A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews. I got some questions why Sakura believed Sasuke when he told her they agreed of leaving her behind. If you're left behind by your best friends, for reasons you don't know yourself. You start to doubt yourself, and the relationships you had with them. That's why Sakura reacted that way. Hope I explained is so good enough. If not, feel free to ask. Personally, i think this chappie sucks.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 14:

Kakashi didn't know what he'd done wrong but all the progress he'd been starting to make with Sakura had suddenly vanished the next day. First she was only annoyed by his presence and threw a rude comment at his head for time to time, but still she did talk to him, went to a bar with him and even once she'd gone to Ichiraku for lunch with him. But today when he tried to greet her as he saw her walking through the streets, a cold hearted glare was fixed upon him before she disappeared in a swirl of petals. He scratched his head confused, wondering just what happened to make her react in that way.

He'd talked to her before she went to her check-up with Shizune and hadn't seen her for the rest of the day. He didn't know what had happened during that time, but he knew one thing…. He would find out what it was that had caused such a blow to his progress with Sakura. He tried to ask her what was wrong, but she disappeared when he found her and had masked her chakra since then so he couldn't find her any longer. He'd also tried to hunt her down with Pakkun, but when he came close Pakkun suddenly stopped, saying that her scent disappeared and was now in a totally different location. He stopped his attempts after that, it was clear she didn't want him anywhere near her.

So he moved on to plan B, he tried talking to Hanu. She greeted him warmly and let him in. Drinking a cup of tea together he tried to gain information from her mother. All that he found out was that she came her regularly to get her back massaged and spend time with her mother. She hadn't noticed any difference in her. The only thing was that she was more silent than before, seemed more lost in her own thoughts. Hanu had shrugged it off as her daughter thinking about how her team was doing.

He thanked her mother for the tea and for her time before he went out again none the wiser. He'd tried to talk with Ino, but she was unusually cold towards him. Not that they were ever friends or anything but still she acted different with him, cold hearted and angry as a stirred up hornet. He guessed she had talked to Sakura and what ever it was that the pink haired medic had gotten into her mind. Ino clearly believed her and that was the reason for the new treatment he received from her.

Now that plan B had failed also, he decided he had no choice but to go to plan C. A week had already had passed and he only had one more week time before Sakura was declared healthy to go on missions again. That might get in the way just a bit and another thing was that her new team would come back from their mission then to. And if they were to hang around her he could say goodbye to his plan to get Sakura back.

So that was the reason he stood there in front of he hospital. The place he hated the most of all. Pushing his feelings away, he took a deep breath before walking in through the main entrance. Walking up to the front desk, he saw a girl lazily flipping through a magazine whilst her feet rested on the lower desk. Her blond hair was pulled into a bun and held together by a few pencils sticking out of it.

Kakashi coughed slightly, earning him the attention of the girl. She placed her feet back on the ground and closed the magazine. She laid it down on the desk in front of her while a blush stained her cheeks.

"How can I help you sir?" She asked in a small voice.

"I'd like to know if Shizune is in the building."

"Yes, she is in her office right now. Second floor, third hall to the left and sixth door to the right."

"Thank you, have a nice day."

The girl smiled. "Same to you sir," she chirped happily and she then watched him walk away towards the stairs.

Finally arriving at the office he'd been directed to, he knocked three times and waited. Upon hearing the 'come in,' he opened the door and walked inside closing it behind him. He saw the look of surprise he got from Shizune but of course it was not very day that the copy nin would walk into your office, in the hospital no less, the one place he avoided like a plague.

"Kakashi-san, what a surprise!" Shizune said, recovering from her shock and realising she was being rude. She stood up quickly, her eyes scanning his body for any injury he might have.

"Hello to you to Shizune-san. I'm not injured," he quickly added, seeing her observing gaze fixed on him. "I'm here to talk about Sakura."

"Oh alright good, take a seat if you'd like." Shizune said, relieved that he wasn't hurt or anything. Not that she minded treating him but well he had a record of pissing the medic's off who were assigned to him or else scaring them shitless.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Oh, no thanks," Kakashi replied smiling, the crinkling of his right eye the indication of such a facial expression.

Shizune nodded, seating herself back in her chair and placed a marker on the page she was currently looking at before closing the report she had been working on. She planted her elbows on her desk, her fingers entwined and her chin nearly touching her knuckles. "So what do you want to know about Sakura?"

