Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Butterfly ❯ The Space Between ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are copyrighted to its creators etc. In other words, not mine.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who's reviewed the past to chapters and special thanks to Kayoko for the beautiful butterfly wallpaper she made for the story (which is up here: http://muss.cis.mcmaster.ca/~mokah/thebutterfly1024.jpg and for those on FF.net, the link is in the comments from the april 21st entry in my livejournal anotherstraycat) and for the comments about the last scene in chapter 10. I agree and so chapter ten has been modified. Also thanks to Mint for the luck on my exam, it went great ^_^.

In random news, I picked up the first two mangas of Alice 19th, the latest NA release of Watase Yuu (creator of Fushigi Yuugi and Ayashi no Ceres, both are all time favorites of mine) and it is awesome! I love Frey, he's so funny! It has a few of her trademark plot moves but its really really good and funny and I highly recommend that everyone else go read it.

Okay, on with the new chapter, it's a shorter one but I think it turned out pretty good. Oh, and the song "Motorcycle Drive By" is by Third Eye Blind (whom I also love…) Also, the memory Sasuke refers too was written in a deleted scene that's in my LJ in case there's anyone who can't wait for it to be explained later in the story. Anyways, enjoy and remember to please review, I live for feedback ^_^

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The Butterfly: Chapter 11

By: Tea Leaf / Banana Soap

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She sat across from him, her left leg was raised and her foot rested on the seat. She was resting her chin on her knee as she leaned against the widow that was on her left side. Her left arm, heavily bandaged, was curled protectively around her stomach. Her gaze was empty as she watched the land speed by through the blur of the rain smashing against the glass.

She'd been like this ever since the doctor had let her see Kakashi again. She'd touched his face again and this time he'd been able to see what happened. As soon as her skin had made contact the crimson and black pattern that covered the wings of the butterflies that followed her around had flared across the comatose patient's skin. The same pattern that had covered her skin--- but her cut that memory off before it surfaced. That memory still gave him nightmares.

Kakashi was in another car with a nurse. She had wanted to sit with him but the hospital denied her, they didn't trust the reaction he had to her. And so she was here and he was sitting across from her.

Now that he'd found her, he didn't want to let her out of his sight.

She'd regained some weight during her stay at the hospital but she was still too thin. He made sure she ate every meal.

Her infection had subsided but the doctor had prescribed some antibiotics just in case seeing as her health was weak at the moment. He made sure she took them twice a day.

He looked out the window.

Her eyes shifted over too him as he brooded across from her. He was making her feel like some helpless child in need of a caretaker.

Why he thought he should be that caretaker was beyond her.

His dark eyebrows were drawn together slightly, shadowing his coal black eyes as he frowned at some sight outside or some thought in his head.

Idly she wondered what he was thinking. She couldn't read him anymore. Not that she'd ever been very good at it but at least back then she'd felt like she new him.

She barely recognized him anymore. Not that he really looked all that different. He was bigger certainly, more heavily muscled, more prominent features but his hair was still about chin length and spiked in the back while his longish bangs still helped hide his face and his eyes were still as troubled as always though perhaps they were less focused now.

But then the ANBU mask resting on the seat beside him and the uniform that covered his body reminded her that he was very different. He didn't wear the Uchiha symbol anymore.

She didn't recognize him because she simply didn't know him anymore. She was pretty sure they hadn't said more than a few short sentences to each other since he had returned to the village four years ago. Their last conversation was one she'd rather forget.

He looked back at her and she held his gaze, for a brief moment she was vaguely curious as to who he had become over the years. But she was just too weary right now to ask. She looked back out the window.

He sighed inaudibly, he'd hoped for a second she'd say something. He was surprised how little she actually spoke now. He supposed she had been like this for a while, he simply hadn't noticed until now.

There were a lot of things he hadn't noticed about her.

She looked the same, now more than ever seeing as the only clean and undestroyed clothing she had left was her green shorts, mesh tank top and red and white cover dress.

