.
41. The heat of the moment
.
I apologize for the late update, I had a lot to do. But here it is, the next chapter :) Enjoy it while I have to go on another nightshift.
Stay safe!
SquaMata
.
.
"Naruto, how long have I been here in Suna?"
"An awfully long while if you ask me."
.
Too long…
.
"I want to go home now."
"Come on, let's go."
.
His reassuring smile stopped her tears and she started running with him into the dunes. They were dashing through the sand at full speed, and soon they were out of sight of Sunagakure.
.
.
PRESENT
.
No! No! No! Dammit, dammit, dammit! I'm so dumb, dumb, dumb!
It wasn't your fault! Calm down!
.
„Naruto, come on! Speed up!"
.
You can't push yourself so far.
I hurt him, I hurt him so deeply. Kami, I've never intended to do so.
.
Said blonde looks at her with a worried expression written all over his face as he tries hard to hold her back. "Sakura, you need a break."
"No, I do not! When we're running full speed we can make it." She can feel his determination as his strong grip around her wrist tightens and he pulls her back to the small clearing.
.
"Sakura, no. It's not possible and your body needs to rest. Sit down for a while and eat something, please!" He puts down his backpack and offers her a bento box.
"I can't, Naruto." She closes her eyes and falls to her knees when the first tears start to fall.
.
Within the blink of an eye he is by her side to comfort her. "It's not your fault, Sakura. You know that and so does he. Everything's gonna be alright."
The pinkette allows herself to cry and lean onto his shoulder, while his embrace steadies her shaking body. Between sobs she stammers how much she wishes that this has never happened.
"Everything will be fine. Trust me. I promise I'll do my best to get you through the gates about tomorrow afternoon, but first you need to rest for a few hours. You're pushing yourself too far, Sakura and me too. I'm sure our ever considerate and prudent sensei is gladly willing to wait a few hours longer if you won't break down in front of the tower then. That would do you both no good."
.
The sobbing kunoichi gives him a teary smile. "He's not our sensei anymore." Naruto has always been a good friend who knows exactly what to say to cheer her up.
Smiling brightly he adds, "Now could you please at least drink something if you don't want to eat? I'm really worried. You have been running since last night without a stop."
.
Sakura retreats and sits down next to him. "Now that you mention it, I can really use some water. My throat feels like after a harsh desert storm."
"In fact you have been crossing a desert today and by the speed of your bone-crushing run I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't swallowed half of the sand that you've swirled up." Naruto laughs as he pulls out a water canteen from his backpack and hands it to her. Snorting briefly over his funny remark she gulps down the urgent needed liquid eagerly, enjoying every mouthful of the wonderfully cooling refreshment. Water has never tasted that good before.
.
While the caring jinchuuriki sets camp and starts a small fire to keep them warm for the night, Sakura is looking up to the beautiful night sky and fights hard against the urge to run as far as her legs would carry her.
.
Tomorrow I'll be home. I promise.
.
.
Far away on a balcony stands a lonely hokage gazing into the distance. His sleep deprived head is hurting nearly as much as his shattered heart.
I hope she's alright wherever she may be now.
A part of him tells him this is for the better, but another, much bigger part screams with all of his might. Sighing of the constantly nagging pain deep inside of him and with one last sad look up to the stars he walks back into his cold and empty bedroom.
.
.
Naruto comes to a halt at a high branch and so does his female companion. Both ninjas are breathing hard.
"Let's take a break, we have enough time." The blonde young man wipes some sweat pearls off from his forehead.
The pinkette takes a moment to drink in the beautiful area they're rushing through, still at tremendous speed. "Naruto, there's a river not far from here? We could take a small break there."
.
"Perfect, we need to refill our water supplies anyway." He shakes an empty water canteen to underline the importance of his words.
Sakura smiles at her former teammate and points in the direction of the river.
.
They jump down to the path in the woods and take the next junction to the right. Then the two shinobi follow a barely visible mud trail, which seems to get reconquered by the surrounding nature over time with lush tree limbs and a colourful mossy pattern.
The last time Sakura has been in this area was when the hokage and his tross were on their way back home from the kage summit in Iwagakure once.
.
Sakura and Naruto still thirst with the cool water of the clear river. Satisfied she keeps kneeling on the riverside a little longer and studies her reflection on the bright surface of the water.
In a few more hours I'll be home.
Home… We're almost there.
Please, wait for me.
Just a little longer.
It irritates her to no end that she can't reach him. Is he blocking her already?
Her eyes stay fixed on her mirrored image for a few minutes until it suddenly changes to the last time when she was standing right there.
.
She remembers how smooth his skin felt under her touch in the water, how the water droplets wandered down his marvellous body and how his hair looked when it was wet.
How he said her name.
How he looked at her.
The memory tears heavy on her heart.
Kakashi…
.
Her eyes begin to fill with tears that scream to fall and a slight tremble makes her very aware of the breakdown she has been trying to avoid since their departure from the sand. A friendly hand gets a hold on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I'll bring you back to him safe and sound. I promise. Everything's gonna be alright."
"But why couldn't I reach him then? I can't feel him anymore, Naruto." The first tear runs down her cheek, only to be followed by a stream of clear salty liquid reflecting the sunlight and dropping down into the glistening river water.
.
