Disclaimer- Haha! No.
Retarded Weather Pattern
It was so cold, standing out in the rain. Not that it bothered her, of course. Today should've been great, it should've been one of the best days of her life, but it wasn't. In fact, it sucked. It was her twenty-first birthday, and everyone was there. Well, almost everyone. Naruto as the sixth Hokage invited nearly every shinobi from the Leaf village and a few out-of-towners, like Gaara and his gang. It was a birthday bash like none other, the cake was wonderful, the decorations and gifts were great, but she wasn't happy. Sasuke had returned a few years back and had joined the Anbu black ops, and he was there, giving her an honorary Anbu mask. But he wasn't there.
Hell, even Shikamaru made the effort to come, giving the gift of sake and other drunken-state inducing beverages. She got weapons galore from Tenten and Neji, who had given her their combined gift as a couple. The same thing happened with Ino and Shikamaru, (Ino had severe argument with Shika about giving Sakura sake, but when she realized she hadn't bought a gift the night of the party she gave in and let him sign her name to the card) and again with Naruto and Hinata. Every time she received a couple's gift she had to force herself to keep a smile on her face. What she really wanted to do was scowl at them for being so lucky to have each other. She wouldn't feel so jealous if he was there, sitting beside her and watching her open her gifts, his exposed eye crinkled in enjoyment. But he wasn't there.
The loud chorus of happy birthday gave her fleeting enjoyment when she decided to head home. But as soon as she stepped out the door her heart plummeted and tears burned her eyes. She didn't attempt to stop them; it wasn't like anyone would notice she was crying out in the rain. Sakura walked on, the rain pouring down and the night sky blackened with storm clouds. The weather fit her mood perfectly. She was tired, and couldn't wait to get home, but her feet decided the walk wasn't worth a soft bed right now and she collapsed on a bench, sobs wracking her small frame. He wasn't there. She knew he had a mission that couldn't be delayed, and even Naruto couldn't change that.
He didn't even bother to give her a gift ahead of time to apologize for his untimely mission. It had started a week ago, and certainly he hadn't forgotten her birthday! She hoped to god he didn't. If he came back and she asked him why he didn't wish her a happy early birthday to make up for lack of self at her party and he had forgotten about it, she would definitely pound his head into the ground. Most definitely. She couldn't- no, didn't want to think about the heartbreak that would follow. She would be angry, and when he was gone she would go home to cry and vow to never leave her room again. She wouldn't leave until they had to drag her out for her funeral from lack of movement and constantly eating chocolate and ice cream.
He would feel bad then. He would know it was all his fault she died, because he had forgotten to wish her a happy birthday. What would she do if he came to apologize? She would shut the door in his face. What would she do if he caught the door and forced his way in? She would run to her room and shut that door in his face. But what if he stopped her from running? She would smack him and yell at him for going on a mission and forgetting her birthday. What if he stopped her from hitting him? What if he hugged her to make her feel better and shut her up? She would fall apart and cry. But then he would ask her why she was so upset because he merely forgot to wish her a happy birthday, and he would try to make it all better by saying it right then. And as for a present? He would kiss her and wish her a happy birthday again...
Sakura shook her head and let a small laugh choke its way out of her mouth. He wouldn't do that. He probably wouldn't even come over to apologize; he would just write her a letter or something. The rain pierced through her thin clothing and caused her to shiver. She hoped she got a cold or hypothermia from being out in the freezing rain in the middle of the night, and died. Then he would feel bad for missing her party because he never got to wish her a happy birthday before she died...and then he would realize it was all his fault and he would be miserable for the rest of his life. No, he would move on. Just like he had when his other comrades had died. But she didn't want to be just another dead comrade...
No, she hoped some freaky drunk guy would come along and try to steal her purse, and when she refused to hand it over he would pull out a knife and stab her. Then he would feel horrible because he wasn't there to protect her from the freaky drunk guy. But then again, why would he even be walking her home? He would probably want to stay and get drunk with the other guys. But then, he would feel bad for not walking her home and saving her from the freaky drunk guy, which might be better. But again, there were problems with this situation. For one, he wasn't even here, so he couldn't get drunk with the other guys or walk her home, and two, she didn't even have a purse.
