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The Butterfly	By : tealeaf Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1742 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
Disclaimer: Naruto most certainly does not belong to me.
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A/N: Hey everyone, thank you so much for all the reviews
you�ve been sending me, they make me so happy and want to write more ^-^

To Ashi-chan: About the coffee, personally I�m actually not
that big of a coffee person. I react really strongly to the caffeine. I am
however a tea addict ^^ I figured that Sasuke would probably be a coffee addict
though which is why he�s always drinking it until he�s twitchy.

Sailor Tiamat: I know its been a while since you�ve asked
this and I�m sorry for the late response. I will attempt to draw Gaara, if it
comes out well, I�ll put it in my image gallery on mediaminer.org and attach it
to the fic.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy. The next chapter should be up
later tonight. Thanks again for the reviews and I can�t wait to read more ^_~

~~~

The Butterfly: Chapter 22
By: Tea Leaf / Banana Soap

~~~

She didn�t notice. She was too absorbed in the reality of
the moment. There he was, alive and well, chatting with Naruto, Gai and
Tsunade. Catching up on the two years he�d missed in the form of random
anecdotes and political movements.

Everything seemed to have this hazy glow around it,
everything felt so surreal.

Finally Tsunade looked at the clock and announced that it
was currently 3 o�clock in the morning so she had to go home and get at least a
little bit of rest. Naruto spazzed, remembering that Hinata would be at home
alone and worried for him and about the operation so he had to go see her.
Kakashi had smirked. Gai had declared he had to leave too, he had promised Lee
some early morning training.

She moved out of the doorway, allowing the three to pass as
they all waved to Kakashi and promised to visit again the next day. She stayed.

Sasuke got the distinct feeling that he was intruding again.

She still hadn�t moved towards him, she was still watching.

Kakashi made slightly strained conversation with Sasuke,
centering mainly on his work with ANBU until they couldn�t really think of
anything more to say and the silence stretched in the room.

She looked up at Sasuke. That uncomfortable feeling that had
been growing in the pit of his stomach grew heavier still and he knew he had to
leave. So he sighed and reluctantly took his leave telling her that he would leave
the door unlocked.

She�d smiled at him and he�d left.

The silence still stretched as she continued to simply look
at him, that soft look still on her face, coloring her eyes and her small
smile.

He was comfortable just looking back at her.

This was a common ritual for them; they didn�t really need
to talk and were perfectly comfortable just enjoying the other�s presence.

Finally a grin broke across his face. �Yes, I am really
here.� He told her, guessing the cause of her dreamy look.

She blinked, then grinned, then laughed as she suddenly
rushed him, jumping onto the bed and hugging him tightly.

�Welcome home.� She said.

He hugged her close, re-familiarizing himself with her
texture, her weight, her scent.

�This is for you.� She said as she handed him the package
she�d been holding.

He opened it. The first thing in the bag was a book, Come
Come Paradise Volume 5.

She grinned as he blinked at it and sweat dropped slightly.
�Thanks.� He said, half sarcastically.

She chuckled. He pulled the second thing out of the bag; it
was a photo album.

He looked at it
questioningly.

�They�re pictures I�ve been taking for the past few years of
things I thought you might like to see.� She said a little shyly.

He lifted an eyebrow with curiosity as he opened the book
and smiled slightly at the first picture. It was the one of team 7 after they
had all passed the Jounin exams. The next few pages were photos of highlights
from both Naruto�s and Sasuke�s battles.

�Why aren�t there any of you?� he asked as he looked through
the book.

She looked down.

�Everyone forfeited so I didn�t have to fight. And even if I
had, there wasn�t anyone else to take the pictures.� She answered him with a
forced smile.

He frowned but let it go and continued turning the pages.
More pictures of Naruto showing off some new skill. He continued to flip,
pictures of Sasuke�s try-outs for ANBU.

�How did you manage to watch the ANBU tryouts? Those are
closed to the public.�

She smiled mischievously. �Tsunade helped me sneak in.�

He smiled slightly and continued to turn the pages, there
were a few of various places that she said she had visited on missions.

