happen today, at least that was it… And Clarisse had gone out to buy groceries. He couldn't forget that either. That was good too.

She wouldn't be tearing him a new asshole over how he was 'attacking their little girl's happiness' if she somehow heard something sensitive.

Thank the Sage.

"As my junior and assistant assigned to me by the Hokage, you'd think you'd be happier that you could be of use. Especially after what happened earlier. Imagine if I'd been a less reasonable person?" The blond took his seat, pulling the cork on a bottle of ginjo to pour the first shot into Kakashi's cup as he held it out. "I might have taken offense."

And asked for a bottle of junmai instead. The good stuff. The expensive stuff.

The stuff that Kakashi could afford after the pay for his last mission came through…if he didn't buy the Icha Icha collection set that the bookstore had been teasing for a while.

That didn't need to be said, he thought.

Kakashi, proving himself the genius people said he was, proved Inoichi right with a nod. "Well, in that case, I'm happy that my senior is such a reasonable person."

"He is also a serious person." Inoichi stopped the jokes then and there, forcing Kakashi to sit straight in his seat. "What do you know of Sakura?"

Not much, he was sure. Sakura was many things, but open wasn't one of them.

"Not as much as I thought I did. And that's why we're here, isn't it? She's talented. Absurdly talented." His tone was light even as his grip on his cup tightened. "And remember when I said I thought she was asexual?"

Inoichi poured himself a drink as the 'want' of it became closer to a 'need'. "Yes. I do."

"I didn't think she could feel that sort of thing. I wasn't kidding about being surprised by that." Kakashi shrugged. "She comes across as that sort of talented, you know?"

"I do."

And she did. He knew what Kakashi meant. Inoichi had seen it before too, and not just from her. She came across as the sort of genius that reached the pinnacle of their art, became a short-lived legend, then died if they didn't just go insane, leaving nothing behind but stories and a new, battle-scarred land feature—most of the time.

"She crippled me, Inoichi. With a touch."

…What? He knew Sakura was good.

But what?

"I wasn't taking her seriously, you know?" Kakashi continued while Inoichi processed that. "I wasn't paying attention. I didn't think I'd need to. She was just a girl from a small clan, barely even a clan… I think I called her a non-clan girl even."

… Oh.

Inoichi's expression didn't shift as he sipped his sake.

Kakashi, morosely, looked down to stare into his cup.

The Haruno might not have been a large or prestigious clan, but they were a clan. And Sakura had some pride even if she'd deny it to her last breath.

A retaliatory, opportunistic crippling after an insult like that was an almost measured response.

Almost.

Doing it to your teacher and squad lead was - ill-advised. Understandable. But ill-advised.

And something he could see Sakura doing if she thought she could get away with it anyway… There was no faulting her filial piety, he'd say that.

Inoichi took another prompting sip.

"It was a dick move." Kakashi nodded again. "Even if I was drunk. Drunk." A pause. And a shake of the head. "Or I thought it. I must have. That would have been all over the village in days otherwise… And Kizashi would have challenged me to a duel by now. He'd have lost. But he'd have done it." He took a moment, right hand clenching as he closed his eyes and took a drink through his mask. "That wasn't a good week for me."

So she hadn't been retaliating? That just brought up more questions.

"The doctors told me my right arm would never be the same again. But they also said they could help me manage the pain, and regain most of my functionality. I'd been going to the hospital every Thursday for that. And then, a week into the mission-" Switching his cup to his left hand, he snapped his fingers with his right. "She cleared it up. Like it was an inconvenience." He snapped again, smooth and crisp. "And do you know what she said when I woke up?"

Inoichi rolled his hand.

"She asked me why I hadn't seen a doctor yet."

…She'd asked why he hadn't…

Well. There it was.

Inoichi, after a long moment, upended his cup into his open mouth without grace or subtlety. He then reached for the bottle to refill it while Kakashi looked on to do it again before he put it down with a cough.

"That's…reassuring," Kakashi said.

"It is. Very reassuring. That's her," Inoichi confirmed that one of the bigger questions they'd had, had just been answered with another cough as his drink warmed him up. "She's not an imposter."

