Chapter Six
Sakura arrived at Konoha late the next day, her team probably already finished with their mission summaries. She sighed, disappointed that she had been unable to catch up with them after being held up so long by Takahashi.
As soon as her foot crossed over the threshold of the gate, a few guards appeared at her side. "Hokage-sama wishes to speak with you."
"Shit," Sakura muttered, knowing what Tsunade would want to speak to her about. Briefly regretting that she quit smoking, she headed towards the Hokage mansion, apprehension filling her body.
"Get in here!" yelled Tsunade, as soon as Sakura was within eyesight. "And close the fucking doors behind you!"
With a bowed head, Sakura silently did as she was told. Watching her angrily, Tsunade said, "What the fuck happened, Sakura? Why did you abandon your team like that? I've never seen an ANBU captain so disappointed with you! What the fuck were you thinking? Do you see why I don't like sending you on missions on days like today? You get too fucking distracted and your mind isn't on the mission. And because of this, people get hurt. I told you that Takahashi was to remain unharmed. Do you know what kind of problems I would have suffered through had he died? Fuck, Sakura! I thought you were smarter than that. What happened?"
After a few moments, biding her time, making sure Tsunade was not about to throw something hard at her, Sakura replied, her voice thick with emotion. "I—I… I got distracted."
With a huff, Tsunade thundered, "Obviously!"
"It's not what you think, Tsuande… I—I bumped into a… a man," Sakura replied slowly, cringing at Tsunade's angry glare.
Rolling her eyes, her arms crossing, Tsuande said, "Oh God, Sakura. A man? Couldn't you have waited until after your mission to—"
Blushing at the insinuation, Sakura interrupted quickly. "I have reason to believe that this man was… Hatake Kakashi."
Immediately stiffening, Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "What?"
"Kakashi is still alive, Tsunade-sama. He's still alive," Sakura said, eyes welling with tears. She looked at Tsunade, expecting a similar reaction, but she received none.
"Damn it," Tsunade muttered as she slowly sank into her chair, her shoulders sinking as if a great weight just settled upon them. "Damn it. How do you know it was him?"
"Well, when I bumped into him—" pausing, Sakura studied Tsunade, and the shock bloomed on her face as the icy-cold realization filled her bones. "Tsunade-sama… you knew…"
Tsunade did not reply, nor did she meet Sakura's accusing gaze. Taking this as an affirmative, Sakura's entire world seemed to shift beneath her, causing her to lose her balance and slowly drop to the ground. "Y-you knew…"
With a small frown, Tsunade said, "Sakura…"
Eyes narrowed in anger, Sakura said, "No. Don't try to console me. You knew! And you didn't fucking tell me! You didn't tell me that Kakashi still lived. You hid it from me and made me try to live my life without them. Do you have any idea what I've gone through? Do you have any fucking idea what you've put me through?!"
With a glare, Tsunade said, "Sakura, get a hold of yourself. I did it for you, Kakashi, and all of Konoha. I had to."
But Sakura's mind was already far, far away. Almost as if to herself, she mumbled, "If I had known… I wouldn't be this—this waste of life. I wouldn't be in ANBU… I wouldn't be haunted by these memories… I wouldn't be alone."
Worry spreading across her features, Tsunade said, "I had to do it, Sakura. Kakashi and I thought it would be best this way."
"Best?! Best for who? Kakashi? Right. He is free to live the solitary life he's always craved, away from everyone. All the while taking the knowledge of what had happened to his friends and comrades, and thus able to grieve and move on." Tears began pouring down Sakura's face as she tried to hold back the sobs. "While I've been here, waiting, waiting, always waiting. Not knowing what had happened or how they died, trapped in the past, relieving the news of their deaths over and over. Trapped in a fucking nightmare."
Weakly, Tsunade said, "I had to…"
With a shaky sigh, Sakura turned to leave. With a cold voice, she asked, "Was it truly worth it, Tsunade-sama?"
"It is my duty as Hokage to protect Konoha, and I have accomplished this duty… despite the feelings of others." Tsunade replied, almost as if she memorized it by heart. When Sakura began to walk away, Tsunade spoke up again. "You can't go back to Amegakure, Sakura. I forbid it."
Spinning around, Sakura asked, "What?!"
With a calm, steady voice, Tsunade replied, "If you do, you'll bring danger upon everyone in Konoha. I can't let you."
"Haven't I suffered enough, Tsunade-sama? Yet still you deny me this." With a sigh and a resigned nod, Saukura turned back towards the door. "As you wish, Hokage-sama."
"Sakura, don't be like this," said Tsunade, a slight frown marring her features. "it's for the good of Konoha."
But by the time she spoke these words, Sakura had already left. Holding her head in her hands, Tsunade whispered, more of a consolation to herself than anything, "I had to, Sakura. Forgive me."
Sakura wandered through the streets, walking as if in a haze. Kakashi… how could you? Why would you? What happened? How are you still alive? These and many other questions buzzed about her head, and she was unable to shake them away.
Pulling herself from her thoughts, she found herself at the monument. Immediately, her eyes focused on the name that currently haunted her. It was a name she had traced countless times before, a name she had read with tear-filled eyes, a name she had whispered to the cold darkness that constantly surrounded her, a name she held close to her broken heart because it belonged to her oldest and truest friend. Hatake Kakashi…
"You're still alive, yet your name remains chiseled in this stone, Kakashi," she whispered to the stone, sadly, "how is that possible?"
There Sakura stood for a long while, trying to understand, to truly see Kakashi's intentions, searching his name as if by examining it she'd be able to find out the answer. Gazing deep within herself, she did not see the sun finish its course across the sky, the rising of the moon, nor the appearance of the twinkling stars. She was lost in another time, in another world, and she could not shake the image of Kakashi disappearing, leaving her in a deep, cold darkness, a darkness that threatened to capture her soul. I need a drink.
Man, oh man. Yet another chapter. I know it's kind of soon, but people have been confusing Takahashi with Kakashi. Sorry, they're not one and the same, as I have revealed in this chapter (at least, I hope I revealed it). Kakashi is actually the guy that Sakura bumped into in the streets. Hah. My evil plan worked: I distracted you readers with a handsome, possible Kakashi look-alike, when Kakashi was right under your noses the entire time. Some of you suspected the "home-scented" stranger was Kakashi, but when I threw in Takahashi... chaos. Utter chaos. Alright. So, you probably totally hate me right now, and I admit, I'd hate me too... maybe. But you gotta admit, it makes for a good read. And don't worry. Takahashi is not just some randomly thrown in character that I put in just for the sake of throwing you guys off of Kakashi's trail. It'll actually make sense... much, much later. But, for now... that's it. Review, please! They're real fun to read. Laters.
I don't own Naruto.
