Chapter 40!
Title: 'Reparations and Replacements'
Note: Wow... the big '4-0'.... thank you all for making this far... but I still have much more to come...lol
Oh, and If the irregularity of each update is a little frustrating (which I imagine it can be…), I just wanted to let you guys know that I'll be posting the date that the next update will be published on my profile after every new chapter. (The number of days between updates may vary due to how busy my school/social schedule is at the time... x_x)
Disclaimer: I own nothing!!
The eerie silence continued.
Only the wind's gentle whistle was disturbing the complete stillness. They both stood in the spacious forest silently.
Her hands brushed along his chest. Just like they used to.
He could feel a wave of nostalgia was over him as her fingertips brushed across the fabric of his shirt, travelling downward, her hands meeting in the middle of his abs.
He flinched with surprise.
And disgust.
"I thought you wanted to fight." He spoke up harshly, his hands grabbing her wrists too tightly.
She only looked up at him the same way she always did.
As if he was a kid.
As if she knew everything about him.
As if she had so much to teach him.
"We both know you aren't naive enough to actually believe that when I said 'fight' that I was being literal." Her words curled through the air implicatively, wrapping around him. They smothered his thoughts for a moment.
He quickly let go of her wrists. He couldn't touch her. Really.
"Enough of this" His voice was quieter than he had wanted it to be, lacking the conviction it would've held if he had been talking to any other woman.
"This was my single condition, and you agreed to it in order to keep your girlfriend out of my games." She reminded him lightly. Her hands landed on his shoulders, sliding along his muscles until her fingers grasped the corners of his neck tightly, pulling herself toward him swiftly, gently pressing her thumbs on the front of his throat.
He recognized the prelude to her favorite kiss before her lips were anywhere near his masked ones.
This time he knocked her hands away from him with a harsh push, he took a step back.
"Playing your tricks again?…" He asked rhetorically as he turned away from her, trying to clear his head of her and think through this strangely evolving situation.
But it was really difficult… she had ways to control a man's thoughts, he knew that too well from his younger years… and though he definitely wasn't weak enough to fall for her games, he wasn't completely unaffected by them. He could tell that she was doing everythig she could to create some sort of tension.
This sickening tension that she evoked from him with every word, every touch…
He looked back to her for a moment, his eyes met her violet ones slowly.
She only grinned that smug, condescending leer.
He looked away quickly.
…
She knew this was going to happen…
She knew exactly where to hit him…
She knew what would make him agree to her negotiations.
All she had to do was to bring up Sakura and his hands were tied.
"So you knew I had something like this up my sleeve and you didn't do anything?..." She peeked around to look at his face, which was hardened into an expression of disturbed concentration. "And here I thought you had grown to hate me over the years…" She commented to herself with perky self-assurance.
It wasn't another moment until her hands found the sides of his face, titling his head towards hers.
"Maybe this'll be more fun if you enjoy it, too." She leaned in as her fingertips slipped in between the fabric of his mask and skin as easily as if it hadn't been years since the last time she'd done that.
He woke from his thoughts, and from her touch before her fingers could touch him any further.
"Sato!" He backed away further, nearly shouting her name as a warning. His voice finally finding its confidence.
His hand reached into his back satchel, his fingers closed around the bandaged handle of a kunai.
He couldn't stand the direction she was taking this…
Her expression didn't change, she only took a few steps toward him, her boots hitting the grassy ground with isolated crunches.
"What? I can tell you're still unsatisfied…" She reached out to him again. Her words freezing his actions, his thoughts, just like they always used to… He hesitated. "It's not difficult to imagine what was happening in that cabin…" She continued, as her hands didn't reach for his face or shoulders like before, they only circling slowly along his chest. "But it wasn't enough for you, was it?" They grazed downward.
Her fingers slipped to the waist of his pants.
He couldn't let himself think about how familiar this felt…
"I'm sure Sakura would forgive you just this once for indulging in what you really want…" She pulled herself closer to him, her body pressed against his. "I mean since you're doing it for her, she can't blame you." Her voice offered that excuse to him.
He couldn't listen.
A voice, stronger than hers, suddenly echoed in his mind.
…'I can handle this'…
She had been so serious… so completely serious that she could take care of herself.
He knew how much she believed it… how far she was willing to go to prove it…
…but…
There are some things you just can't handle… Sakura…
He closed his eyes.
Her hands fell lower and lower down his chest.
I hadn't been able to focus until now.
