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Take My Pain Away	By : CandyElly Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1854 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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
- 3
- 4
- 5
Yay! Plot begins and Elly is very happy and excited to
write now! ^^ And yes, I know Sakura�s birthday is inaccurate. My apologies
but I didn�t put two and two together until now ><;

I wish I got more reviews, but I don�t really know how to
advertise my story even. Just stick it on ffnet and affnet. I posted it on a
mailing list or two but they all seem completely dead and I could tell I got no
hits from them. Speaking of mailing lists, I�m missing the good old days when
GWML got started!! I fear those good days of fandom are over ;_;
Any suggestions for advertising my fic? elly@princess.co.jp
^^ Thanks!

It was the same old bridge they had been meeting since she
was first appointed a Genin. It was also the same old bridge that Kakashi had
been late arriving to since she was first appointed a Genin. It was 9am, where
was he? Even when she moved the time backwards he was late! Really now, she was
fairly certain his only reason for doing it was to keep up his reputation.

The only thing the extra wait did was give Sakura even more
time to think, and she didn�t need that. The weekend had been pretty
uneventful and it seemed like all she did was think and train. She had dinner
with Naruto on Saturday and he was upset that she was leaving�he was more
upset that he hadn�t been assigned the mission though. Sakura simply told him
that he had got to try to get Sasuke back the first time, and now it was her
turn. She would gladly given up her position to him had she been able to.

With a poof Kakashi appeared next to Sakura. Judging by the
suns position it was around 10am. Well it wasn�t his worst�she had to admit
that.

�Sorry, I overslept.�

Sakura nearly choked, �Wow a logical excuse, the world
may end.�

Leaning over, Sakura grabbed the bag she had packed with
her necessities and several changes of clothes. It wasn�t too heavy, she
hadn�t required very much. Her usual training outfit would do most likely, but
she did pack some clothes for a cooler climate. It was almost December after
all.

�I figure we would stop at Otafuku first.� He spoke,
taking initiative in the mission. Sakura didn�t argue as it matched up with
her idea perfectly. Otafuku was a logical first stop. After all, the city was a
hotspot for gambling, boozing, and underground crime. Sasuke might not have
seemed the type but they were sure they could pick up some sort of leads. They
highly doubted he had settled in a cabin on the countryside.

They traveled for hours in the treetops with only short
rests. Nothing was really rushing them, but they didn�t see any reason to make
the trip to Otafuku leisurely either. They had made it many times before for
various missions and it was nothing special anymore.

It was nearing around 6pm when Sakura felt as if she could
not move any longer. The sun was beginning to set and they were still a good
half-day from the city. She knew Kakashi could keep going but she didn�t think
she could last another half hour even if they slowed the pace. Her legs had
began to hurt hours ago and at this point they were beginning to numb.

�Kakashi, can we stop for the night? It�s beginning to
grow dark.� Sakura voiced over to her comrade.

He nodded in agreement. He had been waiting for her to say
something; he was actually quite surprised that she had made it this far. His
path changed directions as he lowered towards the ground to scout out a spot to
build camp for the night. There was a river near by, he could hear it, and he
made his way over.

Sakura nearly collapsed as she sat down on the forest
floor. Her legs were so weak and she knew she had overdone it. Optimally she
should have stopped over one hour ago.

Kakashi eyed the girl near him and noticed her obvious
fatigue. He silently blamed himself for not checking her stamina as they were
traveling. It had been a while since they had traveled such a distance together
and last time she had only made it six hours before needing a lengthy rest. It
had to be noted, however, that she had improved greatly in many areas from what
he had witnessed.

After starting a fire and catching some rather skinny fish
Kakashi settled down at the camp with Sakura. The weather was quite chilly once
the sun set behind the forest, and Sakura unpacked the small blanket she had
brought along with her. They both sat at the campfire in silence. Kakashi had
been quiet today and Sakura could not gather why. Nothing had happened over the
weekend and she couldn�t possibly imagine that anything would be bothering
him. She was probably just worrying too much�they were both just exhausted and
that was that.

�Hey, Kakashi?� The quiet was killing her and she
craved to strike up a conversation with he man across from her.

�Yes?� He looked up from the fire in her direction. She
had wrapped the blanket around her with only her pink head of hair popping out
of it. How cute�

�I know why you�re always late.�

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, wondering what had brought this
topic up.

