"I'd kill for a plate of food and some sake right now," she said as Sanosuke guided her away from the destroyed training grounds.
He ruffled her hair with a grin. "Well, technically, the festival still has another day before it's over. How about I take you for some sweets before we go back to the river tomorrow night?"
The kunoichi sighed dreamily. "That would be perfect-"
A flash of silver in the corner of her eye was all the warning she got. With strength fueled by her desire to protect the man beside her, Sakura put her hands on his chest and shoved him away harshly.
"Sano-kun! Watch out!"
Three bullets tore through her body, and she immediately dropped to the ground like a broken doll.
"Sakura! No!"
Through the fog slowly clouding her mind, Sakura frowned at the sound of Sanosuke's scream.
Sano-kun, why are you screaming?
"Sorry, Harada. Nothing personal. Just had a job to do. I told you that wasn't the end. Well, not counting her. See ya!"
Job? What job?
She vaguely registered hands picking her up and cradling her close to someone warm.
"Sakura! Can you hear me? Sakura!"
She fought to open her eyes, but she was just so damn tired.
"S-S-Sano-k-kun…"
The last thing she saw before darkness enveloped her was Sanosuke's horrified, blood-spattered face.
XxxxX
"No…No!" Sanosuke cradled Sakura's face with trembling hands, pushing her hair back from her sweaty brow. "Sakura! Open your eyes! Sakura!"
"Sakura-chan! Is she-?!"
"Don't just stand there, Nagakura!" Souji pushed past him and kneeled beside Sanosuke. "Keep your wits about you, Harada. It's what Haruno needs right now." With swift movements, he tore three long strips of fabric from his uniform and tied them around the three bullet wounds.
"Saito, you need to find Kondou and Hijikata and update them on the situation. Todou, run to fetch Yukimura. Pinky has been teaching her these past few months. She knows more than we do." Not waiting for the other men to reply, he turned to Sanosuke. "Let's move her somewhere safer and more comfortable. Come on, Harada."
Okita's words snapped him out of his terrified daze, and Sanosuke nodded. Holding the woman close, he rose carefully with her in his arms. Her blood coated his uniform and colored his chest red, warm and fresh from her wounds. It was a warmth he despised; a terrible reminder that her life was slowly slipping away from her. Away from him.
Hang in there, Sakura. Please, hang in there.
When they reached Sakura's room, Yukimura and Todou were already there. Chizuru gasped the moment her eyes landed on the pink-haired woman's broken body and she wasted no time in helping them place her on the mattress.
"Tell us what you need, Yukimura."
Chizuru glanced around uncertainly, her eyes shifting between Sakura's form and the rest of them.
Desperate, Sanosuke grabbed her by the shoulders with trembling hands. "Yukimura, Sakura needs you. She was there when you needed her so be here for her now. She chose you and taught you for a reason. You can do this." He looked at her in the eyes. "Please. I beg of you. Save her life."
That seemed to shake the girl up for the next moment she nodded resolutely. "I'll need a small sharp knife, clean bandages, a needle and sturdy thread. A candle too."
"I'll get everything for you." Souji announced and put a hand on Sanosuke's shoulder. "I leave her in your hands, Harada."
Sanosuke looked down at his fingers, still coated in her blood. My hands? What good are these hands to entrust her to them, Okita?
He sat beside her and gently traced her face, each of her labored breaths a dagger that lodged itself deeper and deeper in his heart. Her hair stuck to her forehead, and her skin felt cold to the touch. Bloodied and suffering, she looked fragile. He had never before realized how breakable she too was. She always seemed so strong, so radiant, so…untouchable. And yet the woman before him seemed so frail, so…human. The bandages around her side, shoulder and thigh were despicable reminders that she bled too.
He run his fingers through his hair and clasped her hand in his, stroking circles on her bruised knuckles with his thumb.
You need to live, my lady. You need to. 'Cause If you don't…
He couldn't even bear to think about it. Despair, he realized, was a heavy blackness. The ways forward he had dreamed of seemed to vanish in black and the notion of hope seemed to become meaningless. It felt cruel to linger on it when she lay there, so close to suffering the one fate she worked so hard to prevent for others. Between the weakening beats of her heart, his soul crumbled to ashes.
