"Warmth. Am I-? No, not yet. But..."
Amane's eyes fluttered open as she gazed upon Kakashi. He cradled her body, tears welling up within his eyes. Her vision was failing, but the fuzzy blobs on the other side of her she could tell were Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. She couldn't see their faces, but she could hear Sakura's sobs.
"K-Kakashi..."
Her dry lips tried hard to force his name out. He looked at her and she could see a bittersweet smile beneath his mask. She reached up with her blood stained hand and held his jaw line gently. "How...?" she asked.
"The villagers caught wind of what was going on. Those who are loyal to you still got us out and went to find Yuri's followers. But it seems...I made it too late..."
Amane smiled, "Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault."
Kakashi stifled a sob, "You were suppose to come home with me..." he whispered, "You were suppose to..."
"We're suppose to do a lot of things, but we're only humans with a short amount of time on this earth. Mine was just shorter than most," Amane whispered hoarsely, blood trickling out from the corner of her mouth.
"Don't talk like that..." Kakashi said, "We'll get you healed up and you can come home with us. You can become a leaf ninja."
Amane shook her head, she knew Kakashi did know that she wasn't going to make it. She simply told him, "I'll tell you about what would have happened had I went home with you."
Kakashi nodded as he listened to her gently.
"I would have gone home with you. We would get a new apartment. One with a balcony, to watch the stars like we did when we were kids. I would become a teacher at the academy, because of my love of kids. As we aged, I would watch your three students become the wonderful people I know them to be."
"And what's that?"
Amane closed her eyes and smiled, "Naruto would become the Hokage he's always wanted to be. I would sit by you in the front row of his ordination. Sakura would grow into a beautiful woman, a medical ninja. She needs to be able to keep those teammates of hers patched up. And Sasuke, I can see him in your place years from now. An amazing teacher that would be able to teach his students the best."
Amane heard Naruto begin to sniffle. She opened her eyes and looked at Kakashi. His eyes were closed and he looked to be under massive pain as he forced the words out of his lips.
"What about us?"
Amane smiled, her favorite part, "We would live in the apartment with the balcony. Getting up every morning to watch the sunrise together. Our balcony would be decorated with lightly fragrant flowers, but they would have beautiful, vibrant colors. They would always have those colors since it's always warm in Leaf. We would have son, just one, bouncing baby boy..."
Kakashi opened his eyes at the thought of having a child, "What would his name be?"
"Obito..." Amane whispered, remembering the past Kakashi shared with her.
Kakashi's eyes widen, but she could see his smile, "Obito...I like that name..."
"I knew you would. Just think Kakashi, a little boy, to call your own..."
Kakashi couldn't hold back the tears as he began to cry more openly now. Amane could feel the tears as they splashed on her skin. She caressed his cheek gently.
"You're still the young boy, I fell in love with many years ago..." Amane smiled, her hand fell to her side. Her honey eyes closed.
Kakashi opened his eyes and shook her body, "Amane?" he questioned, "Wake up...please..." He knew it was useless, but he felt that just maybe...He pulled her body to him, whispering her name upon deaf ears. Kakashi whispered, the last words, he would ever say to her body. Maybe, just maybe she would hear them.
"I love you. I will miss you."
Sakura bent down and placed flowers on the grave of Amane. She smiled slightly at seeing the bouquets that laid on the patch of grass. She looked at her sensei, "We should go back now Sensei."
Kakashi nodded looking at Naruto and Sasuke who were down the path a little. "Go on ahead Sakura, I'll catch up with you guys."
Sakura nodded and ran down the gentle sloped hill towards her teammates. They began to walk ahead towards their home.
Kakashi bent down at the gave and smiled, "I promise to see them through. To make sure they become what you dream they would become. But it would help, if you watched over them; Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. And maybe sometime, I'll come back, and put new flowers on your grave."
He got up and looked at the headband she wore on her waist that was spread on the patch of dirt. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He turned away and nonchalantly walked to catch up with his students. He smiled, listening to the wind. He could swear he could hear Amane's giggles and her trademark phrase towards him, but something was added at the end.
"Kakashi-kun...I miss you."