Chapter 8: Before I Come Undone

"This is KU-13 reporting, we're in position." A voice hissed, shuffling closer to the corner of a wide corridor to glimpse the metal door leading to the storage room. "Do you copy?"

"Copy that. KU-13, please proceed." The firm reply came. The ginger-haired man reached into his weapon pouch and retrieved a small pick as he turned to face his three similarly dressed-in-black teammates. "Cover me."

Three heads nodded in unison and disappeared in a puff of smoke as their leader slithered away to the door, ensuring he remained hidden from view. He made a quick work of picking the lock and sliding in. He pressed his ear piece. "I'm in."

"Spectacular news, Ryu. Go to row F1 and find closet 15." A deep familiar voice chimed in his ear, giving the ginger-man a pause.

"…What are you doing here?" Ryu asked his long time friend since childhood as he moved along the narrow lines of tall, silver-coloured steel closets.

"You'd think he'd be excited to see me." The voice in the microphone scoffed to someone nearby before replying. "What do you mean what, Ryu? I organised this operation, I'll see it through."

"You doubt my efficiency?" Golden eyes narrowed in displeasure, lips pursing.

A huff echoed via the transmitter in his ear. "Don't be silly. This is important. Get the girl and get out. No witnesses, no mistakes. We're this close to achieving perfect form, she's our last resort. Be careful."

Ryu didn't dignify the order with a response as his eyes scanned the numbered signs hanging over endless rows of lockers. Just as his eyes caught glimpse of his destination, a rough snap jerked the unlocked storage room door open. Ryu barely had enough time to dive into the nearest closet as the one and only Kakashi Hatake slipped into the room, eyes angry, body coiled and ready to spring at a moment's notice.

Ryu held still and completely suppressed his chakra. It wouldn't do to alert the Copy Ninja —Ryu knew he was no match for him just yet, not without the drug, not without his special heating jutsu— and so he seized all movement and waited.

One by one, his enemy started slamming locker doors open with a vengeance, the rough sound of metal clattering echoed from rows away. Hatake moved swiftly and determinedly, closing in on Ryu's closet, his near-silent footfalls growing firmer, more agitated. He could sense the thundering chakra of the other man roiling fiercely within. Hatake was anxious, Ryu could tell. Such a foreign emotion from the usually collected and calm man.

Bam…! Another door knocked open, now on the same row.

Bam! bam! bam! Six, five, four, advancing closer to Ryu, who seized breathing and prepared for the Copy Ninja's impending arrival. His fingers sought the paper bomb attached to a kunai in his weapon holster and waited with bated breath.

Another door slammed viciously against the metal, much closer, three…

"Sakura!" Hatake cried, sounding distressed. Ryu thought it extremely convenient to attack that very second when the man was distracted by his emotions; what kind of an idiot called himself a shinobi when he couldn't rein in his personal feelings? What a loser! But Ryu had strict orders not to engage with Kakashi Hatake and so he remained hidden as Hatake shuffled through the nearby closet.

And then the Copy Ninja disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Fuck!" A furious Ryu punched the locker door, denting it.


Flames —for the blaze she felt was surely hell's fire— slowly but agonisingly, crawled up her spine, inched excruciatingly through her bones, liquefying them, and turning them into molten lava beneath her muscles.

Unhurriedly, oh-so-leisurely, it extended up her neck, scalded her, killed her as it engulfed her brain in a pool of fire, dissolving her conscious and destroying memories and thoughts alike. Although one persisted like an anchor, screaming at her, growling up a storm like a cornered wolf, get up, get up, get up!

Her shinobi danger alarm blared furiously in the back of her mind, somewhere far, far away, beyond the inferno roasting her alive. Danger, danger! Her subconscious shrieked, its throat raw, and there wasn't a single thing she could do but shout, scream and cry internally until whatever flicker of conscious she had left burst into flames and turned into ashes.

And then, just as gradually, the heat began to recede back to one fixed point in the centre of her brain, slithering away from her toes and leaving them uncomfortably cold like icicles. It may have been hours before the last remaining bit of warmth in her body diminished and relocated to her brain and Sakura was left a shivering mess of limbs, teeth chattering together and body drenched in cold sweat.