When Souji returned, both he and Yukimura shot to their feet. "Chizuru, we will follow your lead. Tell us what to do."
The girl nodded and kneeled at Sakura's bedside. "We need to take out the bullets first and make sure no broken pieces remain inside. I need you to hold her down while I dig them out and stich up the wounds. Give her something to bite on. This won't be painless."
As Todou rushed outside to bring a tree branch, Chizuru made quick work of disinfecting the dagger's blade and the needle over the flame of the candle. Placing the piece of wood in Sakura's mouth, she turned to them. "Are you ready?"
Holding her arms, Sanosuke nodded and so did Souji from his place at her feet.
"I'm sorry, Sakura," the girl whispered as she dug the tip of the dagger in the woman's shoulder.
What followed was the most painful hour of Sanosuke's life. Every wail and blood-curdling scream that slipped past Sakura's lips would remain forever engraved in his mind. He was certain that he'd spend the rest of his life seeing her tortured expression every time he closed his eyes; he'd hear her screams and feel her trembling in his arms.
"I'm done with the stiches. We need to change her bandages. The bullets don't appear to have pierced any major organs or arteries. If they did, her body probably subconsciously used whatever she had left of her chakra to patch them up just to keep her alive. That's extremely fortunate, but she is too weak, and she's lost too much blood."
Yukimura's order urged him to action and he handed her a fresh roll. Desperate to do something to escape the feeling of complete uselessness, he soaked a clean rag in water and started cleaning her skin, wiping away the blood stains and the sweat.
When Yukimura tied the last knot around her thigh, she turned to them with a grave expression. "You need to step out now. I have to change her into more comfortable clothes. I'll give her some soldier pills. They should help close the wounds faster and replenish some of her strength."
"Forget it," he answered immediately, his voice sharp. "I'm not going anywhere."
Chizuru took an involuntary step back, and Sanosuke inwardly cursed himself. Taking a deep breath, he tried to smile at the younger girl. "Forgive me, Yukimura. I shouldn't have snapped at you. Let me know when you're done."
"I-I'm sorry, Harada. I did all I could. It's up to her now."
The moment he and Souji stepped out of the room, they found Saito and Todou waiting for them.
"How's Sakura?"
"We…We don't know. The only thing we can hope for now is that what we did will prove enough."
Saito averted his gaze. "You need to come to Kondou's office right now."
"I'm not leaving, Saito."
"You don't have a choice, Harada. Chief's orders."
Sanosuke growled in his throat. "What could be so damn important?"
Hajime threw him a glance over his shoulder. "Miki and Itou's fate."
His eyes hardened. "Let them know I'll be there in a minute."
XxxxX
Sanosuke was the last one to enter Kondou's office, but the moment he walked in, all eyes were drawn to his blood-stained uniform.
"Sano, how's Sakura?"
"Dying."
The sharpness in his voice made even Kondou wince, but Sanosuke couldn't bring himself to care. Not when the people partly responsible stood before him, battered and tied but alive. How unfair it was that Sakura was fighting for her life while Miki and Itou still drew breath.
Not giving a damn about the other captains around him, he walked up to them. The mere sight of them made his blood boil. Rage coursed through his veins, a red-hot anger that glowed brightly in the middle of his chest. It could only be described as a vexing of the soul, for it was surely not human. It was twisted and distorted, and nearly uncontrollable.
He grabbed Miki by the front of his robes, taking a sick kind of pleasure in the fear that flashed in the other man's eyes.
"If she dies, there will be no horse fast enough to carry you away, or hole deep enough for you to crawl inside to hide. I will gut you and leave you for the vultures to feast on."
He shoved Miki back as he released his hold on his uniform and turned around. None of the others saw it fit to try and stop him as he walked out.
XxxxX
When Sakura opened her eyes, it was to the smell of green tea and lavender. She tried to turn her head to examine her surroundings, but the movement proved difficult when pain shot through her body.
Where…Where am I?
She tried moving her limbs, but a spark of pain up her leg and torso stopped her.
With a little effort, she glanced to her right, and nearly gasped at the sight she was met with. Souji was fast asleep at her bedside, with his head on her lap and clutching her hand.
