Violate

Chapter 6:

Grasp

Six Months Ago…

The Village Hidden in the Mist was definitely not one of Kakashi's favorite places to be. The never-ending and ceaseless mist made it impossible to read. If he even tried to open his book, the pages would instantly become saturated with moisture. Not just that, but the mist was very hard on the mood.

Kakashi looked to his right, glancing at his partner and best friend. Sakura, always the optimistic, didn't appear to be at all bothered by Kirigakure's trademark weather. Kakashi deduced that it was likely due to the nature of their mission, which was seemingly the most relaxed mission they'd had in a very long time.

Really, the mission was quite simple. They were simply passing along a message to the new Mizukage, Mei Terumi. Apparently, the new kage was apparently much more interested in being involved with the villages than her prior, Yagura, had been.

A young female shinobi in the Leaf Village was discovered to have a kekkai genkai that only the Mizukage, or as far as they knew, had. Unable to help hone that skill, Tsunade had requested assistance from the Mizukage. Mei had accepted whole-heartedly, claiming it would be a pleasure and requesting her delivery to Mist as soon as was permissible.

Seeing as the young shinobi was only of genin rank and the Ninja World was still struggling through dangerous time, an escort was absolutely necessary. That was where Sakura and Kakashi had come in.

Despite Tsunade's opinion that the mission could be quite dangerous, it had gone off without a hitch and they'd delivered the girl to the Mizukage within 4 days of leaving Konoha.

It was now, as they were searching for a place to rest their heads before their trek back to Konoha that Kakashi began to feel a little melancholy due to the weather. He really did not like it here. Between the village's ever-so-shady past and its weird weather, Kakashi couldn't help to feel a little down.

Sakura must have picked up on this because all of a sudden she stopped walking and just stared at him with her eyebrow raised. "Is there something wrong, Kakashi?".

"Oh no, it's nothing. I just don't really like the weather here. Makes it impossible to read my books." He said with a chuckle and then smiled at Sakura to assure her that everything was alright.

Sakura's laugh caught him off guard. "Well what's so funny now?" He asked, scrutinizing her just as she had moments prior.

Her laugh continued as she spoke, "Let me get this straight… You're upset because the evil-wittle mist is interrupting your perverse reading habits?" After she finished her sentence, Sakura's laugh broke out into full force, unable to control herself. "Hatake Kakashi, the famous Copy-Ninja, who never lets anything bother him, is upset over some mist. That… that's priceless."

Kakashi just stared as her guffawing slowed to a gentle giggle. He decided he really liked Sakura's laugh, especially this one. It didn't even matter that she was laughing at him and not with him, because in that moment, Kakashi was just taken aback by her beauty. Untainted, happy and peaceful laughter suited her very well.

Before the moment was lost, Kakashi decided to lock this image into his memory and lifted his hitai-ate to fully take it in. He let his sharingan graze over her delicate features that were consumed by her laughter. The faint pink blush that spread over her cheeks and the bridge of her nose suited her quite well. The way the corners of her mouth lifted in a genuine smile as she gasped for breath- the way her eyes squinted shut while tears of unabated laughter leaked from their corners. He took it all in.

It was quite rare for Kakashi to get to see her like this on a mission. Generally, she kept a very serious façade during missions trying to ensure those around her that she was dependable. He, of course, already knew this, but he knew all about facades and he didn't blame her. Simply, he was just grateful for the glimpse of the Sakura he'd known long ago before everything went to hell in a hand-basket. In times like these, being grateful was sometimes all you could do.

"Well if you're done making fun of me, how about we find a hotel like we had planned." Kakashi said, breaking Sakura out of her giggles.

Sakura just nodded, but as he walked away, Kakashi was sure he'd heard her whisper, "Party-pooper…"

Oh, now that's it. I'll show her a party.

Kakashi turned on his heels so quickly and came face-to-face with Sakura in a matter of seconds. "What was that, my dear partner?" He said with a smile on his face.

Sakura was just about to open her mouth to speak, when she found herself slung over the shoulder of her former sensei. "Now, what the hell do you think you're doing?" She spluttered as he started to run rather quickly through the village until he reached his destination at Mist Inn.

"A room for two." He said to the desk clerk who was staring at him as though he had four heads. However, the man seemed to ignore the woman draped over his shoulder and simply handed him a key and said, "Room 13. Checkout is at noon."

