A/N: Alright, it has been brought to my attention so eloquently by an anonymous reviewer that not only is my story illogical, but completely out of character. Pfft. If someone were going to take the time to harsh my mellow... you'd think they would at LEAST try to punctuate, spell, and sting together a sentence properly.
-cough- Now I feel the need to justify myself to all of you, since I am unable to actually contact them. X3
According to "Tamz"…
"sakura is a medic.. helping heal ppl are hospital yet she doesnt know what to do to help kakashi's condition? -.- he has a cold and fever and she has no idea what to do? how unrealistic is that! really now / try to stay a TINY bit in character"
Yes, I do realize that Sakura has been a medic in training for six years now... but that does not mean she isn't still learning things. In my story... internal healing of illnesses, as it is so intricate, is a very hard skill to learn. And it's not as if she hasn't practiced it before or anything... I made sure to mention that part. Now, if she could actually get Kakashi to the hospital, this would be a completely different story. She would be able to treat him with medicines and such. But... if he woke up in a hospital setting, as he hates hospitals with a passion, he'd likely bolt before healing properly... and in the long run, end up worse than when he started. Not to mention that his illness is not only caused by the pneumonia... but internal crisis as well. Please don't insult my intelligence by insinuating that I put absolutely no thought into my chapters what-so-ever. If I'm going to spend hours writing them... then I'm going to make sure they're as accurate as possible. And as for keeping the characters well, in character... I think I've done fairly well. Sakura is insecure, Kakashi is aloof, Tsunade is demanding, Naruto is bubbly... I suppose Ino may be slightly out of character? -sigh- I may be getting a little too worked up over this, but I tend to be very touchy when someone directly insults my work without first taking the time to fully comprehend it. Oh, and I apologize for ranting to those of you who do enjoy my story… and understand it. XD
Whew! I feel a lot better now that I've gotten all that off my chest! And now… I would like to dedicate this next chapter to my uber wonderful beta-reader… Cari! -Applause-
Seeing as how she's put up with me for a whole five chapters, including this one… I feel as if she deserves some extra recognition. -buries Cari in cookies- Yay! Okay… on to chapter nine! XD
Requiem of Despair: Chapter 9
Revelation
Early rays of sunlight penetrated the drawn blinds of Hatake Kakashi's bedroom through small cracks between the material, glittering brightly across his silver tresses.
Two nights had come and past since the evening Sakura had sacrificed almost every bit of her chakra in an effort to heal her former sensei's illness.
Still weary and not completely responsive, Kakashi had slipped back down into the plush bedding that night, pulling Sakura along with him. His arm had curled protectively around her waist, pressing her to his side while her head and an arm rested comfortably against his bare chest.
As the minutes rolled by, the rouge sunlight shifted…inching its way towards Kakashi's closed eyelid. After finally making contact, the muscles in his forehead furrowed slightly, angered by the interruption. A loud yawn escaped him as he held up a hand in an attempt to silence it. Scratching the back of his head with a grimace tugging down the corners of his lips he opened his eyes, allowing them a minute or two to fully adjust.
Now wholly alert, his brain registered three things about his current predicament: he was absolutely famished, his bladder felt like it was way past the bursting point, and he was lying in bed with a woman. Anyone's guess was as good as his, seeing as the blanket covered her entire head. He couldn't properly remember anything after telling Sakura to leave. Which now, come to think of it, he felt mildly guilty about. The girl had only been trying to help, after all.
He supposed that he had been angrier with himself than with her. That he had actually needed help in the first place had left a deep gouge in his ego. Hatake Kakashi, Konoha's famous Copy Nin, did not need help from anyone; especially not a woman. He could take care of himself just fine on his own.
He chuckled at his own irrational stupidity.
Handle it myself…what the hell was I thinking? As if it's even possible for me to heal myself while I'm drifting in and out of consciousness…not that I've ever been able to perform anything but basic healing jutsu in the first place.
However, the persistent demands of his bladder effectively awoke him from his brief reverie. Untangling himself gently from the unknown woman's sleeping form, he half ran, half stumbled to the bathroom, as his legs were no longer use to supporting his body weight.
After promptly relieving himself, he cranked on the shower on as high as the faucet would allow, and as the water warmed up, stood scrutinizing his semi-naked form in front of the full-length mirror attached to the door.
Kami-sama… I really have lost a lot of weight…
He ran a hand down his rib cage, noting the lack of the slight fleshy barrier that once stretched across his torso. A frown graced his mouth as he turned his skeletal frame to the side. Deciding that it was indeed a good thing he was feeling much better, he wondered just how long he had been sick… and just how many meals he had missed.
