Chapter 76 feelings

It had been a couple of days in the hospital and Kakashi wanted to get out, his son had shown up every day which was nice. Plus Naruto brought him some books to read which helped to pass the time as well. The only problem was that he couldn't focus on the books for long because his mind kept going back to a few days ago and to what Anko said to him. She hadn't even shown up yet, most likely avoiding him for the time being.

You can't just drop a bomb like that and leave but she had anyway and so here he was his mind going back to that moment as he thought about his relationship with her. He thought back to when they had first met all those years ago. She had been this strange teenaged girl with a chip on her shoulder for good reason. That time he was still in ABNU and he went on that mission with her and a few others because she thought she remembered something about Orochimaru. It had turned out to be a dead end but on that mission he had gotten to know her. Over the years she had become a bigger part of his life, becoming part of his core group of friends and a surrogate 'aunt' for Naruto as well.

Then things had changed and she went to an old friend to him seeing her as a woman, someone attractive, sexy and playful. Someone he liked having in his life, she added spice to a dull day and he felt like he could be open with her. He could let his guard down and he noticed the same with her. Then there was the sex life which was great so that was a nice bonus.

He thought about when Naruto had been gone off with Jiraiya and the team. She had practically lived at his place, she still had a toothbrush and some spare clothing at his place. They had basically been living together at times and neither one of them had even once thought about it. It just seemed kind of natural. Yeah it hadn't been perfect of course, there had been times she had annoyed him with how she had rearranged some of his things but he was fairly sure he did a few things that might have annoyed her. He certainly remembered to lower the toilet seat after that first time she hadn't noticed, she had been really mad at him for that.

When Naruto had been gone and Anko had been either at her own apartment or off on a mission, he found just how lonely his home seemed without either of them. For years he had Naruto there and he got used to not living alone. He had forgotten how it was when he walked through the front door to a quiet home and no one there. It was an empty feeling both in the house and in himself he found himself missing Naruto there to excited to see him back or when Anko had been there already and welcomed him home.

He remembered their first night together when Anko had been there at breakfast with both himself and Naruto, sure it had taken Naruto by surprise but the three of them together at the table had seemed right to him. So after all this time thinking he found that he wanted Anko in his life, he didn't want to lose her. Itachi's image of him torturing her showed him the deeps of his feelings and after she had told him that she loved him well he knew what he had to do now. The doctor told him that he needed a day more of rest but honestly Kakashi couldn't wait that long.

He knew he would get chewed out for it but he'd been chewed out before, all he had to do was just stand there and pretend to listen after all. The nurse wasn't due to arrive until a few hours, plenty of time. Kakashi pushed the sheets away and opened the window. He took a quick look to make sure no one was looking in his direction before making his escape.

-Hatake Home-

It had been a long day and Naruto was a little tired, he had fun showing off for Hinata and everyone plus then they all caught up on what everyone was doing. It was odd how Sasuke hadn't been there but then again he had never been for groups. But still it had been a pretty cool afternoon and it was great spending time with Hinata as well. He even managed to ask her if she could meet him tomorrow afternoon. He giggled like his dad sometimes did as Naruto thought of tomorrow. It would be just the two of them and he had an idea to make sure if any Hyuga might be looking out for them.

He was about to go looking through the ramen cupboard before he heard a knock on the door.

Groaning at how his meal time would be pushed back, he walked to the front door. It was a good thing he hadn't even had time to pull off his mask yet he figured. He opened the door and the last thing Naruto expected was to see Sakura standing there.

"Hey Naruto can I come in, there's something that's been bothering me and I want to talk to you about it."

"Well okay," He opened the door to let her in as his mind was racing with what could be the problem. It couldn't be one of those 'girl' problems as he liked to think about them, she had Ino for that kind of stuff. She did look a little stressed, nothing major but her shoulders did seem stiff and it looked like she had a something important on her mind.

He led her to the living room as she took a chair and he took the couch.

"So...what's up then?"

Sakura sighed as she he been thinking about this problem all the way here. "I think there might be something wrong with Sasuke-kun."

"What do you mean?" He blinked trying to figure out what she meant.

"Haven't you noticed that he's been kind of distant?"

"How is that any different from normal?" He joked.

