.

The Tenacity of Her Heart

Chapter 8


Over the course of the next few days, Sakura discovered that their routine was relatively simple. They rose with the sun, Sakura cooked breakfast (tea, rice, and maybe eggs if they had any), and Sakura cleaned up. Sasuke left to go hunt or barter with the whatever locals there may be before the heat of the day settled in, each morning leaving Sakura with the threat of real bodily harm should she be gone when he returned. She had no reason to think he wouldn't make good on that threat. She had also seen no indication that anyone else was on this particular island, and suspected that Sasuke may be running off to another island altogether on these errands. There were at least a hundred of them, after all.

When Sasuke returned they would share a mid-day meal of fruit, and then Sasuke would spend the afternoon meditating. With nothing else to do Sakura usually dozed on the futon. She was going to go crazy if she spent an extended amount of time here doing nothing but waiting.

Waiting for Sasuke to snap. Waiting for Kakashi to come. Waiting for her own courage to wind itself up to do something about it herself.

On her second night, Sakura had refused to let herself wallow in self-pity again. Instead she used that time to come up with a shaky plan. There was that vial of clear liquid that Sasuke had not found hidden in her medical pouch. It was an expensive poison, normally used to coat the tips of senbon, but Sakura hadn't carried those since she had been taken off the active-duty roster.

When used with senbon, the poison would enter immediately into the bloodstream as soon as the metal pierced the skin. But if administered orally, the poison would be slower to enter the bloodstream. Of course that also meant that the victim's death would be, ah, less immediate as well.

She could poison Sasuke.

The poison was odorless, that she knew for sure. But she had never actually heard of it being administered orally, only using her own medical knowledge to assume that in theory it would have the same eventual effect. She did not know if it was tasteless, which could be a flaw with this plan.

To counter-act the potential taste, Sakura convinced Sasuke to barter for some spices to add to their rice. She couldn't believe he had been so easily convinced, but she was not going to question it.

Now it was her fourth day of imprisonment, she had the poison, and she had some spices, but she had not found the courage to act.

As Sakura laid awake in bed on that fourth night, trying to ignore Sasuke's breathing on her neck, she forced herself to think this through and come to a decision.

Her hesitation stemmed from the small part of her that refused to let go of her past. Even after everything he had done to her, Sakura had held a tiny, private hope over the last six months that Sasuke would answer for his crimes not with death, but with a life confined to a Konoha prison cell. She took no joy or satisfaction in knowing he would be punished, regardless of how it was done, but knew that was his grim fate. Rather, she had secretly hoped that someday, when he was old enough, her son would meet the man who had given him life. Her son deserved to know his roots, even if they were buried in hate and terror. He deserved to know where he had come from, and why it was so important that he follow the path of the man who would be his father in practice—Kakashi's path.

But that future was already gone. Kakashi would kill Sasuke, had been planning for weeks or months to kill Sasuke. Now, after kidnapping Sakura, Sasuke had signed his death warrant.

It was not so hard for Sakura to come to grips with Sasuke's imminent demise at the hands of Kakashi, or Naruto, or anyone else. Sasuke had proven over and over again that he was dangerous and evil. But it was an entirely different matter for Sakura to accept if he were to die by her own hand. Years ago, she had resolved in a fit of poor decision-making to kill him herself. But her foolish plan failed miserably and forced her to accept her that she could not kill Sasuke on her own.

Except, now the opportunity seemed to have presented itself for that very circumstance, and Sakura didn't know if she could go through with it.

You're being foolish again, she warned herself. You need to get out of here, for Obito's safety and yours.

She went through her facts again.

She needed to get back to Konoha before the baby was born.

Kakashi loved her, and would search for her until he found her, but she did not know when that would be.

Kakashi may not be able to find her before the baby was born.

She was on her own.

She could not hope to escape on her own while Sasuke lived.

She had the means to kill Sasuke.

She had to be the one to kill Sasuke.

There it was, in black and white. She had to kill Sasuke or she may have to give birth in this hellish place, something she needed to avoid at all costs.