Up until now I was too distracted by all the questions that were torturing me as I had no other choice but to watch their silhouetted figures walk and move around each other tensely…
But now, as the shadow of her hands disappeared into the shadow of his chest, her arms sinking lower… I was immediately awoken from my unvoiced questions. And her voice came ringing into my ears again.
"Still don't believe what I warned you about?"
My view of the two shadows was intercepted by the owner of that voice.
I never thought I would feel relief after seeing that face… but if it meant I didn't have to watch whatever those two were…
"He isn't as strong as you thought he was…" She added with a know-it-all tone. Whatever 'relief' I felt was gone in a moment.
Without meaning to, I was already fighting at the invisible bindings that were squeezing against my arms. My efforts didn't do much… but I felt the tree crack a little bit under the pressure.
"What is this?!" I shouted as loud as I could, which wasn't loud at all since the bindings didn't let me take deep enough a breath.
She only laughed a little titter.
"I know you aren't that experienced, but surely you can recognize what you just saw."
"It's genjutsu, isn't it?" I asked that unnecessary question, already knowing the answer.
I had always been skilled at seeing through genjutsu… it was one of the first skills I developed. I could tell that this wasn't fake.
"It's exactly what it looks like... besides genjutsu was never my forte…" She explained with a polite tone, combing her hand through the ends of her hair absent-mindedly.
I felt my fingers tighten into fists…
I felt so useless.
I couldn't do anything.
"What did you do to him?" My voice didn't even sound like my own when I almost growled those words.
She laughed a little, stinging my ears."Nothing. This is all him."
"No, it isn't…" I tried to convince myself, my voice weakening….
He wouldn't…
"Believe what you want… it won't change what you can see for yourself." She was gone from my sight again.
…
The shadows didn't look the same as before.
I could only see one. The light in between their figures was gone, except for a sliver of space between the shadows' faces, that looked like was about to disappear, too.
"I'm sure Sakura would forgive you just this once for indulging in what you really want… I mean since you're doing it for her, she can't blame you."
…
There are some things you just can't handle… Sakura…
He closed his eyes.
This is one of them.
…
You wouldn't be able to forgive me if I did this for you. You wouldn't be able to forgive yourself.
… In the end, if I really wanted to help you, I'd believe you when you tell me you don't need help…
…
And no matter how much I don't want to admit it… you probably don't need me to protect you anymore…
…
He opened his eyes.
His fear, worry, anger forgotten.
He knew exactly what he had to do.
Asaka's red lips were already dangerously close to his almost-unmasked ones… but he felt nothing.
No tension. No nostalgia. No disgust.
It was as if this woman meant nothing more to him than the expendable memories she had left with him all those years ago.
His hands found her shoulders.
He pushed her away without a moment's hesitation.
As he turned away from her, he couldn't feel any sort of doubt in his decision.
"You don't know Sakura…." His voice was back to normal, calm. "And you don't know me anymore…." He added, as he took another step away from her.
He heard her boots fall onto the grass hurriedly, she was running after him.
He could tell she was losing whatever self-confidence she had before…
"I don't need to know you. I made you." She nearly yelled, her voice full of frustration. He could tell she was desperate for his attention.
He felt her hand land on his arm, trying to turn him towards her again. He only shrugged her off of him, taking another step.
…
Had this been a few years ago.
Had she reappeared in his life before he discovered what it felt like to love again… or for the first time… he actually might've forgotten how to resist.
… But now.
Things were different.
He was older, wiser, perhaps a little jaded, but he definitely wasn't the kid this woman knew all those years ago anymore.
He wasn't even the man he had been a few months ago.
… He felt it… he had changed… maybe not drastically, maybe not noticeably… but ever since he found someone he loved, someone who loved him, someone he knew would stay by his side… he had lost some of his... sadness.
The sadness that had been slowly overtaking him for years.
After losing so many people… after seeing them all die or leave… he had slowly started losing his hope. The hope that there could ever be anyone he could hold onto.
But he could feel it… that hopelessness was gently washing away, little by little. Like the weathering of a rock on the shore.
Every time she smiled, every time she said his name, every time he touched her, kissed her, another wave swept over that sadness, breaking it down….
…
He took another step away from the woman of his past, already forgetting her face… until he heard her voice again.
"Fine! It's your call. But remember that I did warn you."
Her voice sounded bothered… but it was her words that struck him…
It almost sounded like she already did something.
