MENDING THE PIECES

A/N : THANK YOU ALL FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT MY STORY IS RECEIVING , I am so happy you guys like it, I have many people following my story now that's why I decided to update sooner, I tried making this chapter a little bit longer but decided to leave it as is .

The votes for the main male character are

GAARA 2

HIDAN 1

Please vote so that way I know what you guys like and why should Gaara be the best match for this Sakura.

DISCLAIMER: I STILL DON'T OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF HIS CHARACTERS.

CHAPTER 4. UNDERNEATH THE UNDERNEATH

I was upset; yes I was, because she should have known better. And now we have this whole Orochimaru business pending on us, Will she be ok while we search for Akatsuki?

God I'm getting too old for this,…I guess this is why she's been acting out of character … well my damn curiosity just banished … is this why she's been avoiding Sasuke?...is it because it's Sasuke's… no, that's not it. The baby is probably Itachi's … I guess all I can do for now is wait for her to tell me…

She's not going to tell me is she? GOD THIS IS WHY I NEVER HAD KIDS!

Kakashi was looking the way Sakura was protectively holding her belly after he mention the danger Sasuke's kid could be facing IF he had any.

What trigger his attention towards her was the strong chakra signature that was radiating from her, the way her eyes looked at the moment reminded him of the day they looked when Sasuke and Naruto were fighting on top of the hospitals building. She was scared and now he understood why.

Of course he was upset; he's known this girl since she was 12yrs old.

He had watch her grow and become the strong kunoichi she is now, even though she does not possess any kekkei genkai or comes from a recognized clan, she was just the daughter of civilians, and she had come so far, becoming almost , no , better that the Hokage herself.

She had surpassed Tsunade on the war, and now she carried the blue diamond on her forehead.

He was proud of her.

He had always been by her side ever since her parents passed away on the attack the village received from Orochimaru while the chunning exams were taking place.

He became the fatherly figure soon after that…well, not the father figure, perhaps the big brother…he is not that old.

The point is he has always been there for her, and she has always been there for him too, after Sasuke left and Naruto also left them to train to become stronger Kakashi and Sakura were left behind. Sakura began training under Tsunade and Kakashi always left for s-rank missions, but when he was home he was always with her, helping her, training her to become better on taijutsu, sometimes he was her guinea pig , she would practice her healing jutsu on him.

Hatake Kakashi will never admit how upset he felt when he smelled certain Uchiha's sent all over her,

To him she will always be the sweet little girl he used to sit with on top of the Hokage's monument sharing and enjoying a comfortable silence, her reading her medic's scroll and him reading his Icha-Icha.

The day she was capture by that horrible man eating plant, he almost died trying to rescue her, but Sakura will never know that he was in a coma for almost a whole month.

The moment he woke up to find out she was gone; it was Obito and Rin all over again.

He felt he failed her, not only as her sensei but as a friend too. He failed to keep her safe.

When they finally rescued her (or so they thought) he felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders when his eyes meet whit hers, He was so glad she was ok...she was heartbroken but ok. And because of that he hated Itachi Uchiha at that moment.

Because no one else but him (or maybe Naruto) knew how emotionally unstable she was ever since Sasuke abandoned her on that bench. But she pulled trough.

But…now, how was he going to be able to protect her from this? If...he was not able to protect her back then.

Kakashi now realized he was not upset… he was scared…scared for her.

And he definitely needed to talk to her, not only to calm her down, but to let her know she was not alone, at least he will not let her get hurt again , even if it cost his life.

So he decided to go see her right after everyone was off to sleep.

XxX

The moment she open the door, he noted right away the puffiness on her eyes, the way her green orbs were a tad darker than her usual shine…she was crying, And he felt upset, not at her but at life itself. Hadn't she had enough suffering in her young life?

"Kakashi" he hear her say, pulling him away from his thoughts, than he noticed she was expecting someone else. Maybe Sasuke?

"Are you expecting someone?" he asked so that way he would know if he would have time to talk, he did not wanted to have anyone eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Well, yes …S-Sasuke…he wanted to talk to me…but… I-I really don't feel like talking… I'm hoping he forgets…I'm tired and need a shower"

He noticed she was also trying to get rid of him too, but what he wanted to discuss was important, and he wanted to make sure she was ok, so he decided to go straight to the point.

Making some signs to make their conversation soundproof inside her room he said.

"Sakura… "I know"

She looked at him suspiciously and asked him to come in; she feared what it was about.

Closing the door behind them she said "what do you mean you know? Oh no! Gosh he found out… I'm dead…What should I do? …So, you know then"

"Mhmm" was all he said, he wanted to hear from her, so he could assess how she felt about the situation.

