Coffee Shop – Chapter 5

The Scarecrow

Sakura awoke in the dark bedroom with the blankets tightly wrapped around her, the feel of the warm body that had spooned against her since she fell asleep was gone. For a little while she leisured in her groggy state, but the familiar smell of Konoha leaf tobacco and Kakashi's cologne caught her in its sweet snare.

She looked up from her pillow to see him standing beyond the end of the bed, one dim light on overhead so he could see what he was doing amid the dark, windowless bedroom.

He hadn't seemed to notice that she'd awoken, and continued on at what he was working as if he were alone.

The large mahogany cupboard at the foot of the bed was open and she dropped her jaw a little to see four large panels swung wide with a counter that dropped down. The panels were filled with weapons of all kinds – floor to ceiling. Swords, knives, guns and ammunition littered the green velvet, cradled everywhere in simple silver claws.

Kakashi stood with his back to her and pulled a gun from the wall, turning enough that she could see his profile while he held the firearm up to check the site. A cigarette dangled from his mouth, and the sleek sinewy muscles of his back and arms flexed beautifully with each movement.

Sakura could make out a tattoo that looked like a modern version of a leaf on his back left shoulder blade, and right below it was one word in beautifully written script - a name, Rin.

The amber light illuminated his skin, highlighting a scar on his back and another on his forearm. A fresh bandage was around his left bicep, neatly pinned in place as if she'd done it herself.

Kakashi set down the gun and picked up another. He put his hand on top to snap it back and forth, then again held it out to check the site as he had the last one.

Sakura admired his slightly messy silver hair, and his sleek, perfectly sculpted torso above the black silk pyjama pants that hung loosely on his slim hips. "Such a perfect male body, it should be illegal," she thought to herself. Rings and twists of smoke rose from the cigarette that dangled from his lips, and she became fixated on how smooth and deliberate his movements looked as he handled such dangerous things.

He was dangerous, and admittedly, she found it excited her. She felt the same heated desire for him as she did when he'd stolen her into the broom closet in another life.

"Did I wake you?" he mumbled without turning to face her. Instead he placed one of the handguns back into the holders and then opened a drawer and fumbled around with whatever it was filled with.

"Uh, no. I don't think so," Sakura whispered, sitting up and pulling the sheet up against her naked front, tucking it between her thighs to purposely expose one long, bent leg to him.

"Do you have pierced ears?" he asked, still looking down into the drawer.

"No, actually. Why?" Sakura tipped her head and creased her brow. What a strange question.

Kakashi glanced at her once, particularly where she held the blanket up to her front, and then pulled something from the drawer. He then snapped it closed again, stubbed out his cigarette on an ashtray on the counter, and walked over to the bed to crawl onto it beside her. Very casually, he lay on his side.

Sakura lay back against the pillow and looked at him with some curiosity.

"Give me your hand," he commanded and without argument, she held out her left to him.

Good, he thought, She trusts me completely. We're going to need that.

Kakashi rolled up to lean on an elbow and then slipped a thin silver band on her middle finger.

"What's this?" Sakura spread her fingers out and looked at it.

"It's a tracker. If we get separated, I can find you with my cell phone. Don't take it off until this is over."

"Of course," she agreed easily, snuggling back down into the blankets, but still looking up at him. "Kakashi, can I – ask you something?" She twisted an end of her long pink hair in her slender fingers, finding it too hard not to stare at his chest.

Kakashi lifted his chin, a half smile on his lips. Absently, he ran his hand down the blankets that covered her front from his hungry eyes. Just seeing her looking flushed with warmth and contentment, lying in the bed he'd never had a woman in before began to put inappropriate thoughts in his mind. He let his hand rest at her side.

"The scar over your eye. How did you get it?" She placed an open hand on his cheek and touched the bottom of the silver line with her thumb.

"When I was much younger, I had an assignment go wrong. I lost a friend and my eye. This eye is his."