But still her courage hid from her. After much agonizing, she made a compromise with herself. If Kakashi had not come for her by this time tomorrow, she would poison Sasuke the following morning. That would be the start of her sixth day in Sasuke's captivity, and about two weeks before the baby would be born. She wouldn't be able to wait any longer.

Sasuke's underestimation of Sakura's abilities caused him to overlook that she had such a powerful weapon in her possession, and now his own hubris would be his end.


The next day came and went, and the next night, too. Kakashi had not come for her yet. Sakura woke on the sixth morning with a grim resolve. Today was the day. She would act this morning, true to her promise.

At first light, Sakura rose from the bedroll quietly and made her way to the bathroom, knowing Sasuke would be awake soon as well. She showered and dressed, as was her normal routine, but this time she also spirited away the small vial from her med pouch up her sleeve.

Sasuke was awake when she emerged from the bathroom, and he silently traded places with her while she went to start breakfast. She would have liked to put the poison in Sasuke's tea, as it would be more efficiently administered via another liquid, but he would have noticed if it tasted different and she couldn't take that chance. Instead, she mixed it into Sasuke's rice with the spices, hoping that the new flavors would mask any taste of the poison.

She was barely able to eat her own breakfast as she watched Sasuke devour his.

As she was cleaning up, she suddenly realized that Sasuke was not on his way out the door like he usually was. Wasn't he leaving?

Hesitantly, she ventured to start a rare conversation with Sasuke as she stood over the sink, her hands submerged in the soapy water.

"Are you going out this morning?"

He grunted in reply.

"No. I'm taking the day off."

Shit! She had assumed he would be far away from the cottage when the effects of the poison started to take hold. She had no idea how long it would take for him to feel it, but she assumed one to two hours. And she had no idea how long it would need to take to come to its full conclusion.

Anxiously, she sat at the table while Sasuke meditated some more on the hard stone floor. Her irritation grew and she thought she would go mad just waiting for something to happen. Her muscles ached from the tension as she kept herself alert to Sasuke's body language and prepared herself to move as quickly as her pregnant belly would allow should he make any sudden movements.

About an hour and a half after breakfast, Sasuke's eyes shot open.

He didn't move at first, but activated his Sharingan and slowly raised his hand in front of his face to turn it this way and that. Finally his eyes narrowed on the prominent veins of his wrist. They were darker than usual.

"Sakura. What did you do?"

It was an accusation, not a question, and his voice was a menacing, low hiss.

She had been found out.

Unable to respond, Sakura sat there paralyzed in fear. This is where her plan would go horribly wrong. This was the time when she thought he would actually kill her; his eyes certainly held a murderous glare.

She had realized too late that this would be a possibility, and had done her best to prepare, but how could she truly prepare to face a homicidal Sasuke? She did the only thing she could think of, and lied through her teeth.

"I didn't do anything, Sasuke. What's wrong?"

Damn, her voice was shaky and too high pitched. Then again, she would have been terrified of him in this moment even if she was completely innocent after all.

He rose from the ground and stalked towards her as she stood and moved to keep the table between them.

"You're a lying bitch."

The calmness of his tone was more terrifying than if he'd been screaming at her. Before she could respond his long arm lashed out across the width of the small table and his fist struck her cheekbone.

It took everything Sakura had not be thrown to the ground by his punch. She stumbled backwards, summoning chakra to her feet to keep her upright. Knowing she had no other choice, she raised her chakra-coated fists in a defensive stance. She would defend herself as best she could for as long as she could and hope that the poison would take full effect soon. What would happen first—would Sasuke die before her eyes or would she die from his wrath?

"You poisoned me—how? Where is the antidote?!"

His voice was gaining volume as his panic rose, and he rained blows down on Sakura. She realized that she was able to block at least half of them—his movements had been slowed down enough for that. She was fortunate that he was aiming mostly for her head instead of her stomach, but didn't know if he would continue that way.

"Where is it?! I'll kill you, Sakura!"