�You know you don�t have to worry about your reputation
with me.�

He smiled. She had him figured out after all, �Maybe
I�m trying to make an impression.�

�I believe you had made one on me a while ago.� She
smiled in his direction, not understanding the true meaning of his statement. He
just returned her smile, not taking the conversation any further.

Several minutes passed in more silence until Sakura spoke
again, �Kakashi?�

�Hm?� He said, this time not looking up. The warmth on
his face felt too good to sacrifice. A blanket had been one of the only things
he forgot to pack.

�Have I changed?� Sakura asked him bluntly.

Well now he had to look up�she seemed to want a serious
conversation, �Changed?�

�Just in general, have I changed? Not appearance�but
me.� Sakura spoke as she pulled the blanket in tighter around her. This was a
product of all that time spent thinking over the weekend.

�All three of you changed. You�ve matured, Sakura. I
think you left Naruto behind a few years ago in that department, even if he did
improve some.�

Sakura laughed, �I suppose I did.�

�And there is no judging to what extent Sasuke has
changed, since he seemed to quit speaking.�

�He changed.� Sakura replied.

�I don�t see how he couldn�t have.� Kakashi
mentally noted Sasuke�s return from Orochimaru�s and how different things
had been since then. He could never tell what was going on in the boys mind
since he was back. What he did to Sakura, though�Kakashi wouldn�t have
thought him capable of it.

�We�ve all changed. But still, there is something that
bothers me.� She made eye contact with the man across from her, noticing he
was shivering slightly. Ah, the fool didn�t bring a blanket! She
suddenly felt bad for him.

Kakashi didn�t say anything in response�he politely
waited for her to continue without edging her on. Sakura hadn�t spoken
seriously with him in a long while, not since she had become Jounin.

�Look at Naruto, he still dreams to be Hokage. Sasuke
still dreams for revenge. Hinata and Neji dream for peace in their family. I
mean, even Ino has dreams.�

�Dreams are a common thing that drive us.� He replied.

�Yes, but�� She remained silent for a few seconds,
�I don�t live for a dream anymore.� Her voice was beginning to get a
little weak as she made the confession. She didn�t want to cry, she had
promised herself that she wouldn�t. �Back then I lived for Sasuke�he was
my dream.�

Another short period of silence passed between the two
ninjas as the glow from the fire illuminated their surroundings in the dark of
the night.

�But as I grew up I realized he wasn�t worth my dream.
Since then, I never found another. I don�t dream for peace, I don�t dream
for a title. Everyone I know has a dream, yet I don�t.�

Kakashi was giving Sakura his full attention, yet he was
still shivering from the cold. She nodded for him to move over to her and
unwrapped herself from the blanket to make enough room for two. He obliged,
scooting his way to the opposite side of the fire without standing. They sat
close, their legs touching, and she covered the two of them with the blanket.

�I don�t have a dream, either, Sakura.� Kakashi
admitted. The warmth was beginning to sink into him more and he fought the urge
to move in closer to her.

�You don�t?� She was surprised.

�All my dreams have been ripped away from me.�

�How do you keep going? Why do you keep going?� Sakura
could see the pain from his last statement turn into confidence as he spoke his
reply.

�I may not have a dream, but I have a purpose. That
purpose alone is enough for me to keep waking up everyday.� He looked at her,
his one visible eye turning up into a smile. �I said I would protect you,
didn�t I?�

Sakura was speechless.
A slight skip in her heart was caused by his statement, making her feel
dizzy. He lives for me? No, I must be misunderstanding�

Neither one of them spoke again�they didn�t need to.
Their friendship had an unbreakable bond after his admission. Sakura honestly
didn�t think Kakashi had been that alone. She had imagined him with many hopes
and dreams, always surrounded by people to live and fight for. How ironic that
in the end he had no hopes and no dreams�and his only reason for fighting was
to protect his former student.

The two Jounins lay back on the forest floor, side by side,
and let the night take them into sleep.

In sleep lay the only dreams they had.

They had woken up early, around daybreak, and packed up
camp to move on. Sakura could now see the outline of Otafuku ahead.
It would only be another hour of traveling and they could check into a
nice hotel and have a nice warm lunch. They both felt refreshed from the sleep
they had the night before. It had been the best sleep Sakura had had in weeks
even if it had been on the cold forest floor. Neither mentioned the words that
had passed between them the night before�but even still, Sakura felt a closer
bond to her former sensei as they traveled this morning.