And his daughter wasn't sleeping with a hostile stranger. Once more. Thank the Sage.

"I'm missing something."

"Sakura is…she's talented. We both know this. But, here's the thing." Inoichi resisted the urge to refill his cup. He was going to need his head on straight for later. "She doesn't."

And it was a shame. It was.

If it hadn't been for her difficulties with that, her job in intel beyond a desk would have been assured.

Kakashi's head tilted quizzically…and then, much like Inoichi had done, he tossed back his drink and went for a refill.

"Or she does. But she doesn't find much value in it…unless she does. Which is only sometimes. Like if someone calls her a prodigy. Or brings up her forehead. But that's temporary. And often hostile. Sometimes. Not that that is important right now." Inoichi slapped Kakashi's hand away as the man went for the bottle. "What is important is that she wasn't trying to hurt you from what you told me."

Kakashi's look of offense became an unblinking, one-eyed, traumatized stare. A new sort of trauma than what Inoichi was used to seeing in that eye, but a trauma all the same. "Every inch of my right arm felt like it was on fire for a month."

That would do it. If that had happened to him, he had no doubt he'd be staring into the middle distance too.

And that would make what Inoichi was about to say all the more effective.

"If fixing that was at worst an inconvenience for her, why would it have been a problem for anyone else?"

The ensuing silence lasted for several awkward seconds.

"That is-" Kakashi cut himself off with a cough, his eye flicking towards his hand before returning to Inoichi. "Really?" He coughed again. "I didn't get that from her at all."

That wasn't surprising. Sakura didn't show much.

And Kakashi had never been the best at understanding people.

"Yes. Really. She just doesn't talk about it. But that's how she is." The older man nodded. "Sakura's worldview is somewhat - skewed. Distorted. As is her estimation of her skills and abilities and those of the people around her." Inoichi pursed his lips. "That the hospital's full capabilities are classified at her level didn't help, I think. She overshot more than she usually does."

And, while sometimes flattering (her claim when she was eight that Ino could run half of Konoha by herself, with all seriousness, still made him chuckle), the fact was that Sakura tended to get lost in the weeds.

Inoichi put the cork back into the bottle, drawing it towards himself as Kakashi sat where he was, thinking. Thinking so deeply, he only tried to snatch the bottle away from Inoichi once, not even seriously.

Inoichi didn't interrupt him. He just waited, pocketing the drink and removing the temptation to empty it in as final a way as he could without pouring it down the sink.

Explaining Sakura was difficult as it was. Getting shitfaced too wouldn't help worth a damn.

Kakashi continued to think.

That was good; he was a wonderful ninja. A masterful tactician. A man that Inoichi would fight and die next to any day if it came down to that…but he was awful at understanding people. Awful only in the ways that he'd thought Sakura was, as a genius. As someone far beyond their peers, who would never understand their problems and difficulties without having them spelled out… And that was a fair thing to think.

It was wrong. And missing context. But it was fair.

"...What a shitshow." Kakashi finally broke his silence with the truest words ever spoken, rubbing his face in exasperation as he did. "Had I told her about the damage, she'd have fixed it? Is that what you're saying?"

"Immediately and with an apology. Written if you wanted it." Inoichi nodded. "And she would have been very embarrassed."

For weeks.

Kakashi blew out a breath. "Gods. Now she can be embarrassed. She knows what shame is," Kakashi groaned. "You do get why I couldn't tell her anything about that, right? Besides wondering if she'd done it on purpose."

Simple.

"Image."

"Image," Kakashi agreed tiredly. "That was the first time we sparred. The first time. It was just a test. And I'm their teacher and leader. I told them to come at me with the intent to kill. How would I keep their respect if they found out I got hurt?" He groaned again. "Damn it, what would the other jounin think?"

Water cooler talk would be interesting for a while.

A long while.

A long, long while.

"I believed it. But..." Inoichi shrugged.

"You know her."

"I know her."

"That does make it easier, doesn't it?" Kakashi pushed his cup to the middle of the table. "Now I'm going to have to look back on every interaction I had with her like she wasn't a casual sadist."

Inoichi gave him an odd look. "She defaults to unprompted acts of kindness when she isn't irritated."