That she had already planned for his answer.
He could feel that fear slowly build again.
"What did you do?" He turned to her.
He could see her expression grow smug again.
She had gotten his attention, and so has named herself the winner of this conversation, but he couldn't care about whether she 'won' or not, right now he only had one person on his mind.
"Nothing… Just set up an audience." She explained innocently, her head flicking slightly to the north.
His eyes flashed towards the northern forest, looking for whatever Asaka was motioning towards.
It didn't take him more than a second before his sharingan found her.
"Sakura…" Her name escaped his throat in a moment of shock.
He couldn't get a good look at her expression before Asaka stepped in the way, breaking his concentration and fanning his temper again.
"But I'm afraid since you broke the deal… I can't just let her go."
He didn't even have to listen to all of her words before he was already rushing passed her.
He had to get there before her.
He had to get to her.
Her face was only a blur, he couldn't see her expression, he didn't know what she just saw, or what she was thinking right now, but he just needed to get to her.
I stood there, just watching him run to me.
I couldn't move…
… I didn't know what I would do if I could…
…
After what I just saw…
…I-
That voice interrupted my thoughts from going any further.
"Do you really think I'm an idiot?" She called from behind the tree I was pinned against just as he ran into this clearing. "Of course I wouldn't leave her unattended." She walked out from the tree, she stopped at my side.
"Get away from her." I heard his voice order harshly…
I looked away from him…
… I couldn't look at him right now.
If I did, I felt like I would slip… that I wouldn't be able to control myself.
But I didn't have a choice when I suddenly felt a hand lift my head up towards his direction.
"Look at her." Asaka tilted Sakura's face upwards roughly, losing her poise. His eyes met Sakura's for only a moment.
... Something about the look she gave him… It wasn't right.
She wasn't scared, or hurt… it was something else. She looked away too soon. "Is she really worth all the hassle?" Asaka's voice wouldn't stop.
He didn't want to hear her right now. He didn't want to deal with any of her games anymore.
"Shut up." He said shortly, taking a few steps toward Sakura, ignoring the growing anger in Asaka's expression.
He only looked at Sakura.
She was leaning against a tree like she was being pushed against it, tied to it, but he couldn't see any wire or rope. It only took a moment to remember that familiar jutsu of Asaka's… it was hard to forget, even after all these years.
Asaka flitted in between him and Sakura as he took another step towards the girl.
"I don't know why you think you can order me around, Hata-"
"Let her go." He said finally, his eyes meeting Asaka's violet one with a glare. He ignored her words. He didn't want to hear anything else from her.
He glanced back to Sakura, trying to get another glimpse of her face… He needed to know what she was feeling.
What she saw…
What she had to be thinking right now.
Nothing else mattered.
…
The woman in front of him didn't say anything for a moment.
He caught her eye right before she gave a single sideways glance towards Sakura, who was still looking towards the ground, her face hidden from both of them, but Sato could see something he couldn't.
Her specialty was reading emotions. She probably saw a multitude of emotional tells.
Asaka's eyes widened with interest for a moment, the same way a predator's eyes do when they spot an easy prey.
"Fine…" Asaka agreed simply, slinking out from between the two of them. "If you want her back so much…"
Then in only a single wave of her hand the bindings around Sakura seemed to dissapate.
She was standing on her own, but didn't make an attempt to move from the spot.
"Sakura." He called out to her, inching forward.
She still didn't move. She only hid her face, looking at the ground.
Something definitely wasn't right about this.
He gave Asaka a second glance.
Her eyes…
She was waiting for something.
And then, in only a moment's pause he knew exactly what she had been waiting for.
A fist collided into his torso.
He stumbled back a few feet clutching his chest weakly.
He definitely hadn't been prepared for that. His eyes flashed to Sakura, who was pulling back her fist slowly, her eyes already locked on his.
Her expression. It was completely different from before.
She was looking at him with such anger, such hurt… he couldn't remember any other time when he had seen that look on her face.
"Sakura?"
She didn't pay attention to his voice as she suddenly lunged forward, her fist reaching for him.
He stepped to the side just in time.
She turned around quickly, not saying a word, raising her fist again.
He could hear Asaka's pitched laughter several feet away.
"What are you doing?!" He tried to get Sakura's attention.
This was so insane. It didn't make sense.
"I saw you two!" She yelled as she punched the air that Kakashi swiftly dodged. "You didn't stop her! You just let her…" her voice trailed off as she lunged forward again, he caught her punch in his own hand.
