Chapter 34

"Sakura?"

She felt heavy, but light. Warm and cold at the same time.

'Is someone saying my name?'

It felt like something was moving her, but she couldn't tell. She felt nothing.

"Sakura!"

Floating. She was floating. Something caught her attention. It was bright.

'What's that?'

She assumed she had started walking towards it since the light grew larger and brighter. She saw a figure outline in front of it and a quiet voice speaking to her. As she approached, the features of this person came into view as fear suddenly filled her.

Silver unruly hair. Tired gray eyes. It was him.

She went from feeling nothing to feeling such intense fear and she couldn't stop herself as she continued approaching them. She wanted to turn and run, but her body wasn't listening to her. Seeing him only meant one thing.

'Oh god, did I fail?'

"Sakura!" the voice sounded much louder this time and she felt something grab her shoulders.

She stopped moving suddenly and was about five feet away from him at this point. She stared with fearful eyes as he took a couple small steps towards her.

"Sorry, but it's not your time yet." he spoke in a deep voice that resembled Kakashi's so much, "You still have to protect him, Sakura. It's not time for you to go."

Speechless. The young bodyguard stared deeply into the eyes of this man she thought she'd never meet and found no voice to reply for a while. Sakura continued staring at him as the light behind him started to dim slowly.

"How do you know my name? We've never- You are…" she stuttered as she finally spoke.

Sakumo smiled and gave her a half shrug.

"I've been watching you two."

Her eyes widened at the revelation.

"Am I dead?" she asked the most worrying question.

If she died then she had failed. She failed as a bodyguard. Failed him. He was alone now. He was going to die because she couldn't stay alive. How embarrassing. How shameful.

"Nearly." he spoke seriously before he gave her a warm smile, "But he seems determined to keep you alive."

Sakura stared at him in confusion. She was fixated on his eyes. His nose. His hair. They looked so much alike. She felt herself suddenly tug back and her name get called again and again, but she resisted this time. She needed to talk to him more. She would never get this chance again. She had so many questions. It was now or never, but she knew if she resisted too long the lesser her chances of returning would be.

"Why am I seeing you now? Why you? Why not my parents or anyone else?" she called out and got dragged away further.

Sakumo shifted his weight and stuffed his hands into his pockets as he gave her an eye crinkling smile before he spoke. It broke her heart seeing him. This man she wants so desperately to know. To tell her more about his life and Kakashi. The things she could learn and with every inch she was pulled back the less she would know.

"I couldn't protect him. I shielded him from this his entire life and I failed as a result. You're protecting him now, so it's my job to make sure you're doing your job. That's why I'm here, I wasn't going to let you past me to just go off and die. However, it seems that Kakashi agrees with me since he's the one bringing you back."

An idea came to her then. If this really is his father, then he can tell her more information. Fill in the holes in this investigation. Give her the answers she needed to succeed.

"If you're really Sakumo, tell me one thing to prove it!" she shouted.

A hearty laugh came from the man at her command.

"I love to knit." he said proudly, "Kakashi will confirm this."

'Okay, that's weird and oddly believable.'

"What were you shielding him from?"

"Tenzo."

She gasped at the name. Sakura had been right.

"Why?" she yelled.

She was panicking at this point because she was getting further away and it was becoming hard to hear him. His features were muddled and she could barely see him as the light dimmed more.

"I made a mistake." she could barely hear him.

"What mistake?!" she cried.

She couldn't read his expressions, but his voice sounded so sad. It sounded like it was filled with regret. What had happened with Tenzo to make Sakumo so sad?

"I've been lying to him all these years. It's because he…"

"Sakura!" the voice was loud in her ears.

She gasped for air as she felt herself get yanked into complete darkness. The sound of a fire crackling came to her ears suddenly and a throbbing sensation came to her head. She felt something brush against her face.

"Sakura…" his voice was low and filled with pain, "Please… Sakura."

She tried to speak but her throat felt so dry. Swallowing thick she attempted to clear her throat.

