A/N: A big thanks to my beta samurai girl93! As always she is doing a great job! Hi, it's me again (from a very long absence)! I'm sorry for have making everyone of you to wait this long! But unfortunately I cannot prevent life from happening, but as a promised in the last A/N that I would upload when I have a chapter ready for you and now I have ("Yeah")! It took time mostly because of school, (new found love) my wonderful boyfriend (in which I dedicate this chapter to) and my muse that has been a b***h to me... And some of you may wonder why it takes so long for me to write when it already seems to have a name for the next chapter? Well, here is the answer; I have two hand written pages of ideas and then I have to fill in the blanks to make it a full story... Which isn't always that easy... lol
Well enough of this A/N! Read and enjoy! And please, don't forget to leave reviews!
Take Care! (^o^)/
(Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO!)
Chapter Twenty Three - Love The Way You Lie
The dark brown haired man with those dark chocolate eyes, tapped the pencil on to the paper he was glaring down to, not really concentrating on what he was writing on the paper that still was blank with only some black ink spots after the impact from the pencil.
He was worried and frustrated; for he did not know how a man like Haruno Katashi could have broken through his guards that easily without him knowing it.
And after that incident with those two Konoha ANBU just a week ago, he had made sure that the security around his mansion was tighter than before. Then again, those ANBU was probably stationed there to keep an eye on the girl and not on him, but you couldn't get too certain with those kind of things and that was why he had chosen to get rid of them. Hopefully, no one would be looking for them in the nearest future.
Maybe he should deal with that man Katashi before it was too late? Surely, that girl wouldn't miss a man she never had met before.
But something was still nagging back in his mind about that man. Almost like he had met him before somewhere and the girl – she was a different story. The way she was looking at the man Katashi, wasn't how you looked at a man who was your brother. A brother you never had met before. No, it was certainly more affection behind those emerald eyes towards that man then he ever had seen in those eyes before.
Why? He couldn't understand. Maybe because he was her brother after all and who had cared enough to actually be looking for her. But one thing was sure, he didn't trust that man Katashi and he would do everything he could to make sure that this man stayed away from his property.
The dark brown haired man glanced once more down to the ink spotted paper, frowning as he crumbled it with his fist.
First two nosy ANBU's and now this. Why couldn't he get some peace before he finally could marry this girl?
And if that wasn't enough, he still had his duties to attend to.
A suddenly knock on the wooden door could be heard and he called in the one who had knock to enter.
"Sange-sama..."
"What do you want, Saburou?" the dark brown haired Sange asked the gray haired man in the doorway.
"I'm sorry to disturb you like this, but Kamiko-sama your mother, she wish to see you," Saburou said and looked to Sange who looked back.
"Tsk, that woman..." Sange muttered and glared annoyed down to the desk. "Saburou..."
"Sange-sama?"
"I have a favor to ask you," Sange suddenly said and Saburou raised an eyebrow at him.
"Favor, sir?"
"Aaa, I will travel away for a week with my sister and mother, so I will let the mansion be under your and the housemaids watch," Sange told the old butler almost a bit nonchalantly. "But I have still one more favor to ask you and that is to keep a close eye on my fiancée."
"Your fiancée sir?"
"Hai, my fiancée and do also keep an eye on her brother," Sange told him. "Mostly her brother, I find him quite strange. He could just walk into this mansion, even after I had changed the guards and made the security much tighter."
"That is quite an achievement sir," Saburou commented.
"It surely is and I don't know many 'ordinary' people even able to do that," Sange told him while raising form the chair. "That's why I want you to keep a close eye on him during my absent. If he does anything funny, do what you see most fitting..."
"Hai, Sange-sama..."
~oOo~
The silver haired man sat on his bed, re-checking all the things he had managed to take with him and what he had been given by Uranai-san the old fortuneteller, back in ChimaChima.
He remembered how angry she had been with him for letting the 'girl' go like that and that she hadn't been especially keen on having him to live with them on a very short notice.
But what could he do about an emergency like this? He had already send one of his ninkens Uuhei to deliver the letter, announcing her about his arrival (that she most likely already was aware of) and that he wanted her help.