Suddenly his foot kicked out and caught her knee; she dropped to the ground with a sharp cry and she felt her wrist snap as she broke her fall. He was kicking her now, and she curled away from him to protect her belly. She couldn't get her footing as he towered over her, but she kicked out with her own feet as best she could.

It was happening too quickly, she still couldn't keep up with his movements. The poison should have been continuing to slow him down—why was it taking so long? How long could she keep this up? She was becoming confused and panicked herself, and had to try and remind herself that she was not the one with poison in her bloodstream.

Sasuke had pulled his arm back for another punch when suddenly he froze. Sakura looked up at him to see a kunai protruding from his shoulder.

A kunai.

That meant someone else was here.

Her brain processed these thoughts in slow motion as she looked past Sasuke towards the door.

Kakashi stood on the threshold.

That was all she could take in before she fainted.


"Sakura!" Kakashi cried as he watched Sakura go limp on the floor.

His heart seemed to stop but years of battlefield experience propelled his feet towards Sasuke. Kakashi struck out at him with another long kunai and managed to graze his forearm as Sasuke grabbed the kunai from his own shoulder.

He had to lead Sasuke out of this place and away from Sakura. The other four members of his team were searching different islands, but they would be on their way. Kakashi had set off the emergency flare as soon as he had located Sakura's scent on the island about five minutes ago.

Kakashi lunged forward and steered the fight towards the door. At close range, he noticed Sasuke's sweaty, paler than usual face before spotting the dark veins.

What the...? That looked like the effects of poison. Had Sakura done this? Sasuke was certainly weaker than Kakashi had expected.

Once outside with room to move Kakashi felt more in control. This was where he excelled the most—no holds barred hand-to-hand combat.

Sasuke may have been weakened with poison, but he was still formidable, and Kakashi took a vicious cut to one shoulder. As he felt the thick blood begin to stream down his arm and make his shirt stick to his skin, he was grateful that Sasuke hadn't managed to get his hands on a katana in the last few months.

Not to be left open by the hit he took to his shoulder, Kakashi lashed out with a high kick that connected directly with Sasuke's chest. Sasuke tumbled but righted himself once more, charging a chidori in his left hand. Kakashi darted left just before Sasuke reached him.

The jutsu seemed to have severely taken its toll on Sasuke. His chest heaved with every raspy breath, and his Sharingan eyes were crazed with anger and—if Kakashi could believe it—fear.

Sasuke was afraid. He knew he was going to lose this fight—lose his life—and he was desperate now. When he didn't attempt another jutsu, Kakashi knew he must be too low on chakra.

As Sasuke desperately charged forward with his kunai clutched in both hands, Kakashi summoned the white-hot lightning to his palm and they met in the middle.


Sasuke, the last Uchiha, found himself laying on the wet jungle floor as his pulse slowed and his breaths became shallow.

How had he gotten here?

In those moments he recalled flashes of feelings dating back to his childhood. Anguish. Hatred. Victory. Redemption.

But never glory. Never the satisfaction of finding fulfillment. He thought they would have gone hand-in-hand, that once he had the restored the power of the Uchiha he would find happiness. His clan had been everything to him. They were gone, and now he was leaving this world in much the same way.

It had all been for nothing, hadn't it? His best-laid plans were ruined and twisted by the cruelty of fate.

Pink hair swirled in his vision. The color was supposed to represent his happiness. Hadn't that been part of what he had so desperately sought? She had been integral to his final campaign, his last attempt to gain the serenity he so desired through the sovereignty he coveted. She had failed him.

Sasuke's vision dimmed until he could only make out the bright pink of her hair.

Pink.

The color of cherry blossoms.

Pink.

The color of his failure.


Kakashi stumbled back from Sasuke's body and fell to all fours, his chest heaving.

It was over, finally over.

For a few minutes his focus remained on the hands in front of his face, the ones that kept him from crashing down to the ground like Sasuke. The ones that had ended another life with a hole burned through flesh.

