Chapter 21: Finally
~Sing a song with me
Hush the quiet scream inside
See the world through different eyes
Hear no more the sound of lies~
Recap:
To his surprise and everyone else, Sasuke let the tears he held back fall, Kakashi hesitated at first before resting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and pulled him into an embrace. Sakura smiled at the sight, it was a happy moment but still held some hints of melancholy to it. Sasuke had a second chance at a family, and she knew this time it would work out.
Sasuke and the gang returned to school after what seemed like forever. Sasuke had moved in with Kakashi and things were working out very well with them. The silver-haired male turned out to be a good parental figure, and to Sasuke it was still weird to refer to him as dad, but he would get used to it over time and eventually it would happen, it was just a matter of waiting.
Sasori had managed to get a hold of them and he nearly went ballistic after hearing of everything that happened. If Fugaku hadn't already been sent to prison he would have gone and beat the shit out of him. But he was just glad that Sasuke was ok, not a lot kids that had similar issues like Sasuke had friends to pull them through it.
Sasuke still had a job waiting for him with Sasori, if he still wanted it that is, but he knew he would take it, there was no way Sasori was going to let him leave the job and not come back, he was a good worker and still is a good worker. Though that could be said differently by the man Sasuke was supposed to work for back in Suna, he never showed up for the first day, but that wasn't his fault.
Sakura intertwined her hand with Sasuke's which made him smile at her as they entered their music class. Sasuke held a guitar case in his other hand for the class, he knew what he and Sakura would be doing. His new guardian had told him last night they would have to present their song, that grade still needed to be recorded in order for him to pass this year.
And he wasn't going to fail and he was sure Kakashi wouldn't allow that to happen either, whether or not he had to home school him. Sasuke sighed at the thought of having to do this project, but at least he had Sakura there to help him out with this. She was always there to help him out.
Kakashi smiled upon their arrival which caused Sasuke to blush. Kakashi had talked to him before about Sakura, and the way he teased embarrassed him. Kakashi may have said he no experience with being a parent, he sure had the embarrass the shit out of the teen part down, there was no denying that.
Karin stared with her mouth open with shock before stating. "You're dating that ugly bitch."
Sakura turned to retort but Sasuke beat her to it. "You know Karin, you have a big mouth, why not go look in a mirror and tell me who the real ugly bitch is?"
She didn't have anything to say to that as she turned silent. Sasuke smirked and pulled Sakura to their seats, she giggled at what he said and when they stopped she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed a little at her public display of affection, but he had come to like it, even if it made him blush every now and again, depending on who she did it in front of.
"Thank you Sasuke."
He smiled as Kakashi told the class to sit which they obeyed without any protest. Last time they ignored what he said, he gave them several different assignments to work on over the weekends. "Now, because of two students being absent, they will need to present their song today."
Kakashi turned his head to the couple. "Sasuke, Sakura, would you come up here please."
They nodded as Sasuke opened the case and and pulled out the black acoustic guitar. It was a new one he bought just yesterday for this project. Sakura led the way up to the small stage as Kakashi went to lean against the window sill. Sasuke sat down on the stool with Sakura next to him on the other one.
"Whenever you're ready." Kakashi said.
With a soft sigh, Sasuke strummed the cords of his guitar letting his fingers glide swiftly over each string to produce the music they had worked on as Sakura prepared to sing. Her voice filled the room with lyrics that Sasuke had worked on, before she had stepped in and made a few changes.
You told me
You couldn't
Take this pain anymore
I told you
To believe
That I'll be what you need
I said I would help you
Pull through the pain
I said I would save you
When you stood alone in the rain
If you dropped your guard
Would I know?
Or just let you crash alone
When I said I loved you
You just turned away
I called you
But you said you lost your way
Sasuke sang the next set of lyrics as he continued to strum the cords.
I felt your heart beating
In rhythm with mine
The feeling was new
Did it get out of line?