Taking a few steps toward the mirror he grasped his chin between his thumb and index fingers, eyeing the silvery stubble protruding from his skin. Way more than just a few days growth, he noted. He estimated being unconscious for at least four days or so. His stomach's long, agonizing growl agreed heartily.
"Yeah, yeah… I'll feed you as soon as I'm done here," he mumbled while patting his slightly concave stomach.
Stripping his boxers down off of his thin hips, he lifted back the shower curtain and stepped into the steaming streams of water. Against his aching joints and muscles, the stifling liquid was simply ecstasy.
After lathering shampoo into his hair and thoroughly cleansing his body, Kakashi reluctantly left the warm confines of the shower. He then toweled himself off and sauntered-- a little more gracefully-- towards his bedroom, towel wrapped loosely around his waist.
As he rummaged through his dresser drawers in search of some comfortable clothing, he heard a small yawn escape from amongst the folds of blankets on his futon. His eyes widened considerably as he recognized the girl in an instant.
Averse to leaving the warm bedding, Sakura settled for lifting herself into a sitting position and haphazardly began rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
That is… until her memory rushed back to her, causing her breath to catch in her throat.
Keeping her eyes squeezed shut; she allowed her mind to begin calculating the situation. It was morning, as she could feel the sun's rays against her cheek. She was in a bed… alone. Meaning, Kakashi must be awake.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She scanned the vicinity of the small apartment for his chakra and found the source to be only a few feet from her. He was probably staring at her at this very second!
Kakashi watched with amusement as Sakura's expression shifted from one of confusion, to concentration, then finally panic mode.
He smirked, knowing just the way to make her face him.
"Didn't I tell you that I could handle this myself… or did you take that as an open invitation to climb in bed with me?" he drawled, waiting anxiously for her undoubtedly heated reply.
After all she had done for him? Sakura's heart lurched slightly before fury and hurt took complete control. She opened her eyes to find the silver haired man sitting on the edge of the futon, smiling at her. He wouldn't be smiling when she was done with him.
Pushing herself to her knees, she slowly crawled over to where he was sitting and sat back on her heels, a sickeningly sweet smile plastered on her face.
She brought her right hand up, and with as must strength as she could muster, slammed it across the left side of his face while whispering "You…" and catching the right side of his face with the back of her hand while screaming "BASTARD!"
He caught her wrist just before the girl could inflict any more damage on him. He groaned, wondering if it was a wise decision to let her train with Tsunade after all. The girl had definitely acquired a good deal of strength since she had renounced him as her sensei.
"What was that for?" he growled, gingerly rubbing his other hand against his sore cheek.
Anger darted dangerously between her sea-foam orbs as she stared him straight in the eyes.
"You want know what that was for? Well…let's see…you lied to me about the severity of your illness, you treated me like a child and told me to leave when I was only trying to help, you probably haven't even realized that it was I who healed you, almost killing myself in the process, and now you're accusing me of sleeping with you!" she all but screamed in his face, tears of frustration beginning to stream down her face as her nails drew blood from the tiny crescents pressed into her palm.
His eyebrow twitched slightly. If he had known she was going to react this strongly… he would never have tried jesting with her. He looked at the girl, or rather, woman in front of him who was still defiantly refusing to break her intense gaze. Did he really still treat her like a child? He supposed that he had just overlooked her maturing due to the fact that he had known her since she was twelve.
Now that he thought of it, she definitely had grown into a beautiful woman. She had been blessed with ample curves in all the right places, which by the way looked great under the form-fitting, sleeveless outfit she always wore.
Eh…bad Kakashi.He mentally chastised himself. This girl is fourteen years your junior.
"Hmm… so you healed me, did you?" he began gently wiping away her tears with his thumb, slightly scarred from years of performing summoning jutsu. "Well, I guess I am in your debt then, Sakura-san."
The angry flush gracing her cheeks was immediately replaced by a deep red blush as her expression softened remarkably.
He called me… Sakura-san…
Does that mean he finally acknowledges me?
A/N: Squeee! Shmexual tension and an evil cliffie! -Giggles- This chapter was so much fun to write, as I got to finally bring out the perverted side of Kakashi. My favorite side, by the way. XD Yay, well I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Until next time… ja, mata!
Oh… and a couple more things before I forget or something. First, I'm going to be on a weeklong cruise to Mexico over spring break, and might not be able to update while on the ship. But don't you worry! I'm taking a note pad along with me. XD Second, I got accepted to my university of choice, and will be attending Western Washington University next fall. Yay! But of course I'll still be able to find time to write new stories and ish. X3