"How's her back coming along?"

Shizune smiled, leaning back in her chair a little. "It's healing well. If she keeps resting like she's been doing, than she could be on missions again in no time."

"Sakura will be glad to hear that news," Kakashi said, crossing his legs and resting his hands on the top.

"I also wanted to know what you said to her at her last check-up. I don't know why but she's been acting different ever since."

Shizune's eyebrow raised, as she looked at him confused. "She is?" She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, thinking back to the conversation she'd had with the pink haired kunoichi almost a week ago. Recalling the event she noticed how strange it seemed that Sakura had immediately left. Maybe it had something to do with that?

"I told her that Sasuke was in jail for his betrayal. That he wanted to trade you and Naruto for his brother then she asked me how long ago he'd made that deal and I told her four years ago."

Kakashi nodded. "What happened after that?"

"Nothing," Shizune shrugged. "She was gone the moment I said four years ago. I don't know where she went after that."

"Hmm. I thank you for your information." Kakashi stood up and gave a slight wave. "Have a nice day Shizune-san." Then he disappeared in a poof smoke.

Shizune blinked, coughing slightly and now seeing the empty office again. "You're welcome," She muttered to no one in particular. She rolled closer to her desk, grabbing the report she had been working on and resuming her work.

Kakashi appeared at his favourite thinking spot, the Hokage monument. He sighed, sitting down on the edge and looking over the village. What had pissed Sakura off so much? Hadn't she known that Sasuke had betrayed them once again? Probably not he guessed. When she came back after three weeks of absence, a lot had happened. When she turned up at her own funeral she hadn't much time to talk at all. One moment she stood there and was promptly hugged tightly by her best friend and then minutes later she'd been transported to the hospital. So she couldn't have known really.

Was it because she found out about the trade Sasuke had agreed to, he and Naruto for Itachi? No, that couldn't be it either. She would be very mad at Sasuke, not at him since he was one of the victims in that particular episode. He really didn't understand what was so bad, what had happened four years ago. What was… Oh no! His eye widened and he gasped. That couldn't be it right? He quickly started to calculate, only to have his eye widen further in shock once again. It was the year Sakura stopped meeting them anymore, stopped talking to them anymore, the year where she was reassigned from team 7 and placed under the Hokage's full care.

The pieces finally started to fall into place. Now he knew what had happened, well mostly anyway. He quickly glanced up into the sky, it was around an hour or two since he'd left Shizune's office. He stood up, jumping off the monument and started to make his way to the prison. The deal Sasuke had made was connected to the reason why Sakura was pushed out of the team. But why Sasuke had done it and how, that was what he was going to find out.

He nodded at Izumo who stood guard by the gates before leaving the village. He took off and a half hour later, he stopped in front of the gates to the prison. The guard on duty wrote his name on the paper before letting him in. Another guard came up to the entrance and spoke to Kakashi.

"How can I help you Hatake-san?"

"I want to go to Sasuke Uchiha's cell."

The man nodded, beckoning him to follow him. While they walked through the corridors the man spoke up. "You're not the first one to visit this guy."

"Oh? Who was the first?" Kakashi asked, already having somebody in mind and wanting to know if his assumptions were correct.

"That pink haired girl, Haruno Sakura was her name. She made quite an impact on him."

"How so?" Kakashi asked curious. He'd already thought that Sakura was the one visiting him and now he knew that was right. So something he had said to her made her act this way towards him now and he wanted to know what it was.

"When the girl left, he didn't want to eat or anything. Just kept yelling at Keiro-san to fuck off and leave him alone."

"Ah."

They walked for a few more minutes before they stopped in front Sasuke's cell. The guard turned to Kakashi saying that if he needed anything he should just yell and he'd come. After that he turned around and started to walk away.

Kakashi waited until the man was out of sight before he turned his head to look into the cell. Sasuke was sitting on the only chair in the cell, his legs stretched out before him and his hands behind his head, his eyes were closed. Never of them said anything, Kakashi simply gazing at him, while Sasuke didn't move a muscle.

"I wondered when you would be visiting me," Sasuke started, opening his eyes and turning his head slightly to look at Kakashi.

"Why did you make that deal?" Kakashi asked. His voice was calm but his eyes looked at him hard and cold.

"I won't pass up a chance to revenge my clan."

"By trading us for your brother?"

