Chapter Seven: Day 1.6
The alarm clock on Sakura's night stand jangled out the beginning of an old day. Sakura shot upright in bed, breathing hard, staring at her wall. She threw off her covers and dressed quickly. She threw her unwashed hair into a ponytail as she ran down the stairs and hurried out the front door.
She ran past Ino, through the flower shop and up the staircase. Ino called after her indignantly. She burst into the kitchen and practically shouted the passphrase at Inoichi. The clan head was sitting at the table eating breakfast. He was only shocked for an instant at Sakura's sudden and unannounced appearance before her words sank in. He set down his glass and gave a hasty apology to his wife before rushing out the door with the pink haired girl.
Later, after Sakura explained it all again for what seemed like the hundredth time, the Third Hokage looked at Sakura with sad eyes. The appropriate orders had been given but the attacking ninja were not the problem now. Inoichi and the Hokage looked at Sakura.
Just then, team seven arrived. Sakura rushed at her teammates, hugging Naruto and Sasuke to the pleasure and displeasure of each respectively. Kakashi looked at the exchange and asked, "what's this all about?"
Inoichi explained the situation yet again and Sasuke suddenly looked less disgusted with Sakura's behavior.
"Sakura," the Third Hokage said. "When you wake up tomorrow, take note of everything. We'll need all the information we can get to try and get out of this cycle."
"I could hurry up the process," Sakura replied, pulling out a kunai. Kakashi snatched it out of her hand. He looked like he wanted to hit her. Sakura shrank from his furious gaze. The temperature in the room seemed to drop suddenly.
"You already know from past experience that your death will not end the cycle," Kakashi snapped at her. "But if you ever do break free," he stopped and took a breath. His tone returned to its usual calm, "when you break free, you wouldn't want to be dead due to being careless."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stared at Kakashi. They'd never seen him like this before. It was terrifying. Kakashi flicked the kunai down at the floor; it buried itself into the wood to the handle.
"Excuse me," Kakashi said coolly and left the office.
The room was silent. Heavy thoughts weighed down the quiet. Finally, Sasuke tugged on Naruto's sleeve, touched Sakura's arm, and jerked his head at the door. They followed him out quietly.
After searching the village for a few hours, team seven found their sensei at a training ground they'd never seen before. That is, they may have seen it before but Kakashi had seriously altered the landscape so they weren't sure. Stumps of trees, leaves, and splinters lay everywhere. There were large chunks of the ground simply missing, giving the lawn a pockmarked appearance. Kakashi was seated with his back against a stump. The rest of the tree trunk lay nearby, the green leaves just beginning to wilt.
The trio approached him cautiously. The jonin's eyes were closed and he was panting. His vest and headband lay on the ground next to him. He looked bare in just his blue and blue outfit.
Sakura didn't know what to say. An apology would be meaningless, she wasn't exactly sure what she'd done in the first place. So instead of saying anything, she silently sat down across from him. Naruto and Sasuke also mutely sat. They formed a semi-circle facing the jonin.
The four of them sat like that for a long time. They heard Kakashi's breathing slow down to a resting level. Still the jonin did not open his eyes. When the sun was directly above them Sakura said, "sensei, are you okay?"
"I'm fine Sakura," Kakashi lied. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have scared you three like that."
"You didn't scare us," Naruto said boldly.
"You nearly wet yourself, you idiot," Sasuke said.
"Did not!" Naruto retorted. The boys glared at each other but Sakura wasn't paying attention.
"I'm sorry sensei, but I'm not sure what I did," Sakura said openly.
Kakashi was quiet for a long time. He opened his eyes and looked up at the clouds in the sky. "Death is a rather final solution. You end all your tomorrows, all possibilities of making things better, all possibility of hope. That is all swept away. Because even when you're in a situation where you feel no hope at all and things seem impossible, there's still the possibility of hope tomorrow. Not so if you end your life."
The wind blew gently, ruffling Sakura's restrained hair.
"If you're going to cut your life short," Kakashi finished, "do it because you have to for someone else, not for you."
Sakura stared at him, thinking of when he'd shielded her body from the explosion the first day. She thought of Sasuke and Naruto, slowed down by her helplessness, falling prey to the enemy ninja.
"Why do you three protect me?" Sakura demanded suddenly. Naruto and Sasuke were looking at her again.
Kakashi tore his eyes away from the clouds and looked at her. "I thought that was obvious."
"Yeah," Naruto said. "You're our comrade Sakura."
Sasuke nodded, his eyebrows furrowed.
"But I was helpless during each attack and even when I kept the attacks from happening at all, I still haven't been able to break free of the cycle!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Maybe the attack wasn't what you were meant to change," Kakashi offered. He looked at his female student, tying his headband back on. He tilted it so that it covered his left eye. "Maybe things were meant to be that happened the first day," he said too casually.
Sakura looked up at him quickly. "What? That we all die? I can't accept that!"
"Then what are you going to do about it?" Kakashi asked, pushing her.
Sakura looked at the ground, then at the trees across the training ground. She had a fierce glint in her eyes, a grim smile on her face. "What I should have been doing all along."
The kunoichi stood up, tightening her ponytail. "Naruto, Sasuke, spar with me."