Story: Never Forgotten
Author: KellyGonzalezK001
Rated: M for violence, swearing and possibly mild future lemons.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I speak Japanese.
Chapter 1 Summary: Team Kakashi: Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Sai are on an infiltration and assassination mission in Snow country. They have a second objective to track and kill any Akatsuki in the area. This is the last mission for one of our characters.
Chapter 2: In Mourning
Chapter 2 Summary: Warning! This chapter does have a lemon! Team Kakashi returns to Konoha and breaks the news to their peers and the Hokage. Kakashi and Sakura find solace in each other, and Sasuke finds respite with his brother and cousin.
The journey back to Konoha from Snow was long and hard. They began by trudging from the small village inn that they had stopped in to take stock of their wounds and boarded a boat for four days. During the long journey between the Land of Snow and the Land of Hot Springs no one had said anything. It felt as though all the oxygen had been sucked out of their cabin at some point and they had forgotten how to breath, much less speak. Sai was gone. They would never hear his atrocious nicknames again. They would never see him lounging about with his sketchbook. Perhaps most importantly, he would not be there for the birth of his first child.
Upon docking in the Land of Hot Springs, Sasuke began to mull over what he would say to Ino. He felt it his responsibility to relay the news of her husband's demise. He had been there for his last breath, after all, and he owed Sai a great debt that he could not repay. He still had two complete days to about it. It wasn't like he could come out and say, 'Hey Ino, I know we haven't talked in a while really but uh…I want you to know that your husband was one of my best friends...but it's my fault that he's dead. So…sorry.' It sounded tactless in his mind and was sure it would sound even worse aloud.
Sakura was looking at Sasuke and saw these thoughts running across his face. She slowed down from her run to keep pace with him and squeezed his hand, looking into his eyes. It would not be okay, but they would get through this as a team.
"You don't have to tell her alone Sasuke. Ino's my best friend and so was Sai. I'll be there to deliver the news as well. I don't think there's anyway that we can make this right. There's no way we can soften the blow or lessen the heartache. All we can do is support her. I think Sai would have wanted that." Sakura stated this at a near whisper. Sasuke looked back at her, his eyes had softened and if he had been another man there may have been tears forming in the corners. This was the first teammate that they had lost. They had been lucky until now, and he realized that. All he wanted to do now was go home, debrief, tell Ino, then hide in his room away from his father. Undoubtedly Fugako would congratulate Sasuke on his new Mangekyo just like he had Itachi. But how could the result of something so horrible be celebrated? He knew his brother would understand and quickened his pace in response, which elicited a weak smile from Sakura as she decided to take up the rear of their formation.
Naruto was lost in his own thoughts but knew that he had to keep himself together for his team. The person who had caused Sai's death was dead himself so there was no one to be the target of his revenge. Sai wasn't the first person that he had lost, and he wouldn't be the last, Naruto thought grimly to himself. He knew that Sakura had dealt with the loss of loved ones previously, when both of her parents had died in a botched highway robbery. To his knowledge, though, Sasuke had never lost a loved one. The closest person that Sasuke lost was his brother's fiancée, Izumi, which was two years ago. The first loss was always the hardest, Naruto mused. The pain never lessens with time, but eventually you acclimate to it. The tolerance to loss grows with each final passing.
"They're gone Naruto." Sakura whispered to him in the dark. "I found their bodies on the way back from my mission. I have seen death before. But this feels worse. It hurts so much."
"Sakura-chan, the pain doesn't go away. But you learn to cope with it in time. I'm going to pick up some ramen, that'll make you feel better!"
"Thanks Naruto. Having my second family here does make me feel slightly better."
"Well, I imagine when Kakashi gets back that he'll help numb everything." Naruto waggled his eyebrows at her in a suggestive manner. Her tear-stained face became redder and she aimed a weak punch towards him.
"Oh Naruto, I don't know when you became so wise, but every time I believe that you're wise, you always follow it up with a comment like that…" She sniffed back some tears and attempted a small smile at her best friend's dirty mind.