"Naruto I'm being serious here!" Slight anger flared up in her.

Naruto waved his hands in front of him in defence, "Sorry, sorry! I couldn't help it but you know he's usually is distant and kind of moody at times. He's always so serious and stuff so I never really noticed any change." Which was true and one of the reasons why he had always tried to prank Sasuke in school, it was fun to get a rise out of him, kind of like with Neji. The serious types were always so easy to push and how they kept trying to not react he just found hilarious. Like the time when he had used that head hunter technique and pulled Sasuke into the ground while Naruto had read from one of his dad's books.

Sure Naruto had gotten into deep trouble for it but it had so been worth it.

Sakura continued on, "Well ever since he heard about his brother being here he's been even more closed off. I'm a bit worried that he's fixating on Itachi and that, well I don't know, I'm just starting to worry about him. I was hoping you could come with me to talk as I figured he might talk to one of us."

He had tried earlier herself but he had evaded that. Something was bothering him and he was doing something unhealthy about it. "I was hoping we could see him tomorrow and talk about it."

"I uh...kind of had a date planned with Hinata-chan," he said scratching the back of his head. Although Sakura did seem pretty worried but with his dad in the hospital and showing off for Hinata he hadn't really been paying attention. Part of him was kicking himself if he had missed something like this. He had been so focused on his own life had he really just not noticed? Now he was starting o feel a bit guilty if he had.

"Oh," Sakura looked a little downcast, "well I won't get in the way of that so no worries."

"How about we just ambush him in the morning then?" Naruto offered as this way they could do both at least he hoped so. If this took all day he was going to be pissed if it ruined the afternoon. "I mean that way we'll know for sure he should be home and we won't leave until he starts talking."

Sakura was thankful that he was up for this, she was starting to worry and wanted to talk to him but he seemed to have put up a wall ever since he learned about Itachi.

"Thanks for this Naruto."

He only smiled back at her, "Hey it's no problem we're all a team and when someone on the team needs some help we should be there right?"

"Right." Suddenly a very noticeable growling was heard from Naruto's stomach as the boy looked a little embarrassed. She smiled at him, "I take it you were about to eat huh?"

"Ah yeah," Naruto scratched the back of his head. "You want some, because I can make more."

"Instance ramen?" She asked knowing the answer his look told her that he had nailed it. "I'll pass my mom is cooking and I don't want to keep my parents waiting." She got up to leave thanking him one more time before going. She hoped that she was just over reacting but Sasuke's attitude was just giving her a very bad feeling.

-Anko's Apartment-

Anko walked through her front door, kicking lightly closed with her heel behind her. She shrugged off her coat and put it on the hook by the door as she sighed and rolled her shoulders. She was slightly sweaty from training. After the dango she found she needed something else to keep her mind occupied and had just spent a good time putting herself through a long training session. Now she just wanted a nice long bath, maybe she would go to the hot springs that was always a good way to relax her body.

She went into her bedroom to set out some non-sweaty clothing when she felt a presence behind her. Training kicked in as she pulled a kunai out of her pouch and quickly turned around to placed the tip against the neck of whoever snuck into her place.

"Whoa there Anko," Kakashi said calmly.

Anko's eyes widened, "The hell are you doing, you trying to get killed?" She sighed and put the weapon away. She couldn't believe he had snuck into her apartment, for a moment she was wondering how he even got in but given who he was she bet that the simple locks on her doors and windows wouldn't really stop any real ninja if they wanted to get in. Then she remembered that he had a key to her place, she was starting to regret it when they had exchanged keys now.

"Wait," she turned to face him as a new thought hit her. "Are you out of the hospital now?"

He gave her an eye-smile as he scratched the back of his head, "I sort of let myself out."

That actually gave her a small laugh that was just like him to sneak out if he wanted to. "You now they're going to be pissed that you left, I heard the nurses like to use the very large needles now on patients that cause them trouble."

"I'll deal with it," He said calmly to her. "I wanted to talk to you."

"About what? Oh I know the new Hokage," She said quickly trying to control the conversation. She knew full well why he was here and she was hoping that if she could control the conversation it wouldn't lead to it. If it could work she would talk until he gave up, it wasn't much of a plan but it was the only plan she had.

