First off, glad people seem to be enjoying this as much as myself. Secondly, timeline is weird, so sorry about that. I know it's hard to tell what time of day it is as well and such. But I'm going to be an ass and ignore it for now. Some language in this one but that's about it.

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me and I'm thankful I can abuse its characters anyway I want through fan fiction.

Purple Lightning - Flash of the Sword, Chapter 4
Sakura ignored the blatant stares as she paced back and forth in front of Jounin Headquarters. She'd already passed by Kakashi's apartment, not exactly meaning to see him but hoping he'd be there since it was mid-morning. She thought it odd that he would be up, but had never figured out why he was usually late for training or other engagements. She'd always just figured he was sleeping in or reading porn.

Her hand reached for the door then shot back to her side. Then went up again before she paced away. A female nin heading out held the door open for her but she just smiled and backed away.

Just go in! Okay here we go…No, damn! Okay, another try…Shit, what if he's in there? Then I'll just say 'Hi, how's it going? Feel weird about me coming on to you while I was drunk last night? Yes? Well that's okay. See you later Sensei!' FUCK!

No it'll be fine. I'll go in, there'll be people around. It won't be weird…just GO!...go now…you're not moving Sakura. IKU ZO!

She threw her arm into the door and shot in with her head down. Her feet slowed as she reached the middle of the room and she forced herself to look around. No Kakashi in sight. But quite a few chuunins, and not to mention jounins, were staring at her.

She couldn't help but feel a little tension ease away, but now she'd have to go looking for him.

Damn, I'll probably end up running into him around a corner or something…

Looking around discreetly, she headed to the table where a few nins were sitting and managing the requests and missions that came in.

"Have you seen Hatake Kakashi in here today?" She wasn't worried about the nin not knowing who he was.

"Aa, early this morning, he left on an Anbu mission, I saw him come in here and gather a few other special jounin…" She didn't recognize the male nin so she was forced to yell at him without knowing his name.

"WHAT! Where did he go? Why? What?" She had her hands planted on the table and was leaning over the nin who looked extremely scared.

"I-I couldn't tell you anything about the mission even if I knew! All I know is the name of one of the jounin he left with…" She backed off a little and then smiled as sweetly as she could down at the young nin.

"Ne,..um…"

"Juujun."

"Juujun-kun, could you tell me the name of the other jounin at least?" The male nin, Juujun, visibly relaxed and smiled back.

"Shiranui Genma." She frowned and then walked out of Jounin Headquarters without thanking the nin whose name she'd already forgotten.

Must be urgent for him to have to find other nins and leave so early…

She fought down the worry growing in her stomach and headed back to her apartment.

Hot rain flew into Sakura's eyes as she streaked across rooftops and swatted clothes hanging from lines away from her face. She had a second to realize she was wasting chakra before her feet smacked against the dampening ground in front of Konoha's hospital. The sun shined weakly into her eyes as it got ready for the coming evening.

"What room am I needed in!" She shouted behind her at the chuunin medic in training that had come to get her. The girl was panting and holding her side tightly as she followed Sakura through the doors.

"Tsunade-sama said…room 18…I think that-" But Sakura left her behind and flew down a hallway.

A male medic rushed out of said room covered in blood and looking around frantically.

"Haruno-san! Quick let me help you into these-" He looked around for some white medic clothes even as she grabbed the front of his blood soaked shirt and dragged him into the room with her.

"Just tell me what's going on!" She squeezed between two other medics as they hastily completed inking a complicated circle pattern on the floor and bed.

Huge slash wounds were the first things that caught her eye. The male anbu's chest, stomach and thighs were sliced open in short and long stripes that crisscrossed his body. His mask and sandals had been removed along with some of his torn shirt.

Sakura immediately took out a kunai and started cutting off his pants to take a better look at his ribboned flesh. Another medic continued to remove what was left of the shirt.

"A mission didn't go as well as planned. Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san are working on some others…"

"Alright, let's begin." Sakura interrupted as she saw the extent of the damage once the anbu was completely naked. The four medics including Sakura spaced themselves around his heavily bleeding form. Each performed a series of seals before whispering and placing their hands on his cooling skin. The painted seal on the floor lit up and Sakura closed her eyes focusing on the chakra rushing through her limbs.

Sakura was running out of chakra, she could feel it in the way her limbs sagged even as she tried to force chakra in to the chest of another anbu. Another female medic stood in the same position on his other side head down and panting.

Chakra swirled around his heart again as Sakura tried to squeeze it back into life. His body jerked a little as she shocked his heart into contracting. Nothing. A quick line of seals flew from her hands before she slapped them back to his chest to contract both lungs and heart. Still nothing.

Two anbu stood in the room with the medics. Sakura had been attacked by an injured anbu earlier with some sort of confusion jutsu performed on him and protection seemed necessary. She was now smeared with his blood from head to waist and bruised from trying to hold him down.

