Kakashi and Sakura jumped from branch to branch in tense silence. Neither had anything to say, or wanted to say anything. It was just silence.
They had been traveling for two days straight now, taking the trees to arrive all the faster at Konoha. They knew for a fact that even if they tried to follow the pair that had kidnapped Naruto, they would be no help to him except adding more pain. The two had decided that the best route was to proceed to Konoha, and request a back-up team to aid them in Naruto's rescue. They also decided that if it took too long to get a team ready, or a team wasn't allowed, and then damn the rules, they were leaving to save their comrade.
Both of them, though they would never say it out loud, knew that they had not very useful during the fight, excepting getting in Naruto's way when he had tried to kill them. Kakashi felt even worse, especially since he had had a clue as to what the Akatsuki pair had been up to. He should have spent more time looking at the symbol made of symbols on the ground.
Sakura tried to make the jump to the next tree, landing on the rounded edge of the branch. The heel of her boot slipped down, and she began to plummet towards the ground. Thankfully, a much flatter branch was a few yards underneath. So with some adjustments to her flight patterns, she was able to land softly enough on the branch. But, being tired from traveling and stress, her legs refused to support her anymore they crumpled beneath her, forcing her to rest against the trunk of the tree.
Kakashi leapt down to see if she had hurt herself in anyway from the fall. When he reached her, he noticed that her eyes were closed and her breathing had turned steady. She had fallen asleep after the fall. Kakashi sighed at this. They really should get going, but he felt himself being pulled into the land of unconsciousness as well. He decided that the best action to take was to get down to the ground and set up a small camp for a few hours to gain a little rest.
He shook Sakura awake, thinking that it would be better for her to bring herself, lest he lose his grip in his state and let her plummet to the ground to her death. She awoke slowly, and knowing what he meant automatically, rose to her feet without heart, and jumped down to the ground. After two days, not one word had been spoken between them.
They landed in the small clearing that was in between the trees. Kakashi went to look for fire wood; Sakura began to set up two bedrolls. She thought about how they hadn't spoken to each other. Then she realized they didn't need to. There was nothing to say. They had failed him once again, hurting him physically and emotionally.
How did she know that Naruto's wellbeing on an emotional level was hurt? Because she had let him down, not helping in the fight at all. Sure, he had told her to stand down, to allow him to continue the fight. But she could have at least yelled at him to give him the courage that he always supplied her with. Now he was gone, and she Sakura didn't know if she would ever see Naruto again.
-(.),(.)- KAKASHI
Kakashi walked around the wood, looking for small twigs and sticks to use for kindling. Sure, he could start a fire with a Katon jutsu very easily, but the fir would never stay alight without some smaller things to cling to first.
To someone looking at Kakashi, they would think that he was just a man, strolling through the woods calmly looking for wood. But that's where his training as a ninja comes in. A shinobi never shows his emotions.
Inside his mind, he was in turmoil again. AGAIN, he had failed Naruto. He should have ignored what Naruto said, and jumped into that battle. He was his superior after all. He couldn't stop him. But he had wanted Naruto to beat them by himself, as he had done before with so many enemies. But someone was always there to offer him support in one way or another. He had just stood there, and had become a liability to Naruto in the middle of his fight. Why had he been so damn weak?! His mind flipped over the matter multiple times, and her still couldn't find an answer.
-(.),(.)-
Kakashi arrived back at the campsite, arms full of sticks of all sizes. He looked up to see Sakura, with her head tilted upward, gazing at the open heavens above them. He placed the firewood down and sat beside her, and copied her action. The night sky seemed to taunt them; showing off its precious stars that shown like gems. The color was deep blue and calming, usually making a person feel secure with where they were or who they were with. But not Kakashi and Sakura. No, they couldn't even really see the sky. Their eyes were clouded with their thoughts, with their failure. They looked back at each other, than at the bed rolls, then the pile of wood Kakashi had brought, then back to each other again. They sighed, and then stood up. There was no time for rest. They had to get home.
-(.),(.)-
Two Chuunin guards were currently sitting at the main gate of Konoha, bored out of their minds. It was a very slow day, and they really wished that they had a different mission. Then they heard the padding of running feet, getting closer and closer to the entrance of the village. Suddenly, they see the entrance of two people, one with short pink hair and the other with gravity defying silver hair. The two looked at each other and then back down at the book where they were supposed to keep track of those that left and entered the village. They both knew who had just entered the village, as no one looked like those two. So, in the log book they recorded:
Haruno Sakura return at 12 noon
Hatake Kakashi return at 12 noon
After one of the Chuunin had finished recording what they saw, he realized something. "Where's Naruto?" The other guard looked at him quizzically, and then his expression changed to fear.
"Hokage-sama is gonna be pissed."
-(.),(.)-
Kakashi and Sakura stood in front of their female Hokage. Both were completely worn out from their journey home. Their clothes had minor rips and tears from jumping at high speeds in the tall branches of the surrounding area. Bags resided underneath both of their eyes, showing little or no sleep. Their faces were set in impassive lines, belying the emotions stewing underneath.
"And that's what happened Hokage-sama," Kakashi voice was deadpanning, trying to listen to his training of old to keep his emotions in check.