"Hn."

"Tell me, are you the reason why Sakura was pushed out of the team?"

"You're just as guilty as me when it comes to Sakura being pushed out of the team Kakashi."

"How did you do it?" Kakashi grunted out angrily. It was very unusual for him to lose his control, but Sasuke had managed the unthinkable because his control was starting to slip. All that anger he'd kept to himself and all self hate over the fact that Sakura was out of their lives, blaming himself for all the things that had happened was coming out and it was directed straight at the Uchiha.

Sasuke said nothing, still smirking while not moving a muscle. It only made Kakashi angrier. He grabbed the bars and his hated glare was fixed upon his former student.

"TELL ME!"

"Why do you want to know if she doesn't mean anything to you in the first place."

This shocked Kakashi greatly. What did he mean by that? He cared about Sakura a great deal, so why did he say he didn't? He let the bars go, his thoughts racing through his head. It wasn't true, it couldn't be true. He knew his own feelings better than Sasuke did right? Yes that was it, he was just lying.

"You're lying!"

"What good would it do to me if I was lying to you?" Again a question that threw Kakashi off balance. What did Sasuke gain if he told him that? Nothing.

"It's not true. It's not," He kept whispering to himself.

Sasuke however kept staring at Kakashi. He knew he was making him confused more than ever, and he was enjoying every minute of it. But he wasn't lying it was half true. The genjutsu he'd used would only work if the people being placed under it didn't care for the person to much. Well not more than he did, thinking back at the hidden token he had worn under his shirt. The persons being placed under it must not have a strong connection with the person the user wanted them to forget. In the beginning they would still talk to said person but slowly they would just forget all about them.

"You know the genjutsu I used on you and Naruto to forget her. You're the one who showed it once to me, and you know as well as I do what that means."

Kakashi stopped whispering, he did indeed know what that meant. It meant he didn't care for her. But then why did it hurt so much? He turned around and started to walk away unable to deal with this anymore. And besides, he'd got one of the answers he came looking for. He'd even forgot the other reason he was there.

That night he couldn't sleep. He kept tossing and turning in his bed. The conversation between him and Sasuke was still fresh in his mind, and was not letting him sleep anytime soon. He didn't care for her. Well that was what the jutsu made him believe, but he was so sure that he did care! Otherwise he wouldn't keep trying to get her back right?

The genjutsu would only work if the person being placed under it didn't have strong connections with the person the user wanted them to forget which didn't make sense to Kakashi, he knew for sure he viewed her as a well trusted companion, one of his best friends. That was a strong bond so that just didn't fit and what about Naruto, he forgot her too and he saw her as family, the second strongest bond to exist besides the bond of true love, the highest level bond.

His eye widened suddenly, and jerking up from his bed he walked towards the closet where he kept his well worn Icha Icha series and scrolls of jutsu's. Tapping his finger across the titles, he stopped on the genjutsu Sasuke was talking about. Walking over to his kitchen table, he hit the switch to get some light. His eyes squinted together at the sudden flash of light. He blinked a few times while placing the scroll on the wooden surface of his table.

Pulling a chair back he placed himself on it before opening the scroll and starting to read it. His eye flying over the lines, searching for the information he needed. Suddenly he stopped, getting to the spot he was looking for.

The victims of the 'Tears of the forgotten genjutsu,' must not have strong bonds with the person the user wants them to forget. However, if the user has strong bonds and/or feelings with/towards the person he wants his victims to forget the genjutsu will still work, but only if the user wears a token to strengthen his genjutsu and hangs around the victims a lot. As long the user keeps wearing the token and stays around the victims of the genjutsu, the genjutsu will still be highly effective. But if the token were to be destroyed or not worn for a long period of time, the genjutsu will break. To give this genjutsu the best results, the victims of the genjutsu must not be around the person the user wants them to forget. To perform the…

Kakashi leant back in his chair, one of his hands still held the scroll while the other was brushing through his unruly silver hair. Well that explained a lot on his side. He was kept away from Sakura for four years, almost five now seeing it was at the end of October. And maybe Sasuke had a better bond with Sakura than he had, after all, they were around the same age and the way they'd treated each other before the spilt up, they were like brother and sister. But that didn't explain why Sasuke's bond was stronger then the bond Sakura had with Naruto. It just didn't make sense.

