CHAPTER 6
The alarm clock buzzed loudly. Sakura tried to ignore it by retreating under her duvet. It just buzzed louder. She reached over and switched it to off. She lay on her bed for a few moments, unable to move as the events of the day before hit her all over again. Morning would be the worst part of the days to come. Escaping from reality to numbing sleep, to have all of the pain and sorrow come gushing over her like a tsunami.
Every muscle in her body complained with soreness from the emotional battering it was taking. She forced herself to get out of bed. She had promised herself to move on with her life. A life without Kakashi. Her heart ached at the thought, more prominent than before because she knew that he loved her back. He wanted them to be together.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she shook her head and fresh teardrops landed on the porcelain sink. She loved him, loved him so much that losing him was causing her excruciating agony. What she felt for him was true and pure. She wouldn't tarnish it by abandoning her morals or allow Kakashi to dishonor himself. There was a third person who she couldn't hurt in that way either. Sayeni had been respectable by being straightforward with her. Sakura wouldn't go back on her word.
She took a warm shower and dressed. Taking one more look in the mirror, she put on a strong front. She was an elite kunoichi; there was nothing she couldn't handle. She had a whole lifetime to continue. She would plow through this. However, her usually sparkling jade eyes were dull and lifeless.
~xxxxx
Kakashi lay awake in the bed he shared with Sayeni. She was curled up next him, hugging his arm and a smile across her beautiful face. He sighed guiltily. He had used the sharingan on her again to make her believe that they had made love. Sayeni was the ideal wife. Her sense of duty was much higher than his was. She committed to this marriage for the sake of her family and village. She had tried seducing him every night. He couldn't respond to her advances. He stared at her long hair flowing down her soft skin and provocative nightgown. Unfortunately, all the feeling he could summon for the woman sleeping peacefully next to him was guilt. There could never been love between them. His heart belonged to Sakura.
He hadn't slept the past night, his thoughts revolving around what he had learned the previous day. She loved him back. He had seen it in her glorious eyes. Those big green eyes gazing up at him with hurt tears haunted him. How could he have asked her to be with him when he was married? Sakura was too dignified to stoop down to that level. Nor would he want her to, he realized. It was incredible wrong of him to think of that and even worse to have asked her. She was right to reject him, t. Though the pain of it still stings just as hard. Kakashi, gently as not to wake Sayeni, detangles his arm away and gets got up.
In the shower he watched the water circle and go down the drain. Just like his hopes for his future. He can't help but think how it would have been if things had turned out differently and the woman in the other room would have been Sakura. He turned off the water abruptly. He can't allow himself the luxury of dreaming about things that are impossible. Knowing how much he loves her and that she loves him just as much but there was nothing he could do about him it left him helpless. The feeling ripped his insides to shreds. His chest constricted as hopelessness began to weigh on him. The walls of the home he shared with the wrong woman were closing in on him. He dressed and ran out of the apartment.
~xxxxx
"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune entered the Hokage's office to find her looking out the window lost in thought.
"Yes?" She answered turning to face her assistant.
"It's Sakura and Kakashi. They are going about their normal duties and living their lives. But it's like they are shells of who they once were. Sakura barely speaks to anyone. Every morning she shows up in the hospital with her eyes red and puffy. Kakashi's complexion is palled and worn. He had deep bluish circles under his eyes. I don't think he has been sleeping at all lately. I'm worried about them."
"Me too, Shizune." She whispered, returning her gaze to the view of the village. "Me too."
~xxxxx
It had only been a mission a couple days long mission but it seemed more like a month to Tenzou. He was excited when to see the green gates with the character for fire painted on them. He thanked his lucky stars that his team had arrived at night. The Hokage had gone home by this time so they wouldn't need to report to her until the following day. He had the night free to see the woman he was really looking forward to, the reason why he was so happy to be in Konoha. He made a short stop at his apartment to freshen up before heading to Sakura's place.
He knocked on the door.
"Coming." He heard her muffled voice say. "Who is it?"
"It's me, Tenzou. I just got back from…" he trailed off as she opened the door. Her eyes were red and puffy and she had a box of tissues in her hand.
"Hi. Welcome back." She said hoarsely and kissed him.
"You have been crying." It wasn't a question. He knew she had. "Why?"
"I was just…umm…watching a sad movie." She lied.
"The television is off." He walked in, watching her intently.
"Did I say movie? I meant book. I was reading a sad book." She was a terrible liar. Usually she was proud of that fact. Now she wished she had paid better attention in the academy about how to mask the body's reaction when one lied.
"Sakura, please, tell me what's wrong?" He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the sofa.
"It's nothing." He eyed her not believing her for a moment. "Really. Don't worry."
"I want us to be entirely honest with one another. A relationship is based on truth and trust." He pushed.
Tenzou was right. She would have to tell him the truth. It wouldn't be fair to him for her to use him to get over Kakashi. She valued his friendship too much.
"It's Kakashi." Saying his name brought a new wave of hurt and tears. "I love him." She dabbed the corners of her eyes with a tissue.