W-What…?
"Souji?" Her voice sounded foreign to her ears, hoarse and strained. "Oi, Souji."
Her attempts to move her fingers in his grasp made him stir and he spent a few minutes looking at her in confusion. Then, as if finally registering what was going on, he shot up from his siting position.
"Pinky! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Do you need me to get you anything?"
"Slow down, Okita," she said, groaning as she tried to sit up. "Answers first. Where am I?"
"You're in your room. We brought you here after you stupidly took three bullets for Harada's sake."
Hey eyes widened. "Is Sano-kun alright?"
Souji snorted. "He'll live."
She sighed in relief. "Did we win? Is the battle over?" she asked as he handed her a cup of water.
Souji stared at her strangely. "Pinky, you've been asleep for four days."
She nearly choked on her drink. "Four days?!"
Okita rolled his eyes at her. "Did you by any chance miss the part where you took three bloody bullets?"
Sakura stared down at her hands, trying to piece together her fragmented memories from that night. "Souji, tell me everything. And please, for the love of all that's holy, bring me some real food."
XxxxX
Sanosuke stared at the destroyed training grounds.
It would take a while to return the place to what it used to be, but no one complained. They had won. A few rocks seemed like a small price to pay.
And yet look at who paid the highest price of them all…
It was a nice day, warm and with the sun shining brightly above his head.
He hated it.
He wanted the sky to be turn dark, he wanted the sun to disappear, and he wanted the flowers to wilt. He wanted it to rain down thunder and fire and turn everything to ashes. He wanted the world to look as barren as his own soul. To rip buildings apart in a way similar to how life had torn his heart to pieces.
Sanosuke gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to punch the ground. He had once heard that physical pain could numb the pain of the heart. But was that even possible? Was there anything that could make him forget about his overwhelming despair even for a second?
Yukimura had done everything she could, he knew. He couldn't blame the girl and he wouldn't commit such a criminally unfair act. But that was not a courtesy he would ever extend to himself.
I failed her again. She trusted me and I failed her. And now she's dying…
"Harada! Harada!"
He raised his eyes to see Heisuke running towards him. "Todou? What's wrong?"
"It's Sakura-chan!"
Instantly alert, he shot to his feet. "Is she ok? Did something happen? Speak, damn it!"
"She woke up."
XxxxX
That night, Sanosuke stood outside Sakura's room.
He could hear her talking to Yukimura, and the sound of her voice, though rough and weak, was enough to chase away some of the fear that seemed to have taken root in his heart.
He raised his hand to slide the door open, desperate to gaze upon her face, but stopped as something ugly twisted in his gut.
What right do I have to sit at her bedside, when it's my fault she almost perished?
He did not deserve to hold her hand or take care of her the way Okita and Nagakura did. The image of Kyo's bullets tearing through her was still fresh in his mind, as was the horror and nausea he had felt as he watched her collapse. Though he had washed his face again and again, he still felt the spray of her blood on his skin, hot like an open wound.
Gritting his teeth, he leaned his forehead against the door.
He never managed to muster the courage to step inside, but from that moment on, he spent every night standing guard outside her room.
XxxxX
"Pinky, open up."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "I can eat my own food, Okita."
"You took a bullet and a blade to the shoulder. You shouldn't strain the hand."
"I would know when I'm straining my hand. I'm a doctor."
Souji snorted. "No. You are an idiot with criminal disregard for your own wellbeing. And because of that, I had to spend four days feeding you those soldier pills of yours to keep you alive. Now open your damn mouth."
Over the spoonful of rice shoved into her face, Sakura glared at him. "Once I'm out of this bed, I'm kicking your butt."
"Be honest, Pinky. You just want an excuse to grab my ass."
"Souji!"
XxxxX
"Sakura, you shouldn't be out of bed."
Sakura groaned as she turned to look at Saito. "Hajime-kun, I've been trapped inside that room for nearly a week since I woke up. I'm at my wits' end."
"You're still recovering. You should be resting."
"But my room is right there. I just took a walk through the gardens. After all, give it another few days, and I'll have enough chakra stored to heal myself completely."
He grasped her arm gently, careful not to hurt her, and started guiding her back. "Souji was supposed to be watching you. Why isn't he with you? I will have a word with him."