She had (of course) smacked his head as fast as he had stuck his nose inside of the shop, telling him that it was no way that she could have done what he had asked as quickly as he had wished for.
But believe it or not, she had done it even faster than he had hopped for and as always, she had done a great job.
A scratching noise right outside of the room could be heard and the silver haired man glanced to the door, while moving slowly out of the bed.
He opened the door as slowly as he had moved out of the bed, looked outside and was met by a pair of bored looking eyes, staring back at him.
"Are you just going to let me stand here all day or are you letting me inside?" a slightly old voice coming from the floor said and the silver haired man stepped aside to let the owner to the voice come inside of the room. "I barely recognized you with that make-up and those eyes, Kakashi."
"Well, I think that is the point, Pakkun," the silver haired man Kakashi said while closing the door behind a little brown pug. "And I should thank Uranai-san for her help..."
"So that was why you went to ChimaChima. To get that from her," the little brown pug said and jumped up on the bed. "But you could have just obtained that kind of stuff in Konoha as well and much faster."
"And risking that someone will notice and get suspicious of what I'm up to," Kakashi told Pakkun and leaned on the dark oak desk. "No, I wouldn't risk that. And besides, Uranai-san is an expert on this field and no one is as good as her."
"That's true," Pakkun said while scratching his ear with his hind leg. "So, have you found Cherry Blossom yet?"
"In fact I have and it was quite easy," Kakashi muttered. "Anyway, do you have some news from Konoha?"
"I have some news; unfortunately some is better than others. Which one do you want to hear first?" Pakkun asked.
"Doesn't matter; just tell me so we can get over with it."
"Someone seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the basket today. Slept badly?" Pakkun said and Kakashi gave him an annoyed glare. "Okay, I will begin then. The good news is that everyone is fine and Naruto are still trying to convince the elders to take Sakura back..."
"Okay, that is good news and I'm not surprised that he is still trying. It's just like how his mother was," Kakashi sighed and looked to the window that showed a perfect sunny weather. "And the bad news..."
"The bad news is-..." Pakkun hesitated and looked up to his master, who was still looking out through the window. "The bad news is that you shouldn't go back to Konoha..."
"Excuse me?" Kakashi turned his head back to Pakkun who was still looking at him.
"You shouldn't go back to Konoha," Pakkun repeated.
"And why shouldn't I?"
"They know that you have left Konoha. I don't know the details, but what I heard the elders have taking back their position as councilors and they told everyone that you are a traitor," Pakkun told Kakashi who frowned slightly. "If you return to Konoha, you will be put into jail or worse killed. I also heard that the elders are using some of the old Root's ANBU to track you down and take you back."
"Take me back just to kill me," Kakashi mumbled and pressed his fingertips against his eyes. "Why do I get this feeling that they are doing everything to stop me and everyone else to get Sakura back? And even go as far as announcing me as a nukenin. What have they against Sakura anyway?"
"Who knows," Pakkun sighed and glanced down to the floor and heard how Kakashi began to pace back and forth.
It surprised the little brown haired pug slightly, because his master only paced when he was really worried about something or when he was pissed. Right now he couldn't tell if his master was worried or pissed, it troubled him some.
"And by the way, Kakashi, you told me about two chakra signatures you could feel in the woods outside of the mansion," Pakkun suddenly said, making his master to stop pacing.
"What? Oh, that's right. I could feel two of Konoha's ANBU lurking in the woods. What about them?" Kakashi asked.
"Well, I don't know why, but I couldn't feel their chakra or anything for that matter," Pakkun said and jumped off from the bed to walk towards Kakashi who was looking a bit thoughtful down to the floor.
"Are you sure that you couldn't feel anything at all?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm sure," Pakkun responded.
Kakashi, who still was looking thoughtfully down to the floor, sighed loudly before he glanced back to the pug.
"This thing with the ANBU is making me a bit uneasy," Kakashi murmured more to himself then to the pug, who raised a non-existing eyebrow at him.
"Do you want me and the boys to snoop around in the forest?" Pakkun finally asked and Kakashi looked to the window once more.
"It would be appreciated, but summon all of you would expose my chakra too much and besides, summon all of you would also attract attention," Kakashi glanced forgivingly down to Pakkun.
