Chapter Five: Isolation

A few days passed after Kakashi confided in Iruka. Even though that conversation had been absolutely revelatory for Kakashi, the Copy Ninja decided nonetheless to be extra careful in his way to approach Naruto. Indeed, Kakashi was a thoughtful, intelligent man, and he was used to planning his actions thouroughly. He truly felt as though Naruto was stuck into his own mind which was like a fortress, and he had to infiltrate it slowly and gently in order to prevent it from engulfing Naruto further into its depths, where Kakashi was afraid he would eventually fail to reach him. Thus at first, Kakashi made himself discrete, and he simply observed the boy.

After their fight, Naruto spent three days alone, locked in his apartment.

For three entire days, no one saw his face, and for three entire days, Kakashi stayed on his roof, feeding himself with soldier pills, looking through the ceiling from time to time with his Sharingan, just to make sure Naruto's chakra was still there.

And for three entire days, Naruto remained into his bed.

He didn't cry.

He didn't scream.

Actually, he didn't utter a sound.

He just remained immobile in his bed, not eating, not drinking, not moving.

More than once, Kakashi, worried, had to restrain himself from poofing right into his bedroom, climbing next to him into his bed and engulfing him into his embrace. He just wanted to whisper in his ear that he was there, always.

That he was not alone.

That even if Naruto hated him, even if he pushed him away, Kakashi would hold on.

He would be the anchor, the rock Naruto could cling onto while he was lost in the storm.

Yet he didn't do anything.

Now that he truly understood Naruto's feelings, he knew he had to give him time. He knew the blonde had to have some time alone, and Kakashi wanted to respect that, even though he was determined to never let the boy out of his sight.

Sakura, Sai, Shikamaru, Iruka, Ino, Chouji…All their friends tried their best to get him to open the door, but without any success. When Sakura threatened to destroy the door, as she was worried to death about Naruto's health, Kakashi got down from the roof, and before any of them could say anything, he raised his index in front of his mouth to silence them. He feared that Naruto would try and chase him away if he knew that the man was literally camping on top of him.

He leaned forward and whispered into Sakura's ear:

"Give him some time. Don't be afraid, Sakura-chan, I'm watching over him. Always."

The kunoichi raised her eyes to him, then to the door, and then she bowed her head sadly.

"All right…Thank you, Kakashi-sensei…" she whispered, before leaving slowly.

The others nodded their head towards Kakashi and followed her, Ino casting an arm around Sakura's defeated shoulders. However Shikamaru stayed behind for a minute, concern evident on his face.

"Don't you leave him alone in there, Kakashi-sensei." He said very seriously.

Kaksahi laid a hand on the young man's shoulders.

"You can count on me, Shikamaru."

The young man nodded curtly, then went after the others, trying his best to raise Sakura's spirits by telling her that it was okay and that Naruto will eventually get out because after all, he couldn't live without ramen.

On the fourth day, Kakashi almost fell down from the roof when he heard Naruto's door bang open. He had been caught up in his book for a while and he hadn't realized that Naruto had got up, taken a shower and dressed up very quickly, before dashing out of his apartment.

"Shimatta." Kakashi swore.

He didn't have time to go home take a shower or change. He focused on Naruto's chakra and felt that it seemed to be heading towards the Hokage Tower. Joining his hands, Kakashi disappeared from the roof and reappeared almost instantly in Tsunade's office, making the blonde woman choke violently on her sake.

"WHAT THE HELL?" She roared.

"My apologies, Tsunade-sama but..."

"You'd better have a hell of a good reason to poof your sorry ass right in my office like that, Hatake!"

Kakashi's ears twitched and he turned around to face the door.

"Precisely, the reason is coming…If you'll excuse me…" he said hastily.

Just a second before Naruto burst into Tsunade's office, Kakashi graciously jumped through the window and pressed his back against the wall, hiding from sight. Naruto seeing him with Tsunade would certainly not be a good idea in his opinion. Thus he remained there on the roof, listening carefully.

