A/N: This was inspired by Episode 475 and all the swirly warm feels that came with it. 😌
Her body collapsed lifelessly with a grim thud that Kakashi's eyes widened in horror. Despite the protest of his already weakened body, he inched closer to where she lay, his hand quickly reaching out for her arm as if to assure any lingering wisp of her consciousness that she would not be alone in the genjutsu that Sasuke trapped her in.
It wasn't long before frustration and anger overtook him. Of course, none of his emotions would ever appeal to the young man; Kakashi's words, as impassioned as Sakura's had been, hardly broke through the wall that Sasuke had firmly erected.
When he left them, Kakashi knew it would be for the final time.
Somehow, he had always known it would end like this. The bond that had kept them all together had been stretched too tight, already at the mercy of the slightest stress before it would snap and break loose into turbid chaos. A haunting word, an old promise, a memory. A motivation that would ignite the destructive fire that was growing beneath the surface.
His team would never be at peace as long as it revolved around Sasuke. But they were a stubborn lot, weren't they? Sakura wasn't the only one who had believed that the past could mean something.. that the team could be what it once were. It was a fragile little dream that enabled all of them into pursuing someone who had never wanted to be found in the first place.
With a labored sigh, his thumb idly wiped the tear stain on Sakura's cheek as his fingers entangled with the strands of pink hair strewn fluidly around her gentle face; she looked deceivingly peaceful even in anguish. If Kakashi was adept at masking his own pain, Sakura wore it with graceful honesty.
But she didn't deserve this; Kakashi was the only one truly culpable for this mess and if he could suffer Sakura's pain for her, he would.