Sakura rolled over so she was belly down on the bench. Maybe it would start to hail, and then it would become the size of baseballs and hit her in the head, crushing her skull. Ick, never mind. She didn't want to die because of some retarded weather pattern. That was too normal. So many people had died before because of a retarded weather pattern. But then again, a lot of people had died because of some freaky drunk guy or hypothermia or being too fat and not moving, so those options weren't any better. Damn. Maybe if there was a random attack by a bunch of ninjas and they killed her there on the bench, he would feel bad for not being there to protect her...but, that wasn't too out of the ordinary either. A lot of people had died because of random ninja attacks.
Oh!! She had just thought of a good one!! What if a pack of evil rabid squirrels jumped out of the trees that loomed overhead (A/N: She's on a bench in some random park that I decided was going to randomly appear on the way back to her house. Deal with it.) and attacked her? That was pretty original. It wasn't every day that somebody died because of a pack of evil rabid squirrels. Augh, no, that wouldn't work. She didn't want to be remembered as the ninja girl with the big forehead who got attacked by a pack of rabid squirrels and died. Who would want to be remembered for that? And he would probably laugh every time he thought about her, because he would be imagining Sakura getting attacked by squirrels and not having the ability to defend herself. But, if they were evil rabid ninja squirrels...hell no!!
Sakura draped her arm over the edge of the bench and aimlessly drew in the mud with her finger. She stared at it for a minute when she was done, realizing that she had unintentionally drawn him. Pathetic. She spat on him and let a bit of satisfaction seep into her broken heart when the rain continued to pelt down and wash his face away. Ha, killed because of a retarded weather pattern. Sakura rolled over so that she was facing the back of the bench. She curled up as best she could without falling off and shivered when a cold wind forced the rain against her back. Something told her that someone up there didn't like her very much, even though it was her twenty-first birthday. Psh, not like they cared. Hell, she didn't even care.
Sakura drifted in and out of sleep, and in the wee hours of the morning when the sun hadn't even begun to rise, someone woke her up.
"Sakura, what are you doing? You haven't become homeless while I was away, have you?" A smooth, lovely voice aroused her from above.
She rolled over to look up at the annoying man, and she was too tired to react to him. Stupid Kakashi. He looked absolutely wonderful though, the rain sticking his clothes to his wonderfully muscular frame. His hair was wet and dripping, and the water ran down off his nose and landed on her cheek. Retarded weather pattern. It made him look so sexy right then...
"Go away you birthday missing loser." She groaned and rolled over again so she wasn't looking at him.
"Birthday missing? Oh yes, that's right. It's your birthday, isn't it?" Sakura cocked her head and glared at him, annoyed by his stupid eye that was crinkled in amusement.
"No, yesterday was my birthday. You missed it." She looked away again.
"I thought it was the twenty-eighth?" His head tilted slightly, and he quirked his visible eyebrow.
"It is, which was yesterday! You missed it! Now leave me alone!" Sakura growled, fed up with his stupid antics. (A/N: Sakura knows that it's morning, so she's referring to the party and that day as yesterday.)
"No, I believe today is the twenty-eighth." Sakura thought for a moment.
He was right. She had to celebrate a day early because Naruto forced her to. He was having a meeting with some representatives from other villages today, and therefore he would miss her party. Today was really the twenty-eighth, so Kakashi hadn't missed it. No matter, he still missed her party, and she would never forgive him.
"So, you missed my party. Now leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep." She growled and adjusted herself, terribly annoyed by the fact that she had been too tired to actually go home and sleep in a bed.
"Sakura..."
"Go away!" A single tear worked its way out of her closed eyes, rolling down the side of her cheek and landing on the bench. It was a good thing it was still raining.
Instead of the footsteps that Sakura wanted to hear, she gasped when he lifted her off the bench and adjusted her so he was carrying her bridal style. She glanced up at him, a slight blush still resting on her cheeks. Kakashi looked down at her, and his exposed eye crinkled with a smile.
