Mikomi; Hope
She works in a hospital. She is used to having blood all over her hands, another lost life on her conscience. She's used to it. It shouldn't bother her.
The thing of it is, she isn't exactly used to having him on her operating table. She doesn't like seeing his blood; she doesn't, because she never has.
She used to dream of him, and in her dreams she would envision a tall man with shoulders stronger and broader than anyone else's, shoulders that had, on many occasions, acted as a shield for her. Yes, he had always been there to protect her.
She wishes, just for once, that she could have protected him. There's still a chance of saving him, and she hopes she can trust herself enough to take that chance. She hopes hopes hopes, because hoping is what you're supposed to do when a loved one is in the hospital.
She hopes that maybe when he is all better, they can go for dumplings together and laugh about the day that poor defenseless little Sakura got to play the hero.
She hopes, more than ever before, that he will accept her when all is said and done. She hopes that he will let his barrier down and let her in, because, really, she's already seen inside him.
She's seen his innermost organs, and shattered bones that aren't where they're supposed to be, but she's never seen—never known—who he truly is.
In those dreams she used to have, she would only see his back. If he turned to smile at her, she wouldn't see his face. It was a faceless Kakashi she had always dreamed of, because she didn't know anything else.
There's a lot that she doesn't know, a lot that she's never seen, and now she is hoping for a person who is so far gone that hoping won't help.
She hopes because she doesn't know anything else.
She stands still, afraid to make a mistake, and his breathing stops. She doesn't touch him, because she never has before.
She doesn't know what to do, and it's nothing like the other times she's healed a person, and it's definitely nothing like it's supposed to be in the books.
And she hopes that Tsunade will burst into the hospital room and save the day—save Kakashi—and then give her a kind of hug that only a mother can give.
Sakura hopes that Sasuke will come back someday, and the Akatsuki will stop chasing Naruto, and Kakashi will be healthy again.
She hopes. She hopes and remembers that hoping has never gotten her anywhere before.
Author's Notes: Hey, that's kind of depressing, huh?