Chapter Two

Sakura stood at the gate unhappily, a frown on her face as she crossed her arms. Turning to the three men that were standing with her, she pouted childishly. "It's not fair."

Naruto broke out into a wide smile at this and said, "Don't worry, Sakura. We'll come back to you."

Rolling her eyes, Sakura waved his comment off. "As if I'm worried about that. You guys are practically legends, and you're not even twenty yet. I'm talking about how Tsunade-sama won't let me go with you guys."

Sasuke turned his dark eyes to her, laughter dancing in them as he cocked his head slightly. "You know what Tsunade-sama said. It's for the best."

Sakura shook her head angrily, uncrossing her arms and clenching her fists tightly, holding them stiffly at her side. "I know, I know. I can't join you guys on your mission because I'm one of Konoha's best medics and risking my life isn't worth it. And a medic isn't needed for this mission. It's as if she thinks the only think I'm good for is healing people."

Naruto laughed, pulling her into a headlock, ruffling her pink hair. "Please, Sakura. You're one of the strongest ninjas around. I bet even Kakashi is afraid of your right hook."

Clearing his throat, Kakashi turned his gaze from Icha Icha Paradise to his three former students, just as Sakura was about to show Naruto how painful her right hook really was for messing up her hair. They all immediately turned their gazes to him, an old habit they never did get rid of since he stopped being their teacher, and they became his equal as jounins. "It's time to go."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Kakashi. "Who are you and what have you done to Kakashi? Unless we're already an hour late for our mission."

Kakashi's showing eye crinkled, the only sign of the amusement he felt for Naruto's joke. Ruffling Sakura's hair, an old habit he never got rid of, either, he turned and began walking away, lifting his hand in a lazy goodbye. "I'll try to keep them out of trouble for you, Sakura. I don't know what good that will do, though."

Laughing at Kakashi's statement, Naruto turned back to Sakura. Pulling her into a hug, he smiled. "We'll try not to have too much fun without you, Sakura. Remember: we'll come back to you. We always do."

Rolling her eyes, she returned the hug, giggling. "Gee, thanks, Naruto. Although I might feel a little better if it were coming from someone who doesn't always run head-first into trouble with his fists raised."

Laughing, Naruto winked at Sakura. "It's the only way to live, isn't it?" With a small salute and one last, big smile, Naruto turned to catch up with Kakashi. "We'll see you in a couple days, Sakura."

Waving, Sakura turned to Sasuke with a sad smile. "Goodbye, Sasuke."

A rare smile graced Sasuke's lips and, stepping closer to Sakura, he said, "Sakura... you'll wait for us, won't you?"

With a laugh, Sakura closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around him. Feeling him put his arms around her, returning her hug, she whispered to him her reply. "Always."

Sakura woke up, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Damn it. She didn't want to get up; not today. She only got that dream on one day a year: the day they disappeared from her lives forever. The day they left for a place she could not follow, no matter how hard she tried. Today was the anniversary of their deaths, the deaths of Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi.

But she had to get up. She had to face this day head-on, face it with her chin raised and shoulders squared. It wasn't for her sake alone; it was for their sake, too. This was how she honored their deaths: by living, for they no longer could. Even if the way she lived was hardly living, she still had blood pumping through her veins, a beating heart that thrummed her existence. She lived for them, because they no longer did.

After her usual morning routine, she pulled on her ANBU uniform, grabbing her mask before walking out the door. This time, she did not lazily walk through the streets, gazing aimlessly at the world around her. She walked straight towards Tsunade's office, her chin raised and shoulders squared, as she had always done on the anniversary of their deaths. She had a mission to do.

Walking into Tsunade's office, Sakura leaned against the doorframe, inclining her head to the Hokage. "Well, Tsunade-sama; what do you have for me?"

Tsunade looked up from her mountain of paperwork to the young woman before her. Sighing loudly, she simply said, "Sakura, I'm busy," before turning back to the papers before her.