Everything in her body, but especially her bones, ached consistently leaving Sakura lying on a soft mattress hurting like nothing she'd ever experienced before. So much that she could not string a single thought together except this is hell.

"…kura…"

Her brain swirled around slowly within her head, swimming around at the edge of consciousness but drifting away every time she neared the shore.

"…ra…"

Straying farther and farther the harder she tried to grasp at the ray of awareness within her reach, please, no…

"…Sakura…"

A distant voice was calling her name, somebody she knew but couldn't quite place. Somebody so dear…

"…Sakura…"

He sounded so desperate —the voice— but so soothing and familiar, like a warm blanket straight out of the dryer. She clung onto it like a life-support line, clawing to hold onto the single thread of consciousness amidst the endless sea of fire she was drifting through.

"…kura, please…"

If only she had control of her limbs so she could reach and comfort this man, tell him she's alive, although she felt far from it. If anything, she should be dead.

"…dammit Sakura…"

And then the fuzzy blanket cloaking her mind slowly lifted and she cautiously located her fingers and eyes, and eventually the rest of her. Something cool laid across her forehead and a mop of silver hair hung just over her bleary eyes, falling over familiar, bottom-less, charcoal eyes.

That's right, that soothing, quiet tone could only belong to one man, a man she'd never been happier to see in her life. "Ka…kashi…"


Kakashi looked down at her unfocused emerald eyes with uncontainable relief. When he had found her passed out in the storage room closet after searching for her in every nook and cranny, he had nestled her in his arms to find her fever skyrocketing to dangerous levels.

He knew from experience that fever was a medic's worst nightmare, for they could heal through all kinds of hardships but the one that inhibited their minds. For three days he stayed by her side, resorting to using cool towels to bring down her temperature when his basic medical ninjutsu failed to help her.

"Ka…kashi…" Her voice was hoarse and broken, and he didn't think he hated himself more in the past few years than he did right that second. This was his fault, giving her space because she was embarrassed had been a stupid idea. They were here as a team to investigate together.

He hadn't even been able to search for the culprit who did this to her, to see if it was Toishi, fearing that if he left her side, she might just slip from between his fingers like so many others before her. So dire was his situation that he was compelled to write Tsunade a letter requesting back-up and send Pakkun to deliver it.

No reply has come in yet, and no backup showed up, leaving Kakashi unsure of whether anyone would be coming at all.

He gently hushed the pink-haired woman who looked on the verge of passing out again and removed the wet cloth off her forehead to press his glowing hand to it. She still burned like the surface of an oven.

The kunoichi leant into his touch, her breath slightly laboured, "Kakashi," she rasped, "what… happened… to me?" She panted, squirming as her body tried to capture heat from her sweat-soaked blanket.

Kakashi felt fingers of ice claw at his heart as a wave of fear washed over him. "You… don't remember? Sakura you were passed out in the storage room where they stored lost luggage."

Confused foggy eyes sought his and she blinked away at glassy emerald, trying to clear her vision. "Huh…? No… I was…" she blinked furiously, her face twisting in confusion. "No I wasn't… I was here," she rambled, shivering violently in the blanket she cocooned herself in.

"Calm down," Kakashi soothed, deciding to have that conversation later when he noticed the way her hair was sticking to her glistening forehead and her flushed cheeks. He got up from next to her and moved to the side of the bed. "I haven't been able to move you in two days. You need to shower and cool down, come on."

She made an anguished sound at the back of her throat as he pried the blanket off her. The Copy Nin helped her sit up and rushed to steady her when she nearly tumbled over onto the ground from how hard her teeth ground together.

Kakashi held tightly onto her shoulder as he bent down and lifted her off her feet. Small, trembling fingers reached to clutch onto his shirt as he carried her to the bathroom and sat her on the edge of the sink, letting her lean against the mirror as not to fall.

She whimpered when her legs made contact with the cold marble causing the Copy Nin to rub her arm apologetically. "Bear with me, it'll be over soon," he promised as he moved to fill the tub with warm water and soap.

"K-Kakashi," she stuttered through her shiver, "w-what's happening to me?"

