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His lungs were screaming, yet he could not force air to reach them. Kakashi had been running for the last three hours, pushing it towards four. Just a little bit longer.
He had just returned from a simple mission and was briefing Tsunade when they got word that a certain Konoha shinobi had peaked the interest of a group of highly dangerous rogue nin, all listed in the Bingo book. Their plan was to abduct her, but who knows what sick, twisted plans they had in store for her. There was no way he was going to sit back and let them take her away from Konoha, from him. He was out of the door before Tsunade could finish her name.
He could not lose another person. It had taken so much to let anyone back in. Unknowingly, she had slipped through the walls he put up. It was pointless trying to push her out. She brought light into his heart, something that had been lacking for most his life. Kakashi wasn’t aware how much he was drowning in solitude. Not until he realized how much he enjoyed her company.
Now that she wasn’t around, he was at a loss as to what he was supposed to do with his time. He had been taking easy mission after mission, trying to kill time but also wanting to be here when she returned. Every couple of months, Tsunade would sent her on a two-week mission to Suna, but somehow this rogue group must have known that she was due back if they were planning to kidnap her.
Kakashi wasn’t one to lose his cool, but if he didn’t focus on making it to her fast, he was certain all hell would break loose. Anyone who got in his way would regret delaying him of his rescue for his best friend. She was strong and certainly could hold her own in a fight. He didn’t doubt her capabilities nor did he think she was weak. If it was anybody else, Kakashi knew his heart wouldn’t be pounding so fast in his chest. It wasn’t just anybody though, it was Sakura.
Pushing his thoughts aside, Kakashi concentrated on the area around him. He had to focus or neither of them would make it back, or worse, he would be too late. Straining to hear the slightest noise, he pushed harder when the sounds of fighting reached his ears. Leaves fell from trees all around as Kakashi detected a small tremor not too far from him now. It was her.
To say he was shocked at the sight before him was an understatement. The entire group of rogue nin laid in the clearing, completely taken down by the twenty-three-year-old shinobi. He counted nine rogues in all, a number he knew for a fact she could handle. Her ability to take care of herself wasn’t what stopped him in his tracks though.
It was the fact that Sakura lay bleeding in the arms of Suna’s puppeteer. The way his hand clung to her body, like she belonged to him, made Kakashi’s heart clench. He could see the affection he felt for her in his eyes. Kankuro obviously had feelings for her, but did she feel the same?
Kakashi followed Kankuro’s other hand slowly brush her hair out of her eyes, lowering his head so she could hear the words he spoke. “Sakura, just hold on a little bit longer. Help can’t be too far off.”
That was his cue. What the hell was he doing just sitting back, watching her bleed to death while some other man soothed her. She could be dying for all they knew. Taking a deep breath, Kakashi jumped from the branch he had been concealing himself in, into the clearing where Kankuro held Sakura in his arms.
“You can explain to me how you let her get hurt this badly on the way. Let’s get going.” Kakashi glowered at Kankuro as he bent down to tie his hitai ate around her leg as a makeshift tourniquet. He scooped the pink haired beauty out of Kankuro’s arms as he nodded his head. Kakashi didn’t miss the guilt go through Kankuro’s eyes, but held back from commenting. He already didn’t like the way Kankuro felt comfortable enough to hold her so intimately.
They had run at full speed, pushing chakra to their feet for the extra boost and Kakashi knew they were nearing the Konoha gates. Kankuro still hadn’t uttered a word and Kakashi was having a tough time keeping his composure. Feeling his unease, Kankuro let out a deep sigh, turning his faced away from Kakashi.
“She said she could handle it. While I leaned against a fucking tree, Sakura was kicking ass.” Kakashi could see the Suna nin’s inner struggle. Kakashi knew all about blaming yourself when a comrade is down.
Taking another breath, Kankuro continued, “She was about to finish the last one when a kunai was thrown. It stuck her right in the leg, and she was able to remove it.”
He paused before turning and locking eyes with the copy nin. “All that came out of her mouth was poison. And then she passed out.”
That was all the motivation Kakashi needed to push himself the last couple of minutes through Konoha gates, straight to the hospital.
