Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Butterfly ❯ Freudian Theory ( Chapter 13 )

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters are not mine. I'm just writing the story for entertainment purposes (i.e. I'm bored so writing to kill time) and am not making any kind of profit off this.

A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all the reviews you've been sending, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, especially when people tell me that my story has influenced them in some way, be it uplifting a bad day, inspiring to read the Naruto manga or even changing the way you look at butterflies. This chapter is a bit of a filler chapter, you'll see what I mean when you read it but tomorrow I'll write a nice long confrontation chapter so be sure to tune in ^_~

Mint: sadist who loves to torture? Heh heh, as much as I hate to admit it (well not really) you've definitely got me pegged ^_~

Kayoko: I didn't know you weren't supposed to drink while injured…hmm, oh well, we'll just say it made the alcohol that much more potent for Sakura then. ^_^

Everybody: I look forward to your reactions to this chapter and for all you Kakashi fans, don't worry, there will be more with him in the next chapter or the one after (we'll see how it plays out). Hope you enjoy!

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The Butterfly: Chapter 13

By: Tea Leaf / Banana Soap

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He stared at the ceiling. Sunlight was filtering through the curtains over the windows in his room. She was still asleep. She was still curled against him.

He'd been awake for a long time now. He hadn't moved yet.

He'd had that dream again. The dream that spread from fantasy to reverse memories. It always started off with just she and him. That was his favorite part of the dream. That was the part that was fantasy.

In the dream they were always just so comfortable with each other, they knew each other. Real life had yet to put him into that comfortable groove with her. In real life he always felt unsure. He could never tell what she was thinking anymore and he had no right to ask her.

Then the dream shifted to the hospital. He hadn't been able to bring himself to go visit her there in real life. In the dream he was sitting on the bed with her as Tsunade told her about the three shiruken wounds on her back. The wounds he had helped create. And that always brought him back to that memory…the one that always woke him up.

It was the only time he'd ever felt afraid of her.

She'd jumped in between him and Orochimaru. She'd been protecting him again.

There had been butterflies. There had been an open cut on her cheek.

The butterfly had flown to it; the butterfly had gone into it.

An angry black and red pattern had spread out from the wound. The same crimson and black pattern of the butterfly's wings. The same crimson and black pattern that flared on Kakashi's skin every time she touched him.

She'd collapsed and bit her lip until she'd drawn blood, suffering some pain he didn't know of, and suddenly wings made of finely spun strings of red and blue chakra had grown from her back.

Her eyes had been pure black as she'd opened them and risen to her feet.

He'd been terrified; Sakura had morphed into some beautiful monstrosity before his very eyes. He'd felt the chakra emanating from her; it had not been unlike a demon's.

Then the butterfly had taken control of her body, he refused to believe that she herself would ever be capable of the violence with which Orochimaru had been attacked. She'd moved so quickly and suddenly that even that snake had not had the speed to react. She'd punched him right through the chest.

But as if the wound hadn't been enough, the pattern on her skin had leaked onto Orochimaru. He still had nightmares from the agonized screams that had ensued as a result of the poison that had coated her.

Tsunade had jumped in then and decapitated Orochimaru. But Sakura hadn't stopped. The creature in her mind seemed to think that Tsunade was now a threat as well.

In the blink of an eye, three shirukens had been embedded into her back between her shoulder blades. Thrown by himself, Naruto and Kakashi.

She'd been in the hospital for months. Tsunade had wanted to keep her longer and evaluate her for mental trauma.

She'd left without anyone's permission. Kakashi had found her the next day huddled on the floor of her bedroom in her family's house. She hadn't known her parents were dead.

Kakashi had taken her in and things had moved on but there had been a new tension. Sakura had become afraid of physical contact with other people. And to be honest, other people had all become afraid of physical contact with her.

Thinking back, she'd probably been lying to them when she'd said she didn't like to be touched. She'd probably craved it. She'd said it so that people wouldn't feel bad for avoiding coming into physical contact with her.

At the jounin exams, everyone who had been chosen to face her in hand-to-hand combat had forfeited, himself included.

Even now he still felt like a coward for it. She'd earned his respect. He should have faced her. But…he just couldn't at the time.

It had been so stupid. Kakashi had explained to them what had happened time and time again. His logical mind had known she was still normal but his body just couldn't accept it. Not then at least.

Now he could. Now a good portion of her bare skin was in contact with his, his hand was even resting over the scar her had give her.

But he worried that now might be too late. He closed his eyes against the memory of her hysterics at the hospital in the Cloud country when she'd been screaming that her skin was poisonous.

He'd helped create that belief in her mind. He'd treated her like it was true when he'd known it wasn't.

He'd helped cause this damage that ran so deep within her that it didn't have enough room inside of her and had risen to her skin, taking the form of the cobwebs of scar tissue on her arms. He suspected there were more all over her body but he had yet to see them and so his mind still fervently hoped that his suspicions were simply that, suspicions.

His arm unconsciously squeezed her a little closer to him. She winced and tensed, a soft sound of pain escaping her lips. He relaxed his muscles again and her breathing returned to normal.

He was pretty sure she would wake easily which was why he still hadn't moved. She needed her sleep. He half hoped that he would fall asleep again and she would wake up and he could simply follow her lead in how to react.

He didn't know how to react.

He'd been surprised to see and feel her there when he'd woken up, it had taken him a moment to think past his headache and remember the night before. She'd looked so vulnerable when she'd stopped at the door to the spare room.

He almost suspected she'd been afraid which is why she'd asked to stay with him. He certainly wasn't about to let his ego convince him that it was because she had wanted to continue what had started at the kitchen table.

Now that was a whole other can of worms. He decided to take the coward's way out and follow her lead over that as well.