Never have I felt this before
You pulled me up
When I fell to the floor
Their voices came out together to sing in unison. They sang well together, which is what each of the students in the class thought, and even Karin even if she hated to admit it.
If you dropped your guard
Would I know?
Or just let you crash alone
When I said I loved you
You just turned away
I called you
But you said you lost your way
Sakura paused in her singing to let Sasuke sing the next part on his own. Some parts of the song were for him, mostly because of what the lyrics stated.
You were all that I needed
To keep me alive
I couldn't say the words
When forced to say goodbye
I heard you scream out loud
But I was lost inside the crowd
When he finished, he looked to Sakura as she sang solo once again.
If you dropped your guard
Would I know?
Or just let you crash alone
When I said I loved you
You just turned away
I called you
But you said you lost your way
Both of them finished the last of the lyrics, their voices melted together slowly letting the song die off.
When I said I loved you
I only turned away
But I'm here with you now
And I'm here to stay
Our love was always there
Growing ever so slow
It was our ending
And we never let it go
Kakashi stared proudly at his student and newly adopted son, he smiled beneath the mask he wore on his face. Each of them had their own unique way of bringing their feelings into the song, the way they worked together and sang in sync with each other truly brought out the meaning of the lyrics.
The class immediately applauded and Karin slid down in her seat with her arms crossed. She was pissed that she hadn't gotten the chance she wanted with Sasuke, and she was even more furious that Sakura had gotten to sing with him and she didn't.
'This is so unfair.' She thought.
Sasuke and Sakura returned to their seats, Sakura had turned her desk around to talk to him for the rest of the class since Kakashi didn't have anything else planned for the class, so he let them have the rest of the class as a free period. There was always tomorrow to load them up with homework, but he had a feeling Sasuke would more than likely try and talk him out of it.
He headed over to the couple and leaned against an empty desk that was next to theirs. They only looked up to him before he shook his head with amusement. He knew he shouldn't say what he was thinking but he just couldn't help it, it was sitting in the back of his throat and he just could not resist.
"Don't forget what I said Sasuke." Kakashi chuckled.
"Shut up!" Sasuke turned red instantly and looked down to his desk.
"What?" Sakura asked with confusion.
"No need to worry about it, we just had a man to man talk last night." Kakashi assured her, but her facing turning red told him she knew what he was talking about.
"Kakashi!" She shouted with embarrassment and glared at him with her emerald eyes. Sasuke shared the same look on his face.
'You'll pay Kakashi.' They thought at the same time.
He only gave a deep laugh and walked away before his students could say or do anything to him. But he knew Sasuke would try and get him back for this, the young boy had a very creative mind and there was no telling what would happen at his home the next few years ahead of them.
Sasuke and Sakura laid in the backyard of Sakura's home, the grass was cool beneath them, a result of the chilly night. Sasuke tugged his black jacket closer to his body as Sakura mimicked her actions with hers. They stared at the sky, just glancing at all of the stars that appeared in the night sky.
They wanted to be alone right now, all of their friends were going to see a movie tonight but they declined their offer without giving them a real reason as to why. But Sakura had a feeling that they knew the reason, and it was exactly why they weren't being bothered right now. The couple never really had a calm moment to spend together, the times they had spent with each other, were spent comforting, and running away from the dangers Fugaku had caused.
But now they were here together and they enjoyed this time alone they had, they didn't want to spoil it for anything. Just feeling the other person by their side, gave them all the comfort they needed. Sasuke sighed softly and glanced at each star as it were its own unique self and not just part of a whole. He noticed a star fall before burning out into nothing.
"You see that falling star?" Sasuke inquired as he pointed to the sky before putting his arm down to rest on his stomach.
"Yeah." Sakura said when she turned her head to face him after looking at the star that fell.
"I always believed that when a star falls, someone had died." He continued. "And when my brother and my mom died, I saw two stars fall from the sky, but there was a third that fell. That third one made me wonder if it was my father that died and then he just turned into the man that hated me."
