Riptide

Kakashi felt what someone had once jokingly called rabid back when he was a new recruit in ANBU and filled with helpless rage. Kakashi had tried to shove the anger down, tried to hide the helplessness he was stewing in, but Gai knew him better than anyone else alive.

Gai’s fingers on his wrists were subtle, far more subtle than what people expected of the Green Beast. But it was grounding. Thick calloused skin against his pulse point to hold him steady, like an anchor in a storm of rage.

Gai wasn’t obvious enough to say anything like ‘breathe’ but Kakashi heard it anyways. He calmed his heartbeat, calmed his lungs and looked at the Mizukage with a perfect stony expression that had gotten him called words like ‘cold-hearted’. Kakashi pulled on two decades of training and experience to control himself.

“Here we go,” the Mizukage, Terumi Mei said cheerfully, “Your student is on her way.”

Kakashi forced himself to keep breathing steady. Here it was. The moment he had been dreading and longing for the week it had taken them to get to Kiri. Sakura. Little Haruno Sakura, one of his biggest failures. The student he had let be abducted through sheer stupidity. He had acted like a green-boy and he had lost her for it; lost her to the enemy he had so stupidly fought. Kakashi didn’t know Momochi Zabuza, didn’t have any real firsthand experience with him, nor had many Konoha nin as the man had avoided anywhere close to Konoha and Kiri. But you didn’t get a moniker like Demon of the Mist without reason. And he had had Sakura for months and months and months.

The door opened and Kakashi kept his gaze on the Mizukage for a long moment. She had turned her gaze to the door, expression warm and it took all of Kakashi’s control to turn slowly and carefully and look.

Kakashi looked at the girl and for one long moment he didn’t recognize his student. He had been expecting long pink hair and bright green eyes and that silly red dress he knew had to be fashionable for little girls. He was expecting a young girl who snapped at him for being late right alongside Naruto. He was expecting the girl who was filled with questions, always wanting to know more. He was expecting a girl who smiled easily and would call him sensei immediately. He had been expecting that because it was what he had hoped for so desperately.

Instead he got…this.

He got a child with hair sheared short and ragged, green eyes dulled and tired and underlined by bags so deep they looked tattooed. He got a kid with exhaustion writ in their bones, a kid with brittle thin wrists who looked like she’d not eaten enough. He got a kid wearing plain trousers, a plain short yukata under a threadbare haori. He got a kid with no sandals and instead thick bandages around her feet and ankles. He got a kid that was sitting high on Momochi Zabuza’s arm and slumped into him.

The Momochi Zabuza that entered the room was the same at least and Kakashi felt a flood of anger spill into him because if he looked at his student too long he’d feel …

“Hatake,” Zabuza sneered.

Sakura’s head turned, dull green eyes finding Kakashi in the group. She stared but gave no other reaction. Kakashi clenched his jaw so tight it hurt as he stared at the new bit of Sakura revealed; a thick leather collar was wrapped snuggly around her throat, worn in a manner that said it was an entirely familiar weight.

“Zabuza,” Kakashi said flatly, voice controlled by the skin of his teeth, “I think you have something of mine.”

“Not yours anymore,” Zabuza said, “You can’t blame man for taking something so carelessly dropped and left behind.”

“Left behind?” Kakashi asked, and his voice leaned more towards a snarl.

Zabuza bared his teeth in what could be call a smile.

“Zabuza, stop baiting the Konoha-nin,” the Mizukage said lightly, “They’re here to organize a treaty, not start a war.”

Zabuza surprisingly listened, giving Kakashi nothing more than a nasty smirk as he walked closer to the Mizukage’s side of the table. Mei didn’t even look at Zabuza or the girl, keeping her eyes locked on the Konoha team. Kakashi felt Gai subtly brush his fingers against his hand. Kakashi tried to relax the aggressive slant of his shoulders but was mostly unsuccessful as he didn’t let his eyes leave Zabuza and his student. Yugao was talking, voice smooth and calm but Kakashi didn’t hear a word of it.

When the Mizukage stood, dismissal in her posture the Konoha team stood as well, though Kakashi’s was more of a surge to his feet, fighting ready. The Mizukage’s gaze turned to him and he finally looked away from Zabuza to look at her. Terumi Mei didn’t quite look like a person who had overthrown a Kage and led a successful coup; at least at first glance. But there was something in her eyes, something unnerving about her diplomatic smile and Kakashi let the aggression slide out of his posture.

“Hand Kurogane over to her sensei, Zabuza,” Terumi Mei commanded.

