{FINALLY I GIVE YOU THE NEXT CHAPPI! I'm so sorry! My muse has been… Really annoying! Like, it kept convincing me to work on my vampire novel instead of this! Sorrysorrysorry! But here you are anyhow ;D }
Sasuke could only hear his heart pounding in his ears; only see his brother's uncaring, blood-splattered face as he calmly antagonized Sasuke's younger self… Only feel the anger pulsing through him, the hate… All he could smell was the sharp tang of his parents' lifeblood…
At the same time, he could feel rocks scattering around his feet, trees and rivers and wildlife rushing past him in a hurried collage of life…
Itachi, he thought, Itachi. I have grown strong. I can defeat you.
He thought this over and over, a mantra to calm his spirit. But all it really managed to do was make him angrier.
He ran towards the inn as fast as he could, dusk growing deeper all the time.
**
Sakura could tell that Kakashi had forgotten about the previous night.
She would smile secretively at him, and he would look at her the same way, a loving glow in his eyes –but he also looked agitated, worried. Like he was trying to remember something important, but he just couldn't. Sakura was sure he couldn't remember last night.
She sighed. And he'd said he loved her…
She wondered if it was true. Had it been the sake talking? She really, really hoped not.
**
Gaara paced back and forth on the balcony, look at the trees and the cast iron bench set against the outside wall of the inn. A large pot of daisies sat next to the bench. The balcony looked so familiar, but Gaara didn't remember ever going out here.
Pace, pace, pace. Walk to one end. Turn. Walk to the other. Rinse and repeat.
His soft footsteps pat, patted in a soothing rhythm.
He must have gone out here when he was drunk. And he remembered Naruto… Yes, Naruto had been sitting there on the bench, and… Gaara had been sitting right next to him! Oh yeah! And then Gaara had said… Oh no...
Gaara stopped walking abruptly. He dropped onto the bench; put his head in his hands.
Oh my Kami-sama. I told Naruto my feelings. I confessed to Naruto. Oh my Kami-sama he knows, he knows…
Gaara couldn't help but be a little bit proud of Naruto for how he'd handled it. The blonde had been nothing but kind about the whole thing. Or maybe Naruto didn't know that Gaara was serious. Maybe Naruto thought Gaara had been really, really drunk.
Gaara jumped back up.
Walk to one end, turn. Walk to the other.
**
Naruto sat in the hall, his back against a wall, his head turned towards the glass double doors at the end of the hallway. He could see Gaara's figure pacing. At one point the boy's slim body sat down, then stood again and resumed pacing.
Naruto fingered a cuff of his jacket. He was pretty sure Gaara was trying to remember what he had done last night. He wondered if Gaara had remembered yet.
Had he meant it? Did the redhead, so quiet, serious, and kind of scary… Okay, change that to really scary… Did the freaking Kazekage have a crush on him? It was weird, so foreign to Naruto. The idea of two boys together… Well, he'd never really pondered it.
He wasn't sure if he found the idea gross, or appealing, or just something he didn't really have any opinion about.
Did he find Gaara attractive? Well, the boy's facial features were… Pleasing, in a way… But did this mean Naruto found him to be… Cute? And if he did, did that mean anything? He didn't know.
I don't know, I don't know, I really don't know!
**
Sakura sat in a plush armchair that had previously sat by the window in the tiny hotel room. Now she had pulled it up next to the bed, where Kakashi was lying. He wasn't asleep. He lay still, watching the ceiling. He wasn't under the blankets.
"I've got a headache."
"Well, I would suppose so!" Sakura ventured a grin at the morose looking Kakashi in front of her. He smiled back, sort of. The two glanced at Sai.
The tall boy was standing by the window, where the armchair had been. He was looking out the window with a calm expression on his face. Or maybe Sakura was reading it wrong.
"What?" He turned to look at the two faces that were watching him.
"Oh, nothing." Kakashi said this at the same time that Sakura muttered, "Nothing at all."
Please Sai leave us alone, I need to ask Kakashi something!
Sakura was pretty sure that Sai took the hint. The boy nodded and muttered something about a balcony that he'd been wanting to check out. He still seemed pretty out of it, ever since Itachi had used Mangekyo sharingan on him. Sakura couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors that Sai had seen. Or, maybe she could –she just really didn't want to.
The boy left, softly shutting the door behind him. The second the door was shut and they were alone; Kakashi sat up, put his hands on Sakura's shoulders.
"What did I do to you last night?"
Sakura stared into the man's mismatched eyes. His headband lay on the bedside table, his mask had slipped down to reveal a smooth bridge of a nose, faint dark circles under his eyes.
"You –you didn't do anything wrong!" Her voice sounded weak, almost defensive. She hated it.
"What did I do? What exactly did I do? Sakura, my definition of wrong might vary a bit from yours. Tell me." Why did he care so much?
"You –you kissed me. That's all." That wasn't all. He had also, you know, taken off his shirt. He had also, you know, told Sakura he loved her. But Sakura couldn't tell him that, could she? She was pretty sure he might view those actions as wrong.
"There's something more. I can tell." He tightened his grip on her shoulders.
"No! Seriously, you just… Kissed me. In the bathroom." She bit her lip.
Kakashi's brow furrowed. Sakura assumed he was frowning underneath that mask.
"I can tell there's something you aren't telling me. Something you don't want to tell me, because you don't want to hurt me."
"How can you tell?"
"Tears, Sakura. You're crying."
Surprised, Sakura brought a finger to her cheek. Sure enough, there was a streak of moisture. Why would she cry over something as simple as this? He would get plenty of chances to tell her he loved her again. That time didn't matter. He didn't need to know about it. Because… Sakura didn't think she could live knowing that he had told her that, if he didn't mean it. She didn't want to know if he meant it or not.
Or maybe she did….
Yes you do, Sakura. You want to know. Because there's that small chance that he really, truly loves you. And not only when he's drunk.
"I –you said something."
"I said something, and the memory makes you cry?" Kakashi relaxed his grip on her shoulders only to draw her closer to him. She wasn't really sitting in the armchair anymore. Now she was more sitting on his lap. She put her arms around his neck, buried her face into the warm space between his chin and collarbone.
"You said something really, really perfect… And I don't want you to… And it might…"
"Something perfect?" Sakura found herself choking back a sob. Damn these emotions! They took hold of her when she least expected it. "Shhh, Sakura, Shh…"
"Yeah –you –you said that you…" Every word was a breath against the cloth covering Kakashi's collarbone.
"Said that I what?"
"You said that you loved me."
Kakashi stopped his absentminded stroking of Sakura's hair. She looked up at him from the sanctuary of his arms. Her breath caught in her throat. A tear had beaded up in Kakashi's sharingan eye. And it looked like another was getting ready to spill from his other eye. He remove a hand from her back, wiped his eyes.
"Sakura…"
She held her breath. So much rested on this moment, so much love was held in her gaze. She wanted him to hurry up, to say what he had to say.
"Oh Sakura I…"
Sakura heard a clatter behind her and a muffled curse. Naruto burst through the door, grinning.
"So sensei, I –" His eyes grew wide at the scene in front of him. "What are you guys doing?"
{I know, you're probably thinking finally!, right? Naruto just walked in on them… It's almost like two cliff hangers in a row, don't you think? You don't know what Kakashi's answer is…. And then Naruto walks in?! :O How will you survive until the next update??? XD Please review and tell me what you think will happen next ;) Plus include any questions or concerns or comments or requests! I especially like requests! Anyway! Bye! See you soon :) }
