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officerjennie · 3 years

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Commission for the ever so lovely @bouncyirwin - who spreads joy, happiness, and support as freely and easily as some people breathe (this fandom wouldn’t be the same without you 💜💜💜💜💜)

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How anyone could so much as breathe without adoration hitching their efforts around her, Shisui really didn’t know.

This wasn’t even the first time this week he’d found himself staring in awe without a word able to escape him. Sakura had a way of making him dumb to the quick wit and playful flirting that usually came as natural as most any other social interaction to him - he’d always been the social butterfly of his clan, berated for it at times and having his hair fondly tousled at others. And yet here he sat, in the corner of the little restaurant Sakura and her team and her team’s families had all crowded into, unable to absorb any of the chatter or whatever joke had Kakashi snickering behind his book or even what had Naruto and the brat arguing this time.

Sakura seemed content enough to sit back and soak it all in as well, pride in the soft smile that graced her lips, a cup of tea cradled in her hand near her chest in lieu of the spirit that many of her companions had chosen to partake in this evening. And who could blame them? Rare was the day any shinobi party could come back unscathed along with their success, and given the tentative peace between Konoha and Kiri could have been destroyed at the smallest misstep their celebration came with relief felt by the entire village.

It warmed him to no end to see her so content and sure, so proud, none of the hesitance that used to haunt her expressions and tense her body anywhere to be found - the kunoichi that had chased and chased after her teammates had long since caught up and surpassed them in so many ways, and even without being privy to the intimate details of her internal battles Shisui could feel emotion trying to choke him.

Gods, but he had it bad, didn’t he? He forced some of his own tea down, looking away from the woman who had no idea she held his heart so tightly in her grip, scrubbing his face with his free hand in an attempt to clear his head. Admiration was one thing - very understandable in this case, given Sakura set the precedent for strong and capable shinobi who could punch a ravine into existence - but they could hardly even be called friends if he was honest with himself. So openly staring at her with his heart in his eyes could definitely count as creepy.

Maybe he needed more hobbies.

“Not really like you to hang out on the sidelines.”

It was a bit embarrassing to be snuck up on like that. He hoped his surprise wasn’t too obvious as he peeked through his hands, finding the woman who’d been occupying his thoughts all night now occupying the seat next to him. Up so close he could see her cheeks were dusted pink, though he couldn’t really tell if it was the chill from the night air or just some blush she’d painted on.

Either way. It didn’t really matter which one it was. All Shisui could really do with the information is filing it under “she’s the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met” and keep the simple image of her tucking some pink hair behind her ear firmly in his mind’s eye for the rest of his days.

“Not a place I’d expect to find you either.” She blinked at his words as if confused, pursing her lips even, so despite how obvious it seemed to him Shisui clarified, “You more the frontline type, right?”

“Ah, yeah, I don’t really care for ‘supporting others’ to mean ‘being left behind.’ But today,” Sakura turned just enough to look over at her teammates, Shisui following her gaze to see Naruto gesturing wildly in horror at something that had Sasuke snickering unashamedly. “Today, I think I’m alright with not being in the middle of them. There are some conversations I’d rather they have without me.”

“What even has them going, anyway?”

“Relationships,” Sakura said, a little too quickly. But she didn’t let the awkwardness stay, her eyes flicking down to her tea which she held between her hands as if her fingers might be cold. Shisui wished he could warm them between his own. “Well, not exactly relationships. More like things people do in them. They seem to find it amusing to list all the people they’ve managed to kiss or make out with.”

With a snort, Shisui said, “I’m guessing they’re both at the top of each other’s lists then?”

He was very glad to see the tiny bit of tension relax right away from Sakura as she laughed, her eyes alight with mirth. “Somehow, they always seem to forget to mention that.”

“Bet you love to remind them.”

“Bet I do.” She flashed him a smile that had his ears heating up, and for the life of him Shisui could not say why it made him feel bold.

Despite how calm people saw him, despite his rather laid back nature, Shisui often found himself tongue tied where feelings were involved. But past his beating heart he somehow managed to not make a fool of himself, his nerves not overwhelming him - perhaps it was simply how welcomed he felt in her presence? How inviting and warm she was even as all she did was sip her tea, simply existing but existing there, next to him, when any number of seats were available next to those she was far closer to. And didn’t that make him feel lucky.

“Do you have a list?”

The gods only knew how he managed to make that sound casual. Even when Sakura’s eyes widened and blinked up at him (he swore his favorite color used to be blue but damn if that shade of green wasn’t going to change that) - and for a terrifying moment he remembered just how easily this woman could demolish any wall that stood in her way. With her fist.

Even if that wall was made with solid concrete, or was, say, a whole ass mountain. He was pretty sure he wasn’t anywhere near as solid as a mountain.

When she chose to not punch him, every single last bone in his body heaved a sigh of thankfully unbroken relief. “No, I...don’t have a list.”

No list? That was a little surprising. “A name, then?” Maybe not the best thing to ask someone, at least not before he was sure she would be comfortable with answering. Shisui was quick to add “Unless it’s a secret or something” - the last thing he needed was to drive her away by pushing into her own personal life.

Though, then again - and something in Shisui rose up in slight saddened panic at the thought - what would he do if she did have a name? A significant other? Itachi was out on another of his long missions, who exactly was he supposed to lean on and eat comfort chocolate with if it turned out his growing crush was, well...crushed, before anything could come of it?

“No. No name.”

It took physical effort to not sag with some sort of relief at her words, but it wasn’t a relief that Shisui had much time to process. Because as much as he wanted a chance with the woman of his dreams, as much as he had wanted to hear that...

“Eh? Really? You?” Shisui found it beyond the realms of possibility that Sakura, of all the people in Konoha, had yet to have her first kiss, and that shock was perhaps a bit too loud in his tone.

Definitely not good for his health and wellbeing. The nerve on Sakura’s forehead was suddenly twitching, and the sharp look she sent his way had him gulping.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, no! No no, nothing- I didn’t mean like that!” He shook his head a little more than necessary, horror dawning on him as he realized his unintentional insinuation. “I just meant- you’re just, well, beautiful! Beautiful and an exceptional shinobi, a damn good medic, and from what Sasuke’s told me in confidence you make a mean blueberry tart. Not to mention you could punch through steel if it offended you.” By some grace of the gods he managed to bit off his rambling there, scratching nervously at the back of his head, almost mumbling as he ended his poor excuse of an explanation with, “I just expected, you know… You might have kissed at least one of the people who admired you.”

The moments of quiet after his words were probably the most terrifying seconds of his life, though by some mercy Sakura did not seem angry. Maybe his apology/explanation was acceptable after all and he wouldn’t have to-

Sakura said something under her breath, and Shisui blinked back out of his thoughts, frowning a little in confusion. “What?”

“It’s just that I…” Her bottom lip caught between her teeth for a moment, drawing Shisui’s eyes. “I’ve never really had an appealing offer. You know?”

