So, I've had this story in mind for a really long time, but I just needed to get over my Shikamaru-ness and write it....I have a feeling it's going to be a rather long undertaking, but I think Kakashi deserves it...::grins::

Lionheart

"I think we should just go over to his apartment and ask him," Sakura said as she sat in front of her rather large vanity-style mirror, doing what she called 'putting on her face.' Personally, Naruto thought that she didn't really need to wear the makeup at all, but she always just brushed that off and said he wouldn't understand. That much was true.

"Uninvited? I don't know, Sakura. For some reason, I just don't think he'd appreciate that very much."

Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes. "Naruto, you're the Hokage. You don't have to be invited to go and talk to one of your subordinates, do you?"

Naruto's brow furrowed. "I suppose I never thought of it that way."

"Obviously. Aren't you glad that you have me to solve these little problems for you?" She smiled wickedly at him via the mirror, and went back to preening herself.

Naruto chose not to answer that. Instead, he began pacing back and forth in the bedroom, his face pensive. "It's just...we've known him for so long, and yet we hardly know anything about him at all! Everyone has secrets, yes, but...his entire life is a secret!" Naruto burst out, growing all the more frustrated. "You'd think after all this time that he would trust us enough to open up just a little, wouldn't you?"

Her makeup on, Sakura began to calmly run a brush through her soft pink tresses. "Some wounds are more painful to reopen then others," she said, placing the brush on the vanity table and turning to her husband, who had stopped pacing. "I don't think it's a matter of trust."

The Hokage looked at his wife, and the understanding was there in his eyes. He stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, and kissed the top of her head. "You really are a godsend, you know. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

Leaning back against his chest, Sakura reached over her shoulder and grasped his hand, squeezing it. "Charmer." She tilted her head back to look up at Naruto's cheerful, boyish face, the face that she had grown to love so dearly. "I love you, too, even if you can be a bit silly sometimes."

Naruto laughed. "I wouldn't crow too loud over that, darlin.' Silliness is contagious." His expression turned pensive again suddenly. "Do you really think we should do this? I don't want him to feel obligated to tell us anything..."

"If he doesn't want to, he won't. Then we'll just let things stand as they are." Sakura replied. "But it can't hurt to try."

"I agree." Naruto said. "I just wanted some reassurance that I'm not the only nosy person around here."

"Why do you think I chose to become a spy? I love snooping into other people's business." Sakura grinned. Though she did manage to go on and become a Chuunin, her talents were better suited to a different line of work. When Gaara of the Sand, now a staunch ally to Konoha, and Naruto formed Onyx, the spy network that linked the Sand and the Leaf, Sakura found her niche. She was very skilled at gathering information, her knowledge of the different cultures and languages of the other countries and villages allowing her to blend in and seemingly disappear, which made her a very valuable asset to the organization. Sakura thrived off of such work, her confidence growing by the day. She was no longer the weak little girl that she once was, but a cold, calculating warrior, her weapon of choice being a pair of brass knuckles, earning her the nickname Spike among the other spies of her division. Naruto couldn't be more proud of her, knowing that she had wanted to prove herself as a worthy ninja since she started at the Academy, the same as he. Naruto smiled at her, and then looked at the clock that hung on the wall, swearing.

"We're going to be late." He said, bemused. Gaara had returned from scouting out a lead he'd been following, which ended up taking him out past the Hidden Stone Village in the West, where the terrain became rocky and the climate harsh, the wind biting at exposed flesh. There were rumblings of a revolution brewing in the West, which was the cause of some concern to the Villages nearby. Gaara was giving a briefing of his findings today, so it was rather important that Naruto and Sakura be there. "I think we're going to have to run."

"I think you might be right."

Indeed, they did end up running, and arrived at the Onyx headquarters near the Konoha Borderlands in the nick of time, for Gaara had just stood to his feet when the Hokage and his wife blew in the door.