"If you won't go home to sleep, then I'll just have to take you myself. I can't have you getting sick from this little camp out in the park, now can I?"
Absolute heaven. That's what this little VIP trip home was like. She was being carried, in the arms of her secret love no less, and her house was still pretty far off. Either he was pretty tired from his mission, or Kakashi was purposely going slow. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Sakura looked back up at him. Gorgeous.
"Hey, Kakashi?" She tilted her head and a curious look crossed her face.
"Hm?"
"Did you, perhaps...get me something? I mean, you did miss my birthday party and all...I think I should get something for your lack of self." Okay, so she was being just a little selfish, seeing as how he was already carrying her home and came back in time for her real birthday, but the gift was necessary. It was her birthday, god dammit!!
Kakashi laughed when he looked at her innocent little expression of curiosity, which puzzled her even more. "And if I did?"
"You better hand it over!" She grinned.
"Okay, but that would mean letting go of you to get it, and then I'd have to save you before you hit the ground, so I would have to drop your precious gift. It would probably land in the street and get run over by a truck after that, I suppose..." He looked back down at her, and his eye crinkled and she swore she could see the smile through his mask.
Sakura looked horrified. "Oh no you don't! Don't you dare drop me!" She grabbed his shirt and glanced down at the streets below. No, falling was definitely not something she would enjoy.
Upon reaching her doorstep Kakashi set Sakura down and pulled out her gift. She was slightly upset that she wasn't safely tucked in his arms anymore, but what was in that gift had a little more importance right then. Sakura tore the wrapping paper off and stared confusedly at the box. She glanced at him, and he just gestured toward the box. Rolling her eyes she proceeded to open it, unsure of what she would find. Another box. Crap.
"Dammit Kakashi! What the hell is it?" She tore open the third box, impatience getting the best of her.
Inside was a little black box. Oh dear. Sakura opened it slowly, not trusting her eyes. Inside was a diamond encrusted silver bracelet, and a note. She opened the small piece of paper, slightly befuzzled. Kakashi was never this...sweet.
Dear Sakura, You're probably wondering why this gift is so expensive. Well, after my mission I returned for your birthday, but I have another mission that is of utmost importance. Orochimaru has resurfaced, and I've been sent on an assassination. You see, it's more than likely that I won't come back, so I just wanted to make sure that you knew I didn't forget you before I died. Sasuke can't be allowed to come on this mission with me since Orochimaru still has power over him with that curse mark, so I'm doing this alone. Please forgive me for missing the party, and enjoy the ice. Kakashi
"Wh...what?!" Sakura tore her eyes away from the letter to look at Kakashi.
He smiled and brought a hand up to her cheek, then poofed into a cloud of smoke. A bunshin. Sakura stared at the space in front of her in utter shock. She couldn't move, and this sudden development was her worst nightmare. Then something dawned on her. It was a bunshin with her the entire time. Kakashi had never really been there, he was already out looking for Orochimaru. For all she knew, he could've found him already. Kakashi could already be...dead. Sakura shoved the letter into her pocket and quickly clasped the bracelet onto her wrist. She wouldn't let him die. She couldn't.
Pumping chakra into her legs she sprang onto the nearest roof and with blazing speed she headed for the village gate. Every second was crucial, and she kept pushing herself to go faster, knowing that if she was too late Kakashi would die. Sakura reached the gate and didn't bother stopping. Bounding off into the trees tears burned at her eyes, threatening to spill over. 'Damn you Kakashi...I swear, if you die, I...I don't know if I'll be able to stay sane! Please don't die on me...please...' Sakura realized after a few minutes of jumping through the trees that she had no idea where she was going.
Landing silently she focused on his chakra and searched for it. Her minds eye traveled on, seeing through her chakra. There! She caught sight of his blazing white form and kept her eyes closed as she traveled on. There was another, more powerful source of chakra in combat range of Kakashi, and Sakura could only guess it was Orochimaru. A huge explosion erupted not far from where she was, and it forced her to open her eyes. Billowing black smoke inked the sky, rolling over the treetops like a cloud of choking oil. Sakura picked up her pace, fearing for the life of the one most dear to her.