"Fever," he responded as he stalked back to her side. "But I'm not sure what caused it. You were tailing Toishi and you said you'd be back by lunch. You never showed up so I went searching for you." He recounted, remembering the nagging twisting in his gut that told him something very, very wrong had happened. It had taken all his strength not to tear through every room in the building to find her. "I eventually found you in the storage room, three hours later. No wounds, no nothing. Just a small bump at the back of your head, but you falling could have caused that."

Sakura touched gingerly at the back of her head and winced profoundly. When she called forth her medical chakra, it moved in a jagged frenzied stream through her coils. When she tried to regulate it, to reduce it to a thin layer of healing energy, her brain hurt and her hold on the energy faltered and snapped. Sighing, she buried her face in her hands and took shaky calming breaths.

It was a nightmare, not being able to use her medical powers. Usually, medics don't heal their fever or interfere with it, letting their bodies react naturally to invading pathogens. In rare cases, when medical ninja needed to be aware and on the run, they resorted to using a special jutsu that delayed the symptoms of disease early on.

But seeing as she was knocked out, she couldn't make that call. Besides, something about her condition nagged her. It didn't feel like her usual fever; that feeling of molten lava moving in her veins was foreign and terrifying.

She sensed him before she felt his nimble fingers gently pry her hands off her face.

Worried emerald eyes met fierce and sure charcoal ones. The only expression that came to mind when gazing into his eyes was 'the calm before the storm'. He had that look he got on the battlefield when sizing his opponent up, sharp and unforgiving.

Kakashi held onto her hands in her lap. "I know what you're thinking. Stop worrying," he said slowly, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers and forcing her eyes to remain leveled with his, trapping her in his stormy gaze. "I promise you, I'll find who did this to you."

The threat in his voice reached her loud and clear, and then I'll make them wish they were never born.

Sakura gulped and nodded against him. To her utter relief, his eyes creased in a familiar smile that had been absent for a while now, easing the anxiety twisting her gut.

The tub was half-way full then and he reassuringly squeezed her hands that were still trapped within his bigger ones, getting her attention. His gaze remained firm but held a touch of uncertainty now. "I'm going to help you undress, okay?"

She nodded her consent, her eyes slightly glazed over as the heat and cold in her body fought for dominance, sending waves of fire followed by spikes of ice through her until she felt like she might burst.

Kakashi coaxed her to rest her forehead on his shoulder as his hands found the hem of her shirt and began to carefully tug it up her torso and then over her head and finally down her arms, leaving her clad only in her plain black bra. Grasping her hips firmly in his hands, he helped her off the counter and onto her feet. "Hold onto the counter," he ordered softly as he moved to tug her shorts down her smooth legs, letting them pool around her feet and uncovering her red panties.

The corner of his mouth twitched up, the rosette wore mismatched underwear…

"Pervert." He heard her mutter and she bent heavily on his shoulder for balance as she stepped out of her shorts.

He held her steady as she lumbered her way to the tub and helped her in, making sure she didn't slip and crack her head on the marble ground. "There."

Sakura shivered again and reached behind her for what Kakashi assumed was the clasp of her bra. She wriggled and twisted in an attempt to undo it but her fingers were unsteady and uncooperative and he worried she might slip and drown.

The Copy Ninja watched her for a moment before he decided the clasp wasn't going to get undone anytime soon and took pity on her. He reached over the tub and cautiously pried her hands off, replacing them with his own. With a nimble flick of his fingers, the material gave and fell apart.

Sighing gratefully the rosette moved the straps down her arms and discarded the item on the ground in a sloppy mess before leaning back and letting her body sink further into the tub until her chin touched the water.

Kakashi went back into the main room and dragged one of the two chairs there to the bathroom where he seated himself next to Sakura, and leant in the sink's direction to grab the shampoo bottle.

Sakura's shut eyes flew wide open when she felt his fingers tangle through her hair. His reply was a reassuring smile as he massaged the mint scented product into her pink strands and muttered, "Just relax."

She tried to follow his advice, and just when sleep began to claim her, a knock on the door resounded in the room. Kakashi's soothing massage paused. He had the 'do not disturb' tag on the door handle, surely, it couldn't be the room service. Which meant...

"I'll be right back." He told Sakura, dipping his hands in her bath water to get the foam off his fingers.

When he pulled open the heavy door of their bathroom and stepped out, making sure to close the door after him, he found two men standing within the dimmed room. A particular blond and dark-haired pair known across the nation.

