title: one man loved the pilgrim soul in you
rating: G
pairing: Sakura Haruno / Kakashi Hatake
summary: "I will see your face again, and though you shall not remember me as I may remember you, our eyes will clear at the sight of each other." [Myth; Kimono]
v.
His name is Ninigi Kusa and hers is Izumi Nagi. She is betrothed to an Uchiha because she is wealthy and worthy. Yet she has only eyes for him, a runaway.
When she kisses him, it is his heart that swells.
When he is hit by the first arrow, it is her heart that shatters.
"Beloved" says Ninigi and his words bleed onto her wedding dress, painting a river of crimson onto the kimono. "I must part now but I know in my heart of hearts that this is not the end. I will see your face again, and though you shall not remember me as I may remember you, our eyes will clear at the sight of each other. Love! Hold onto me one last time for you have been the one for me, and no one compares on this earth to your face. And I swear we will be together in the next lifetime and the next and the next -"
And with these words, Ninigi exhales the last of his breath and dies in Izumi's golden arms. She swears on his blood. Her rage is such that the earth shatters and carves a new island around her sorrow.
This island is now Kiri, the Land of Water.
iv.
His name Jimmo and hers is Tamayori and she just pushed him into the river Kai for calling her an idiot.
"I CAN'T SWIM!" he shouts before the waves swallow his body whole.
"OH SHIT" she screams and immediately jumps after the boy, his neighbour.
She teaches him to swim afterwards. He never ever calls him an idiot again. At the age of thirteen, he enlists to the First Shinobi War as a medic and never returns.
Tamayori lives the rest of her life in complete solitude.
iii.
His name is Akira and hers is Makoto. She is his mission, he is her apprentice.
"Akira" she breathes and the sword slits through the strings of her lungs. She coughs up blood that colors his young-young face crimson. He is crying. "I forgive you."
She falls and the jonin title is his. There is no burial ceremony.
He gets a nice sum that he drinks away in a week. The rank rings hollow and the day he hangs himself is stormy; the wind mocks him by whispering her name.
His grave is nameless.
ii.
His name is Kakashi and hers is Sakura. He is fourteen year old his senior and she is in love with one Sasuke Uchiha whom she is betrothed to. Their wedding day is too quiet. Sakura's kimono is white and Kakashi feels his soul howl as she dances with Naruto while Sasuke dances with Hinata.
"Sensei" she laughs and puts her arms around him. He buries his face onto her neck and hides the way his face contorts. She smells of sake and happiness. "I am so glad you came!"
Naruto crashes onto them, spilling the entire glass of Umesho onto that pearlwhite kimono. The plum wine forms a river of red on the kimono, resembling blood.
There is a feral terror now that rises in him, something that feels ancient and her face turns whiter than her wedding kimono. And although he is a step away, the ring on her finger tears the distance into a schism.
Kakashi turns and runs.
i.
His name is Ninigi and hers is Izumi. The morning brings a gentle breeze as he arrives home, tired from the night spent working.
"Yo" she greets her, and pours milk onto a cup, warm and spicy. He accepts it, grateful, and gulps it down greedily. "Was it a success?"
"I finished sewing it, yes. The Lady will love it."
She clasps her hands, eager. He laughs and opens his basket, full of a material that shines in the first rays of the sun, and the strange candlelight.
The kimono Ninigi made is white with crimson flowers etched into it, each delicate and meticulous.
"All your time and energy" says Izumi, voice trembling. "really paid off, my love."
They smile at each other in the first minutes of a new day, thick love in their eyes.
When they go to bed, they fold the kimono and snuff the candle out.