When I was alone
You came around
When I was down
You pulled me through
& there's nothing that
I wouldn't do for you
'Cause I wanted to fly,
so you gave me your wings
& time held its breath so I could see, yeah
& you set me free.
It had been three days since Haruno Sakura's 'incident,' the one that left her bed-ridden in a Konoha hospital with Hatake Kakashi at her bedside. In the two days immediately following recovery, she was assigned a B-rank mission that forced her to sleep outside in a makeshift tent for the night. Even though she was paired up with Hinata on the endeavor, she couldn't help feeling entirely alone. While she and the Hyuuga heir had become lasting friends, there was still one important piece missing to the puzzle. Dismissing it as a longing for Team 7 coupled with heartbreak over Sasuke throughout the day, she found herself startled when awakening the next morning from a dream about her former teacher.
In it, they were back at the hospital – she was relatively comatose; he was watching over her bedside with an attentive eye. The dream seemed like more of a flashback to Sakura until it further progressed. Something out of the ordinary was taking place; something she hadn't seen actually happen. He was leaning down over her sleeping form, strands of fine silver hair falling in front of his ever-elusive face. His gaze narrowed and turned serious, prompting him to reach up with one hand to adjust his forehead protector so that it was horizontally across his forehead, rather than over his sharingan. Even in her dream, his scar was just as she'd remembered it – a clean line from his forehead to below his eye; a beautiful declaration of long, hard battles fought and hardships endured. The blood red of his sharingan gleamed at her, teardrops of black over unforgiving crimson. There was always something beautiful to her about the structure of those eyes, those weapons.
Suddenly, Kakashi did something that Sakura would never have expected him to do, not in a million lifetimes. After all, it would be a first in five years of knowing him. Flicking his thumb underneath the smooth black fabric of his mask, he started to slowly pull it down. Leaning over more and more as he was doing so, he eventually reached her pale cheek and as he finished pulling down his mask, his lips planted a soft kiss on her porcelain face.
Before he could lean back so that she could see him in her dream, see what was actually under the mask that hid his being for years and years, the same cold, unforgiving feeling of being awakened to a bright light above her rushed in once again. This time, however, the source of annoyance came from the sun.
"Good morning, Sakura! I'm sorry, did I wake you up when I took down the tent's walls? I didn't mean to..." Hinata blushed apologetically, rolling half of the tent up in her small hands. Sakura rubbed her morning-unadjusted green eyes from inside of her polyester sleeping bag, yawning deliberately.
"N-nah, don't worry about it. Good morning, Hinata," Sakura yawned once again, sitting up and running a lazy hand through her disheveled pink hair. "It was about time I woke up anyway. We need to return to Konoha today, after all. Mission's over, thank God..."
Hinata smiled serenely, tying a black rope tightly around the pieces of the tent and placing them in her camouflage backpack. "You're going to have to move, I'm sorry. I have to finish putting this thing away, and that includes the bottom," She made her way over to Sakura, who clumsily stepped out of her dirt brown sleeping back, slinging it across her shoulder and plopping it down three feet from the tent. Falling backwards onto it, she lazily looked up at the sky and sighed.
"Hey, Hinata..." She started, focusing on a particularly strange cloud formation above. When Hinata looked up at her in reply, Sakura shook her head and dismissed the thought. After all, she didn't feel that she knew her well enough to tell her that she was having what seemed like romantic dreams about her former teacher. It wasn't that she didn't like her enough, which was obviously not the case – she just didn't want Hinata to have a poor impression of what type of person she was. After all, something as forbidden as trying to court a man over 10 years your elder wasn't exactly normal business in such a conservative village. Besides, Sakura thought, what if people find out and assume I'm desperate because I got rejected by Sasuke? What if they think I'm a ridiculous jezebel who goes after everyone who so much as looks at me? She wasn't going to allow that to happen. Stepping onto the grassy ground, she took the end of her sleeping bag in both hands and rolled it up into a ball. Finding its clasp on the side and closing it firmly, she tossed it to Hinata who placed it into the backpack.
Stretching one last time, Sakura looked over at her partner and smiled. "Ready to head out?" Hinata replied with a nod, walking to where Sakura stood. The both of them turned on their heels and headed back home.
The steady swish of the washing machines around him dulled Kakashi's thoughts as he stood, cross-armed, in the ever-busy Konoha Laundromat. In the cramped and busy room on the 80 degree day, he couldn't help but to begin sweating profusely in his long-sleeved shirt, Jounin vest, and dark blue pants – his usual uniform. They certainly didn't keep the weather in mind when they designed this thing, he thought to himself bitterly. Closing his eyes and resting his back against the wall, he let out a deep sigh and began to mull over exactly what had taken place before Sakura had left for her mission with Hinata.