Sighing in irritation he stood up from his chair, leaving the scroll on the table whilst walking towards the window. Opening it he closed his now both uncovered eyes briefly, the slightly cold but fresh evening breeze brushed up against his masked face. Sniffing the air he could smell the familiar evening scent, but it was also mixed with the sweet scent of the restaurants preparing the food for late visitors before they closed.

Opening his onyx eye he gazed at the stars. The moon was almost full and made the picture almost perfect. The feeling that people slept in peace and safety that was the feeling he was willing to fight for, willing to die for.

Crossing his arms, he lazily gazed into the night while his thoughts wandered on the information it had been given. So he freely admitted that his bond with Sakura was weaker than Sakura had with the boys. So that explained why he had forgotten all about her. But why Naruto, if he had the same bond with the girl as Sasuke? Nothing was stronger than… Both eyes snapped open at the realisation. Was it love? Was that the reason that Naruto forgot Sakura too? But Sasuke didn't love anybody, not in that way...

Forgetting to close the window he turned back towards his table, reading the scroll over again. Even though his head said it was ridiculous, here in front of him was the written proof, the only bond stronger than family was a bond of pure, heart aching love. Letting himself fall back onto the chair he'd sat on earlier, he stared at the scroll finally understanding everything. The cold hearted, stoic Uchiha had lost his heart to Sakura. Suddenly the same emotion that came over him on the night he saw Sakura in the arms of Neji overrode his senses. 'Great another asshole after my Sakura.'

"Wow, where did that came from!" He spoke out loud in bewilderment. Looking at the clock he saw it was already three in the morning. "It's just tiredness kicking in, that must be it." He quickly stood up, slamming the switch and causing the light to go out and closed the window before making a quick exit towards his bedroom.

The next morning he got up, going through his usual morning ritual's before grabbing the scroll he'd left on his table the night before and pushing it safely into his pocket. This was the evidence that it was not his fault and he could use it to bring Sakura back to him. Even though she would still be angry they could start over again.

Making sure twice that he had the scroll safe and sound in his pocket and not to mention the Icha Icha paradise he was reading he teleported out of his apartment, appearing on the Hokage monument. Biting his thump, he summoned his dogs, letting them all scout the area for Sakura. When a half hour later Pakkun came back, he found his leader sitting on the head of the fourth, reading his Icha Icha while he was waiting. Turning his nose up in disgust of his master's reading material he quickly said that Sakura was on the outlying borders of Konoha, sitting in a tree.

Familiar with said tree, because he'd found her there before, he closed his book and thanked his furry companion before setting off into the direction. Making sure she wouldn't be able to sense or smell him, he finally got the opportunity he was waiting for when he saw the sole of her shinobi boots.

Making sure she couldn't hear him, he quickly jumped up next to her. Before she could even react when she felt his unmistakeable chakra signature and tried to escape, his hands had already reached out and snatched her book out of her hands and now he was holding her hands in his, making sure she couldn't make any hand signs to poof out of there or use a genjutsu on him.

xXx

Sakura was relaxing in her favourite spot, hoping that destiny would be kind to her today. But it seemed that her prayers either weren't heard or else just went unheeded. She'd just come to the good part, such a nerve breaking part when she felt the chakra signature of Kakashi right beneath her. Even before she could close her book and teleport away said book was snatched out of her hands and was now currently in the hands of none other than the man she wanted to avoid at all costs right now, Kakashi.

Anger boiled up, and she tried hard to free her hands, but she was roughly pushed against the bark of the tree, her hands above her head while her face looked straight into his. She wanted to force chakra into her hands to push him off but he realised immediately what she wanted to do. Forcing his own chakra into his hands, he pushed her hands back into place. Sakura kept struggling, not wanting to admit defeat.

"Sakura..."

"Let me go!"

"No, not until you start listing to me."

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say, now let me go before I really get mad!"

"Sakura please! Let me explain."

"You don't have to! Sasuke said more than enough."

"He told you?"

"I know everything Hatake, now remove your hands from my person immediately!"

"Did he also tell you how he did it?"

Sakura stopped struggling. That was the one part she couldn't figure out and she'd eventually settled with the thought that they just didn't care. Noticing that she'd stopped struggling, he took her silence as a no.

"He put me and Naruto into a genjutsu called the 'Tears of the forgotten'. He used it so Naruto and I would forget you."

