Afraid of the Dark (KakaSaku)

Come Downs

Sakura stared at him, her head pounding as exhaustion weighed heavily on her. Kakashi stood over her, his silence stretching on as he pinched the bridge of his nose, lost in thought. The tension between them was suffocating, and Sakura struggled to find the right words. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

Kakashi's eyes flashed with anger as he finally looked at her. "Nobody knows. Why would I ever tell you?" He saw the hurt flash across her face, and she pressed on, "So everything between us... you still would've kept this from me?"

He tilted his head, his tone cold and dismissive. "You think because we fucked a few times that means I should get us both killed?"

With the molly coursing through her system, Sakura's emotions surged. She saw more than just anger in him—she saw a broken man, someone she was beginning to care for deeply. "I would gladly die for you. At least it would be a death worth something."

Kakashi's breath hitched, his fingers pressing harder into the bridge of his nose. "You don't mean that, Sakura." He knew the drugs were affecting her words and emotions. "I never should have involved you. I knew who you were, knew nothing gets past you. I should've burned that binder years ago."

Sakura stood, stepping closer to him, her voice soft but resolute. "This is safe with me, I promise." He looked at her, pain etched in his eyes. "You don't understand what's coming, Sakura. They know who you are now. They drugged you. This life—it's all drugs and killing. Hell, you sleep with the lights on because you're afraid of the dark!"

His words stung, but she fired back, "You think I sleep with the lights on because I'm afraid of the dark? I sleep with them on to keep my own demons at bay. The joke's on you, Kakashi—I couldn't care less about my own life. I thought you'd figured that out by now, with how often I drown myself in bottles."

Kakashi let out a bitter laugh, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Even better! A suicidal doctor who knows my deepest secrets. What could possibly go wrong?" He left the closet and sat down heavily on the bed, his head in his hands.

Sakura joined him, her mind reeling from everything she'd learned. "I knew something was off about you. It wasn't hard to see," she said softly. Kakashi glanced at her, noticing that her eyes were less dilated—she was coming down from the drugs. Guilt gnawed at him, a familiar sensation he usually managed to swallow, but with her, it was different. It stuck in his throat.

"That's your training talking. To anyone else, I'm just a bad guy. I can try to outrun my past, but it's always there," Kakashi sighed, meeting her gaze. "How long have you been doing this?" she asked quietly. He took a deep breath, realizing there was no turning back now.

"Eight years," he replied, his voice curt, almost disbelieving that so much time had passed. "I was sent undercover eight years ago to infiltrate the largest drug cartel in Konoha and bring them down."

Sakura's breath caught in her throat, her heart racing. She'd read it all in the binder, but hearing him admit it out loud made it all too real. "You could bring them down now. Why haven't you?"

Kakashi's eyes darkened with resentment. "Because the one who needs to go down is Nagato. He trusts no one, and I have no contact with anyone outside. My handler was killed. No one knows the truth anymore, and it's too dangerous to reach out. So, I'm still playing the game, trying to figure out how to do it on my own."

Panic surged through Sakura. He was alone in this, just as she had been before he found her. "I can help you," she offered, but Kakashi laughed bitterly.

"They know who you are now, Sakura. You'll be watched, just like I am. Anyone who even smells like a threat is slaughtered without hesitation. These people aren't to be messed with. I'm surprised they didn't kill you already. The only reason you're still alive is because they know you're my source."