This dress was different though. There was no with circle on the front, it had been removed and placed within the one on her back, creating a target that zeroed in on that spot between her shoulder blades where he knew that scar still disfigured her skin.

Her hair was loose. It had been washed and brushed. It shone faintly in the dim lighting. It was longer than it had ever been before. He liked it long.

Her face was impassive, her gaze unfocused as she stared blindly and silently out the window. He followed her example.

The silence stretched as time passed them by. It was dark out. It was night. The rain was finally letting up. They were approaching the border.

He hadn't noticed when, but at some point he had fallen asleep. He'd had no dreams; it had simply been deep oblivion.

But now a soft sound was pulling him awake. He opened his eyes just barely as looked across from him.

She was still staring out the window; she didn't appear to have moved at all. Her eyelids were half shut and she looked like she was the closest she was likely to come to actual sleep.

She was humming ever so softly. The sound barely escaping on her breath.

The tune sounded sad but it was an accepting kind of sad.

He opened his eyes fully. She didn't notice. She wasn't really aware of anything. He was pretty sure she wasn't even aware she was humming.

"What song is that?" he asked, his voice wasn't a whisper but it wasn't much above one either.

"It's called Motorcycle Drive By." She responded in the same tone before continuing.

He was surprised; he hadn't expected her to answer, especially not so readily. He wondered if it had something to do with that glazed look that told him she wasn't exactly awake.

"What's it about?"

"It's about a guy who's in love with this girl and he's always known it wouldn't work but he got involved anyway. And when it fades, he's not surprised or angry, he's just calmly accepting of it. He'd known it would happen all along." She answered.

He nodded slightly.

"I like it…" she continued.

His eyebrows raised slightly, he hadn't expected her to volunteer anything more than he asked.

"It's a sad song but it doesn't make you feel sad. You almost feel happy because by the end of it, he's happy." She continued softly.

"What happens at the end?" he asked.

"He dies…he drowns in the ocean." She answered.

The silence stretched for a moment, he felt that she had more to say.

"They say drowning is the most peaceful way to die." She said softly.

He didn't know how to respond and he felt that pain squeeze his lungs again, the same one that had seized him when he'd seen the scars on her arms. Something in the back of his mind was mortally offended that she had ever felt the need to learn about peaceful ways to die.

"If you could chose, how would you like to die?" she asked her voice seeming vaguely hesitant as she continued to look out the window with those glazed eyes.

He frowned, some part of him again offended by the subject. She shouldn't be thinking of ways to die. But he didn't want her to stop talking so he thought for a moment before responding.

"Asleep in my bed as a very old man." He answered finally.

She smiled.

She actually smiled.

It was her soft, secret smile. The one she used when her thoughts were confirmed so accurately it was almost funny.

"I thought as much." She said in a soft and wispy voice. "A suiting revenge against your brother."

He frowned at her, now feeling vaguely defensive.

"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.

Her smile crumbled and her eyes shifted downwards slightly.

"I'm sorry. Forget I said anything." She answered, her voice and eyes losing that dreamy quality.

