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Chapter 7

The dreams with premonitions replaced the nightmares that had plagued Kakashi for so many months. Many of the premonition dreams were the equivalent as the nightmares, in his book. Kakashi couldn't decide which was worse. It made him uncomfortable being able to see into people's private lives and it was difficult for him to watch his fellow shinobi in harm's way. The only beneficial part was that he didn't have these dreams every night. As the weeks moved on, there was only one dream that really terrified him - the dream with Sakura in it.

In the dream, Sakura was abducted by Sound Nin, and was taken to Kabuto, where he tortured her. Kakashi could do nothing to prevent it or save her. Following afterwards, he would always see a series of underground caves which were like a maze. The feeling he would overpower him was a sense of urgency and the frustration of not being able to find what he was looking for. When he woke, he could still feel the frustration but could never remember what he was looking for.

Since the dream began, Kakashi was on heightened alert to protect Sakura whenever he was awake, but the threat was never there. As for the second part of the dream, he could never figure out what the dream was trying to tell him or what he should be searching for. He was relieved that at least one of the premonitions he had seen hadn't come to fruition, because of the importance of her in his life. It pushed him to regain his strength and skill so he could prevent the situation, if it ever presented itself.

Sakura was pleased with Kakashi's physical progress, but still had concerns about his mental state. She knew it bothered him to have the premonitions, but at least they were not all as damaging as the nightmares had been. Naruto and Sasuke had been disturbed by her revelation of the premonitions that Kakashi was experiencing. They had put some distance between their old sensei and themselves because they didn't know how to react or deal with the situation. In the past couple of weeks, the two men seemed to loosen up a little around Kakashi due to Sakura reassuring them that all of this was out of his control and that he was the same sensei that they both knew. Of course Sasuke was the most resistant. The Uchiha heir was never comfortable with the realm of the unknown.

Tsunade had been interested in every detail once Sakura had made her aware of the situation. She found it ironic that Kakashi had to deal with his past through the nightmares, and now had to deal with the potential future due to the toxin's affects. The Hokage had consulted with a few people that she trusted on the subject and had suggested that Kakashi start journaling his dreams. For a man that had problems completing his reports in a timely manner, it was like torture to have him comply with the Hokage's request. After some coercion and some creativity on Sakura's part, Kakashi finally complied with the blond sannin's request. Some of his premonitions had saved shinobi out in the field. Only a select few knew where the information was coming from, but the shinobi that had been spared through the disclosures thanked their unknown benefactor for protecting them.

Kakashi and Sakura fell into a comfortable pattern of training by day and spending personal time with each other by night. After he had regained his strength, the couple moved out of the cottage into Sakura's apartment since there was more room for them there. It seemed natural for them to be together. Their friends were shocked when they first noticed the couple's closeness, but became accepting of the relationship when they saw how devoted they were to each other. The couple complemented each other and brought out the best in each of them. Sakura found a calm that she hadn't known and her temper didn't seem to flare as much as it used to. Kakashi had become more social and laughed more often. It was sides of them that their friends hadn't seen often. Even though they were all happy for them, their friends hoped that their luck would hold and nothing would destroy the bliss that they finally found together.

Though he was doing much better, Kakashi was still having a hard time dealing with the premonitions. The unknown was never a factor that the silver-haired ninja dealt with comfortably. A couple months had gone by and still the premonitions had not slowed. Kakashi felt that he needed to learn how to deal with what was going on in his head before he started back taking missions again. Not knowing if this was a permanent annoyance that he would need to constantly deal with, Kakashi discussed the matter with the Hokage hoping that she could give him some advice on how to deal with the situation. Tsunade suggested that he take some time to visit his friend Masao at the monastery, in the hopes that the abbot could help him find some peace with his plight. Knowing that his old friend would help him, Kakashi requested a short leave to go back to the monastery.

Walking back to the apartment, Kakashi's thoughts instantly went to Sakura. He was still having the same recurrent dream of her being abducted and the cave. Usually his premonitions would come to pass within a couple of days, at the most a week. This had been going on for a few months now. Kakashi chalked it up to his current feelings towards Sakura and his insecurities. He had never let anyone into his life this closely before. As for the cave dream, he believed that it was symbolic of the frustration over his current situation which manifested in walking blindly through an underground maze. He rationalized that if something was supposed to happen, it would have by now. Just in case, he would leave a few of his ninken to watch over her as well as asking Naruto and Sasuke to look in on her from time to time. Kakashi rushed off to do his errands in order to be waiting for Sakura when she arrived home after work.