Despite the situation, she couldn't help the warmth that pooled at her belly. It was heartwarming to see how much these men cared for her.
"How about I stay out here a little while longer-"
He looked at her sternly. "Sakura, go back to your room."
"Yes, dad."
XxxxX
Sakura clutched her side as she tried hard not to aggravate her wound with all her laughing. "No way, Shin-kun!"
"I'm telling you, Sakura-chan, Hijikata is a demon! He's been hiding it really well, but I can see right through him."
Sakura giggled. "Come on, Hijikata is not that bad."
Shinpachi looked scandalized. "Not that bad? Where is Yukimura? You're sick. You need to be seen by a doctor."
Sakura patted him on the arm with a chuckle. "I am a doctor, remember?" She sighed. "After all, Chizuru-chan has been working so hard to take care of me. Not only these past few days that I've been awake but even when I was asleep. She deserves the rest."
Nagakura took her hand in his with a wide smile. "Of course, Sakura-chan. We would do anything for you. All of us are really looking forward to you recovering fully so we can go out and party!"
Sakura smiled, squeezing his hand. "I cannot wait, Shin-kun. I still owe you that sake, don't I?"
"You sure do! So get better soon, because Okita is a whinny son of a bitch when you're not around to keep him in check, and Harada is so depressed, I can't even look at him."
The woman's smile slipped at the mention of that name, and she looked at her hands nervously. "Shin-kun, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Sakura-chan. Whatever you want."
"Why…Why hasn't Sano-kun come to see me yet?"
Shinpachi sighed deeply, scratching the back of his head. "Don't think badly of him. Harada…He's not doing good, Sakura-chan. He's a mess. Your brush with death hit him the hardest."
"But I'm alive," she retorted, focusing her eyes on the wall so that the man wouldn't see the tears that threatened to fall. "Why hasn't he come to see me? Doesn't he…Doesn't he care?"
Shinpachi nearly shot out of his seat. "He does, Sakura-chan! He cares so much about you, you can't possibly imagine. He sat right outside your room for days while you recovered and would throw a hissy fit if anyone tried to convince him to go eat or sleep. He still does, didn't you know? Do you have any idea how many times I've had to bring him food and water here?"
Stunned, Sakura's eyes widened. Sano-kun…
"Once, Takeda said that if you hadn't helped outlaw the Water of Life, you wouldn't be dying. Oh man, I have never seen Harada so angry before. He almost ran Kanryusai through with his spear. Hijikata and I had to hold him back."
Unable to hold her tears back anymore, Sakura burst out crying. She hid her face in her hands as choked sobs shook her shoulders. "I miss him, Shin-kun. I miss him so much it hurts."
With a sad frown, Shinpachi moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "There, there. It will be alright, Sakura-chan. You'll see."
XxxxX
"Harada!"
Sat on the porch overlooking the backyard of the compound, Sanosuke raised his head at the sound of his name. "Nagakura? What's wrong?"
Without answering, Shinpachi grabbed him by his clothes and pulled him up.
"What the hell has gotten into you, Nagakura?"
"Why haven't you gone to speak to Sakura-chan?"
Sano immediately gritted his teeth. "That doesn't concern you."
"You bet your damn ass it does! She's my friend and I don't like seeing her upset because you're a moron."
His amber eyes flashed dangerously. "Let it go, Nagakura."
"No, I won't." Shinpachi crossed his arms across his chest. "You know what, I wish she had been called back. I wish her village had ordered her to return home forever."
"Shut up."
"I wish she had left a long time ago. That way she wouldn't be forced to deal with your bullshit."
"I said shut up."
Shinpachi grabbed him by the front of his uniform. "No, I won't shut up. Damn it, Harada! Don't you see?"
His anger getting the better of him, Sanosuke fisted his hands around the fabric of Shinpachi's vest. "What the hell do you want me to say, Nagakura? That I can't face her? That every time I close my eyes, I see her dying in my arms? That those scars on her skin only remind me of my failure to protect her?"