"I noticed that one was darker than the other," Sakura mumbled, lowering her hand to graze her nails along his chest.

"He had very dark eyes. We were really just children at the time."

"I'm so sorry. Was your friend Rin?"

Kakashi closed his eyes. He'd forgotten for the moment that her name was forever written on his skin. "No. She was someone else I lost."

Sakura felt she'd crossed the line and so she stopped her small interrogation. She looked down at the blankets between them guiltily.

"It was a long time ago." Kakashi smiled with a hint of sadness.

"I guess I don't know a lot about you…" She grew bolder and ran her fingertips over his lips. "But I like when you touch me. It makes me feel safe." Her pale green eyes locked with his, displaying a hint of fear mixed with her desire. "I want you to touch me again."

Kakashi could feel the mood shifting. They'd danced around it but now she was putting out a blatant sexual invitation. Be it the fear of impending death or that she was completely dependent on him for survival, he knew she was offering herself because of one or the other. He supposed being mostly unclothed in a dim bedroom didn't help either. "I don't think this is what you need. You might be offering yourself to me for the wrong reasons, Sakura…"

She looked shy suddenly as she ghosted her fingertips over his jawline. "I guess I just really need some comfort."

"I'm not a man who knows how to do that," he said heavily.

"Then comfort me in any way you know how."

He looked away from her, breathing steadily as he tried to make a decision. Sex and emotion weren't good bedfellows in such a precarious situation. She would become more attached to him and he had to believe he wouldn't be able to separate work and personal things if it came to that. But how badly he wanted to feel the heat of their bodies entwined now that she'd asked for it. At that moment, in that big bed with her just a sheet apart from him, he didn't have an ounce of willpower left.

When he turned back, she put her hand on his cheek again and moved close enough to press a kiss to his mouth. Then she spoke onto his lips, "All I need right now is this with you, Kakashi. I want to stop being scared – just for a little while. I want you to make me feel something else, something better."

He nodded once as he stared at her mouth. "I can do that."

The room was quiet, but the light sounds of a piano drifted in through the half open doors of the bedroom where Sakura awoke in the empty bed. The heavy blanket was loose and warm on her limbs, and she stretched herself out, pressing her fingertips to the headboard, toes pointed tightly before her spine cracked once.

It was dark again; only a pale streak of amber glowed across the wall, reaching into the room through the seam of the bathroom door. The scent of tobacco twined with Kakashi's cologne lingered on the duvet and her warm skin, putting him in her mind immediately. She rested her cheek along the pillow he'd slept on and breathed slowly. The mingled smells made her ache in places she enjoyed. Already her body wanted him again. As she always suspected, he was great in bed. He'd taken the dominant role and pleased her over and over in so many ways.

But even though his heady taste tarried on her lips, the weight of what they had done pressed down on her chest and curled in her stomach. The determined med student wasn't one for quick trysts, yet she'd easily invited him do what he wanted to her. The total number of lovers she'd had, including him, could be counted on one hand and wouldn't include her thumb.

Yes, she owed Kakashi her life, but with the exception of quick conversations and flirtatious smiles over coffee, he was virtually a stranger.

At least she was smart enough to keep up on the birth control shots. It was just stupid to take that chance…

Naked and still groggy, Sakura rolled her tired limbs to the edge of the bed and swung her feet onto the shiny floor. From being in the heat of the covers, the wood under her toes felt mildly cool.

The undisturbed sleep she'd fallen into was perhaps too deep; her head felt cottony and slow, her eyes unfocused and lazy. She pushed herself up and crept lightly to the bathroom to find her clothes hung over a towel rail and still disappointingly damp. Kakashi's white shirt lay on the countertop so she scooped it up and slipped it on, doing up the buttons to just above her breasts.

The sleeves of the shirt were so long that the stiff cuffs reached the bottom of her fingertips. She tugged the starched collar to her face, the wonderful scent of Kakashi clung on the expensive material and she breathed it deeply just as she had on the bed.