"Ka...k…"

Sakura heard a gasp as his hands cupped her face. They were warm. It felt nice. She felt his thumb rub against her cheek in soothing strokes.

"Sakura, open your eyes." he asked softly.

She cracked her eyes and found Kakashi leaning over her body. His face was worry stricken as he studied her face.

"Can you clearly hear me?" he asked next.

She nodded once and felt her head throb painfully and winced in response.

"Don't move your head too much. Can you grab my hand?" he told her as he moved one of his from her face and held it above her chest.

Sakura struggled as she raised her gloved hand and grasped his open palm. Her arm felt so heavy. She felt so heavy. Her body was radiating in pain. Her chest was sore too. She didn't feel like this last night, so why did she feel so weak now? She squeezed his hand softly as they made eye contact and she tried speaking again.

"I… I hurt. Why…?"

His larger hand wrapped around hers and brought it up to his lips and pressed a soft kiss into her covered knuckles. She noticed that he had removed his hat, scarf, gloves, and overcoat at some point.

"It's your head." he began to explain as he moved his other hand from her face and pulled her hat up and trailed a finger lightly across her hairline, "When that guy hit you last night… I think you have a concussion."

'Great…'

"I'm fine." she croaked out as she tried to sit up but Kakashi quickly put his hands on her shoulders and kept her down.

"No, you're not." he stated firmly, "I couldn't wake you up for hours. Your breathing was so slow and your heart… I couldn't hear it for a minute! I thought I lost you! You basically slipped into a coma! I tried everything to get you up. CPR, mouth to mouth, I ran outside and grabbed some snow to help cool you because you were so damn hot!"

Sakura gasped as the memories rushed to her. She snatched up Kakashi's wrists and forced herself up even though her body screamed at her to stop.

"Sakumo!" she called out as she turned to face her boyfriend.

Kakashi looked thoroughly surprised by her actions and sudden energy.

"What?" he asked, "My dad? Sakura… You need to lie down."

"I met him! I met your dad!" she squeezed his wrists as hard as she could in her weakened state, "He told me things!"

The silver haired frowned and looked slightly pained from her statement and shook his head.

"Sakura… He's… You've never met him before."

"He told me that he loved to knit."

Kakashi blinked then and his face registered disbelief. Obviously something clicked inside of him at that statement. She wasn't trying to hurt his feelings, but she needed to get her point across. This is why she had asked Sakumo to tell her this. She needed to prove this was real. This wasn't something she was making up.

"How do you know that? I- I never told you that." he whispered.

"Because your father was the one who told me about it! His, his voice! It sounds just like yours but it had a deeper pitch. His eyes, they crinkled just like yours at the corners! He told me he was there to stop me from dying…" she felt the tears start to spill as the memory of her near death came to light.

She nearly died. It hit her hard. Was she really that reckless? She knew to sacrifice no matter what to protect her clients, but how useful would that be to die in the middle of protecting them? A million thoughts raced through her head as she sorted out a million and one scenarios.

She felt Kakashi twist his arms and she relaxed and released her hold as their hands dropped to their own laps.

"What…?"

"I… I was dying. I asked him why it was him that was there… He, he told me that it was my job to protect you. Said he had failed to do it himself and now he entrusted me to keep you safe. He said he had been lying to you. When, when I asked him what he was protecting you from… He said… He said Tenzo's name and that he had made a mistake."

Silence filled the air with only the fire crackling to fill the time that passed.

"What does that mean?" he asked after a while.

Sakura just stared at him and smiled sadly.

"I don't know, I didn't have enough time to ask."

A throbbing pain so intense came to her head then and she couldn't help the cry of pain that came as a result. She reached up and grasped her head tightly and cried again when her hand hit the gash on her forehead.

"Sakura!" Kakashi called out to her frantically as she felt him grab her wrists and pulled them away from her face, "Please! Just lay down!"