"So you're our back-up," Kakashi stated, watching the stoic Uchiha uncross his arms and straighten from his reclined position against the closet.

"We came as soon as we received the order." Sasuke gave a curt nod before jerking his chin in the bathroom's direction. "How is she?"

"Sick." Kakashi sighed, running a hand through his shaggy silver hair, glad he wasn't handling this situation on his own anymore. "Her fever is through the roof, I ran her a bath."

"K-kakashi," a feminine voice croaked from beyond the door, "is that Sasuke?"

Kakashi turned and pushed open the door a fraction, sticking his head in to find the rosette relaxed in the water, the tap still running. "Yeah. Should I let them in?"

A snort that sounded suspiciously like Naruto echoed. Sakura nodded weakly, sinking further into the murky water so that it covered her up to her mouth. The door swung fully open, revealing her two worried best friends. She waved sheepishly. "Hey guys."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he raced to her side, checking her face for any injuries. "Are you okay?! We were so worried!"

The rosette reached with her drenched palm and patted Naruto's cheek affectionately. "I'll be fine, Naruto." But just as she said that, a shiver jiggled her frame and Kakashi hurried to shut the bathroom door to block the breeze from outside.

He shooed Naruto out of his chair and got to rinsing Sakura's hair by tilting her head back and washing her pink hair as she made small conversation with Naruto about his and Sasuke's most recent mission. He noticed before how much her hair had grown for it reached past her shoulders, but now while running his fingers through it, he realised how thick and long the strands really were.

Sasuke interrupted his musings. "I'm going to check out the storage room. You coming?" The question was directed at Kakashi who looked up and nodded.

"Just give me a minute," he said, moving to grab a towel off the rack, "And get out, both of you."

Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously at him but he silently complied, shutting the door behind him and Sasuke. Kakashi huffed and spread open the fluffy towel for Sakura, his head tilting away as she rose from the waters.

It was slightly alarming that he found himself tempted to peak but he blamed that on silly male hormones as he bundled her up and ran his hands up and down her arms to capture her heat. "Do you need help getting dressed…?" He trailed off unsurely, equal parts of his brain wanting and not wanting her to say no.

To his relief (and slight disappointment) she shook her head. "I think… I'll— I'll get Naruto to help me."

No, you can't was at the tip of his tongue and what the hell, what makes you think you can decide for her!? His thoughts were a mess of confusion to why he would even care. There had been a rumour floating around since forever that Sakura lost her virginity to Naruto, which he kind of found ridiculous; those two had a sibling-like bond he knew he'd never come close to achieving with anyone.

He nodded, ignoring his buzzing head and taking a step back to look at her. She smiled shyly at him, holding the towel tight around her. "Thanks."

"No problem."


"Someone was here." Was the first thing Sasuke declared when he stopped in front of closet twelve, tracing the fist-like dent in the iron door. "Someone with anger issues apparently."

Kakashi peered closely at the mark —he could feel light traces of chakra lingering in the small rectangular space and had to wonder how he didn't notice when getting Sakura. "Sakura doesn't remember ending here."

Sasuke frowned and sloped against the closet. "She doesn't? Did she hit her head?"

"I think so, but that doesn't explain how she remembers everything up till the morning before she went missing." Kakashi moved into closet twelve, taking a whiff of the air. "It was a male. Approximately six feet tall."

"Maybe he drugged her," the Uchiha suggested with a shrug.

Kakashi immediately dismissed the idea with a scoff. "It's Sakura, I doubt anyone can sneak close by, especially of the male species, without getting noticed. Besides, she's a medic, her body would immediately recognise the drug and get rid of it. When I found her she was still passed out."

Sasuke pursed his lips. "If we suppose no one snuck up on her, then we're working against someone with a dangerous jutsu. Maybe a kekkei genaki, that enables them to conceal their presence."

"I guess we won't know unless Sakura gets her memory back." Kakashi sighed moving to check the remaining closets. "They'll definitely be back though, so until then, I better keep a close eye on her."

"Haven't you?"

The question took him off guard. "Um," He found himself stammering, "No? We're gathering information we split all the time."