If she thought enough about it, the spontaneity of their encounter should have definitely produced a feeling of regret. But in earnest, she'd imagined being intimate with Kakashi since the first moment she watched him stir two packets of sugar into his coffee. She could still remember how much she liked his smell mixed with the aroma of the dark, rich brew. His eyes were lazy and seductive – bedroom eyes…

Sakura supposed she could forgive herself this one prurient indulgence. And sincerely, how could she regret something so good?

Maybe she'd be dead by morning and it wouldn't ever matter…

Finding a toothbrush in the drawer, she used the mint toothpaste and a heavy bristled hairbrush to make herself look human again. She washed her face, used the lavatory, considered a shower but then figured that it could wait a little bit longer as her stomach growled and ached. After being satisfied that she was somewhat presentable, Sakura wandered back through the dark bedroom and out into the softly lit living area.

Slow, deep music still crooned from a sound system in the corner. A seductive, bluesy tune full of piano and melancholy saxophones filled the room. She recognized the melody as something she'd heard her mother play many times when Sakura was a child. It brought a feeling of nostalgia and memories of placing her tiny feet on her mother's to dance and hum together in their small living room.

Half the lights in the expansive room were off, the gentle ambiance calming her heart's desire to beat a little faster. She found Kakashi standing at a window, staring out into the night, another glass of something strong and golden in his hand. A tie dangled undone around his light grey collar, and his hair was still damp from a shower, though slightly dishevelled as if a hand had just skimmed through it carelessly.

He had a young looking face, but she could see the years of experience there too - experience of seeing things that she couldn't possibly fathom in a life full of friendly smiles in the school hallways or while slugging mugs at a cafe. It was hard to reconcile it all in her mind - the dichotomy between the dangerous man she knew him to be, and the casual man standing nonchalantly in front of her. He had a hand in a pocket and his tie was hanging loose like he'd just finished a day at the office.

Sakura moved nearer, gliding smoothly as if directed by the music until the pensive man reflected in the window looked at her. He didn't smile when their eyes met; instead he savoured a long sip of his drink and appreciated her over the rim of the diamond cut glass.

She tugged nervously on the hem of the shirt laid flat against the top of her thighs.

Kakashi sensed her self-consciousness, noticed the attempt to disguise her apprehension. She looked a little lost, and he felt guilty that he'd indulged in her skin instead of just attempting to reassure her – a difficult enough thing for a man like him to do. They both needed the tension release, he supposed, but they'd carry the extra emotional burden now. It would be impossible to be cold and detach from her when survival called for it. Somehow that always made things more difficult.

Since Rin, he'd sworn he would never get attached again…

Turning slowly to face Sakura, Kakashi managed a smile - just a minute lift of a corner of his mouth. He couldn't disguise that he enjoyed the look of her in his shirt.

"Drink?" he asked smoothly, fumbling his other hand in his pocket for a cigarette and lighter.

"Letting me borrow your crutch?" she mumbled, turning to gaze out the windows. Rubbing her hands along her biceps, she crossed her arms over her front to hug them to her chest.

Kakashi laughed with slight self-deprecation. "Perhaps."

"I've heard this before," she whispered while pointing to the ceiling as the sensual sound of the saxophone hummed out the languorous melody.

"It's Coltrane," he exhaled. A bad night for it, he thought to himself.

A sudden vibration in his pocket made him lean over to the brick window ledge and set his drink down. He pulled his black cell phone out. "Seven."

Sakura neared the window beside him and stared out into the dark night. The lights of the neighbouring buildings glowed in resplendent blues and golds. Desks, offices, bedrooms and living rooms were displayed in lines behind the large square windows like a filmstrip under the man-made illumination.

"No, I haven't heard from him either. …yes, I will…" Kakashi couldn't hide the slight intensity in his tone.