The legendary wannabe-hokage gives her a heart-warming smile at her with his bright blue eyes. "Do you know this river is called the river of hopes?"
The pinkette frowns at him in disbelief and Naruto walks over to the coppice.
"Here." He hands her a pink flower with some leaves he picked from the bush and holds one in his other hand for himself. "They say the streams carry your hopes home if you let them flow." His kind nature reassures her and gives her new energy for the last remaining section of their travel home.
Together they set them carefully into the water and watch them from the riverside slowly getting carried away, dancing on the drift of the mellow waves.
.
.
A lonely man walks slowly through the main park. At this time it is not highly frequented, most people enjoy being at a restaurant with colleagues or at home with family, but he prefers his personal time-out there. Also Tsunade suggested he should walk and get some fresh air, so it has become a habit for him to spend his lunch breaks there alone. Today the weather is matching his mood all too well. The worst downpour has already subsided, although the atmosphere is remaining cloudy and rainy. Kakashi stops and leans at the railing of the bridge in the park, staring at the flowing water assimilating every tiny raindrop.
There must be a story to why they call it the river of hopes.
He sighed. All of a sudden a pink dot flows on the surface, only to be followed by another. The drained silverhead follows them to the other side of the bridge. One after the other washes up until all pink petals dance in the small water vortex right next to the bridge like they are forming a new flower.
Sakura…
He closes his eyes as painful memories overcome him again. Kakashi cannot allow himself to take a look if she is alright. The last time it almost killed him by what he saw through her eyes. Their chakra bond has become so strong as he thought she would be dying in his arms during the incident.
But she can't remember him anymore.
She can't remember us…
Sakura is not even aware of their bond and due to the explanation of the Uchiha he shouldn't go and rummage in her mind. Time will heal her, that he is sure of, but it is an awful while now and he can't stand her dreams and memories flashing through his mind, so he has built up that imaginary wall. If there was indeed a dangerous situation, they would send a messenger bird.
But they didn't. Nothing has changed. At least I'm glad she is safe and sound. I must be imagining things.
Kakashi rubs his aching head.
How is it even possible to feel so much hurt?
After all those years as a hardened shinobi he has been sure he can bear a lot, but the incidents of the last year have shown him otherwise. The dreams he has, he is afraid he cannot tell apart dreams from reality anymore. He dreamed about her needing help and he tried to connect with the Uchiha, but in real life he had blocked her out. It must have been a bad dream. At least she was alive. That was all he has ever been living for.
Sighing he stretches himself and pulls the coat closer, before returning to hokage tower to keep playing his strong role without anybody noticing how broken and hopeless he is deep inside.
.
.
In the late afternoon the doors of the hokage tower fly open, Naruto waves apologetically at the alerted ANBU. "Sakura, would you please calm down?"
The pinkette seems to ignore him as she finally storms up to the hokage office. To her surprise she finds it empty. Before anybody can ask questions she pulls the collar of a ninja nearby roughly, "Where is he?"
Without a word the young man points at the closed doors of the council room in which the frightening pinkette disappears within the blink of an eye.
.
The shocked man looks at naruto, "What's going on here?"
Naruto smiles apologetically and rubs the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. Normally she's pretty kind to people."
.
"I'll better go and get ANBU assistance."
"No, no! Everything's alright. I swear she is no threat."
.
.
The force of the wing doors smashing against the walls is the only sound she makes as she storms into the council room during a meeting.
"What the h…" Shikamaru jumps up in alert, knocking off his chair in the process.
Hoshi falls into a fight stance too, but their immediate alert changes into relief as they notic who is it that interrupts their meeting. Hoshi smiles at her as he steps out of her way and Shikamaru greets her with an honest smile. Her determined body language reminds them all way too much of a legendary sannin, who was her sensei by pure chance.
Sakura makes a beeline to face the speechless hokage standing on alert and right in front of the gaping council she seals his lips with a forcing kiss. The silverhead looks like he is in disbelief contemplating his own sanity and he does not react at first, but he cannot do anything other than to submit to her inviting lips. Both are very aware that there would be no hiding anymore, not after he accepts her affection like that. All too willingly he takes her in his arms and deepens the kiss.
Hoshi and Shikamaru look at each other and nod in unison as if they share an imaginary talk.
Kakashi and Sakura continue their fiery kisses and seem to get lost in the heat of the moment completely. They do not notice the shocked council members nor the efforts of the Nara heir to close the meeting nor the people around respectfully retreating with the help of his best personal guard. As soon as they're left alone in the room, the unbent couple start to rip their clothes off in the council room. Discreetly Hoshi closes the door from outside and takes guard to secure their privacy.
With a canny grin Shikamaru agrees and walks into the direction of his desk. They will make sure that nobody could disturb their reunion.
.
.
Meanwhile:
The shocked man looks at naruto "What's going on here?"
Naruto smiles apologetically and rubs the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. Normally she's pretty kind to people."
.
"I'll better go and get ANBU assistance."
"No, no! Everything's alright. I swear she is no threat."
And by the irritated faces of the council members leaving the meeting room and the broad grin of Shikamaru and Hoshi finally closing the door behind them, Naruto knows it's official now. There will be no turning back.
"She's just a woman in love."
.
Naruto smiles at the smirking Nara walking into his direction.
Well, that took them an awful while!
.
.