Her Weakness
Chapter 1 - How It All Began
A cool breeze blew in through the open window, wisping Sakura's hair gently about her face. She stared quietly out the window at the buildings of the village, the tiny lights winking in the night. Her mind raced with plausible plans that would bring this mission to an end in their favor, the beautiful view was no longer even registering in her mind. The longer she thought the more she realized that this mission would probably not end well for either one of them, as it was Kakashi had barely made it out of the most recent confrontation when the fuedal lord had been alerted of their true identities. They had sent many elite shinobi after them, many of which they had killed in the escape from the mansion but not without a price, Kakashi had suffered severe wounds when he stepped in front of an attack meant for her. One break in her concentration had caused the all-most demise and poisoning of her long time sensei, now team mate. The man she put all her trust in and had grown very close to after all these years of missions together.
Sakura was pulled from her thoughts and her attention was drawn from the window by the soft rustling of fabric coming from the bed behind her that she had placed Kakashi's unconscious body on. As she watched his moonlit form stir Sakura thought back to the night they had fled from the mansion and the memories flooded in.
.o0O O0o.
The spring rain poured down on them, washing the dried blood and dirt from their tired bodies. They had been traveling since the previous evening trying to lose their persuers before they stopped. They paused momentarily before the village gates and donned their traveling cloaks, pulling the hoods up, taking care to cover their ANBU gear and forehead protectors. The sun had just set and dusk was quickly slipping into night fall as they walked through the gates of a village that almost reminded Sakura of Konoha, it wasn't as large as Konoha but it came close. As they looked quickly for an inn to stay in for the night and regroup Sakura continually kept watch out of the corner of her eye. Kakashi looked slightly bloodied, moved slower than usual and hadn't once pulled his book out that day but otherwise healthy looking over all. She had asked if he was ok after he had taken the massive hit meant for her but she wasn't satisfied with his answer, he had promised her he was fine but she had a hard time believeing him. She had seen many battles in her time, she also had been a medic-nin for most of those years and she knew what kind of damage a hit like that could cause.
As the lights of the city began to flicker on they found a suitable inn. It was older and slightly run down but it would do perfectly for their purpose, not very prestigious and out of the way. Kakashi spoke with the inn keeper, paid for the room and collected the key, which Sakura promptly took from him. She opened the door to their room and walked in, the glow of the lights from the city below coming through the open window was more than enough for her to make her way around the room. After being a shinobi and a part of the elite ANBU, lights were really no longer very necessary. The room was cramped and only had one small bed off to the side, with a small dilapitated chair placed in the corner next to it. A makeshift table made from cynder blocks and a wooden plank sat in the opposite corner with two barrels placed next to it to be used as chairs. After years of missions with her "boys" it had become common place to stay in places like this, often leaving them drawing straws for who would get to sleep on the bed, losers had to sleep on the floor. Sakura laid her drenched cloak on the back of the small chair in the corner then threw her pack next to it. Behind her she heard Kakashi come in quietly not having said much since the attack at the mansion. Expecting him to begin making plans as soon as the door closed he simply shed his wet cloak, not even bothering to find a place for it, he dropped it where he stood along with his pack. Sakura turned to him noticing how odd he was behaving, his face that she could see was pale and drawn, his eye showed a mix of emotions.
"Kakashi, are you really alright?" she asked again quietly from the dark corner she stood in.
Kakashi gave her a pained look then clutching his side he ground out "Sakura, there wasn't enough time to stop and heal me."
"You are injured then?! Why didn't you tell me the truth in the first place?" she reprimanded him as she walked across the room to him.
"Because I know how head strong you are. You would have made us stop and that was not an option at the time. As it is we are risking every thing by stopping at this inn but I know I will become a liability if I continue this way. The damage done to me wasn't just a flesh wound, his katana was laced with some kind of poison."
Sakura stepped closer to his rain soaked body and began feeling for his wound until Kakshi reached up and took hold of her hand, placing it gently on his side. Sakura could feel the torn cloth and the gaping wound, she turned him towards the open window where the moonlight had begun to cast it's glow on their shadowed figures. Kakashi leaned in closer to Sakura their bodies only inches apart, he gently placed his gloved hands on her shoulders for support as everything became fuzzy. The sudden proximity and touch caused Sakura to look up into Kakashi one visible eye. His expression was unreadable but he looked so very tired. Just then he slumped forward, his cheek brushing against hers as he simply whispered "Sakura..." and crumpled to the floor in front of her.
