One Last Gift

Summary: Sakura visits the Konoha memorial stone on a daily basis now. Her fingers trace over the name that makes her come to this place everyday: Hatake Kakashi. As the tears slowly fell down her cheeks, her left hand unconsciously hovered over her belly. "My only regret is that you will never know how wonderful your father was…Obito."

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. The plot, however, is entirely my own. :)

A/N: Anything in italics are flashbacks. This is a KakaSaku one-shot. Sakura is 25 so that makes Kakashi…39. This is my first Naruto fanfic ever, so I'd really appreciate any feedback I can get from this. I have more stories in mind but if no one likes my writing, then what's the point in continuing right?

The weather matched Sakura's feelings perfectly. Rain fell from the skies in sheets; the clouds engulfed the village in darkness. The world was crying with her now. It felt her anguish and her pain. As the tears ran down her cheeks, the rain washed them away. Sakura knew that she could catch pneumonia, but nothing could stop her from visiting the memorial. She visited the memorial everyday now, ever since his name was added to it.

As she neared the stone that bore the names of all those who had sacrificed their lives for the village of Konoha, she knelt in front of it. Her fingers slowly traced the name of the shinobi who had died in the midst of a mission; the shinobi who had captured her heart.

Hatake Kakashi

The familiar tightness began to form in her chest. The last few weeks had been such a blur to her. Her world crumbled around her from the moment the blue-eyed blond jounin came to her door with the news of her lover's death. Fresh tears flowed from her jade orbs as the memories of her past started to form in her mind.

'No..no..NO! This can't be possible! Naruto…please tell me that it can't be true.' Sakura looked desperately into Naruto's eyes, hoping against hope that he was joking; that the man that she loved was really okay.

'Sakura-chan…I'm so sorry.' Naruto had just finished telling his pink-haired childhood friend the news that her lover, the great Hatake Kakashi, had been killed on an S-Rank mission to Kumogakure.

Sakura crumpled into a heap on the floor of her living room. It just couldn't be possible. Only a few days ago he was with her in this very room, holding her in his arms and laughing. She felt her world crumbling around her as the news sunk in.

Naruto crouched down in front of Sakura, pushing her hair behind her ears. It pained him to be the one to tell her the horrid news, but he wanted no one else to do it. Kakashi had been special to them both, and no one could understand the loss of such a person other than himself.

'How did it happen?' Sakura asked, both wanting and not wanting to know. Naruto was hesitant, but the look he gave her made him give in. She deserved to know the truth.

'We miscalculated the number of ninjas guarding the scroll. It was too late when Kakashi realized it. We were surrounded and outnumbered. Even if we fought back with everything we had, we would have only gotten killed. He sacrificed himself so that the mission could be completed. He gave us a chance to escape, and to live. He died a hero's death, Sakura, and I don't think he suffered much during his last moments.' He wished there was something he could do or say to make the tears falling from Sakura's eyes stop. It hurt him so much to see her so helpless and distraught.

As the tears streamed down her face, she held onto her stomach. She felt sick and wanted to throw up. It didn't seem right; the world seemed so cruel. She was thankful, however, that he was not captured and tortured before he was killed. She wouldn't wish that on anyone.

'We brought his body back. We didn't leave the area until everything had calmed down and the enemy ninja had left. We went in and searched until we found him. There was no way that I could ever leave Kakashi-sensei behind.'

Sakura looked up at Naruto. She could never thank him enough for what he had done. She leaned in and Naruto embraced her.

"Naruto…arigatou.' The tears flowed freely now without any sign of stopping. Her heart felt cold, and numb. After a few more moments, Sakura spoke again. Her voice sounded distant and frail, like a small child.

'Naruto…I'd like to be alone now.'

'Sakura-chan, I don't think you should be alone right now.' Naruto wished that he could erase the evident pain from Sakura.

'I'll be fine, Naruto. I just really need to be alone. Please.' It was just too much for Sakura. She wanted to be alone and let it all sink in. It just seemed so surreal to her. She looked at Naruto, pleading with her eyes.

'Okay, Sakura-chan…but please come to me if you need anything.' When Sakura said nothing, the blond kissed the top of her head and turned to leave.

Sakura was left alone. More alone than ever before. She couldn't remember how long she had stayed there, crying until her eyes couldn't shed a single tear anymore. It seemed like days, although it couldn't have been more than a few hours.

It was weeks later, but Sakura still couldn't believe it. There were times when she would come home to the apartment they used to share and expect him to be there, reading his Icha-Icha books while waiting for her. She used to give him such a hard time about them back then, but she would give anything to see him reading those books again now.

Sometimes, she could still feel his arms wrapping her in his embrace. She could still feel his gentle touch on her cheek and hear his sultry voice whisper how much he loved her into her ears. And if she tried hard enough, she could still hear that laugh she loved to hear so much.

She missed him. She missed him with every fiber in her body. The nights were the worst, because she truly felt alone in the bed that they used to share. She missed all the nights she would spend just looking at him while he slept; she would trace the crinkles around his eyes that formed whenever he smiled and the scar that graced his left eye, the Sharingan eye. She even missed his horrible cooking.