Naruto burst into Tsunade's office, and the Hokage's protest died down in her throat when she saw the dark circles under the blue eyes as well as the slight loss of weight. Yet the main changed she noticed was within Naruto's usually cheerful and vivid eyes.

They were now dull and hard as steel, boring holes into her.

Before she could say anything, Naruto spoke in a voice that matched the iciness in his piercing blue eyes.

"I'm leaving."

On the roof, Kakashi's eyes widened when he heard that voice, wondering whether his ears were tricking him or whether it was truly Naruto talking in there.

"Nani?" Tsunade gasped.

« I'm off to retrieve his body in Amegakure."

Kakashi choke.

In the office, Tsunade remained horrified for a moment, staring at a very determined Naruto.

Then she shook her head and pulled herself together. She had feared this, and now she had to do everything she had in her power to hold Naruto back. On the roof, Kakashi was holding his breath, preparing to intervene, and he was already setting up plans in his head to stop Naruto from leaving at all costs.

"Err...Look Naruto..." Tsunade started.

"I don't care about your opinion. I'm going anyway, so the best you can do for me is giving me all the info you have."

Kakashi could feel the hostile, tense atmosphere in the room, and he told himself that he would have never thought Naruto would be the one to create such an ambience.

Tsunade sighed but she rose to her feet and remained firm while holding Naruto's gaze.

"That won't be necessary, Naruto. I have already sent Fukasaku to retrieve the body. It is going to take time though, as he…Well he fell in the depths of the lake and …

"Then I'll go help him." Naruto snapped.

"You can't, Naruto, Fukasaku and Shima have the required abilities to search such depths, plus they will have to be extremely discrete as I suspect Amegakure is the heart of the Akatsuki. And to finish, they are actively searching for you, Naruto, and from what happened to Gaara, I suppose you realize that if they get their hands on you, the world is over and…well he would have died for nothing".

Naruto said nothing. He seemed completely lost, as though he was trying to say something but didn't have a clue as to how to actually express it. Feeling that she might convince him, Tsunade went on.

"Please trust them. They will find him."

There was a long silence during which Naruto just kept looking at the ground, clenching and unclenching his fists. Then he raised his eyes again.

"Fine. Then give me another mission. I want to leave on a mission." He said firmly.

Kakashi frowned. What did the boy have in mind?

Tsunade sighed and raised her hands in a calming motion.

"Look Naruto, I have just told you that the Akatsuki is looking for you more than ever. That's why I would like to keep you inside of Konoha…Do you understand?"

Kakashi held his breath. He would probably have said the same thing. In addition to the actual threat of the Akatsuki, Naruto was obviously very disturbed and it would be most unwise to let him leave the village where his friends, and among them Kakashi, could keep an eye on him and be there for him on the day he would finally burst. He focused on feeling Naruto's chakra in the room behind him, and frowned. It was tormented, and he had a lot of trouble reading it. If Naruto was unpredictable in his usual state, then now he was like a bomb ready to explode any moment.

And indeed, he answered something most unexpected.

"Then give me a mission within Konoha's boundaries. I can't stay home doing nothing. I need to do something. I need..."

Naruto bowed his head and closed his eyes. His wrists clenched again. Tsunade waited. She could practically feel Naruto's contradictory thoughts and feelings.

"Give me something to do, ttebayo." He said with a hint of despair pointing in his voice.

Kakashi started at the little word that was his signature, and which had seemed to have disappeared from Naruto's vocabulary. Something in his heart stirred at the thought that this word was like a discrete yet powerful scream for help buried into Naruto's unconscious. Tsunade felt the same way: she was touched by that sudden proof of vulnerability that Naruto was trying hard to hide behind that mask of authority and indifference that didn't suit him at all.

She sighed and went through her files.

"Well...all I have for now are the usual chores you hate..."

"That'll do. I'll start today."

Tsunade looked at him, surprised, but said nothing, handing over the scroll on which was written the order to take care of the potato fields on the southwest border of Konoha, and sitting back down to her desk.