"Hm, can't be helped I guess," Pakkun sighed and walked to the door, waiting for Kakashi to open it for him.
"Be careful and please hurry," Kakashi said and watched how the little brown pug slipped out through the door he had opened and was then out of sight.
~oOo~
Sakura glanced down to her food, still not in mood to eat anything, even after a certain someone had showed up out of the blue.
But what she found most annoying the moment the certain someone had stepped inside of this mansion was the ongoing tension from the two males present at the dinner table.
One was her (so called) fiancé and the other one was her perv of an ex-sensei.
But it seemed that it was only she who had noticed the tension in the room from the two of them, or Emin and Kamiko didn't care if one of the males would drop dead by a chopstick flying across the dinner table. And that male would be Ryuusei.
The way too uncomfortable silence was suddenly disturbed by a clatter from a pair of chopsticks who was put down on top of the rice bowl by Ryuusei, who now was looking at Sakura.
"I'm leaving tomorrow," Ryuusei suddenly said and Sakura blinked surprised up to him.
"Ex-Excuse me?" Sakura said, a bit baffled by his suddenly announcement.
"I said that I'm leaving tomorrow. Duty calls and my mother and sister are coming with me," Ryuusei told her. "I would have of course, wanted you to follow with me, but because of your state you should just stay home and rest..."
"I see," was all Sakura could say and then she felt a pair of eyes up on her and she knew who those eyes belonged to. "How long will you be gone?"
"Not that long, maybe a week or so. Anyway, I will arrive back here before our engagement party is, so don't worry about that," Ryuusei told her with a faint smile on his lips.
"So if you would be accidentally killed, can I cancel the party?" Sakura asked sarcastic, hearing how Kamiko dropped her chopsticks to the wooden table.
"You are such a little joker, aren't you?" Ryuusei said and took a sip out of his cup with saké. "Well if that ever would happen, you are free to do so."
Sakura gave the silver haired man opposite of her a short glance, telling him more or less to kill him so she could get out of this nightmare.
But the silver haired man just raised an eyebrow slightly at her, in a way that told her that he didn't understand that look she gave him.
"But you won't be completely alone," Ryuusei told her, while putting down the ochoko* to the table. "You will have your maid and of course your brother."
The way Ryuusei had said "brother", made Sakura to turn her head slightly back to Ryuusei who had begun to talk to his sister and Sakura hadn't liked how he had said it.
Was he suspecting something already? Well, even if he did, she still couldn't prove if so the case was.
~oOo~
Sakura stood with the silver haired man behind her in the big entrance hall, looking at Ryuusei as he and the other two was about to leave the mansion. And Sakura couldn't be happier then she already was.
Because of Ryuusei's departure, it would give Sakura plenty of time to figure out how to make the silver haired man behind her to leave this place and go back to Konoha.
Ryuusei finally turned to Sakura with a broad smile on his face, as he moved closer to her, close enough to be able to kiss her.
"Okay sweetheart, I will see you in one week so don't miss me too much," Ryuusei said and placed a hand on her cheek.
"As I would," Sakura hissed low to him and he smirked down to her.
"I know you will," he mumbled to her and bent forward to kiss her lips, but Sakura turned her head slightly away from him, making him kiss her cheek instead.
"That will never happen," Sakura assured him, giving him a sweet smile and stepped away from Ryuusei, who didn't look that amused any more.
"Well then, we will see about that," he said and stepped away from Sakura. "I will see you in a week then."
Ryuusei then turned away from her and began to walk towards his mother and sister, who both were waiting for him by the big black iron door.
"Bye then," Ryuusei finally said and then he, Kamiko and Emin was out through the door.
"Have a safe trip!" the old butler called after them before he closed the big iron door. "Alright Haruno-sama, as always the dinner is served in the big dining room at five, so I would appreciate that you are in time for once."
"I will try," Sakura mumbled annoyed, while watching the old butler disappear down the hall and then she turned around to face the silver haired man behind her. "And how much would it take for you to leave?"
"Um, pretty much," he answered and smiled amused down to her.