Kakashi had killed many people in his life. He didn't have an exact count, but he estimated it to be approaching a few hundred, and he had witnessed the deaths of several hundred more.

Was Sasuke's death any different than those uncounted lives he had snuffed out? This seemed to be one of those that would stay with him. Like Obito's death, and Rin's.

He felt conflicted. How could he lump Sasuke into the same category as his two beloved teammates? But that was just it, wasn't it? It had been long ago, but Sasuke had been his student, his teammate. They had tried to save him, but in the end Sasuke's dark path sealed his fate. Naruto had said it best. Sasuke was no longer their friend. Sasuke was dead, and Kakashi had killed him.

But that was only partially true—Kakashi had delivered a fatal blow, but Sasuke had already been approaching death.

"Sakura…" he breathed as he came back from his reverie.

Quickly he staggered the short distance back to the cottage and burst through the door. To his immense relief, Sakura was conscious and sitting up, though she was still on the floor where her final confrontation with Sasuke had taken place. Her face was stricken with fear and disbelief.

"I heard the fight outside," she whispered. "I was afraid to look."

Kakashi knelt slowly in front of her and ignored her unasked question. Is Sasuke…?

"Are you hurt?" he asked instead. His eyes roved over her quickly. She cradled her left wrist against her side, but even as he watched her bruises were fading. She couldn't be too severely injured if she had the chakra and the presence of mind to heal herself.

"Not badly," she replied honestly.

Her eyes begged for him to do something other than stare at her. Not being able to hold back any more, he pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her passionately. It was amazing how one kiss could set everything right in the world. Sakura was safe. Their baby was safe. Nothing else mattered.

They were startled from their moment when they heard Naruto's rough voice from the doorway.

"Shikamaru owes me ten ryo. He bet that Kakashi would still be fighting Sasuke when we got here; I bet that you'd be kissing."

His statement was humorous and said with a tight smile, but it was clear that Naruto felt the same mixture of relief and sadness as the other two. Sakura silently reached an arm out to Naruto, and he joined them on the floor. They were quiet for several minutes, contemplative of their circumstances and the fate of their once-friend and teammate.

"Where are the others?" Kakashi asked.

"Outside. Taking care of things."

Ah, yes. Things. The unpleasant things. Like disposing of Sasuke's body.

He would not be brought back to Konoha for an honorable burial; the Hokage had made that a condition of her blessing for this mission. Instead he was treated as any other missing-nin, as the ANBU performed jutsu that would turn his body to ash and take with it all of its secrets.

"How did you find me?" Sakura finally asked, breaking her long silence.

Kakashi was grateful to at least move on from the topic of what had happened to Sasuke.

"As soon as we figured out Sasuke's true intention, we got back to Konoha as fast as we could. By the time we arrived, we knew you'd been gone for about 48 hours. It took us a long time to figure out which direction he'd taken you—we still don't know how but we couldn't find your scent or his. It was chance that Pakkun picked up your scent about fifteen kilometers south of the village. We followed the trail to the sea. That was two days ago, and we've been splitting up, searching each island for you."

"I knew you'd come. I knew you'd find me."

Finally Sakura's face was starting to relax, and there was relief in her voice.

"You knew, but you had your own contingency plan, didn't you?" Kakashi asked knowingly.

She grimaced at this.

"It was senbon-poison…he didn't find it in my med pouch…I was running out of time…"

"You poisoned Sasuke?" Naruto clarified in disbelief.

Kakashi nodded.

"I saw the symptoms on him. He figured it out, though. I'm glad I got here when I did."

This revelation warranted another bout of quiet until Sakura broke the silence again.

"Kakashi…" she pleaded. "Please take me home."

It would be a long journey back to Konoha from here, but Kakashi would make that trek an infinite number of times as long as he could carry Sakura in his arms and know that she was safe.


They arrived back in Konoha just over two weeks before the baby was due. Tsunade herself actually ventured out from the Hokage tower to meet them at the gates. She smiled broadly when their group came into view.

"Kakashi," she addressed him directly and with authority, "Thank you for bringing Sakura home safely."

