Well, its over, he thought to himself bitterly as he felt his lungs constricting. Looking around the darkness, Kakashi could only see the mangled remains of his team; blood glistening in the limited light. I shouldn't have agreed to this, he sighed to himself as the rock that incased him slowly began tightening, Whomever created this jutsu is a genius. He was trapped in a jutsu that incased an opponent in extremely hard chakra stealing stone, tightening slowly around them at every muscle movement, to painfully shatter their bones and destroy them completely. Kakashi couldn't help but be impressed. He was only on the team to assist if anything had gone wrong with the rookie captain's first mission. Hatake Kakashi, a backup plan. But they had been ambushed by rogue ninja who had been slowly picking off shinobi from every village. His mind began to slowly wonder; the silence and pain almost encouraging him to dive deep into his own thoughts.

Slowly, thoughts turned from the mission at hand, to the ones he was leaving at home. Genma still owes me a drink. The war was over, everyone was safe; yet here he was, dying. They've grown up so much, closing his eyes their images passed through his mind. The young genin he had met the first day. Naruto as obnoxious as ever, Sasuke brooding in his thoughts of revenge, and Sakura… She's changed so much, he thought with a smile. Feeling his movements, the rock tightened around him. Pain shot through his ribs as he felt them beginning to break under the pressure. Will they even notice? He questioned with a whimper. Kakashi hadn't told his students were he was going, nor had he said goodbye to them. Sasuke wont even notice, he's been too busy on his own missions. Naruto… Iruka will have to take care of him. He'll be a mess… loosing another sensei. Another unconscious sigh escaped his lips causing the rock to constrict anymore.

I've got to focus, he thought to himself, My legs are broken, and probably bleeding and with exfoliation from the fact that we're underground… I might last another hour. If I don't move. The last part was the part he needed to focus on. The pain, the lack of air, everything; Kakashi had to fight it so that the earth didn't crush him. Glimmering light flickered in the darkness, catching Kakashi's attention. That leads above ground…

Hours passed, slowly crushing the jounin's body, I have to stay awake… his mind whimpered as unconsciousness began clawing at his soul. His body began feeling cold, the feeling of pain slowly numbing away, This isn't good… he knew it wasn't, the lack of feeling was never a good thing. Closing his eyes Kakashi gave in and let the darkness take him. Muffled voices echoed through the darkness, Kakashi's head bobbing up and down as he struggled for consciousness. What's going on? Who's talking…

Prying open his lids, Kakashi's eyes scanned the dark room; nothing seeming to have changed. Wait, Kakashi's eyes strained as he watched debris fall from the rock ceiling. Something's happening above ground. A scream echoed through the air, Kakashi's eyes widening as the horrible sound reached his ears. Kakashi listened carefully, closing his eyes trying to imagine the scene above him. The smell of blood quickly became more potent, fresh, as the screams began to dwindle. They're being killed off! Alarm rocked through him, Who would have known where we were?

"Stupid Bitch!" A dark snarl from a familiar voice caught Kakashi's attention. "Ganshou Reikyuu no jutsu!" A man screamed.

That's the same voice… Kakashi tried to move his head, the rock clenching him tighter. Oxygen burned against the inside of his chest, feeling gone in every extremity. Whoever they are… they're just as dead as I am. Hope was lost in him. I'm not making it out of here. At least it was a shinobi's death. Maybe my students will be proud…

"I don't have time for this!" an angry voice screamed as the sound of heavy rubble hit the ground.

A girl? Kakashi thought, weaving in and out of consciousness. Another ferocious scream echoed through the air; the ground shaking above his head. The only woman strong enough… would be…

"Give him back to me!" Her voice echoed through the still air, frustration and desperation evident in her voice. Letting her fist collide with the earth beneath her feet, Kakashi's ceiling came crashing down.

Sakura… Kakashi tried to open his mouth, his eyes, anything to let her know that he was still alive. Why are you… here… Sakura…? His mind was foggy, darkness slowly creeping in as the cold hand of death washed over him. Her smell was a rich treat from the blood he had been intoxicated with for the last few hours. Strawberries… The sweet scent reminded him of home, a wave of comfort lulling him closer to the darkness.

The pressure around him was suddenly released, his body acting as if it were jello. With worried eyes Sakura cupped his face in her hands, "Kakashi," she whimpered quietly, her voice shaking as her emotions ran freely.

The warmth of her palms burned against his skin. Kakashi fought himself to stay awake, slowly opening his eyes. The sight of the woman in front of him quickly became ingrained in his memory. She had no gloves on, no boots, nothing to even resemble a ninja. Tears fell silently from her glistening emerald eyes as crimson blood painted her face. How…

Seeing life in him sparked a whole new reaction from the woman: her thick lips parting as a sigh escaped. She tried to force a smile, but the tears still ran freely. "Stay with me," her voice was shaky, her thumb caressing the mask that covered her face.