"Kaka-sensei… I'm sorry… I should have told you as soon as it happened"

Oh, so she admits it, but she couldn't have known as soon as it happened… no I must let her know its ok, she's not alone in this

"Really… I didn't mean too…honestly… (Looks at her feet) I understand if you hate me now"

He stopped her and pulled her to a chaste embrace, placing one of his hands on top of her hair ruffling it, the same way he did when she found out her parents passed away.

And now he embraced her as if trying to shield her from any danger from the world, he smelled her salty cheeks and the fear she felt.

"Sakura, it's ok, everything is going to be alright" he whispered to the top of her head.

She looked up locking eyes with his, her eyes looked blurry as if trying to suppress her tears and told him.

"Kaka-sensei…It was an accident..., I promise I-I'll pay you back for it… Or I'll look for a copy here …I bet Suna has the same copy too… I mean Jiraya-Sama must have had published it…I'm sure your copy is not the only one"

He suddenly stiffened .What?!

"I promised Naruto I would not tell you" Naruto? He tensed.

"Sakura, What do you mean?" he asked her very much confused.

She turned away from him ,taking a few steps towards the bed , and sat down at the edge of it, she reached for her back pack and took out something that was in no way shape or form recognizable and it smelled like burned paper, So when she looked back at him she also held confusion in her features.

"About your book… Of course …Kakashi, what did you mea- Oh crap!" Now she was nervous

My book? What does it have to do with—oh no!

Kakashi suddenly reached for his back pouch pocket, now noticing the loss of weight his most valuable possession used to make on it.

Sakura was very confused and on denial.

"You mean... you didn't know…w-we innocently took it to look at it and accidently ended up in the fire while we camped? while Naruto and Sai argued about who would read it first ?"

Now Kakashi felt like the world would collapse any minute now. Oh God the … pain...the pain.

Icha-Icha…I-Is … w-was BURNED!

Sakura could have sworn she saw a very small tear rolling down Kakashi's masked face.

But If he is not here to murder me for this…than why...is he—HOLY MOLLY!

XxX

Sakura did not know how she could react to this, should she scream, run, punch, or act normal, she was in a complete shock.

What she did know and understood, was that now her secret was out, and that sooner or later she needed to tell him everything about it, because he would not leave until she told him everything.

So she gathers all the courage within her, and decided that tonight Hatake Kakashi would know everything…everything… But…But how… how do you tell your sensei about it? How do you tell him you don't regret anything, how do you explain to him that you fell in love with the man that was supposed to be the enemy? How do you face the man that took care of you all these years, the only one that never abandoned you, the one that loved you as if you were part of his family?

The man that let you inside and showed you what lay behind his mask. (Well not literally but that's the idea) the man that shared with you his feelings, his fears, the man that would not let anyone close.

How does he feel? because he clearly said he know.

Is he mad? is he disappointed?, Is he as confused and scared as she felt when she found out?

So she finally brushed away her fear and stood up to face him.

Then she remembered he was no longer standing, so she got to her knees and reached for the man that was laying on the floor, clearly with a faced that looked as a silinced scream (imagine the face from the horror movie scream) he was on complete shock.

"Kaka-sensei"

Silence

"Sensei"

Nothing

"I'm ready to talk once you feel better…I-I think I know now what you were here for"

Silence

"I'll be taking a shower and give you time to cope…s-so when I get out we can t-talk"

Even though his eyes were open, Kakashi of the sharingan, the copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake was not responding, it was just too much for one day

I'm getting too old for this

XxX

In the past I made many mistakes.

I let darkness and vengeance guide my judgment.

And because of that I lost the last and most important member of my family.

"Itachi"

Sometimes While I'm alone in the big mansion inside the Uchiha compound I think about what it would have happened if instead of leaving to reach power I would have chosen to stay with her the night she confessed her undying love.

"Would you still be here Nii-San?"

At that precise moment my mind was clouded with revenge, hurt, anger, and of course the need of power.

"You should have told me"

When I saw her crying and confessing how she would make me happy if I choosed to stay I couldn't help but feel like scum, She knew I was leaving and she knew why, And I couldn't help but see my younger self in her the night Itachi left.

"Did you felt the same way Nii-san, unsure, sad, and powerless?"

At that moment I knew if I stayed she WOULD make me happy, heck she was the only one that made me strong enough to control the damn seal, just by looking at those green eyes full of tears and panic. I knew than that it would not be fair to bound her to a broken man like me, I could not make her happy, and I had goals to meet.

She deserved someone better, someone that loved her like she deserved someone like the Dobe.

I needed to make her understand , to tell her I appreciated her undying friendship that I felt honored to be loved by her.

I needed to let her know I did not deserve someone with her shine, I needed for her to know I couldn't love.

