Chapter 5 – One Step Closer

A few days later, as they walked back to Konoha after defeating the two Akatsuki members, Sakura couldn't help but notice how tired Kakashi looked. She couldn't blame him. After all, one of them had been practically immortal and the other one actually was immortal. And she wasn't the only one with this observation.

"Kakashi-taichou, should we stop here?" Shikamaru asked. "You seem pretty tired and it is starting to get dark," he said looking up at the sky.

"Oh, no I'm fine. Let's go a little longer and set up camp then," replied Kakashi.

You don't always have to be so brave, Kakashi.

Shikamaru seemed unconvinced, but agreed anyway.

"At least let me carry the corpse, Senpai," requested Yamato.

Kakashi thought this over for a moment before reluctantly handing the dead Akatsuki over. Honestly, he was unbelievably tired and sore. It amazed him how his arms and legs felt like both jelly and lead at the same time. He trundled on, not wanting to look weak in front of Sakura. He was just glad he hadn't needed to use mangekyo sharingan and have someone to carry him back.

They continued walking for a while, before Kakashi 's legs gave out from underneath him. Kneeling on the ground, he felt slightly embarrassed. He shook his head and tried to get back up, but couldn't find the energy to move.

So much for wanting to appear strong, he thought to himself with a wistful smile.

"Kakashi-sensei!" he heard her exclaim in surprise as she ran over to him. "Here, let me heal you, you look exhausted." She kneeled beside him and gave him a small smile. "That Akatsuki must have given you quite a beating," she teased.

He was too tired to argue so he simply nodded and lay on the ground with his eyes closed. Besides, it would be a chance to be near her. He vaguely heard Yamato using his jutsu to build a shelter in a clearing nearby.

As Sakura sat beside him, she became nervous. She was going to have to touch him to thoroughly treat him – she couldn't help but notice how perfect his body was underneath his tight-fitting shirt. She thanked the heavens that his eyes were already closed and wouldn't be able to notice her blushing.

She poked and prodded him, tentatively at first, but became more relaxed and confident when she fell into a methodical rhythm. It was something she'd done so many times already that she could do it with her eyes closed. When she was doing her job, the world seemed to fall away and she could just focus on the task at hand.

He groaned and fidgeted slightly when she touched his ribs and she pulled her hands away like they had been shocked. After a little more examining, she figured he had probably gotten his ribs bruised or fractured during the fight. She placed her hands over his chest and closed her eyes to better focus her chakra into them.

The relief was almost immediate. It was a wonderful sensation, like his skin was humming. As it coursed through his body, he felt like he was swimming in chakra. The pain soon seemed like a distant memory. She truly was amazing.

As she continued to heal him, her mind started to wander. She thought about Naruto and he was training, about Sasuke and how much she hoped for his safe return, about all the hardships Konoha had already faced and all the imminent dangers that still loomed ahead. But mostly she thought about Kakashi and how worried she had been when he had left, and how much she loved him without any hope of his returning her feelings. Though she tried to stop them, tears began to well up in her eyes from the overwhelming sense of helplessness from it all.

Kakashi was enjoying his healing session when he suddenly realized that the sensation was gone. He opened his eyes and looked up at Sakura, who was looking down at her hands that were folded loosely in her lap. He was shocked to see that she was crying.

"Sakura!"

She opened her eyes and saw him sitting up in front of her, never quite looking up at his face. She wiped her eyes and tried to stop the tears. The last thing she wanted was to let Kakashi see her cry, but the more she thought about him, the harder she had to fight it. It felt as if her heart would break in two. Damn it, she wanted him so much.

"Sakura, look at me. What's wrong?"

But she didn't, couldn't, look at him. And there was no way she was going to tell him what was wrong. Besides, she was sure that if she spoke, her voice would crack or she'd start hyperventilating.

"Sakura," he tried again, to no avail. Finally, before he could stop himself, he put his finger under her chin and tilted her head up. The touch shook her to her core. But she still couldn't lift her eyes to meet his gaze.

He cupped her face in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears, so gingerly it was as if he was afraid he would break her. He wished there was something, anything, he could do to take away her pain. It had to be something terrible, he had rarely seen her cry in all the years they had known each other. She normally stood tough in even the most dangerous missions.

"Sakura. Please, talk to me. Why are you crying?"

His gentle touches and his earnest desire to help only made her heart ache more for him.

To him, it was obvious he wasn't helping. In fact, she seemed to be crying even more and his worry was slowly being replaced with panic. He needed to do something. In his desperation, he did the only thing he could think of. He pulled her in close towards him and wrapped his arms around her. As soon as her head touched his chest, everything felt so… right. She belonged in his arms. He closed his eyes, rested his chin on her head, and took in the fragrant smell of her hair. In the back of his mind, he could hardly believe what he was doing, but he forced his reservations aside.

Neither could she, but she was too busy crying into his shirt to analyze what was happening. She felt like she was home in his arms, but as he stroked her hair and back, she wished he was doing it for the right reason.

"Sakura, I don't know why you're crying, but you can talk to me. You can trust me." Because I love you.

"Kakashi…" she began, not quite knowing where she was going.

Suddenly, Sakura opened her eyes in disbelief. She quickly double checked. Yes, there was no mistaking it. As a medic, she had been trained so extensively to listen to heartbeats that it was like second nature. And as she rested her ear and hands against his chest, she could tell that his heart rate was definitely accelerating. She couldn't think of any other reason for it than…

She slowly pulled away from him and finally looked into his eyes, or rather, his eye and the spot where his other eye should have been. Her eyes squinted slightly, searching him for the truth.

Shit. He wasn't sure how, but she knew.

He had to get out of there. He broke eye contact with her and looked up at the sky.

"They're probably wondering what happened to us. Let's get to camp." And with that, he got up and started walking toward Yamato's cabin.

As Sakura watched him walk away, she couldn't believe this was happening again. But this time, it was a little different. This time, she knew.

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Sorry for taking so long with this one. I've been busy.

Anyway, I hope you guys aren't getting too frustrated with the pace of the story. I'm trying not to rush things between them.