'Hello! I'm back with another little story. I may continue it, but for now, it is a one-shot. AH! Oh well.. I wrote this after reading chapter 234. I was so touched. Kakashi is probably barely holding on. I know this is not what has happened in the recent chapters, but I wrote this before they were released.. I believed something like this might have happened.

This story is called "Eclipse of the Heart" because Kakashi is always closed and wants to cover his heart from all the pain. There is a surprise in the end though. Anyway, please enjoy and leave your opinion by reviewing. This means a lot to me! Thank you very much. Alright, enough babbling, here you are!'

Eclipse of the heart

A veil of darkness painted with sparkling spots had covered the endless sky. The bitter, icy air sweeped in through the window beside him, enveloping his exhausted body. As he stared unconsciously out into the heavens, he felt the eternal wind that danced through the night carry memories, hope and kisses. He felt it on his pale skin. Grey clouds hovered over him wildly, like confused angels. They were beginning to conceal the precious stars above him. The milky moon illuminated a frail light. It was getting darker and darker.. He remembered the feeling of anguish as he protectively carried Naruto on his back. Kakashi's hands trembled with guilt at that very moment on the sill..

"Naruto.." He muttered.

'Hold on..'

Kakashi let a deep sigh escape from his mouth. His entire body was aching. He tried to ignore the fact that his eyes felt incredibly heavy and that he would most likely pass out any minute. He had indeed overexerted himself, but it was undoubtedly worth it. He could now rest his body while waiting patiently for Tsunade to return with hopefully good news.

Thoughts were swirling through his tired mind. He dwelt on Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura..

'What had happened?'

He wished to hear Naruto shout happily and annoyingly again. He wanted to observe Sakura giving infatuated looks to Sasuke again. He wanted to watch Sasuke calmly handle the most toughest situations again. He wanted to feel pride in himself and in his students.

He felt that this was partially his fault. He should have been there more frequently.. He should have paid more attention to Naruto and Sakura.. He should have protected them from the dangers that occurred. He had broken that brave and important promise he had made to himself a long time ago.. He leaned against the wall, his sad eyes traveling to the ceiling. He squinted slightly, his heart aching harshly.

'What can I do to make things the way they were before?'

While he was lost in his thoughts, Tsunade came quietly in, her soft footsteps echoing through the room. He became alert and noticed her almost straight away. Kakashi turned to face her unnatural, young face. She tried to read his covered expression, but it was nearly impossible. He had always been a difficult one to understand properly. He hesitated for a moment before unwillingly sighing again.

"How is he?" He asked, blankly, yet his concern for his lively student was obvious. Tsunade had a grave look on her face. Her earthy eyes were sparkling. Kakashi expected something negative to come out of her rosy lips, but instead, she smiled cunningly.

"Naruto will be just fine. He's already awake, would you believe. What a tough brat he is." She said, boldly. Kakashi smiled weakly as his heart jumped faintly with relief. Her smile vanished though and she unexpectedly became serious.

"However, he will need to rest his body for a week. He may be upset and I think he will need alto of support." She uttered, sternly. She slid her fingers through her golden, wispy hair. Kakashi was clearly aware that Naruto would probably need to extensively rest his body from the beginning, for he had drastically passed his limits. It was amazing he did not severely damage his body.

"I understand.. Thank you." Kakashi whispered. He dutifully bowed to show his gratitude and loyalty to her. She nodded, a smile emerging on her face. Saying that she needed to see how the other brave warriors were doing, she exited the empty room, leaving Kakashi to finally be able to think over the entire situation.

Now, he had to make an important and conclusive decision. Should he stay here and watch over Naruto, who is in poor shape, or Sasuke, who is falling into the endless darkness? He was having difficulty on choosing.. He did not want to let anyone down. Not anymore..

He was slightly taken by surprise due to his deep thoughts when a sound rumbled through the sour air. He swiftly turned around in order to see who had come. Sakura had entered the room hurriedly.

