Aww! This is the final chapter for HLR. Goodbye to this. I really enjoyed writing this fic! Man, I am going to miss this! Anyway, here's the last chapter. Read it with love.

His Last Request

Chapter 10 - Worth It

It's been half a week since Kakashi got out of the hospital but Sakura hadn't seen him since she dashed out of the hospital room, just as he requested. They never heard anything from each other. In fact, they thanked fate for not letting them run into each other whenever they were leisurely walking in the middle of the streets of Konoha.

Naruto returned as well after a few days they came back. He would have come back sooner but the village just wouldn't let him go.

Sakura was now having lunch with Sasuke and Naruto at Ichiraku's. And for some reason, she's been in a bad mood since this morning. Every time either of her companions tried to talk to her, she'd reply with brief answers. She wasn't in the middle of her period or anything. But it just felt like something was wrong or going to go wrong today.

And just as she thought her mood couldn't get any worse, it did.

As she slurped on her soup, she heard a familiar voice in the background which made her freeze in mid-slurp.

Kakashi pushed the drapes of Ichiraku's shop with one hand to enter. His other hand supported his crane for his limp leg. He somehow busted it while he fought with Haru. Naruto needn't to turn his bar stool since he already sensed the chakra. So did the navy haired guy sitting on the other side of Sakura.

"Good afternoon, Kakashi-san!" Old man Teuchi greeted cheerfully as he wiped the counter with a damp rag. "You here for lunch?"

Sakura slowly put down her bowl and looked into it for a moment, listening to what Kakashi would have to say. Was he there to have lunch? If he was, then she would just gladly leave since she was done anyway. She was getting ready to jump off of her seat when she heard the Copy Nin's answer.

"No. Actually I was looking for someone." Liar, Sakura thought, trying to hold back the tears that were now welling up in her sea foam eyes. "Not here, I guess. Thanks anyway, Teuchi-san."

Before the older of the two could even answer, Kakashi already left. Naruto and Sasuke both looked at the girl in between them from the corner of their eyes. Both men could feel the dark aura all around her. Sasuke tried not to bother her but the blond had to open his loud mouth.

"Come on, Sakura! It's been silly for the past few days. This is the first time you ever got to taste Ichiraku's since Kakashi got out because you were too damn worried you'd run into him if you go far from your house!" He suddenly snapped. "The same thing with him. He makes me run and get his food for him or makes orders through the phone! You both are cowards. You know that right?"

Sakura was about to say something when she realized that what he had said was true. She let his insults slip by with a sigh. "I guess you're right. And I do know that."

"Let me guess," Sasuke interrupted with an arrogant look on his face as he looked at the blond. "You're going to tell her how running away and being a coward doesn't solve anything... And how she should just face the music and go up to his face and talk to him like she should, right?"

The blond narrowed his eyes down at Sasuke. "Well, I was! But I think somebody else in this room took away my moment and explained it for me. Ain't that right, Sakura-chan?" Naruto made a pouty face as he put a hand on Sakura's back.

Without fail, Sakura managed to hold back her tears and turned to look at Naruto. When she saw his pathetically ridiculous expression, all she could do was laugh at him as much as her stomach could take.

Sasuke and Naruto simply exchanged satisfied looks. How long was it since they heard her laugh like that? It's only been a few weeks but it seemed like forever. They forgot how even her softest giggles could lighten up their day.

"Excuse me guys, I think I need to go home. I'll see you later at Bar Code, 'kay? Just like we planned." She hopped off of her seat and skipped out of the shop.

Sasuke's smile soon faded away for no reason, as usual. But this time, even Naruto's smile quickly disappeared as well as if he had realized something.

"What's with that look, claw face? Ate bad ramen?" Sasuke mocked, turning back to his food to finish it.

He sighed, his eyes drifting down to the floor of the shop. "I wonder if Kakashi misses this... Or maybe even thinks about it."

The darker of the two raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"The light feeling we get whenever we see Sakura laugh or just... Smile. Like she could brighten one's day." The Jinchuuriki boy turned his stool to look at Sasuke. "I'm sure, without a doubt, he's missing it right now but denying it to himself."

"Of course, he is. It's Kakashi we're talking about. Whatever rules he could have broken, he'll always feel bad for it later. He's a true ninja, Naruto. He's experienced more things than we have. He saw more, heard more... But I don't think he felt more." Naruto blinked in confusion thus, leaving Sasuke to the decision to explain further. "He's been doing things professionally since he started. Unlike us, we let our emotions get in the way. We know more when it comes to matters that relate to heart..." He paused to think about what he had just said and took it back. "Correction-you know more."