"Sorry!" Naruto panted, looking sheepish. The others present in the audience room laughed, and a few moved over to make space for Naruto and Sakura, their cheeks rosy from the run, to sit. Gaara chuckled, leaning against the small table at the front of the room.

"Nice timing," he said in his quiet voice, which resulted in more laughter. Naruto inclined his head, and Gaara smiled, the motion making his scarred face look positively impish. "It seems like whenever it's my turn to stand up here, Naruto miraculously appears when I'm about to speak. Apparently, he does not like to share attention." Laughter. "However, it also seems that I never have anything good to say when I'm here, and, unfortunately, this time is no different." He sighed, passing a hand over his eyes wearily. All attention was focused on the Sand-nin now, and silence hung in the air. "The revolution is shaping up to be more serious than we thought. The leader is not some amateur ragamuffin off the streets like some of the other idiots we've put down, but a professional. The Westerners speak of him as if he is a god, though all those I asked have never even seen him, only heard of him through word of mouth." Gaara looked down, biting the inside of his lip as he gathered his thoughts. What he really wanted to do was smash his fist against the wall, but that wouldn't solve anything.

"Honestly," he continued, "all this little side-trip accomplished was to increase my frustration ten-fold. I've been hearing the rumors for months now, and the only thing the Westerners did was repeat them. I couldn't get in deep enough to catch a trace of whoever is stirring things up, and I need to. I went in ill prepared, and that was a miscalculation on my part."

Naruto listened to his spymaster, his eyes narrowed. "Don't worry about it, Gaara. This trip wasn't even planned. You just happened to be in the area and decided to sniff things out. Now we know that we need to keep an eye on these Westerners. If they start showing signs of movement, we'll respond. You did us a service, my friend."

"I still don't like it." Gaara replied, tasting the salty tang of blood in his mouth. He'd bitten his lip a bit too hard, apparently. His eyes met with Naruto's. "I'm going back. I need more information, and the only way to get it is by going straight to the source."

Sakura spoke up then. "Give me a week. I'll do some research, and go with you. We should know as much as we can about these people first, learn how their government works. If we can plant ourselves among those who hold power, we'll be one step closer to this leader. He has to be working through the government at some degree, in order to gain their trust." She put her hand on Naruto's arm before he could object, silencing him. While the idea of his Sakura gallivanting off to some remote land that they hardly knew anything about to potentially place herself in danger frightened him more than he could ever say, he needed to look at things from her perspective. How many times had he left her and risked his own life, while she could do nothing but wait for his return? No, he was going to have to let her go, as she had let him go so many times before.

Gaara, who should have expected such a thing to come from Sakura, smiled a tired little smile. "You're a gem, Spike. A week it is then." With that, the briefing was over. Gaara had nothing left to say, but even if he did, he was sure that his mouth wouldn't want to cooperate anymore, anyway. He was too tired to even blink. Even now that the tanuki inside of him slept, finally sealed away into the darkest recesses of Gaara's mind, he still had trouble grasping the fact that he himself could sleep as well, often remaining awake out of habit. At this rate, however, he could pass out where he stood. As his audience filed out of the room, Naruto and Sakura remained behind.

"You need to go to bed," Sakura said, giving the Sand-nin a brief hug. "We were worried about you," she added in a concerned voice.

Gaara returned the hug, having grown quite fond of the pink-haired girl who served under him. Their first few meetings had been none too pleasant, particularly the incident where he smashed her against a tree in his tanuki form, Naruto retaliating by utterly defeating Gaara, so much so that he had to be carried away by his brother and sister. A lot had changed since then, old hurts mended. Gaara's humanity was lost the day his father touched his mother's womb, but he still continued on despite of it, seeking a redemption that he would never fully realize. Time could not wash the blood from his hands, but he accepted that. He had a home now, and people who cared about him. Though he was still prone to fits of madness, he was never left alone to fight them off. His friends were always there to calm him, bring him back to the present where his mother's hatred no longer had any relevance. These people had become his family, along with Temari and Kankuro, and he found that he could bear his existence with something akin to happiness now that he wasn't alone anymore.