Zabuza glared at her and then switched his glare over to Kakashi who stood as calmly as he could. Gai had his back, hovering at his shoulder, unusually silent since they’d entered this village. If Kakashi had been less falling apart he would have had more sympathy for his dearest friend who had lost his father to this nation; but right now his eyes looked only at his student.

Zabuza and Kakashi had a stare down, neither moving an inch.

“Let me down,” a voice cut through the tension.

It took Kakashi a precious few moments to realize that that low, rough voice had been Sakura’s. She nudged Zabuza’s shoulder and he turned his glare on her.

“Don’t order me around, Brat,” Zabuza growled.

“Oh fuck off Zabuza,” his stupidly brave student said, “Put me down.”

And to Kakashi’s confusion, Zabuza obeyed. Kakashi watched with sharp eyes the way that Zabuza set her down gently, angled in a way to take weight off one side. Sakura stood on unshaking legs but Kakashi wondered at the bandages, at why she had no shoes, at why Zabuza had carried her. Was, somewhere in his mind beyond the anger, absolutely baffled at the fact Zabuza had actually been carrying her like a child at all.

“Let’s give them a moment,” the Mizukage said, tone suddenly cheerful.

“Give them a moment?” Zabuza hissed, “In the Kage’s office?”

He sounded incredulous, shooting all the team poisonous glares.

“Not like there is anything important in here after we stripped it,” Terumi Mei said cheerfully, “Come on.”

Zabuza shot them all nasty glares and for a long moment hovered at Sakura’s shoulder. And then he stomped off after his Kage. The door clicking shut behind them was loud in the silence left behind. Kakashi found himself frozen. Here was the student he had hunted for on Wave, the student he’d thought dead, the student he’d regretted and broke over. Here she was, standing before him alive.

And yet Kakashi was frozen, unsure how to react. He’d lost a lot of people, he was used to that. But he’d never gotten them back before.

“Hello, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura said, her voice low and careful.

She didn’t look away from him but her gaze was focused on his chin, her hands dug into the hem of her haori.

“Sakura,” Kakashi said and her name was almost pained in his mouth.

Gai shoved him forward and Kakashi stumbled, falling to his knees before his student. This close her eyes seemed larger, less dull as they finally fully focused on him.

“Can…can I have a hug?” Kakashi asked lowly.

Gato’s men had told him in vivid detail how they’d raped and murdered his student. While the murder had been disproved, he knew exactly what horrific things happened to pretty girls under men like Gato. That she’d ended up in Momochi Zabuza’s hands after gave him no confidence to her state. Kakashi knew procedures, knew how to treat rape survivors, how to treat survivors of captivity.

He needed permission to touch her. Need permission to make sure she was real.

Sakura wordlessly opened her arms, and Kakashi hugged her as gently as he could, desperation curling his arms around her slight frame. She clung to him and burrowed her face into his shoulder. It took him a long moment to realize her shortening breath was sobs, breathless whining sobs but no tears. Beneath her coat Kakashi could feel the hard cast and multiple bandages. He tightened his grip.

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura murmured into his skin.

“Sakura,” he breathed easy for the first time in months, “I’m so glad you’re alive.”

She was trembling, shaking beneath him, but when she pulled back no tears were falling. The light caught at the tears gathering in her lashes, but they weren’t heavy enough to fall and she hastily wiped at her face with her worn sleeve.

“You came for me?” she asked, voice small.

“Of course,” Kakashi said, “As soon as I heard you were here.”

She looked past him and Gai was the first one to step forward, blinding grin on his face as he put a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder.

“Your most youthful sensei practically started running the moment he heard you were alive!” Gai said, voice toned down from his usual shout, “We had to hold him down until a team was ready.”

Sakura stared at Gai wide-eyed, and Kakashi got the feeling that for once it wasn’t at the man’s dress and speech, but for his sincerity. Yugao stepped up next, crouching beside Kakashi.

“My name is Yugao,” she said, tone calm and steady, “I have some slight medic training if you would allow me to look at your injuries.”

“They’ve been treated,” Sakura told her, still shaking but not sounding upset, “I got my arm broken and lots of scrapes, but they gave me stitches and a cast. The most annoying thing is my ankle, it’s sprained.”

“I can heal a sprained ankle,” Yugao offered, “and make sure everything is as well looked after as you say.”

Sakura glanced at Kakashi and he gave a dip of his head, his promise that Yugao was good people, and Sakura carefully lifted her injured ankle. Kakashi resisted the urge to reach out for the bandages looped tightly around her feet as Yugo very carefully lit her hands green.

“You have stitches on the bottom of your feet,” Yugao said gently and Kakashi winced in sympathy.