She's begging… He couldn't stay focused any longer, his eyes were fighting against him. You shouldn't have came… To see me like this… Though he hated the look of pure sorrow in her eyes, he was glad to see her there; to see any loving face before he died. As the cold grip of death tugged Kakashi closer to pure darkness, a sudden strength rose within him. With all the might he had left, Kakashi smiled, "I'm glad it was you," he whimpered softly. Surrendering to the darkness with Sakura in front of him was one of the hardest things he could of done; but with her there, death seemed a bit easier. Goodbye Sakura…

Warmth slowly spread through him, his senses being overwhelmed by a world that he had forgotten. With his skin slowly warming, his mind was able to analyze the situation even without the use of his eyes. The smells were unmistakable: the smell of dew on the grass, wildflowers reaching full bloom, cherry blossoms after the rain, and strawberries. Where am I? Kakashi questioned as he felt pain ringing through his body, I'm in hell.

Pain overwhelmed him quickly, a groan escaping his lips. The sound of movement quickly alerted Kakashi, he wasn't alone. Slowly opening his eyes, Kakashi felt the world stop. He couldn't see. His vision was dark and blurred, even simple shapes were distorted. Kakashi felt soft tentative fingers run over the top of his hand, also moving the object that he was laying against.

"Don't move too much," a familiar voice whispered quietly, full of warmth and comfort.

Thoughts raced through Kakashi's mind as everything clicked together, Sakura, how is this possible? Slowly lifting his head the silver haired jounin began to realize that the thing he was laying against was none other than the pink haired woman; her shoulder acting as his pillow.

"Please," she whimpered quietly, "Stay still… lay back down." The woman's voice was soft, pleading with him to stay as still as possible; which he quickly complied even if only to stop the pain. The silver haired jounin relaxed once again against the woman, the comfort of her body was suddenly confusing to him.

With his head placed in the crook of her shoulder, Kakashi enjoyed the smell that drifted off the woman. I've never been so comfortable, Kakashi thought to himself as the soft smell of strawberries almost intoxicating to him into a dreamlike state.

Sakura's emerald eyes softened as she looked over at the battered man as his breathing became heavy. "You're safe," she muttered softly, almost to convince herself. His hand was in hers, a soft glow from anywhere that his body made contact with hers. As they lay there in the silence of the secluded field, Sakura was healing him but by her simple touch. I could have lost you… Her mind began to wander, tears brimming her eyes.

Her eyes quickly tore away from him as someone entered the field. Emerald eyes sharpened into a dark glare as she watched the figure dart towards them. "Sakura-chan," Sai painted softly as he looked at her. His eyes widening as he looked at the state of the two. "What did you do?" He questioned in shock, noticing the large amount of blood staining her clothes, trying to avoid the obvious question in his mind. She's holding his hand.

Her eyes fell to the ground, running her free hand through the grass benieth her, "I couldn't control myself…" she whispered quietly. Sai's eyes widened, the woman was the pinical of control. "They're all dead," her voice was firm as she looked up into the man's cobalt eyes. "All his bones were broken; he lost too much blood… I was so scared Sai," she muttered softly.

Sai knelt down beside her, opposite of the sleeping Kakashi, and rested his hand on her shoulder. With the simple touch, Sakura's strong healing force ran through his body; his eyes widening in shock. She's shaking, her chakra's exploding inside her with the will to do anything to make him live. Sai smiled happily and leaned in, kissing Sakura's forehead, "I'll go ahead, take care of Kakashi-sensei." Getting to his feet, Sai felt Sakura's eyes on him, "I have to tell Tsunade-sama what happened, Sakura-chan, but I'll leave this part out."

A blush crept across her cheeks as she looked back at the man she had risked everything to save. "Next time, Sakura-chan," Sai started, quickly gaining Sakura's attention, "Don't leave without at least some of your shinobi gear… If anything would have happened on your rampage, Naruto-kun would have had my head."

A soft giggle escaped Sakura's lips as she realized how much trouble Sai would have been in for letting her leave the village alone. "I promise," she whispered. Kakashi began to shift beside her, tearing her attention from Sai. Sakura looped her under his, her soft fingertips running over the top of his hand. The more of him she touched, the more chakra she could put in to heal him. "Don't tell anyone, please, I just need to keep him alive."

Sai turned his back, a silent nod as his mind worked, "We'll talk about it when you both make it home." Looking over his shoulder, Sai gave her a real smile, "This is something I want to learn about."

Sakura blushed, unknowing why, but the man being so understanding of such a taboo moment was enough to earn her respect. "I'll see you back at the village," she forced a smile to comfort him on his return but even she didn't know if Kakashi was going to make it through the night.