L.
It's almost the New Year and stuff, I wish you all the best and remember, everyone's different. And that's okay.
I apologize for the delayed chapter, again.
Light after Dark
Chapter 14
Kakashi took in a deep breath as he settled himself down to begin his story. "Sakura , I've known you from before you were even born, your mother knew mine and they use to have afternoon tea together every afternoon." He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and reclined his neck onto the pillow behind him. "I use to go with Mother every day. I watched as you grew in your mother's stomach, your small body expanding, pushing against her skin." His tired eyes slid close. "I was there when you first kicked. Your scared your mother right into tears. She was so happy to feel you move. I remember, I placed my hand on her stomach, absolutely terrified and fascinated, and felt you kick, right into my palm." A small, aged smile slipped onto his lips at the memory. "I remember your mother so clearly. She was a wonderful woman. So happy to be alive. Much like you." His dark eyes opened to stare down into her emerald orbs. "She was so happy to be pregnant with you. But the pregnancy was complicated."
Sakura's small hand clutched his plain white tee-shirt as he continued.
"As the months wore on and you grew in her stomach, it took a toll on her slight frame." Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes. "Every day she grew weaker and weaker. I was just a teenager at the time but I knew it wasn't normal. I watched as she slowly began to fade away right before my eyes. My Mother use to help her around the house when they met for tea. She'd do the laundry, cook dinner, basic stuff. Which left me to keep her company in the time." He opened his eyes again, this time staring down at the comforter pooled around his lap. "I remember one day, so clearly etched into my mind; she took my hand in her frail fingers and pressed it to her stomach, I felt you move. So viciously, so eager to come into this world. She smiled and said 'Kakashi I have no one else in this world to trust but you and your mother. My husband is an idiot. He cannot protect nor teach my baby girl anything of worth in life.' She then looked up into my eyes. 'Would you look after my baby?' I was shocked. I didn't know what to say. 'I know your young Kakashi. I know you have your own life to live. But I have no one else. I won't last much longer; once I give birth, I will probably die. Leaving my baby girl in the hands of her father without her mother. It seems so cruel.' She looked down at her stomach. 'I know he's a nasty man…but I know you're a good boy Kakashi.' At that moment, something in my heart clicked. I said yes. I agreed to watch over you no matter what." He looked at Sakura staring up at him, her emerald eyes wide, completely entranced in the story. "She then smiled, a tired, wise, smile. 'Thank you Kakashi.' She then looked out into the back yard. 'I want to name my baby girl now.' She looked at me expectantly. 'What do you think of Sakura?' I looked out at the trees and smiled. The cherry blossoms were falling. It was the perfect name."
Sakura blinked for a few moments before smiling. "You chose my name?"
Kakashi chuckled. "Sort of."
"So what? You want me to start calling you 'Dad' or something?"
A small smile crept onto the silver haired males face. "Only if you want to…but I rather you didn't."
She sighed a contented sigh and laid her head on his chest. "Continue."
He smiled and nodded. "You were born some time after that, and as your mother predicted she died one week later. She never even left the hospital. Your father was angry. He was angry at the doctors, the nurses, even my mother. He blamed everyone. Maybe even his own self." He sighed and rubbed soothing circles onto her back. "My mother took care of you the first couple of months while your father dealt with funeral preparations and whatnot. She thought that given time, he'd come around. He'd see that you were the bright light in his life and he'd pull himself together. It didn't work. In fact, as time moved on, he only distanced himself."
"And then you stepped in right?" Emerald eyes drifted closed as her lips formed the words.
The sliver haired male nodded. "Yeah…over the years, as you grew older, I stepped in. I began watching you in the afternoons; I took you to the park, daycare and play dates. When you began going to school, I took you to school on the mornings and picked you up in the afternoon. I even planned my work schedule around you."
"You were always there." She mumbled, snuggling further down.
Kakashi stared down at the pink haired bundle in his lap. "Yeah…I was always there."
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A young man with messy blonde hair stood over the stove in a brightly lit kitchen. He hummed quietly to himself as he worked over the bubbling pot, quickly adding diced carrots and potatoes to the mix. His defined face was torn between peace, annoyance and worry; his normally fluid motions around the kitchen were jerked and restrained.
Periodically, he'd stop and watch the clock hanging on the kitchen wall.
"It's been over an hour…" He mumbled, grabbing the bottle of salt and adding a pinch to the pot. "Did they fall asleep?" Slowly he grabbed the pot spoon and began to stir his concoction.