She was silent then.

~~~

It took them four days to get from the north of the cloud country back to the heart of the fire country on the train. The rest of the trip had been spent in silence. Never again did he catch her in that dreamy state; never again did he hear her humming some soft and melancholy tune. He never saw her actually asleep either but he figured she must have because though the faint bruises remained under her eyes, they never worsened.

They disembarked at the station closest to the Konoha secret village and were met by several of the leaf shinobi. He had sent a messenger ahead of them to ask Tsunade for assistance.

Kakashi was set on a stretcher and carried between two of the nins. Four ANBU guards escorted Sakura. He walked beside her.

It was a full day's walk from the train station to the village.

She didn't say a word the entire way nor did she look anywhere but the ground or the sky.

They were admitted to the village at sunset, Kakashi was brought straight to the hospital.

Sakura froze at the gates and looked ahead.

A small, vaguely shameful smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she spotted Gaara there waiting.

Again, his insides had clenched tightly and he'd had to fight off the glare that wanted to be aimed at the sand nin.

Not that Gaara would have noticed though, his green eyes were glued to Sakura's.

He felt vaguely sick.

He left her there and headed to the Hokage tower, she obviously had no need for his presence.

Her eyes shifted to Sasuke's back as he walked away and she sighed softly.

Back in the village for not even a minute and already he was back to the same old habits.

She walked towards Gaara.

"Sakura nee-chan!" came a small voice from behind Gaara's leg.

She looked down and her heart leapt into her throat as her green eyes met the large brown ones of the gypsy child.

She crouched down. "Mika-chan?" she asked quietly, half afraid she was hallucinating.

The little girl ran to her and threw her arms around Sakura's neck. Wonderfully real arms. She hugged her back tightly.

"Mika-chan was worried" the little voice came from its muffled source at Sakura's neck.

"Is Sakura nee-chan ok?" she asked as she looked up at her and examined the older girls face with watery eyes.

"Yes, I'm ok. Are you ok?" she asked then.

The little girl nodded.

"Gaara nii-san has been with Mika-chan." She answered as she looked up and over at Gaara.

Sakura looked up at him too and frowned slightly in confusion. He shrugged vaguely and she turned back to the little girl.

"Mika-chan, what happened?" she asked, unable to word the request more specifically.

Luckily, Mika understood her.

"The man were mean to you. And they hit you. And Mika-chan cried and tried to help but Mummy stopped Mika-chan. Then Sakura nee-chan falled down and stopped moving and Mika-chan was scared. But then the pretty flutterbys came and the man all falled down." She said.

"Pretty flutterbys…you mean butterflies? What butterflies?" she asked as she frowned.

"Those flutterbys." Mika responded as she pointed a small hand over Sakura's shoulder.

Sakura turned to look and froze.

There it was. A large crimson and black butterfly. The pattern glared angrily at her, reminding her that she caused that same pattern on Kakashi. The poisonous pattern.

She hadn't seen one for weeks but then she remembered why. The rain. Butterflies couldn't fly in the rain.

The butterfly fluttered to Mika's outstretched hand. Sakura's instinctively flew up to knock it away just as a sudden apparition of sand did the same. The butterfly backed up, surprised.

"Why did yous do that?" Mika said with a pouty frown and tried to reach for the butterfly again.

"No Mika, you can't touch those butterflies, they're dangerous." Sakura said sternly as she grabbed the little girl's hands.

"No theys not! Theys touched Sakura nee-chan and Sakura nee-chan not hurt. They touch Mika-chan too and Mika-chan not hurt." The little girl exclaimed.

Sakura was stunned at the comment and the hand restraining the girl went limp. Mika took immediate advantage and reached for the butterfly again.

Thankfully, Gaara's sand reacted without his conscious thought and again the sand barrier blocked the butterfly.

"Mika, please don't touch those butterflies." He said gently as he crouched down beside her and Sakura.

"Okay…" the little girl consented as she moved from Sakura's limp grasp and wrapped her arms around Gaara's neck. Gaara held onto her with one arm as he stood and offered the other to the still shocked Sakura.

She grasped it limply and he helped her to her feet but didn't let go.

"Come on, you should go see the Hokage." He told her.

He took in her injuries as she stood and frowned slightly. But now was not the time to question her about her various bandages.

He tugged her along gently as he carried Mika, keeping his pace slow so that Sakura could keep up easily despite her bandaged leg.

Sasuke froze as he stepped out of the Hokage tower and saw them. Hid gut clenched again and that iron band around his lungs squeezed tightly.

The looked just like some happy family.

He was too far away to see Sakura's expression but he pictured her smiling at Gaara and Gaara smiling back at her. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

He turned and left.