"Well whatever it was, you don't have to worry about him anymore." Sakura smiled and moved herself so she could rest her head gently against his chest and wrap her arm around him, careful not to put pressure on the wound on his stomach. She didn't want to hurt him, he had been through that enough.
"I know that babe." He expressed some inner thoughts before voicing it out. "There's something I want to do."
"What is that?" Sakura curiously wondered as he moved his hand, that was wrapped in the cast, to rest against her back.
"I want to go visit my mom and brother's graves. I haven't gone to the graveyard in awhile and I think its time I did." Sasuke told her with all honesty. "But I was wondering, would you want to go with me?"
"Of course I will."
"Thank you Sakura."
"I would have gone whether you asked me or not." She giggled quietly.
"No, not just for that. But for everything you did for me." He looked down to her with a serious look as she returned his gaze. "I'm glad that you pushed yourself into my life."
She smiled and sat up before bringing her face down to his. His eyes expressed the same loving look that hers did and that made her smile. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his, he returned it with the same need and licked her lip, silently asking for permission, she didn't hesitate before she opened her mouth to allow him entry.
Their tongues danced together and they didn't want to part from the kiss but they had to, they were humans just like everyone else, and just like everyone else they needed oxygen to breathe. When they parted, they stared into each other's eyes.
Sakura bit her lip as a smiled lingered on her face. And then he said something she hadn't heard him say in awhile. "I love you Sakura."
"I love you too Sasuke." She crashed her lips to his again, not caring if someone would catch them.
She loved him, just as he loved her, even if they got caught making out then so be it because there was nothing more blissful than this. His kisses were amazing to her, and she knew he wasn't going to leave her, just like she was never going to leave him.
Kakashi shut the door to Sasuke's room where the boy was currently sleeping soundly, he made it his job to check on the boy every night before he himself went to sleep. He just wanted to make sure he was okay' after everything he went through, there was no telling what could happen during the night.
But that thought came back to him when he suddenly heard Sasuke yell, his eyes widened and he turned on his heel and burst through the door. He spotted Sasuke in a fitful sleep, he was having a nightmare from the looks of it and he rushed to his side.
"Sasuke." Kakashi shook his shoulder trying to break the dream and bring Sasuke back to reality.
"No!" Sasuke shot up from his bed and nearly punched Kakashi, whom Sasuke thought was Fugaku. But the older man caught Sasuke's wrist before it made contact with his body.
"Sasuke." He stated calmly. "It's okay. You're okay. You're not in any danger."
Sasuke was breathing heavily as sweat glistened on his face, he stared at Kakashi as the silver-haired male let his wrist go. Sasuke looked down and ran his hands down his face to wipe the sweat that formed on his skin. His hands were shaking slightly and he tried to calm himself down by taking a deep breath.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kakashi asked.
"I'd rather not, at least not now."
"I don't want you to feel like you have to keep things from me Sasuke." He said to try and ease the boy's nerves.
"I know..." Sasuke stopped before Kakashi urged him to continue. "Its just, I don't like to talk about it, what I dream of isn't like everyone else's nightmares."
"Was it about Fugaku?" Kakashi guessed.
"Yeah," He replied before adding, "I dream that I'm still stuck in that house with him and the beatings only grow worse. I actually feel like a piece of me dies when I dream about it."
"I'll help you through this, I do consider you my son Sasuke, and I won't ever be like your father was." He looked at the teen before him. "I won't hurt you."
"I know that. You gave me a second chance. A second chance that I thought I would never get...thanks...dad." Sasuke looked down as his face turned red from embarrassment, he has never called Kakashi that yet and it sort of embarrassed him when he did.
Kakashi only chuckled before reaching his hand to ruffle the boy's hair. "Get some sleep Sasuke. Tomorrow is a new day and just another day closer to healing."
A/N Alright, this is the last chapter, well, its not the last last, because the short epilogue is after this, but this story is done to say the least, I thank everyone that read, reviewed, added to their favorite and alert lists. Don't worry, I have more stories, give them a chance, who knows there might be another that will catch your eye like Let Me In had. ;)