About halfway through the book though, those pictures
ceased. He�d considered asking, but she�d looked a little strained so he let it
pass. He continued to flip through; there were pictures of everyone but her.

He flipped through to the end, enjoying her commentary for
the various images. Finally he got to the last one and looked at it. It seemed
familiar but different; he couldn�t place why he recognized it.

�That�s the view from the bar over the bridge that you
always showed up on whenever we met there.� She said softly.

He smiled a little, only she would ever think of taking a
photograph from that spot.

He looked at it for a long time then closed the book and set
it aside to look at her again. Her eyes were shadowed and she was watching him
intently, as if expecting something from him.

He raised his eyebrow.

�You said you would tell me what had happened to you after
you woke up.� She reminded him.

He frowned.

�When did I say that?� he asked, confused.

She frowned back.

�When I was unconscious�you came and told me I had to wake
up and then I asked you what had happened to you and you said you would tell me
after you had woken up.� She said.

He continued to frown, it was impossible that he had done
any such thing but if she wanted to believe it, he�d let her. So he shrugged
and leaned back against the pillows, attempting to stifle the yawn that crept
up on him. He was so tired. He didn�t have any stamina left at all, just
talking with her and flipping pages in a book left him feeling drained.

�You know what, you can tell me later.� She said as she
watched him force the yawn back.

His lips twitched at the corners gratefully as she stood up.

�Going home?� he asked her.

She hesitated slightly.

�I am home.� She answered, looking away from him, and turned
off the lights before curling up in one of the chairs and watching him.

He patted the spot beside him in the bed. She uncurled
herself and crawled under the covers, snuggling up to him, to his warmth. He
was warm again.

~~~

He stared at the ceiling. He was tired but he couldn�t
sleep. It was sunrise and she hadn�t come back yet.

He was sure she wasn�t going to come back.

~~~

And she didn�t. Not that day, not the next, not the week
after, not two weeks after. She didn�t come back.

He didn�t see her. He hadn�t gone to the hospital. She
hadn�t come to the house, sending a nurse instead to get some more clothing for
her.

He was going out of his mind; he had to get away for a bit.

So he threw himself on the �mercy� of the Hokage. She�d been
in a vindictive mood, still stinging from him having skipped out on duty that
day�

So she�d sent him on a particularly grueling mission that
required espionage, assassination and diplomacy and would probably take him at
least a month to complete.

~~~

It was amazing how quickly he was recovering. With only two
weeks of physiotherapy and already he could walk around if he used a pair of
crutches. He could also do five one-finger pushups with his own weight.

She had to laugh at him though, he was so frustrated. He
thought he should be far more recovered than he was.

She hadn�t left his side in the past two weeks. She�d
drowned out anything that had suggested she should. He needed her to be here
and so she was.

This was where she belonged; this was where she was supposed
to be.

But still, deep down, she felt unsatisfied.

He glanced at her from the weight training equipment he was
working with. She had that faraway look on her face again, that shadow in her
eyes.

He sighed, three years was a long time. She�d changed.

~~~

�Sakura, may I speak with you?� Tsunade asked from the
doorway to the room. She looked up from her book then over at Kakashi who was
still asleep and nodded.

She stood up and moved into the hallway.

�What is it?� she asked.

�I just thought I should let you know that Kakashi is fit to
return home, provided of course that you are to stay close and keep and eye on
him and help him continue his physiotherapy.� She began. �His old apartment has
been reopened for him and his things that were in storage are being moved back
there as we speak. Also, Sasuke has been sent on a mission and will be gone for
the next month so I hope you have a key to his house so that you can collect
the rest of your things.� The older woman told her.

Her eyes stung slightly.

{He left?}

She blinked and nodded.

�Yes, I do.� She answered.

�Excellent, I suggest you gather your things now. I�ll stay
here with Kakashi,� Tsunade told her before walking into the room.