Tsunade sat at her desk, her head down and her fingers laced together. A strong aura raged from her being, silent but deadly. Her son, the one she had given her priceless necklace to, the one she truly believed would be the next Hokage, had been kidnapped by his worst enemy, the Akatsuki. While he was a mission with his team. A team that had been through so much together, and knew his biggest secret. But they let him be taken away, by people that will definitely kill him, no questions asked.
"Very well, Kakashi, Sakura. You two may go home and rest. We will discuss this later. You are dismissed," Kakashi and Sakura turned to leave the office. Kakashi exited the office, but Sakura clutched the handle with her back facing the room. Her head turned slightly to Tsunade, a look of sadness on her face.
"I'm…..sorry, Tsunade-shishou, and…." Sakura's voice trailed off, not knowing what to say to her mentor. That she should have done better? That she would do better next time? Would there even be a next time?
Sakura just closed the door, not being able to finish her statement. Sakura ran, back to the only place where she could find comfort.
She ran, her form shaking while she tried to keep her emotions suppressed. Damn the Shinobi rule number 25. A ninja never shows there tears. Why, why, why?! The sky began to turn grey, and the weather turned for the worse. Large clouds pregnant with rain covered the skies, obscuring the sun completely. Sakura continued to run through the streets, her face getting wet from the rain. Yeah, of course it was rain. Of course it was.
Sakura's feet carried her, her mind not concentrating on where she was going at all. The only thing she was thinking was of going somewhere safe, where she felt secure.
She didn't feel herself going uphill, or the harsher wind speed and the rain coming down harder. The only thing she saw was the village, the vast land stretching almost to the horizon. This was Naruto's spot. The top of the Hokage Mountain, on top of the Yondaime's head. More rain ran down her face, right below her eyes. Yeah, rain.
She sat down, pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. No one was here now. Now she could cry.
-(.),(.)- Kakashi
A book in front of his face, Kakashi let his feet guide him. He amazingly managed to avoid everything in his path, not disturbing a person or a thing. But, maybe it was because he wasn't actually reading this time. His mind was too cluttered to think of anything else. Why did he always fail to protect his comrades? Was it punishment for not realizing sooner that your fellows are more important than orders?
He decided to let his feet carry him, not paying attention to where he was going. He only wanted to go somewhere he could think, somewhere quiet. He noticed the clouds rolling in, the rain coming down. He put the book in his kunai pack, to prevent it from getting wet. He walked faster, noticing that some of the raindrops tasted a little salty. Yeah, rain.
His one eye see he was heading uphill, but his mind didn't truly register that. He only noticed that the rain was coming down harder, and the wind was picking up. Also, two tracks of rain on his face were coming down faster than the rest. That was strange. Yeah, strange.
He then realized where he was. On top of Hokage Mountain, right over the Yondaime, his sensei. He saw that someone had beaten him there. He figure had pink hair, a very distinct feature. He walked up besides her, wind whipping at his hair. Now that it was only the two of them, he could finally let the tears flow. Yeah, finally.
No, words were spoken between them. Again, they had been together too long as a team to not be able to understand each other without words. They stood and sat there for hours, unmoving and unchanging.
Eventually, Sakura had gotten up, her legs cramped from sitting in the same position for hours. She quickly glanced at Kakashi, who looked at her at the same time. Without any other motion, the two separated. One went one way; the other took a different route. They needed to be alone right now. Like they had left Naruto alone.
-(.),(.)-
Tsunade was sitting in her chair, the back facing the desk and the rest of the office. She looked out at the window, at the village she was sworn t protect. All because of that stupid brat. Who wasn't even here now.
She sighed. Even sake wasn't going to fix this. Or gambling for that matter. She needed to blow off some steam. She got up from her chair, and decided to head to one of Konoha's many training grounds and beat up some training dummies.
-(.),(.)-
Bangs and bashes could be heard within the mile of training ground seven, where Tsunade had decided to station herself. Three wooden logs that had once been present were now lying in ruins. They never had a chance.
Tsunade sensed a presence behind her, a familiar one at that. She didn't tense up; there was no need to.
"Sakura, what are you doing here? You should be resting at home," Tsunade turned to her student, who was soaked to the bone from the storm that had just past. Her eyes were slightly puffy, and her arms were wrapped around herself, as though she was trying to keep something in.
"I know shishou, but I couldn't get to sleep. I don't think Kakashi-sensei could either."
Tsunade sighed. She should have guessed that neither of them would be sleeping. What teammate could?
"Come here Sakura," Tsunade sat down on the ground, and patted the empty spot next to her. Sakura approached her and sat down. She once again pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
"Sakura, what's wrong? I know you should be sad, but not this sad. Did something happen between you and Naruto before you… came back?" She didn't want to refer to what had happened to Naruto directly. That would just make things worse.
"Well… before we started scouting, I said to Naruto thank you. I meant to tell him that night, but I never got a chance because of… you know. But that's not it shishou. I've been thinking, thinking about everything. And I think-" she swallowed and finished her statement.
"I think I love Naruto."
(.),(.)
So, that's the end of this chapter. Sorry for the wait guys. I had huge writers block. Not to mention, I posted the first chapter to the story I told you all about, and it didn't get the response I had hoped for. Not at all. I mean, I think that any of you would be a little sad of your story only got 24 views. Not REviews, VIEWS. That's just sad. So yeah, I actually know what I'm doing now, so the next chapter shouldn't take too long. Again, sorry for the wait! Hail the Wolves is outta here!