"You're hurting her, you fucking bastard! Worse than those bullets ever did. No matter how many hours we spend with her, Sakura-chan's eyes always stray to the door. She keeps expecting you to walk through it. She loves all of us, but it's you she wants to have by her side. Don't ask me why, 'cause you sure as hell don't deserve it, but she won't ever recover fully until she sees you."
Shinpachi's words were like a slap to the face, and Sanosuke staggered back with wide eyes.
Have I…Have I been that big of a fool?
Like a bucket of ice-cold water, realization washed over him.
Oh, Sakura…I don't deserve you.
"Nagakura, I…I need to go."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned the other way and started running, praying desperately that he was not too late.
"Oi, Harada! A thank would have been nice! Asshole."
XxxxX
The night breeze was pleasant on her skin and Sakura sighed, reveling in the quiet of the dark gardens. She laid her head back on the grass, gazing up at the constellations. Though moonless, the sky was clear, and the stars seemed to shine brighter than usual.
A couple of hours earlier, she had finally been allowed to heal herself completely, and she couldn't be happier. She had grown tired of depending on others to do the most basic of tasks, and though she found great amusement in seeing Souji struggle to keep his cool when she teased him about being a mother hen of epic proportions, she couldn't wait for things to go back to what they used to be.
But nothing can really go back to how it used to be, can it?
No. Life did not work that way. She could sit and wish that time had stopped back at that river with Sanosuke the night of the festival, but the truth of the matter was that life waited for no one. And considering how close she came to dying, that was a lesson she had to keep at the forefront of her mind.
Still, I'd do it all over again. If it meant protecting Sano, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Despite the vine of acute pain that coiled around her heart at the thought of the auburn-haired man, Sakura smiled to herself.
That's what it means to be in love, right? To be powerful and powerless at the same time.
Sighing, she traced the constellations with her gaze, trying to remember the names of stars she had heard Shikamaru speak about. It was late and the compound was silent, but silence was something she appreciated. Somehow, it urged the voices in her head to quieten down, though that didn't change what they whispered.
Sanosuke. Sanosuke.
"I knew I'd find you here."
She sat up abruptly, started by the arrival of the man, and wondered if her thoughts had somehow reached him and summoned him to her side.
"Sano-kun," she said, shifting uneasily. "What are you doing here?"
"I came looking for you."
"Oh," she breathed out and averted her gaze. "Might be a little late for that." The double meaning behind her words was not lost on either of them.
Without replying, he sat down beside her, close but not nearly as close as she wanted him to be.
"I couldn't face you. I couldn't watch you wasting away in that room. I didn't dare sit at your bedside because I felt that I had no right to be there. Not when you almost died because of me. Not when I could only watch as you bled out in my arms."
Sakura hummed under her breath, stealing a glance at him in the corner of her eye. "Is that why you are here? To ask me to forgive you?" She was still hurt by his absence all throughout the week, but the tortured look on his face tore her heart to pieces.
"I won't ask you to forgive me. Gods know I've asked that of you more times than is fair." He looked down, as if ashamed. "I won't try to excuse myself either. I'm a terrible human being and I don't deserve your warmth or your smiles or your love."
"Bullshit."
Taken aback, Sanosuke looked at her with eyes slightly wide. "What?"
"You heard me. That's bullshit and you know it."
"Sakura, I-"
She held up a hand. "Shut up. I do the talking now." Shifting her position, she kneeled in front of him. "You are an idiot. You sit here talking to me about how you couldn't face me when we both know you would have thrown yourself in front of a hundred swords willingly to keep me safe. You knew how dangerous Kazama and his cronies were that night outside Nijo Castle, and yet you put yourself between me and them without a second thought to protect me."
"That was-"
"That was the same damn thing and you know it. I, for one, am not sorry at all. I do not regret a thing and I won't ever ask you to forgive me for heeding my heart's cry. I would let that bastard Kyo empty his whole gun in my chest if it meant keeping you alive-"
"Oh, what the hell."
Without warning, Sanosuke curled his arms around her waist and pulled her on his lap with a breathless roughness, chests pressed together and noses touching. Her hands barely managed to find his shoulders before he was kissing her, a communion beyond the limitations of spoken language, and Sakura felt an explosion of euphoric bliss in her head as his lips moved on hers.
His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest.