The scene she came upon was horrifying. Orochimaru was standing at the edge of the newly made clearing (created by the explosion) breathing heavily. His brow was covered with sweat, and apparently he had gone through a terrible fight. Kakashi was laying on the other side of the clearing, his arm twisted at a grotesque angle. Sakura looked from one to the other, her brain trying to process what had just happened. Kakashi wasn't moving...Orochimaru was grinning evilly, his gaze locked on Kakashi's broken body. Suddenly his eyes flashed up to meet hers, insane and triumphant.
"You bastard..." Sakura breathed, her eyes filling with red. He killed Kakashi.
"You mother-fucking bastard!!! How dare you do this to him!!!" She launched herself from the tree straight at Orochimaru.
Sakura was boiling with hatred, and she was overcome by the fierceness of inner Sakura. Her chakra flared and lashed out from her body, its intensity almost visible. She landed a few feet from Orochimaru and quickly attacked him, eyes burning. He was fatigued from his fight with Kakashi, which slowed him down. He was overcome by Sakura in an instant, earning a superhuman fist in the face. He smashed against the tree behind him, and as soon as he hit the ground he was up again, fearing the insane female out to spill his blood. She was insane! Sakura smashed her fist into the ground, putting all her power into every blow.
"I'm going to fucking kill you!! Do you understand!??!?! KILL YOU!!!" She roared and just as Orochimaru came into range she dropped on her hands and spun, hitting him square in the face.
Meanwhile...
Kakashi heard her scream of rage and his eyes opened. He coughed up blood and tried to move his arm to wipe it away so he wasn't breathing blood back in from his mask, but he couldn't. His body was broken and useless. He was going to die. Either that, or Sakura would kill him for leaving on this suicide mission...another fit of coughing wracked his body, and more blood bubbled out of his mouth. There was a loud crash off in the distance, and he could only guess that Sakura was beating Orochimaru's face in. He almost felt bad for the crazy man locked in the sights of the infuriated Sakura. Well, almost. Orochimaru really didn't deserve his pity.
Back to Sakura...
"Bastard!!" Sakura caught his jaw with a swift and painful left hook.
Orochimaru was battered and bruised, unable to use his chakra. He barely had enough time to get up before Sakura was at him again, launching another deadly blow. Suddenly her anger fueled barrage stopped, and Orochimaru saw this as an opening to attack. Instead, his fist was caught and twisted around, bringing his body along with it. Sakura slowly sank her kunai into his shoulder, her other hand gripping his throat. He was going to die, nice and slow. Eyes still blazing, she whispered his death sentence.
"You know, I don't think you deserve to be splattered all over the ground for the wolves to eat. You're diseased meat, definitely not good enough for that. I know, how about this? I'll kill you and burn the flesh off your body, then give your bones to Sasuke to smash and curse any way he pleases. Doesn't that sound nice?" She gripped his throat tighter, watching him flounder with the fear of death.
You see, Orochimaru was always petrified of dying. That's why he came up with a jutsu that would provide him with eternal youth. In the process it twisted his mind and blackened his soul, turning him into a heartless demon. No one who was human with human emotions could do such a vile thing, so he was the scum of the earth, a human body inhabited by the soul of a twisted, sick, demonic thing.
"Now I think it's about time that you finally died!" Sakura thrust the heel of her hand into Orochimaru's nose, forcing it up and back. He died eyes open.
Sakura dropped his lifeless, disgusting body and raced back to Kakashi, fear gripping her heart. She hoped with every fiber of her being that he wasn't dead. Arriving at his side she knelt down, tears spilling over her cheeks and landing silently on his chest.
"Kakashi? Kakashi!?" She shook him by the shoulder, praying to god that his eyes would open.