There was no mention of Sasuke, not yet. He would speak with Tsunade later and make his full report, but for now they were all grateful to have returned from a dangerous mission unscathed.

Kakashi refused to leave Sakura's side after they returned. He had missed her too much and had almost lost her—again. It just didn't seem that there was anything else more important. Short mission that wouldn't even require being gone overnight? Reassigned to someone else. Monthly Jonin meeting? He only attended those about half the time anyway. Even training was suspended for the time being.

At Tsunade's order, Sakura was placed on maternity leave early. Tsunade called it "post traumatic" leave, but Sakura loudly protested the semantics, saying that she resented being treated like a helpless pregnant lady. Kakashi had to politely remind her that while she may not be entirely helpless, she was pregnant, and had been through a rather upsetting ordeal.

Part of her acceptance of her leave was that she be present when Kakashi made his full report to Tsunade. Although Kakashi hesitated, the resolve and determination in Sakura's eyes reminded him of her strength. She had cried many tears since coming home, that was true. But she was tougher than she had been several months ago. Though her tears fell again as she relayed her story in the Hokage's office, she also radiated poise and confidence. Neither did she flinch away from the details of Kakashi's report.

Kakashi was proud of her—proud of the woman and the warrior she had become. Proud that even though she had been through hell and was even going to be giving birth in a short time, she was the vibrant woman he had fallen in love with so many months ago. She had found that part of herself again. He knew that he had helped her, knew that she was stronger when she was with him. But that resolve, that stubborn determination to overcome and to flourish; that was all Sakura.

He was in awe of her.


It took Kakashi several days to find the right one. It had to be just right: not too small, not too big or gaudy. She would wear it always and it had to withstand the abuse her hands saw on a daily basis. He considered enlisting Ino's help, but decided he wanted it just to come from him. In the end he decided that simple was best, and settled on a plain platinum band. He had it engraved on the inside, which took another day.

To S, from K with love.

And then he carried it around in his pocket for two more days before he realized that the baby was due in three, and he was short on time.

He knew she would say yes; she pretty much already had. He was anxious and excited but just wanted to see the ring on her finger without having to actually ask the question. He couldn't believe he was actually nervous about asking Sakura to marry him. He had no reason to be, other than she was the most courageous, passionate, beautiful, and stubborn woman he had ever known, and without her he knew he would have been lost many years ago.

So that night as they cuddled on the couch with their respective books, Kakashi screwed his courage tight, wondering if she could feel his pulse race from where her head rested in his lap.

"Sakura..." He started after clearing his throat.

He must have looked panicked or something because she glanced up at him and then set her book on the table. He helped her into a sitting position with one hand while his other fumbled in his pocket for the ring. Then finally there was no other reason for him not to speak; she looked at him expectantly and with mild concern.

A deep breath, and then the words tumbled from his mouth. He tried not to rush them but couldn't help it in his anticipation.

"Sakura. I love you. I want to spend every day with you, forever, as equals. Will you marry me?"

His voice came out gravelly, heavy with emotion and he held her gaze. When she didn't immediately respond he took her hand and placed the ring in her palm, then held her fingers closed over it.

Her eyes seemed unfocused, like she was thinking deeply, then suddenly they went wide and she focused on Kakashi again.

"Oh no..." She breathed.

What? Was she turning him down?

"Sakura? What do you mean? Is something wrong?"

He really might panic if she didn't elaborate on her answer. She loved him too, didn't she?

…Didn't she?

"Kakashi...I think my water just broke."

"Wait...what?"

He was confused; his brain had trouble jumping from one topic to another. He had asked her to marry him…and she responded by saying that her water broke?

Her water broke.

The baby.

Oh god, the baby was coming. Now.

"Kakashi, we have to get to the hospital…"

Her voice was quiet but with an edge of panic, snapping Kakashi into action. In an instant he had grabbed her shoes and her hospital bag, and finally her before bounding out the door into the night.