Tsunade and Shizune had been tending to Sakura for the last couple hours. Kankuro had disappeared for the first half hour but when Kakashi returned from the bathroom, he had found Kankuro waiting for news on Sakura. Apparently, he had sent out a message to the Kazekage that he wouldn’t be leaving Konoha until he knew Sakura was safe.
Kakashi didn’t scare easily. But the thought of losing Sakura made his chest constrict painfully. She was an extraordinary medic, so why hadn’t she been able to remove the poison herself? Why hadn’t she at least stopped the bleeding? All he wanted now was to hear Tsunade assure him that she would be fine.
As if his thoughts summoned her, Tsunade walked through the operation doors towards the shinobi waiting anxiously. A crease of her eyebrows indicated that something was off. When she finally made it to both males, her shoulders relaxed a bit as she took a deep breath.
“You too can relax. She’s going to be fine. She lost a lot of blood but now just needs a bit of time to recuperate. The poison that entered her bloodstream is one of the most advanced I’ve seen in a while. It’s designed specifically against medics.” Pausing, she turned towards one of the windows that aligned the waiting area.
Tsunade noticed the perplexed expression on Kakashi’s face and further explained. “Only another medic could have come up with something like this. This toxin is meant to knock out the injured person if they intent to use any chakra.”
Another medic? They kept a record of who was suspected to be part of the rogue group. As of now, they only knew of one, highly skilled, in medical ninjutsu – Kabuto. Kakashi’s hands clenched in tight fists, turning them white. He had been on the search for that four-eyed freak since the chunin exams. It infuriated him that Kabuto had been able to evade capture for over ten years.
Kankuro’s next words pulled Kakashi out of his thoughts, taking a dark turn. “They were planning on abducting her. Had I not been there, and had Kakashi not shown up, I’m sure the rogue would have made an appearance.”
“Yes, it seems so. We can move her to an isolated room to rest. They’ll try again. I’ll assign ANBU to guard her, but for now, you two should rest as well.” With that, Tsunade walked back into the operation room to check on Sakura.
By the time Kakashi had grabbed a bite to eat and showered, the blazing sun had long since set. He knew he had to sleep but his thought kept shifting back to the pink haired medic. It was strange sitting in his apartment without her. She would often show up after her shifts at the hospital and just spend time with him. They would alternate cooking dinner at his house.
She had stopped by to return his favorite Icha Icha book that she had borrowed when she noticed he had nothing in his fridge. Or anywhere in his apartment, for that matter – aside from a box of take out so far gone that they had to open windows to get the smell out.
With that, Sakura had stalked out of the foul-smelling apartment. The silver haired nin thought that was the end of it, until the cherry blossom had stormed back in half an hour later with two brown paper bags, filled with an assortment of food. She had taken it upon herself to make sure he had food in his apartment. It warmed his heart to know that she worried about his health that much.
Looking up at her from his place on the couch, his eyes widened when he realized she was heading to his kitchen. Anyone who knew anything about Sakura knew that she could not cook to save her life.
Rushing in after her, he stood behind her, one arm on her shoulder, and the other scratching the back of his neck, “Ah, that’s very kind of you, Sakura. Since you bought the food, the least I could do is cook.”
When she turned to look at him, her face held the sweetest of smiles. He knew that smile. It was the, you better do as I say or your ass is going to regret it, smile. “Kakashi, please. I would really like to cook. You obviously can’t be concerned for your health if your place is foodless. I suggest you sit and stay out of my way.”
Kakashi had watched her move around in his kitchen until she finally placed an appealing bowl of one of his favorites. Raising an eyebrow at her, he looked in her emerald pools, “Miso soup? This is one of my favorites.”
She was leaning on the other side of the table, resting her chin on her upturned palm. Kakashi wasn’t sure what passed through his ex-student’s eyes, but he was certain it was foreign territory. A gentle smile graced her lips, “I know.”
The entirety of team seven had seen his face long ago, so when he pulled his mask down to eat, she hadn’t reacted any differently. To say that her miso soup was the most disgusting thing he had ever tasted was an understatement. He tried his hardest not to gag as it made its way down his throat. He knew she was gauging his reaction. There was only one thing he could do so he wouldn’t hurt her feelings. He finished the whole thing. “Ma Sakura-chan, thank you so much.”
Had he known she was going to eat as well, he might have thought of something better to say. When she took the first bite, her face scrunched up in disgust. “Geez Kakashi, how the hell did you eat it all?”