Two days passed, and they found themselves in front of the wooden gates of Konoha. They stopped and took a huge breath before walking towards the Yamanaka flower shop. They wanted Ino to hear from them first what happened. Even though they were supposed to report to the Hokage, they believed this was more important and would face whatever punishment came from it.
The bell from the door gave a cheerful ring and the floral smell of the shop assaulted their senses. Ino was humming to herself at a counter, making a small bouquet and gave them a wink when they came in. She turned back for a second look and realized something was wrong. She looked around for Sai, then looked at their grim expressions and started shaking her head.
"Where's Sai?" Ino said.
"Ino, we need to…" Sakura tried to state but was soon interrupted by Ino who was grabbing ahold of Sasuke's collar. He had the misfortune, of being closest to her.
"Where the hell is my husband, UCHIHA?" She hissed at him ready to strike. Sasuke stood there unmoving and looked her in the eye.
"He's passed on the Will of Fire, Ino." He said quietly. It was perhaps one of the longest and emotional sentences that Ino had ever heard from the man.
"No….No….NO! You're lying, you're lying you monosyllabic, heartless, cold bastard. You're lying! Bring him back here! He's not gone." She was screaming in Sasuke's face and pounding on his chest while hot tears were falling down her face. "You're lying. He's not dead…" Ino looked up and saw that there were tears tracking down Sasuke's face. He grabbed her wrists and slowly pulled her to the ground with him, putting his arms around her, careful not to jostle the growing child within her.
"I'm so sorry Ino. Sai told me to protect you and your child. I will do so to my fullest capability to honor his will. I swear this." Sasuke pulled out a kunai and cut a shallow slash upon the palm of his hand and placed it on Ino's pregnant belly to seal his vow. From here on he would take on the duties that his best friend had left him with. He would act as surrogate father to this child, and protector to Ino, even though she didn't necessarily require it. Ino was still sobbing and shaking in Sasuke's arms when Sakura came and joined their huddle. Naruto closed the door to the flower shop and turned over the sign on the door so that it said "Closed". He then walked over and joined his friends.
They stayed like this for several hours before a masked ANBU appeared in the back of the store. He tapped Sakura on the shoulder and reminded her that the Hokage had requested her mission report. Sakura wiped her tears, hid her emotions and slowly got up to head to the Hokage tower; leaving the other four in their huddle.
"Hokage-sama, I have a verbal mission report from Team Kakashi and need to start by stating that Yamanaka Sai is KIA." Sakura stated this as evenly as she could. The ANBU that were in the room shifted in their armor. Most of them had known Sai when he was in ANBU. Tsunade nodded at Sakura to continue. "We arrived in the land of Snow with little incident. We recaptured the palace as per mission objective. There were approximately 50 operatives guarding the dictator with ten of those being jonin level. We neutralized them within ten minutes. We made sure that the inner palace sustained minimal damage, but unfortunately the outer palace had moderate damage. We had received intelligence via scrolls that we found that the Akatsuki had monetarily supported this particular coup. We followed up on this evidence and were led to two Akatsuki members in a nearby village, Deidara and Kisame. We decided to split into pairs based on known attack patterns. Sai and Sasuke dealt with Deidara, Naruto and I dealt with Kisame. The fight with Kisame went smoothly and the only minor injuries were sustained. During the fight with Deidara, Sai died from severe burns and shrapnel wounds while covering Sasuke. Naruto and I arrived on the scene after Deidara was killed and two minutes after Sai became unconscious." Sakura took a moment to steal her nerves again, and continued, talking even faster so she wouldn't break down in the middle of her report, "Resuscitation efforts were made for over an hour, but he was unresponsive. I attempted chest compressions, electrical stimulation and was going to try cardiac massage before one of my teammates rendered me unconscious."
"And why did your teammate render you unconscious?" Tsunade asked, looking at her with a softened and knowing gaze.
"Because I had tried chest compressions and electrical stimulation for an hour, even after he did not have any vital signs, Tsunade-Shishou."