She was having one of her "pissed-of-periods" again and it had been the third time in just a half a day. And the silver haired man found it amusing to make her angry, like he had done so many times before.
"You know that you are pretty cute when you are angry," he said smiling and Sakura snorted at him.
"Really? Then I guess you wouldn't find me so cute anymore if I shoved a fist in your pretty face," Sakura hissed to him and he couldn't help to chuckle slightly at her.
"Is that a treat?" he asked.
"Yes, it is!" she growled and the silver haired man smiled a bit wider at her and decided it was enough with teasing for today.
"So, how is the little one?"
"Huh? F-Fine, I guess," she told him and was a bit surprised that he had asked her how her baby was. "At least I think he is fine. I haven't been to a gynecological examination since I left Konoha."
"But you are a medic. You should know if he is fine or not."
"But because of this pregnancy, I haven't been able to manipulate chakra correctly and the longer this pregnancy proceeds, I will finally lose all my ability to manipulate chakra. So that's why I can't check on my son, because I can't bring up enough chakra to do a checkup," Sakura told him and glanced to him. "I thought you knew."
"Yes, but I didn't think it would be that fast," he told her.
"ShiShi-..." Sakura mumbled with a sight and turned away from the silver haired man.
"You know that I don't like to be called that," he told her. "Anyway, what are you doing today?"
"Nothing special. Maybe mourn my loss of freedom," she told him. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I just thought that we could spend some time together, that's all," he said and shrugged his shoulder.
"Why?"
"Because I have been kind of lonely," he told her.
"How do you mean, Kakashi?"
The silver haired man Kakashi, looked to her and putted his hands into his pockets.
"You know what I mean. I missed you," he told her, almost in a whisper.
Sakura sighed once more and looked down to the cold, black stone floor. To be honest, she had kind of missed him too.
"Okay, I'm not allowed to leave the grounds, even with guards, so I guess we have to spend time here," Sakura told him.
"That's fine with me..."
~oOo~
Sakura could never have guessed that her perv of a Sensei and the sometimes strict shinobi he was could be such a mischievous little git.
The way he had made fun of the guards outside of the mansion, without them noticing who had putted the flower garlands (Sakura had made) on their heads, making the old butler to tell them to stop messing around with the maids.
Sakura hadn't laughed so hard since Sai had pulled a none fitting comment in the middle of a heated discussion between Naruto and Tsunade-sama, making the ex-Root ANBU to seek cover behind the closest thing he could find that wouldn't break by Tsunade-sama's impact.
Sakura looked up to the smirking silver haired man beside her, who was leaning on a tree, trying hard to not break this precious moment by saying a bad comment.
"I didn't know you could be such a naughty boy, Kakashi," Sakura told him, while looking up to him from her position on the grass covered ground.
"Well, there is much you don't know about me," he told her and placed a hand in his pocket. "Anyway, are you hungry? You haven't eaten since breakfast."
"A little maybe," Sakura admitted. "Are you going to tell me then?"
"Tell you what?"
"Tell me about you. You told me that I didn't know much about you, right?" Sakura said and Kakashi sighed.
"I could tell you, but it's a long and painful story to tell," he said and looked out over the ocean that was just on the other side of the big white brick wall. "Even if I want to tell you, I shouldn't tell you my story here. Maybe someday I will tell you."
"That someday will maybe never come," Sakura mumbled and looked down to her lap.
"Don't be silly, Sakura. You aren't married yet, so it's still plenty of time for me to tell you," Kakashi told her and crouched down beside her, while putting a hand on her shoulder.
"That maybe be true, but I will be married next month and the engagement party is in two weeks," Sakura told him, still looking down to her lap.
"I know," was all Kakashi could say, because he didn't know what to say to her. "Okay, let's go back. I guess the old goat wouldn't let you out again if you are late to the dinner."
Kakashi squeezed Sakura's shoulder in a reassuring way and she looked up to him with a faint smile on her soft slightly red lips.
"You are maybe right, let's go," she said, while Kakashi helped her up to her feet and they began to walk away towards the mansion.
While inside Sakura wasn't surprised that the head housemaid had rushed towards them and began to yell at Kakashi, that it was irresponsible of him to let a heavily pregnant woman be walking outside, without at least a guard and her own maid beside her all the time.