"I mean it's great to have a woman in charge for once," she went on. "First female Hokage, I kind of look forward to that."

"Well I'm sure she'll do great," He said trying to get into the conversation.

"Oh yeah Kurenai and Asuma are going on a date later too."

"Yes that's nice-wait what?" Kakashi wasn't sure he heard that one correctly at first.

Anko grinned at him, "You should have seen her asking him out it was so cute and funny as hell. You should have been there for it."

"Well it is about time," Kakashi admitted as he had seen those two dancing around each other.

"Yeah you think we should double date with them?" She asked him moving deeper into her bedroom acting like everything was normal and ignoring the elephant in the room. "It might be pretty funny to see what they look like on a date."

"Anko stop avoiding the subject," Kakashi was getting a little impatient with her now.

"Avoid what?" She asked innocently which was a very good job since she knew full well what he was talking about.

"You know what."

Anko could see he was serious as she signed and went to sit on her bed looking glum. "Do we have to? I mean can't we just pretend it didn't happen?"

Kakashi pulled a chair by a small desk in front of her as he sat down eye to eye with her. "I can't do that."

"Well why not?" She asked him nearly exasperated. "I mean it was a stupid thing to do and it was kind of a major bomb I dropped on you."

"I admit I was pretty much taken by surprise," he admitted as at first he hadn't been sure he heard her right.

"Oh god why do I always screw things like this up?" She pleaded into her hands as she rested her face in them.

Kakashi was really wondering where all this was coming from until he suddenly got what she might be afraid of. She was afraid that he wouldn`t feel the same and that it would be really awkward for them in their relationship. He could see her point of view, he hadn`t said those three little words to her because before now he hadn`t been sure of their relationship. But he knew what was in his heart now and who was in it.

"Anko you didn't screw anything up," He pulled off his mask as she leaned in close and pulled her hands away making her look at him. He felt nervous about this, he had never said the words he was going to say to another woman before. He felt his hands getting slightly clammy and his throat was getting dry. He had rehearsed it a lot of times in his head but actually doing it was a lot harder than he thought but she deserved to know how he felt after what she said.

"I had a lot of time to think about it and I want you to know something Anko." He took a breath. "I love you too."

Anko stared at him with wide eyes as of course she had the most elegant response ready for him.

"Wha?"

Okay well maybe not her finest hour in that regards.

He chuckled never having seen her like this totally surprised and caught unprepared. It was kind of funny really but he did his best not to laugh, he knew if he laughed now she would get anger with him. And an angry Anko wasn't pleasant.

He did smile at her, "I told you that I love you too."

Anko blinked before she could speak to him again. "You're not just saying that? You know I said it and now you feel that you have to say it in order to not make things weird between us. Because if you are saying just because of that let me tell you that-" She never got to finish before Kakashi figured actions would speak louder than words with her.

He cupped her face as she kissed her deeply letting all his emotions into the kiss. It took her a moment to respond as her hands reached up to his own head pulling him in for a deeper kiss. Soon she found herself on her back on her bed with Kakashi on top of her as the two were in a passionate kiss that could steal your breath away. Eventually they had to come up for air as Kakashi pulled away looking down at her flushed face.

"Now do you believe me?"

"Yeah...I guess that would do it," Anko breathed deeply as a part of her felt actually giddy at this. Never would she have thought that this moment in her life would come. She was actually in love, the younger more cynical self would never had believe it, let alone that the man she fell for felt the same. She had never been one for things like romance or relationships. She always felt that was something that happened to others. So she just couldn't figure out how it was that when she hadn't even been trying, she fell into just that.

"So...what now?" Kakashi asked her.

"Well I was going to take a shower."

"Yeah I noticed." He grunted when he felt her punch him in the kidney. "Sorry, sorry."

She glared up at him, "You know I was going to ask you to help me wash up but if you're going to be an ass about it then maybe you should go back into that lonely hospital bed while I get out of these clothing and wash up on my own."

"I said I was sorry," Kakashi told her not wanting to go back to the hospital just yet. Plus the image she had just put into his mind really didn't want him to go back. "Can't I make it up to you?"

She paused before grinning, "Well you can start by getting off me and then you can help me out of these clothing."