The shock of her confession hit him like a ton of bricks. The girl he liked telling him she was in love with his sempai was not how he had envisioned the night's events. The worst part of it was that he had his suspicions that Kakashi felt the same way about the weeping kunoichi.
"And Kakashi loves you." Again it wasn't a question. How could he not love this woman back?
"I'm so sorry, Tenzou. You must hate me." She looked up at him with remorse. "I never meant to lead you on. I really did like being with you but…"
"Shhh." He put his arms around her and brought her close to his chest. "It's ok. I understand. You can't help what your heart wants."
"I wish you could though. You are a great guy. Thank you." She smiled weakly. "Would I be a terrible person, if I asked you to stay? I could really use a friend."
"What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't stay?" He kissed the top of her head. It hurt to know that she would never love him like he wanted her to, but he couldn't leave her suffering like she was. It broke his heart to see her crying. He would be a friend to her even if it were meant to helping her get over another man.
He cradled her in his arms until her sobbing stopped and her deep breathing told him she had fallen asleep. He carried her to her bed and tucked her in. In silence he left Sakura's apartment, resolved to do whatever was in his power for her.
~xxxxx
Kakashi came out of the jounin headquarters after having a meeting with other jounins. His mind hadn't been able to focus on anything that was discussed. It was something trivial so he had let his mind wander. His thoughts went straight to Sakura.
"Kakashi!" Tenzou called out as he crossed the street.
"Tenzou." Kakashi said flatly.
"Are you up for a spar?" Tenzou asked.
The two men stood at opposite sides of the training field. Both knew that the spar was more than mere practice. Sakura lay at the heart of it.
"Ready?" Kakashi asked as he removed his hitai-ite, his sharingan gleaming.
"Yes." Tenzou replied and he disappeared.
"Making me go on the offensive. Sure you want to do that?" Kakashi smirked.
A hand jutted out of the ground, grabbing his ankle. "Who said I wasn't on the offensive."
Kakashi threw a shuriken at the emerging figure. Tenzou turned into a large piece of wood. "As I thought, it was a wood clone."
Having made a hand sign, he disappears in a cloud of smoke. He waited underground for Tenzou to make another move. He doesn't didn't have to wait long. The earth showed signs of moisture, soon the small air pocket where he was hiding started filling up with water. He was forced to abandon his refuge.
The copy ninja jumped to a branch to avoid the rushing flood created by his opponent. Focusing his lightening chakra in his hand, he leaned forward grabbing the trunk of the tree for support. He touched the water's surface with the chidori hand. The electricity traveled quickly through the water.
Tenzou saw the attack coming and release the water jutsu just in time. With a series of hand seals, the branches of the tree Kakashi was standing on encircle his body, trapping him in a wooden prison.
The cold edge of a kunai touched Tenzou's throat as he heard the thumb thump of wood hitting wood from within the wooden trap. It was pointless to attempt a hand sign with the sharingan user as his opponent. He hung his head in defeat.
Kakashi smiled triumphantly. He won. Then his smile faded quickly. What had he won? Nothing. Tenzou won the real prize. He had what the famous Copy ninja, the man that could defeat almost any shinobi alive, wanted most in the world. Covering his face with his hands, he thought how Sakura wasn't his nor would she ever be. He wasn't a free man. The man standing before him could provide her with the life she deserved. A respectable wife and not a shameful mistress.
"Tenzou, you won." Kakashi breathed slowly, his eyes closed letting his own words sink in.
"What?" Tenzou was stunned.
"You are a much better man than I am. You fought for her where aswhen I didn't. Make her happy and love her beyond anything else." He extended his gloved hand.
Tenzou shook the older man's hand and nodded before leaving. He saw the hurt in the mismatched eyes; the same hurt he had seen in a jade colored pair. There had to be something he could do. His mind whirled with possibilities.
~xxxxx
Sayeni leaned over the produce section of the grocery store. There were large gleaming oranges in the back. She was planning a special dinner for Kakashi. His favorite dish, Mandarin chicken, would be the main course. He had been more distant with her lately than he had ever been before. He was sad and moody all the time. Her mother had always said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. She would test that theory that night.
Her fingers tips barely touched the biggest of the oranges' skin when a bunch of the ones in front tumbled out of their cart and rolled on the floor.
"Shoot!" She bent down on her hands and knees, picking up and replacing the fallen fruit before anyone noticed.
"You missed these." A man's hands held out three oranges she hadn't been able to get.
"Umm…thanks" She turned to see a man she knew. "Tenzou, right?"
"Yes." He replied, placing the fruit back in their place. "I was wondering if you would have dinner with me tonight?"
"I…well…I have plans." She hesitated unsure of the motive behind the invitation.
"It's important." He insisted.
She was suspicious but his eyes were warm and inviting. "Ok, then."
He offered his arm to her and she accepted. The groceries left behind forgotten, as they made their way to the busy restaurant section of town.
AN: Hope you all enjoy Chapter 6. Please review. :