Sakura watched him rub a hand roughly through his damp hair, the unlit cigarette bending between his fingers.

"Clothes, yeah. Size…" Kakashi turned to give her legs a perfunctory once-over. "Six. Shoes too. Uh…eight?" he raised his eyebrows and Sakura nodded her agreement. "…yeah. You too. Be careful."

Kakashi slipped the phone back into his pocket. A glance at the crumpled cigarette made him shake his head. "Would you like to get a shower?" he asked calmly, taking the two steps to close the distance between them.

"I guess," she breathed out, feeling his strong presence like a warm hand across her skin. Finally her eyes drifted to his and he smiled. Something like a tight coil inside her unravelled its sharp edges a little.

"I'm sorry. I'm preoccupied. Are you feeling all right?" He brushed a hand down her shoulder and let it trace the crisp material of his shirt until he reached the small of her back. He couldn't help but appreciate when she was so close that he could feel her body heat.

"Hm," she breathed out, feeling the ripple of desire from just that simple touch.

Kakashi bowed his head and kissed her then, softly, a comforting press of lips, and she responded in kind, matching his gentleness. Still keeping his hand on the arch of her back, he pulled her gently against him.

"There's a bathrobe on the back of the bathroom door. Why don't you take a shower and I'll make us something to eat." His breath caressed the shell of her ear when he spoke, his fingers absently stroking her hair.

"All right," she whispered, taking a moment just to stay there in his arms. She wasn't going to let go until he made her, and neither seemed in a rush to move. Sakura tucked her head under his chin and he just held her while the song continued to embrace them in its sonorous spell.

Kakashi stood in his kitchen, cracking eggs, and cutting vegetables, but his mind was on the hours ahead. After checking the internet, he'd found that the Coffee Shop shooting was reported as a robbery and nothing more. Someone had covered it up – though that was what he had expected. Small business owners could be bought and frightened customers could be easily manipulated.

Genma was missing. Nothing concerned Kakashi at the moment more than that.

The Akatsuki were cruel and immoral in their dealings. They had no honour and that was the reason he could feel no remorse about betraying them after they'd welcomed him into their ranks. They were easy to infiltrate– so much easier than leaving his home and friends behind for the years he spent undercover.

But Pain always knew, didn't he? His blank eyes would follow Kakashi everywhere when they were within sight of each other. Of all the Akatsuki, Pain was the only one he couldn't figure out. The man seemed less likely to be led than Kakashi himself, so why be a lap dog to Madara?

Konan was a consummate follower, but unusually brutal in her methods. Kakashi had noted how she took too much of an interest in he and Genma when they were in the room together. Be it sincere interest or just a way to piss off Pain, he was always wary of her overall intentions. The woman was not unintelligent.

Grunts like Deidara and Kisame were just hired muscle, used for the more low-brow, thuggish dealings. Then there was Sasori. He looked like a child, but was anything but. Typically, he made a point to avoid Kakashi. Most likely the separation was Madara's doing since Kakashi's father had killed Sasori's many years ago. There was quite lot of tension that sometimes electrified when they were near each other.

For Madara, high level ANBU agents had been welcome additions to his collection of killers. He hadn't blindly let Kakashi in – testing him a number of times – although almost being too forgiving about the trouble the former ANBU had caused Akatsuki in the past.

Now every single one of them was hunting for him – Hidan, Deidara, Kisame…all of them.

Even if he got Sakura away, he'd probably be dead in a week.

Selfishly, he was glad he made love to her, to such a girl at least once. For just a little while, he felt like that boy among the sheets with Rin back in those halcyon days when the world wasn't so dark, stealing moments for themselves to just lie in each other's arms as the light of the morning crept in through the dirty windows. Sakura was the same as Rin - same smiling face, same wide-eyed innocence and desire to make something with the life she had.

Kakashi's fingers slowed the absent chopping of the bright bell peppers on the wooden cutting board.