Had she always been sitting that close to him? Their thighs were touching and Shisui couldn’t remember when that had happened, but his pulse picked up, the whole of him keenly aware of every inch of her.

And how bad would it be, really, to be buried in the ground by those deceptively slender fingers?

“Would I,” Shisui started, with a smooth tone that belied how his heart beat frantically in his chest, “qualify as an appealing offer?”

A breath. Two. Sakura’s gaze flickered down to his lips as hers parted the barest bit - and even before she nodded Shisui knew her answer - though he knew not how he'd been so lucky as to get a yes.

Her hair was soft under his fingers as he cupped the back of her head, her pupils wide as she tilted her chin to look up at him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was aware that they were not alone, their friends and coworkers laughing and drinking and chattering away not even half a small restaurant away from them, but all of him preferred to focus on Sakura’s hand now coming to rest on his arm, the way she shifted forward as he leaned closer, how intimate it felt to brush their noses together, her breath tickling his lips.

And then their lips met, and the rest of the world fell away.

#shisaku #shisui #sakura #fanfiction #mywriting #commission #thank you!!#I'm sorry it took a while to write T^T #fluff #some humor #also on ao3 #link in the source!

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mrssakurahatake · 5 years

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You’re so so so so SO wonderful. And talented. And awesome. And supportive and sweet and absolutely adorable. I hope you know that. 💓💖💞💝💕💗

Awe thank you Bouncy! You are so amazing and I just adore you too.

#bouncyirwin #msh answers #kakasaku community is amazing #and i love you #wives

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raendown · 3 years

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@sarcastic-mommy commissioned this as a gift for @bouncyirwin. Merry Christmas everyone!

Pairing: ShikamaruKakashiSakura Word count: 5314 Rated: G Summary: Ever since she could remember Sakura felt drawn to the forest in a way she couldn't explain.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

The Finding

Sometimes the forest called to her, a beckoning in some language she almost knew in the back of her mind, a memory never made and long forgotten. It wasn’t something she ever mentioned to anyone. All things considered Sakura lived a perfectly normal life and she was well aware that feeling a strange pull towards the forest that grew wild behind her sleepy little neighborhood was definitely not normal. Her parents seemed happy to let her while away her early years peeking over the backyard fence with curiosity in her eyes but Sakura, normal and obedient and praised for being a good little girl, never did answer that call.

Until the year she graduated from university and moved back home to find that the forest, ever changing yet always the same, had grown in to her yard while she was gone. Oh the trees stayed on their side of the fence and the reaching vines remained where her parents liked to believe they had trained them to weave around the wooden slats. But when Sakura looked out her window one morning to see the shadow of something lupine in the dawn fog she knew, somewhere deep down, that the forest was calling again.

Prising open the wooden frame that always swelled with damp weather, Sakura called out to the figure without knowing exactly why she thought an animal might understand her or what on earth inspired her exact words.

“Not yet,” she told him.

Amazingly - and yet somehow unsurprisingly - the figure turned and disappeared as easily as that. Sakura closed the window and told herself that it was probably just one of the neighborhood dogs slipping their leash and wandering around through other peoples’ backyards. Clearly that was more likely than an emissary from the trees.

Her heart knew different. But her heart lay heavy and hidden in her breast as it had since she was young.

The next day she woke to a deer very calmly grazing between the flowers her mother had scattered across the lawn for ‘a more natural look’. Sakura narrowed her eyes and vowed not to deviate from the sidewalks when she went out job hunting. Just because she acknowledged that this was almost definitely all a fancy of her own imagination did not mean she wasn’t going to take extra precautions. There was no telling what sort of trouble she might be inviting herself in to if she ever actually answered the strange call that only she could hear. At the very least it would earn her a few questions from her parents. She didn’t want to think about anything worse.

For some time Sakura was able to ignore that strange feeling of desperate yearning in the back of her mind. She pulled the curtains across her window and studiously kept her eyes away from the trees whenever she left home. It worked in the sense that her feet never once strayed for the forest no matter how strong the call. On the other hand her plan failed in the way the yearning built up behind her ribs until her thoughts were so consumed she could think of very little else but the trees, the way shadows danced between them, the branches and how they danced whether or not there was a breeze to lift them. Whether she looked at the forest or not did nothing to change the fact that it had long since been seared in to her mind like a photograph, an image she knew every intimate detail of.

When she stepped out of the house one morning to find a deer standing placidly on her front lawn that no one else seemed able to see she knew that something had to change. It was more than obvious that ignoring the issue wasn’t making it go away. The only other thing she could think to do was to investigate. Knowing the source of this strange obsession might, by some mercy, help rid her of it entirely. That was her theory, at least.

Despite no words being spoken the deer seemed to understand her wish for it to follow her in to the backyard where fewer eyes might see her acting so abnormally. Sakura did what she could to keep the animal in her sights at all times as she walked around the side of the house but doing so proved much more difficult than she anticipated. It was almost as though it were flickering about through space and time, there and gone again in both peripherals at random, always in the same place when she turned her head to look at it directly and yet somehow existing somewhere else the moment she looked away. Of all the many impossible things she’d seen come out of the forest this was possibly the most impossible. Sakura clenched her fists and continued walking. Bravery was probably a stupid response but it certainly made her feel a little better. Keeping in mind the classes she’d taken in jiu jitsu over the last few years helped too.

Although she wasn’t entirely sure what sort of moves she thought would protect her from a deer.

Only when she was sure no one from the street could see them and she had checked the neighbors’ windows for anyone watching did Sakura finally turn to face this confounding beast head on. Except it wasn’t where she’d left it. A low gasp escaped her to see the backyard entirely empty except for herself.

Questioning her own sanity, Sakura remained utterly still for several minutes while she tried to go over every single step she’d taken that morning, looking for something - anything - she could use to convince herself there really had been a forest creature here with her. One that ostensibly only she could see. The longer she stood there the crazier she felt until on the verge of giving up she turned and there it was. It was not alone. Neither the deer nor the massive wolf now sitting at its side appeared terribly bothered by the other, both staring directly at her without acknowledging each other at all.

“What do you want?” Sakura demanded, emboldened by the pique of being made to question her own mind.

It wasn’t much of a surprise when neither of them answered. They were, after all, mere animals. As far as she could see. For all she knew they could be physical manifestations of whatever it was that made this forest so very different from any other group of boring, prosaic trees. In the handful of years she’d spent away for schooling none of the forests surrounding her dorms had ever made her stop to listen or stare deeply between the shadows like she could spot their patterns and catch them in her hands. Still, after all the worrying she’d done over the past few weeks Sakura found herself growing less afraid, more annoyed.

“Look, if you don’t want anything then go away!” Neither of the beasts so much as twitched when she began to make shooing motions with one hand. “Let me live my life in peace and go find someone else to drive insane.”