Without hesitation Sakura's mind switch over to her medic persona and she began to go through the set procedures for poisoning. She was now void of emotion and working as if she was an automaton, her movements were practiced and unthinking. She pulled Kakashi's unconscious form into a some what up right position, placing his arm around her neck and carried him to the bed. Once she laid him out on the bed she stripped him of his light chest armor followed by his black under shirt that had been destroyed. What she found astounded her, she couldn't figure out how he was alive let alone capable of a high speed retreat from enemy ninjas. If the gash in his side was any indication of how much blood he had lost there was no way he should have lived.
She began treating him immediately knowing full well if she did not hurry it was likely she would lose him. It took several hours and by the end Sakura had sweat dripping from her temples and had nothing left to give, she had completely depleted all her reserves of chakra. She stood silently from the bed careful not to disturb Kakashi and went to the small bathroom located at the other side of the room, all she wanted now was to take a shower and pass out. They had been through a lot together but Kakashi had never been hurt this bad before and it had all been her fault. She closed the door quietly behind her and started the shower making it as hot as she could stand, she then slipped out of her blood stained ANBU gear and stepped under the streaming jets. The water began to wash away the remains of Kakashi's blood and her sweat. It burned her flesh as it cascaded down her body leaving angry red patches in it's wake but she didn't care anymore, her mind had shut down and her tightly controlled facade cracked under the hot torrent of water. She pressed her back up against the wall of the tiny shower stall and silently gave up, her body slid slowly down the dingy wall until she was nothing but a cowering ball sitting in the corner. She had wrapped her arms around her knees, hiding her face letting the tears flow freely as she rocked back and forth reminiscing on the last month of their mission and how her weakness had almost caused the death of another one of her teammates.
.o0O O0o.
Sakura was brought back from her reverie by what sounded like someone calling her name. She turned doubtfully towards the small bed and strained for the slightest sound, watching for more movement. Nothing. She had been imagining things. Again. It wasn't the first time.
A week had passed since Kakashi had collapsed, the first night had been the worst. She had stayed curled up in the small shower, crying until she could no longer form coherent thoughts and well passed the point of the water having gone cold. She had then numbly gotten out and dried and clothed herself and made her way back into the room where Kakashi's still form lay on the bed. She could only dimly remember checking on him and then using her now dried traveling cloak and pack to make herself a pallet on the floor next to his in case he woke in the middle of the night, but that had never come.
Every night since she had curled up in her makeshift bed and every morning she awoke with the hopes that this would be the morning that his eyes would open and she would no longer be alone in this foreign place. She had created a semblance of normalcy by going out everyday to get things from the market to eat and purchasing bandages in small amounts, once she had run out, in hopes it would be a little less conspicuous. She would come home after shopping and redress Kakashi's wound that had begun to seep and then spend the day trying her hardest to stay out of sight. She had already taken care to dye her unique pink tresses that first morning before she had left their room, to a non-descript brown color.
After that first night she often woke in the middle of the night having heard something. More often than not it was only her dreams but every once in a while as the days had gone on it was Kakashi shifting restlessly in his bed. She would sometimes watch him at night as he weakly moved about, trying her best to soothe him, often just placing her hand in his and speaking gently to him. During these times she wanted so badly to know what it was that he was seeing in his dreams, his face was stricken with such sadness, and it was on these long nights of unease that she realized she may never find out what it was that troubled him so.
Sakura took one last look out at the city, the night breeze blowing gently across her face, carrying a soft scent of the ocean on it. She had an idea of where they had ended up but was still not certain. If she was right on her estimates they would be safe for a bit but they wouldn't have much longer. As she watched the patrons of a small bar on the corner just across the street leave for the night she realized that if Kakashi did not wake soon she would have to make some decisions on her own. One of her options in particular was very troubling to her, if she were to follow the ninja teachings she would simply pack her things and leave Kakashi, choking him up as a casualty, so she could head home and complete her mission. With that morbid thought she finished getting ready for bed and laid down, her head just below the window, and when she looked up she could see the blanket of stars overhead. Something about them, perhaps the realization that someone in Konoha was looking at the same stars, comforted her and as her eyes began to get heavy and slowly slid shut she thought to herself "Things will look better in the morning."