There was a pounding on the front door. He winced as it echoed around in his head.

He decided to swear off tequila for a while.

He didn't move and she didn't stir. He hoped the visitor would take the hint and go away.

The pounding came louder this time and he almost groaned in pain as the knock resounded in his skull again.

She shifted slightly.

This simply would not do. The pounding was painful and was waking her up. It had to stop.

The pounding continued. She stirred again. The visitor wasn't going to go away. He had to get up.

He didn't want to. He'd come back after, hopefully she wouldn't even notice he was gone. He loosened her arm from around his chest and flattened the one she was lying on as best he could and slid out from the bed, again doing his best to avoid waking her.

Her outstretched hand clutched weakly at his as he slid away but as he kept moving it dropped back to the bed. She snuggled into the warm depression his body had left in the mattress. He smiled a little.

The pounding came again. He turned and scowled as he went softly down the stairs and wrenched open the door, receiving the fist that had been about to hit the wood in the face.

"Ah, sorry Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed as Sasuke scowled evilly at him and raised a hand to his now bloody nose.

"What the hell do you want? And keep it down!" he snapped, his voice raspy from dehydration as a result of the previous night.

Naruto grinned. "A bit hung over there Sasuke?" he said loudly.

Sasuke kicked him hard in the shin.

"Oww! Fine. I'm not here to waste time with you anyway!" the blonde snapped.

"Then why are you here?" Sasuke ground out.

"I heard Sakura was back but she wasn't at her old apartment and she wasn't at any of the inns. I was wondering if you knew where she is." Naruto responded.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, partly to stem the blood flow, partly out of annoyance.

"Yes I do know where she is. She's upstairs. Asleep." Sasuke answered pointedly.

"She is?" Naruto responded, his eyes lighting up with excitement as he pushed passed Sasuke before he could stop him and bounded up the stairs. Sasuke cursed and followed him.

Naruto froze at the top of the stairs.

Sakura stood in the hallway dressed in an oversized white button down shirt. Her long hair was a little mussed and her eyes were still a little drowsy.

Naruto grinned.

"Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed loudly as he rushed her, ignoring how she winced at the noise, and grabbed her in a huge bear hug.

She cried out sharply.

Naruto all but dropped her immediately, fearful that he had hurt her.

"Sakura, are you all right?" Sasuke asked as he came towards her.

"I'm fine. Sorry Naruto, my ribs are just a bit sore." She reassured the blonde.

Naruto smiled again then frowned at her.

"What happened? You should have waited for me to come back before you left! You shouldn't have left by yourself! You shouldn't have left at all! Why haven't you answered yet? What happened to you? Why are your ribs sore? Why is you leg bandaged? Why are you staying at Sasuke's house? Why are you wearing his shirt?!" Naruto questioned her mercilessly, not stopping long enough in his barrage to give her the chance to answer.

She frowned at him as his voice made her head feel like a bunch of mini people were mining in her brain. She clapped her hand over his mouth.

"If you would stop to breath, I would answer you." She responded coldly.

She held his gaze for a moment and removed her hand. He remained quiet.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I couldn't wait for you. I am not sorry I went alone. I am not sorry I left. I got into a fight and walked away a little worse for ware. I had nowhere else to stay. And I didn't have any clothes to sleep in. Satisfied?" she answered as she cocked her eyebrow.

Sasuke smirked from his spot behind Naruto.

Naruto pouted.

"No." he answered childishly.

"Tough." Sakura answered.

"Now, as great as it is to see you Naruto, I am still recovering from my injuries and my traveling and am very tired. Could I possibly take a rain check on this conversation?" she asked then, smiling a bit to coax him out of his pouty mood.

He mock considered for a moment.

"Fine!" he relented finally. "Come over for dinner tonight, Hinata's making ramen!" he suggested then with a grin.

Sakura's smile widened a bit, amused by Naruto's sudden switch from pouty to excited.

"Alright, I'll come over this evening and you can question me all you like." She consented.

"Now, may I please go back to bed?" she asked, mock-pleadingly as she stifled a yawn.

Naruto grin switched to a cute half smile.

"Yes you may." He answered.

She half smiled back at him and went back into Sasuke's room. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he turned his gaze to Sasuke.

"Stay out of it." he stated before Naruto could open his mouth.

Naruto settled for a glare. "For now." He answered and went back down the stairs. Sasuke followed him.

"You should come to dinner too." Naruto said as he reached the door. "I'm sure you want to hear her answers too."

Sasuke paused.

"Aa." He answered then and Naruto waved slightly as he took his leave.

Sasuke went into the kitchen and washed the blood from his hand and nose. He then found a pen and scribbled "GO AWAY!" largely on a piece of paper that he then taped to the front door before closing and locking it.

He turned away from the door and saw Sakura standing at the top of the staircase.

"I thought you were going back to bed." He stated.

"I intend to." She said as she continued to stare at him pointedly.

"What?" he asked finally.

"I'm waiting for you." She said, a little annoyed.

"Why?" he asked as he frowned in confusion.

"Look, last night was the first time I have been able to really sleep properly since Kakashi disappeared. So get back up here, if you're not tired, bring a book, and get back into bed with me." She ordered him.

He blinked. That had to be the oddest command he had ever received.

But then, he was still tired {and if Sakura is demanding I get back into bed with her, well, who am I to deny her?} his ego commented.

He shrugged and walked up the stairs and flopped back into bed. She removed his borrowed shirt and did the same, immediately curling against him again.

{Oh yes, I could definitely get used to this…} his ego commented smugly. He couldn't help it and he smirked in response. He was suddenly glad for his decision to follow her lead in this.

But she didn't notice, she'd fallen asleep again and soon he did the same.