"Don't blame yourself, Sakura. You said it, that he was without vital signs for an hour. You know that we normally only let that go on for 15 minutes before stopping. You did well. I assume you have his body?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Sakura handed Tsunade the summoning scroll that contained Sai's body.
"You can be dismissed. Your team will have a mandatory two-week vacation to deal with your loss. Also, Yamanaka Ino will be placed on paid leave until 8 weeks after she gives birth. I know it's two months early, but she needs time to grieve."
"Tsunade-shishou, one more thing, if I may. Sasuke swore a blood vow to take care of Ino and her child, per Sai's will. I just thought you should know."
"Interesting. Thank you for informing me. Also, I am sorry that you have lost a best friend."
Sakura left the Hokage's office and headed for her apartment. She walked slowly along the street with her head down. Kakashi was on their balcony, reading his usual Icha-Icha and pretending like he didn't see her just yet, it looked to him like she needed the walk alone before she broke down. He heard the door open and close and the sound of keys being hung.
"Kakashi?" Sakura said quietly to the darkened apartment.
"I'm here. What happened?"
"Sai is gone. Deidara killed him."
"I see." Kakashi pulled his mask off and Sakura saw sadness envelope his face. "I'm glad that you're home though; I suppose I am selfish like that…I love you too much to live without you." He put his hand under her chin and lifted her up so that her lips could meet his. He placed his other hand on the back of her head and kissed her gently. When he broke the kiss, he put his arms around her waist and maneuvered them to the couch so that they could mourn the loss of their comrade together.
"You know, Sakura, I really am glad that you're back safely. During the war, the only thing that kept me going sometimes was knowing that you were behind the lines in the medical camp. I'm not saying that to put down your abilities, you're a more than capable kunoichi. I just…out of all the people that I have lost…I couldn't lose you and survive. Even then. Even now. Like I said, sometimes I can be selfish like that…"
"Oh Kakashi…" Sakura ran her thumb over his face slowly, tracing the lines of his jaw then running over his faint scars. She wiped the trail of tears that was making its way down his cheeks. He was looking into her eyes and traced her own tear-streaked face. Taking her cheeks into the palm of his hands he kissed her slowly, allowing his lips to linger and take comfort from hers. She placed her hands on his shoulders and returned his kisses. He responded by pulling her in closer by her waist and allowing her to straddle his lap. He moved his hands up and down her back while she planted her lips on his neck, placing her hands on his chest.
There was a warm puff of air that went past her ear. She shivered slightly at the sensation. He put one hand on her hip while pulling her closer and locked his other in her hair as though she were the only thing left anchoring him to this world. He met her with his mouth and gently bit her bottom lip, followed up by his tongue following to soothe the bite. Her breath hitched in response, and he took the opening in her lips as an invitation and connected their mouths. Their lips moved slowly, neither of them trying to dominate the other, the moment was simple and shared. They couldn't tell where the other began because it felt as though their mouths were moving in tandem.
"Do you want to take this to the bed?" He whispered into her ear.
"Yes." She said breathlessly. She started kissing his neck again and he growled softly in response. He placed one hand underneath her and carried her, still straddling his waist to their bedroom. As soon as he stood up she locked her legs around him and rolled her hips to meet his groin. When she felt his stiffness against her she gave a soft moan and kissed his lips slightly harder. She continued to roll herself into him and he gave a low growl.
"If you keep that up we won't make it to the bed…" He whispered gruffly in her ear.
"…then we won't make it to the bed…" She placed heated open-mouthed kisses all along his neck while slowly tugging his shirt up. He lifted one arm and then the other to assist her efforts then placed his hands back to the outside of her thighs. It was a much longer walk than he expected to make it to their room, but he wanted to take his time, they both needed this. They needed to take comfort in each other's intimate embrace. They needed to feel alive together. He moved one hand behind her head as he slowly laid her down on their bed. He supported himself on his forearms and kissed his way down her neck. Putting his finger underneath her shirt his slowly lifted it up and ran his lips along her torso, which elicited a low moan for his efforts. When he had finally removed her shirt, he moved his mouth to her neck again and began to move down towards her collarbones, making sure to leave no spot untouched.