Naruto, still confused, just went back to eating his ramen. Once he had finished ahead of Sasuke, he looked at his empty plate. "I just wonder if Kakashi ever thought about what could happen if they could give each other a chance to try. Maybe then, Kakashi wouldn't be denying anything at all about her. He wouldn't deny the fact that he would think of her before he slept, that he did his best for her and that he wished that she was always with him."

Sasuke was now lost in the conversation. Neither of them understood what the other was saying. Now, look at where this weird conversation brought them to! He simply sighed and went back to Naruto's first and main point.

"I'm sure he is thinking about her smiles right now. And you're probably right-he may be denying it as we speak."

"You're smiling again, Hatake." Kurenai pointed out. "Even though you're wearing that mask, I can see through it."

He, Asuma and Kurenai were currently in his apartment. For some reason, the three of them just thought about having a little get together. A bottle of sake was placed on the rug and all three of them sat around it.

Kakashi suddenly grabbed a pillow from his bed and placed it in front of him with a neutral expression on his face.

"What are you doing?" The female Jonin asked.

"You said you can see through my mask. I'm kind of worried about the rest of my clothes." Kurenai only gave him a look but Kakashi ignored it. "So, Asuma. How's Shikamaru?"

"Meh." He briefly replied before pinning his cigarrete in between his lips. "Still plays Shogi & Go with me from time to time. Although I must say, that kid really is a genius. Still can't beat him, can you believe that?"

"I can." Kurenai replied. The son of the Sandaime raised a brow. "Come on, Asuma. You can't even beat Kakashi at chess!"

Asuma simply shrugged. Another moment of silence fell upon the three of them. Realizing the window had been closed while he took his cigarette all this time, Asuma crossed the room to open it. He slid the panel up and looked down on the almost empty street.

Almost empty because Sakura was walking by, already passing by Kakashi's window.

"Well, would you look at that? I guess the little flower hasn't stopped thinking about that bee that landed on her once." He didn't turn to look at Kakashi nor Kurenai but he got this feeling that neither of them understood what he had just said. "Looks like she's thinking about talking to you, Kakashi-senpai."

Kakashi wasn't surprised. Even he was thinking about working this out with her. In fact, the reason he stopped by Ichiraku was to see if Sakura had moved past the whole issue about being sent out of his hospital room. I mean, who wouldn't feel that chakra of hers? It was seeping out of the shop with rage but at the same time, loneliness-it was impossible to ignore. However, the way she didn't acknowledge his presence at all, he knew she was still bitter from the whole thing. He even sensed Sakura's chakra grow restless when he had arrived. He knew she wanted to punch him in the face so bad.

"It wouldn't go anywhere, Asuma. Nothing will. I am a shinobi. I live to kill. I've killed more people than I can count. I've killed more times than those I have saved. Unlike her... She helps people. She actually saves them. We don't belong together. And if you take the rules into consideration, we never will be."

"Rules?" Kurenai scoffed. "Kakashi, you broke a rule to save your teammate once. And now, here you are, talking about how you should back away from the woman you love all because of some rule!"

Kakashi, although remaining silent, knew where this was going. Like any other conversation, it would end up with them trying to convince him to talk this out with Sakura.

"The only thing that gets in between the both of you are the rules! Rules were just made for us to follow, so we won't do anything we could regret later on! But what if we put those rules out of question. What if we set aside your student-teacher relationship with Sakura? Take away the fact that we are shinobis who could die any minute?" Kurenai made hand gestures to prove her point. "What do we have then?"

Asuma looked at Kakashi from the corner of his eye and answered the question for him. "Two ordinary people who have the right to do anything."

"Including falling for each other." The raven haired woman finished.

Kakashi still wasn't convinced. "I don't know what to do anymore." He whispered. "It's just as you said. Rules were made so we won't do anything that will be regretted later on. Yeah, I broke the rules several times. But this is... What if we give it a try and it doesn't work out?"

"Well, you'll just have to accept it. At least you two can say you gave it a shot." Asuma interrupted.

Both of the Copy Nin's companions looked at him as he stared into his cup of sake. God, how he wanted to drown himself but he knew this kind of sake wouldn't get him near drunk.

"Think about it this way, Kakashi: Is Haruno Sakura worth the risk?" As Kurenai asked the question, somebody knocked on Kakashi's door.

The feminine ninja rose from her position and opened the door. There stood two ANBU members.

"Yuhi Kurenai. Sarutobi Asuma. Report to Tsunade-sama, A.S.A.P."

The ANBU immediately left the doorstep. Kurenai turned around to call Asuma but it seems he already knew since he was making his way to the door already. Both of them bid Kakashi goodbye before leaving his apartment.