Straightening, Sakura said quietly, "Tsunade-sama, you know what today is. You made a promise to me, on this day, three years ago, and I expect you, as the Hokage, to keep it."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Tsunade closed her eyes, trying to figure out if the forming headache was from the couple sake bottles she had downed the night before, or if it was from the pink-haired woman in front of her. After a few moments, she said, "Sakura, I know that today is a hard day for you. I understand what you're going through. And yes, I did make an agreement to give you the toughest mission I could find on the anniversary of their deaths, but I had expected you to move on by now. Do you really think you are honoring their deaths by trying to kill yourself? Sakura, they died three years ago. You have to move on, get on with your life. This is no way to live."

Head downcast, Sakura tried to blink back the oncoming tears. "Tsunade-sama, they were my life. We were a team; Naruto and Sasuke were like brothers to me, and Kakashi was one of the truest friends I've ever had. But now they're gone. They've left me behind again, but I can't follow them this time, Tsunade-sama... I can't follow them. Not there. You don't undestand; I have to fight on this day. I have to feel my blood pumping through me, feel as if I am real, that I exist, because without them..." shaking her head, Sakura turned her gaze back towards Tsunade, eyes full of sorrow. "I have to live, Tsunade-sama, because they don't. I am a ninja. This is the only way I know how to live. It's the only way to live."

Shaking her head, Tsunade said, "No. Sakura, that's not what you really feel deep down, and you know it. Don't lie to me. You know there's more to life than fighting and death. What happened to the little girl with that optimism that made me not feel so bad when I trained her until she nearly collapsed? Where's that girl with the viewpoints on life and love that irritated the hell out of me?"

"She died when they did." Staring at Tsunade, Sakura pleaded silently for her to give in, to let her go on whatever mission she had. After a few moments, Tsunade grudgingly handed a mission scroll to Sakura, who took it with a slight bow of gratitude.

Standing, Tsunade began to pace as she explained the mission to Sakura. "It is an escort mission--"

Before Tsunade could finish, Sakura tossed the scroll back to her. "An escort mission? That is the toughest you could find? Please, Tsunade-sama. I wasn't born yesterday."

Tossing the scroll back to her, but with enough speed and power to convey her irritation, Tsunade continued. "As I was saying, you will be escorting the new leader of Amegakure, Takahashi Kanaye. As you well know, Amegakure was the base of operations of the Akatsuki. Even though the Akatsuki had been destroyed for quite some time now, the Land of Rain is still as destabalized as ever. As the new leader, Takahashi Kanaye is a key target for many different dangerous and powerful groups. His survival is both beneficial for Amegakure and for Konoha. You'll find additional information in the scroll. This is an S-level mission; you'll be facing all sorts of unknown dangers and threats. Don't do anything stupid."

With a curt nod, Sakura immediately fell into ANBU mode, saying, "Yes, Hokage-sama. I shall do my best." Turning, she walked out the door, brushing past Shizune.

Watching the pink-haired woman walk away, Shizune sighed and looked at Tsunade. "She took the mission?"

"Yes," replied Tsunade, turning her gaze out the window, her thoughts taking her into a time long ago. "No matter what I say, no matter what I do, she still insists on trying to get herself killed, especially on this day. I don't know why I allow her to... maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, or maybe she reminds me of me too much... always running away from death by facing it head-first with fists raised. It's foolish, but there's nothing I can do to stop her."

"Tsunade-sama, can't you just tell her the truth?" asked Shizune, lips pursed tight with worry.

"No. You know as well as I do what danger that would cause, for not only her but for Konoha as well. I'm not just protecting her... I'm protecting everyone, too. I'm the Hokage. The survival of this village is the most important thing there is." Bowing her head in sorrow, Tsunade sighed. "I just hope nothing happens to her on this mission."

Sakura placed the three small bouquets of flowers on the memorial tombstone, a light drizzle beginning to fall. She gazed down at it, as a tear escaping down her face. She ignored the rain as it covered her in a light sheen of dew, her memories already drawing her into the past.