He pulled back, panting, and rested his forehead against hers. "You have no idea how I've longed to do that."
She smiled cheekily, running her fingers through his red ponytail. "Heh, took you long enough, Harada."
"Sakura, I love you." His confession was easy, natural. He spoke the words as if they were a part of him that had always been there; as if he had been waiting to say them his whole life. "Standing outside your door, listening to you breathe to reassure myself you were alive…I thought I'd lose my sanity. I love you so much it hurts."
Holding back tears of joy, the woman cupped his face, sliding her thumbs under his beautiful amber eyes. "Good. It would be a shame if I were the only one head over heels in love here."
Sanosuke laughed and there was no sound more beautiful than his unburdened laughter. "I do not know what I did to deserve you, but I thank whoever sent you to me."
She shook her head, smiling at him lovingly. "No one sent me to you, Sano-kun. The only person you need to thank is yourself. I came here to complete a mission, knowing that my days in Kyoto were numbered. But now…Now I choose the life that keeps me with you."
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I wouldn't have allowed you to leave, you know. Even if your whole village came to take you back, I would have fought them all to keep you here with me."
Sakura giggled prettily, nuzzling his face. "I am not surprised in the least. That's why I'm staying. To love you and take care of you."
"It's rotten work," he said, repeating her own words from that night outside her room.
"Not to me. Not when it's you. Some shadows are never truly gone, Sano-kun, but if they dare come for you, they will find me waiting."
She pressed her lips to his again as his fingers gently ran up and down her spine, coaxing shivers out of her. Sakura felt a smoldering heat deep within her as Sanosuke's grip tightened, crushing her body to his, gentle yet firm. He slanted her head further, deepening the kiss, and making her moan against his mouth.
He pulled back at the sound, and she was awed by the primitive emotion she saw in his eyes, a desire that breached the depths of his bones.
She felt a hot breath on the part of her collarbone that her yukata left exposed, then the tender brush of lips, burning as they made contact with her neck. He showered her skin with kisses, biting and nipping, eliciting soft coos of pleasure from her, and making heat pool at her belly.
"Sanosuke…" she said breathlessly, arching slightly into him when he nipped at a particularly sensitive spot, and she felt his breathing hitch against the crook of her neck.
"Careful, my lady. You overestimate my self-control. If you keep making these sweet noises, I don't know if I'll be able to stop."
Catching his chin between her fingers, Sakura lifted his head to stare into a pair of golden eyes full of unbridled desire that mirrored that in hers.
"Who's asking you to stop?"
XxxOxOxOxxX
So, yeah…Sorry?
Don't be mad at me, Kakashi-sensei!
Was it a risk? Yes.
Should I know better? Absolutely.
Do I regret it? Hell no.
I bought Chizuru-chan enough time to get her to safety, taught that arrogant prick Kazama a lesson, and I didn't die. Those bastards, Itou and Miki, were handed over to the Shogun to do as he pleases with them. Everybody wins!
You know I hate worrying you guys. After all, I didn't exactly have time to send a hawk or a summon. Three bullets in your body tend to leave little room for report-writing, ya know.
Still, everyone here took really good care of me, so please know that I have a lot of people that bite my ear off on the daily for being reckless. Hey, look at that, one less task for you!
I'm back to perfect health now. The guys didn't allow me to lift a finger while I recovered, and it took me a week and a half to convince them to let me attempt to heal myself. Nobody listens to doctors anymore, sensei. Nobody.
Having said that…
Um…Kakashi-sensei, about the mission…I think I'm gonna need an extension…
Putting down her pencil, Sakura sighed in relief as she eyed the nearly ten pages long report.
Man, Kakashi-sensei is going to throw a fit.
Turning to the hawk still perched on her desk, she scratched the feathers of its neck. "You'll take this to Hokage-sama really fast, won't you, Mako-chan? You see, I kinda delayed it. A lot. So, I need you to put your wings and speed to good use for me."
The hawk cooed at her, enjoying her ministrations, and she smiled. "That's about all the time I have for pets and scratches though, Mako-chan. The captain's waiting, ya know?"
"The captain's here."
Her lips spread into a wide smile as she turned to the face the man leaning against her doorframe. "Sano-kun. I just finished my report to Hokage-sama and I'll be right out."