Kakashi gave the man his two-finger wave and headed for the room. "I'm going to show you a lesson, Miss Haruno." He said as he traveled through the hallways which led to their quaint little hotel room.

Quicker than Sakura could register, Kakashi opened the door to Room 13 and tossed her shamelessly onto the bed. Within seconds, he was upon her, fingers tickling every inch of her body.

Sakura instantly broke out into laughter, spluttering out broken sentences as she tried to escape Kakashi. "Cut it…. ou-… out, you old geezer."

"OLD GEEZER!?" Kakashi's tickling took on a whole new force, seeking out all of Sakura's most ticklish spots.

"Oh! Oh… STOP! It hurts." Sakura yelped as his tickling started to make it difficult for her to breathe.

Kakashi was relentless. He just kept tickling, all the while saying, "If you tell me that I'm not a geezer and that I'm the most attractive man in the world!"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh harder at this. "NO WAY!"

Taking that as permission to step up his game, Kakashi held Sakura down using one arm while his other released one foot of its boot. Once said foot became freed, Kakashi focused his attentions on it.

"Noooo! Okay! Okay. You're the most- haha attractive man in the world and you will never get old!" Sakura gasped out the words waiting for the tickle attack to end and when it did, she took a huge breath of air and said, "You're cheap."

Kakashi's response was a simple, "Payback's a bitch." And then he smiled his crinkly-eyed smile at her and stood up.

Sakura sat up on the bed and removed her other boot. She then pulled her knees up to her chest and turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi." She said in what sounded like a serious tone.

"Hmm." he responded.

"Come sit."

He complied and came to sit next to her where he awaited to hear whatever was on her mind. "Can I ask you a question?" she asked while fussing over her long braid of pink hair.

"Of course."

"Do you ever think the Ninja World will be happy again? Calm even? I feel like the days just stream along with people dying all around us and the happy days are so few and far between. The tickle fights, the lunches at Ichiraku, and the happy couples out there. They all seem to be disappearing. It makes me sad." She whispered without noticing while staring off into the distance.

"Hmm. I'm not quite sure when it'll happen, but I know that as long as everyone keeps trying, one person at a time, the happiness will return. Why do you ask?" Kakashi was a bit puzzled by the sudden downturn in her mood, but speculated that the tickle fight has resurrected some old feelings.

Sakura waited a minute before answering him, "I don't know. I just remember all the days I was obsessed with love and happiness and now, I can barely recall thinking about it more than once or twice since all of this chaos happened. It's just that, I think I still want to find love…" She faltered, unsure of herself. She even looked away with a tinge of pink on her cheeks.

Kakashi didn't really know to say to her. His feelings for his once-upon-a-time student had changed drastically in two and a half years. He felt alive with her around. He felt not so alone. What once was love for a student and teammate seemed to be slowly manifesting itself into something else.

Did he love her? Yeah. But was he in love with her? He didn't know.

Sure, he had started to take notice to her as a woman. He spent mornings watching her train, simply because it pleased him. He desperately wanted to spend every moment he could with her to ease his loneliness, but was he in love?

Kakashi found himself staring at her face in that moment as she looked away. God, she's beautiful. He thought. He remembered the way she'd laughed on the way through the village- the blush on her cheeks caused by restriction of air. She was so much more than beautiful… but was he in love with her?

"Kakashi, are you alright?" Sakura said, snapping him out of his thoughts. Her hand reached out to touch his cheek and she ran her thumb over his cheekbone. "Are you feeling alright? You're a little clammy?"

Kakashi smiled. "I'm fine." He said as he reached up to grab her hand. He turned it over in his hands a couple times, memorizing it- taking note of every freckle and every fine scar.

Sakura stared at him for a couple seconds and then settled in, moving closer to him so she could lean against his side as he caressed her hand. It was a comforting feeling- making up for her moment of feeling down.

Kakashi sighed in contentment when her weight settled against his side.

"It's just that, I think I still want to find love…"

Well, I think she already found it. Kakashi thought as he realized he was absolutely, whole-heartedly in love with her.

You already found it.

Kakashi looked down and noticed that within minutes of resting against him, Sakura had already fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful and Kakashi just watched her sleep, unable to make himself move. He didn't want to disturb her.