Now, he was left to sort things out for himself. All in all, he hadn't seen her until this afternoon. As he had expected, she was too consumed by the recent events to even notice his chakra. If she had noticed it, she wouldn't have been there when he entered Ichiraku's.

There was only one person whom he could turn to right now. One person he trusted the most and taught him the most important lesson that he could ever learn in his entire life.

He stuck his free hand in his pocket as he looked down on the Memorial Stone. "Obito, I'm so confused. The last time I felt like this..." He forced a smile upon his face. "...was our last mission together. It's happening again. What do you think I should do?"

He remained silent for a long moment, shutting his eyes to concentrate. "Give me a sign, Obito." He tried searching for any hint of signs Obito may have given him but no luck. With a sigh, Kakashi opened his eyes once again and looked to the Memorial Stone.

"I know you've been great help to me most of the time... But you can really be a jerk sometimes, you know that?" He said, laughing on his own. Obito hadn't given him a clue on what to do this time. And the Copy Nin himself knew what Obito was trying to say. "I guess it's all up to me to make up my mind this time, huh?"

He looked to the sky, surprised to see it was already golden at one end. He walked towards the direction of the source of the golden light. The light led him to the bridge were Team 7 usually met up during the Genin days. And to his surprise, a familiar silhouette was actually walking toward the bridge as well, looking at the sky as he did earlier.

The silhouette suddenly cleared up and he recognized the coral locks... It was Sakura. Surely, it wasn't coincidence they were both following the direction of the golden light.

Sakura felt her neck sore so she straightened it out only to find Kakashi standing on one end of the bridge while she stood on the other. He still had his crane from earlier.

Both exchanged indifferent glances at each other for a long minute until one of the broke the silence.

"I was thinking about-" Kakashi was cut off.

Sakura knew what he had to say. "Me too." She let her hand land on the hand rail of the bridge. "You're right. I should forget about this. But at least tell me why, Kakashi." Her eyes broke their exchange of glances and looked at the setting sun.

The silver-haired Jonin sighed. "I was wrong." Sakura's head suddenly jerked back to look at him. "I shouldn't have told you that. I thought that if I abandoned you, you would think badly of me and try to forget me. Foolish, I was, Sakura."

"So what are you saying..?" She asked in a cold manner.

"I'm saying that I was foolish to think that something as childish as that would get you to forget me... And I was foolish to let someone like you go." He fell silent for a long moment and then spoke again. "I just thought you deserved someone better than a man like me and you do."

Sakura wanted to approach him but at the same time didn't want to. However, before she could even make up her mind, her feet seemed to have made its own decision. Slowly, she walked towards her former sensei and looked up to his masked face.

"That's what you thought." Her hand softly landed on his cheek, letting it rest there as she spoke. "I don't care if I do deserve someone better. You should have known better. Try and push me away, I'll still end up following what my heart wants."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tip-toed since he was too tall for her. He liked the feeling of her arms around her, of her body's warmth against him. All in all, he liked the feeling of her this close to him. He let his free hand land on her back and apologized once more.

"I really am sorry, Sakura." Kakashi whispered into her ear. "For everything."

She pulled away first and looked at Kakashi's... eye. "It's alright. Even I'm sorry, Don't know why, but I just feel sorry."

"Do you think it's worth taking the risk?" Kakashi suddenly asked. Sakura gave him a look of confusion. "If we ever take this road, do you think it's worth it? Is it worth risking our previous relationship as-"

"I don't care, Kakashi. I don't really give a damn if it's worth it or not." This time, she wrapped her arm around his torso and pushed her cheek against his chest. "I'm just glad it's all over... Even a few weeks can seem like forever."

He pulled away from her slightly and let his gloved hand cup her cheek. "I don't care either... But for sure, you are going to be worth everything."

She smiled at him, removing her arms from his torso. She let her fingers land on the hem of his mask before pulling it down slowly and he didn't stop her. Gods, he was even more beautiful like this, there was no denying it. She couldn't help but take in the masculine features he had hidden behind his navy mask.

"Staring?" He cocked his head and raised a brow at her.

She suddenly snapped and cupped his flawless cheeks, letting her thumb run over the scar that passed through his eye. "Who wouldn't?" She chuckled. She was so happy that tears welled up in her eyes.

Before she could even say something, Kakashi pulled her in for a kiss, sweeter than the last one. She didn't feel the urge to resist and immediately gave in, closing her eyes. She let her fingers intwine at the back of his head as they kissed before the sunset.

No sooner, Kakashi pulled away, his lips still inches from the kunoichi's. He then kissed her forehead before letting his forehead make contact with hers. Sakura still had her eyes closed and she was panting heavily but with a grateful smile on her face. Gods, how he missed this.

"I love you, Sakura..." He whispered.