Kakashi had of course, apologized to the old maid and told her that she hadn't to be worried about Sakura's safety, because the guards here was the best and no one would be able to infiltrate the mansion without a good fight (and Sakura was sure she had seen him smirk slightly to himself, after he had said it).
The housemaid had looked a bit calmer, but it had been Kakashi's lazy and charming smile that had made her drop everything she had said before and just walked away calmly without saying a word more to them.
"You really have to teach me how to do that," Sakura told Kakashi, while they walked towards the dinner room.
"Sorry, but it's a secret," he told her and she hit him playfully on his upper arm.
"You are mean!"
"I know. That's why you shouldn't associate with people like me," Kakashi said and she looked up to him with a raised eye brow.
"You mean I shouldn't be with old, pervy, ex-sensei's who is reading porn books in public and is blaming his best friend for becoming a pervert," Sakura asked and she could she how a smirk slowly was formed on his lips.
"If that's how you put it, then yes," Kakashi said and watched how Sakura just shook her head at him. "But what I really meant was that you have become more violent than before."
"And whose fault is it that?" she told him and glanced up to him.
"My fault as always," he said to her and she smiled slightly up to him.
"Well, that is true. But war change people as well," she mumbled and Kakashi nodded his head slightly in an agreement and watch how Sakura entered the dinner room.
"But maybe the war change you in a good way, Sakura," Kakashi mumbled to himself, as he followed her into the dinner room shortly after.
~oOo~
Sakura sat on the window seat by the bay window in her room, looking out through the window to see the big silver moon shine down on her.
The moon was so bright that she barely could see the millions of stars on the midnight blue night sky.
She didn't know if she should be happy that she finally had Kakashi by her side or sad that he had come for her. After all, she had tried to forget all about him during those 4 weeks since she had come to this mansion. But know it was more or less hopeless, because he was everywhere she was.
She put a soft hand on her round stomach and began to stroke it, as she always did nowadays to make herself calm down.
"What should I do?" she mumbled softly to her stomach and she got a quite painful kick in her ribs in return. "You are not much to help, just like your father I guess."
"Should I take that as a compliment?"
Sakura turned her head around slowly and looked at the silver haired man leaning on the doorframe, who gave her a slightly lazy smile.
"Take it as you want... Sensei," Sakura told him and turned her head back to watch the moon through the window again.
She could hear the man sight and how his footstep grew louder as he came closer to her.
"Sakura, you know what I have said about that. I don't want you to call me that. We are equals now. No, we have passed that as well," he said behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder and he could feel how she tensed under his calloused palm.
"Nothing has to change," Sakura suddenly said calmly and glanced to him. "Do you think that just because I have the same rank as you; this makes us equals when you still are treating me as your student?"
When he didn't answer she turned her gaze back to the window.
"You have always treated me like I still was your student. Before the war, during the war, after the war and even now," Sakura continued. "Why can't you see me in a different way, Kakashi?"
"That-... That's not true, Sakura. I have always seen you for whom you are. The strong kunoichi I have always known you to be," Kakashi told her and placed his other hand on her other shoulder as well. "The woman I began to love..."
Sakura stopped to watch the moon and turned her emerald eyes to the silver haired man behind her, who was looking down at her with those ash green eyes.
"I still can't believe those words," Sakura told him, still looking up to him and trying to find some kind of lie in his eyes. But she couldn't see anything in them. "You have to be lying, why would you love me? I-..."
Her words was taking away from her when his hands was cupped around her cheeks and his lips was pressing against hers and she felt that pleasant tingling sensation in her stomach as his kiss deepened. Like she always have felt when he kissed her.
"If you can't believe in my words, can you believe in my action?" Kakashi said against her lips as he placed another kiss on her lips. "I love you and I want to protect you. That was why I didn't want you to do all of those things back during the war. I wanted you to be safe, even if that meant that you would hate me. I did my choice, so I had to live with it. But I did never think of you as weak, never..."
Sakura averted her eyes from him and felt how his thumb was stroking her cheek gently, making her relax a bit as he began to talk again.