It was around noon when the two arrived at the gate to the
city. They quickly passed the guards after showing their papers and headed
straight to an inn. Tsunade had not made any reservations for them; she hadn�t
even made out a plan. She had simply handed them some funds and told them to use
their intuition and do their best. There was no doubt that Tsunade was as lost
as they were on where to find Sasuke.

Kakashi decided on an inn located in the heart of the
nightlife district. Sakura would have preferred one a little bit away from all
the nightlife, but she didn�t complain. It was pertinent that they do
everything they can to find information about Sasuke, and if staying in one of
the busiest hotels in the city would help them, then they would do it. Higher
traffic meant more chances to find leads.

The clerk at the desk was a busty blonde that eyed the
couple, spending an obviously longer amount of time inspecting Kakashi.

�What? Are you trying to undress him?� Sakura snapped
at the woman behind the desk. She found the woman downright blatant and rude.

Kakashi turned his head with a raised eyebrow to look at
Sakura. He had known the woman was looking at him, but he hadn�t expected
Sakura to even pay any mind to it.

The woman tossed the keys on the desk and huffed at Sakura
while turning her back and walking away to the back room. Kakashi grabbed the
keys and lead the way to the two adjoining rooms he had checked for the both of
them.

The rooms weren�t too shabby. Sakura�s had a window
overlooking the busy street below and Kakashi�s was no different. Each was
furnished with a simple full sized bed and dresser. The closet space was
lacking, but at least they didn�t have to share a bathroom. Sakura had not
stayed in many hotels with private bathrooms, she considered this a luxury!

Sakura unpacked her things as Kakashi did the same in the
next room over. Once finished, she opened the door to the balcony that
overlooked the street below. She was surprised to find that Kakashi and she
shared a single balcony. The rooms were only two floors up, if somehow they
managed to find trouble they could easily escape this way.

There was a click of the other balcony door opening as
Kakashi stepped out to join Sakura. He observed their location and took the same
mental notes as Sakura had.

�I suggest we go ahead and get started. It would probably
be best for us to split up.� Kakashi offered.

�Where she would start? And how should we go about doing
this?�

�Well I brought two copies of photographs taken about a
year ago, if someone has seen him then these should strike a memory.� He
reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a photograph to hand to Sakura.
Without even looking at it, she shoved the photo in her pouch. She hadn�t
wanted to look at it�there wasn�t a purpose yet.

Sakura had to be honest with herself and admit that she was
slightly disappointed that they were splitting up so soon. She had traveled to
this city before but she was nowhere close to knowing her way around. In
worst-case scenario she could still handle herself if she found herself in a bad
part of town�but she enjoyed Kakashi�s company and was not ready to separate
yet.

This is a mission, Sakura! Not a vacation. Her mind
reminded her.

�Meet back for dinner?� Sakura suggested. �7pm?�

Kakashi nodded, �Yes, and we�ll relax for the rest of
the night. Now let�s get going.�

Sakura was on her way back to the hotel after six long
hours of absolutely no progress. There had been a prostitute that had
practically swooned at the photograph. The woman had even offered Sakura money
to sleep with the guy in the photo. Sakura mentioned something about letting her
fuck him for free if they ever found him.

The bars in this city opened their doors at noon, so Sakura
had visited a few of them as well. No one hassled her for being under age,
unlike they would have in Konoha. She had made her way into a few bars she would
have been better off not visiting. At first appearance her leaf headband was not
noticeable holding back her hair, and many took her to be a girl who didn�t
know any better. After being grabbed once by a drunken man she had broken his
finger when he tried again. Needless to say the bartender wouldn�t help her
out in identifying the picture of Sasuke.

Sakura pulled open the door to her hotel room after
fumbling in her pouch for the key. Kakashi was sitting on her bed waiting for
her.

�Oh my god, you�re on time.� She playfully looked as
if she were going to faint.

�What can I say? I�m trying to make an impression.�
Kakashi grinned at her under his mask. Sakura felt a blush rise to her cheeks
and quickly turned her head so that he wouldn�t notice. He still noticed, and
his grin remained plastered on his face for a few seconds longer.

�Hungry?� He asked Sakura as she sat beside him.