She had a pleasant look on her face, her green eyes glowing with appreciation. Kakashi was overwhelmed to see her so calm. Her petal-pink hair gracefully flowed as she turned her head to meet Kakashi's emotionless stare.

'He does look rather exhausted..' She thought, a warm smile forming on her pale mask.

'You are not so closed now..'

"Kakashi-sensei.." She uttered. He vaguely smiled back before shifting his blurry gaze to the floor. He felt a weak wave of pain flow through his body as he attempted to approach Sakura. He ignored it. She walked angelically over to him.

"Have you seen Naruto?" He asked, tiredly. She nodded, seriously.

"So, you know what happened? About Sasuke.." He continued, slowly. She failed to answer immediately, as images of her precious partner flashed before her emerald eyes. She met his hard stare and a remorseful look plagued her features. She managed to force a pitiful nod.

"Yes, Naruto told me." She said, sadly, as her big eyes began to sparkle magnificently. But she was proud of Naruto, no matter what happened. She was extremely relieved to know that he had at least pulled through. However, before she could tell her teacher that she was not upset over him, Kakashi had stolen her moment as he began to speak in a low tone.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. You may be disappointed over Naruto's actions, but he fought bravely and did everything in his power to bring Sasuke back. It is I who is at fault.." He paused, finding difficulty telling her this. She listened intently and nodded for him to continue.

"If I were here.. If I had been there on time.." He muttered. He realized that he was at loss for words, unable to continue his explanation. She tilted her head slightly to the side, before smiling eagerly. He seemed rather surprised, but did not question her behavior. A strange aura consumed her.

"Don't say that, sensei. It is not your fault at all. Sasuke made a bad choice, as he was being manipulated by Orochimaru. Like Naruto, you did everything in your power to protect him, including Naruto." Her bright smile never disappeared from her face as she spoke openly. He was taken aback by her hidden wisdom, but it was to no avail. He still dwelt on that important decision that had to be made quickly. Seeing no reaction or receiving no response to her words, she forced a sudden question out of her lips.

"What are you going to do now, sensei?" She asked, in a solemn tone. He evaded her question by literally not answering. He was intoxicated with silence, not knowing exactly what to answer her. Getting nothing out of that question, she sighed. Inner Sakura was screeching loudly in aggravation over his seriousness. She was extremely curious to know what he was going to do next and asked yet another question..

"Are you going to go after Sasuke?" She asked, gravely. Her eyes shined with concern. He gave her a mild glare, followed by what was probably the tenth sigh today. She studied him, anticipation flowing through her. He radiated a weak discomfort, but Sakura merely noticed.

"That's what I am trying to figure out.." He answered, rather coldly. He sent an encouraging smile, yet behind it lied sadness. Sakura was very intelligent and had always possessed great analytical skills. She could tell it was fake.

"I'm going to talk to Naruto.." He whispered, softly. This time, he smiled warmly. "It's late.. Sakura, you should go home." She watched him leave the room..

'Kakashi-sensei, why are you in so much pain?'

Kakashi slowly opened the door and met a pair of bedazzling blue eyes staring at him. He sent a weak smile as he entered the grey room. Naruto reflected the same smile, obviously tired.

"Kakashi-sensei." He said, rather happily.

"How do you feel?" Kakashi asked, coming closer to the bed where Naruto lay.

"Not too bad." He answered. Kakashi could tell he was troubled. His eyes lacked that unique gleam of joy and confidence. And he was not smiling, like he usually did.. It was his fault that he was lying there. He should have been there to protect him.

"Naruto.. I.." Kakashi began with a faint whisper. Naruto looked up at him, his golden locks swaying back and forth.

"I'm sorry I came too late." He admitted. Naruto did not react immediately, for he was stunned by his words.

"Why are you apologizing?" He questioned, finally. He laughed insecurely. Kakashi just stared at him, speechless again. The guilt consumed his heart.