"Nothing happened." His voice was low and serious as he tugged her closer to him, trying to make her listen to him.
"Like I'll believe that!" She pushed him away roughly, quickly backing away .
"Saku-!" He called for her, but she disappeared before he could finish.
He could hear faint rustling in the trees around him.
She was looking for a spot to ambush from.
She was treating this as if he was actually an enemy.
He immediately turned to the widely-grinning Asaka who was apparently having a wonderful time watching whatever you could call this insane situation.
"What did you do to her?" He called over to her, his anger rising.
"Again with that question… Do either of you really know each other?"
A sudden rush of wind interrupted his response.
"Apparently not." Asaka grinned to herself, her eyes on the pink-haired girl who was currently holding a kunai to his back.
"Sakura..." He tried to get her attention, saying her name the way he always would...
He definitely didn't get a response he thought he would.
"…You should really work on your detection skills…"
Her voice, those words.
They way she said them.
He had to stop himself from smiling, from letting out laughter of relief…
He paused as I said those words.
I hoped beyond hope that he would be able to recognize my tone, my words, as his own.
Only a few days ago, when we had what little peace a relationship like ours could possess, he had joked with me about working on my 'detection skills'.
I couldn't drop any bigger hints than that without Asaka figuring something out... if this didn't work, and he thought I was still serious... I didn't know what else to do.
I heard a slight exhale from him, something that reminded me of a chuckle.
I felt the hand of anxiety loosen its hold on my heart.
Thank god…
I really hated having to pick a fight with him, even if it was fake.
But if it meant that woman would let me go, that she would back off, that I could maybe give him a chance for an opening, then it was definitely worth it.
Before I could carry on with my plan, I immediately felt his hand reach around his back, grabbing my wrist a little loosely. I was sure that he knew this wasn't a real fight anymore... when he stopped my punch a few seconds ago I thought he was going to crush my fingers with his grip, he was so serious… but now he knew to hold back.
He swung me around to face him, I tried to keep my eyes angry.
He was probably doing a better job of acting than I was, but that didn't matter right now.
I just had to somehow push this fight into her direction.
I jumped back several feet, he followed. I punched a chakra-free hand at him before he could land, he caught my fist again, swinging me towards her.
We exchanged a few hits, practically replaying our training session from a couple days ago.
He knew exactly what I was planning, too, didn't he?
But he probably didn't know what else I had planned.
With every dodge and maneuver she made sure she was off-center from Asaka, who was only a few feet behind her, gawking at the spectacle this 'lover's quarrel' had turned into with an amused expression.
Sakura was doing her best to create any opening for him to translate his hits to Asaka.
It was harder not to smile.
Was it so strange that he felt this proud of her right now?
Probably.
… He had to save all this for later.
Right now he couldn't let this opportunity go to waste.
Sakura dodged another punch beautifully, but this time as he followed through, his footing was set perfectly, this was his chance.
With a single turn on his stance, and a quick-draw, he sent a kunai flying towards its raven-haired target.
In only the spare moment before the kunai was about to cut her, her eyes widened, she moved to the side. The fabric of her right sleeve was sliced open, a little puddle of burgundy staining the already red fabric of her jacket.
"Damn it." He cursed to himself as she suddenly disappeared.
He knew exactly where she would go.
He immediately looked over to Sakura, reaching out a hand to hers, her reflexes, not as fast as his own, didn't even allow her a moment of shock until she disappeared too.
Both of them seemed to rematerialize several feet away.
"You never learn, do you?" Asaka's voice yelled at him from across the clearing.
She was serious now, losing whatever little façade of carefree sanity she had before.
He felt his insides freeze over as he saw the point of Asaka's short-sword poised at Sakura's neck.
"Sato…" He said her name calmly, betraying his true feelings, taking a few steps toward her.
"This is just like that night, eight years ago, isn't it, Hatake?" Her tone softened, adopting a sense of nonchalance again. "You there, on your moral high horse, and me with a hostage… Do you think it'll end the same?"Her voice quivered as if she was on the edge of laughter, no doubt feeling superior again when she saw his reaction to her words.
Hearing her joke about that night, and threaten Sakura with the same fate, was really too much.
He felt his hands tense into fists.
"This isn't eight years ago, Sato... Back then I couldn't save them…" It was harder to say that than he thought it would be. "...But now, even if it means I have to lose my own life... I won't let you take her, too." He said slowly, taking a few slow steps towards her.