If it were the last thing he did in his useless life, he'd protect Sakura…

…and he'd kill Pain.

"I'll take that drink now," Sakura's gentle voice said from the edge of the long granite counter.

Kakashi looked up at her, blinking out of his inner thoughts. She was leaning over the counter top, fingers laced together and damp hair framing her attractive face – her cheeks still pink from the heat of a shower. She was clean, her bright eyes finally free from the dark remnants of mascara and fear. She even smiled as she tugged the fluffy navy belt of his bathrobe tighter around her small waist.

Kakashi returned her smile, slipping back into his role, keeping the morose thoughts in his mind safely tucked away until he needed that anger for the days ahead. She needed the other side of him for a while.

He nodded easily as he spun to the back countertop instead of the cabinet where the alcohol was. When he turned back around, he had a steaming mug of coffee in his hands which he slid across the counter to her.

Sakura picked up the mug with a laugh and hugged it to her chest, lifting her chin to see what he was cooking. Eggs hit the hot pan with a wet hiss as Kakashi began adding ingredients to a sumptuous omelette for which her stomach noisily begged.

"That looks so good," she remarked into the edge of the black mug. "Is there anything you can't do?"

Kakashi turned the heat down and looked at her uncorrupted smile and soft gaze. She was so innocent that he might as well just paint a target on her and get it over with.

"Can I show you something?" he finally asked and Sakura shrugged with lazy indifference.

Kakashi took the drink from her and set it on the dark counter. Then grabbing both her hands, he led her to the space between the island and the back counter. "This is good if someone is coming at you from the front," he directed, turning her hips a little with his strong hands.

He curled the top of her fingers using his own and bent her wrist. Holding the base of her hand to his chin, he instructed, "A hard blow with the heel of your palm here will stun someone. You can also hit here." He pointed to the bridge of his nose. "A forehead to the nose will cause the eyes to water and sting, blinding them for a second. If a man comes at you, go for the groin with a knee."

Sakura nodded.

Kakashi turned her around and closed his arms around her. "From behind, a sharp thrust with the back of your head to the face can give you a second to get away. It will probably hurt you too, but it will get you free. If your hand can move…"

"I know. Go for the groin," she laughed, turning her face so that her cheek was almost against his. "Don't worry," she whispered.

Kakashi bent over her, tempted by her smell and the warmth of her freshly showered skin. What was it about her? "Now this," he began, sweeping her hair out of his way and pressing a kiss to her neck just below her ear.

"Hm?" She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. "And what do you suggest I do?"

"Don't move," he whispered against her ear and she shivered deliciously. Turning in his arms, she pressed her mouth to his to entangle him in another long slow kiss. Her knees felt weak, body primed for him again. The oily bubbling of the omelette cooking was forgotten as his hand squeezed the back of her upper thigh excitedly.

Then a small mechanical chime caught Kakashi's attention and reluctantly, he broke the kiss. "Good timing," he mumbled. "Can you watch the food for a second?"

Sakura nodded, adjusting the bathrobe again and grinning a little too much to seem demure. Even with her moments of questioning the extreme progression of their sexual relationship, she craved him like an addict.

With his fingers working to do up the buttons of his shirt, Kakashi went to the elevator door and slid open the security panel next to it. Pressing the video feed, he could see the person he'd been expecting standing at the back door.

Within a few moments, the elevator doors slid open and Kakashi was greeted with pouty, red-painted lips, a short-fringed skirt, and a pair of mile long legs in sexy four-inch heels.

Sakura flipped the omelette and pressed the button down for the toaster, feeling hungry enough to pour the eggs right into her mouth out of the heavy pan. It couldn't seem to cook fast enough.

"Sakura," Kakashi said evenly as he re-entered the room, making the young med student snap her gaze up to him. Of course, he expected her brow to crease and confusion to grip her when his companion walked into the kitchen behind him, so her reaction was no surprise.