"I know I hurt your feelings and your pride as a kunoichi, but I did it because of my own selfishness. I wanted you and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I was the one who send you out to your own death," Kakashi mumbled to her and pressed his forehead against hers, touching his tip of his nose with hers. "I wouldn't be able to move on if I lost you too..."
"You wouldn't be able to move one if you lost me too. Is it about that mistake you didn't want to do again?" Sakura mumbled to him and she could feel a small nod from him. "What happened?"
"I don't want to tell you here. Let's take it outside," Kakashi told her and when she nodded, he lifted her off from the window seat and putted her softly down to the floor. "Let's go..."
Well outside Kakashi stopped at an old red maple tree that was planted on a terrace that was built-in with the big white brick wall surrounding the mansion as well as the garden.
From this place you could see the sea and smell the salty sea breeze and this place was Sakura's favourite place in the whole mansion and garden. A place she saw as her sanctuary, a good place to hide from Kamiko and Eimin.
Kakashi leaned on the big maple tree and looked to Sakura, who was now standing beside him.
"You know I don't like to talk about myself and to be honest, I never had it in my intention to talk about it either," Kakashi said to her as he turned his gaze to the sea that was reflecting the silver light from the moon. "I don't expect you to understand what I'm about to tell you, because it's-..."
"I don't care, Kakashi," Sakura told him. "You have lived longer then me and you have experienced two Shinobi Wars. I don't believe I would understand everything you told me anyway."
Kakashi glanced to Sakura and nodded his head to her and she too was now leaning on the big maple tree beside Kakashi.
"I should maybe begin from the beginning," Kakashi sighed as he looked down to the ground. "My mother, she was a shinobi from a very small but yet famous clan, whom lived in Ishigakure*, but that clan is now long gone. My mother she met my dad when she was on a mission to actually kill him, but she fell in love with him and he with her. As you can understand, Konoha couldn't accept her, due to her blood and what village she was from."
"What did they do?" Sakura asked and looked to Kakashi who glanced to her.
"My father did the only thing he could think of, she made her with child," Kakashi told her and looked back to the ground. "The laws were a bit different back then, so if a shinobi made a woman with child he had to marry her and that would mean that my mother could be accepted into the village. It was due to my father they took that rule away and made other rules."
Sakura couldn't help to smile at it, because it sounded like Kakashi was smiling too.
"I really admirer your father," Sakura told Kakashi who laughed slightly. "He seemed like a great man."
"He was, until that day my mother died. She was killed during a mission for Konoha. I had never seen father look so sad and angry. I was three years old when I lost my mother, but my father continued to act like a father should do, until he made the biggest mistake a shinobi can do," Kakashi paused for a minute and looked to Sakura, who looked back to him. "He messed up the mission, making many of our own shinobi to die and losing that fight. He was derided for many years until he lost his will as a shinobi. I was eight years old when I found my father dead in our home, he had committed suicide. I hated him for that, it made me angry that he just left me all alone and I blamed him for not having followed the rules."
Sakura looked sad to Kakashi, who still was looking down to the ground.
"Back then I couldn't understand what he had done, more than breaking the rules, because I was still young and the people around me had made the only one I actually admired, to be the black sheep. And it was then I was placed under Naruto's father, Namikaze Minato's care and he tried to make me understand that my father was a real hero, but I was so consumed with not breaking the rules that I didn't listen to him," Kakashi glanced up to the moon and then he began to smile slightly. "Three years later was the first encounter with two people who would change my life forever - People whom I still admire.
"I met a boy called Uchiha Obito and a girl called Rin. I hated them both, because I couldn't stand Obito's careless behavior and Rin's annoying way of stalking me," Kakashi told Sakura who began to smile a little when he had said that.
"Sound like old team Seven," Sakura said still smiling and Kakashi nodded some.
"My team was almost like team Seven was, even if some parts were a bit different. Anyway, I would say that my team was a good team. Rin was an iryou-nin* and Obito, he was... a dolt. He always made fun of my behavior and I was angry with him because he always did the opposite of what he should have done," Kakashi said. "But Obito died during my mission and even if I did hate him back then, he was my friend and I began to understand my father's reason and I began to forgive my father. Some years later after Obito's death, kyuubi attacked Konoha and my Sensei, Minato died to protect the village. He was a hero and I was proud of him, but I was also sad because I couldn't do anything to help him.