Get up, get up. Wake up. Please…

She silently pleaded to the anbu's still heavily bruised chest as she violently shoved some more chakra into him.

"Sakura-san…please stop." The female medic said quietly trying to lift Sakura's hands away from the dead anbu. Sakura just threw her hands off and kept trying. A strange blankness seemed to be filling her and she wondered if she'd used too much chakra. She couldn't understand this feeling, or lack there of.

"He's already dead." The anbu closest to her said, squeezing her shoulder gently but firmly enough.

Sakura let her hands slip over the cooling flesh as she brought them away from his still chest. She took a step closer to his head and brought her hand up to turn his face so she could see him. His hair was so dark a black it had almost purple highlights. The skin along his strong jaw was unblemished and free of any blood. He looked like he was heavily sleeping more than anything, and that's what gave him away, no ninja sleep so completely.

"His name…" Sakura wasn't sure if she'd spoken loud enough but the movement of the anbu brought him closer to her.

"Shiden." His voice was emotionless and with the mask in place she couldn't make out anything about him. But she smiled at him in what she hoped was a grateful way before walking from the room.

A young chuunin was waiting outside the room. Sakura nodded for her to go in and finish up before briefly leaning her forehead against the wall outside. But nothing came to her. No tears, absolutely nothing. Her eyes didn't hurt and her lungs didn't clench with the preparation of sobs. A quiet calm blankness seemed to fill every cell of her body, numbing her.

She blinked and turned back to the hall watching the medics and nin walk slowly past, keeping their voices down as they past the room. The two anbu left the room and gave her a glance, turning their masked faces her way before moving silently and smoothly down the hall.

She glanced down at herself. She needed to think about something or do anything other than think about the dead anbu. Her arms were smeared in blood from the anbu that had attacked her as well as her black shirt. But it was the way the shirt was sticking to her skin that gave it away. She picked at her shirt before deciding to find something to do.

Walking down the hall was hard as she felt the heaviness in her limbs come back. She walked past rooms with nin in various conditions of injury or sickness. A movement in one room made her stop and take a closer look.

Genma lay in a bed close to the door; his head wrapped heavily in bandages, his hand was raised in a sort of wave to get her attention. Sakura felt something creep into her body. Panic filled her as she saw the drawn curtain for the bed next to him. She rushed into the room and yanked the curtain aside. A female nin with a heavily bandaged chest slept soundly there. Turning back to Genma she resisted the urge to drag him up by his shirt front.

"Genma, where's Kakashi?" She said with forced quiet as she clenched her fists to her side.

"He's not here, he left…" He answered a little confusedly as he stared up into her face. She took in his bandaged head again before running out of the room and hospital altogether.

She wasn't sure how she found enough chakra to help her across the slippery night rooftops but she found herself at Kakashi's apartment door. She practically threw the door off it's hinges as she made her way in.

"Kakashi! Come out here right now!" She shouted feeling the panic crawling all over her body like a thousand insects.

He wasn't in the small living room/kitchen area but she saw a pair of sandals sitting at the entrance of the hall leading to his room and bathroom. Kakashi hated the hospital and she had found him bleeding in the dark of his apartment after missions more than a few times. The face of the dead anbu, Shiden, flashed through her mind like a bolt of lightning as Kakashi appeared at the hall entrance.

He was holding his black gloves in one hand and his white vest which was smeared with blood in the other. His black sleeveless shirt and long pants looked intact, as well as his mask. The only other trace of blood she could see was smeared on his right hand.

She took the few steps to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her forehead against his chest. She started to shake uncontrollably as her mind played a picture of him lying dead on a table across her eyes.

He dropped his clothing and squeezed her closer to him. She shook so hard it made his arms quiver. He squeezed tighter trying to stop the movement of her shoulders. He jerked a little in surprise as he felt her warm chakra making its way weakly into his back from her hands.

"I'm not hurt Sakura." He whispered as he brought his face to the top of her head. She nodded but didn't stop and his eyes almost closed as her chakra eased through his chest and stomach, easing aches and rubbing muscles.

He forced his eyes back open and removed his covered lips from her hair. His hand came up to pull her chin up. He looked down at her face and saw no tears there. He looked over the rest of her he could see as she loosened her arms a little. She was covered in blood and had very little chakra moving in her. But she'd stopped shaking, although he wasn't sure if that was better since her body seemed too still to be normal.

He let go of her chin and grabbed her hand to lead her into his bedroom. She followed like a ghost, hardly even putting pressure on his hand. As they reached the bed he let her go. She took off her sandals and crawled in first. He followed, lying down as she wrapped her arms and leg around his chest and waist.