Sakura stared at the beautiful woman who stood beside Kakashi, feeling self-conscious and on display being in his bathrobe in front of a stranger. The sharp clicks of her heels were intimidating as she sidled up to stand closely beside him.

"This is Kurenai," Kakashi said, putting a hand on the small of the woman's back.

Sakura noticed his light grey shirt was done up and his black tie was knotted to perfection.

"Hi," Sakura said with an embarrassed glance, using one hand to try and straighten the bathrobe, the other nervously tugging at the end of some wet strands of hair.

"Tsunade's granddaughter, huh? You look like her," Kurenai said pleasantly, smiling a little, but not too much. "I brought you some clothes, shoes, panties..." She held out a shiny black shopping bag from the end of her perfectly manicured fingers.

Sakura nodded, unable to speak. The woman was undeniably one of the most beautiful she'd seen, with unusual eyes and hair as black as midnight. She had an air of absolute confidence. Like the other women she'd seen Kakashi with, Kurenai made her suddenly feel inferior.

"Th—thanks," she muttered, wandering over to take the bag, but glancing up at Kakashi briefly to try and glean anything of his relationship with the woman. But to her surprise, he winked and lifted his chin toward his bedroom. "Food's ready so don't take long. I know you're hungry."

Sakura raised her face and smiled back, not chancing another glance at Kurenai in case her comfort drained away again.

Kakashi watched Sakura walk with a deliberate lack of rush all the way to his bedroom and then ease the door closed. She seemed to adjust fairly well to surprises, but there was probably going to be much worse to come if things continued on the way they seemed to be going.

A firm hand suddenly smacked his arm hard across his stitches and he gritted his teeth. "I was shot there yesterday, you know."

"You slept with her!" Kurenai hissed. "What the hell were you thinking? Tsunade is going to kill you."

"She'll have to get in line," Kakashi mumbled, pulling another cigarette out and putting it between his lips.

"Don't light that. I hate cigarette smoke," she said coolly, moving away to sit down on a stool and cross her long legs. Her eyes flitted to the window absently as she lamented.

Kakashi apprised her for a moment and then tapped the cigarette back into the pack. He'd forgotten that the sweet, heady scent of leaf tobacco reminded her of her late husband. "So what do you know?"

Kurenai hm'd quietly. "Genma hasn't reported in. And the Akatsuki is scouring Konoha for you and the girl. As far as we know, they have no idea that you're in this part of the city, but Uchiha has them all looking. We're trying to counter on our end but it's an all-out tangled mess between the two syndicates. Tsunade is arranging for an escort for Sakura in the morning so you two are to just hole up here until then."

"I wasn't planning on wandering the streets." Kakashi slid the omelette onto a plate and set it in front of an empty stool. "I appreciate that you didn't send the escort here."

"I know you like to keep this place secret. I'm not going to betray that now. I'm just glad you're done with that assignment. I've been begging Tsunade for the last year to get you out of there." Kurenai tapped her long nails on the counter.

"I've missed you too," Kakashi said quietly. "How's the kid?"

"She's six now. She looks so much like Asuma that it's scary. All those Sarutobi's look the same," she scoffed. "She has my father's temperament though."

"And how are you doing?"

A breath of a laugh escaped Kurenai and her eyes narrowed in thought. "Shikamaru asked me to marry him. Dumb fool."

"He's a little young for you, isn't he?" Kakashi teased, taking a slow drink of his rye.

"You can say that to me?" Kurenai shot back, a dainty thumb jerked in the direction of his bedroom. "I don't want another husband," she sighed. "I want the first one back." She rubbed her lips gently and closed her eyes. "Get me a drink, will you, Hatake."

"Of course. Still drinking gin?" he asked, pulling another cut crystal glass from the cabinet along with a clear bottle of liquid.

"Never stopped." She watched him pour a bit in a glass and add the tonic.

He placed it into her long fingers, and then returned to work on the second omelette.