Sakura was nearly startled out of her skin when the wolf abruptly tossed back his head to let loose a long, mournful howl that raised every hair on her body. What should have been nothing more than some animalistic note danced across her senses like a voice she both knew and did not know. Yet the fact that it was an oddly human sound felt less strange to her than why she should feel she knew this wolf as deeply as she knew herself. Or why she should feel injured in some forgotten corner of her heart when both animals turned away to leave as she had asked.

“Fine! Go! That’s...what I wanted!”

Neither stopped to look back but although the fog never appeared to shift it almost seemed like the deer and the wolf faded in to it before ever reaching the fence. Between one blink and the next her yard was covered in a thick, muffling blanket of white that left her feeling, contrary to any logic, safer than she had ever been.

Unsettled with the fact that she didn’t feel even slightly unsettled by what she’d just seen, Sakura turned to go back to the front yard and continue with her day in a light stupor of confusion.

She made it all the way through a lovely if slightly distant dinner with her parents before the pull in her chest called her out in to the backyard again with a note of finality that she could not have explained with human words. The humanity in her wanted to turn back, to look at the house she had grown up in, but something stopped her. Maybe it was the hypnotic dance of branches like reaching fingers. Or maybe it was the inexplicable sense of detachment from everything around her. Whatever it was, Sakura found she had eyes only for the fog seeping through the trees to dance through the slats of the fence that never did do much to keep it at bay. As soon as the white reached her feet it was like the entire world faded. There wasn’t anything she could think to do but walk forward.

Considering where she had been standing it should have only taken a few steps to run up against the fence. Sakura felt as though she walked and walked and walked before finally it occurred to her that there was no way she could still be within the bounds of her parents’ property and yet she felt no need to look behind herself, gaze trained forward with an anticipation that was rewarded when two other pairs of eyes faded out of the haze.

“Here I am,” Sakura murmured, knowing they would hear her. “Why? Why do you keep calling me?”

Obviously she wasn’t expecting a verbal answer. Not from animals. Some kind of sign would have been nice though.

“Look, I walked all the way here - wherever the hell here is - so the least you could do is tell me why I had to do that.” Propping both hands on her hips, Sakura waited as patiently as she could. After several long moments one pair of eyes seemed to blink very slowly and then they were both stepping forward, deer and wolf standing majestically together, no long hunter and prey but with the same hungry expression in both their eyes. Sakura frowned.

After giving them both a long minute to do something, anything, she raised one eyebrow.

“I could just go home,” she pointed out, privately unsure if she would be able to find the way and uncertain besides that she even wanted to.

But it did the trick. At those words the wolf seemed to bristle and the deer lowered its head for one moment as if to bow before her. Then as one they turned and began walking away at a matching stately pace. This time they did not disappear. Sakura was bright enough to take the hint and followed after them from a safe distance, chewing sharply on her lip while she tried not to let her eyes be distracted with looking at anything else. Shapes and colors that should not have been there teased at her peripheral vision as though tempting her in to doing some unspeakable wrong. It was hard not to look. Every fiber of her being wanted so badly to know what could be so wrong about a quick and simple glance. Thankfully she was smarter than that. Obviously something was very different about this place and she wasn’t up for finding out the hard way exactly what that difference entailed.

All sense of time had long since been lost by the time they came to a large clearing but for all the natural splendor laid out before her Sakura could think only of the feeling that she had finally come back to the place she belonged. Obviously ridiculous since she had never been in the forest before for all that she’d spent her childhood peering between the trees. Something about this space just felt right in a way she could not have explained with any language known to humankind.

Rather appropriate, as luck would have, when she realized that she was not in the presence of anything human.

Two figures rose from the far side of the clearing where their forms blended in with the scenery so well she almost mistook them for part of the roots that wove together to make a throne nothing manmade could ever compare to. Both looked male, if she was right in assigning gender to ones so clearly not human, and both moved with a grace that any empress could only dream of. When they walked they did so with the confidence of those who owned everything around then and there was a gravity in those movements that spoke of a deep bond. How she knew that Sakura could not say. It wasn’t until they came to rest between the wolf and the deer that she noticed the animals had stopped moving as well and seemed entirely unbothered to be approached. On the contrary the two of them bowed their heads as if in greeting to their masters. Sakura fought back the same feeling while she observed the alluring creatures watching her in turn.

One wore silver hair like a crown that lifted and danced with the wind zephyrs, one eye as black as coal and the one a deep jewel red, his face marked with a faint line through the second eye. The second was only slightly shorter with dark hair caught up in a high tail between a pair of antlers that appeared to grow naturally from his temples. Neither of them seemed to have much concern for their lack of shirts despite the autumn chill, clad only in elaborate loincloths and jewelry. Quite a lot of jewelry. Sakura was trying to decide if she wanted to stare at the perfectly sculpted chests or the beautifully carved arm bands one was wearing when the other spoke up.

“You certainly took your time,” the one with dark hair noted. At his side the other smiled.

“Not that we can judge you for that, all things considered.”

“Hn. Still, the waiting was quite troublesome.”

Sakura blinked rapidly several times. Her mouth opened only to snap shut without saying anything. There wasn’t much she could say to that. From her earliest memories she could remember something calling her to the forest; if that call was from these two before her she could understand a little impatience.

“Why?” tumbled out from between her lips almost unbidden. “Why have you been calling me?”

The weight of their gazes felt suddenly so much heavier. Velvety horns dipped in thought but it was the one with silver hair who answered, a yearning in his eyes that pinned her in place more effectively than any shackles could have.

“I don’t suppose you’d believe me if I said we missed you?”

“No,” Sakura answered honestly with a smile. “You can’t miss someone you’ve never met.”

“Oh?” His words weren’t so much a challenge as they were amusement at her lack of understanding, not quite condescending but also not willing to explain until he’d taken his entertainment from her. It would have been annoying if she weren’t supremely aware that this was clearly their domain she had willingly stepped in to - or if he weren’t so devastatingly attractive.

Reaching out with one hand, the shorter of them stroked the proud neck of what Sakura assumed was his pet deer. The beast arched in to such freely given affection with its eyes rolling to meet hers as if to gloat over what she was so clearly missing out on. Even more strange was that she agreed. To be the one under those sturdy hands must have been quite the privilege and it made her wonder why she didn’t find that thought more repulsive, the idea of anything so inhuman being so familiar with her. Her tastes had always been a little different.

After it was satisfied that she was appropriately jealous the deer looked away from her and moved across the lush grass to lay down at the wolf’s side. Abandoned by his companion, the man twisted his lips in to a wry expression before looking up at Sakura once more.

“What is your name now?” he asked.

“Now? I’ve always had the same name.”

“In this body, yes.”

“What?” Sakura frowned, trying to work her way through that, but when she got no answer it felt like too much effort to make a big deal out of it. Answering seemed easier. “My name is Sakura.”