Kakashi groaned again as he retrieved his cup. "Bring the bottle back."

"No." Inoichi retook his seat. "We've got two hours to get our strategy straight. She's more animated than normal, you said?"

"Stingy..." Kakashi grumbled, "And, yes. She is. She's outgoing. She cracks jokes. Smiles." He shuddered. Unnatural. "And her eyes-"

"Seem like they changed color?" Inoichi guessed.

"...Yes?" Kakashi started slowly, and with what might have been relief. "Is that normal for her? Because you saying that makes it sound normal."

Normal? No. Unheard of? Also no. For longer than a week? Never.

Of course, she'd never been cut in half before either.

"It might be the start of what could be a bloodline. Or a technique. I don't know. That isn't important. Except that it proves it's her again." Inoichi rubbed the bridge of his nose, mentally preparing himself for what would either be the easiest talk he'd ever had with someone or a run-around… Fuck. "She's badly stressed and overcompensating."

"...Oooh." Kakashi snapped his fingers in realization. "Like Gai."

Like Gai? How did that…

Huh.

"...I didn't notice that," Inoichi murmured. Sakura's professed admiration for hard work, and her physique, might have been inspired after all. "Close enough. But focus."

This wasn't going to be easy. And they had two hours (he hoped, by the Sage he hoped that was all the waiting they would have to do) to get it right.

==========

Like Gai. Like Gai.

What did that mean, 'like Gai'?

That had sounded better before he'd let it out into the world. And it had made sense at the moment. But, now that they were walking up to the Haruno household, it no longer made sense.

Or it just didn't work. Because it didn't.

Unlike what he did with Gai, Kakashi couldn't just ignore Sakura. Or anything Sakura did. If today had taught him anything, ignoring Sakura wasn't an option. Because that meant he'd have to investigate her for signs of treasonous behavior and go back to drinking himself to sleep every night because she took one of his limbs. So that wasn't happening.

And she never challenged him to anything. Also, she normally didn't talk at a volume above what was necessary for basic politeness.

Not the same at all. But he'd said it. And he supposed it was a start if, or when, they cleared her of suspicion. And the Chunin Exams were still a while away.

While keeping to the status quo and not putting effort into not being an asshole was an attractive thought, he'd rather not feel awkward around her until she made rank and moved on.

He'd been…kind of an asshole for what he'd thought were good reasons at the time. At the time. And if Inoichi wasn't just trying to clear up her image, he'd held a grudge over an accident.

An easily fixable accident.

…Kakashi hadn't been at his best for a while now. He knew it. He wasn't what he used to be.

He was slower. Weaker. Less prepared… And then the addition of pain had made him irrational. Or just made him more inclined to be.

It was a, now that his head was clear, fatal combination of problems to have for someone in his position.

And he'd been a dick about it.

To someone that had nearly died because of his fuckups.

He was the teacher. He was the leader. He was the one in charge. He was supposed to be the responsible and supportive one, like Minato had been before him, and he'd fucked all of that up from start to finish.

That wasn't right. That wasn't right at all. And he needed to figure his shit out before it killed someone.

How?

Hell if he knew.

Kakashi thoughtfully scratched his chin as they approached the front door, stopping and waiting while Inoichi listened for a reason to leave again.

…Not being a dick was a start. Minato hadn't been a dick.

That shouldn't be too hard. Really.

He didn't even mind that she'd stolen his stuffed dog that much. It had been disposable in case his team had failed to defuse the trap, so he'd already written it off as a loss. And he didn't mind the rumors either. The ones she'd spread had been so tame that no one with a brain would believe them.

…And that may have been on purpose. Something harmless, but funny with distance.

Kakashi kicked at the dirt as Inoichi, not hearing anything that would send them back to his home and, hopefully, bring out the sake again, raised a fist to knock.

…Free-for-all, full-contact, taijutsu-only sparring sessions where she couldn't turn people into steaming viscera splattered all over the landscape were not her strong point. And handicapping her like that, when the boys considered her the greater threat, might have been a bit of an overreaction on his part.

He was going to have to change that.

