Unforgotten

He sensed her presence before he actually saw her. Kakashi turned his head slightly so that he could watch Saku's approach from the corner of his eye. Just at a glance, though, he could tell something was off. Her gait that was usually smooth and graceful was now stilted and heavy, causing the Copy Ninja to frown.

He wanted to turn his whole attention to her, but didn't think that would be for the best. He could wait. She was, after all, coming to him. Although that line of thinking spurred another thought. Why was she coming towards him like the world had ended? What happened in the time they had been apart?

Kakashi's whole body stiffened waiting to be assaulted by an onslaught of emotion as was the typical case for him when it regarded Saku. He aged three times over by the time she finally reached him and raised those big green eyes of hers to meet his. There was a solemnness that he couldn't escape hidden in their depths.

"What's wrong?"

She remained silent, leaving the question hanging between them. Her arm moved as if she wanted to raise it for some reason, but he could tell she was visibly forcing herself to hold still. Her lips parted and her tongue darted out to moisten what had gone dry causing the frown that had appeared on Kakashi's face to deepen.

"If..."

Her words trailed off as if they were never voiced in the first place. Kakashi wanted to reach out and place his hands on her shoulders and shake her slightly to get her to tell him what was going on, but knew somehow if he did that she would clam up and shut down and that would only serve to anger him and possibly drive the wedge they were slowly trying to completely remove deeper between them. So Kakashi forced his body to relax and wait patiently for whatever it was she felt that she needed to say.

It wasn't long before he was rewarded for his efforts. Perhaps it was something that she saw in him that told her that he'd wait patiently, forever, even, for what it was she wanted to say and wouldn't put any pressure on her to get her to open up.

"If the world was ending tomorrow and you only had time to do one thing what is it that you would do?"

He knew then what was weighing on her mind—exactly what he had been trying not to think about. The worlds merging, everything changing. Whether he thought about it or not (whether he wanted it or not) it was going to happen very soon.

"Saku..."

She raised her hand and placed it on his arm.

"Please, Kakashi just think on it. I need to know."

He wanted to ignore her. He didn't want to voice it out loud, but...

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and lazily gazed down at her.

"It's not a hard question to answer Saku. I knew the answer to the question immediately after you asked it, and I think you know it too." Sakura bit her bottom lip anxiously causing Kakshi to raise his hand and run a thumb over her lips lightly. "I'd find you wherever you happened to be; I'd take you in my arms and then I would kiss you like I've always wanted to, but haven't been given the chance." Saku's eyes widened, but Kakashi wasn't yet finished. "The way I see it the world could go to hell and come back, but it wouldn't matter much as long as I had the opportunity to hold you the way I want just once."

It seemed as if time stood still. Neither person moved as the words that weren't supposed to be spoken between them, at least not so soon, were uttered. Although, for some reason Kakashi didn't regret saying them, nor did Saku wish she hadn't heard them.

Unknowingly, they gravitated closer to one another, and Kakashi found himself slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. Saku's eyes fluttered close and her head tilted upward waiting silently and expectantly for his touch. Not wanting to disappoint, Kakashi's head leaned down and claimed her lips.

Kakashi was honest enough to admit that if he had expectations for a kiss with Sakura that was likely to never occur. He had dreamed of her touch and taste so much that the reality was far different from what actually occurred.

He anticipated being flooded by the sweetness of her taste. He knew that being wrapping her in his arms would be synonymous with peace. He expected perfection.

Somehow he managed to forget that nothing was perfect. Saku wasn't sweetness in his arms. She was an all consuming fire. His every thought was of her and how to become closer to her. He'd happily burn forever for a taste of her. He didn't find peace in her arms. Instead, he knew only restlessness and longing. He needed more.

:::

Saku, for her part, had forgotten her reason for coming. The closer she got to Kakashi the more she realized that everything as she knew it was coming to an end. The life that she was secretly hoping to have with Kakashi in the future was turning into ashes with every second that ticked by.

The sand in the hourglass flowed a lot faster than one would think.

Her question flowed from her lips unbidden, and yet she yearned desperately for the answer. She expected him to ignore her, or to make light of the situation yet he had given her a completely unKakashi like answer. He spoke openly and honestly and she didn't even hear a hint of bitterness in his tone. In fact, if she heard anything at all it would be a more wistful quality that made her yearn to touch him.

When he took her in his arms she knew that she would only be given a fleeting glimpse of what could be. It was a moment that she didn't want to forget; one that she wanted to cling to with all she had because it was a moment that had taken forever to occur.

Saku regretted it had taken her so long to realize how much Kakashi truly meant to her.

:::

Unnoticed by either Sasuke slipped through the veil intent upon ending what started long ago.