It had been a long day for Sakura at the hospital. It seemed that most of Konoha was sick or injuring themselves today. She never liked clinic time due to this reason. After she had finished with her last patient, Moegi told her that the Hokage wanted to see her before she left for home. Mumbling under her breath, she trudged her way to her mentor's office hoping that their meeting would be brief. Nothing had prepared her for what Tsunade told her about Kakashi taking a brief leave to go to the monastery. As she had some more time to think about the situation on her walk home, it made sense for him to go. Masao had helped him find peace before when Kakashi's life was in turmoil. Knowing what she did about the abbot, she was sure that his friend could help him find peace again. Even though she would miss him terribly, Sakura knew this was the best thing for Kakashi to do to finally heal. It was important for him to find peace so he could move on with life.

Slowly, she trudged up the stairs to their apartment. The long day took its toll as she made her way up to the door. As she opened the door, her sense of smell was greeted with the aroma of dinner waiting for her on the table. The table was adorned with a bouquet of colorful flowers and lit candles. A smile graced her lips as she looked at all her lover had done to make the evening special. She could hear him humming in the kitchen as she gently shut the door. He had gone out of the way to soften the blow that they would be apart for a length of time. She stealthily made her way to the kitchen to find him carefully doling out the contents of the take out containers on to two plates.

"Hello, Sakura," he said with a grin on his face without breaking his stride in what he was doing. He had sensed her chakra when she had reached the staircase.

Sakura smiled knowing that he probably sensed her way before she even came through the door. Putting her things down on the chair, she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle, molding her body to his. She took in his calming scent, a mix of sandalwood and spice. Hugging him tightly, she enjoyed their closeness as he finished his task.

As soon as he was done, he quickly spun her around and ensnared her lips in a fiery kiss. Sakura melted into his arms as their kiss deepened. Kakashi left her breathless as they broke apart.

"Welcome home," he murmured huskily, "Hungry?"

Sakura could see the fire smoldering in his eyes as he looked at her. He was the only man she knew that could take her breath away by just a look and she loved it when he did. It made her feel complete.

The couple made their way to the table where Kakashi served dinner. Their conversation centered on light things like how Sakura's day went and Kakashi's conversation with Naruto and Sasuke about their teams. The conversation never touched on his impending departure. Once dinner was done, they cleared and washed the dishes, then went to the living room to sit before the fireplace.

Sakura snuggled in close into Kakashi's arms. The couple stared at the fire dancing in front of them, quiet, enjoying the moment together. Sakura could feel Kakashi's heart rate quicken as they sat together. His demeanor was cool and composed, as always, but she knew that he was trying to find the words to tell her about his trip to the monastery. She would leave it to him to tell her about his journey giving him the time he needed to do so.

Kakashi's mind raced as he sought the words to disclose his visit with Masao, in order to help him with the lingering issues that plagued him. Even though he knew that she would never complain, he didn't want to see the sadness in her eyes when he told her that it would be at least a month of separation. It would be hard for both of them given the closeness they have shared over the past few months. Both of them had come to depend on each other for the comfort that they needed. Kakashi rationalized that this was a good test for when he resumed his duties and started going on missions again. Even though his mind sought to rationalize the impending separation, his heart was heavy knowing it would be awhile before he would be able to feel her in his embrace. Taking a deep breath, he knew stalling was only postponing the inevitable.

"Sakura, I need to tell you something," he started.

Sakura looked up into his eyes, and smiled at him. She had time to deal with the disappointment of him leaving on her way home. She wanted to make this easier on him knowing that he felt the same as her – she would miss him terribly. Knowing that he was torn, she decided to hide her feelings until he left so he couldn't see how much it bothered her. The main thing was that he found the help and peace that he needed so desperately, so he could finally move on.

Having her attention, Kakashi told her about what he and Tsunade spoke about, and his trip back to the monastery. Sakura fought back her feelings as she looked at him as he nervously told her about his plans. She could tell that he was obviously torn and that he would miss the closeness that they now shared. After he had finished, she composed her thoughts before she responded.

"Kakashi, I understand," she told him as she took his hands in hers, turning so she was looking directly into his eyes. "I will miss you terribly, but we both know that you need to do this to finally find peace. Don't worry about me. I have the two idiots to keep me company. You just focus on getting the help you need and get better so you can come back to me as soon as you can."

He knew that this was difficult for her too, but her smile reassured him that she was okay with him leaving. That was one of the things that Kakashi loved about her, her reassuring smile. As long as she was smiling, all was well in his world.

The lovers embraced, savoring their last night together. Kakashi swept her up into his arms, carrying her to their bed. There was a hint of sadness as they shared the night together. As Sakura slept in his arms after their love play, he couldn't shake the sense of foreboding that he felt. His thoughts immediately went to his reoccurring nightmare. Sighing, he told himself that all will be well and that his anxiety was all due to him leaving her for an extended time. Kakashi gently kissed her forehead and held her close, as he drifted off to sleep. As he sank deeper into sleep, for once, the nightmare didn't start. The only thing he felt was the sense of his destiny, a destiny that would be finding him soon.