One knock. Two knocks. Three knocks in, Inoichi's expression was still as stone. His face was as hard and unforgiving as the faces on the mountain.

It was a soldier's face—the face of a veteran committing himself to an unpleasant task he had no choice but to see through. For his men. For his family.

For his village.

It was a face that would have had Kakashi giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder if this had been any other time. Maybe even a supportive nod before they gambled their lives on the battlefield for the worthwhile prize of a couple of feet of muddy ground, just like in the old days.

Any other time.

And, as soon as the third knock ended, the door opened. Clearly, and obviously, and with more than enough warning. Not too slow. Not too fast. Perfectly normally.

There was even a slight creak in the hinges that Kakashi was about fifty percent sure was hiding the click of a trap trigger, the basics of home security…and there was Sakura. Right there.

Standing in the doorway; she had just finished pinning her hair in place, her overly bright eyes flicking between them as a smile tugged at her lips.

…Wearing a pink sleeping shirt and a pair of breezy shorts.

And not her qipao.

Kakashi swore he felt something in his head skip. And start burning.

He couldn't help it. He couldn't even.

Sure, Inoichi had told him as much for the last few hours. Sakura wasn't an emotionless killing machine that sometimes emulated basic facial movements…it should have been obvious. It was obvious.

She had friends. Killing machines didn't have friends.

He'd know. He'd met more than he could count over the course of his career. They didn't have friends. They had subordinates. They had people that feared them exclusively. Friends weren't a factor.

But knowing was different from knowing. This…no. No this. Sakura was a teenage girl.

She was a teenage girl.

She liked trying new food. She liked stuffed animals. She liked real animals. Teaching may have been an unspoken passion, baked goods made her sad for some reason even when she ate them by the tableful, and her favorite color was purple.

Not pink as anyone sane and with basic observational skills would think. Purple.

That was a hell of a thing.

And the resulting urge from that to use Obito's eye, just to make sure he was talking to who he thought he was wasn't a small one.

It was an unhelpful urge. But it wasn't small. And it wasn't getting any smaller as the girl's smile grew another inch.

And Inoichi smiled back, the grim look he'd been sporting gone but for Kakashi's memories. "Hello, Sakura. Nice day, isn't it?"

"Not too hot. Not too cold. I'm liking it so far. And hello, Inoichi." A nod. "Kakashi-sensei." Another nod. "Would you like to come in?" Sakura stepped to the side faux expectantly. "I have tea steeping. But dinner will still be a while yet."

Or, in other words, this was a bad time, and she had something else scheduled.

…And he'd just decided to stop being a dick to her a couple of hours ago.

Not the greatest start.

"We would. Thank you." Inoichi took a step forward, Sakura's raised brows reaffirming that had only been polite when she'd asked. "I apologize if this is a bad time."

He'd say.

"Sorry for intruding. Extenuating circumstances, you know?" Kakashi added with a touch of an explanation, making Sakura's brows rise yet further on her head even as he walked past her to kick off his shoes. "Thank you for being understanding."

"It's no problem. Really." Sakura rolled with it so well that Kakashi almost didn't hear the offense in her voice. Or the growing unease that had an edge of...something.

He'd never heard anything like it before.

Whatever it was, it had been bothering him for weeks, everything about her as she was now coming across as unnatural… If that was a bloodline showing itself, it was a damned unfortunate one to have.

Her, but not her. How was that helpful?

"Pick a seat in the dining room, and I'll be with you," Sakura finished as she led them to that room before turning toward the kitchen to stir the pot, tipping a tray of vegetables into it and lowering the flames as Kakashi found his seat at the table. "Tea?"

"If it's no trouble," Inoichi replied calmly, giving Kakashi a barely perceptible nod as he did. "Matcha?"

"Of course."

You'd think drinking something made by someone suspected of treachery would be a mistake.

But what did Kakashi know? It wasn't as if he was the expert here. That was Inoichi. Following the older man's lead, Kakashi was just along for the ride.

But like hell was Kakashi drinking any of this. Not a single drop would pass his lips. It would be warming his hands until it went cold or he left, and that was that.

He felt guilty, sure. But he was still alive for a reason. And not drinking suspicious liquids was a part of that reason.

