#ksfic

The jounin smiled as evidenced by the crinkle of his exposed eye and the faint tilt of his head, but the gesture was empty. There had been no spiders and they both knew it. Still, he had to commend himself that his excuses were becoming almost believable, even if Sakura didn't share that opinion.

“You wound me.”

“And you didn't run into any spiders!” Sakura screeched. “And if you had, you would have just squished them and continued on your way.”

“But I couldn't find the spider, Sakura-chan.”

“There was no spider.”

“Oh but there was. He was big and hairy with long black legs and...”

“I thought you couldn't find it?”

Kakashi scratched his chin. “Not at first.”

She rolled her eyes. “One day, I'm going to buy you a watch.”

Kakashi snorted. Like he hadn't heard that one before.

How many times had Rin told him the same thing?

He lobbed a rock at Sakura's window like he was competing for the gold in shot put.

The glass shattered beautifully, cracking outwards from the point of impact like a spider's web and moments later an angry pink haired girl threw it open with such force that the compromised pane rained sharp slivers down upon the alley outside her apartment. Kakashi watched them fall from a safe distance, then looked up at Sakura with a cheerful smile and a wave.

“What do you want?” she asked blankly.

“Your company,” he replied.

“And if I decline?”

He just smiles at her, visible eye as cheerful as ever. “Oh, it was definitely a compliment. You've grown quite a lot.”

Again, Sakura isn't sure where this round of too-late recognition is coming from, but she doesn't trust it. “Flattery will get you nowhere,” she warns him, looking over the clipboard in her hand.

Kakashi holds his hand over his heart, “You cheapen me.”

“I'm not discharging you.”

“...Do you really think so little of your poor old sensei?”

“Yes,” Sakura replies without missing a beat, hanging the clipboard on the end of his bed. It's the same old story; he's exhausted himself using that stupid eye that doesn't even belong to him. If he keeps it up, if he doesn't slow down, it will cripple him. She's told him that before, but when she catches his somber expression her heart softens for her old sensei.

“I guess I deserve it,” he says slowly.

Sakura shakes her head, “It's not your fault, lots of ninja develop chakra replenishing disorders and you're particularly susceptible because you...”

“That's not what I meant, Sakura,” he interrupts, “although I do appreciate the support in my old age~”

She raises an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

He's looking at her like he's never seen her, and his gaze is heavy on her conscience. Something has changed in the brief moments that have just transpired, a shift in their relationship, their dynamic. This isn't how a teacher appraises a student but then... Kakashi hasn't been her teacher for quite some time. She stands transfixed at the foot of his bed, scarcely breathing, and waits on pins and needles for his response. Kakashi wipes his expression clean of any telling lines, falling back into a perfect charade of nonchalance.

“Oh, nothing,” he assures her dismissively. “Just old man things.”

Sakura smiles halfheartedly. For just a second she thought that maybe, Hatake Kakashi was going to let her in only to be swiftly and soundly put back out. Perhaps it's better this way.

“I'm still not discharging you.”

“Very stupid,” she says again, drawing in hideous schoolgirl bubble script to spell out the phrase I love cats. It's funny because he hates them, and she smiles a little to herself. “There wasn't any need for you to get in the way like that... you didn't need to save me.”

“No,” Kakashi says, flipping a page in his book. “I suppose I didn't.”

She nods emphatically. “I'm plenty strong enough to handle myself,” she says.

He flips a page again far too soon for him to have actually read it.

“I suppose you are.”

“Kakashi-sensei.”

He looks up, expression perfectly puzzled. “Yes, Sakura?”

“Don't treat me like this,” she says softly. “I'm a good medic, and Tsunade-sama has taught me how to be evasive because my teammates will depend on me if they get hurt in the field. But it's counterproductive for my teammates to needlessly hurt themselves trying to rescue me. I don't need saving.”

“I'm your teacher, not your teammate,” he says sternly, closing his book and resting it on his thigh.

Sakura laughs, “Oh, please.”

She shuts up when his expression falls into one of hurt.

Hastily, she backtracks.

“I'm a chuunin now,” she announces even though she knows he knows already. That's why he brought her on the mission where he broke his leg defending her in the first place; she was the best (read: only) chuunin medic available. She holds his gaze until he slowly shuts his eye.

“Is it so bad to let me play hero just a little bit, Sakura?” he asks her finally.

“The worst,” she replies.

Kakashi considers it. “Then I won't do it again.”

“I beat you,” Sakura said breathlessly, gloved fists dropping slowly from the ready to her sides. A smile twitched at her lips as she took in the sight of her teacher with his eyes screwed shut and and his arms and legs splayed out around him. Not ten seconds ago he had been besting her, but then he made a crucial mistake. Kakashi got too close and Sakura just grabbed him, used her body as a fulcrum, and slammed him into the dirt. He wasn't getting up.

“Kakashi-sensei?”

“I think I've broken a hip,” he replied lamely.

Sakura scoffed, “You're not that old.”

“But you are that strong.”

“You really know how to flatter a girl,” she deadpanned, standing over him and watching as he opened his eyes lazily, one dark and blank and the other swirling red. For the first time Sakura wondered what he looked like before he got his scar and sharingan. Probably a lot less intimidating. She held out her hand to help him up. He took it and stood no problem.

…so much for broken hips.