Dreams of the Past

Naked Taijutsu

Chapter Five

Naked Taijutsu?

The next week passed with little fanfare. Kakashi went with her father to work every morning and came back in the evenings mirroring whatever mood Kizashi seemed to be in. It was an adequate mask for the confusion and anger she could still see lurking beneath the surface.

Sakura spent her days helping her grandmother, attempting to improve her cooking skills and doing whatever odd domestic work she could for the neighbors to earn a few ryō. It was fairly boring, but as neither of them could use their trained professions, it was all they could do for the time being.

At night, they ate with her father and grandmother. Afterwards, they lay inches apart on their shared futon and stared at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep. She never asked what he was thinking and he kept his own counsel. Eventually he would have to tell her what he was planning but he clearly wasn't ready. Knowing she could probably beat it out of him if he kept her waiting too long helped her stay patient.

On their tenth day in the past, little Kakashi found her hanging up the last bits of laundry for the elderly couple that lived next door to her grandmother. She'd noticed him as he approached, being as familiar with his chakra signature as her own.

"Hello, Kakashi-kun."

He revealed himself, looking only a little put out that she had noticed him. "You really aren't just a civilian, are you?"

A devious grin spread up her face as she looked down at him. "My husband and I are both civilians in Konoha, little man."

He reared back at the diminutive and pulled a face. "Don't call me that."

She chuckled to herself and pointed at the basket next to his feet. "Fine. Hand me the last one, why don't you."

Grumbling, he bent down and pulled the last sheet from the basket. "Why are you doing laundry, anyway?"

"I'm helping the elderly couple that lives here. They're paying me."

"Isn't that something Genin usually do?"

She shrugged, picking up the basket and heading inside. "Sometimes. But they haven't gone to the shinobi office to request help yet, and I'm cheaper."

"Hm." He followed her, his little hands shoved in his pockets.

"Did you come and find me for a reason, Kakashi-kun?"

"Dad's going to talk to the Hokage about working again."

Sakura paused, glancing down at him. "Oh? That's good news, isn't it?" Considering the way the Hokage seemed to be using him, she wasn't actually sure it was. At least it meant he probably wouldn't try killing himself again.

"Yeah. But it's been months since his last mission. He hasn't trained at all except with me." Oh. "Do you think Karasu-san would spar with him a little? I don't want him going back out on missions rusty."

She considered if she ought to be offended that he hadn't asked her, but decided that she wasn't. "I'm not sure. I could ask him, but a spar at the training grounds will attract the kind of attention we're trying to avoid."

What she could see of Kakashi's face lit up. "That's not a problem! We have a family dojo for taijutsu and there's a small field on our property that backs up to the forest around the village if they want to go all out. No one will see but us. Will you ask him?"

"Hm." She waved him outside while she said goodbye to the couple before joining him. "Why are you asking me and not him?"

He huffed and it reminded her of his older self. "He would just say no to me. But you're his wife." She barely contained her scoff. "Genma says that whenever his mom wants something from his dad, she takes him upstairs and they grapple naked... it gets pretty loud, apparently." Sakura's jaw swung open, her face no doubt darker than her hair. "I don't get why it works, but he says it always does. Just do that if he says no."