The moment those words had passed her lips the air around them changed, warped, pressed in close to seep under her skin like an embrace she would never be free of again. When Sakura cried out both of the figures watching her lifted their faces in triumph. The one with silver hair tossed his head back, opened his mouth, and howled with a note that struck her down to the very soul at her core. Impossibly, it was the same voice that had howled for her before, the same one that some part of her remembered although she’d never heard it before today.

“Now you have come home,” the shorter one intoned.

“Will someone please explain what is going on?” Sakura pleaded in a shaken voice.

Both men looked at her in a way she didn’t understand, silent for a very long time. As much as she knew the smart thing would be to ready herself to run, to fight, whatever was necessary, Sakura felt all the muscles in her body relaxing almost against her will when finally both of them moved a single step closer.

Definitely not the smartest reaction. If only she could bring herself to regret it.

“Names are a powerful thing,” the same one murmured. “Names have a way of binding, searing, twisting until the edges fray and catch to hold you in place - but rest assured, there’s nowhere you could ever be safer than with us.”

“Well what are your names then?”

“You may call me Shikamaru.”

“Maa, now that wasn’t very polite,” his companion cut in with a smile that showed too many teeth. “How can you ask her to remember us if we can’t even trust her with ourselves?”

After a moment of pause the first nodded and straightened his shoulders to look her in the eye. “Let me say instead: my name is Shikamaru.”

For being nearly the exact same sentence it hit much harder with just that small difference. It felt like the words spiralled down inside of her to make a home, chained to the deepest parts of her soul in a way she instantly understood meant that she had power over this creature. What sort of power that might be she had no idea. She was only a frail human herself, what harm could she really do to a being that controlled the animals of the forest - and even the forest itself to some degree if her suspicions were correct.

It wasn’t until her eyes opened again that she realized she had closed them in the first place. Shikamaru and the other still unnamed watched her every shift and twitch with rapt expressions that should have made her feel like prey about to be hunted. Instead she was warmed, a sensation of perfect belonging like she’d never felt before settling over her mind. When the second man lifted a hand to point at himself with one too-elegant hand she could only watch with a strange sort of rapturous lassitude.

“Let’s complete it then. My name is Kakashi.”

Evidently she’d been wrong. If before she had felt belonging what she felt now had no name that she could think of. It was home and settling in and fitting in to the space fate itself had carved for her and coming home to a place she had always been. Sakura rocked under the force of it.

“What-?” she whispered, unable to finish when she realized she had no idea what the question was going to be. There were too many to ask.

Kakashi reached towards her and Sakura didn’t bother to stop and think about whether or not it was a good idea, whether or not this made sense, whether or not she should. Taking his hand was the easiest thing she had done in her life. So was being gently pulled to fit between both men, closing her eyes just to feel the pulse of their matching heartbeats on either side of her body.

“You belonged to us long before you were born,” Kakashi’s voice rumbled above her head.

“Technically there wasn’t supposed to be a you at all,” Shikamaru added musingly. “Fate has some troublesome twists at times.”

“Oh I wouldn’t call her troublesome. A rather welcome addition, I’d say.”

Sakura swallowed thickly while her mind raced trying to keep up. She felt honorbound to point out, “You don’t even know me.” Then she nearly leapt out of her skin to feel the cold nose of what could only be the wolf that led her here pressing in against one thigh.

“We know you as we know ourselves. One soul shared between three bodies. Haven’t you felt it?” Kakashi mirrored his wolf, nosing against the seam where her neck met her shoulder. “You spoke of a calling, you trusted our avatars to lead you here. Isn’t that proof enough?”

“Proof of what though? I don’t know what you mean by one soul.”

This time it was Shikamaru who followed the example of his beast. As the deer stepped closer to nuzzle carefully in to her opposite thigh so did Shikamaru bury his face in her hair, angling his head so his own crown of antlers wouldn’t cause her any harm. When he spoke the bass of his voice rumbled just behind her ear in a very pleasant way.

“Do humans know nothing of us? How bothersome. The fae are always born with a part of their soul shared within another's body - soulmates, as you humans would call it. Kakashi and I found each other centuries ago and we were perfectly happy until the Last Great War when an abomination I will not give name to somehow managed to crack our soul and steal a piece of it.” Shikamaru drew a shuddering breath and it was easy to tell this was hard for him to talk about. As he faltered Kakashi seamlessly picked up the thread.

“You are that missing piece, the part of our soul that completes us. We’re very happy to have you back in case you didn’t notice.” The smile in his voice was obvious even if she couldn’t see him.

“Oh. I’m just...something you lost, then? So you called me out here to...take that bit of soul back?”

Not that Sakura would have blamed them if that was their plan. Just the thought of having something like that happen had her mind shivering away from it. She was surprised to feel both sets of arms around her tighten at the same moment the wolf at her left hip began to growl viciously.

“If anyone ever tries to hurt you-” Shikamary began.

“-we will rend the flesh from their bones and feed them to the After!” Kakashi finished with a snarl.

Blinking rapidly, Sakura took a few moments to gather any sort of coherent response. “Oh. Okay. I have to admit, this is all just a little hard to believe. Not that I’m calling you both liars or anything! Just, well, I’m not entirely positive this isn’t the most incredibly detailed dream my brain has ever come up with. Everything’s so fantastical and impossible.”

She was hardly surprised when both of them pulled away to give her matching looks of consideration, not an ounce of disappointment or judgment. Their arms fell away and she was left to conceal the sensation of loss that ripped through her like a tidal wave. Sakura cleared her throat and crossed her arms in an effort to feel like she still had some manner of control over this incredibly uncontrollable situation, not convinced this was really happening but not ready yet to dismiss it either. It seemed her indecision had been communicated well, however, as Shikamaru’s face lit up with some sort of idea.

“If proof is what you want we can do that. You are the other piece of our soul and that means you have dominion over this place as much as we do. Choose your avatar.”

“My avatar?”

“I have my deer. No matter where they are in the forest I will see through their eyes and they will bring me their secrets.”

“And I have my wolves,” Kakashi added with a fond look down at the beast still pressing as close as possible. Sakura nodded slowly and looked around.

The part of her that still couldn’t accept this was smiling indulgently as she chose the first creature her eyes landed on, whim and nothing more. “I don’t know, that slug on a rock over there. Could that be an avatar? Or should I - oh!”

It would have been impossible to describe with words the feeling of having her essence attach itself to every slug present in the entire forest - and what a forest it was. Of course she had known the treeline stretched the length of her entire hometown but it's true breadth was something she’d never had to fathom before until this moment. Now suddenly the power was hers to see through the eyes of hundreds upon hundreds of slugs all spread throughout the trees. Not a leaf or bit of loam could pass by her notice. The only thing her poor limited imagination could think to compare it to was that it was like having her own security system all throughout the entire domain.

Calling the place her own felt real then in a way she couldn’t deny any longer. Her soul pulled her towards the two glorious fae before her and her heart pulled her through the trees to reach in to the darkest and lightest corners like she’d known this place from the beginning of time. She wondered if that was how long both these men had been watching over it. She knew it was.