A low chuckle escaped his lips, “Let’s make a deal. You join me for dinner every now and then and I teach you a thing or two about cooking.”
He hadn’t meant for it to sound like date, but when he noticed the pink blush covering her cheeks, looking everywhere but him, he wished he hadn’t said anything.
Raising her head after a minute or so of awkward silence, emerald orbs locked with charcoal, “Deal.”
Kakashi had done most of the cooking at first, but after three months, she had picked up some cooking skills that made it possible for them to alternate.
One evening, Sakura had stopped by, looking so exhausted. She looked like she would pass out before he got a chance to get food into her stomach. Luckily for him, he got her fed in record time. She had pulled a double shift and was so tired that anyone could have easily noticed the purple surrounding the bottoms of her eyes.
She found him on the couch after a quick run to the bathroom, patting the seat next to him. He was seated on one side of the couch with the orange coated book in one hand, “Ma Sakura-chan, I don’t know how to say this nicely, but you look awful. You should probably rest a lot more if you’re going to continue overworking yourself.”
He could feel her glaring at him from where she stood, but when he looked up, he caught the long sigh that escaped her lips after biting on her bottom lip.
Dragging her feet, she made her way over to Kakashi on the couch, sitting at first and then placing her head in his lap so she could lay, “You’re right, Kakashi. I’ll just rest my eyes here for a bit.”
The moment he felt her head touch his lap, Kakashi had stiffened. It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling, just not something he was accustomed to. Pushing the boundaries of his comfort zone, he gently placed a hand on her head, stroking her hair soothingly. Continuing the stroke of her hair, Kakashi placed his book on the side table next to him. He watched the young woman in his lap drift off to sleep as he took in her beauty, not for the first time, and realizing he was doomed.
If they continued their daily routine of dinner after her shift, he was sure to fall in love with her more than he already was. How that was possible was beyond him, but he knew if he shut her out now, their friendship would never be as it was.
Naturally, Kakashi came up with one conclusion; he couldn’t let her find out for he knew she did not feel as he did. His head continued to swirl with thought, but listening to Sakura’s even breathing, sleep called to him. Before he knew it, he fell asleep, one hand on the arm rest and the other, tangled in Sakura’s cotton candy locks.
Sakura’s recovery had been quick. Kakashi had stopped by to see how she was doing several times. He hadn’t been able to get a moment alone with her. Every time he walked up to her door, he could see Kankuro through the little window on the door. It frustrated him to no end that he couldn’t even get two minutes with her.
He was about to open the door when he saw Kankuro reach down and hold Sakura’s hand in his. Clenching his fist, Kakashi stormed away from the door, out of the hospital. He missed Sakura pulling her hand out of the puppeteer’s hand, turning her gaze away from him.
Three days later, Kakashi was on his way to the jonin lounge when pink caught the corner of his eye. She was walking with Kankuro towards the village gates. Guess that punk is finally going back to Sunagakure, Kakashi though bitterly.
He continued to watch the pair until they reached the gates. Sakura had her hands behind her back, a small smile on her plush pink lips. Her cotton candy hair had grown to her shoulders and her jade eyes, the eyes that you could look into and they’d tell you exactly what she was feeling.
He began to grow uncomfortable as he realized he wanted Sakura to look at him with the same warmth in her eyes that she was showing towards Kankuro. He watched as the pink haired medic reached up to hug the puppeteer. By the time Kankuro had walked out of the village after placing a kiss on top of her hand, Kakashi was seething.
From where he was standing, he had missed the conversation between the pink haired medic and the puppeteer. She had confessed to Kankuro that she was in love with another man – Kakashi. She would not be able to return the sand nin’s feelings nor would she allow him to continue perusing her. She did, however, greatly appreciate him escorting her back to Konoha.
That was the final straw. Kakashi took to the rooftops and made his way to the training grounds. With the anger boiling within him, the copy nin knew he had to break something, and fast.
Caught up in his rage, Kakashi failed to see Sakura watching him with that warmth he so desperately wanted to experience. He failed to see Sakura’s brows furrow as she took in his clenched fists. He failed to see the look of hurt that was so evident on her face.
Most of all, he failed to notice that she was crazy in love with him.