Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ We Shall Meet Again ❯ No late excuses ( Chapter 2 )

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No Late Excuses

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The sun crept out from the eastern horizon, breaking away the heavy morning mist.

Sakura shivered a little when a sudden cold breezed through her. She lifted her hand and rubbed it up and down on her cold arm.

Damned those Anbu uniforms for its lack of fabric.

Sakura carried this particular complain ever since the first day she got her uniform. She will never look nice in it. She had always preferred her Chounin uniform.

Unlike her, Kakashi looks good in his Anbu uniform. She likes the way his thin but firm body enwrapped tightly by the slender fabric.

The expression on Sakura's face warmed up when the thought of Kakashi crossed her mind. Her lips curved into a small smile. Her emerald eyes glinted with small sparkles.

Suddenly, a small frown crept its way on to her face.

Kakashi should be home yesterday night. His mission should have ended by now.

Yet, look at whom we are talking about.

Hey it's Kakashi. He used to be late. He was never on time.

Sakura chuckled. She shook away the heavy feeling in her heart.

In the end, Kakashi will be walking in the front door with some lame excuses of him getting lost in the path road of life.

Sakura had been so immune to all of his little late excuses.

She shook her head. Kakashi was hopeless in being on time. Sakura had gave up trying to fix this little...hmm not so little bad habit of his since he had showed up late even on his own wedding.

She remembered what Ino had told her when she was on the verged of sending a few kunais into Kakashi when he arrived an hour late for their wedding ceremony.

“Hey, forehead girl. Look at whom you are marrying. Hey it's Kakashi. It's not any other normal guy. It's him! So, no point of blowing your head off with his...mmm habit. It's your Kakashi, girl. Ah...Hmm...At least he is only late for an hour this time. Haha improvement isn't it.”

Since then, she had learned to tolerate with this little habit of his.

“AWW! NOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOO!”

A distance cried pierced through Sakura's mind, bringing her out of her nostalgia.

Sakura managed to register it with Ino's voice. She, Ino and a few other Anbu members were on their routine of carrying out early patrol around the Konoha grounds.

Oh no!

Sakura clasped her hand over her mouth.

Something awful must have happened.

Sakura sped up, heading towards Ino's direction.

She slowed down her pace when she saw Ino kneeling down with her hands on her face.

“Hey Ino-pig! What's wrong? Are you injured? I heard your cry. What happened?”

Ino flinched and turned her head quickly. Her eyes were wide with fear when she saw Sakura. She crawled up with all her might and walked towards Sakura with shaky legs.

“Ss…Sa…Sa…Sa…kk…” < p>“Hey Ino, calmed down. Now, breathe slowly and talk.”

“No...Saku...ra. This shouldn't be happening. No.”

Sakura looked at Ino with confusions. Ino was shaking her head with tears flowing down her face.

This is not good. Ino seldom cried.

“Ino loo...”

Before Sakura could finish her sentence, Ino jumped on Sakura hugging her tightly as if Sakura was her only hope for survival.

“THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! BOTH OF YOU DON'T DESERVE THIS! THIS IS UNFAIR! UNFA...IR!”

Sakura was dumb folded by Ino's sudden out burst.

What on earth had happe...

Her own thoughts were fading away. Her hands were loosely wrapped around Ino absent-mindedly.

Voices around her seem to fade away.

All the big old trees around her seems to fade away.

Her gaze was burned on the only thing she could see.

She saw.

No...no! This is not true! Kakashi promised me to come back to me. This was some sick joke. No!

This can't be happening! No! No!

Tears began to flow freely downed Sakura's face.

Ino looked up at her. There was no other expression on Sakura. She looks as if she was shocked by a gen-justsu. Can't move. Can't hear. Can't talk. The only thing she could do was to see.

“Hey Ino! What is happening here? I heard your cry just now?”

Ino turned to the sound seeing Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikimaru running towards her.

Naruto halted at his track abruptly when he took in Sakura's shocked form.

“What the hell is go...”

“Oh no. Oh hell no!”

Naruto, Sasuke and Shikimaru were frozen to the ground by the scene presented infront of them.

Kakashi was leaning on a tree. His face and body were covered with dried crimson. He sat in a pool of his own blood. A few kunais stood out from his hands. His headband was beside him on the cold earth. His mask was down. One of his hands was grasping tightly at a necklace on his neck. A contented smile played on his bloodstained lips.

Both Naruto and Sasuke knew clearly about the necklace history. They were there in Kakashi's house celebrating his thirty-fifth birthday when Sakura gave Kakashi her present.

“NO! KAKASHI! THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! THIS IS NOT HOW IT IS TO SHOW US YOUR DUMB ASS FACE!”

Naruto shouted with all his might as he proceeded to the front, ready to charge on to Kakashi's cold body, shaking him awake, waiting him to tell them this was one sick joke of his.

Yet inside Naruto's mind he knew this aren't any jokes.

“Naruto! Stop! It's OVER!”

Sasuke pulled back Naruto to his side.

“NO! IT'S NOT OVER! DIDN'T HE PROMISE US TO SHOW US HIS FACE BEFORE HE DIES? HE IS A BIG FAT LIAR!”

“Naruto, he had fulfilled his promised. Look! He had showed us his face.”

Sasuke whispered words sank into Sakura's messed up mind.

Her hand began to tremble.

So this is it huh, Kakashi. How much had you struggled and suffered to come back to me?

“Y...ou... ”

All people were startled by Sakura's voice.

All of them turned and look at her. Worried began to slip on the grieved faces. They had forgotten about Sakura.

“You...are wrong Naruto. Ka...kashi is no liar. He promised you to show him his face. He did. He pro..mised me to c...ome back to me af..ter th..e mission. H...e did...”

With her last word, Sakura slipped out from Ino's hold and passed out.

“SAKURAAAA!”

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Sakura stood alone in front of the memorial stone.

Brushing away some pink locks from her face, she kneeled down and placed her hand on the cold gray stone.

It had been two days since the village did a ceremony for him.

Everyone was grieved stricken. All have their own sorrow to deal with. Many wounds in the heart needed to be mend.

Sakura ran her fingers on a particular name. A name freshly engraved on.

HATAKE KAKASHI

So, Kakashi. In the end your name appears on this stone, along with all your comrades and family. I remembered you telling me this is the life of a shinobi should ends up to be.

Kakashi, I will not shed tears for you anymore.

Could you see my smile now? I knew how much you loved seeing me smile.

Kakashi, are you watching over me now?

If you are, I have wanted to tell you...

Thanks for loving me, Kakashi.

Thanks for everything.

Our memories.

The bitter and sweet.

I will savor it till my last breathe and let it go.

From then onwards I knew I won't need it any more because we will be creating and sharing new memories together.

Kakashi, I knew this was not the end.

This will not be forever.

We shall meet again sometime.

Did I ever tell you how much I had loved hearing you calling out my name?

I loved the way you hold me, the way you looked at me, the way you kissed me, the way you played with my hair.

I loved everything of you, Kakashi.

Thanks for coming back to me.

I knew you had gone through a hard way in order to return to me.

Thanks, Kakashi.

I love you.

We shall meet again.

This time, you better not be late.

No late excuses will be accepted.

For once, you will have to wait for me.