"During my day as an ANBU captain, I had to take my friend and old team mate Rin, with me on an ANBU mission that went very wrong. She died, because I was too careless. I could never forgive myself after that and I swore to myself to never let anyone get too close to me. That's why I never talked about my past and tried to have my friends on a distance. I was afraid that I would lose them if they were too close to me," Kakashi finally looked up to Sakura who had been watching him closely. "My view was the same when I become you, Naruto and Sasuke's jounin leader. But things began to change slowly after Naruto had come back and so had you. You had bloomed into something very beautiful, something I wanted to protect.
"I had never felt that feeling so strongly, so I became confused and made too many mistakes, things I though was to protect you. But I never realized what I did to you only made you angry and you began to take your distance from me and it frustrated me so much that I began to drink. Drink just because I actually felt sorry for myself. Yamato was the only one who saw what was happening with me," Kakashi chuckled some when he had said it and looked away from Sakura again to look at the starry night sky. "He was the only one who could see that I really was in love with you. I wouldn't know that feeling, I had never been in love before, and that was why I never could accept what I felt for you. It was during that time when we were on our first mission together after four years, that I began to understand by myself that I had fallen in love with you."
"I should I have noticed," Sakura mumbled and looked down to the ground as well. "I should have understood what was happening to you during the war, but I didn't. I was only thinking about getting Sasuke back to Konoha. Even if I understood that he had become evil and could not be saved, my hearth could not believe in it. I'm sorry that I made everything so much harder for you, Kakashi."
Sakura glanced up to Kakashi, whose eyes was sparkling like the stars in the sky he was looking up to and Sakura felt all warm inside when she looked to him. He had showed her a new side of him, a side that he would never show or speak of again. And she hated to admit that she had fallen in love with him.
"Kakashi, I had some time to think while I was here," Sakura said and he looked down to her.
"Thinking of what?" Kakashi asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"About us..."
"About us?"
"Yes, about us. What kind of life we would have if I still lived in Konoha," Sakura said and looked away from him. "I know it maybe sound stupid, but I didn't see what I had until I lost it. I'm sorry, Kakashi. Everything was my fault. I should have listened to you from the start and then maybe this would never have happened..."
"Don't be stupid, Sakura. You did what you thought was right for you and then again, it's not your fault. If we have to blame someone, it's the elders we should blame. It's their fault that you are here, but it's also mine," Kakashi looked up to the starry sky again as he had said it. "If I had not been such a coward, then maybe I could have asked you to stay with me before the elders had lain their hands on you."
"It's not your fault, Kakashi..."
Kakashi was about to answer her when he felt something warm against his hand and soft feminine hand clasped his hand with a light squeeze. Kakashi looked down to a faint blushing Sakura, who tried her best to act like nothing had happened.
"Even if you say it's not my fault, I still feel it's my fault," Kakashi told her and pressed himself a bit closer to her. "I could have told you everything I knew, but I didn't, because I was afraid..."
"Afraid of what?" Sakura asked him and looked a bit surprised up to him.
"Afraid of losing you, which I did in the end," he answered and shock his head. "I wanted to tell you about that law, but if I told you then maybe you would consider to marry someone else and to be honest, I wouldn't be able to stand it. It would destroy me."
"Even if you had told me, I wouldn't marry someone because of that reason. I would probably fight my way to avoid it," Sakura told him and looked away from him. "That would explain Yamato-taichou's suddenly behaviour towards me. He was worried..."
"Yamato,"Kakashi huffed, making Sakura look up to with a raised eyebrow. "That bastard, he was using you to figure out if my feelings for you were the real deal. It pissed me that he also was using you to try forcing me into making a move one you, when he knew that I didn't want to make a move on you, when I didn't know your feelings towards me was still the same as before..."
"So you are telling me that his concern for me was just fake?"
"No, his concern was real," Kakashi told her and looked down to her. "But it pissed me off, when I felt I couldn't give you the same concern..."