Despite the drama that had plagued their little family for months, Hatake Obito came into the world just like every other baby born in Konoha: screaming and crying and mercifully without complications.

For Sakura it had been a grueling night, and Kakashi had a minor panic attack every time she screamed. The doctors and Tsunade kept assuring him that everything was normal, but it went against all of his instincts to just sit there and let her crush his hands in her monstrous grip instead of doing something to help her.

Now, as Kakashi held his tiny son in his arms while watching him and Sakura both sleep, he felt that the last piece of the puzzle of his life finally snapped into place.

It was all worth it. Everything. Every moment, good and bad; every pain they had suffered, and every joy they had shared. It all led them to this happiness right here.

Kakashi lightly rubbed his hand over the tuft of soft pink hair on Obito's head. Privately, he was grateful for the unusual color as opposed to the alternative. He would have loved the boy either way, of course, but he loved seeing so much of Sakura in the little guy.

And what had he been afraid of? Kakashi had never before felt a stronger urge to protect something or someone, which said a lot considering that had more or less been his job for the last twenty years. No longer did he fear making a mistake. If such a perfect little child could be born of all the strife that had preceded him into the world, then there was nothing Kakashi could do that would mess it up.

After a time Kakashi forgot even to look at Sakura as he sat mesmerized by Obito, until he heard a soft rustle from the hospital bed.

Sakura laid on her side, watching them with clear green eyes and a warm smile.

It was the most beautiful he had ever seen her.

"Yes," she spoke warmly.

"Hmm?" Kakashi questioned.

"I never got a chance to answer you. Yes. Yes, I'll marry you, Kakashi."

There was a trace of humor in her voice at the circumstance of their interrupted proposal, but his heart leaped for joy all the same. Gently he leaned forward and gave her a sweet, chaste kiss.

"I'm glad," he teased, "Otherwise I would have had some real explaining to do about putting the ring on your finger while you were asleep."

She laughed quietly and held out her hand so they could admire it.


One month later, Sakura could say that she had truly never been happier. She was exhausted, yes, but it was bliss. Obito was the light of her life. Even when she struggled to get out of bed in the middle of the night, as soon as she had him in her arms she felt a sense of calming purpose wash over her. It didn't matter that she was tired, or hadn't put on makeup in weeks. Obito didn't care. He just needed to be loved and cared for, and Sakura adored him.

Even more impressive was how quickly Kakashi had taken to fatherhood. She beamed when she watched Kakashi brighten every time he picked up the baby, and she had to stifle her laughter when she caught him pulling faces to make him laugh. And perhaps her most precious memory was the night she had woken up in the small hours to find Kakashi humming a lullaby to Obito in his arms, and a smile on his face.

Sakura would be eternally grateful that Kakashi had been able to stay home with her for the first month after Obito's birth. Not only was he a huge help with the baby, but she had also gotten used to being able to spend every day together as a family. She cherished those happy days.

So it was with great disappointment that she watched Kakashi pack for the mission he would be leaving for at dawn the next day.

"I'll only be gone a few days, I promise. We aren't even leaving Fire Country," he assured her with a crinkle of his eye.

She wasn't worried about him, but pouted a little because she would miss him.

The next morning when she woke, she was surprised and delighted to find a flavored coffee waiting on the kitchen counter with a note.

Sorry I couldn't have coffee with you on the anniversary of our first date. Give Obito a kiss for me every hour until I'm home. I love you both.

Kakashi

She laughed at his thoughtfulness and the exaggeration of his note. Yes, this was how her life was meant to be all along.


Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this story. I've never thought of myself as a writer of fiction, and it has been amazing to me to see the number of people from all over the world that have read and hopefully enjoyed my work!

I know I said this would be the last chapter, but I am working on a small collection of little anecdotes that will serve as an epilogue. I hope to finish and post those later in the week.

Other than that, I do also have another fic brewing in my head. This one will also be KakaSaku but more canon, if it turns out the way I am envisioning it to be. It will be a while before I am ready to start posting that, but hopefully you can look forward to it!

Thank you again. :)