"N…Naru…to…" A gravelly voice called from the living room.
Cerulean eyes rolled as a n exasperated sigh escaped his lips. "What Sasuke?"
"Souppp…" The voice nagged.
"I'm making it have some patience." Naruto retorted, closing the salt bottle and putting it back into the cupboard. "Why the hell is he here anyway? Go home and be sick in your own house." He muttered to himself, stirring the pot.
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Pink hair flowed as Sakura turned her head to look up at the silver haired male towering above her. A small frown graced her plump, pink lips as she watched Kakashi breathe, his eyes closed in comfort. She nudged the silent, slumbering man. "Hey, continue." She pouted.
Kakashi cracked one eye open and breathed deeply. "I thought you had fallen asleep." He mumbled as he stretched his locked bones.
"Nope. So continue." She encouraged.
Kakashi chuckled and patted her head. "Alright alright. Anyway, as you grew older, you father grew to resent you more and more. He blamed you for your mother's death, he held you responsible. He didn't want to be around you and pushed you off on anyone that he could. That person was often me or my mother. You got older and wiser and began to realize this."
Emerald eyes grew dark. "Of course he blamed me…" She murmured more to herself.
"Sakura…"
"Hey where do Naru Naru and Sasuke come in?" She asked, switching the subject, her face scrunched in mild confusion.
Dark eyes flashed in understanding. "Oh right…well you two met…officially you two met in the hospital a few days after you were born. Your mother was sitting in the baby room, and all she knew was a tiny little baby boy started screaming his head off in the crib not too far off from yours. She stood, picked him up and brought him over to you to see. The moment he saw you, he stopped crying. His tiny little hand reached out to yours and clasped it. He never wanted to let go." Kakashi shook his head as Sakura started giggling. "Sounds just like him right?"
"Yeah…" Emerald eyes sparkled as she laughed.
"Anyways, the nurses had to wait till he had fallen into a deep sleep before they could pry his hand away from yours. And even in sleep he had a vice grip on your wrist."
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In the kitchen, Naruto sneezed then looked around in bewilderment. "Who's talking about me?" He asked quietly, and then resumed chopping some cabbage.
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"Ever since he met you, he couldn't stand to be away from you. Every moment he'd cry when he wasn't at your side. Eventually the nurses just gave up and let him have his way."
"Sounds just like the Naru of today…" She mused. "What about Sasuke?"
The silver haired male ran a hand through his messy hair. "You met Sasuke at daycare one day. Actually it was because of Naruto that you met Sasuke, he ended up picking a fight with him and they accidently knocked into you and that was that. You played referee and broke up the fight. Then all three of you spent recess in the corner as punishment." An amused glint entered his eyes.
"Heh…sounds just like us…" A light blush dusted the pinkett's cheeks.
"Yup. And then I got lectured by the Sensei about your involvement with the two of them. Not that I could do anything about it, what with Naruto sneaking into your window at all hours and dragging Sasuke along."
Sakura laughed a contented laugh then settled down. "Sounds like I had a great childhood despite my father…"
A dark look crossed Kakashi's face before he began to rub soothing circles onto her back. "Yeah…you did…thanks to the guys…"
"…And you…Dad…" She teased lightheartedly.
A warm chuckle escaped his lips. "Would you be upset if I said I like the sound of that?" He asked after a few seconds.
She shifted until her ear was pressed against his chest and she could hear his heat beat. "Dad…it sounded nice." He whispered.
Sakura thought for a second, her face scrunching slightly. "Dad…Otosan…" She murmured, testing out the words. "…It does sound nice…"
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Kakashi opened his eyes and looked down at the pinkett curled up into a ball dozing. A small, tired smile crept onto his lips as he adjusted himself into a more comfortable position and pulled the blankets up around them. "Good night Sakura. I hope you have good dreams and understand this is all for the better." He whispered before closing his eyes and trying to sleep himself.
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Naruto heaved a heavy, worried sigh as he placed a folded napkin atop the tray he previously filled with a bowl of soup, a spoon, a bottle of water, a cup of apple juice and two pills. Slowly, he lifted the tray and balanced it on one arm while he clicked off all the kitchen lights. "Sasuke." He called as he carefully navigated his way into the now messy living room. "Hey-"
He walked in, and halted. There, lying on the couch, lay Sasuke, fast asleep. Scattered about him were the pillows, blankets and many used tissues.
"…"
The spiky blonde male bit his lip to hold in his anger as he slowly made his way to the opposite end of the living room and placed the tray atop the messy coffee table filled with empty tissue boxes. "I leave you alone for fifteen minutes and you destroy everything…" He mumbled and ran a hand though his hair.