Again, Kakashi found that he didn't want to disturb her as he looked down at his chest where Sakura lay unconscious wearing his shirt. If it weren't for their current predicament, he'd consider the view quite beautiful. A view he wouldn't have minded waking up to at home in his bed.

Home…

How long had they been away? Was it getting close to their expected return? Had it been months? Had it been days? Hell, if he knew.

All he knew was that, if two months had passed, they would be expecting rescue quite soon. If two months had yet to pass, they would have to gut it out for however long it was till then.

At least there was a possibility of rescue. That was enough to keep Kakashi's hopes up. If only a little.

Pulled from his thoughts, Kakashi cringed at the noise he had learned to dread after the first couple of encounters. The sound of footsteps. The noise almost made him gag, knowing what was to come.

What was worse? It was almost like he didn't know. It could change at any time.

Kakashi sighed and went about gently waking Sakura, "Sakura, they're coming…" He shook her a little, trying to jostle her awake.

Slowly, green eyes met his and understanding flashed through them. As well as that, there was certain dread. It broke his heart to see her so beat down- so distraught. He'd do anything to make it go away… but, he just couldn't.

The footsteps grew closer and Kakashi prepared himself for the worst.

Lan came down the stairs first, followed shortly after by his lackey, King. Lan had an obnoxious, shit-eating grin on his face and Kakashi was scared to know why.

"So, how do you like your new arrangements?" The sadistic man chuckled as his eyes ran over Sakura. "Managed to flip it around, I see." His laugh filled the dungeon as he walked over to them.

"Should I even bother asking?" He said, looking down at the two of them. "Does anyone feel like talking today?"

It was Kakashi's turn to laugh. "Never." he whispered.

Lan laughed some more and then spoke one again, "Well, fair enough. King, sit them up."

Lan's lackey marched over and manhandled them into an upright position.

Within seconds, they were under… everything turned to black.

Kakashi's eyes snapped open. The grey haze was there, but where was Sakura?

He searched wildly unable to find her. "Where is she?"

The haze made it difficult for him to find her, but eventually he found the faintest pink along the horizon. "Sakura!"

He ran to her. Or so he thought. Every time he felt he was close to her, it seemed she just drew further away.

From where he was standing, it appeared as though she was walking away from him. "Sakura… wait!" He yelped in the direction she seemed to be walking in. 'Please'

She didn't seem to stop or even notice he was there at all. "Sakura! Wait!" It didn't matter how much he yelled after her. She was just out of his grasp.

Why wouldn't she stop? Why wouldn't she stay? Didn't she need him anymore?

Kakashi head grew fuzzy and blackness took over again…

When he awoke, the scenery had completely changed. There were hundreds of people dressed in black standing around a grave site. Kakashi didn't know who the grave belonged to. Why was he here?

Suddenly, an unfamiliar head popped up, screaming, "WHY!? Sakura…"

'No.'

Kakashi ran again. This time towards the center of the crowd. When he reached his destination, he was met with sad, resentful eyes.

All of those around him stared down their noses as he stopped in front of the grave- in front of her grave.

In unison, they all said, "You didn't protect her."

In unison, they all said, "You let her die."

In unison, they all said, "How could you be so foolish?"

In unison, they all said, "Worse than your father."

Kakashi's eyes widened. 'Why? How? What happened?'

Another unfamiliar face stared down at him and screamed, "Why didn't you chase her? You let her go. Look what you've done."

Kakashi's eyes filled with tears and he shook his head in anguish. 'No, this couldn't be. I'd never let her go. I'd chase her forever.'

The scenery shifted again and he was inside his apartment. Sakura was there and he felt better instantly, but then he looked at her face. Something was dreadfully wrong.

"You love me?" She asked, a bewildered look on her face.

"Yes, I love you…" He responded.

Her eyes widened and her face contorted with disgust. "You disgust me. How could I ever love you? You're fourteen years older than me. How disgusting." She said as she glared at him.

"Don't ever come near me again, you sick fuck! I'll never love you!" She seethed as she headed for the door. She ran away…

She just ran away and Kakashi let her go.

Kakashi awoke suddenly, tears streaming down his face. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed at the top of his lungs and then he fell into unconsciousness…