Hey Everyone! I just wanted to let you know that this should be a long one, and without much further ado, enjoy the story!
Chapter 1: Hanging By A Moment
The first thought that entered her mind was that he was fast; his speed went beyond breakneck, it was all consuming. He streaked past her in fluid movements. She could hear him behind her. She could feel the wind brush up against her body as he dashed by. Her heart hammered in her chest.
The only other thought that registered itself in her mind was, "what in the hell was I thinking?" What had possessed her to challenge this man? He was obviously her superior in taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu.
Oh yeah, she had wanted to prove herself.
Her breath hitched dangerously as the man ran past her. Why wasn't he attacking? Was this some sort of…scare tactic? Did he want her to run away? Was he laughing at her each time he rushed by her stationary body, coming so close to her, yet always maintaining a fingertips distance between them? Did he think she was so childish that this would work against her?
She hated herself for admitting that she was scared.
He was waiting for her to attack; she could sense it. Swallowing, she slid her hand into her kunai pouch, fumbling around for a precious kunai.
She hissed in surprise as one of the man's own kunais scratched the outside of her wrist. Two things happened instantaneously; her head shot up while her hand withdrew from her pouch. Her eyes were wide as she appraised the man. He had stopped momentarily.
"You drew blood!" Her voice trembled slightly.
"This isn't a game," his voice was blasé, "This is a life or death situation, you don't have time to just stand there anymore," he admonished.
"So he wants this to be strictly Taijutsu?" She frowned grimly; her determination wavering, "…life or death… am I ready for this?"
But, as he said, she didn't have the time to just stand there anymore. In an instant, the man was gone, his speed leaving after images of himself. She blinked rapidly, trying to discern his location; she looked left and right, moving her body into a defensive stance.
"Where did he go?" Her thoughts were erratic, "Is he above me? No. Below me? No. Left? Right? No... Shit!"
Sakura spun wildly, blocked the first of a series of kicks and punches. Her heart was pounding. Her breaths were ragged pants. She was trying to predict what he was going to do next but she couldn't! It was impossible.
"Impossible? Do I always have to give up so easily?"
She squared her shoulders, eyes flashing angrily. She was slowly but surely losing ground. His quick attacks were causing her to cautiously move backwards. She couldn't keep dodging and blocking. Her arms were becoming numb with the effort. She let out an explosive breath as his fist inevitably connected with her dainty waist. She doubled over his fist, her hands clutching his forearm to try and find balance. Pink tresses fanned across her shoulder blades, screening her from him. She coughed, blood flecks coloring his skin.
She raised her head, expressive green eyes narrowed. She didn't want to be babied. Not by anyone and definitely not by him.
"Why did you stop?" Her voice was an angry hiss. His silence made her angry. She flexed her hands, tightening her grip on his arm before using his limb as a lever, raising her body swiftly into airborne status. She aimed a hasty kick towards his ribs, growling as his other arm intercepted the attack easily. She was completely defenseless; they both knew it. But the question now was would attack her?
"Shit."
She grinned through the pain as his knee came in contact with her tense stomach. She buckled weakly to the ground, rolling immediately to her left. His booted heel landed dangerously close to where she had been just an instant before. She let out a slow whistle, while thinking, "Maybe predicting his movements was as hard as I originally thought."
Preening her feathers wasn't an especially attractive quality, but she couldn't let the moment go without notice. She, Haruno Sakura had finally done something right. She laughed.
Unfortunately, preening her feathers on a battlefield was a mistake. She never saw it coming.
A kunai imbedded itself firmly into her left thigh.
She couldn't stop her eyes from watering, her lips forming a silent 'o' as she looked at her opponent in disbelief.
He charged her, his movements still unbelievably fast. He was in front of her. No. He was behind her. He grabbed her hair roughly, dragging her body up from the ground. A cry escaped her lips. He held a kunai at her throat. The edge of the blade was razor-thin.
The man leaned into her, his voice deceptively calm, "I win, Sakura-chan."
Her knees felt weak. Her lips parted surreptitiously. Kakashi looked up quickly, sensing something that she had yet to catch. His hand slowly started retracting its hold on her hair.