I needed…needed to tell her many things

So all I said was

'Thank you, Sakura'

Almost 3 years passed till I saw her again, All that time I knew they were looking for me, I can't lie A very small part of my old self was excited to see them as well… to see her again… But I was not the same foolish kid that left the village, I had become the avenger I was so eager to be all those years ago.

But…

I was curious, I wanted to see how strong she had gotten with the years …How much had Naruto trained … How much they had learned in all those years. I wanted to test their power…but then…then her eyes locked with mine.

And she said my name, I knew then that she still cared for me… that she still loved me.

So she reminded me again of that scared little boy I was before, so I made a choice.

I decided to show her the real me (or so I thought) because I was no longer the Genning she fell in love with (I was trying to convince myself) I needed to severe those bonds with her and Naruto.

So I attacked Naruto first

"Is that why all those times you attacked me too ,Itachi?"

Than Sai intervene and the unexpected happened. Sakura was moving to attack me , I got exited. I sensed her power, a monstrous rise on her strength. So I decided to show her MY power, the reason I left them…left her (maybe then she would convince herself and let me be) and Yamato interrupted… and deep down inside I was very ,very glad.

So I showed her again who I was by stabbing Yamato, because in reality I did not want to hurt her. But I needed her to stop loving me .In a way her feelings scared me (maybe because I felt the same?)

But now everything has changed, and ultimately I got what I wished for, and now I would forever regret it.

"What have I done?"

Itachi ,my brother , my savior, my family , is gone.

Sakura and Naruto my teammates , my commarades , my friends, they are still here.

But somehow I feel Sakura is gone, like she is not here.

"No"

I want what we had, our friendship, I want Sakura back.

"I need to see her"

Sasuke was heading to Sakura's room, he was nervous, every time he would get close to the hallway that lead to her room he would turn around and walk away. What can I tell her, HOW should I talk to her.

He was very hesitant , but he needed to get this over with , somehow he needed to fix things. So he made up his mind. He rose his hand to knock on the door when someone interrupted him .damn what does he want!

"Teme" He stopped and turns to face Naruto.

"Naruto"

The blond walked to him and his face was serious and in a monotone iced voice he said.

"What do you think you are doing looking for Sakura-Chan so late at night?"

The Uchiha did not believe he needed to give excuses of his actions to anyone. So he faced Naruto folding his arms on his chest with a hint of annoyance in his face .

"HN"

"I asked you a question" Naruto glared.

"Is none of your business Dobe" he said in a-matter-of-fact tone.

"Sakura-Chan has been, is , and will always be MY business"

Sasuke noted the seriousness on Naruto's tone so he decided to answer because he felt he was wasting way too much time, when he could already be talking to Sakura in her room , fixing things.

"I came to talk to her, she is expecting me"

Naruto's hand grabbed his arm and pulled him with him away from the door. What the hell?

Once Naruto sensed they were out of earshot his features turned even more serious. He let go of Sasuke's arm.

His tone was cold and very un-Naruto like.

"Why can't you just let her rest? She doesn't want to talk to you yet, can't you see? Haven't you noticed?"

Sasuke was now more than annoyed , he knew Naruto had always loved Sakura, but he had thought maybe his infatuation had been nothing but a children platonic crush. And this reaction was clearly upsetting him more than it should.

He looked at him coyly expression on his stoic face, masking his now rising anger.

"You know I been wanting to talk to her ever since we came back from Itachi's funeral (he sighed ,trying to explain was hard) and she's gone out of her way to avoid me… I haven't talk to her at all"

Naruto was contemplating his next question, he did not seem to care for his reasons.

"But why…really Sasuke why( He placed a hand on his shoulder facing him, looking directly at his eyes.) What are your feelings… what do you want with her?( his grip on the Uchiha's shoulder got tighter and his eyes turned to an angry-like-fox-shade-of-red )I will not allow you to hurt her anymore, she has been through enough, (he got closer to him, almost a feet away now) and I will definitely KILL you if you dare to ask her to help you revive your stupid clan( He closed his eyes and his voice relaxed)…at least…at least not if you don't love her."

Sasuke was taken by surprise. M-My … my feelings?

He grabbed Naruto's hand and ripped it off of him, with a cold tone and a stoic face ( like it did not hurt) he answered his question in a very Sasuke way.

"I told you, it has nothing to do with you (he said coldly) but if you must know … Naruto, I just want to know why she doesn't want to see me … (he turned towards the far away now hallway) why she looks at me with hate in her eyes.