Sakura nodded in affirmation and fell back on the bed.
�Any luck on leads?�

�No, but there are still some places I would like to
check later. Also I believe we should stay here at least through this weekend. I
learned there was a festival in town. What about you?�

�Broke a mans finger, found a prostitute to fuck Sasuke
when we find him, and found absolutely zero leads.�

Kakashi laughed, �Sounds interesting. Tell me over
dinner.� He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him as he stood up.

They decided on a semi-nice looking restaurant near the
hotel. Sakura ordered a dish of tako suno mono, an octopus and vinaigrette dish.
Kakashi settled for some udon and over dinner they spoke of future plans in the
mission.

It was decided that if after one week in Otafuku there were
no leads, they would move to the next city over for a few days. As soon as they
left the country they would need to be wary and possibly disguise their
identities as ninja as to not arouse suspicion.

Following dinner they arrived back at the hotel. Kakashi
had offered to show Sakura a bit of the nightlife but she had declined. She felt
weary from the traveling they had done earlier. He admitted to weariness too and
decided to retire at the same time as she. They would be in the city for a
while, there would be plenty of time to live in the night when they were more
rested.

The neon lights from the nightlife below made it quite
difficult for Sakura to relax and drift off to sleep. Even after pulling the
curtains tight she found the room still illuminated by the fluorescent pinks,
greens, and blues. Every few seconds a scream or holler from the street below
would invade her not so silent room. This would take some getting used to.

Sakura glanced at the clock next to her bed. 1am. She had
been lying in the stiff bed for over three hours now without being able to
sleep. It led her to think of many things and her thoughts not surprisingly
eventually ended up on the things said last night.

/I have a purpose. That purpose alone is enough
for me to keep waking up everyday. I said I would protect you, didn�t I?/

His words echoed in her mind as she lay there staring at
the wooden ceiling of the hotel room. No one had ever said anything like that
before. Her parents had shown the normal love and affection but outside of her
family no one ever considered her dear to them. She had held many dear, but all
her efforts at building relationships were usually shot cold�mainly by Sasuke.

She hadn�t even been trying with Kakashi. Not once had
she pursued their friendship. She used to believe that it was necessary to do
special things and to buy special gifts to maintain a friend�s opinion of
her�but she had not done that for Kakashi. She had not done that even once and
he still thought more highly of her than anyone ever had before.

Her thoughts drifted from their friendship to his
body�mainly his face. She may have put her curiosity aside for a few days, but
it was definitely still there.

Tonight was one of those nights where her curiosity would
get the best of her. Sakura removed her covers and stood up from her bed,
quietly walking over to the door that connected their rooms. Ever so carefully
she pushed the door open, not making one sound.

Maybe he�s sleeping without it. Sakura grinned to
herself in anticipation.

She tiptoed into his room after squeezing through the small
crack she had made with the door. Making her way to the side of his bed she
looked at his face�

�to see that dreadful mask.

Sakura silently cursed her luck and then decided her silent
trip to his room was not all in vain. As she looked at his sleeping face she
noticed how the neon lights fell on his sharp features. His arms were bare and
rested above the covers�she took in the sight of the formed muscles with a
breath.

Wow�

The way he looked right now�.she had never looked at him
like this before. Always it was as a superior, even though he was a friend. But
they were of equal status now, both Jounins. Here he lay in front of her,
completely vulnerable, his hair falling onto the pillow and over his eyes. His
eyelashes were long and thick, she fought the urge to reach out and touch them.
Sakura now realized why he was so popular with the ladies� laying like this he
seemed almost irresistible.

�I knew I couldn�t trust you � I had hunch you would
come try to take advantage of me in my sleep.� Kakashi slowly opened his eyes,
smiling at her.

As shocked as she was at being caught, she couldn�t
speak. The red glow of his sharingan captured her attention and she found
herself unable to break the gaze he held her with. She barely noticed as his
hands grasp her sides and pulled her down onto the bed. She fell asleep there,
looking into his eyes�not even knowing where she was. Gently, he took her
small body into his firm but gentle arms and carried her back to her room.

Looking into his eyes there, she saw the cherry blossom
trees. She saw herself smiling�dancing�with many dreams to live for.

It�s so hard to stop writing! I want to keep going and
going�but I have to set a stopping point somewhere or I�ll end up writing
throughout my classes, lol.

Thank you everyone for reading! Please review ^-^v
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Take My Pain Away