“I’m home,” she whispered.

“Yes,” Kakashi replied with a deep reverence.

Shikamaru’s fingers cradled her cheeks and Sakura marveled that she could identify his touch even with her eyes closed. “This time we will protect you all the more fiercely. I don’t know that we could stand to be incomplete again.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Sakura managed to choke out.

Whatever else she might have said was drowned in the rising tide of affections as first Kakashi and then Shikamaru wrapped themselves around her again and Sakura knew what it was to feel complete. Here truly was where she belonged. In all the years she’d spent growing up and choosing a school that could lead her to a good career there had never been a sense of moving forward, never a goal of any sort to give her a yearning for the future. This was why. She’d never really belonged to the human world after all.

As soon as that acceptance settled in to her soul Sakura could feel herself changing, molding in to who she was always meant to be, sinking in to the forest itself even as the forest sank in to her - but it was nearly impossible to pay attention to the changes taking place when Kakashi slipped two fingers under her chin and brought her lips up to meet with his. She was already reeling from the perfection of their kiss when Shikamaru swooped in to steal one of his own and then - oh and then. She was lost.

She could only hope to never be found again.

-A-

Easterly winds carried with them the scent of a new spring, driving Sakura’s legs faster and faster to the chorus of a dozen wolves behind her. It was her first chase of the season but there were countless seasons in her memory to guide her through the twisting pathways in to all her favorite hiding places where she would force Kakashi to sniff her out if he wanted to capture her. Chasing might be his favorite game but winning was hers. One of Shikamaru’s deer watched her fly past but the beast only rolled its eyes with the lazy energy of its master. Reaching out to her own favored avatar, Sakura changed the direction of her flight with the spin of a heel and took off towards the clearing she could see in Katsuyu’s eyes. Something about it seemed familiar and yet different in a way no other part of her forest was.

It took until she burst out of the trees for her to realize why.

Sakura came to a graceful halt and all thoughts of a chase left her mind as she took in the sight of a sagging wooden fence and a building of red brick. Ragged bushes were in the midst of attempting to flower up against the rear of the house. In the middle of the small yard there sat a rickety looking contraption that she recognized in the back of her mind as a swing set.

This was home to her once, she realized slowly. Katsuyu’s energy whispered from nearby, telling tales of the elderly couple that sometimes sat in the backyard holding hands and watched the forest with mournful faces. Her parents. Or at least the humans who created this body, that her fragmented soul might be safely housed until she could return to the place she had always belonged. It was sad, in a way, that she’d had to leave them. Were there a way she could have told them that she was safe and happy it surely would have eased their minds but time flowed differently in the fae realms than it did here on the human plane. Centuries had already passed for her, though she knew she looked no older. To appear before the ones that gave her life would only hurt them now. Not to mention explaining would break several rules that governed the interactions between her kind and theirs.

Rustling behind her made one ear twitch but she could feel her partners approaching even when she could not see them. Kakashi’s hands encircled her waist to pull her in against his chest, warm and solid.

“Having regrets?” he murmured in to her ear. Just the sound of his voice chased away any lingering traces of sadness. By the time she turned to face him the memories of her time amongst humanity were already fading again.

“Never,” she replied honestly.

“Humans are trouble,” Shikamaru called from behind a nearby tree. “Come back to where it's safe. Weren’t the two of you busy with something?”

Before her other partner could answer Sakura was twisting away and dashing off between the trees again with a laugh that sprinkled the air like fresh snow. “Catch me if you can, wolf boy!”

She didn’t need to look to know that Kakashi would be following her with eyes as bright as the avatar he had chosen. Just as she’d never needed to look to know that both he and Shikamaru would always be there at her side. They were one. One soul housed within three bodies, perfect in the way their imperfections lined up like puzzle pieces.

Did she have regrets? No. There had never been anything she believed in more than her place here in a realm beyond.

#rae writes #commission #kakasakushika #sakura #shikamaru #kakashi #fanfiction #fantasy au

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dimigexwrites · 2 years

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Second Chances, The Next Morning (KakaSaku Valentines Day)

Part One - The Setup, Part Two - The Date, A03, Fanfiction

@bouncyirwin Here is part three of my oops I wrote a long story instead of a drabble for KakaSaku Valentines Day!

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Breathing hard, Kakashi shoved the door to the gymnasium open and glanced at the time on his phone before shoving it into a pocket. He'd woken up late, so his usual, leisurely jog had turned into a flat out run that left him breathless and red faced. Adjusting the bag on his shoulder, Kakashi gathered his composure before hurrying through the second door. He hoped against hope that he might have beaten—

"You're late," Tenzo observed from the shadows of an area that was hidden from Kakashi's field of vision. He didn't give his friend the satisfaction of startling as he dropped his gym bag on one of the benches that dotted the edges.

Kakashi glanced at the clock on the wall, its bright red letters shocking in the gloom of the room, and shrugged. "I'm only a little late," he observed, unzipping his gym bag so he could dig through the contents. Without turning, he continued. "And you wouldn't believe it, there was this wreck on—"

Tenzo's disbelieving snort interrupted the next words. "Or, you stayed out far too late on your date last night."

Rolling his eyes at the insinuation in Tenzo's tone, Kakashi shed his jacket and hung it on one of the hooks on the wall. "I was home and in bed well before midnight."

Laughing, Tenzo clapped Kakashi on the back. "Yeah, but were you sleeping, or were you enjoying some company for the rest of the night?"

"Sleeping," Kakashi answered. He checked his cellphone once before tucking it into the pocket of his sweatpants. "So, what's on our agenda for the day?

"I'm going to need more information than that." Tenzo nodded when Kakashi reached for a jump rope in the jumbled exercise equipment, indicating that he was on the right track for warming up. But, the man didn't let the line of questions stop. "How did last night go?"

Kakashi rolled his wrists to loosen up before starting a series of quick single and double jumps. It didn't take long for his heart rate to rise in response to the movement. While Kakashi didn't particularly enjoy winter training, it kept his body functional for the more enjoyable activities that came when the weather warmed up. Tenzo had harassed Kakashi until he agreed to meet up at least three to five times during the week for exercise. The days varied, but Saturday was a staple because both of the men were typically free.

Once the sweat stood out on Kakashi's forehead and his body felt warm, he let the jump rope slap against the mats on the floor. He reached for his water bottle and took a long drink of the cool liquid. Tenzo watched him with a knowing look of amusement that made Kakashi uncomfortable. Deciding to draw out the other man's suspense, he grinned. "You know I don't kiss and tell."

Tenzo chuckled and shook his head. "Unless something drastic has changed, you don't kiss at all."

"Ha ha, laugh it up," Kakashi answered, aiming a quick jab at his friend's side.

Tenzo danced backward on the balls of his feet, light and elusive as ever. His movements were smooth and efficient; he'd clearly warmed up while waiting for Kakashi. Tenzo's lips pulled into a frown. "Seriously, how was it?"