"Hate?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"HN, that's all I'm telling you" Sasuke turned back to face his blond friend

"Still Sasuke… I can tell you don't know what is it you really want with her… your intentions are not the real motive you want to talk to her (he paused) or better yet… you are on denial…just the same way you did not want to admit all those years ago that you cared for us, no matter how much you tried telling yourself you had no such feelings, do to your revenge, so all that time you just pretended to be annoyed… you pretended to hate us"

Sasuke was losing his patience now.

"What do you mean by that Dobe… why can't you just let me be… I just answered your stupid question (he sighs) Now can you just drop it…I have stuff to do , I did told you she was waiting for me" He was looking straight at him locking eyes with Naruto. If I have to I'll use my sharingan and go to Sakura , he is waist-

"You love her" Naruto interrupted his thoughts, saying this not as a question but as a matter of fact.

"But you… you are just so stubborn … and you won't admit it, and the worst is that you know you had always loved her, that's why you didn't took her with you that night, call it what you want Sasuke … you know it's true, you wanted to protect her from your fate, from your mistakes, that's why you always tried to push her away"

He was serious, and his back was now facing Sasuke

"But I feel sorry for you …you know. Because now...now you will feel what I felt all these years…Years of me loving her and her loving you, no matter how much of an asshole you were, no matter how many wrong choices you made…no matter how many times you choosed vengeance over her ( he paused) No matter how much I was there for her…how much I needed to get rid of that void you left on her heart…yes maybe I am jealous…because It was me all the time who wiped her tears…me who slept on her couch after you left her in that bench… I felt like a failure of a friend to her because I could not bring you back"he yelled.

"I feel sorry for you... because now… now Sasuke you got what you always wanted…she doesn't love you any more…you wasted your chance"

Everything Naruto was telling him was true and Sasuke knew it. That's what he was afraid to confirm , so he showed no emotion towards his best friend and did what he did best.

"HN, you are just jealous Dobe" He ignored how serious Naruto was talking to him

"No Sasuke(he snapped) that's why I'm so pissed… . . I didn't , she never lied to me , never gave up on her love towards you, ( he dropped his gaze to the floor and on a very sad tone he managed to keep talking even if it was almost whispers) even when she told me she loved ME. "

Sasuke raised an eyebrow . What?

Naruto must have noticed because he turned to look at him same sad expression but his voice was stronger.

"She did it for you ( he smiled a half smile) and for me in a way…She wanted me to stop looking for you, to go back with her because she had finally acknowledge me, you get it( he locked eyes to his) she was willing to be with me because of you, It had been decided to chase you to bring you back ,but not to keep you but to kill you… "

"so I didn't had the chance you deliberately threw away ( his eyes turned red again) and now that she is over you … y-you dare come and DEMAND her undivided attention , not even accepting that you love her, not even with a love promise that she deserves…but because you want your FRIEND back!I will not allow it…If she wants nothing to do with you i will not make her...and so should you"

Naruto tuned again and slowly started walking away

"I care for you Sasuke…You ARE my best friend … but know that Sakura comes first"

"Naru-" He kept walking…today UZUMAKI NARUTO ignored SASUKE UCHIHA

That's what I am afraid of

Sasuke stuffed his hands on his pockets and walked towards Sakura's room.

Before he knocked on the door, his high skilled trained ninja hearing picked up a noise on the inside of her room, but he was not able to tell what the conversation was about, or who was it .

He could hear a woman must me Sakura and a man's voice .Someone is in there with her but I can't tell who it is.

He quickly masked his chakra and got closer to the door.

Damn it! I can't tell who it is. He suddenly jumped away fading onto the hall on the other side, he needed to find out if the person in there was the reason Sakura stopped loving him. Why should I care? he questioned himself

He froze when he saw a silver hair copy-nin walking out of her room ,Sakura wearing her bathrobe she just got out of the shower .He saw Kakashi stopped midway on the entrance opened his arms and Sakura smashed her body to his saying.

"Thank you Kakashi… I –I"

"Shush" he looked down at her placing a finger on her lips shushing her

"You know I love you no matter what and I will always be here for you"

She nodded in agreement "Now hurry and leave I'll be fine "she kissed him in the cheek.

Sharingan spinning in anger…trying to calm himself… remembering a conversation of a certain blond friend

"I feel sorry for you because now… now Sasuke you got what you always wanted…she doesn't love you any more…you wasted your chance"

"No"

"She can't love Kakashi!"

Sasuke waited to knock on her door.

"Sakura, sorry I was late…I had a complication hope you are still waiting for me"

Suddenly Sasuke hoped the waiting for him did not meant the talk they were going to have about, but about her supposed undying love she claimed to have for him.

I hope I'm not too lake Sakura

(A/N OK SO HERE IS THE 4TH CHAPTER HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY IT , I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING IT ,

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW AND TONT FORGET TO VOTE.

Gaara-Kakashi-Deidara_sasuke-Hidan you choose