She ran her hands up and down his shoulders, feeling the taut muscle underneath and tracing the white scars that crisscrossed on his warm skin. He skillfully unsnapped her bra and moved her straps down her arms, trailing his fingers as he went until it was removed. He began to place soft kisses along her breasts, carefully avoiding the erect buds underneath his chin. He gently placed each breast in his hands and massaged them, while he flicked his tongue against one of the buds and then began to suckle her before switching to the other. She moaned underneath him and arched her back in response. When he finished his ministrations, she put her finger under his chin and pulled him upwards. She flipped them over and began to kiss her way from his neck and down his chest trailing her hands along his sides and looping her thumbs around his pants. When she reached his member, she moved her tongue along his length until she placed it all the way in her mouth and began to suck him.
"Ugh…damn…that feels good, but what about you?" He groaned in response. She began to suck on him faster and swirled her tongue around the tip in response. He groaned again in response then put his hands under her shoulders to pull her back up to the top of the bed. He pulled his pants the rest of the way down and then started to work on hers. After her pants were off, he began to kiss his way up her legs, starting with her calves and then moving to her thighs. When he reached her upper thighs, he started making shallow bites which were followed up with a soft kiss to lessen the sting. She began to moan louder and squirm underneath him. He placed a finger inside her while rubbing her clitoris, he began to suckle her at the same time which nearly drove her to the edge. When he could tell she was almost finished he began to kiss his way back up her body. She groaned in frustration and glared at him until he covered her mouth with his. He placed himself just outside her entrance and began to nudge himself in.
"Please don't stop." She whispered in his ear.
"I won't."
He slowly entered her. She felt him fill her slowly, gently allowing her to stretch and accommodate his girth. In controlled motions he moved inside her, keeping his mouth on hers. The rocked their hips together in sync. They couldn't tell where their bodies ended or began all they felt was one movement, they became one being. The heat and anticipation began to build-up in both and he felt himself beginning to lose control of the rhythm, moving faster. She screamed out and he felt her walls clamp down on him which drove him over the edge himself, groaning as he came inside her. They continued kissing each other until he pulled out and looked into her eyes, running his thumb from her cheek and placing her hair behind her ear. He kissed her forehead and then she moved the blankets to cover them both. He held her closely, one arm around her waist and the other under her head, playing with her hair. She snuggled in closer to him with her cheek on his chest, legs entangled with his own. They slowly gave into the long night that chased their grief away as they succumbed to sleep.
Across the village, Sasuke was sitting on the engawa of his family home, listening to the water drop into his mother's garden. His face looked gaunt and his mouth set in a grim line. He had one knee pulled into his chest, with his arms around it. His other leg was hanging off the engawa. Itachi flared his chakra as he approached to let his brother know he was there as he took a seat next to him. He placed the tray with tea in between them and poured both a cup. He took Sasuke's hand and placed the cup in it.
"It's chamomile, otouto." Itachi said quietly.
"Hn." Sasuke continued to look out into the garden with dead eyes.
"When Izumi died, I blamed myself. I still do. If only I had been there to protect her. I grieved for a long time. You and Shisui were able to cheer me up on the worst of days and prevented me from following her or succumbing to the curse of hatred. If I had let myself die in body or spirit, then I would not have upheld her will of fire. She was a strong shinobi. Her will continues to live on, through myself and the rest of the village. So long as there is someone who upholds the will of fire, she will never be gone. Neither will your teammate." Itachi picked up the tea tray and walked back inside quietly, leaving Sasuke to his thoughts.
Sasuke was still sitting on the engawa when his cousin came by early the next morning. He had dark circles under his red-rimmed eyes and was still staring into the garden. At some point it appeared that a blanket was placed on him, probably by obasan, Shisui thought. It was pooled around Sasuke on the porch now. Shisui cleared his throat and put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
"Let's take a walk, Sasuke-chan." Shisui said.
"Hn."
Sasuke stood up stiffly, his eyes staring straight ahead as though he was a zombie. Shisui sighed and prodded Sasuke on the shoulder to get him moving faster. They walked out into the Uchiha training yards and into the woodline beyond that. Shisui stopped at an old tree that the three of them used to spend time in years before.