With another exasperated sigh, he began to clean up the chaos his friend created. First starting off with the couch cushions that were thrown askew, and then some of the blankets that he tossed onto another chair; he grabbed the bin that he placed near the sick, chicken assed male to toss his used tissues away and began to pick up all the ones he had missed. "Shit…should have worn gloves…" He muttered to himself, disgust clearly written on his face as the bin began to fill up.
Beside him on the couch, Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. "Oh go home you lazy bum." Naruto garbled, standing up and tying the now full bag filled with used tissues. "Make a mess in your own fucking house…"
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Dim light glowed on a young woman's face as she slumbered, her long pink hair falling across her face, a warm arm draped over her slight frame, protecting her from the world. Slowly she breathed, each breath taking her father and father into her dream of lost memories.
A much younger version of the pink haired beauty sat on a red and white picnic blanket with a huge, wonderful, loving smile stretched across her face. She wore a simple, white sun dress that went down to her chubby legs with a small bow tied at her back. On her head sat a large white bow that held some of her short, pink hair out of her large, shinning emerald eyes.
"What would you like to eat Sakura?" A young version of Kakashi asked, sitting across from her. His wild, silver hair swayed in the wind as he reached inside the picnic basket and began pulling out various dishes.
"Uhm…sandwiches…" She said, her voice soft and sweet as she twiddled her tiny little fingers. "Do you think-"
"HI Sakuraaaa!" A little boy with spiky blonde hair screamed as he raced across the grassy field to the picnicking duo, his black shirt and orange pants becoming a blur in the wind.
The little girl with pink hair waved excitedly at her blonde haired friend. "Hi Naru!" She then turned to the silver haired male. "Kaka-Sempai! Its Naru Naru!" She squealed. "He came!"
Kakashi nodded and smiled. "I had no doubt in my mind that he wouldn't."
Naruto raced up to the two and eagerly wrapped his short arms around his pink haired best friend. "Hi Saku! I came I came!" He laughed then sat down beside her. "Thanks for the invite!" He grinned and rubbed his stomach. "I'm starved!"
Sakura giggled and pulled at the hem of her white dress. "Is Sasuke coming?"
Blonde hair bobbed as he nodded. "Yeah. I told him he could walk with me but he said something about his brother."
Sakura nodded and took the little pink sippy cup Kakashi held out to her. "Now Sakura try and not get it all over your hands or on your dress okay." He raised an eyebrow as he watched her gently sip the juice. "Its apple."
She nodded happy and carefully sat the little cup down beside her.
"When are we going to eat?" Naruto asked, taking the orange sippy cup from Kakashi's outstretched hand.
"I'm setting things up." The silver haired male answered, pulling out napkins from the basket. "Sit down where you want to eat." He instructed and took one napkin then opened it over Sakura's lap then pulled a pink bib from the basket and clasped it around her neck. "Can you do your own Naruto?"
Naruto pouted. "I don't need a bib! I'm a big boy!"
Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Sure you are. That's why every time you eat you need to change your shirt." He held out and orange bib to him. "Just put it on. Sakura didn't give me any trouble."
After a few seconds, the spiky blonde snatched it out of his hand and put it on, muttering about how he wasn't a little baby anymore.
"Look! There's Sasuke!" Sakura happily pointed to a little boy with dark, midnight blue hair walking towards them. He wore a simple, dark blue shirt and white shorts. Within seconds he was seated opposite the spiky blonde sipping some apple juice. "Thanks for the invite." He mumbled, munching on a cookie.
Sakura nodded happily and sipped her apple juice.
"Here." Kakashi mumbled, carefully placing a plate filled with sandwiches of all types cut into mini triangles in front of the trio. "Be careful." He eyed Naruto as he grabbed a sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth, some mustard oozing out of the corner of his mouth. "And he claims he needs no bib…" He mumbled to himself, grabbing another paper plate and filling it with grapes.
Within minutes, the four of them all sat around the picnic blanket eating various foods; everything from sandwiches to fruits to dessert cakes.
Emerald eyes looked at all the loving faces around her and smiled a childlike, satisfied smile. All of her friends, the people she cared about surrounded her in the warm, comfortable grassy field. It was just one of the most memorable, happy moments that laced her unusual childhood.
Sakura sighed a contented sigh and nuzzled down into the warm blankets and Kakashi's body heat, her mind still lost in the ever pleasant dream that was once her reality.
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