The last thing Sakura felt before she passed out was her body being surrounded by a soft warmth. Her consciousness held on long enough for her to hear something that made her heart clench.
"The only way you're getting her out of my arms is if you pry her from my cold, dead hands." The deep voice said in a cold tone. Sakura couldn't match the voice with anyone she knew, but whoever it was loved her greatly. Slowly fading into her own mind, she felt her body relax and she suddenly had the feeling she was falling.
There was no pain when she hit the ground. No shock from the impact. Sakura opened her eyes and attempted to take in her surroundings. It was dark, and strangely warm. She stood on shaking legs and noticed a small light rapidly getting larger. She shielded her eyes from the bright light.
When everything became clear, she saw she was standing on a bridge that looked familiar. She looked up and gasped. She saw her own back in front of her. Encased in a light beige cloak, the pink haired figure in front of her was looking at someone she'd hoped she'd never get to see again. Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura scowled as she watched the old memory unfold.
Sasuke was impassively looking at the Sakura in front of him.
"Finish her off." He said as he pointed at the red headed woman laying on the ground. "If you do, I'll believe you." His cold voice rang out and made her shiver.
Anger rose in Sakura as she watched the memory unfold. She watched the internal struggle the her standing a few feet away was having as she heard the kunai hidden underneath the cloak be clenched in her shaking fingers.
Before she could shout, a silver figure sped passed her and grabbed Sasuke's arm just before Sasuke's chidori could connect.
She remembers feeling relief practically radiating off of Kakashi as he swiftly landed in front of her.
"Sakura, you planned to kill Sasuke on your own, didn't you?" He paused as he continued to glare at Sasuke. "There's no need for you to carry such a heavy burden on your own. I was Team 7's leader, so I hold resentment towards myself for the team's falling out."
Sakura's heart swelled and ached at the same time at his words. All he'd wanted to do was ease her pain so she didn't do something that ended with her injured or worse. Tears threatened to fall as she remembered the last thing she heard before she fell unconscious. "'The only way you're getting her out of my arms is if you pry her from my cold, dead hands.'"
Her eyes widened when she finally made the connection. Kakashi was the one who found me.
Sakura's feet began to move on their own as she ran toward the Kakashi in front of her, but when she went to make the jump over the gap, her feet became rooted to the spot.
Suddenly, her surroundings changed.
She was back in her apartment. She was standing in front of the bathroom door. She heard a choked sob and saw Kakashi holding her towel clad body in his arms. His face was buried in her hair. The scene before her broke her heart. She looked at her body and saw deep, almost black, gashes running down her forearm.
Her eyes ran over the other parts of her body she could see. Her thighs had cuts and shallow slashes, her face was stained with tears and slighter more pale than normal.
She looked back at Kakashi and saw him whispering things into her ear, tears running down his bare face and landing on her shoulder.
"Why did you have to go and leave me like this? I never got to tell you-" His voice broke as a sob was ripped from his chest.
Sakura watched as he wrapped himself around her, trying to keep her warm until he came up with a plan. She covered her mouth with her hand as her own tears fell.
"Oh, Kakashi," she mumbled before she felt as though the wind was knocked out of her, shutting her eyes, she prepared for impact. Yet, it didn't come.
She opened her eyes again and saw that she was in the hospital. She saw herself standing over a bassinet.
Her heart dropped when she realized where she was and fell to her knees, clutching her chest.
"I'm so sorry," she heard herself say in a broken whisper. "I wish I could've saved you."
Sakura looked up in time to see herself holding twin baby girls in her arms.
Sakura shut her eyes tight as she remembered what happened. The mother of the twin girls was stabbed in the chest on her way back from shopping. She was 8 month pregnant and the babies didn't survive. Sakura fought for eight hours straight to save them, but failed.
That's why she'd approached Ino that afternoon. Ino's son was unsupervised and Sakura immediately panicked and scolded the child out of fear of seeing him hurt. Ino walked out of the flower shop when she saw Sakura grab his arm, thinking she'd spanked him.
Ino was so mad that Sakura had grabbed her son that she lashed out.
Sakura let out a shaking sigh as she wrapped her arms around herself and walked away from the scene before her, unable to stand it anymore. She turned around and started falling again, except this time, there wasn't any light. It was complete darkness. Sakura screamed, but to no avail. She just kept falling and hoped if she hit the ground, no one was around to see it.
