Understanding

The setting sun cast two long shadows on the forest ground. The wind slithered through the leaves, making them whisper quietly.

Kakashi and Sakura walked side-by-side wordlessly, having nothing to say to each other. The journey to Stone proved to be an uneventful one. In one day, they had already covered half the distance there.

Soon, the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. Night had fallen. Almost reading each other's thoughts, they both headed under a tree and took out their bedrolls.

"I'll take the first watch," said Sakura, sitting down on her bedroll and wrapping herself up in blankets. Kakashi nodded, and after removing his vest and arm guards, he lay down with his back to her.

There was no sound apart from the rustling of leaves and their quiet breathing. Soon, soft snores emanated from the sleeping figure.

Bored, Sakura shuffled over to sit in front of him. Asleep, Kakashi looked much less the experienced elite that he was. In her eyes, he looked young and serene.

How long she sat there, she did not know, but she was content just to sit there and watch the rise and fall of his body beneath the covers.

Then, Kakashi shifted, and his brows furrowed. He said something, and Sakura leaned forward to catch what he was saying.

"Obito ….. We must … finish mission….. No…. not important…." Interested, she leaned closer.

"Obito … watch out…. No….Obito!" His eyes flew open and he sat up, giving Sakura a shock. Regaining her composure, she watched him in concern as he blinked and rubbed his Sharingan.

Then, as if sensing her gaze, his eyes met hers. Flushing, he looked away. Sakura stared at her old sensei's back, trying to make sense of what he said. Clearly he had a nightmare, but who on earth was Obito?

"What's the matter, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing," he mumbled, unwilling to talk about it.

"You can tell me," she suggested, "Maybe if you let it out you would feel better." Curiosity was getting the better of her and she wanted to get her hands on this juicy bit of information.

Doubtfully Kakashi glanced at her. His history was the secret he guarded most carefully. It held shame and regret, things he did not want to remember and did not want people to know. Then as he looked into Sakura's eyes, he saw within the glittering emeralds a promise to keep his secret, and he wanted to tell her, wanted someone else to understand.

He could trust her.

"It was my past," he said quietly. "Obito was my best friend then."

He leaned backwards on his arms and looked into the dark sky.

"When I was young, people saw me as a genius. I became a genin when I was five, and achieved the chunin rank a year later. Many people were jealous of me." He smiled wryly, remembering.

"There was a Shinobi World War then. Death was everywhere. My father was assigned to complete a mission that would greatly assist Konoha in the war. Everything went well, until one of his comrades was captured by the enemy."

"It was then that he made a terrible mistake. He chose to go after his friend instead of completing the mission. His actions caused Konoha to suffer greatly. Ever since then, our people, even his friends, saw him as a traitor, a man who placed his friends above his country."

"I was ashamed. You see, I prided myself on being one of the top students around. My father, the White Fang of Konoha, had actually caused such scandal, and I was ashamed to be recognized as his son. Since then, I wore a mask to conceal my face."

"My father could not bear the pressure, and he committed suicide. And soon after that, I became a jounin. At that time, I was only as old as you kids were when you entered my care."

Sakura was gaping, and Kakashi smiled sadly. She did not know the pain he was in then.

"Not long after that, our team was assigned another mission. Halfway through it, our teammate Rin was kidnapped. Obito wanted to save her, but I immediately refused. I remembered the lesson I learnt so many years ago when my father went after his friend at the cost of the mission."

"Obito insisted that he wanted to save Rin, and he said he would go by himself if necessary. Before he left, he told me that he believed my father was a true hero."

"Then, he left. I continued by myself, confused. Were friends truly more important than missions? I made up my mind, and went after Obito with my greatest speed."

"I arrived just in time to shield him from the killing blow that would otherwise have taken his life. Afterwards, I lost my left eye to another wound, and bore a scar for the rest of my life." Kakashi fingered the silver scar that ran down his left eye.

"We battled with an enemy that was more powerful than we were. But our numbers gave us an advantage, and Obito had his newly-developed Sharingan, so we won. As we prepared to leave, the enemy caused the cave we were in to collapse. If it were not for Obito, I would have been crushed then. The blind spot on my left caused me to miss a large boulder coming my way."

Kakashi's eyes were shining with tears. "He pushed me aside, getting crushed instead. The boulder was too large and heavy to move, and even if we manaed to extract him, he would have died anyway. Before his death, he requested Rin to implant his Sharingan into my left eye socket to replace the one I lost, and also as a congratulation gift."

"So that was how you got your Sharingan," murmured Sakura quietly. The way he had received it was so sad. She could not imagine the sorrow he was in at that time.

"Ever since then, I felt that friends were always more important than missions. That experience changed my life. I was no longer the rule-abiding, indifferent ninja that I was then. Teamwork became my motto. Friends became my priority. But I never let anyone into my closest circle. It was too painful."

All the pieces of Kakashi's behavior fell into place. The bell test, the fight with Zabuza, his cold indifference. Sakura felt sorry for him.

Leaning over, she hugged him.

Kakashi froze, then relaxed, succumbing to the comfort she gave.

"Kakashi, I want to help you," she said into his neck, the black fabric rubbing against her nose.

She pulled back a little, and immediately he felt the cold invade the places where her warm body previously was. Watching her, memories of his daily life stirred in his mind.

Every day, he would see many couples, be it old or young, in a mission or not. They held hands, they chatted happily. What would it be like, he wondered, to have that? To know that every day when you wake up, someone would always be there by your side?

It was a wish he'd had for many years, a simple wish really. He wanted to share his life with someone the way he had seen so many people share theirs. He was very lonely. In his travels, he had seen countless wonders, faced moments of danger and triumph, but it all added up to nothing, because there was no one to tell it to, no one to listen to his hopes and fears and dreams.

As he watched the girl in his arms, he contemplated whether to let her in his life. He had already revealed to her what he never did to other people before. A part of him wanted to, but the other part warned him to be wary.

Before he could regain control over himself, he leaned forward and his masked lips brushed hers. After a moment of surprise, she kissed him back, and Kakashi tugged down his mask to let it continue.

Sakura could feel his heart beating quickly. But before she was fully satisfied, he pulled away. Her heart leapt at the sight of his attractive face.

"No…we can't do this." Even so, his hands held her tightly, as if reluctant to let her go.

"Why? We both feel -" Sakura looked into his eyes. They were wracked with uncertainty and guilt.

"Yes, but I'm thirteen-, no, fourteen years older than you. I would not be fair to you." The words turned horribly bitter in his mouth.

"I've seen women as young as eighteen pair up with men much older than you," said Sakura, smirking. His defenses were crumbling, and she knew he wanted to be with her too.

"I-I am your sensei," stuttered Kakashi, playing his last card. "Not any more," she replied, smiling. "You know you need me, Kakashi."

Her fingers traced his lips gently, and he slid his hand in her pink tresses, pulling her closer.

"Kakashi…"

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Among the leaves, two masked nins, one male, one female watched the duo with interest. The moonlight shone off their headbands, revealing the kanji for Stone. Then the female spoke.

"So, the legendary Copy Ninja has his weaknesses too," she whispered. The couple beneath them was too wrapped up in each other to notice.

"But still, he is a formidable opponent. Coupled with a partner, I'm sure he could defeat us," replied the man in equally soft tones. "We will have to separate them."

"Not only in body, but also in heart," added the woman, smiling wickedly. "I wonder who he will blame when his secrets are made known to everyone."

Their plan set, the two departed.

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A/N:

Sorry for the spoilers, couldn't help it. Reviews are very much wanted.