While he was examining the order, silently, the Hokage decided to take a risk.

"You look awful Naruto.", she said softly.

Kakashi bit his lip, anxious. She was walking on thin ice. One word out of place and it might turn into a disaster.

The blonde didn't answer.

Yet the Hokage didn't give up.

"Look Naruto, I know you need to keep your thoughts off Jiraiya but maybe we should talk about it."

"Oh for the love of..." Kakashi swore, hiding his face into his hands.

There it was.

The word out of place.

Saying Jiraiya's name in front of Naruto when the blonde had clearly not accepted his death yet was an absolute mistake.

Indeed, at his shishou's name, Naruto's eyes flew up and pinned Tsunade to her chair.

"Don't. You. Say. His. Name. Before. Me." He seethed.

Hartred.

Resentment.

Anger.

The feelings pierced Tsunade's heart like daggers, so much that she lost all her means. Konoha's most tempered Hokage couldn't say a word under the baleful look the boy she loved like her grandson was giving her.

Without any other word, Naruto turned to the door to leave.

Before he slammed the door behind him though, the blood started boiling in Tsunade's veins.

Naruto was being so unfair with her.

Jiraiya was her best friend, and she was as devastated by his death as Naruto was. He didn't have the right to claim he was the only one to suffer. They should support each other through that ordeal. She felt like she really didn't have the strength to cope both with Jiraiya's death and Naruto's hartred towards her. She felt that her heart was going to burst, the pain was just too strong.

"He was my friend too, you know." She said, her hands shaking.

Naruto sniggered.

"Yeah. Well my ass is glad you're not my friend anymore."

"Don't you think you are the only one in pain here, Naruto, I hate to break it to you but the world isn't revolving around your little selfish person!" Tsunade flared.

On the roof, Kakashi winced and pinched the bridge of his thin nose between his index and thumb.

Damn, it might have been a mistake to leave them too together.

In the office, Naruto flip-flopped and crashed both his fists on the desk with formidable violence.

"Selfish person? I am the selfish person?! I am not the one who sent him right into Akatsuki's arms while I was sitting on my fucking ass in my fucking office drinking fucking sake because it was the only fucking thing I was fucking capable of!"

Tsunade crashed her fists too and placed her nose right in front of Naruto's heinous face.

"I will not justify my actions to you, Naruto, I am the Hokage and you are a Genin...

"...but you were supposed to be his friend for fuck's sake, Tsunade!" Naruto roared.

"I was not supposed to, I was indeed his friend, Naruto! And he decided to go by himself, I didn't order him anything!"

"But you let him go all alone!" Naruto shouted.

"BECAUSE JIRAIYA ASKED ME TO!"

"DON'T SAY HIS FUCKING NAME!" Naruto hurled with a fantastic voice.

Suddenly something appeared on the desk right between them, making them both gasp in surprise and jerk backwards. Silver, spiky hair got progressively out of the smoke, as well as a nonchalant, waving hand.

"Yooo. I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" Kakashi asked innocently, crouching on Tsunade's desk and sprawling ink and sake everywhere on her papers.

"What the f..." Tsunade breathed out, furious.

Yet his entrance had the expected effect.

In addition to stopping Naruto from tearing Tsunade's throat apart, the blonde immediately bristled like a cat and backed away from the desk, seething.

"Great, now the team is complete. I am out of here before I throw up. I'll leave you two to plot about which "friend" you are going to sacrifice next."

"Naruto!" Tsunade shouted.

"Tsunade-sama..." Kakashi whispered discretely.

"Yes. Stop this, Tsunade-sama." Naruto seethed purposely, glaring at Kakashi before disappearing behind the door.

As soon as he had vanished, Tsunade let out a long sigh and fell back in her chair, pouring herself a glass of sake she swallowed in one gulp. Slamming the glass back on the desk, she stared at the door.

"God, what the hell just happened?"

"It is going to take time..." Kakashi sighed.

"Mmh… For starters, get your ass off of my desk." Tsunade ordered, waving a hand as though too shoo a fly out of her face.