He had blamed that evening on insanity. To Kakashi, having feelings for one of his former students proved that he was out of his mind. She was younger, after all. A lot younger. The kind of young that would make the townspeople look upon the elite copy ninja with disgust, labeling him a pervert who read dirty books and dated teenagers for the sole reason of getting them into his bed. Shaking his head at the thought, Kakashi knew and realized that he would never think such things about Sakura. For the longest time, he thought he loved her like a little sister or as a prized student. He had always given her more leeway during training than Naruto or Sasuke, but he wrote it off as being due to the fact that she was female and had nothing overly defining about her – after all, she didn't have a nine-tailed fox living inside of her and she wasn't one of the last remaining survivors of a fabled clan. She was just Sakura, plain and simple. A too-tall girl with a bad temper and a loving heart. She could never control her emotions and cried often, but she gave everything her all and never gave up. Her intelligence was highly above average; Kakashi could almost bet that her IQ would rival Shikamaru's if she were to get it tested.
He began running through images of her in his mind; scenes that took place ever since she had first graduated from the academy and he had become her teacher. He couldn't forget the first thing she ever told him about herself. "I like... well, the person I like is..." Sasuke. When they had to go through survival training in the woods, she passed out because she saw a fatally wounded illusion of someone. Sasuke. During the Chuunin exams, she kept demanding to see and check up on how one person was doing. Sasuke. After Kakashi and Sasuke both had been mentally wounded by Uchiha Itachi, Sakura visited one of them with flowers every single day. Sasuke. No matter what Kakashi was feeling throughout the course of their training under him, he had no chance to ever realize it or even accept it. After all, she had one person on her mind – Uchiha Sasuke. That didn't change. In fact, Kakashi thought, that still hasn't changed. She stood in the rain for hours after he had rejected her, which is how Kakashi managed to find her that night. He has complete control over her, Kakashi thought. He changes the equation she adds up to. If he said so much as 'hello Sakura' to her, she would have an amazing day. What he does... well, it changes her being. Her mood. Kakashi could not imagine anyone having as much control over him as Sasuke did over Sakura. He had always lived in solitude, completely for himself and only himself. Sure, he had had girlfriends – especially when he was young and in ANBU. Girls would flock to him, pretend to want to get to know him, and then change on him in the blink of an eye. Some only wanted him to bring them home. Some just wanted to know how it was like to be dating a ninja. Either way, one thing was constant in each of his relationships, and that was the fact that none of them were serious, nor did they last.
He didn't know what he was expecting with Sakura. Hell, he didn't even know if he even felt anything at all for her. In fact, he was sure that it was just a passing thing that would go away once he saw her in a normal light again, rather than laying there in a hospital bed. When she brought up Sasuke again was when he'd realize where he truly stood. He had all faith in the fact that she would, too. It would be uncharacteristic of her not to. But damn, he could still hear her voice in his head, ringing in his ears like a bad addiction.
"Hello, Kakashi! It's been a while."
"I never want to stop training with you, even though I'll be doing independent missions now. Never."
"Tell me a story. Tell me about your mission."
"Kakashi!"
"Doing laundry, I see?"
...What? Kakashi quickly opened his eyes, averting his gaze to his left. It wasn't just a daydream. There she was, standing right next to him. She and... Hyuuga Hinata, one of Kurenai's former students. That's right, he thought. They just got back from a misson together. Hinata looked as shy as ever, looking halfway at him and halfway at the floor. Avoiding looking startled as best he could, he smiled amiably and raised a hand to Sakura and her comrade. "Yo."
Sakura smirked, advancing towards her former teacher. "I've never seen you in here before. I guess elusive Jounin such as yourself wash their clothes too, eh?" She spoke with a playful tinge to her voice, which both confused and further startled Kakashi. When she spoke to him, it was usually either completely serious discussion or teacher-student/trainer-trainee speak. Even when they conversed for nights on end, it was never like this. She was always either pouring her heart out about a serious subject matter or he was entertaining her with tales from his past adventures. What has gotten into her, Kakashi thought, that would cause her to act like this? Maybe...
"Umm, Sakura, shouldn't we be washing our clothes now rather than talking? It'll get done faster that way..." Hinata interjected hesitantly, emptying her bag of clothing onto the table and opening a washing machine.
Turning to Hinata, Sakura nodded and shrugged. "Yeah, you're right." Emptying her own bag onto the table directly in front of Kakashi, she quickly piled all of her clothes into a ball, picked it up, and tossed it into the washing machine. Closing the lid with a thud, Sakura fixed the wash settings, closed the lid, and hopped up onto the machine. Swinging her legs back and forth from on top of it, she cocked her head to the side and turned to Kakashi once again. "Let's train tonight."
Blinking slowly, Kakashi shifted his position against the wall and cleared his throat. "Okay, that's fine with me. The usual place, or...?"
Sakura nodded, inadvertently looping a few strands of pink hair behind her right ear. "Same place we always train. I'll be there in... three hours. Is that enough time for you?"
"Mhm," Kakashi replied, hearing his machine finish washing. Lazily sauntering over to the machine, he opened it up and placed his soggy clothes into a basket. Figuring he'd just hang them out to dry when he got back to his house, he placed the basket on his left shoulder and looked over his right. "See you there."
Thinking of one last thing to say before he left, Sakura reached out one hand so as to metaphorically catch him before leaving. "Kakashi, don't..." In a flash, he was gone. "...be late."
Hinata turned to Sakura and shrugged.
