Nightmare and Illusion
Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto"
A/N: This is my first Naruto fic, my first Kakasaku and my first tragedy. I have to say, I don't like writing tragedy. It makes me sad.
Kakashi sadly wondered why, in the three decades since he became a ninja, the majority of which he had the use of the sharingan, he had never bothered to learn healing jutsu besides the compulsory basic first aid. He certainly had plenty of opportunities to learn. His childhood team mate, Rin, was in training to become a medic nin and his own pink haired ex-student turned lover turned wife was one of the best medics of Konoha. All he had to do was lift his hitai-ate and let the sharingan do all the work.
So why did he never learn?
Kakashi berated himself as he held his dying wife closer to his aching heart.
Sakura looked up tearfully into her husband's mismatched eyes, blood streaming down her legs.
"He's gone," she whispered, "I couldn't save him."
'No,'thought Kakashi. 'I couldn't save him. I couldn't save you." A tear trickled down his cheek as he softly, gently, adoringly kissed her forehead.
They had been on their way home from Suna. Sakura was assisting with some medical research and Kakashi went along for the ride. It was to be Sakura's last mission before she went on semi-maternity leave. She would still work in the hospital but would gradually reduce her hours in the later months of her pregnancy.
They had already designed the nursery and looked forward to decorating it (eggwhite background with fluffy yellow ducklings waddling across the plaster walls). Tsunade had suggested on more than one occasion that 'Dan' would be a great name for the baby but Kakashi had his heart set on 'Obito'.
They were less than half a day away from the gates of Konoha. They walked together hand in hand, admiring the greenness of Hidden Leaf's forests and commented idly on the refreshing contrast from Suna's desert yellow.
They were happy; they were carefree; they were careless.
The mission was indeed Sakura's last.
Four convicted ninja had escaped their confinement and were making a desperate getaway from Konoha. They bumped into the unsuspecting pair, literally; the skirmish was short but deadly.
Kakashi disposed of his third opponent with a swift flick of the kunai at the throat. The nameless enemy fell to the ground with a low 'thud' and then Kakashi saw her.
Sakura was a few metres away near the corpse of the fourth man. She was lying on the ground in a near foetal position. Green chakra glowed softly from her hands as she pressed them on her abdomen. Blood flowed freely from a wound in her chest and from between her thighs.
Sakura was having a miscarriage. She was mortally wounded. And Kakashi could not heal her; he didn't know how.
Kakashi gathered her gently in his arms and kissed her lightly on the temple. Sakura whimpered with despair.
There was only one thing he could do for her.
Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate and Sakura gazed weakly at the tomoe swirling with increasing speed. It was Black motion against Red stillness. Black in Red. Black and Red. Black and Red.
Suddenly, the pain was gone.
Sakura was in a green meadow full of white daisies. The sun was warm and the breeze was cool. She touched her lower stomach and delighted in the hint of chakra. Her precious baby was still there. Still with her. It was just a nightmare. Sakura was still pregnant, she wasn't dying and she was safe in the loving embrace of her adoring husband. She smiled brightly at him as he stroked her hair and placed light kisses over her forehead.
"Kakashi?"
"Hmm?"
"I was just thinking, rather than ducklings; let's have white daisies in the nursery. We could paint the walls green like, well, like this meadow. Our baby can sleep in a daisy meadow every night!"
Kakashi murmured his consent. He encouraged her to talk. He continued to shower her with kisses.
Sakura chatted happily about babies and warm blankets. She hoped their second child would be a girl. Kakashi hoped so too. She wondered aloud who would make a better baby-sitter; Naruto; Ino or Tsunade? Kakashi thought they would be equally terrible. She tried to guess what little Obito would look like; would he have silver hair and emerald eyes? Or rose coloured hair and onyx eyes? Either way, Sakura was sure he would be a heart breaker. Kakashi thought so too.
Sakura snuggled closer to her husband. She had never felt so safe, so beloved, and so content. Her eyelids began to droop.
Fear gripped Kakashi's heart.
"Sakura! Don't sleep yet! Talk to me!"
"But I'm so sleepy, Kakashi."
"No, stay with me, please, Sakura! Just awhile longer. Talk to me. Tell me about our daughter, the one we're going to have after Obito, what shall we call her?" urged Kakashi.
"Silly Kakashi," murmured Sakura as her eyes closed. "There's plenty of time to..." and she fell asleep.
Kakashi was in the forest, half a day from Konoha. Around him, the bodies of four dead men lay. In his arms, Sakura's life slipped away. Kakashi cried.
That was how Genma and his team of ANBU, sent to recover the escapees, found him.
End.