Don't know Naruto and never will.
This is something that has been literally haunting me for like a year. And this first chapter was first written somewhat like a year ago. I've already written the second chapter and some events from here and there. I will update as soon as my loooovely beta-reader finishes with the 2nd chapter.
Prologue:
Harsh concrete walls seemed to be closing in all around her. There were no windows and the air was filled with a dry musk; this of course helped her figure out that she was in a basement of some kind. The lack of windows had made her lose her sense of time. The only source of light was a dim lamp hanging above her.
A single obsidian eye bore deep into her. Even though the current situation was intimidating, the look in his eye made her feel a little more at ease. She could see that he was regretful and that he'd be as gentle as possible. But there was nothing he could do. It was her mistake. She blamed herself and she hoped he wouldn't be haunted by guilt for this.
The moment things had started going wrong and she had been discovered, she knew it'd come to this. And if anyone was about to do it, she was glad it was Kakashi. She trusted him with her life… the thing he was about to take away from her.
She was scared; she could feel her palms clamming up, beads of sweat trickling down her forehead. Her breathing was heavy and ragged and she had to work hard to calm it. She didn't want him to remember her as some spineless, timorous girl he once had taught. It was purely irrational but she needed to seem as cool and composed as possible.
She had taken a mission to possess some information from the Hidden Village in Mist. It had been crucial that she stay hidden in the shadows and not be discovered. But she hadn't known she had trespassed to a land which was owned by very powerful shinobi. She hadn't known she had been watched the whole time. And now that she had been interrogated without any success by her former teacher; she was bound to meet her death.
She knew he had tried to save her. He probably had tried to keep her presence hidden, but alas he wasn't the only warrior there. And, as others found out that there was a shinobi, they wanted her dead. There was nothing more he could've done. He was following his mission, his orders, just as was she. There were too many powerful ninjas and Sakura knew the legendary Copy ninja wouldn't be able to take them all down, not even with her help. And decimating them all would surely cause major conflict between their villages. Her death would be for the sake of peace in Konoha.
She bit her lower lip and gazed into his eye. She fought the urge to cry, which made her throat burn painfully. She tried to blink away the tears but she was sure some of them escaped from the corners of her eyes.
Her life didn't flash before her eyes and there was no bright light in the darkness. There was only the piercing pain in her chest as Kakashi plunged a kunai to her heart. His masked lips brushed her skin gently as he whispered, "I'm so sorry."
She began gathering healing chakra in her fresh wound. She knew that human body could survive only 15 seconds without a beating heart and those 15 seconds wouldn't be enough. She'd die there. But she couldn't go without a fight; it wasn't her nature to succumb.
And then, she was gone.
Kakashi watched as his previous student's eyes became lifeless. Those jade green eyes once so full of life and emotion were glassy and faded into nothingness. He cursed himself for letting his friend die. He had lost too many people in the past. A small part of him had accepted the death of Rin and Obito but he knew he could never forgive himself for taking Sakura's life. Even for the sake of his mission, his home, his village. Once he had sworn he'd do anything to protect her and now he was the one to take away her life.
Her pink locks splay across her face, covering her left eye and parts of her forehead. Pearls of sweat had formed on her forehead wetting some of her locks.
"Get rid of the body", Taro, his "boss" said bringing the Copy ninja back from his thoughts. He knew Taro had watched life creep away from Sakura's body and he knew for sure that Taro had enjoyed it. He didn't understand the man behind him. He had been watching Sakura's irises grow small, her posture slouch and her energy just fly away. For his boss it had been just entertainment whereas Kakashi had felt pain and desperate urge to fight for her life. Keep her safe and slaughter anyone who would dare to think about harming her.
Now the beautiful woman was lifeless and still hemorrhaging. The deep red blood was flowing from her wound in her chest, staining everything on its journey. Small rivers of blood had formed on her hands and legs. The red life source dripped from her fingertips to the floor forming small ponds.
Kakashi turned around to face him and nodded in response. He felt too sick to talk. But he was under orders to do whatever the man in front of him said…
Yes, he'd "get rid of the body", but not the way Taro expected him to. He would find a nice clearing and bury her. It was the least he could do. 'If it even matters anymore', he found himself thinking.
Sighing he turned around and looked at the kunoichi. He closed her eye lids and effortlessly lifted the lifeless body. Her body was still warm but for his dismay, it was limp. He knew she was dead but part of him had hoped for a reaction from the woman in his arms; a squeal and a punch to the face for picking her up from the chair or even a deathly glare. Anything except the nothing he received.
The end of the prologue.