Dipping his head to hide the stupid smile that tried to work its way onto his face, Kakashi shrugged. "It was fine." He lifted the carefully wound boxing wraps from his bag and started to work on his left hand without meeting Tenzo's gaze. "The dinner was nice, and the event was surprisingly well planned out."

Tenzo hummed in agreement, bouncing lightly on his toes to keep warm. "You're avoiding my question, which only makes me more curious."

"You know what they say about curiosity," Kakashi quipped, completing the second wrap on his right hand with only a little more difficulty than the left. He flexed his fingers, testing the stretch of the material before nodding.

Tenzo rolled his eyes as Kakashi put on the first of his boxing gloves. "Good thing I'm not a cat, then."

The man held up the second glove and helped Kakashi secure it around his wrist once it was in place. Kakashi sighed. "You aren't going to let it go, are you?"

Kakashi walked toward the bags hanging from the ceiling in one corner of the gym. He flexed his hands inside the glove, trying to to think of a way to answer his friend's question without giving anything away. "Sakura was lovely, attentive, and not what I expected. She's matured a lot over the past few years."

Humming with agreement presumably meant to encourage Kakashi to continue, Tenzo moved to the side to watch him work at the speed bag. A few punches in, the man smiled. "So, when will you see her again?"

Kakashi did his best to keep his tempo steady and smooth lest Tenzo read something in the movement that he didn't intend. Warmth spread through Kakashi's muscles as he continued the steady strikes until his body felt loose and light. He slowed, huffing out a breath. "We didn't talk about it."

Moving away a couple of feet, Kakashi made room for Tenzo in front of the bag. The younger man moved through the same punches that he had to warm up. Tenzo was the one of them who actually enjoyed boxing, and he made it look natural. Kakashi couldn't deny that it took the edge off frustration and anger, but he'd much rather be outside rock climbing, hiking, or going for a run. The gym was necessary evil during the colder months, though.

As Tenzo continued working with the bag, Kakashi stretched in preparation for the inevitable spar that would come next. He didn't dread it as much as he thought he would. A light vibration from his pocket made his face scrunch in confusion. He reached for the feeling, then rolled his eyes at the gloves he'd just put on. Catching the velcro closure in his teeth, Kakashi pulled it loose then clamped his upper arm around the glove to pull his hand free.

Kakashi fished his phone from his pocket with some difficulty because of the wraps. He pressed his thumb against the sensor to unlock it and swiped the screen open. A single message notification waited at the top. Frowning, Kakashi opened it. It worked. I thought about you last night. A second text came through almost immediately. Multiple times.

"Are you smiling at your phone?" Tenzo's voice broke through the momentary elation that flooded Kakashi's system. "Oh my god, are you blushing?"

"No," Kakashi forced his face to wipe the emotion away. He wasn't sure how to respond to Sakura's text, so he left it for a time when Tenzo wasn't watching his every move. "It's just hot in here, and I'm ready to get this spar underway."

Chuckling, Tenzo pulled away from the speed bag. "You're a terrible liar. It's fine to say that you had a good time. Hell, it's even okay to say that you slept with her. I'm not judging."

Kakashi shook his head, sobering at the implication. "We didn't have sex. It isn't like that."

"So, it's not physical," Tenzo repeated, nodding toward the boxing ring that predominated the middle of the gym. The pair had the place to themselves today for a change which allowed them to talk freely. As Kakashi followed him through the ropes, Tenzo's grin deepened. "Damn, are you saying she's in love with you already?"

"She doesn't love me," Kakashi laughed, ignoring the flutter of his heart at the impossible thought. Rin's memory soured the fleeting desire almost as soon as it rose. "She's not that stupid."

Tenzo laughed and dipped his head before reaching out to help Kakashi get his glove back on. "You're probably right. She seemed smarter than average."

"Definitely," Kakashi agreed, squaring up against Tenzo with his body turned to the side to present a smaller target. He weighed his opponent with his gaze, wondering why Tenzo wouldn't let the thing with Sakura go. It wasn't like it mattered; they hadn't talked about dating or going out. The night had been fun, sure, but that didn't mean it was going to be anything more. They'd probably never see each other again.

Kakashi brought his hands up in front of his face and shifted his weight over the balls of his feet to make his movement more fluid. He and Tenzo had trained together for years, so he could practically read the moves before they happened. Jab, cross, jab, jab, hook. Kakashi flowed with the strikes, allowing his mind to wander. The implications behind Sakura's text were impossible to ignore, and the thought brought more heat to Kakashi's cheeks. He'd teased her about wanting her to think about him, but he hadn't meant that way. At least, not seriously.

Trying to come up with a reply was difficult. Did Kakashi respond in kind by admitting that he'd thought of Sakura as well? Did that cross a line that he wanted to keep between them? Did he pretend not to understand the subtext of the comment and ask what Sakura meant? Did he write the whole thing off and continue on the same way that he would have done weeks ago? Did he just ignore it to see if she reached out a second time?

Slipping beneath a quick right hook, Kakashi wondered which response Sakura wanted from him. Almost anything he said would make her more curious about him. Kakashi knew that he could have followed Sakura up to her apartment the previous night, and they would have crossed every line that he cared to draw between them. But, she had respected his decision to stop where they were. Did Kakashi continue holding himself away and playing the logical person, or did he give in to the pressure? Did any of it matter? Sakura's text was clearly meant to evoke a response. Multiple times, it taunted, begging him to acknowledge the unresolved sexual tension between them.

Tenzo slipped to the right and Kakashi circled with him, adrenaline burning through his veins. Boxing helped release some of the tension that wound Kakashi's body tight. He could focus on the natural rhythm of the movements without concentrating too hard on the problem with—another soft buzz ripped Kakashi's attention away from everything except wondering what Sakura said next.

Pain snapped through Kakashi's face, sharp and brilliant as a sunburst. He crashed onto the mat below him, head rebounding against the surface. Darkness swallowed the world. Then, Kakashi blinked at the ceiling in confusion with no idea why he was staring up at it.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Tenzo cursed, crouching beside Kakashi's head. "Are you okay?"

Kakashi's ears rang as he looked around the gym, trying to make logical sense of what happened. Tenzo knelt next to him, pulling his gloves off with an urgency that seemed almost comical. Fingers snapped in front of Kakashi's face, fighting to drag him back to semi-coherence but he had a hard time focusing on the noise. "Come on, I didn't hit you that hard."

"You hit me," Kakashi repeated, still in a half daze from the contact. It was so funny that he almost laughed. The sound burbled in his throat as Tenzo pulled him upright, then the room tipped and spun like a top. Nausea bubbled in Kakashi's stomach, hot and dizzying. He fought it down with a grunt that sobered him somewhat. "You hit me."

"Yes, we've covered that." Tenzo snapped his fingers again, drawing Kakashi's attention to them. "How many fingers do you see?"