Her face immediately fell into a disgusted grimace.
"What's wrong with you?!" She was shouting now. "Do you really think that this thing between you two can last?!" She pressed the blade against Sakura's throat, a little stream of crimson slipping down. "Do you really think that this won't end like everything else has?!" He couldn't pay attention to the pain those words caused him when his eyes were fixed on the small stream of crimson.
He felt himself inch closer.
It was dangerous, but he had a plan to get her back.
But before he could think anyfurther on his own plan, a familiar voice spoke up… Sakura's.
"Do you really think that I'd let you make me a victim so easily?"
Poof
And that was it.
Sakura's form disappeared from Asaka's grasp, and both of them were blinded by the smoke left behind the clone.
There was a sudden crash.
Kakashi could only see a blur of red fly out from the smoke before he heard a deafening crack. Asaka hit the splintered bark of a nearby tree, unable to move for a moment, shocked by the impact.
"Sakura?" He called for her.
"Just a sec." He heard her voice as she walked out of the smoke…
"Just a sec." I nonchalantly acknowledged Kakashi for a moment before I moved on, breathless.
I had used so much chakra in that last punch, but I still had some left.
I didn't care how hard it was to walk in a straight line, or how difficult it was to ignore the pain in my right fist, I only cared about punching that woman again.
I hated her for what she had done to Kakashi… with Kakashi… I hated her for trying to play with us, I hated her for succeeding in that to some extent…. But I didn't feel this insane need to pummel her, this strongly, until she made him wear that expression I just saw a few seconds ago.
He probably didn't even realize it… the face he had when she mentioned what happened eight years ago…
I had never, ever, seen Kakashi in that much pain…
Even if he had tried to hide it, I finally caught a glimpse of what he really felt about all this… I finally saw clear past all of his cold and professional layers.
I couldn't stand seeing him in that much pain.
And my favor for her definitely didn't improve when she started talking about the frailty of our relationship.
I finally made it to the tree which she was practically crawling out of, I didn't waste a second.
I pulled back my fist, coursing any scrap amount of chakra to it without any hesitation. I didn't care how weak I suddenly felt, I just had to make sure she wouldn't be able to run away by the time I was done with her.
"Sakura!" I heard his voice as only an echo again, the reverberations of which were drowned out by the cracking of the tree as it split in half, Asaka flying backwards through it.
She landed on the ground coughing and sputtering.
I only wondered for a moment why, even though she was on the ground, she looked eye-level to me.
It wasn't until I felt his hands on my shoulders lift my face from the itchy grass that I realized that I had actually been on the ground, too.
My entire body was suspended in some sort of state of numb weakness… it didn't hurt, but I still wanted to fight.
"Sakura…" He only said my name, but even in my half-awake state, I still knew what exactly he was saying:
'What the hell were you thinking?'
I could almost hear his worried voice say those words, but I wasn't so close to unconsciousness that my imagination would take over like that.
But I did hear another voice speak out.
A voice I had wished would've been silenced by the two punches I had put most of my life-energy into.
"That kid was right about you two…" Asaka's voice sputtered hoarsely… "Lost in your dreams of friendship and self-righteousness…"
I could only look up at Kakashi… he was looking down at me, ignoring the voice's owner.
"I guess I really can't do anything here, right now…" The voice sounded like it was higher than before… could she still stand?... "But I'm not done with you two, yet…" She added weakly.
He still only looked down at me.
"Remember, Hatake… The path every shinobi must take… the one that breaks all of us.... This is the beginning."
His eyes flickered with their worry for a second, revealing some of that deep sadness I had only seen in them once or twice before.
With a gust of wind and a few moments of silence later… I knew that that woman was gone.
A part of me actually wanted to go after her, to hunt her down… but every other part of me wanted to succumb to the gentle darkness that was taking me over.
I felt his hand brush along my face for a moment.
"Kakashi…" I could only say his name with the weakest amount of worry in my voice.
I was really desperate to know what he was feeling right now…
His hand reached back into my hair, he lifted my head up a little. I felt his masked lips land on my forehead. Really soft.
"Don't worry. I'll be here when you wake up." He said simply, knowing what I was feeling…
I wanted to stay awake, but we both knew that after expending so much chakra, I definitely needed to let my body gain some of it back or I would only get worse…
I could feel the fatigue drag me down into that darkness further…
I wanted to wake up already.