"She's beautiful," Kurenai said quietly before setting her red lips to the edge of her glass. Her unusual eyes watched him intently.

"Hm," Kakashi agreed quietly, purposely not looking up at her. He'd hoped she wouldn't start this, but it would be a surprise if she didn't remark on it.

"You brought her here too," Kurenai added, running a finger around the crystal rim. "I know you'll deny it, but I imagine somehow that girl is special to you."

Kakashi grunted softly and then flipped the omelette. "If she grew up among us, she would have been placed on my team, you know."

"Yeah, along with the other two brats, I know. I guess she lucked out. Where are those two anyway?"

"Naruto and Sasuke have been watching her at the school, but now they're out looking for Genma with the rest."

The toast popped up and Kakashi turned to attend to it when the slow moving figure across the room caught his attention. Sakura walked along next to the windows, running her fingers down the thick brick window ledges as she approached. Her long legs were covered in black jeans and the long-sleeved black shirt fit her curves tightly. Her pink hair and green eyes looked vibrant against the dark clothes. Black flats covered her feet and it gave Kakashi a small relief that she finally had shoes.

"Fit okay?" Kurenai asked, pointing to Sakura's pants with a finger overtop of her drink. "Shoe's comfortable?"

Sakura nodded and looked at Kakashi who pointed to the omelette in front of the stool beside Kurenai. Reluctantly, she wandered behind the visitor and slipped onto the seat. But upon seeing the steaming plate of food, any discomfort was forgotten besides the ache in her stomach. The first bite was sublime.

Kakashi stood on the other side of the counter, holding his plate up and using a fork to cut the egg before each bite.

"I saw the bike outside. I heard the other place got raided. Wonder what happened to the jeep?" Kurenai laughed.

"Shit. I loved that jeep," Kakashi mumbled, taking another bite.

"Not the BMW?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Too pretentious."

Sakura continued to silently eat, listening to their comfortable banter.

When Kakashi was finished, he slid his plate into the sink and had just begun cleaning up the crumbs along the counter when a loud cacophonous beep steadily sounded from the security panel.

Sakura looked up, creasing her brow and tilting her head to see Kakashi and Kurenai exchange a cold look. It gave her goosbumps as her heart skipped a beat.

"You were followed," Kakashi said quickly, sliding around the counter to dart to the elevator door, snapping the security panel open.

"I didn't think so. Shit, Kakashi. I'm so sorry," Kurenai breathed out as she followed him closely behind.

"Damn," he growled, looking at the monitor and pulling up all the security cameras. "Akatsuki."

He turned to the closet next to the elevator and pulled out a black coat long enough to reach his knees, tossing it over his arm as he turned and regarded the fear and anger on Kurenai's face. "We're compromised. I need you to take her and go out the back way. Call in for a safe house and I'll meet you there after I deal with this."

"Who's out there, Kakashi?" Kurenai asked, her voice low and forceful.

"It's not him," he snapped, "Now get going."

"Don't lie to me. If it's Hidan, I want to stay."

Kakashi tugged Kurenai back toward the kitchen and held her there for a moment with a strong hand around her arm, his other gesturing to the fearful looking med student at the island. "You need to get her out. I can't do this if she's here. I'll catch up with you."

Kurenai shook and tears started to form in her angry, narrowed eyes. But Kakashi had no time to comfort and placate her. He turned to move back through his elegant living room.

"Wait! I want to stay with you," Sakura said, hurrying after him as he darted towards the bedroom. Inside, he flung open the long arsenal at the foot of his bed and put his jacket on the counter.

Starting with a double brown leather holster, Kakashi slipped his arms into it and shrugged it tightly to his back. Two silver guns were slipped into the holsters and felt heavy and comforting against his sides. A smaller black gun was pulled out next; he snapped a button on the side and the clip fell out of the bottom. He checked it visually and then rammed it back in with a hard snap before tucking the weapon into the back of his pants.