A single memory of Kakashi attempting to cook for her began to squeeze it's way forward from the back of her mind.

'Kakashi? What are you doing?' Sakura asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. It was early, and she had been surprised to find that Kakashi had not been next to her when she awoke.

'Gomennasai, Sakura. I didn't mean to wake you up.'

'That's okay, but you still haven't answered my question. What are you doing?' Sakura entered the kitchen, a bit shocked to see Kakashi standing in front of the stove.

'I was trying to make you breakfast. See?' Kakashi turned around to show her the eggs he was making her.

They were a bit runny and didn't look at all edible. Sakura laughed.

'Uh…they look great. I'll take your word that they taste great, too, but I think I'll just have toast instead.' Sakura kissed his nose. Kakashi laughed.

'Yeah, I wouldn't want to eat them either.' Kakashi put the pan back on the stove. He turned to pull Sakura into his arms and gently kissed her. Within a few minutes, their fiery kisses had turned even more passionate and hungry and soon they found themselves back into the bedroom, limbs intertwined and the sheets tangled.

Sakura missed him deeply. It just didn't seem at all fair to her. They had finally come together in such a beautiful way, and she felt that the time they had spent in the arms of each other just wasn't enough. They had found each other during the hardest of times, and they had comforted each other. Who would comfort her now?

Sakura wondered if she was destined to be without love for the rest of her life. It seemed that everyone she had ever loved had been ripped away from her. Her eyes traced the outline of another name on the memorial. The name of the person she believed to be the love of her life when she was only a Genin.

Uchiha Sasuke

She laughed. It seemed so silly to her now, her crush on the Uchiha. That was all it was, she realized. For true love was nothing like that. She had finally experienced true love, with the man she once looked up to as her sensei. Yes, he became much more than that. He became her comfort, her solace. He was her support and she became his. They sought the company of each other when their loneliness became too much, and their friendship had slowly bloomed into something much more beautiful.

Just like now, when her loneliness became too much, she came to him. Other nights, she would curl up in one of his old jounin shirts and pretend his arms were embracing her. The loneliness was suffocating, and she knew that for the moment, nothing could help ease it. Time would bring her a new comfort, but until then…she visited him to let him know that she missed him and that she needed him.

Time. It was as much her friend as it was her enemy. Had Kakashi's team had more time, they would have realized what they were up against, and it was possible that she wouldn't have to be here feeling the pain of solitude. She remembered what his last words were before he left on the mission.

'Why does it always have to be you? There has to be someone else that can go.' Sakura pleaded.

'Sakura, I have to go. There's no one else that can do it. I have to lead this team.' Kakashi could see the worry in her eyes. He kissed her forehead tenderly.

'You know how much I hate S-class missions. Why do you insist on doing them?' Sakura asked. It was a rhetorical question however, because she already knew the answer to it.

'I'll be fine. I'll come back, you'll see. I have something to live for, you know.' He smiled as he looked into her beautiful jade eyes, and ran his fingers through her pink locks.

'Kakashi, don't make promises like that to me. You and I both know the dangers of being a shinobi. There is always the possibility you may never come back.' There was a hint of anger in her voice.

'You're right. There will always be that possibility. But I will always be a part of you, in some form. There will always be a part of me that will be with you forever. That I can promise." Kakashi gently lifted her chin and leaned in.

He kissed her tenderly, trying to put all of his emotions into that one kiss. He loved her more than his own life. She had given him a second chance at life and a new outlook. For once, he felt he deserved this happiness. As this feeling rushed through him, he deepened the kiss. He was becoming hungry now, wanting to taste more of her. He could never get enough of her, ever.

As usual, they had ended up in the bedroom amid twisted sheets and entangled limbs. It would be the last night they would spend together and she was glad that they had made love before he left for his mission. That night, Kakashi spent hours looking at her, as if trying to memorize everything about her. He whispered many times how much he loved her that night. She loved how tender he was with her when they had their little love sessions. She slept peacefully in his arms that night, even though the next morning she awoke to find the bed empty. She had already known what she was getting into beforehand and had known that the life of a shinobi always carried risks, but it didn't make the pain any less bearable. Nevertheless, she regretted nothing.

Sakura knew she couldn't stay out much longer. Her clothes were soaked and plastered to her skin. Shivers started running down her spine, and she couldn't tell if it was because of the cold rain or from something else.

"Kakashi…you were always a man who kept his word. Even now, you were right. A part of you will always be with me. I am grateful for it, too. Because now I have something new to live for." Sakura's voice was barely above a whisper.

As the tears slowly fell down her cheeks, her left hand unconsciously made its way to her belly.

"My only regret is that you will never know how wonderful your father was…Obito."

Some stuff you might not know:

Gomennasai: I'm sorry.
Kumogakure: Hidden Cloud Village

Yes, she is pregnant and Kakashi is the father! I know it's a really sad one-shot, please don't hate me! I'd like to know what you think of it (constructive criticism is welcome) and let me know what I can work on.

- mangekyo