Sakura's sea foam eyes suddenly snapped at his words. Had she been hearing things? Was it all in her head? She suddenly pulled her head away but her fingers remained tangled, looking at him in confusion.

"What did you just say?" She asked.

Kakashi stubbornly shook his head. "I'm not saying it again until I hear what you have to say."

The tears collected in her eyes suddenly rolled down her cheeks. She pulled him in for another quick kiss before hugging him tightly and sobbing. "I love you too, Kakashi."

He gave a satisfied smile to the sunset then gave Sakura's pink locks a kiss. He let go of his crane and hugged her with both arms. He never wanted to let her go.

Unfortunately, his leg still wasn't stable enough so he stumbled backwards and on his back, Sakura, with a scream, landing on him. She propped herself on her elbows and looked down on his beautiful face.

"You still need some rest, don't you know?" She chuckled.

She got up to her feet and helped Kakashi up and handed him his crane. "Nurse me back to health?"

Sakura just gave him a smile and nodded. She was more than happy to give him what he needed. Care and love.

"Ain't this a nice wedding reception," Shikamaru chuckled. "Right, Sakura?"

The pink haired kunoichi in her elegant white gown had to agree. It was a nice reception, thanks to her and Ino. Both of them planned the whole thing for Naruto and Hinata. It's been exactly a year since the whole incident at the bridge.

Naruto had been planning to propose to Hinata for a very long time but not a soul knew until he finally decided to do it. Although Hinata was about to faint, I think she found the strength to pull herself together and remain conscious.

Obviously, she accepted the proposal or what would this reception be?

But Sakura was worried. Kakashi was gone for a mission for the last 2 weeks and he hadn't contacted her once. Yes, they had taken the chance, Yes, it worked out fine. Yes, Konoha knew it would happen so they weren't really surprised. Although, they were happy for them. But right now, she was dateless in this whole party.

Temari approached Shikamaru and wrapped her arm around his. Yes, these two have been keeping a relationship under wraps longer than Naruto had been planning to propose! They only let the word go out after Naruto's engagement party.

"Hey, Sakura," Temari said, noting the depressing look on Sakura's face. "Why the long face?"

"Kakashi's still on his mission and I'm worried. Usually, he'd finish it up as fast as he could and run back home." She sighed. "This time, it's different. He's been gone for 2 weeks already and not a word from him."

Temari and Shikamaru looked at each other and exchanged smiles. "Don't worry," Shikamaru interrupted. "He's fine. That's for sure."

Sakura only gave them a forced smile and excused herself. She exited the venue of the party and started walking back home. If she had told Naruto she was already leaving, for sure, he was going to insist her on staying and she didn't feel like staying any longer.

She hadn't gotten far yet when she suddenly felt a hand grip her by the wrist and pull her back to where she came from. It was dark and the street lamp on that block was out.

"Where do you think you're going, babe?" The stranger asked... That's when she realized this man was no stranger.

She pulled away her hand and stopped herself from being dragged. The man stopped as well a few steps ahead of her. She rushed to hug the man and sobbed. "Bastard! I was worried about you! Where have you been?"

The man chuckled and hugged back. "Sorry I wasn't able to write or anything. Bastards took my pouch and all my clean scrolls were in there. I couldn't even write to the Godaime."

She released him and they walked leisurely back into the party. In the venue, Kakashi kept on complaining about how a suit can get very hot. Sakura spat back and told him that if he wasn't such a wuss about hiding his beautiful face from the world, then maybe he wouldn't be complaining at all.

To have the mask, he had to wear his whole navy blue suit underneath the suit and that's why he felt so hot.

Kakashi put an arm around Sakura's waist and pulled her close to him as they sat on a table in one corner.

"Happy Anniversary, babe." He whispered in a husky tone in her ear.

She looked up to him and kissed his masked lips. "Happy Anniversary to you too, hun."

Yes, it all worked out well. In fact, better than Kakashi had expected. On the other hand, Sakura wasn't expecting anything. She just took what fate had to give her. But all in all, both of them knew that taking that risk, though very dangerous, was worth it.

THE END

And that's the end to HLR. I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I had writer's block. I had to finish my original stories and what not.. And I had a hard time finding inspiration. And sometimes, I'm too lazy to type. I also had a hard time thinking of what can happen. A lot of confusing ideas popped into mind but in the end, I ended up going for this simple one.

I love you all! To all those who subscribed and favored and... just tuned in! Keep on tuning in to Naruto, 'kay? There are a lot of lessons to be learned there!

I'm going to work on my next fic called Serendipity. It's a surprise pairing although I know most don't really like the pairing. But still, an idea suddenly appeared out of the blue and I won't let it slip by.

Goodbye, His Last Request.