"Oh! Sumimasen…" Kakashi said hastily, leaping off the desk and trying to put some order in the mess he had caused, smiling sheepishly behind his mask. Yet Tsunade didn't seem to care about the ink that kept dripping on the floor. Her honey eyes were focused on her glass, and she looked sad and defeated.

"He hates me so much…" she whispered, her voice broken.

Kakashi's face saddened. He came a little bit closer to the Hokage. He felt like reaching out and laying a comforting hand on her forearm, yet he restrained himself. After all, she was his superior. Instead, he went for words.

"He doesn't hate you, Tsunade-sama. He is just persuading himself he does."

"What?" Tsunade asked, looking at him without understanding.

Kakashi took a deep breath and told the Hokage about the fight he had with the blonde, and about the discussion he had with Iruka. Although he thoroughly avoided the crying part, he told her about how Iruka had deciphered Naruto's exaggerated reaction. He told her how he was now convinced that Naruto was clinging to his extraordinary anger, how he had found within Kakashi the best person to blame.

"And his anger is feeding increasingly on any pretext we might give him. You could have said anything to him, Hokage-sama, his anger would have twisted it in order to grow. He is not himself, I am certain of it." Kakashi concluded.

"Sou desu ka..." Tsunade breathed out, crossing her arms.

She thought for a moment.

"Kakashi, we have to do something or Naruto's anger will eat him alive, and in addition to the fact that we both love him too much to see that happen, we also know what kind of disaster it could imply..."

They both looked at each other, their minds drifting to an imaginary, apocalyptic scene where Naruto would be totally engulfed by Kyuubi, and where the Yondaime's seal would be broken.

"Hai. Yet I think you should leave that task to me. I am convinced now that I am the only one who can bring him back, but to that end I have to proceed carefully. I want to approach him progressively to win back his trust and get into his heart. However, I want to keep an eye on him at all times. That's why, Godaime-sama, I officially request the permission to be temporarily removed from active duty."

Tsunade rose up on her feet.

"Permission denied" she said, shaking her head.

Kakashi opened wide eyes.

"Nani?"

"I already have an official mission for you."

"But..."

"Silence!" Tsunade snapped.

Under Kakashi's puzzled eyes, the Fifth Hokage took a deep breath and declared in a loud voice.

"Captain Hatake Kakashi."

"Hai." Kakashi answered, straightening up, standing to attention.

"This is an official mission. I hereby order you to watch over Uzumaki Naruto and to find a way to get to him in order to prevent him from falling within Kyuubi's hands. This is a S-Rank mission, which will decide Konoha's fate."

Naruhodo ne ...Tsunade-sama just needed to make it an official mission, Kakashi thought, relieved.

Kakashi was indeed the current best shinobi of Konoha, and he was very often solicited not only by Konoha but also by the villages of the five nations. In order to be able to refuse a mission for which he might be requested, and because Tsunade always had to justify her decisions to the Elders, she had to make sure Kakashi was indeed already appointed to another mission of at least equivalent importance. Thus by declaring the task of watching over Naruto to be an S-Rank mission, she was giving him the possibility to take his time and focus entirely on Naruto.

His heart filling with affection for the blonde woman, Kakashi raised his hand to his head, saluting officially.

"Hai, Godaime sama."

He bowed, and turned on his heels. However as he was heading towards the door, Tsunade's voice rose again.

"Kakashi."

The silver-haired jounin turned around.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

His eyes met hers, and the emotion he found into those honey pupils troubled him. He felt as though he was looking straight into the eyes of a concerned mother.

"Bring him back to us." She whispered.

He bowed again.

"I will, Tsunade-sama, I promise." He answered, before leaving her office.

And thus for the entire day, Kakashi watched over Naruto without ever letting him out of his sight. The blonde was working hard in the potato fields, plowing, digging, dragging, cleaning, and battering under the sun, barely stopping to swallow the instant ramen he had brought from home.