"She tends to get herself into trouble she can't handle," the Uchiha explained apathetically and Kakashi found an unexplainable wave of anger sweeping over him, causing his fists to ball at his sides. Sakura has come so far, and for anyone to disregard that, it was unthinkable.

"Sakura is perfectly capable of looking after herself," he said tersely, turned on his heel and retreated out of the storage room. If Sasuke caught the underlying anger in his tone, he didn't show it, instead following behind him at a brisk pace back to his and Sakura's room.

Upon entering the warm room, Kakashi found Sakura huddled in Naruto's arms, eyes closed, limbs trembling. "Is she asleep?"

Naruto shook his head and caressed her hair worriedly. "Jeez Sakura-chan, you're burning up."

She shivered in reply and buried her face in his chest, letting out an anguished sound as she gritted out from between clenched teeth, "It's s-so damn c-cold."

The blond squeezed her, running sure palms up and down her arms. "Shh, it'll be okay," He pressed his nose into her hair in a barely-there kiss. "You can rest now. Sasuke and I will catch those bastards."

She pulled the blankets so far up her body they covered her almost up to her eyes. She gave a shaky nod and let out a trembling sigh. "I'm so s-sorry."

"Now, now, it's not your fault." The blond chuckled easily and with genuine affection, his fingers threading through her pink strands. "I'll take care of it, I promise. You just get better."

An unexplainable, dreadful longing welled up in Kakashi's chest as he watched the two, huddled together, the blond's safe arms wrapped securely around the rosette's body, holding her to his chest. Sakura looked incredibly weak and vulnerable, shaking in Naruto's arms and a large portion of him was screaming at him to protect her with all he's got, to extract her from Naruto's arms and hold her as closely as she needed for as long as she wanted while another significantly smaller part was wondering what the fuck was wrong with him.

It had to be the oxygen. Something was wrong in this room. Because his feelings were misplaced and bordered on ridiculous.

Then Sasuke said, "Let's go," to Naruto and the blond was apologising profusely to Sakura for having to leave her as he untangled himself from her and stumbled after Sasuke, leaving Kakashi standing frozen in place in front of the shaking rosette. He contemplated sitting in the ugly green armchair that reminded him way too much of Gai, what with the circularly shaped garment draped over its top but one look at Sakura's pleading eyes was all it took for him to succumb to her aid.

He lifted the covers and got in the space next to her, his arms wrapping protectively over her smaller figure and pulling her closer and onto his lap where he nestled her against his chest and wrapped her tightly in a blanket. She followed wordlessly, her head resting on his chest as she curled in his lap, shivering less and breathing deeper, like she may be falling asleep.

"Thank you," she rasped, closing her eyes.

She fit the curve of his side like she was made to be there, snuggled up next to him, and that thought alone was enough to send his heart into a frantic frenzy. He swallowed thickly, his fingers brushing her hair mindlessly, even when her head tilted back at an awkward angle and she buried her face in his throat.

Her scent engulfed him completely alongside her warmth, an intoxicating combination that made him feel incredibly heavy and he suddenly felt as if he was trapped in a box, her presence surrounding his every corner and it became difficult to breathe as she shifted and the soft feminine flesh of her body pressed against him, warm and squishy and incredibly appealing but also comforting in a weird sense he couldn't place.

"Your heart's beating so fast." She breathed, awed, against the skin of his neck, hot and electrifying.

Kakashi swallowed against his now tight throat. "Is it?"

"Hmm." She trembled slightly. "I can feel it." Her palm flitted shakily over his chest and stopped in the middle, right over his heart. "It feels nice."

Maybe the gods were out to get him, maybe he was just crazy, but he was certain his heart skipped a beat beneath her palm. And he was certain she felt it.


Whoa, this took some time huh? I apologise but I'm doing summer classes so I have much less time. I'll aim to update every 2-3 weeks from now on. I hope you like the fluff in this chapter! Review and let me know which part you liked most and where you think this is headed.

Songs:

1) Hoobastank - The Reason

2) X Ambassadors - Unsteady

If you haven't voted for which person you want to end up with Naruto, head to my blog (bouncyirwin) and vote, I'll reblog the link so you could find it easily!

Thank you for the sweet reviews ya'll have been giving me, I adore it.

Until next timeeee x

-Rama