Title: Music Box
Author: Hiko Mokushi
Prompt: Livejournal Music Meme
Song: Avril Lavigne – I'm With You
Pairing: Hatake Kakashi x Haruno Sakura
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sensei owns Naruto. Summary quoted from Alphonse de Lamartine.
Summery: Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends.

Author Notes: I'm not dead. (: Decided to finally finish this up in an attempt to get my muse working. I've been also considering writing some Vampire Academy fanfiction, cause I'm all for Adrian/Rose.


She faintly brushed wet strands of hair from where it plastered to her mask and obscured her eye holes.

Her hands squeezed the railing of the bridge tightly, using it as an anchor. The ground felt as though it were moving underneath her. She couldn't find her center of balance, and she was sure that if she let go now, she'd surely fall over. Something in her stomach flopped over and the blood rushed in her ears. She'd been home for nearly four hours now, and she hadn't been able to move from this spot.

Warm light reflected off the river beneath her, but she could take no solace in its gentle hue. It flickered distantly, seeming to flare then fade within her gaze. Her breath was hot inside her mask, but it was the only part of body that wasn't yet numbed to the cold of the frigid, falling rain. Briefly, she wondered how angry Tsunade would be with her when she did not show up for the post-mission briefing. Obviously, the elder woman would understand, but just because she understood did not mean that she would be overly sympathetic. We're ninja, she reminded herself brusquely. Deal with it. It's what Tsunade would say to her.

"Sparrow."

Wearily, she turned her head and blinked at the masked, gray-haired ANBU before her. The first few seconds past without sound, even though she attempted to speak. When she finally managed to mutter a low acknowledgement in reply, it sounded hollow and wispy. Her throat hurt and water leaked through the top of her mask. "You need something, Wolf?"

He shifted further, closer, into her limited view. "How long have you been here, Sparrow?" While in garb he kept to the formal ANBU titles, but his voice was slightly less cold than the rain. Even after two years in the special corps, she still couldn't get used to her official name. At the induction ceremony, they'd handed her a bird mask and affectionately dubbed her "Sparrow" because she was anything but. Sparrows were dull and plain; hardy, brown and earthlike. She was pink and soft and fragile-looking. She hated her name. She felt as helpless as a sparrow.

"Few hours," she whispered.

"Come on." The ANBU held out his hand for her. "Let's go inside." The only recognition she gave it was a slightly tipped gaze as she peered at it despairingly. When she did nothing, he shook it for emphasis and hardened his voice, if only slightly. "You'll catch your death in the rain."

He knew he'd misspoken the moment the words had left his mouth. Green eyes went wide in their eye holes and he dismissed proper conduct, grabbing her soaked shoulder with one hand while the other removed his mask from his face. Even with the light across the bridge, his face was too shadowed for her to see his expression. Slowly, he slid hers off as well, and she let him, allowing her mask to fall to the ground next to his. "I'm sorry," he whispered, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to her hairline. He tugged her close. "I'm so sorry."

"Guess I didn't learn your lesson." Her voice was muffled into his neck as he cradled her to his chest. "Never leave a teammate behind."

He shook his head furiously. "You're not God. You can't save them all." He held her at arm's length then, leaning down to stare with both eyes into hers. "You did nothing wrong." When she said nothing, he shook her once before crushing her to him again. "You hear me, Sakura?" She flinched at her true name. "You did nothing wrong."

"He's gone, Kakashi." She sniffed, tears mixing with rain water on her face.

He kissed her forehead again before letting her go momentarily to retrieve their masks. Her arms folded around her torso, silently shuddering in the dark night. He wrapped an arm tight about her waist. "You can't save them all," he repeated quietly, head down and face shadowed. She wondered then, looking at him, how many he'd had to leave behind.