His eyes were focused and hard, his face was stern and severe, as though he was pouring his very soul into that work he usually found boring and uninteresting. As the hours were passing by, Kakashi noticed that the boy never used his clones to help him do that hard, exhausting work.

On the second day, Kakashi spotted a patch of bright pink hair heading towards the blonde. He focused on the pair and strained his ear to hear what they were saying. Sakura approached Naruto carefully, hesitantly.

"Hey, Naruto!" she said, trying to sound joyful.

Naruto didn't raise his head.

"Hello, Sakura."

Kakashi felt his heart tighten at that cold, distant answer. It seemed that every day, Naruto was shutting himself further away from the world, to the point he was even treating his best friend as a stranger.

There was no more "Sakura-chan". It was just "Sakura", in the same way his famous "ttebayo" seemed to have disappeared again from his usually so colorful language, swallowed up within the turmoil Kakashi knew was ravaging his heart.

It went on for two more days. Naruto would keep working without paying attention to the outside world or to his friends that were trying to reach out to him. At one point, Sakura got desperate.

"Will you just look at me, Naruto?! Why won't you talk to me?!" she shouted.

Naruto stood high on his feet and bore a hole into Sakura. His eyes were so hard the young woman had a step backwards.

"I don't want to talk, Sakura. Neither to you nor to anyone. Is that so hard to understand?" he seethed, immobile while Sai was putting his hands on Sakura's shoulders protectively, his dark eyes interrogating Naruto's so unusual demeanor.

"Leave me the hell alone. All of you." He snapped, before wiping the sweat under his forehead protector and turning away from them to grab his shovel and get back to work as though they didn't exist.

Sakura's eyes started filling with tears and she opened her mouth to say something else but Sai squeezed her shoulders.

"Come, Sakura…He wants to be alone…"

After Sai had driven Sakura away, Kakashi sighed and ruffled his silver hair. The situation was getting trickier every day. He had to think about a plan quickly. Yet he had barely slept for several days, and he was exhausted. He knew he had to take some rest to be able to think clearly. So that evening, when Naruto went back home to crash into his bed without even eating or taking a shower, Kakashi waited until he was sure the boy would sleep all the way through the night. Then he summoned Pakkun and asked him to watch over the boy until morning. After giving his instructions to his faithful companion, Kakashi disappeared into the night and went straight home.

He remained in the shower for a very long time, closing his eyes, letting the hot water slide on his muscled body. The crystalline rivulets caressed his alabaster skin, streaming down his defined pectorals, his toned abdominal muscles, through the silver hair of his crotch, then down to his feet along his endless, gracious legs. He poured soap and shampoo on his body and cleaned himself absent-mindedly, before rinsing himself and stepping out of the shower.

After he grabbed a towel and dried his hair, Kakashi raised his eyes to the mirror and examined his bare features. His eyelids were heavier than usual and dark circles had appeared under his eyes. His long, thin nose was drawing a straight line from his frowned brows to his elegant lips under which appeared a rather large beauty spot. Absent-mindedly, he drew a finger along the deep scar that crossed his sharingan eye and ran down his slightly emaciated cheek to the corner of his mouth.

Again, I have screwed up.

He shook his head and wrapped the towel around his hips before getting out of the bathroom. His gracious and slender body headed towards the wooden chest of drawers that stood in his bedroom. He searched inside, grabbing a pair of pants and a sleeveless shirt. Then he went to sit on his bed, where he put on the boxers and the pants. He was reaching out his hand towards his shirt when his eyes fell upon the picture of Team Seven.

His heart clenched.

He took the photograph in his hands and let his eyes wander on his own smile, then on Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke's faces.

He had been so proud that day.

These three were his precious genins.

He was charged with teaching them everything he knew. And as he was only thirteen years older than them, soon he had started loving them like his little brothers and sister. He was smiling softly, tracing Naruto's sullen face, when his eye focused on his own bare reflection. His expression became serious again.

I won't fail again. I won't let Team Seven wither away further. It is my duty to protect our team and keep it together.

Keep it together…

Together…

Suddenly, he heard a soft knock on the door.

