Hello everyone! It's been more than a year since I updated this story, and for that, I would like to say sorry. I can't really blame it on my life being hectic and all because I still updated my other story during that time. The motive why I neglected It Is What It Is was because this very chapter gave me writer's block. I had a clear outline of it since the beginning, but writing it down was harder than I thought...so I avoided it like the plague and managed to write several future chapters completely, while this one remained half finished. I rewrote this countless times, but it never managed to satisfy my expectations... even now it is lacking in many aspects, but I have to accept the fact that as of now I cannot write a better version. So, not wanting to abandon this story completely, and seeing that people were still reading this story, I decided to finally post it. This is only half of the chapter since it turned out to be disproportionately longer than the other chapters I decided to split it into two parts. Hopefully, I wouldn't disappoint you guys that much with it...

So, without further ado, here's chapter 16!

She woke up with a start. Her delicate neck emitted a crack and then searing pain shot through her spinal cord. Yes, having a nap on her desk inside her room wasn't such a good idea. Sakura started massaging her neck, trying to dull the ache. Looking behind her back, her eyes grew even heavier at the sight of the bed, only waiting for her.

"I should really go to bed." She yawned while organizing the scattered papers around her. The dimness around her suddenly faded, light engulfing the entire room, then everything went back to normal but not before a booming sound filled her ears. Sakura shrieked, covering them in a blink of an eye. The papers she was holding fell down on the floor, though she didn't register it happening.

"No. No. No. No."

Images of a long forgotten past flashed before her closed eyes.

Her lungs were screaming for her to stop, each intake of precious air feeling like hundreds of blades piercing her chest. But she couldn't stop. No. She promised them that she won't. But she felt so tired, her legs shook on the uneven terrain and she prayed not to lose her footing. She could hear him running after her, catching up to her. The tears slid down her cheeks more intensely. He's going to catch her!

"I have to get out of here." She whispered trying to stand up from her seat. She needed to find a place where the lightning and thunder couldn't find her. Where she couldn't see or hear them.

The lights flickered once again, then with a huge bang that even made the room's windows tremble, the lights went completely out. Her knees felt like jelly, her shaking hands tried to uphold her by grabbing onto the edges of the desk, but it was futile. It was like all energy left her. Sakura fell on her knees, her forehead almost colliding with the side of the desk. By the time she realized what she was doing, the pink haired woman was already sitting under the piece of furniture, her knees against her chest and her shaky hands covering her ears.

She emitted another scream the moment the thunders returned, her hands not muffling the noise even the slightest. The intervals between the rumbles decreased and at some point, it seemed like they were continuous.

Sakura looked at the enormous windows across from her. She tried to calm herself down by trying to listen to the sound of rain, but it was futile. The booming was far too frequent and loud, it was practically impossible for her to use her usual methods.

The lightning illuminated a shadowy figure on the other side of the window, standing on her balcony. He looked like…

No…it couldn't be…

She started screaming for help the moment he entered, her throat becoming sore in the span of seconds.

"Sakura! Sakura, it's me." The deep masculine voice was so familiar, it took her a few heartbeats to register that the person wasn't him, only just Kakashi.

"Are you hurt? What happened?" His voice was filled with concern.

"I'm…" She cried out once again as the thunders continued on. Kakashi climbed under the table and wrapped an arm around her waist. She buried her head in his chest, jumping slightly whenever the thunders came back.

"It's okay." He said, rubbing her back in slow circles.

She didn't know how much time passed before the storm calmed down, but it seemed like time moved at a snail's pace. The only thing she tried to pay attention to was the movement of Kakashi's hand on her back, it soothed her, muting the storm. For the first time in her life, she got comforted, someone held her when she was crying because of fear.

"It's over." Sakura whispered after the thunders didn't return. She still had her face buried in his shirt, which was probably soaked with her tears and snot. Great, another addition to her already long list of personal embarrassment.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She heard him ask eventually. The way he said was casual, Kakashi didn't want to pressure her to open up. She straightened herself, looking at him with her tear cloaked eyes. The lights inside her room were on, truly signaling that the storm was long gone.

As her vision slowly cleared up, Kakashi's awkward position next to her became obvious. To be honest, he looked quite funny under the table. His gravity-defying hair was squished against the top of the desk, and with him being so tall he had to slightly tilt his head in order to fit under the furniture. Kakashi's posture looked quite uncomfortable.

"Do you want to…um…go somewhere else?" She offered.

"No, we can stay here. I quite like it actually." He crinkled his visible eye.

Humming, she leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes in the process. The woman took in a shaky breath as the dam that kept all memories at bay came crumbling down. The images flashed before her eyes, like a strip of a film.

"Naruto's parents and mine were longtime friends…that's why he and I are so close, we practically grew up together." Her voice was so faint, so uncharacteristic. "We usually spent our summer vacation together, and in that year we went to Thunder. There was this small resort in the mountains…with a lake and forests."

She could remember the smell of the pine trees, see the way how the surface of the lake shone in the sunlight, the confusion both her and Naruto felt once they found out that the lake's water was not salty but sweet.

It all happened on their second night there…

They were already finished with dinner, Kushina and Mebuki washing the dishes, while Minato and Kizashi made sure that the impending storm wouldn't make any damage to the cabin they stayed at. Sakura and Naruto were playing shogi and were arguing the whole time about who was cheating or not.