Kakashi leaned forward in the chair he was in placed his forehead next to Sakura's stomach on the hospital bed. He had barely left since Tsunade had helped him get Sakura out of her apartment and into the hospital almost a week ago. Sakura hadn't regained consciousness and Kakashi told every nurse that walked in that he wasn't going to leave her side.
Naruto had started his training to be Hokage with the help of Shizune and Shikamaru so Kakashi could stay by Sakura's side until she woke up.
Kakashi never let her hand go. She had many visitors. Even Ino came, her face stained with tears. Kakashi felt guilt radiating off of her and knew that she had something to do with why Sakura was like this.
"Ino," he spoke before she turned away. He looked up from Sakura's face to see Ino staring at their intertwined fingers.
"Do you know what happened?" His cold voice made her flinch. She nodded as fresh tears threatened to fall.
"I yelled at her," she admitted in a small voice, clutching the sheet with her shaking fingers. "She laid a hand on my son, I had no idea-" She was cut off by the sound of a chair smashing against the far wall behind Kakashi.
He glared at her and spoke through gritted teeth, "This is your fault. Couldn't you see how torn she was?" He fought to keep his voice low as he spoke. "Twin baby girls died in her arms the morning you yelled at her. You overreacted and pushed her away because you assumed she laid a hand on your son?"
Ino shook with regret as she held her head in her hands and sobbed. "Oh, Kami. Sakura, I'm so sorry." She whispered as she reached a shaking hand to brush Sakura's growing bangs to the side.
Kakashi watched as Ino slowly walked out of the room. He sighed to himself and reluctantly released her hand to get a new chair, but before he left the room, he pulled his mask down and leaned down to press a soft kiss to Sakura's forehead.
"I'll be right back." He whispered softly before pulling his mask up and leaving the room.
While he was gone, Ino returned with a large bouquet of white and red roses. She set them next to the bed with a card. She had grabbed a small stuffed bear on her way back and set it gently beside her.
She left the room before Kakashi returned. When he came back, he noticed the flowers and smiled a small smile.
He set the new chair next to the bed and grabbed her hand again, twining their fingers together.
"It's been over a week, Sakura. I really need you to wake up now." He whispered. The only response he got was the beeping of the heart monitor, his only indication that she was alive. Some of her color had returned, but she still looked lifeless and it tore Kakashi apart.
To pass the time, Kakashi had requested Sakura's favorite books be brought to the room. He noticed that one of the books was a step by step guide on how to braid hair. Curious, he flipped through the pages and ended up teaching himself how to do it. Sakura's hair had grown out since the war ended, so it neared her waist.
Kakashi smiled to himself as he absentmindedly began to run his fingers through her hair, twisting it here and there. Before he knew it, he had produced a beautiful braid that framed the right side of her face and ended near her stomach.
"That's beautiful, Kakashi."
A voice coming from the door behind him startled him and he dropped her hair back to the bed. Embarrassed to have been caught braiding Sakura's hair, he didn't turn to see Tsunade approach him. She put her hand in his shoulder and squeezed it gently.
"She'll wake up soon, Kakashi. Her brainwaves have been more active and almost all of her color has returned. It's looking like she'll be awake in the morning."
Kakashi heart soared at the news. He looked up to see Tsunade looking at Sakura with fondness in her gaze.
"She's a strong woman. She'll be okay. You should go clean yourself up. I'm sure she wouldn't want you to look like you've been sitting here the whole time."
Kakashi sighed. She was right. He slowly untangled their fingers and stood. Tsunade patted him on the back and smiled as she turned on her heel to leave.
"Oh, by the way, I approve." She winked before closing the door behind her. Kakashi felt himself blush as he looked back down at Sakura.
"Well, glad I don't have to have that conversation." He chuckled to himself and headed to the open window next to the bed. With one last look at Sakura, he disappeared into the darkness below and rushed back to his apartment feeling more hopeful than he ever has.
Sakura briefly regained consciousness, but couldn't move her body. She could hear what was going on around her, but couldn't move to show she was awake.
"Oh, Kami. Sakura, I'm so sorry." She heard a broken voice whisper.
Ino?
She felt something soft touch her forehead briefly before she heard retreating footsteps and a soft sigh. Her left hand grew cold suddenly and she missed the warmth. Before the second set of footsteps retreated, she felt warmth on her forehead. She was sure she would've been blushing if her body would catch up to her brain.
Feeling alone, the tightness in her chest subsided and she felt herself fading again.