His arm pushed under her waist to wrap around her back as he pulled her close. He used his free hand to grasp his duvet and bring it up to cover them both. When he was finished arranging the duvet he brought his hand up to her head to brush her hitai-ate off. He paused as his bloodied hand reached to stroke through her almost white looking hair in the darkness.

"You smell of other people's blood." He said quietly to the top of her head. Pulling his fingers gently through her silky smooth tresses in a comforting way.

"So do you." It came out calm but her arms and leg crushed their bodies together. He pushed his leg between her thighs and brought her blood covered scent into his mouth as her muscles relaxed and eyes closed in exhaustion.

'Sakura looked down at her own body lying naked on the hospital bed. Her skin looked pale and her face completely relaxed in death. She brushed a lock of pink hair from her forehead before closing her own bright green eyes with her fingers.

Slowly she un-tucked the bed sheet and wrapped her dead body in it. She didn't want to see the young and very innocent looking face anymore. That wasn't her anymore.

She covered her head and tucked the sheet in tight around her body, making a cocoon that still held the contours of her body. As if her hands followed some unspoken command they lifted and performed a quick line of seals before she slowly blew a soft breath over them. In flash flames she brought her burning hands apart. She reached down and laid her hands on the sheet; the fire spreading rapidly.'

Sakura woke with a start, her heart racing and body covered in sweat. She took a deep breath taking in her half familiar surroundings with aching eyes. A stiff breeze came into the window next to the bed, a sheet of paper on the bed stand fluttered a little.

Reaching over she lifted the shuriken weighing it down. Thin scratchy writing flowed across it in neat lines.

'I'm heading to Jounin and Anbu Headquarters. I've got some paperwork to fill out so if I don't see you until after noon I'll come looking for you. – Kakashi'

Hmm, he's a man of few words even when he writes…

Sakura looked around his small bedroom, his dirty clothes were tossed at the bottom of his closet and his anbu uniform hung separately from a hook on the wall. She slowly crawled out from under his warm duvet and went over to the dirty uniform, lifting his mask from the top of the hook. As she brought it to her face she could smell him, sweat, a little blood, but mostly just him.

She hung it back up and made her way to his bathroom. Her muscles felt incredible sore so she turned on his shower almost scalding hot. She threw her dirty clothes out into the hall before boiling her body and mind in the harsh torrent.

When she'd been standing long enough to make her body completely red she picked up his soap and tried to scrub the memories and blood away from last night. Then used his shampoo numerous times until she smelled almost like him. It made her smile thinking she'd just covered herself in him as she stepped clean and feeling a little more clear headed, from the shower.

Sloshing water on his bathroom floor she realized she'd forgotten to get a towel from the closet in the hall. Kakashi's fresh used black towel from earlier that morning was sitting on the countertop near the sink. She rubbed the used and still damp cloth across her body and through her hair.

When she was done brushing her hair and using her finger as a tooth brush she walked naked back into his room, glancing at the weak morning sunlight coming in through the window. She figured it was probably almost 7 o'clock. Which meant she'd gotten less than 5 hours of sleep.

She pulled out a tight looking sleeveless shirt and one of his long black jounin shirts. Then she turned to his chest of drawers and pulled open a couple before finding a pair of shorts that would fit her longer than him. She dismissed the thought of taking a pair boxers for underwear.

Donning his clothes she glanced around for her hitai-ate and green vest, she finally found the hitai-ate trapped in his now truly dirty sheets.

They're probably covered in dry blood, not to mention sweat.

She quickly pulled off the black sheets and grey pillow cases leaving them in a pile in the middle of his room thinking that'd be a big enough hint.

She sat down and slipped on her sandals that still sat near his bed. When she was done she picked up her clothes from the hall. Her vest wasn't there and she assumed she'd taken it off at some point during her work at the hospital. It didn't matter much since she'd be going back there to check on some of the patients soon anyways. But she wanted to go find Kakashi first. He'd still be at Anbu since it didn't seem that long ago he'd left.

Depositing her dirty clothes and underwear on top of his she left without locking his door to find him.

Anbu Headquarters was almost in the exact middle of Konoha and it took a little while to get there since Kakashi's apartment was near the outskirts of the village. She was trying to conserve what chakra she'd regained during her sleep so she could be of some use during the rest of the day.

As she walked in she noticed how it was darker in there than it usually was in Jounin Headquarters. Also no one was there to direct people, only a few Anbu with their cloaks on stood talking to each other in the main room. They turned to watch her approach.

"Have you seen Hatake Kakashi here?" She asked the closest, whose mask had a pattern of what looked like orange feathers across one cheek.

His only response was to point down a hall. She nodded and left them still feeling their eyes follow her closely. She started looking in rooms as she passed and had to turn back a little as his voice called to her.

"Sakura." Kakashi said quietly. The anbu continued to watch her until she stepped into the windowless room Kakashi was in.