"I'm fine, just irritated, is all. I hate when I can't find what I'm looking for. It makes me feel useless." He sighed again, the exhaustion manifest in his face. "Bed sounds rather nice, actually. Maybe rest will help me move past the self-pity I seem to be harboring. That's always a nuisance."

Naruto grinned, clapping his spymaster on the shoulder. "You can't be a perfect all the time, Gaara."

"Apparently not." The Sand-nin replied dryly, a jaw-cracking yawn splitting his face. "I think I should head back now, or I'll end up falling asleep right here."

"Go. We'll meet later to research. Until then, just take it easy, okay? I don't know where you came up with the idea that you always have to be on the move in order to be productive. Not very sound logic, that. Relax! Consider this week as a mini-vacation, if you will." Sakura stared hard at the red-haired shinobi. "If I catch you anywhere near headquarters, you'll regret it, I promise."

"Resulting to threats, Spike?"

"Naturally. It's what I do best."

Naruto laughed. "I can vouch for that personally."

Whether it was because he was too tired to object or some other reason, Gaara shrugged, waving his hand absently. "Fine, fine." He yawned again, swaying a bit on his feet. "I'm... really...leaving...now," he managed to get out, before sharing one last look with his friends and shuffling out the door. Naruto and Sakura watched him go, shaking their heads. They too departed soon after, deciding that now was as good a time as any to pay a visit to their former sensei. He had been on a mission, but Naruto was fairly sure that he would be home by now. Taking the more scenic route, the pair arrived at Kakashi's apartment about twenty minutes later. Though the news of trouble in the West still bothered him, Naruto pushed the worry to the back of his mind for now. It would be dealt with in due time, and there was no point in fretting over it. Truth be told, he was actually growing excited. Kakashi had always been such an enigma, never speaking about himself or his past under any circumstances. If everything went accordingly, that would change today.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto stepped forward and rapped on the door once, then twice. At first, they heard nothing, but soon the sound of barking penetrated the silence, a lone voice rising above the din. "Woah, boys! Chill out! Who is that? Have we got friends?" The door opened then, Kakashi's masked face poking out. The dogs, six of them, clustered around him, their tales wagging eagerly, all trying to burst through the doorway at once to greet their visitors. "Naruto? Sakura? What are you two doing here?" Kakashi said, puzzled. He moved aside to let them in, and the dogs went crazy, sniffing and licking, waiting to be petted. Naruto and Sakura happily complied, showering the canines with attention. Kakashi grinned. "Don't butter them up too much. They're spoiled enough as is without making their heads any bigger." He gave the dogs a look, and they merely wagged their tails harder, as if to say, "so what? We're cute, aren't we?" Sakura laughed.

"They're just like children."

"I know." Kakashi reached down and scratched one of the dogs, a black and tan mutt named Chief, behind the ears. "But they're fun to have around, so I guess I can't complain. Aren't you, Chief?" The dog barked, and seemed to grin. Kakashi smiled back, and looked at the other two humans in his apartment. "So, why are you here again? Something tells me it's not just for the pleasure of my company, though that would be nice."

Naruto and Sakura exchanged a look. "We just have some things we'd like to talk to you about," Naruto said carefully, setting the stage.

"Ah," Kakashi said, raising the eyebrow of his one exposed eye. He knew the expression on Naruto's face, understood that his meaning went much deeper than those few words. This confrontation was a long time coming, Kakashi knew, but he had done all he could to avoid it. Talking about his past was hard, and there were some things that he just didn't want to have to remember ever again. However, now that Naruto was Hokage, he would no longer be able to get away with brushing the inquiries aside. Technically, it was Naruto's right to know about his past, though Kakashi was aware that Naruto would never use that advantage to force him into revealing things. But still...I guess all this dancing around was bound to get back at me one of these days. "Do you mind if I take a shower first? I just got back about five minutes ago, and I feel disgusting."