“I fell on a spike trap,” Sakura said without care, “It ripped up my feet pretty bad. They stitched them all shut and gave me a balm that helps numb the pain when I stand. They’re mostly healed now anyways.”

“I can do a bit for that,” Yugao promised.

She lingered over Sakura’s ankle for a long few minutes in silence. Yugao wasn’t a medic-nin but she had had the control to learn emergency first aid to their standard. She could stop a man from bleeding out and in ANBU that was really all that mattered. When her hands finally dipped down to Sakura’s feet and then away Sakura tested her weight with a small rock of her heels.

“Thank you,” Sakura said quietly, “Are we going home now?”

“We…” Kakashi faltered.

“We must stay for a week,” Yugao spoke for him, calmly meeting Sakura’s gaze, “Maybe even more. We got into Kiri by opening diplomatic channels and they must be fulfilled before we leave.”

Sakura nodded slowly.

“You may stay with us,” Yugao continued, “We will protect you while we linger.”

Sakura stared at them all, even darting a glance at Tenzo who had been silent behind them.

“I don’t mind staying for a bit,” Sakura said and her tone was surprisingly honest, “I just…promise we’ll go home after?”

“Sakura,” Kakashi said, reaching for her hands, “I promise I will see you back to Konoha if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Not the last thing,” Sakura protested.

He didn’t change his words, simply gave her a heavy look. Kakashi would die for any one of his students, he didn’t say. It would be easier than seeing them die. There was a soft knock at the door and then someone was peeking in.

“Hello,” the young silver-blue haired man said, “I’ve been sent to show you to your quarters.”

Kakashi stood slowly, not letting go of Sakura’s hands until she pulled her own back.

“A place to stay would be very much appreciated!” Gai beamed for all of them.

The man, barely a man if Kakashi was judging his age correctly stared at them all for a long moment, then his gaze slid to Sakura.

“You okay Kurogane?” he asked.

“I’m okay,” Sakura said, and her tone was surprisingly friendly.

Oh it wasn’t the level of friendly he recognized from Sakura, but it was not cold. The young man nodded and opened the door to lead them away. Sakura was the first to step forward on newly heeled feet. She quickly followed at the young man’s heel, sending the team a look that said ‘are you coming?’

They followed. Out in the mist and moss-covered stones of Kiri they followed. Kakashi kept an eye on Sakura while his team kept an eye on the world around them; this is why he had chosen this team. They understood what this mission meant for Kakashi, knew he would be showing his back to the enemy to save his kid and he knew they’d watch it for him with no hesitation. They followed her and the other boy down the quiet streets but not too far from the tower into a set of apartments. Kakashi was not a sensor by any means but even he could see the building was one of the few full ones. They were led to a nice little two bedroom apartment near the center of the building and Kakashi knew it was so they could be watched.

“We have stocked the fridge for you,” the young man said politely, “And had the beds made. We would appreciate it if you could limit your travel around the village at this time unless accompanied.”

Kakashi nodded for the team and watched the young man nod to Sakura before he left.

Tenzo entered the apartment followed by Yugao but Kakashi stood in the hall looking at Sakura while Gai hovered at his back. Sakura peered in with faint curiosity but showed no sign she was going to enter.

“Stay with us,” Kakashi said very softly.

Sakura looked up at him and he couldn’t look away from the flat green eyes and the dark exhaustion and that fucking collar.

“No,” Sakura said with a sort of easiness that was startling, “Thank you though.”

“Are you safe?” Gai asked quietly, kneeling when Kakashi made no other move.

“I am,” Sakura nodded, “I’m happy you came Kakashi-sensei and I’m glad we will go home. But I don’t…”

Her eyes darted across his teammates and Kakashi felt something ache in his heart. Sakura should trust fellow Konoha-nin, perhaps not blindly but she shouldn’t be automatically suspicious of them. He knew they couldn’t take it personally, that Sakura had been taught not to trust anyone in these past few months, but it hurt in an abstract way that Sakura couldn’t trust the people Kakashi did.

“Please thank Yugao for healing my feet,” Sakura bowed, “I will see you tomorrow.”

Kakashi watched her leave until she turned a corner, until Gai pulled him gently into the apartment and shut the door. From the window he watched as Sakura crossed the street. Momochi Zabuza stood in the shadow of a building, looking annoyed with his arms crossed. His expression didn’t soften as Sakura fell at his heel but his arms uncrossed. Kakashi didn’t look away until they were long gone.

“It will be okay,” Gai clasped his shoulder.

“I hope so.”

.--.