Sitting by the ever-familiar tall pine that stood as a landmark for all training sessions between she and Kakashi, Sakura sat up against its unforgiving bark, legs sprawled out in front of her. Sighing deeply, she measured by the sun that he was a good half an hour late. Not that she was expecting anything different out of someone as unpunctual as he, but she figured that he'd be more attentive now that they were on the same level rather than she being required to train below him. Just as she was about to stand up and stretch a bit, a familiar shape emerged from behind the tree.
"Yo," Kakashi offered with an apologetic smile, realizing that he was late.
Sakura glared at him, pouting over the fact that she had to wait so long. "Don't give me your 'Yo,' Kakashi. I deserve more than that."
Raising his hand to his chin, Kakashi looked up and mulled over her words. "Hmmmm," he started, "I---"
Cutting him off with laughter, Sakura lifted herself onto her feet and shook her head. "I'm kidding. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, right? You'll always be late."
Kakashi frowned, glancing over at her. "I resent that."
"Resent what?"
"Being called an old dog."
Exploding in laughter once again, Sakura ran out into the open grassy area northwest of the pine tree. Pulling a kunai from the holder on her shorts, she stood in a mock battle stance and yelled over to him. "Come on, old dog! Let's fight!"
She had expected him to appear about five feet from her and initiate hand-to-hand combat, but when he was suddenly behind her, holding her own kunai to her throat, she was a bit taken aback. His left hand gripped her shoulder tightly, constricting her. She was shocked at the suddenness of the motion. Looking up at him, he flashed her one of his usual smiles. "You know, Sakura, it's better to be an old dog..." Letting her go and giving her a small shove forward, he tossed the kunai behind him and appeared in front of her once again, catching her fall. Grabbing her right arm, he flipped her onto her stomach and lightly pressed his knee against her back, forcing her to the ground. Twisting her right arm behind her, he jokingly tapped lightly on it with four of his fingers. "...than a mere puppy."
Sakura gritted her teeth from her spot on the ground, twisting her body around and kicking upward and onto her feet, causing him to let go of her arm and step back. She leapt at him with a turning kick, watching him block it with his left palm. Once she landed, she ducked and advanced with an uppercut, seeing him block that as well. Crouching once more, she came at him with a sidesweep, only to have him bend down and catch her ankle, turning her onto her back on the ground once again.
She kicked at his arm, leaping to her feet once more. Running at him from a short range, she headed at him with an obvious backfist, anticipating his blocking of it. Just as it was about to make contact, she ducked in between his legs and came out behind him, whipping out a kunai in a split second and holding it to his throat. Gotcha, she thought to herself, tightening an arm around his waist.
"Hmmm..." Kakashi spoke calmly, almost impressed. "You've gotten better. I thought I could read you, but you've proven to be quite unexpected." Sakura grinned, obviously proud of herself and her improving abilities. "But you know..." He started again, causing Sakura to look up in interest. "...you're holding me pretty tightly." That was just enough to catch her off-guard. Feeling a blush creep up her cheeks, she loosened her grip on him and moved the kunai back a few inches from his throat. Immediately disappearing, Kakashi took his leave.
"Dammit," Sakura cursed to herself, realizing the tactic he pulled. After all, she thought, it's not like he has any way of knowing what I've been dreaming about lately. He can't read my mind. I'm such a fool. Before she could finish her thought, however, she was on the ground once again, her face pressing against the dirt. His knees were on her back and he had both of her arms behind her, holding onto her hands.
"But sometimes, in hand-to-hand combat, you have to hold your opponent tightly... else they'll get away," Kakashi finished, smirking to himself. Sakura raised an eyebrow, looking up at him. Her mind was telling her exactly what she needed to do. Attempting to look as coy as possible, she batted her eyelashes innocently up at him.
"But I would never try to get away from you, Kakashi. Opponent or not, I couldn't ever do that."
Thump.
Kakashi could feel his heartbeat quicken in his chest. What did she just say?
This is it, Sakura thought. I can break free of this hold now. Dropping her hands to the ground and rolling over onto her back, Sakura poised herself to leap to her feet once more. Suddenly, without warning, she felt her shoulders pinned to the ground and the sunlight blocked from her eyes. Staring into Kakashi's intense gaze, she became so shocked that she could not move.
"Kakashi...?" She whispered slowly, unable to pry her eyes away from his stare. Feeling her own heartbeat quicken, she felt the release on her right shoulder disappear as his hand moved up to his forehead protector, lifting it into alignment with his hairline. He opened his sharingan eye, intensifying his stare. Sakura couldn't breathe. This is... exactly like my...
She saw his hand move from his forehead protector to his thin black mask, pulling it slowly down from where it rested below his eyes. All she saw was black on red. The contrast of his sharingan. That beautiful scar. Before she could react to what he was doing or even look at his face, he swiftly leaned down until their noses were touching.
...dream.
"Close your eyes."
He kissed her.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed chapter 1! It motivated me to write this one at lot faster than I was planning. :]
The lyrics at the beginning of this chapter were from Michelle Branch's "You Set Me Free." I thought they fit pretty well.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! There's a lot more to come.
- Mitsuki