He was pushing paper into a folder as he stood and came around to lean against the table he'd been working at. His eye quickly took in her borrowed clothes and bruised right collar bone.

"Where'd that come from?" He said pulling down her shirt collar a little more as she came to stand in front of him. The bruise was raised and looked scraped as well as it moved down to include some breast tissue.

"Confused anbu gave me a little love punch as I tried to help him last night. Don't worry he was restrained by and a fellow anbu before he could hurt anyone else in the room." Kakashi pulled the shirt up in place as he realized she wasn't wearing a bra.

Sakura's thoughts turned to the men and women she tired to help last night and expectedly they landed on Shiden. She wondered how soon she'd see his name on the monument and if she'd want to sit there like Kakashi did and stare at.

Kakashi watched as her eyes un-focus and stare at an invisible spot on the wall.

"I heard we lost some anbu at the hospital last night." His comment broke her concentration and made her focus on him again.

"Not we. I lost an anbu last night." He waited but no tears came to her eyes. She looked at him with a plea. "Why can't I cry? I lost Shiden. I saw him alive when I came, I don't think I tried to get down their quickly enough. They labeled him as not urgent. What's wrong with me? I should cry, he's dead and I was there. Shouldn't I cry?"

He watched quietly before pulling her into an embrace. But it didn't make her cry. Usually sympathy was enough to release her feelings.

"I feel nothing inside, Kakashi." Kakashi stroked her hair until she looked up at him. He brushed hair away from her clear green eyes.

"Nothing is wrong with you. You have to do this, shinobi die all the time. You can't cry for them all."

She lifted her face closer to his using his body for support. He dropped closer to her partially spread lips. Drawing her lips across his covered jaw she made him shiver and lay his hands on her hip bones. He closed his eyes as she continued to gently kiss his jaw line before whispering, her lips moving gently.

"Touch me Kakashi. Please, I need to feel something."

I need to feel you against me. Touch me, touch me, touch me please…

His right hand lifted the edge of her shirt, fingertips smoothing along her hip, then into the dent of her waist. She shuddered under his hand and dark gaze.

"This is alright?" He asked softly as his lips neared her own. She nodded and kissed his covered lips her teeth coming out next to gently bite his lower lip.

She felt like her skin was on fire. Her stomach knotting and her knees locking to keep her body against his. His hand flexed squeezing her rib cage as she bit him. She moaned a little against his mouth even as she heard a noise outside their open door.

"Kakashi, what the hell are you doing?" Sakura's head whipped around at the familiar voice and found both Sasuke and Naruto standing in the doorway. She watched as Naruto's usual grin immediately vanished from his face.

Sasuke was the one who had spoken but his face looked so completely emotionless she was reminded strongly of his older brother Itachi.

Sakura snatched her hands away from Kakashi's chest and took a little half step away from him, turning slightly towards them. Sasuke's eyes were fixed on Kakashi and they narrowed alarmingly when Kakashi's hand didn't immediately leave its place against her exposed side.

Naruto was focused on her face but his eyes shifted momentarily as Kakashi's hand left her side. Fingertips giving her a small stroke and making her shiver before calmly resting back at the edge of the table top he was leaning on.

Sasuke's jaw clenched when he saw her body's almost imperceptible shiver. Kakashi looked as cool and detached as ever but Sasuke's and Naruto's silence was scaring her.

"I have to go to Jounin Headquarters." Sasuke said still staring at Kakashi but not talking to anyone in particular. He quickly turned and left.

Naruto was now staring at the floor, unmoving and unnaturally quiet. Sakura built enough courage and opened her mouth only to be cut off.

"I have to…" Naruto paused, now staring at the ceiling. Then he turned and left equally as quickly.

"Uuh." Sakura covered her face in her hands and tried hard not to think suicidal thoughts.

I hate them, I hate them, God I hate myself.

She felt Kakashi shift slightly beside her but she couldn't make herself look at him or do anything other than stand there.

"I promised I'd visit Genma and fill him in when I found time." Sakura just nodded with her face still shielded by her hands.

Kakashi stood and moved past her without making any kind of contact. She was left in the room still digging her fingernails into her forehead.

Good god I'm excited. Which is kind of sad since I already know what's going to happen. Sorry (again) in advance about consistency and such, I try to read through these 4-6 times before I post. But I suck, what with…well, everything to do with writing (spelling, grammar, and awkward sentence structure, just to name a few). See I just spelled the word 'awkward' wrong and had to use spell check (sigh).

Your Nushi

P.S. If you're like me you may need help with random Japanese words people sometimes throw in, or you're just interested in character names and what not (try looking up Kakashi's name if you've never thought of this). The below website should be of great help to you. Replace the word dot with a period of course.

wwwdotj-prepdotcom/contentdothtml