After a few tense seconds he coughed and spat up blood, and she could see it seeping through his mask. He was alive, but just barely. Sakura scanned him with her chakra, frightened by the horrible findings. Anyone else would have already died, but not Kakashi. He was a hardcore, invincible ninja! That was about to die. Sakura used one hand to fix the damaged arteries around his heart, and the other to stop the blood that was filling his lungs. Once his heart was safe she focused on his lungs. Repairing internal organs was much more difficult than fixing arteries, and it required all of her attention.
"Sa...kura...don't. I'll die before...you can fix everything...my whole body...is shutting down. Sakura..." he whispered, his voice hoarse from coughing up so much blood.
"Shut up. You aren't going to die on me Kakashi, and that's final!" she pumped more chakra into his body, his lungs almost completely repaired.
Once she finished with that she brought her hands up to his head and placed two fingers on each temple. Gently she massaged chakra into his mind, trying to stop it from shutting the rest of his body down. He felt the cool sensation pulsating through his head, and he closed his eyes and relaxed.
"Kakashi!! Don't you dare give up on me now! Kakashi!!" Sakura quickly moved to heal the broken ribs that were constricting his ability to breathe.
His right arm was smashed, almost to the point where it was severed from his body. Sakura mended his ribs enough so they weren't life threatening and spread her chakra throughout his body, quickly fixing broken blood vessels and closing the gashes that were pouring out his life blood. She was running out of chakra, and if she didn't stop soon she would probably pass out.
"Sakura, stop. You're going to kill yourself at this rate!" He shakily lifted his left arm and grabbed her hand, his eyes opened and focused on hers.
She turned her head to look at him, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "I won't stop. You need to take that mask off, the blood that soaked into it is making it more difficult for you to breathe." She continued to pour chakra into his body through the hand that gripped her own and used the other to reach over and peel off the mask.
Kakashi couldn't move his other arm, so there was no way of stopping her. She gasped when she saw the entirety of his face. The only blemish was the scar that came down over his eye, and in fact it made him look even better. She stared at his pale face, complete with a perfect, straight nose and a lovely pair of lips...that were stained with blood. Instantly her mind was returned to the matter at hand and she looked away from his face. Sakura let go of the mask and took hold of his right arm, focusing the last of her chakra on repairing it before it was too late to save it. His body was almost in functioning order again, but every last drop of energy had been sapped from him and nearly all of his chakra was depleted.
He could feel the chakra that was being poured into his body begin to falter and thin out. She was at the end of her rope, and if Sakura didn't stop now she would either pass out from exhaustion or kill herself. He had to do something, or it could end badly for the both of them.
"Sakura, stop!" he grabbed her other arm and pulled it off of his own, trying to stop her from healing him. No use. She just used her other hand and ignored his command.
Her body began to shake and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead, but she forced herself to stay conscious. She was going to keep him from dying no matter what the cost. A wave of nausea passed over her and her vision faded. 'Not now, dammit! I'm not done!' She swayed unsteadily and passed out, collapsing beside Kakashi. Alarmed he checked her pulse to make sure she was still alive, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found she was still with him. Without her chakra pumping through his body and healing his wounds, he was overcome by severe exhaustion. In seconds he was asleep, his working hand clasping hers.
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Kay peoples, I decided to go with a two-shot, because I wanted this up now. I have recently become a KakaxSaku addict, so if there's anything screwy about this fic, I proudly declare it's my first KxS!!! So, it's time to find out what I need to fix and stuff, so if there's anything I need to improve upon please let me know. I lurv all you peoples out there who have read my other fics!!!
And even more luv to those who have reviewed!!! Thank you lots!! Now, I just want to say that I shall enjoy any form of review, even if it is a flame. I mean, even the flamers are okay, because you actually take the time to review and critique (even if it might just be a whole bunch of bashing and bull sh!) while other peeps are just too damn lazy to do anything. So thanks to all who have reviewed my fics!!! Oh, and if there's anything I need to explain or anything, just notify me in a review or something. Oh, and the name of the fic, I just so happen to have a grand master plan that will make it sensible at the end of the fic, I just have to remember what the grand master plan was……anywho, it'll make sense when all is said and done!
Mistoffelees Shadow