The jounin sighed and dropped the picture on the bed before putting on his sleeveless shirt, covering his chest and his face.

He went to open the door and froze at the sight.

There, on his doorstep, Sakura was standing, her head low, her arms wrapped around herself.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he took her by her shoulders.

"Sakura? What's wrong?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

The young woman said nothing, but the sadness he could see in the immense, green eyes she raised to him answered his question. Before he could make a move, Sakura had slightly leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Kakashi's chest, still not saying anything.

Kakashi wrapped his bare arms around the girl to bring her further into his embrace. There he squeezed her tightly, so much that her shoulders almost touched her ears and her nose disappeared between his pectorals.

"Maa..I know, Sakura-chan…I know…" Kakashi whispered, holding her protectively.

He noticed that she was shivering a little.

"All right let's get you inside", he whispered in her ear, rubbing her arms with his hands.

He lifted her into his arms and got back inside his home, before closing the door with his foot. He cradled Sakura's head to his chest while carrying her to his room where he sat her gently on his bed. There he tucked a pink strand behind her ear.

"Ma, wait here sweetheart, I'll make some tea, and then we can talk, ne?" He whispered, smiling softly.

The young woman gave him a sad smile and mouthed something that sounded like:

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi ruffled her hair gently before cradling the back of her head in his palm and bringing her forehead against his masked lips to give her a long, comforting kiss. Then he stood up and turned away from her, heading towards the kitchen. He put some water into the kettle then placed it over the fire, before leaning on the wall. Crossing his arms, he frowned and closed his eyes.

Of course, it had been obvious that Sakura was going to come see him at some point. Kakashi had to choose his words very carefully with her. He still didn't know how he could get to Naruto's heart, yet he didn't want to tell her that. He didn't want her to lose hope.

He was putting some tea in the kettle when he thought he heard a small, high-pitched noise.

He turned the fire off and strained his ear.

It was coming from the other room, where he had left Sakura.

Worried, he jerked his head out of the kitchen.

"Sakura?" he called out, glancing into the other room.

What he saw broke his heart in half.

Sakura's entire frame was shaking, and she was trying to muffle her sobs by pressing her hand over her mouth, while painful tears were streaming down her face and dropping on the object she was holding in her other hand.

The photograph Kakashi had been watching when she arrived.

"Oh, Sakura, my Sakura…" Kakashi breathed out, all his face flooding with sadness as he rushed towards her.

He sat down next to her and gently took the picture out of her hand, placing it behind him. Then he turned to the young woman again and took her head into his long hands, kissing her cheeks and shushing her softly. He couldn't stand the pain distorting her beautiful features, preventing her from breathing properly.

"Shhh, in my arms…Come here…" he ordered softly. He grabbed the back of her head and brought her face back into his chest, before wrapping her shaking shoulders with both of his long arms. As she let out a high-pitched gasp, he started rocking her back and forth, like a mother comforting her child.

"Shhhhhhh, he soothed slowly, I'm here, I've got you in my arms…Don't cry…Please don't cry, my Sakura-chan…"

He bent his head to place his cheek on her hair, squeezing her so tight he could feel her arms blocked against his body, her breast flush against his stomach, her nose squashed between his pectorals.

"I…I'm…I'm s…sorry…K…Ka…Se…Sensei…" Sakura hiccupped with difficulty as she hid her face further into the center of Kakashi's strong chest.

Kakashi dove a hand into her hair while the other pressed on her back to force her further into his embrace, and he laid a long, tender kiss in her pink hair.

"Maaa, maaa, breathe Sakura, it's okay…Come on, take a deep breath…Sh-shh-shh-shh…', Kakashi cooed very tenderly while rocking her back and forth, caressing her hair and rubbing soothing circles on her back.

He held her protectively and tightly for a long moment while Sakura was trying to catch her breath, her sobs muffled into Kakashi's chest, her hands clutching his shirt that was getting wetter by the minute. Then she turned her head to rest her cheek on Kakashi's heart.