She didn't argue as she let him guide her to lie back down. She felt her head rest against something soft and she reached up to touch and felt cloth.

"It's my hat and scarf." he answered her silent question, "I wanted to make sure you don't hit your head on the ground."

Sakura slowly rolled her head to the side and found that they were still in the little enclosure. She let her eyes linger on the small fire a few feet away and noticed that the pile of wood behind it was much larger than it was when she went to sleep last night. She even noticed all the small rocks that surrounded it to prevent the logs from rolling away.

'When did he get more wood? When did he have all the time to do this?'

"We have to get going. We're already behind." she spoke as she tried to sit up again, but Kakashi firmly on her shoulders and forced her to stay down.

"It's already well after noon. It'll be dark again in a few hours. We're staying another night." he said in a matter of fact voice, "I already got enough wood for the rest of the night."

Sakura gawked up at this information. There's no way she had been sleeping for that long.

"We don't have any fresh water."

"We do." he deadpanned and pointed towards the fire.

Kakashi moved to give her a clearer view and she found a metal cup and bowl sitting on the edge of the fire on one of the stones. She looked back over to him in confusion. She hadn't packed anything like that in their bag.

"You never completely checked out the bag when you bought it when we got supplies, didn't you?" he asked with a half amused look.

Sakura just shook her head gently as she remained silent. It wasn't high on her list of things to do when they got supplies that day. It was a large backpack that did eventually become useful when they had to make a quick escape.

"The front pocket had some supplies in it. That bowl and cup and there was some cutlery too. Even some matches and a swiss army knife to start a fire." he informed her with a smile.

He turned and pulled the items off the fire and sat them aside and started talking again as he got up and grabbed a couple pieces of wood.

"I've been boiling water I got from the river. I've drank enough for a while, but you need some desperately."

The bodyguard just silently watched as Kakashi moved around with confidence and fluidity she hadn't seen before. Like this was natural for him. Taking a deep breath she pushed herself up as she cringed at the pressured pain it caused in her head. She silently wished there was some ibuprofen in the bag but doubted it. She took a better look at the fire and was impressed with how secure it was. She watched her boyfriend work with his back towards her.

"Thank you." she said as she watched him carefully lay the pieces on the fire.

Kakashi turned when she spoke and watching him smile so warmly at her gave a sense of relief she needed at that moment. He moved and kneeled down next to her and reached over and grabbed the stainless steel cup and presented it to her.

"It's still a bit warm, but you need some water in you." he spoke as she took the warm cup in her gloved hands and sipped at it.

Sakura watched him grab the backpack that was sitting near her feet and fish out one of the bags of jerky she packed the other night.

"I haven't eaten yet, I wanted to wait for you to wake up." he mentioned as he tore open the bag and pulled out a large piece and handed it to her before he grabbed one himself.

She sat down the now half empty cup as she accepted the food and took a small bite.

"That's not healthy, you know." she mumbled after she swallowed and watched him as he ate his piece, "It's obvious you've been working hard with that pile of wood and the stones around the fire."

Kakashi popped the rest of his piece of jerky into his mouth before smiling at her.

"Do you see me complaining?"

Sakura continued idly chewing as she raised a brow at him.

"I had a job to do. Make sure we are safe and sound. You need rest and it's my job to take care of you. In sickness and in health. You'll always come first."

"You make it sound like we're married." she couldn't help the tease as she smiled back at him.

"Not yet at least." He deadpanned with a smug look.

Sakura felt her mouth drop open at his confident reply. And just like that, it was like everything had returned to normal. They had forgotten that they were inside basically a tiny cave in the middle of a random forest somewhere in the south east of the Fire nation. They had forgotten that they were running for their lives and hiding. That their lives were on the line. That she had been severely injured.

They kept up that light air throughout the remainder of the day as she allowed herself to relax a bit and rest as Kakashi explained the things he had done. From gathering all the wood to going over to the river and pulling stones from the icy water for the fire to finding the dishes and cutlery in the pack. She couldn't help but smile and watch him with admiration as he spoke.