Sakura nodded numbly and walked down the hall towards the
door as Tsunade settled herself in a chair and picked up the copy of Come Come
Paradise, Volume 5 that had been on the table beside the bed and began to read.

~~~

Her feet were dragging. She didn�t understand it. Why was
she nervous about going to houseouse, especially if he wasn�t even there?

Because he wasn�t there.

She stood on the doorstep for a long time, just looking at
the wood.

Finally she sighed and reached into her pocket for the spare
key he had given her and opened the door.

The hall was dark and cold. The kitchen was immaculate. The
stairs were silent as she walked up them.

She went into the spare bedroom and gathered the few things
she had left on the bed and shoved them into her old backpack.

She looked around the room. It was like she�d never even
been there.

She left and her feet turned against her will and took her
into his room.

The room was clean, the bed perfectly made. Like it always
was.

Her rebellious feet took her to the bed and she ran her hand
over the dark blue comforter.

She cast one last look around the room, her eyes frowning
when she spotted a worn photograph on the table beside his bed.

It was full of crease marks and water stained. She picked it
up. It was the picture that had been taken of all four of them after he had
returned to the village.

She set it back down and turned, and ran, practically flying
out of the empty house.

~~~

The move went smoothly and the month passed quickly and
easily with very few points of interest.

The only real event was Gaara returning home to introduce
the now adopted Mika to his siblings. They hadn�t said much to each other. Mika
had still been afraid of her.

She�d felt like the most horrible person on the planet. It
hadn�t been enough that her whole family had been killed because of her, she�d had
to go and traumatize the child even more.

She�d been half relieved that Gaara had been taking the
little girl far far away from her influence.

He hadn�t really wanted to leave her, something had been off
about her ever since that day she�d seen Mika hold the butterfly. But she
hadn�t opened up to him about what it was, he was pretty sure she wasn�t
consciously aware of the presence.

And so he�d left, returning to the desert, dragging a
promise out of her that she would come to visit soon.

The only really interesting bit of news had been Kakashi�s
report on the elimination of the Akatsuki. The long and short of it had been
that a few members had tried to escape during the battle and he�d gone after
them. He�d been outnumbered and overpowered.

Just when he�d about to be killed, butterflies had flown out
of nowhere and started landing on his opponents. They�d all been killed.

A butterfly had landed on a cut on his arm and that was the
last thing he�d remembered.

Gossip had spread that Sakura had sent the butterflies to
protect him.

The truth was that they�d followed the scent of her blood on
their own whim. The truth was that that was all they had ever done. The truth
was that they had never been under her control.

They still followed her every now and then, fluttering to a
window ledge of Kakashi�s apartment or following her around if she was in the
woods.

But still, it wasn�t her they�d cared about. It was her
blood. The one unique ability she�d had had been a fake all along.

She�d ignored the numbness that had grown with the
realization. The same numbness she�d been fighting off ever since she�d found
out that Sasuke had left. She let herself drown in Kakashi�s presence and
recovery.

He was making amazing progress. He still wasn�t able to
really fight but he could walk on his own and even run for short periods of
time and could now do 200 one-finger pushups on his own, and 30 with her as
extra weight.

He�d encouraged her to start training again as well and with
the pressure of the promise she had made to Lee, she�d returned to honing her
body for the sole purpose of standing around and looking pretty seeing as she
had resigned as a jounin and Tsunade wouldn�t send her on missions even if she
hadn�t.

Lee still pretended to go all out with her but she could see
straight ugh ugh him. She didn�t bother calling him out on it though; there was
no point.

And so life settled back into the familiar, remembered
patterns of three years ago. But still, she felt something missing and she
cursed him in the middle of the night when she still couldn�t sleep even though
Kakashi was with her. She cursed him when all she had to occupy her mind was
worry for him. She cursed him when she could barely move past the weight of her
heart when she became aware that he wasn�t around her.

She spent the month cursing him. She spent the month hating
him for doing this to her again.
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The Butterfly