He grinned back at her, "I think I can do that."

-Sasuke's Home -

It was late and Sasuke had been training for so long he had lost track of time. Currently he was covered in sweat as he was using his sword against a wooden training dummy. It was fully of cuts more of them had been added in just the last two hours. His breathing was deep and ragged his arms were tired and hurting. He couldn't even hold the sword up anymore but he still felt that same burning sensation in his soul.

Itachi had been here while he was away, his brother who had destroyed his entire clan and family had dared come back here. Itachi had walked right into the village but it hadn't been to finish what he had started all those years ago. He had come here looking for Naruto of all things, Kakashi had ended up in the hospital and then Itachi had left as easily as he had gotten in.

All his life Sasuke felt that this village was a place where Itachi would never come back to, for weeks after the massacre he had been afraid that his older brother would come back to finish him off. But it never came, deep inside he felt that the walls of this village would keep him safe long enough to train and be better than Itachi. For the day he was ready to go after his brother and finally end this long nightmare once and for all.

He dropped to the ground letting go of his sword.

Sasuke felt a lot of emotions lately and he felt like his mind was in the middle of a whirlwind. All his life had been dedicated to bringing his brother down for his crimes and in the end, Itachi hadn't been interested in Sasuke. All these years and did he mean nothing to his brother after everything? Sasuke clenched his teeth and balled his fists. That thought really burned him as he felt his pride being trampled on.

If Kakashi hadn't been able to beat his brother than Sasuke saw that he needed to get stronger than even Kakashi. He needed to become a lot stronger he needed power as if he fought Itachi now Sasuke knew that he wouldn't win.

He grunted out in pain as the curse seal on his neck flared up, his hand clamped onto it as he felt the burning pain. He felt it trying to activate as he forced it back down. He still remembered the rush he felt when it had been activated in the Forest of Death but he had been warned about it. Although he respected Kakashi's warnings about the curse seal he needed to be stronger. He needed to be better than he was now or else he would never come close to beating Itachi. He glared at the training dummy in front of him, he looked at the marks on it and he still felt like he wasn't good enough.

He needed to be faster and more accurate, he couldn't get into a dragged out fight with Itachi. Not only that Sasuke still haven't fully awakened his eyes, on eye only had one mark and the other had two. Both needed to be at three marks to reach their full potential and he needed to bring that out.

All these years and just when he felt like he was getting closer to his goal, something like this happened to remind him of just how much longer he needed to go. It was like climbing a mountain only to realize that the damn thing kept getting taller. All the work he had put himself through, all the blood, sweat and pain he had put his body through to become a ninja that was capable of defeating his brother now felt like it was a joke.

The new jutsu he learned might not be enough, he needed to learn more and train more. He needed power but could he really use the mark on his neck for it? Sasuke just didn't know anymore, he could feel the pain of the seal finally fading away into nothing. Panting Sasuke clenched his fists into the soft earth he was on feeling so helpless and powerless and he hated that feeling. Getting up after a rest he picked up his blade as he went into his empty home. It wasn't empty of items just empty of people, for so long this place had felt empty to him only the ghosts of the past seem to roam the halls.

There was a time when this place had been full of life but this house only had him in it now. Some rooms he never even went into anymore just because of how painful they were and left them to the dust and spiders. He placed the sword on a table and went into his room it was dark in there as he fell onto his bed.

He looked to his left at the nightstand to see a picture of his family there was the younger him all smiling and happy with his parents. His mother was beaming while his father looked serious as usual. The image was also torn as Sasuke had ripped all images of Itachi from any photo he could find. He wanted no reminders of his brother in this house he didn't want to look at that man's face again. But still, all the damaged photos, the empty feeling of the house, they were all constant reminders of his brother and of that night.

Even if he had moved to his own place it would still be the same. Some days it felt like he never left that night. That his entire life was all just one long night that never ended, pushing the thoughts aside he wanted to just sleep. He hardly ever dreamed anymore, or at least he didn't remember if he did. That was fine for him. He fell into the darkness as his tired body gave out on trying to keep awake. In the morning he would train even harder and try see if there was any way he could one day become strong enough to end his long night and maybe finally see the sun rise in his life.

Next up Chapter 14: Team Intervention