"How'd you learn to do all this?" she asked when he finished and handed her another cup full of water, "You've lived a very sheltered life."

She quickly drank the water before he held his hand out for the empty cup.

"Reading. When you told me how outdoorsy you and your family were growing up and watching you just thrive when we were in Sugi hiking around… Well, I wanted to start learning myself."

Sakura stared wide-eyed up to him as he stood up and smiled down to her.

"I wanted to at least know what I was getting myself into when you wanted to teach me it. I've read a lot of books over the last nearly two months. Survival guides, biographies, and how to books on building fires, shelters, and all that jazz."

"You're a peach." she blew a kiss at him.

Kakashi stepped over and kneeled down next to her and gave her a peck on the check before standing up and walking to the opening.

"I'm going to get some more water to boil. I want to clean your cut."

He watched Sakura reach up and place a couple fingers on her hat that covered the wound.

"Is it really that bad?" she asked

He pursed his lips at the question.

"Well you said you nearly died… That means something is off."

Sakura glanced away as if she was ashamed of what he said and he silently scolded himself.

"But don't worry, we can take off in the morning. Get to that town you mentioned and get you some medicine to help since I'm assuming you do not want to go to a hospital?"

His girlfriend glanced back over to him with a sly smile and nodded once in agreement. He quickly exited and retrieved some water from the river and was back with Sakura.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked as he gently placed the water over the fire.

It had been a bit of a puzzle setting up the stone base to safely surround the fire. Then creating a spot to put the cup and bowl so they boil to be safe to drink, but still be able to pull them off without burning himself since neither had handles was another challenge. Kakashi had figured it out thankfully and was proud of himself for his ingenuity.

He was tired of being useless in his personal safety. She was right, he had been sheltered his entire life. He never had to worry about survival since everything was always handed to him. The bodyguard had humbled him in more ways than he could count and he was eternally grateful for her.

Sakura hummed as she thought of her reply as he moved to grab the backpack and started rummaging around it.

"I'm still sore, but that's expected. My head hurts… as expected." she spoke idly as he pulled out one of his black t-shirts she had packed last night, "I'm just simply tired."

Kakashi made his way over to her and smiled before he glanced over to fire and saw the water slowly bubble and begin boiling.

"As expected." he playfully teased when he turned back around.

He reached over and gently nudged the brim of her hat up and over the gash before he pulled it up and off the rest of the way. Sakura pulled away from his touch and he retracted his hand in fear that he actually did hurt her. The fear quickly dissipated when he watched her unzip her bulky winter jacket and shrug it off.

"I'm getting too warm in this." she shyly smiled as she tucked some hair behind her ear.

Kakashi smiled at her and mentally patted himself on the back at her statement.

'Doing my job of keeping her safe and warm.'

He nodded happily as he turned and pulled the now boiling waters off the fire and scooted them on the cool stone beside them. Pine was a soft wood and he quickly had found some thin and bendy twigs and basically bent and braided them into a poor excuse of a hook to move the metal cup and bowl off the fire safely.

He hadn't much to do while Sakura was unconscious. So after he rummaged for small and usable wood, he figured he try to do a few things he had read about. Hence the hand made tool and the stone guard around the fire.

"We don't have much in terms of sterile medical equipment, but a clean t-shirt and some hot water will at least clean you up some."

"It feels swollen since my right eye can't open all the way. Bruising?" she asked.

Kakashi looked up to her and studied the gash and frowned. There was more dried up blood than he remembered as it covered more of her forehead.

'Did she reopen the wound? When? It must've been when she was jerking around after waking up…'

"Can't really tell because you're pretty bloodied up." he decided to be honest as he grabbed the black t-shirt again and folded it up and dipped it into the hot water, "But we'll know here in a moment. Please tell me if it becomes too much. If it hurts."

"Well, it's obviously going to hurt." she sassed, "But don't worry. I'll let you know."