She stood and stretched her arms above her head, arching her back to release the tension after siting down for long, only to giggle when a pair of taut arms circled her waist.
Sanosuke pulled her back to his chest, burring his face in the crook of her neck and showering kisses all over her skin.
"Sano-kun, we need to head out. Nagakura and the others will be waiting."
"Heh, I'm the captain. I can do whatever I want."
Laughing, Sakura turned around in his embrace to face him and started playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I don't think Hijikata will like that very much."
He leaned down, his breath caressing her lips. "Who cares…"
He kissed her and Sakura found herself melting against him like she always did. His arms tightened around her waist, molding her body to his completely, and she moaned in the kiss; the kind of moan that she knew woke something primal inside him.
"Keep making those sounds and you won't be getting out of this room today," he whispered in her ear huskily, biting the soft flesh of her lobe, before refocusing his attention on her lips.
"I like those odds," she murmured against his mouth, running her nails down his chest, and reveling in the possessive growl that rose to his throat.
"Oh, hell. Not again!"
Sakura's eyes widened and she jumped back from the kiss, ignoring Sanosuke's grunt of protest.
"Heisuke?!"
"Anything we can do for you, Todou?" Sanosuke drawled, lazy smirk in place and one arm still wrapped around her.
Turning in the direction of where Sakura guessed the others were, Heisuke cupped his hands around his mouth. "Nagakura! Okita! Harada and Sakura have their tongues shoved down each other's throats again!"
The woman's moment of bewilderment passed quickly, and she flushed to the roots of her hair in embarrassment. "Todou, this is where you start running."
"Heh, don't take too long to…finish, Harada, Sakura-chan. See ya!"
"Todou! Come back here!" Sakura yelled as she ran after him. "Come back here so I can shove your face in the dirt, you brat!"
Sanosuke laughed as he watched the scene, but then his eyes fell on the stack of pages on Sakura's desk. Picking it up, he skimmed the last page with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Knowing that he had a few minutes to spare, he sat down and started writing.
TBC
I'm sorry, give me a minute to compose myself because I can't stop squealing at how cute Sakura and Sano are together!
I loved writing this chapter, I've been waiting for these confessions, so it was wonderful to finally write them. Sano does seem like the type who would torture himself over failing to protect someone precious to him. But hey, they love each other, so everything is right in this world.
One more chapter left of this story!
Oh man, I just can't believe it…
Anyway, I'll save the waterworks for the next chapter. Until then, allow me to announce two things:
One, my ToshizoXSakura one-shot is finally up and titled "Halcyon Kiss". You can go check it out if you want.
Two, I have a new obsession called "Disney Twisted Wonderland". It's a rhythm game and battle sim developed by Disney Japan. All the characters are inspired by some of Disney's most iconic villains.
It's a terrible shame that it's not an otome game because let me tell you, this game is full of anime hotties (yes, I'm looking at you Leona and Malleus). I mean, come on Disney Japan. You create hot anime guys based on my favorite Disney characters and you don't allow me to romance them? How is that fair?
Anyway, the crossover freak in me has been having a party just thinking about all the possibilities, so I'll simply announce it now.
I'll be writing a SakuraXTwisted Wonderland crossover fanfic. I don't even care that the fandom is nonexistent. All I need is my fave girl Sakura and a bunch of hot guys to pair her up with. Guess what? I got them!
The fanfic will be a collection of one-shots featuring Sakura and various characters from Twisted Wonderland, though you'll probably see a whole lot of Leona and Malleus. What can I say? I have my faves too. The one-shots will range from fluffy, to angsty, to NSFW.
So, if that's something that sounds interesting to you, please keep an eye out for that fic!
(Please do yourself a favor and look up the characters of this game. You will not be disappointed, trust me!)
Rant over!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
If you did, please drop me a review! Reading your thoughts always makes my day.
Other fics in my HakuōkiXSakura one-shot series:
"Fire and Silk" – (ChikageXSakura)
"Komorebi" – (SoujiXSakura)
"Jasmine Blooms" – (HajimeXSakura and rated M)
"Halcyon Kiss" – (ToshizoXSakura)
Until next time,
Lots of love!