Sakura couldn't help to laugh slightly at him. She had never believed that she would hear that notorious Sharingan no Kakashi be jealous about something so small like that. But then again she had seen him acting jealous in the past, but she had never given it much of a thought until now.
"Do I hear a bit of jealousy?" she teased him, making him narrow his ash-green eyes at her.
"Is it wrong to feel jealousy, when another man is 'hitting' on the woman you love?" Kakashi asked her.
"I didn't say that. I was just surprised, because I now recall how many times I have seen you look jealous during our time together," Sakura told him with a soft smile on her face, while squeezing his hand a bit. "And stop lying to yourself. Even if I did hate you in the past, my feelings to you never changed. I have always admired and loved you as my best friend. But during the war, everything was so messed up and I felt betrayed by you because of what you said and did. And I was naïve and blinded by my own emotions to take Sasuke back to us, I should already have seen by then, that he wouldn't come back to us..."
"Sakura, what was done in the past, was done in the past," Kakashi told to her, while turning around to face her. "Let us focus on the future instead..."
"Which future?" she asked him and he opened his mouth, but closed it again, not sure what he should say. "I can't see myself getting married in a place like this. That's not what I wanted..."
"Then, what do you want then?" Kakashi asked her and looked into her emerald eyes.
"I want to marry someone out of love, not because someone told me to," she told him, sadness now shown in her eyes. "Live a happy and long life with the one I love. That's what I want..."
Kakashi looked away from her, while letting go of her hand. That wasn't something he could give her. Maybe love, but not happiness.
"I'm sorry, Sakura..."
"For what?"
"For not being able to protect you," he told her and she grabbed his hand again.
"I didn't ask for your protection, Kakashi," she said and he looked down to her.
"What do you ask from me then?" he asked.
"To be there for me. Like you always have been, but this time I will accept it," Sakura said and moved in closer to him. "Tell me, how the future will look like..."
"Well, you will get married; give birth to a healthy baby boy and die of old age..."
"I meant our future..."
"You will still be married, have a baby and die of old age," he told her. "And me, well, I will probably die by some enemy ninja out in the cold and dark woods and-..."
"Stop that, and I meant our future together," she mumbled and blushed faintly as she had said it.
"Our future? You want me to lie to you?" Kakashi asked and looked surprised down to her.
"If that's what you have to do to make me feel less miserable, then please do it," Sakura whispered to him and putted her forehead on his chest.
Kakashi looked down to her and then he asked her to sit down on one of the benches in the terrace and he followed suit. His hand was still holding hers and he sighed slightly as he looked up to the starry sky above them.
"I will take you back to Konoha and then, you will move in with me in my old childhood home," Kakashi began and felt how she putted her head on his shoulder.
"And then?"
"And then you will give birth to the most adorable little baby boy no one ever has seen," he said and he could hear how Sakura had chuckled at him, because of the way he had said 'adorable' on. "After that we will raise him into be the next Hokage."
"Seriously?" Sakura said and glanced up to him while laughing slightly. "The Next Hokage? You have to be joking..."
"Well, you said that you wanted to hear about our future, so why not letting our son grow up to be the next Hokage?" Kakashi said and watched how Sakura just shock her head and putted her head back on his shoulder.
"Or we can let him grow up to be whatever he wants to be," Sakura said and played with Kakashi's fingertips with her own.
"That sounds like a great idea I think," Kakashi told her and kissed the top of her head. "So after letting our son grow up to whatever he wants, we will-..."
Sakura didn't hear the rest of his words, because she began to drift into a light slumber and the only thing she could think of as she feel into a deeper sleep was that Kakashi's words had made her much happier than before.
She had honestly loved the way he had lied to her.
From the first moment he had said; ' I will take you back to Konoha ', to the very end when she had heard him faintly say; ' I will always love you '.
More notes:
I guess that everyone will know what will happen next... lol ^^
Mini Japanese dictionary and little more;
Ochoko = saké cup
Ishigakure = Hidden Stone Village
Iryou-nin = Medicnin
And I always appreciate your reviews and the support you give me and also everyone who fav's, read and alert it! Thank You So Much!
Take Care! ^3^
Next Chapter: My Heart Draws A Dream