Naruto smiled. "I know how that is. We can wait." He took the liberty of seating himself upon one of the couches in the main room of the apartment while Sakura sat on the floor, still playing with the dogs.

"I won't be long." Kakashi said, already heading down the hall. "Don't do anything stupid boys!" He yelled to the dogs, but they were too busy roughhousing with Sakura to even notice.

"I want a dog," She said, a hint of a pout in her voice, and looked at Naruto. "It would be nice to have someone else in the house with us, since I don't know when we'll ever have a baby." That was almost an accusation, but not quite.

"Oh come on now," Naruto chided. "It isn't entirely my fault. Neither of us have any time right now to devote to a child."

Sakura's expression softened. Because Naruto had grown up without his parents, he wanted to make sure that his children would never have to suffer the way he did. He was right. It would be selfish of both of them to have children now, when their jobs required so much of their attention. "But when, Naruto? When is there going to be time?" Her eyes were fixed on the floor, and there was something hopeless in the way she voiced that question, a hopelessness that hit Naruto straight in the gut. That wouldn't do. He left his rather comfortable position on the couch and plopped on the floor, pulling his wife into his arms. Sakura had always loved to snuggle, so she welcomed his embrace, her head against his chest.

"Soon," Naruto replied, stroking her hair. "Don't ask me how I know. I can just...feel it. Do you know what I mean?"

Sakura nodded, the fabric of Naruto's shirt rubbing up against her skin. Her decision to marry him had stemmed partially from one of those feelings he spoke of, and it was possibly the best decision she had ever, or would ever make in her life. Letting go of Sasuke was hard, but she was glad to finally be free of the shackles that her childhood feelings bound her in. He had never shown any interest in her, yet she still tried so hard to win his affection, his love...the love that Naruto gave her without her asking for it. She hadn't even wanted it then, not until she realized that her heart already belonged to him. It only made her all the more grateful that Naruto grasped that fact before she did, or else they might not be where they were today.

"I guess I'll just have to be patient then." She said, a ghost of a smile returning to her face. "I think I can do that."

Naruto grinned, and kissed her hair. "That's my girl."

Kakashi entered his living room feeling more the thing after his shower, wearing a pair of pajama pants and a white t-shirt, and stumbled upon Naruto and Sakura in their current position, the dogs clustered around them. It was an awfully cute picture they made, he had to admit, and he almost wished he had a camera with film handy. He always thought that Naruto and Sakura would end up together, seeing as how their personalities suited each other, and it did not come as a surprise the day he found out they were getting married. That had been nearly four years ago...almost the same time that Sasuke disappeared. Kakashi still had his suspicions as to whether or not his former student was dead, as the popular opinion would suggest. No one ever spoke of him anymore, his name becoming somewhat of a taboo. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat rather loudly to alert the happy couple to his presence.

Naruto craned his head back and was greeted to a view of his sensei sans the mask, and his eyes went wide. Sakura too had noticed by that point, and her mouth hung open, her voice coming out as a squeak. Kakashi stared at the both of them as if they had each sprouted an extra head. He had completely forgotten that neither Naruto nor Sakura had ever seen his face before, and he only shrugged when they pointed that out. "I didn't feel like wearing it now...kind of stupid, you know? Why, is it really that bad?" He viewed his reflection in the surface of his microwave.

"Kakashi," Sakura began slowly, unbelieving of what she saw. "You do realize that you're a bachelor for no reason, don't you? All you'd need to do is go out in the street without that blasted mask and you could take your pick. That face is gorgeous! Why in all the hell do you cover it?"

"To keep from getting reactions like that," he replied, rifling through his fridge for something edible. It looked like it was going to be another peanut butter and jelly day.

"But Kakashi! You're...you're like...a sex god! I can't even...what is wrong with you?" Sakura exclaimed in exasperation. Naruto started chuckling.