"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Screamed the voice of a certain blonde-hair boy.
The swift steps of the other two members of Team 7 jogged closer. Naruto looked outraged, his expressive blue eyes were vividly furious and his fists clenched, while surprisingly, his counterpoint Sasuke looked only slightly less angry. As the boys came closer, Kakashi lazily withdrew the kunai from Sakura's neck, his hand fully letting go of her hair and moving to her shoulder, offering a steadying hand for his student.
"What were you thinking Kakashi-sensei? You shouldn't have been so rough with our poor Sakura-chan!"
Sakura's lips pursed resentfully at Naruto's words, even though her heart warmed at his evident concern for her well-being. It was truly amazing how one person could make her feel so displeased and yet pleased at the same time.
Sakura blinked belatedly, realizing after a few minutes that the boys had finally gone silent, but now they were all staring at her, as if waiting for her to say something.
"Oh... They must've asked me something." Sakura felt like smacking herself in the forehead. She had been rehashing the fight that she had just been through. Even though she had lost, she didn't feel the normal bout of depression that was always immediately followed by silent curses about how weak she was. She felt alive.
"Ehh..Sakura?" Naruto was looking at her closely, his face only a few inches from her own, he was waving his hand in her face, his eyes a mixture of conflicting emotions.
Smiling widely, Sakura shook her head, "Don't worry about me Naruto!" Her eyes flicked over in Sasuke's direction.
How long had it been since she had thought about him in that way? Sakura couldn't even remember.
"Months? Has it been a year already? When had she given up her dream of being his true love and given herself a new dream of becoming a stronger person?"
"I'm perfectly alright guys! Don't worry about me, especially if Kakashi-sensei is here." Sakura's voice was placating.
She hated the disbelief in their eyes. She hated it when they thought she was powerless. As far as she could tell, there was only one person in all of Konoha that knew, beyond a doubt that she had potential. That one day, she would grow up and be someone.
She could feel his fingers bunch into her shoulder, reassuring her of his presence, of his belief in her. It was almost like he could feel the self-loathing emitting from her body.
An instant later, his warmth was gone, when she tilted her head to look at him questioningly, Sakura could see that his hands were nestled deeply into his pant-pockets, his shoulders hunched lazily.
"I thought I told you two to do some laps," his voice sounded so passive, but Sakura watched gleefully as the boys looked at each other with nervous apprehension in their eyes. She had to choke down her laughter when she distinctly saw Naruto gulp.
"I see," was all Kakashi said, his eye roving between the two boys. He smiled under his mask, and leaned in closer to the two boys, whispering something that Sakura couldn't quite make out to the over eager blonde ninja. Naruto jumped up excitedly, returning to his laps. Sasuke's arms unfolded from across his chest, his imperious gaze fading slightly before he followed after Naruto.
She noticed that they were trying to outrun each other.
With a wince, her hand moved distractedly to her upper thigh, fingers tracing over the swollen, sensitive skin, the kunai still jammed into her leg.
"We should get that fixed."
Jolted out of her reverie, she looked at the kneeling Kakashi, her bright eyes wide, "I..."
"I'll do it. Here." She was lifted up gingerly, his arms encircling her body easily, like a protective…
"Like a protective what?" Sakura didn't want to think about it right now. She felt fuzzy. The only thing she could seem to concentrate on was the physical, the constant throbbing in her thigh.
Taking the slightly awkward moment in stride, Sakura laid her head against Kakashi's chest, her eyes sliding closed as she slowly and silently counted the beating of his heart, a smile gracing her pink little lips.
"One."
It was a deep baritone sound, very slow and constant, like the pain emanating from her thigh.
"Two."
Without even knowing why, Sakura took in a long whiff, her nose buried comfortably into his Jounin jacket. She could smell rain and soil, deciding rather quickly that Kakashi smelt like woods after a good rainstorm.
"Three… I think I'm falling even more in… In? In what? I can't fall into anything with Kakashi! The thought alone is… it's just silly, alright? Plain silly."
But Sakura's lidded eyes opened warily, examining the contours of Kakashi's chest, her smile gone.
"Five."
"Six."
"Seven…"