"Tea sounds good." Kakashi shrugged. "It's been a thirsty sort of day."

And, as Sakura came around with the pot and the cups, topping everyone off before taking a seat at the head of the table, he somehow thought she'd understand. And not even be mad about it.

Maybe because she checked everything for poison before letting it near her face. She didn't bother trying to hide that at all.

She'd understand.

"So. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Sakura asked once she'd finished with the basics of hospitality. Meaningless small talk that Kakashi couldn't remember—a dish of hastily made onigiri that he also wasn't going to eat laid down in the middle of the table. And, now, they were down to brass tacks. Finally. "I could guess. Can I guess?"

"If you want."Inoichi, still seemingly relaxed, held up two fingers. "Go."

Kakashi leaned back in his chair. Observing. Listening.

He was still along for the ride as he enjoyed the feeling of something that wasn't pure misery in his right hand.

"Breaking from tradition, Inoichi? Just two? Shameful. But alright." Sakura snorted, arms crossed in front of her as her smile gained a hint of a curl at the ends. "You missed me."

Inoichi did a snort of his own, a finger curling as he looked at a snickering Sakura with amusement. "Last chance."

"So cruel." Sakura gasped. "But fine. Last chance indeed." She clapped her hands. "You're here to finalize my transfer from team seven to T and I."

Kakashi blinked. And settled back in his chair, resigning himself for the long haul.

That was a creative one alright. Or prescient. Or she knew exactly why they were here and she was being, as Inoichi had told him, difficult.

"I thought we agreed to discuss this again after the Exams?"

...Huh.

Inoichi carefully didn't look at him.

Kakashi carefully didn't look at Inoichi.

He'd been prepared to learn that he was being stabbed in the back by someone he knew. But not like this.

"And you got Kakashi-sensei to agree to it too? Or to think about it? Really?" Sakura sounded flattered. And she looked confused. As if she wasn't sure if she should be flattered as neither he nor Inoichi jumped at the chance to answer. "When you offered me the job, I thought you were kidding."

Inoichi had offered her the job?

Yamanaka had tried to poach one of his genin?

When? How long ago? It couldn't have been that long… By the gods, Sakura and he may have had their differences and misunderstandings, but he'd just got her!

And he'd put two paychecks on her sweeping the Chunin Exams! How was she going to do that working at a desk?

Exactly.

Kakashi sat straight in his chair.

That couldn't happen.

"You got it, Sakura. In just one serious guess too." Inoichi chuckled as if he wouldn't be paying for Kakashi's drinks for the next several months. "And that's the kind of deductive ability we need in intel."

Kiss-ass.

"Oh, stop. It was nothing, nothing at all. The answer was so obvious it's embarrassing." As she flapped her hand at them, Sakura, with her other hand on her cheek, clearly decided that 'flattered' was the right emotion for the moment. "You wouldn't both be here if it wasn't for something important like that, right?"

Inoichi's eyes grew yet wider as he refused to look at Kakashi.

Panicking kiss-ass. This was so far from the plan it wasn't even funny.

"Inoichi." Kakashi interrupted before this charade could continue any further. "Cards on the table before she accidentally starts a fight." He turned to face Sakura again, and the girl had returned to looking confused. "You got cut in half."

Sakura's smile became a frown instantly. "I did." Her eyes darkened perceptibly. Still overly bright, but less so as any sign of relaxation left her body. "This isn't about the job offer, is it?"

"No, I wasn't here to talk to you about my senior poaching one of my students before their first Chunin exam," Kakashi said dryly.

Sakura tsked.

"...I had been going somewhere with that. But that's not happening now, I suppose. Never mind. This isn't about the job offer from before now. So, fine. We're going to deal with this upfront." Inoichi clasped his hands in front of him with a sigh. "How are you still alive, Sakura?"

Sakura didn't blink.

Sakura didn't breathe.

Sakura didn't even move, the micro expressions that everyone had, the things that were part and parcel of being alive, vanished simultaneously…and Kakashi remembered the cat.

He remembered Tora, as her eyes darkened further and her lips became a thin, hard line.

"I don't know."