Kakashi stared at the wavering image for a second, blinking to clear the immediate blurriness in his vision. "Two."

The hand changed shape. "Now, how many?"

"Three," Kakashi answered, continuing to suppress the nausea that flooded his stomach and throat. He squeezed his eyes shut to push the thought away from him. If he didn't think about it, it wouldn't happen.

When Kakashi opened his eyes again, Tenzo had moved back to give him some space. "Do you think you can get up?"

"You're not a prize fighter or anything. I'm fine," Kakashi grumbled, pushing his hands against the mat to try and stand. Even so, he knew that Tenzo's punches were powerful. The man could have gone on to make a career out of it if he'd wanted to. He usually pulled his punches in spars, though.

Kakashi pushed into a standing position, and the room wobbled with him. The ground pitched under his feet when he tried to move. Tenzo bumped against Kakashi's shoulder, supporting him until they reached a corner of the ring where he could cling to the rope for balance. Kakashi closed his eyes against the dizzy sickness in his stomach. "Mostly fine," he amended, sinking onto the stool that Tenzo produced from somewhere.

It took Kakashi a couple of startled seconds to realize that Tenzo had knelt in front of him and started to remove his gloves with familiar ease. "What are you doing," Kakashi asked in confusion.

"You're done for the day" Tenzo pulled the gloves off and laid them aside, starting to work on the hand wraps. The task was made difficult by the similar wraps on the man's hands.

Kakashi pulled away and started unwinding the fabric on his own. "I just need a minute, then we can get back to—"

"I'm ninety-five percent sure you have a concussion." Tenzo finished pulling off his second wrap without bothering to wind them the way that he normally did. Kakashi wondered if it was frustration or worry that sped his friend's fingers through the movement. "I think you should go get checked out."

Kakashi laughed and shook his head, immediately regretting it when the nausea returned. "No, I'm fine. I didn't even lose consciousness. It was just a lucky punch."

Tenzo leveled Kakashi with a flat stare, then rolled his eyes. "It was a left hook that I telegraphed, but you never noticed. And, you were out for at least a few seconds after it."

"Look at you, using knockout punches in a friendly spar," Kakashi teased, trying to organize the thoughts that were crowding in the back of his mind. He didn't feel great, but he didn't feel terrible either. Surely he would have felt something more than a vague pain in the back of his head after a concussion. "You're growing up."

"You didn't even try to block it," Tenzo complained, shaking his head in frustration as he gathered his equipment from the mat and slid through the ropes to the floor. "You were distracted. You know better than that."

Distracted? Kakashi tried to dredge up the moments before the punch, but they refused to come. Sighing, he followed Tenzo from the ring, bobbling only a little when the room pitched under his feet. "I'm sorry," Kakashi mumbled, rubbing his sore jaw.

Tenzo sighed, worry creasing his features. "You really should go see a doctor, just to make sure everything is squared away. If you won't go to the hospital, at least let me get Tsunade to have a look at you."

Kakashi tipped his head to the side, considering the words for a long moment. Tsunade-shishou would. The memory came slowly; the pieces fit back together in a picture that left Kakashi feeling oddly off balance, even more than the concussion. He ran his tongue across his lips, surprised to taste the coppery tang of blood. "I'm not going to the hospital. If it's a concussion, they'll tell me to rest."

"Which you'll undoubtedly ignore." Tenzo threw his equipment into his bag with an overly dramatic eye roll. "Do you think you have a concussion? Or, did it just rattle you?"

Raising one shoulder in a shrug, Kakashi packed up his wraps, gloves, and jump rope. "I mean, isn't that pretty much the same thing?"

Tenzo pulled a black hoodie over his head, then slung his bag across one shoulder. "You know that you got the finger count wrong, right?"

Kakashi blinked at the words, and the soft pain in the back of his mind ramped up to a slightly more noticeable stab. He sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine, I might have a concussion, but the point still stands. All the doctor is going to tell me to do is to get some rest."

"You lost consciousness, briefly, but it still happened. You had double vision, your balance is off, and you're in pain, sick to your stomach, or both." Tenzo ticked off the points on his fingers, and Kakashi studied them to make sure the number matched the reasons.

Kakashi frowned. "How do you know I'm—"

"The way you squeeze your eyes and tense your jaw every few seconds," Tenzo interrupted, with a rueful shake of his head. "You've got a pain tell, old man."

"Hey, woah," Kakashi chuckled, holding up his hands as if deflecting another blow. "Isn't it enough that you already knocked me out once today?"

A grin slid onto Tenzo's lips as he shook his head and threw an arm around Kakashi's shoulders. "Come on, let's get you checked out, then I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day, probably."

#My writing #Dimi writes #KakaSaku #KakaSakuVDay #Modern AU #Sakura Haruno #Kakashi Hatake

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moderndayportia · 4 years

Text

Currents

A/N: This is based on a drabble prompt request from @bouncyirwin. Thank you! I’m still warming up my writing after a long, long break, so if you have a prompt, feel free to drop it in my Ask box

Pairing: Kakasaku Rating: None Warning: Major Character Death

Katsuyu appears on his shoulder for the second time that day in a puff of smoke swept away by the acrid ash swirling around him. Kakashi shudders as he ruthlessly wrenches his hand from yet another chest cavity. Around him his Anbu guard are fighting furiously, their usually studied restraint corrupted by a desire for blood.

The village is in ruins.

The strike had been precise and planned. Strategic buildings flattened to charred rubble in a hot, pulsing instant. The Hokage tower is a firey tomb, its charred bones burning hot in the stark afternoon bright.

Kakashi dodges a barrage and ducks behind an Earth-release wall where he finds several Katsuyu lying on Shikamaru’s bleeding head. Relief washes through him.

Sakura had summoned them early on in the attack, layering the village in an instant net of healing.

No deaths, he tells himself as he sends a wave of purple lightning through the rubbled ground beneath his guards’ feet before it bursts out of the Earth with a violent crack, eviscerating the circle of enemies surrounding them.

Sakura is life embodied in the face of the reaper.

High overhead a hawk circles and cries—a message for him.

No time, Kakashi thinks as more enemies rush in close.

“Hatake-sama,” Katsuyu says softly on his shoulder.

“Leave me, I’m fine,” he grunts. Other than waning chakra reserves, he is fine now. She had completely healed his extensive burns earlier.

He is fine, they are fine, he tells to himself as he spins a kunai, dodges, and then jams it into the eye socket of a woman cloaked in all black.

Is he their target? He doesn’t know.

A loud, ear-splitting boom tears from the East, and Kakashi sees Gamabunta towering high into the sky, Naruto perched on his head like a glowing beacon.

They’ll be okay.

“Hatake-sama, I don’t have much time,” Katsuyu insists softly again.

Kakashi stops cold.

His heart beats once, twice, then the sick dread fills him like a roar.

He glances towards Shikamaru and watches the Katsuyu on him linger and then fade.