"You have to excuse her. She gets very exited over things like this." To tell the truth, Naruto never expected for Kakashi to look the way that he did without his mask, either. For some reason, he always imagined that his sensei was hiding a large pair of fish lips, or something of the kind, and obviously that was false.

"I'll settle down eventually, Sakura," Kakashi said as he spread peanut butter over a slice of bread. "I just haven't met the right girl yet, that's all." He licked some rogue peanut butter off of his thumb, and screwed the lid to the container back on.

"It's probably because of those books you read all the time," Sakura said, her eyes boring into his back and her arms crossed. "That's a terrible habit to have."

Kakashi snorted. "Those books, eh?" He looked directly at her, a wicked smile on his face. "Yes, Sakura, your sensei is a pervert. I know, what is the world coming to, and so on and so forth," he waved his hand absently. "Everyone's got a flaw, don't they? I suppose that happens to be one of mine." With that, he winked, and started in on the jelly. Unfortunately, the lid was not as easy to pry off, since it hadn't been used in awhile, and the jelly had dried around the rim on the inside.

Naruto could not hold back his laughter as Sakura's face became a nice, healthy shade of red. She looked at her husband, trying to form a coherent sentence. "Did you....he....oh I give up. You're all the same. At the end of the day, the only thing on your minds is getting ass."

"Exactly," Naruto and Kakashi replied in unison.

Sakura stared at them, finally throwing her arms in the air in defeat. "Why me?" She implored to the ceiling. "Why did I even say anything?"

Kakashi came over, his completed sandwich in hand, and patted her fondly on the head. "You're just a slow learner, that's all."

She glared daggers at him. "I have half a mind to spank you right about now. You deserve it, brat."

"Uh, who's the brat, brat? You're in my house, prying into my life. I could just kick you out the door if I really wanted to."

"You would do that to Naruto?" Sakura shot back.

"Did I say Naruto? I only recall saying I'd kick you out, dearest."

Sakura's mouth opened and closed. She looked at Naruto. "Did you hear that? Are you going to let him get away with it?"

"Well, he does have a point," he flinched back from Sakura's hand, though she managed to cuff his shoulder.

"I hate you." She said, turning her head to the side and sticking her nose in the air.

Kakashi, laughing, knelt on the ground and grabbed Sakura up in a one- armed hug. "You know we're only teasing, you little rascal. Life just wouldn't be the same if you weren't around to slap our shortcomings in our faces." It was his turn to dodge Sakura's fist, and he was successful.

"Lucky," she muttered, and grinned. Her former sensei grinned back, and settled himself on the floor, leaning his back against the couch. His expression turned serious then.

"Let's get down to business, shall we? I know why you're here." His eyes strayed to the dogs, and Chief, being the only one not asleep, raised his head. Kakashi patted the spot next to him, and the dog came over and curled up against Kakashi's side.

Naruto spoke up first. "Listen, you don't need to tell us anything if you don't feel like you're ready to. It's just...I couldn't stand the curiosity anymore. Neither of us, and-"

"What do you want to know?" Kakashi interrupted.

Sakura jumped in. "Everything. About your childhood, how you got your Sharingan...all of it."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "That's straight to the point." He seemed to mull it over in his head for a bit, Naruto and Sakura waiting with baited breath. Looking at their hopeful faces, Kakashi found it hard to refuse. "All right," he said softly, much to Naruto and Sakura's shock. He smiled, and it was bittersweet. "I've been holding all of this in for too long. I need to let go of it." He paused. "How much time did you say you had?"

"As much time as we need." Naruto replied quickly.

"Good. This may take a while."

Wow...I'm so glad that I finally got this story rolling...it's been stuck in my head for such a long time....the stuff about the revolution is going to come into play later, in the companion story Spymaster (I'm planning ahead...scary) and at the end of this one, so it isn't just some random babbling...and Sasuke's part will be explained too...let me know what you think!