"Do you know when I got my mangekyo, Sasuke?"
"No."
"I was eight years old. I'm not proud of it. I'm actually quite ashamed. Our clan holds something brought about by horror in a high place of honor. Frankly, it's disturbing. You're a young man now, Sasuke."
Shisui turned to look at him, "Sai is dead."
Sasuke stared at him. 'I know he's dead.' Sasuke thought irritably.
"If you bottle this all up, then his sacrifice means nothing. He loved you. You were his brother in arms. He's dead."
Sasuke glared back at Shisui. Shisui gave him an uncharacteristically hard stare back and continued to speak. "Sai is dead." Sasuke punched him, and Shisui let him. Shisui kept repeating that sentence, trying to get through to Sasuke that Sai would not be coming back and he needed to keep going. Finally, Sasuke dropped down to his knees and sobbed. Shisui sat beside him and patted his back.
"I thought I killed my friend when I was eight. That's how I got the mangekyo, ya know. I was jealous of him and delayed helping him out during a battle. He died. I blamed myself for years. But you know who's fault it really was? The man that killed him. Still, I carry these eyes, a symbol of my shame and guilt for not helping when I was needed. You'll carry yours to remember Sai's sacrifice. He wouldn't want you to waste your life, just as my friend wouldn't want me to waste mine. Live everyday to help others Sasuke. Become a stronger shinobi because of this. Live for your friend and carry on his will." Shisui slowly started walking back to the compound leaving Sasuke in the woods with his thoughts.
Later that day Naruto was summoned to the Hokage's office.
"Uzumaki Naruto, as you well know every shinobi is required to write a will periodically. In Sai's will he bequeathed you his mission sketchbook. He requests that it be shared among the members of team 7." Tsunade said.
"Hai, Tsunade-baachan."
Naruto took the sketchbook in his hands and sat on top of Minato at the Hokage mountain. The first sketch in the book that he found was a pregnant Ino, she was messing with the flowers in the greenhouse and seemed oblivious to the fact that Sai was sketching her. The second sketch were their summons. Lady Katsuya then Gamabunta and next to him stood Aoda. The next was Kakashi and Sakura, it looked like it was after a spar. They were both lying in the grass side by side, covered in dirt and sweat. The picture after that was Sasuke and himself having an eat-out contest. Sasuke was glaring at Naruto in the picture while his cheeks were as full as a chipmunk's. Naruto remembered that day. It was the day before they left on that last mission. This sketchbook must be newer then…Naruto thought. The final sketch in the book was the one he had made on their last night together. Everyone on team Kakashi together. Underneath the picture Sai had written, "Teammates are family, and family is forever." Naruto closed the sketchbook and dropped his head into his hands, letting the silent tears come out. He wiped his face then decided to look for Sasuke, who was taking Sai's loss the hardest.
Naruto found Sasuke practicing his shurikenjutsu in the Uchiha training grounds. He flared his chakra to let him know that he was there. When Sasuke turned around, Naruto noticed that his eyes were as red as his own. Naruto held out his hand and Sasuke silently handed over his spare brace of kunai. They practiced in silence until Naruto's stomach began to rumble.
"Eh Teme, what'd you say we get some ramen? There's something I want to show you."
Sasuke nodded his head and they began to pack up their weapons. They headed to their traditional spot at Ichiraku's and ordered their ramen. While they waited for Teuchi to make their orders Naruto slid the sketchbook over to Sasuke. Sasuke was lost in the pictures when their order came out. When he reached the last sketch, he looked over at Naruto and handed the sketchbook back.
"Thank you." Sasuke whispered. They began to eat in companionable silence. Then Sasuke put some bills on the counter and they headed back to the Uchiha compound, where Sasuke had been living since Sai's marriage. When he entered his room, he pulled out two whetstones and handed one to Naruto. They turned on the TV and began sharpening their weapons together. They had no need to talk, they both knew that this would only make their team stronger.