"It's not your fault.." Naruto continued, quietly. His eyes averted to the side.

"Neither is it yours." Kakashi answered, sharply.

"Are you going to go after Sasuke?" He asked, impulsively. He looked into his sensei's onyx eye. Kakashi narrowed his eyes, before he shifted his weak gaze to the window.

"I don't know what to do anymore.." He whispered, heavily. Naruto noticed the pain he was radiating. It was hard for both of them to lose an important comrade, but he sensed that there was something more weighing down his heart.

'What could it be?'

"If you want me to stay, I will." Kakashi said, clearly. Naruto was snapped out of his analization of Kakashi's behavior. Then he realized what he had just said. He was taken aback.

'Why would he want to stay here?'

Actually, Naruto believed that Kakashi would have immediately gone after Sasuke after he had brought Naruto to safety.

"What?" Naruto asked, surprised. That was all he managed to say.

"I'm tired of constantly letting you down. I let you down when I chose to train Sasuke instead of you. I come late or don't even come when you are in danger.." His last words faltered. Naruto had hardly ever seen his teacher open up. He could tell he was struggling to do so. Nevertheless, he continued.

"I apologize for focusing my attention on Sasuke.. Now I want to stay and make sure you get better." He said with a faint smile. Naruto felt a warm feeling in his heart. It must be the feeling of gratitude..

"Thank you!" He said, kindly. His azure eyes were shining with gratitude. Before Naruto could say anything else, Kakashi felt a weak presence sweep over him. It interrupted their conversation. He slowly turned around and stared at the closed door.

"I know you are listening, Sakura.." Kakashi said, in his usual, bored tone. Sakura bashfully entered the room. She did not want to intrude rudely, but she was too curious to know what Kakashi and Naruto were discussing. In addition, she was in fact worried about Kakashi.

"Sorry.." She whispered, quite embarrassed.

"Sakura-chan!" He shouted, surprised, although he had absolutely nothing against her visiting. Kakashi shook his head, rejecting her apology.

"It does not matter." He answered, tenderly. Actually, Kakashi wished for her to come, for he wanted to announce something of great importance.

"Sakura, Naruto.." He began, slowly. They discreetly focused their attention on Kakashi.

"When Naruto has recovered, We will leave in search for Sasuke." He announced, seriously. Naruto's eyes widened whilst Sakura gasped softly. She was happy to know that he was willing to escort, protect and support them.

"Wait! Don't you have a mission?" Naruto asked, energetically, a look of surprise plastered on his bandaged face.

"I don't care about that. Right now, I have to focus on what is most important. My team." He responded with a deep tone. Naruto smiled happily, relieved to know he was willing to give up on a responsibility given to him as a ninja, for the team, when they were all doing different things. Naruto was training under the supervision of Jiraiya, whilst Sakura was receiving guidance from Tsunade. This made him feel like he was abandoning Kakashi's tutoring. He weakly frowned..

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura told him, warmly. Kakashi accepted the gratitude with a faint nod. His vision was cloudy. He felt fatigue take over him quickly.

"I have to go home and rest now.." He said, wearily. He bid them a good night and proceeded to leave the room. However, he halted when hearing his student's enthusiastic call.

'Naruto, your spirit never dies, does it?'

"No matter what happens to me, you'll always be my sensei!" He said, loudly. Kakashi could do nothing else but smile, for he still wanted to remain closed. But he did appreciate the comment immensely.

He stepped outside in to the lonely night. A cloud of breath was visible as he breathed freely. The dark clouds had vanished, allowing the stars to shine beautifully again. The bright moon bathed him soothingly as he hurried home. Once again, he pondered.

'I managed to open my heart a little today..'

'Maybe it's because of you.. Naruto, Sakura..'

The end.

'Yey! So, what do you think? Hope you liked it. Concerning the love story I want to write which I mentioned in my previous story, I have not come up with any good ideas. Please come with suggestions! Like I said, please review and have a good weekend :o)'

-Curlybear