"And why should I believe you!" Sakura spat out. She freed her leg and kicked him with full force in the ribs. He tumbled out of the tree, falling on a branch on his way down before he hit the ground hard. Groaning softly he carefully laid his hand on the place Sakura had kicked him. 'That's going to bruise.'

Sakura jumped out the tree herself, yanking Kakashi up by his collar while she glared at him with hatred. "Why should I believe you when you always lied to me?! You even turned your back on me when I was still a genin. You don't even care so shut the hell up and leave me alone. I don't want you in my life, you hear that?! So stop bothering me!"

Kakashi's heart ached in agony when she said that. All the regret and sorrow he felt over the past few years back in the days when she was still genin coming back in full force. But what hurt him the most was that she thought he didn't care and that she didn't want him in her life. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he gazed painfully at the girl holding him up. He did care, he really did. Even though he didn't show it, he did care in his own way.

He didn't even recognize that she'd let him go. His knees hit the ground while his eye was still locked with the emerald ones above him. Why did she think he didn't care? Weren't they best friends before this all started? So many questions rose in his head, all coming down to one conclusion. If she didn't believe him, he would have to show her the scroll he had with him. If she didn't believe he cared, he would show her he cared. He was already practically showing her that he cared. He kept coming back after her even though she was pushing him away time and time again. Couldn't she see that?

"I do care Sakura," Kakashi suddenly said, barely audibly. Sakura looked at him shocked, her green depths widening with surprise and she stumbled a few steps backwards when Kakashi stood up.

Kakashi wanted to say something again when a horse whinny filled the air. Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly, and they darted in the direction of the sound. The clopping sound of a horse riding at full speed was coming close. Before Kakashi could say anything, Sakura ran in the direction of the sound.

"Don't!" He sighed heavily when she'd already disappeared out of his view, not hearing his warning or just simply ignoring it altogether. Not wasting any further time he sprinted after her and caught up with her almost straight away.

"This isn't such a good idea in your condition you know."

"Shut up when you don't even know what I'm capable of," Sakura snapped back irritated. Kakashi kept his mouth shut then. She was correct indeed because he didn't know what this Sakura was capable of. He did see a few things when she'd rescued them, but he guessed that wasn't even half of the things Sakura had mastered when she was under the tutelage of the Hokage and some others.

They found a black horse without its rider racing through the woods. The saddle was still placed upon his back and the reins hanging right side of his head. Sakura quickly leapt into the trees, before jumping straight into the saddle, her feet sliding into the stirrups while her hands grabbed the horse's mane.

The horse began to prance, trying to get the stranger off his back. Sakura kept murmuring soft words and shushing noises into the animal's ears to calm the animal down. Concentrating a bit chakra into her left hand she started to stroke the animal's fur, slowly forcing it to calm down. After a few minutes the horse was calm, now silently standing on the road while Sakura kept stroking him.

Kakashi shook his head, slowly walking towards the animal itself. "Really Sakura you should be more careful. You could have gotten hurt."

Sakura simply shrugged his comment off when her eyes caught a glimpse of something shiny. Curiously she brushed some of the black mane away to see family crest she was all too familiar with emblazoned upon the head collar. Jerking her head up she tried to locate the path the horse had come from, slightly getting nervous while doing so.

Kakashi noticed the change of behaviour and wondered what had got her so worked up. Wanting to ask what was wrong, Sakura spoke up and answered the unspoken question. "There's somebody injured I guess, maybe 2 miles south of here." Kakashi nodded and climbed on the back of the horse while Sakura grabbed the reins.

"Hold on." Turning the horse around, she kicked her feet slightly into the sides of the horse before setting off, ignoring the feeling of Kakashi's arms wrapped around her middle and his breath tickling her exposed neck.

While they rode in the forest, Kakashi couldn't help but notice how good she smelled and the warmth of her body pressed against him. It gave him a surprisingly good feeling, even enjoyable perhaps. It felt good, even right to hold her so. He leaned slightly in, his nose almost touching her skin when Sakura pulled at the reins, stopping the horse's movements.

He quickly leaned backwards, avoiding his face colliding with the back of Sakura's shoulder. Scanning the area they were now in, he could indeed see a person lying unconscious on the ground. He quickly slid off wanting to help Sakura get off too but she simply ignored his hand and got down herself. She quickly walked towards the person lying on the ground, turning him around to see his face when her insides froze completely.

"Jun-san!"

To be continued…