He just nodded as he raised the damp cloth and pressed against her forehead and started wiping away the blood. Sakura sucked in a pained breath as she winced instinctively and the CEO felt the guilt wash over him.

'She's only hurt because of me… She could've died back there. She nearly did die! If he would've hit her any harder or would've struck her in the temple…'

"I'm sorry." he whispered as he refolded the shirt and dipped it into the pot, "We're almost done."

They remained quiet as he focused on cleaning closer to the actual cut. Kakashi let his mind wander back to when she first woke up and her mentioning about speaking to his father.

"So… You met my dad?" he asked as he ran the fabric over the edge of her hair.

There was a pause before she replied, her voice quiet.

"Yeah. It was weird. Meeting someone who… who isn't alive anymore."

"Do you remember anything else that you guys talked about?"

She shook her head slowly before he turned and wetted another section of the t-shirt.

"Not really. I remember I was scared shitless when I realized it was him." her voice was so quiet he had to strain to hear it over the crackling fire behind him, "He said he had messed up and it involved Tenzo for some reason… I woke up before I could get an answer as to why it was him."

'I was basically screaming at her to wake up…'

He decided to clean up the rest of her face while he was there. It upset him greatly to see the dried tear streaks on her cheeks from earlier.

"Well, I guess your hunch was right after all." he replied as he trailed the cloth across her cheek.

He glanced down from where he was focused on cleaning when she didn't reply and found a small frown marring her face as she let her gaze fall off somewhere into the fire. He decided to remain silent as he finished up. Dipping the shirt back into the now lukewarm water, he did one more once over where the cut was.

"I'm usually pretty happy when I figure out who the attacker is, but this time I hate that I was right."

Kakashi just nodded in agreement as stood up.

"I agree." he mumbled as he unfolded the shirt and hung off a piece of firewood on the pile and grabbed a couple pieces for the fire itself, "Someone you thought you could trust with your life is actually the one trying to kill you? He killed my father…"

He swallowed thickly as he felt the emotion wash over him. He hadn't really had much

time to process the fact that Tenzo was the one who was trying to kill him. That this man he was extremely close to was the reason his father was dead.

'I still don't understand it.'

"What could my father mean by a mistake he made? What mistake involved Tenzo? Hiring him? Did he tell Tenzo some trade secret?"

He looked over to Sakura when he finished with the fire and found her regarding him sadly.

"I wish I knew. I've poured over everything involving the company and anyone you come into contact with. Him and Shikamaru had the most in-depth background checks when obtaining their clearances. I read those reports like five times checking for inconsistencies. I interviewed them both. Tenzo had zero red flags!"

Kakashi was next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder before she got too worked up and hurt herself further.

"Yamato!" he spoke excitedly.

A/N: Omg guys, hello! It's been over a year! I'm sooo sorry for leaving you guys hanging so long. T_T" And on such a cliff hanger! Oof, I'm just evil lmao. We all know 2020 was just a shit year. I thankfully never got C0v1d but I did lose a family member to it. 2020 brought me a new job, restarted university, learning a new language, and a new relationship! It was a BUSY year.

I missed writing and I never stopped thinking about my stories. I saw every review/favorite/kudos you guys posted on here and on Ao3! I got your messages and yes Taytay95 checked in on me all the time! Well, now that I'm back I'm gonna try and post somewhat regularly. I'm going to focus on finishing this story first before I focus on You Never Stay. If you guys have any other questions, feel free to shoot me a message! Okay, let's talk about this chapter!

Sakura nearly DIED?! Sakumo?! So much happened. What did he mean? What are they going to do with this information? Things are kicking into high gear!

If you can, please leave a review and let me know what you think! I know you guys have been begging for this chapter for a year so I'm sure some of you have many words. ^_^"

As always, thank you to Taytay95 for screaming in happiness when I told her I had a chapter to beta and getting it done in a snap. :D Go check out her works, she's been hauling ass on her stories this past year!