"I…I have…ne…never seen him…like…like this..." She said between her sobs.

Kakashi closed his eyes and tightened his embrace.

"Shhh…"he soothed her like a baby, kissing her forehead.

"He…He is…so…so cold …SO cold…"

She gasped and Kakashi kissed her hair.

"Easy…easy…shhh…" he murmured before resting his chin on top of her head.

"He…He is like…Like Sasuke wh…when he left…"

Kakashi caressed her hair slowly, tenderly, listening to her.

"He is…suffering so….so much and…and yet I..I don't… I don't know what to do… to…to help him..."

She was silenced by a new wave of sobs and Kakashi kept rocking her, kissing her hair and pressing her cheek down against his beating heart.

"Shhh, I'm here…I'm right here…I've got you…" he cooed.

Sakura's tearful voice came up again.

"I…I can't…seem to be able to do…anything but…but crying and…and crying again…I…I feel so…so useless…" she sobbed.

"Oh, Sakura…" Kakashi exhaled, his face saddening again, his arms tightening around Sakura's shaking body. He crushed her face against his chest with his hand coiling into her hair.

"Maa, don't say such things, Sakura-chan. It's okay to cry. It is precisely your emotions that made you the strong and formidable kunoichi you are now. Don't be so hard on yourself…" he said into her ear.

"I…I couldn't…I couldn't hold…Sasuke back…And..and now…Oh Kakashi…I can't stand losing Naruto too…I can't st…"

She couldn't finish her sentence. Kakashi had gently grabbed the back of her head and turned it so that her face had got buried into his hard chest muscles again, muffling her voice. He rounded his shoulders to engulf her deeper into his embrace and whispered with devotion.

"I am still here with you, my dearest Sakura. I will always be here with you. And I will not let Naruto leave us. I won't, I promise you."

He held her again for a long time while she cried into his chest, bringing a hand up to cradle her head and to caress her hair.

His heart clenched when he remembered that he had already told her that.

That day, on the hospital roof, after stopping Naruto and Sasuke from killing each other, he had smiled to her like an idiot, and he had lied right into her face, saying that everything was going to be all right whereas he was already overrun by the situation though he didn't know it yet.

And just a couple of weeks later, Sasuke was gone to Orochimaru.

This time, he was going to tell her the truth, and he wouldn't fail her again.

He took Sakura's face into his hands and brought their foreheads together.

"Sakura, look at me."

The young woman raised her tearful eyes to him, and Kakashi wiped her cheeks with his thumbs while planting his mismatched eyes into the green ones.

"The last time I have promised you that I would bring Team Seven back together, I failed you miserably. And for that I will never forgive myself. But that's also why this time, I will die before I let Naruto wither away like Sasuke did. I promise you, Sakura, on my life."

Sakura said nothing, and the two of them looked at each other for a few seconds before Kakashi squeezed her head a little bit tighter into his hands.

"I won't lie to you this time, Sakura. I don't know how I am going to proceed to fix Naruto up, but I will find a way. You hear me? I will. And I'm asking you to trust me again, can you do that for me, Sakura-chan?" he asked with a tender, caring voice.

Sakura nodded slowly, and Kakashi smiled softly.

"Arigatou…"he breathed out.

He kissed her cheek.

"Come here."

He lifted her slightly so that she sat on his lap. There he yanked her back into his arms and pressed her nose into the hollow of his collarbone.

"Daijoubu…I promise you I will bring Naruto back, and we will help him through this. Together." he soothed, wrapping his arms around her shivering body again and sealing her into another warm and protective embrace.

He held her for such a long time, rocking her, shushing her and caressing her that Sakura ended up asleep against his chest, curled up into him and breathing softly. Even then, Kakashi didn't let go of her. Instead, he leaned against the wall and secured her tighter into his embrace, shifting his tall body so that Sakura was resting between his legs, her face buried into his chest. There he closed his eyes and focused on just holding her as tight as he could without suffocating her.

And while he was telling himself that he would never let go of her again, he followed her into the land of dreams.