It all had happened three years ago and it still haunted him. There were two days he wished would stop existing; March 28th, her birthday and June 14th, the day she died. No, the day she was murdered.
Now it was once again March 28th and he was staring at the memorial stone. Haruno Sakura was etched into the plate and embossed in gold just like the other names. His eyes quickly found Rin and Obito's names. All his mistakes had been carved beautifully into a stone full of painful memories. A stone he went to every day. It was bittersweet above anything.
"She'd be twenty years old today", the Copy ninja heard Naruto's voice beside him. He didn't even bother to start wonder how his old student had crept upon him. He had improved a lot and at times, Kakashi couldn't take him out in their occasional spars.
"Yeah", the Copy ninja said absent mindedly.
"It's just us two… team seven. I wonder if the team's cursed", the blond ninja murmured in a thoughtful voice.
He had thought about that for years, too. Was his team cursed? But it wasn't the team that was cursed, if something was, it was Kakashi himself. Although he'd never admit it aloud, he knew it in every fiber in his body.
"How does a bowl or two bowls of ramen sound?" Naruto asked after a while, drawing Kakashi's attention.
"Sure, why not?" the older man said smiling. He hadn't even realized he had been hungry until now.
During the past years Konoha had changed more than a lot. It had lost a war against the Village hidden in the Mist; a lot of good ninjas had died and quite a few of the buildings in Konoha had burnt down. Tsunade had made a lot of effort to rebuild Konoha's old might, the army of ninjas and to restore the buildings; but as it seemed, many people had lost their spirits with the war.
It had all begun from a simple information inquiry mission gone wrong. Mist had sent some ninjas to Konoha to steal a few secret jutsus but Konoha had found out about it. At first, it had seemed like a political challenge, something that would be settled in a few weeks or so. As the weeks had passed, the situation had gotten blown out of proportion until it exploded… no, imploded.
Miki watched as a woman was sleeping on a hospital bed. He knew she wasn't exactly sleeping but it seemed hopeless to think that she was in a coma. He refused to give up on her as everyone else had. He had found her, he had done everything in his power to save her and now he did everything he could to find a way to bring her back to life.
He knew she was a ninja. He sensed her presence, her chakra, but he didn't know how strong she was. He didn't know anything about her. He had found her, healed her as much as he could and he had taken her to the hospital. By pretending to be her boyfriend, he had only learned that her heart beat 59 times in a minute and that she wasn't allergic to anything. Yet she allured him.
Looking at the clock on the wall, he realized it was time for him to go on his assignment. He had spent too much time sitting next to her hospital bed once again. He glanced at her and got up from his chair.
Yet it was another day when she showed no signs of waking up. He wondered if she had just decided to stay asleep.
'Stubborn woman', he thought smiling as he walked out of the door.
Everything was gray. The sky, rain, memorial stone and even the grass was losing its vibrant color.
Shoulders slumping, Kakashi was looking at the stone in front of him. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets and he was breathing evenly. His eyes were fixed on Sakura's name. And, Sakura was standing next to him. He dared not to look at her. But he felt her there. Before he had the time to turn his head and look at her, she had already gripped his hand. She was holding it gently.
Her hand was small and cold. But it was wet and as he looked to his right side where she was, he saw her shirt covered with red and all the blood was flowing from her chest to her hands, feet and to the ground. Red seemed to be the only color that wasn't turning gray.
"When will you let go?" she asked suddenly. She was looking straight at him, her eyes locking on his.
He didn't understand her question. He was about to let go of her hand as her grip on his tightened. "When will you let go?" she questioned again. There was more passion and anger in her voice as if she was desperate. As if she needed him to let go. Before he could ask anything, she vanished and he was alone in front of the memorial stone yet again. Looking down, his hand still remained stained with her blood.
Kakashi woke up. Breathing heavily he threw the covers aside and rose from his bed. It was dim but his trained eyes adjusted to it quickly. He figured out it was sometime past 3 am and he had gotten to sleep for maybe an hour or two. He wondered if he could ever sleep again.
The floor was cold but he had gotten used to it. His apartment was never warm, it was always cool. He had never figured out why.
Strolling into his bathroom, he doused his face with cold water. Looking up he gazed at himself in the mirror above the sink. There were two eyes staring at him, one black and one red. His hands were gripping the sides of the sink.
The nights were always the worst. His ghosts never left him alone at nights. He was forced to watch his mistakes all over again and again until the morning light crept over the darkness. One thing he had figured out, he was losing it. He couldn't live with himself anymore that much was for sure. He had found himself thinking about his father and in a way, understanding his actions. Although, he knew he could never go as far, but nevertheless… he understood.
Please tell me what you think. -danax