--Flashback, 3 years earlier--

"Sakura!"

With a start, Sakura looked up from the mandatory patient information sheet she was working on, and smiled. Brushing her messy pink hair from her face, having worked a ten-hour shift and still going, Sakura said, "Shizune! What brings you to the hospital so early? Tsunade-sama finally let you free?"

With a weak smile, Shizune shook her head, and with a soft voice said, "Sakura…"

At the tone of Shizune's voice, the smile on Sakura's face slowly faded. But, trying not to think the worst, she asked, "What is it, Shizune?"

"It's… they're…" Turning her gaze from Sakura, Shizune was unable to finish her sentence.

The blood draining from her face, Sakura's eyes began to well up with tears as the meaning of Shizune's words hit her full force. Dropping her chart, not hearing the loud clatter as it hit the floor, Sakura covered her mouth with her hand. "No. No. NO! They were supposed to return today! What happened? Where are they?"

When Shizune did not reply, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to search for the words, Sakura pushed past her. Rushing out the hospital doors, Sakura raced towards the Hokage mansion, where she knew Tsunade would have the answers she longed to know.

Breathless, having pushed herself much too hard, even for such a short distance, Sakura barged into Tsunade's office. "Where are they? What happened?"

Tsunade looked at her, having been expecting her for some time now, sadness filling her eyes. "One of the scouts found them a few miles from here. They're… they're dead, Sakura. Only Sasuke's and Naruto's bodies have been found."

"And… and Kakashi?" Sakura asked, a sob escaping her lips.

Shaking her head, Tsunade said, "He didn't survive. Not even he would've been able to."

"But how? How can you be so sure?!" Sakura asked, angrily wiping the tears racing down her cheeks, fear filling her heart, desperately trying to keep the hope that someone still lived, that all of them weren't taken from her.

"Because… where the battle took place… It's a mile of destruction, Sakura. Everything around them: mountains, forests, rivers, everything. Destroyed. No one, not even the legendary Copy Ninja would've been able to escape destruction like that, especially the way Naruto and Sasuke were... were injured. Kakashi… Naruto... Sasuke... they're gone."

"No… Naruto said they'd come back… Kakashi said he'd keep them out of trouble… they can't be dead… they're supposed to come back…" Squeezing her eyes tight, Sakura covered her mouth with her hand, an anguished scream ripping from her body.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Sakura sighed, as the rain caused a slight shiver to race up her spine. Glancing up at the sky, she figured she was already late for her meeting with her team. With a small bow to the memorial tombstone, Sakura shook the haunting memories from her mind, trying to focus on the mission she was about to embark on. Knowing it was absolutely useless, especially on this day, Sakura reached out, her fingers lightly tracing the words engraved in the cold, hard marble, her lips parting as she whispered their names. " Uchiha Sasuke... Uzumaki Naruto... Hatake Kakashi..."

Pulling on her mask, she turned to leave. But, before she took her first step, she paused and said, "I'll always be waiting."

Oh my god, that was such a sad chapter to write! (sniff) Okay, anyway, I got this review that was asking all these questions about this story. So, let me answer them (since it was an anonymous review):

Yes, this is a Kakashi and Sakura fic.

Okay, I'm really sorry, but these flashbacks were absolutely necessary, just so you understood why their names were on the memorial stone. Sakura is, after all, still "bleeding"… she is living in the past (sort of… kinda like how Kakashi was living in the past, haunted by memories of those he cared for).

I know it's confusing, and I wish I could be less vague, but I can't. If I told you any more, I'd totally ruin the story and no one would read it. Let's just say expect the unexpected. Please don't lose interest in this story. I really wish I could explain you more, say if this story is or isn't a flashback story… but I'd just ruin everything. So, I'm sorry, and I'll try to make it up to you guys by posting a chapter real soon. Alright. Laters.

I do not own Naruto.