“Where?” he asks, his tongue like ash in his mouth.

“The school,” Katsuyu answers weakly, before she too disappears.

He is gone in an instant.

______________________

Sakura’s world is a flood of pain as she lies twisted and broken in the rubble.

Shizune is hovering over her, saying something, but she can’t hear anything but ringing. Sakura tries to follow the movements of her lips, but everything seems to be moving further away and slower. The pain is swelling in violent waves.

A cloud of choking smoke swirls overhead. Her world tilts and spins.

The school….

The school is burning.

Sakura tries to roll onto her side, but a violent agony tears through her and her mouth tastes of iron.

Are they all out?

Shizune is crying. Her hands shaking. The bright lantern of her chakra paints the ankles of Sakura’s guards, standing around them in a tense circle.

The school….

She closes her eyes and is inundated by the rising tide of pain.

A demanding hand presses gently against her cheek.

Kakashi?

He looks worried. His mask is down.

His lips move. Again and again. He is holding her face.

It hurts. She is confused. Her eyes feel heavy.

Kakashi says something to Shizune who argues with him briefly and then bites her lip and leans forward to press her hands over Sakura’s ears. Her hands are bloody. So bloody.

Sound roars in like a tsunami. The first things she hears is her own gurgling breaths.

It hurts.

“Sakura,” Kakashi says. “Sakura,” again, more forcefully. He is holding her face and leaning so close.

“Ka-“ she tries, but nothing else will come. Sirens are blaring through the air.

The school…..

“Sakura, activate your seal,” Kakashi says, his voice a sharp knife.

Her seal?

“Do it. Activate your seal,” he demands.

Her seal.

It comes back to her then, the world snapping into a bitter focus. The devastation. The fires. The bodies.

Her friends. Her family. Her village.

She had called Katsuyu early. The destruction was so wild and immeasurable. She had drained herself, and then activated her seal and drained herself again.

She was empty. The places left hollow by her chakra were now filled with searing pain.

“Sakura,” Kakashi pleads from above her. “Do it.”

Sakura looks up at him as he traces his fingers across her smoke-dyed cheeks.

She aches to reach up and run her thumb down his scar. One last time.

She shakes her head slightly. Her mouth has filled with blood.

“No,” he says. “No.”

He glances wildly at Shizune who has her bloodied hands pressed over her mouth as she holds in silent howls.

Devastation mars his perfect face when he turns back to her.

She is drowning in it.

The school….

“Sakura, please,” he whispers, his voice breaking as he clutches her face.

She gasps and tries to find words. “H-hurts-”she mangles in her broken mouth.

Kakashi’s head falls forward and his soft silver hair brushes against her cheek. He whispers quaking promises into her neck.

Sakura shutters and her chest strangles in one, two, three breaths before he rises again. His face is resolved.

Strong hands cradle her head. The tomoe of his Sharingan spins steadily as he draws her broken body nearer. She feels the unfamiliar tug of his eye dragging her in to a soft, quiet place.

‘The school….’ is the last thing she thinks as her world sinks into deep, painless black.

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Sakura awakes slowly in a bed of soft green grass. She sits up and looks in wonder at the world around her.

A river, broad and slow, stretches in front of her, dancing with the brilliant reflection of the sunset on the other side. Behind her, the stars twinkle in a vast expanse of velvet black.

The air is warm and quiet but for the cicada song carried through the lingering dusk.

She does not remember how she got here. Who she is feels like a distant dream. She is here.

She is.

She stands slowly to survey her surroundings. Her body feels weightless and pain free. She is wearing a soft white yukata, tied right over left. Her feet are bare and her hair loose.

She steps lightly through the green grass.

Down by the river is a dock. Next to it a small white rowboat, unmoored, bobs up and down.

Sakura returns to sit on the riverbank and watches the water pass.

She waits for a long while. Time seems different here. The sun never changes its position on the horizon. The river flows, the rowboat bobs, and the cicada sing.

Fireflies dance in and out of the reeds in the river’s shallows, their fragile glow mesmerizing.

Eventually—minutes, hours or days later—she stands and starts walking upstream. A well-trodden path leads her gently through the grass and reeds, past a swaying willow tree, and back to a dock.

Sakura tries again, walking downstream this time, and is returned once again to the dock. Was it the same dock?

She finds a coin in her sleeve and leaves it on the railing before trying again.

It is the same.

This world is a small circle, and every path leads back to the dock.

Sakura feels a deep tiredness wash over her. She walks down the path to the willow tree, lies under its swaying bows and closes her eyes.

She dreams of a man with shocking silver hair. He stands at a graveside and prays. Two solemn little girls scuff their feet beside him, the bigger one holding the younger one’s hand.

When she awakes, the air is heavy with incense.

Her world is a small globe and her consciousness condenses to the ever dusk. In her dreams, she finds more. Small windows open into the world that was. She watches the man and his daughters. Time is passing for them. He grows older and so do they.

She charts the passage of time via the lines on his handsome face.

Often when she wakes there are flowers drifting down the current. She sits on the dock, dips her toes into the water, and watches them go.

Sometimes small plates of food are balanced on the moss-covered rocks. She is not hungry, cannot taste, but she eats them and an energy glows warm from her belly.

She waits. Still and calm. Watches the water flow past. The sun never sets. The night never rises.

She isn’t bored. She just is.

One day she wakes and the man is standing on the other side of the river, silhouetted by the sunset.

His name swells up in her mind, a memory that had been held in the deep for too long.

Kakashi.

Her hand rises to her face and she feels hot, salty tears streaking down.

A damn bursts inside her, and it all comes flooding back in.

Kakashi!

She rushes to the white rowboat and steps inside for the first time. There are no oars, but it lurches and begins to propel itself across the river, pulled by some unknown force.

Her eyes never leave him. The time it takes to reach him aches.

The boat knocks against the sunset shore and Sakura tumbles into his waiting arms.

They sink into the sand and hold each other in a desperate embrace.

She is sobbing, overcome by the emotions that have been anchored to him for so long.

“I kept them safe,” he whispers over and over again as he holds her in his strong arms. “I kept them safe.”

She looks up into his face, young and unmarred by the passage of time, and he wipes the tears from her cheeks.

“I waited,” she tells him.

“I know,” he says and bends to catch her lips in a soft kiss.

They linger for some time—days, weeks or months or years. They make love in the half-night. He tells her the story of life after hers, of their daughters, of their grandchildren. Of the seeds they planted that grew big and spread.

Of a life lived for a promise made.

He holds her in his arms in the soft grass and they rest.

One day Sakura wakes before him. He finds her standing by the dock, watching the river’s constant flow.

She turns back, her green eyes burning brightly in the half-light, and holds out her hand.

He takes it.

It’s time.

The current catches the white rowboat and carries them on.

#kakasaku #kakashi/sakura #kakashi x sakura #moderndayportia #portia writes #portiawrites

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