"I saw you move the piece!" She pointed her finger at him, green eyes narrowing.

"I didn't Sakura-chan!"

"I'm going to hurt you if I catch you once more!"

"Fine!" The blonde folded his arms on his chest, looking to the side.

They eventually went back to play, only stopping when their mothers brought a mug of warm cocoa to each of them.

"I wonder what is taking them so long." Kushina mused, going to the nearby window, shoving aside the thin curtain to look out.

"Knowing Kizashi, they probably sat down somewhere and started reminiscing about old times." Sakura's mother chuckled.

The redhead looked at her wristwatch. "It's starting to get late. I'll check up on them." The front door clicked with a shut once she left the cabin.

"Sakura-chan, you should prepare for bed." Mebuki played with her daughter's pink tresses. "We are getting up early tomorrow."

"Just one more round, please."

Sighing, she leaned down and kissed the crown of her head. "Fine, but only one." Mebuki collected the now empty mugs from the nearby table, walking back to the kitchen.

Sakura moved a piece on the board, earning a groan from her opponent. She smirked, knowing far too well that it would be really hard for Naruto to find a way to turn the impending finale of their game in his favor. She looked to the side, staring out the window not far away from where they were sitting at. The sound of the wind picking up could be heard clearly. The wooden structure of the cabin groaned, frightening her. Hopefully, the house won't collapse tonight.

She sensed movement from the corner of her eye, her gaze fixating on the glass pane once again. It was only probably a branch or a twig, she shrugged. A faint voice in the back of her head pointed out, that there were no trees in the close proximity of the window. That the movement was way too fast for it being only a mere twig falling down. But Haruno Sakura dismissed these thoughts and looked back at Naruto, who was in deep concentration, she was quite sure that he'll yield soon.

The sound of the front door opening and closing could be heard. It sure took aunt Kushina some time to find their fathers. Those two had the tendency to disappear after meals and talk about all kinds of stuff in the company of a few beers, tonight was most certainly one of these occasions.

Her breath caught in her throat and she completely forgot what she wanted to say. Kushina had her back against the door, skin blindingly pale, eyes wide with silent tears. Something was wrong…something was extremely wrong.

"Where's Kizashi and Minato?" Her mother emerged from the kitchen, drying her hands with a towel.

"They…" Kushina's voice was strained.

"They what?" Her mother seemed to be unnerved as well, impatience radiating off of her. Mebuki was already moving towards the door, but Kushina stopped her midway.

"Don't." The other woman shook her head furiously, her red hair falling into complete disarray. In that moment she looked like a madwoman.

"Let me out."

"You can't…all that blood…you can't!"

"What's the matter, mom?" Both children got frightened by the scene unfolding in front of them.

"We have to get out of here." Kushina ignored her son's question, grabbing Mebuki's forearms.

"But why?" Sakura finally found her voice and addressed the older woman.

They all let out a shriek when the electricity in the cabin went out, leaving them in complete darkness.

"We have to get out of here." The redhead's voice was even more urgent. Sakura could see the silhouette of the two older women once her sight adjusted to the darkness around them.

"We should call the police, maybe they could help." Her mother reasoned out of the blue.

"By the time they arrive, there will be no one to help." Kushina hissed, walking towards the two children. "We go now." She grabbed both children's arms and pulled them up from their seat. "Come on."

Having enough of not knowing what was happening around them, Sakura didn't budge even a single inch. "What's going on? Where's dad and uncle Minato? Why do we have to leave?" The girl tried to free her hand from the older woman's iron grip unsuccessfully. A pregnant pause followed her string of questions, making her more anxious.

"They are dead." Kushina whispered. Sakura felt all the air leaving her lungs, like someone kicked her hard in the chest. All her limbs felt like they weighted tons and she was unable to say or to even think anything.

"What?" She barely heard Naruto's question.

"I…I found them outside…all that blood…so much blood." Kushina's voice broke and she started wailing, followed by Naruto's own cries of sorrow.

A pair of hands engulfed the pink haired girl in a bone-crushing hug. She didn't have to see in the dark to know that the person was her mother; she could recognize this hug from hundreds of others.

"It's going to be okay. I promise that everything's going to be all right." Mebuki whispered. The calmness her mother sported completely surprised Sakura, either the fact hadn't sunk in completely or the woman just wanted to be strong for her daughter. Whichever was true, Sakura felt enormous gratitude towards her mother in that moment. She was already starting to freak out just by seeing how hysteric Kushina was.

The sound of glass shattering could be heard from upstairs, while the doorknob of the front entrance started rotating furiously.

"They are here." Mebuki whispered, letting go of her daughter. "Quick, barricade the entrance." She was already moving towards one of the armchairs, pushing it against the door. Sakura and Naruto followed suit, pushing a small drawer right next to it.

"How are we going to get out of here, if we blocked the entrance?" Tendrils of panic started capturing Sakura's whole being.

They started looking around the now dark cabin, in desperate search of a way out. The windows were out of the question, since whoever was outside was most certainly waiting for them. There was just no way for them to escape, was it?

So, what do you think?

I would like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, followed and put this story into their favorites!

Part two will be posted tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!