"You need to get going," he mumbled, tugging the jacket back on and then pulling open a drawer that had clips cradled in foam forms. He slid each one into pockets that ran up the inside of the coat. Two small incendiary devices were shoved into the side pockets as well.

"Don't make me leave you," she said quietly, her voice trembling with her body.

Kakashi paused for a second and looked into her green eyes, wide and pleading. Having her there would make it impossible for him to concentrate on taking on the men downstairs. Leaning forward, he pulled her into a tight embrace and then kissed her gently on the forehead in a hurried manner.

"Kurenai will take care of you. I trust her completely. If you're here, I'll be worrying about what you're doing. I'm sorry, but it's better this way."

Sakura wanted to argue, but the thought of Kakashi missing something, screwing up or getting killed because she stubbornly wanted to stay with him began to worry her. If he trusted Kurenai, then she had to as well.

"All right," she breathed onto his shoulder, still pulled tightly against him. "But you'll find me, won't you?"

Kakashi pulled back and lifted her hand up to press her fingertips to his mouth. "I promise, I'll find you."

Sakura nodded, and then waited silently for him to finish what he was doing.

Sliding a short silver knife into a strap he velcroed on his wrist, Kakashi slipped on the jacket and then jerked it once to square it perfectly on his lean frame. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back out to the foyer where Kurenai was tapping her foot nervously.

"They're coming in, Kakashi," she strained, pointing a long nail at the video feed on the small monitor.

"Looks like they haven't found the back way yet. We'll take the elevator one floor down and then you can take the stairs to the back exit. No one can get in there – only out. I'll keep them busy while you slip away." He pressed the button next to the elevator doors and instantly they slid open. He grabbed his keys from a hook in the closet and held them in his hand.

He ushered them in and then put a small key from the keychain into the lock in the elevator panel. When the doors opened onto the next floor down, Kakashi turned the key and pressed a button to ensure that they couldn't get up to his apartment, then followed the women out and let the doors close again.

The elevator began to descend.

"All right, get going," he said to them, flipping a large power switch next to the elevator doors and then pulling a cigarette from his pants pocket.

Lights blasted on, mechanical and bright, to illuminate an old looking empty office building with no walls, and no desks. Gleaming white plaster pillars ran the length of the room every few feet. The empty room was as big as the apartment upstairs. In one corner, mats, weights, a punching bag and a treadmill were placed. The other end, in a part where the lights had burnt out, was a long table with rounded edges surrounded by a number of thick, comfortable looking dusty leather chairs.

"Be careful," Kurenai said, grabbing Sakura's arm and pulling her from her attempt to figure out her surroundings.

Kakashi nodded, locking eyes with Sakura for just a moment.

"Don't be long," she mouthed as Kurenai pulled her away.

But all he could manage in return was a quick nod.

Stepping out of that elevator with the feel of the cold gun handles tucked securely against his sides, Kakashi felt the pressure drop. His heart slowed, eyes focused. He became aware of the smell of fresh paint, and swept dust and the adrenaline the women were laced with. He could hear the mechanical breath of the elevator as is made its way down to the lower floor, and the hum of the lights as they worked hard to illuminate the path for Sakura's escape.

He was no longer the man that had taken her to bed or the man that cooked her dinner and smiled to keep her happy. He was Hatake Kakashi, the famous assassin, the Scarecrow, highest ranking Leaf ANBU, the man that would give up his life to finish his enemies.

Kurenai and Sakura finally disappeared down the stairwell and the door to the stairs snapped shut, affording Kakashi a long deep breath. He flicked a light blue flame from the lighter and lit the cigarette dangling from his lips. With a smooth motion, he pulled a gun from his side holster and held it at his side, rolling his shoulders to test the movement in the jacket.

As the elevator began to ascend, and a yellow glow lit up behind the numbers, Kakashi felt a different kind of smile creep over his face