Chapter Thirty One

Two hundred and forty three days...

Eight painful months fused together feeling like just hours since the reapers had invaded the leaf village, it was another day where people lost their life's but it was also the day Sakura's life was shattered as she was left inside the familiar shadow of death.

Sakura sat behind her desk; a whiskey tumbler rested in her right hand as her forehead leaned on her on the back of her dominant hand. A headache pounded against her skull as her eyes remained closed, her eyebrows furrowed together.

Sakura reached her arms over her head stretching her muscles. The cool air blew across her skin as she breathed out with her heart pounding from her workout. Sakura reached down picking up her water bottle, she turned her head seeing a few men quickly advert their eyes. Kakashi moved towards Sakura in a fluid motion, his hands in his pockets as he reached her side. Sakura looked up her face twisted looking lightly agitated as she took in Kakashi's closed eye expression.

"Did any of these men give you trouble?" Kakashi questioned looking down at Sakura's outfit choice.

"No-" Sakura rolled her eyes feeling the dark aura radiating off him as he glanced back to the group of men who quickly scattered, "-you marked your territory so hard they are too scared to come near me."

"Fantastic." Kakashi remarked turning to look at Sakura's knee length leggings and sports bra. "We need to have a conversation about your clothing."

"My clothing?" The pinkette muttered to herself confused.

Sakura shook her head opening her eyes as she did so, it was so still inside her house she could hear every rain drop that beat down on the roof. Neat piles of folders and assorted unfinished papers littered her desk as well as her laptop.

"Come on." Kakashi repeated for the twelfth time, he leaned against the door staring at her.

"I'm almost done." Sakura replied sounding annoyed at being rushed.

"You have been here all day." Kakashi reminded,

"Yes." Sakura acknowledged Kakashi's use of telling time.

"You need a break to eat and get some rest-"

"I am fine Kakashi, if you want to go ahead I will-"

"I'm not leaving here without you." Kakashi crossed his arms over his firm chest. Sakura groaned turning back around to her laptop. Kakashi knew if he did then she would get caught in one thing after another and before she knew it morning had arrived, and she would have gotten no rest. "This will be here in the morning for you."

"Kakashi-" Sakura turned having enough of him telling her how to do her job. "-go home and I will be there later."

"No." Kakashi stated, kicking himself off the wall as he closed the space between them. "You're coming home with me."

"Who the fuck-"

"I say so." Kakashi cut in.

"I'm not going anywhere until this is done."

"Do it in the morning."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes, your coming home."

"No, I am not."

"Yes, you are."

"Are you going to fucking force me?"

"If I have too."

"Fucking make me then-" Kakashi's hand covered Sakura's mouth muffling her words.

"Trust me darling, that is a sentence you don't want to finish." Kakashi warned, she pulled her head back out of Kakashi's grasp with hard eyes.

"Why is-" Kakashi leaned to whisper in her ear,

"Because then I will throw you on this conference table and show you." Kakashi's voice sent shivers through her body as his hands gripped both her arm rests.

Sakura shook her head tipping the drink back as she slammed the remaining scotch that rested inside her glass. Her body felt numb as she lifted herself from the chair leaving her study as if she could escape the unwanted memories that was flooding her head. Lost in thought and a blur to the world Sakura didn't notice the boxes that littered the floor, she tripped over one.

"Son of a-" She muttered catching herself, she sighed feeling her tight muscles as she looked around her living room at the stacks of creamed colored boxes. Sakura ran her fingers over the top of the nearby cardboard box, she opened it pulling out a used make out paradise book. She sat on the floor next to it and opened the book to page one.

After Sakura took over planning out Kakashi's funeral, and when it got through the village that he and her had been engaged she was then deemed his next of kin. She was cut a check by a man in a suit, Kakashi was an outstanding shinobi who took on a lot of S-Rank missions, he was probably one of the wealthiest shinobi in the leaf village. Sakura didn't want the money; she didn't need it what she wanted was him. That same man in the monkey suit told her she had to deal with his affairs such as his apartment.

Sakura licked her lips recalling the pain that almost had her on her knees when she walked into his apartment after three months of being declared fallen in battle. Tsunade had stepped up and helped Sakura pack up his apartment in the middle of the night, Sakura didn't want to see Raiden or Carver; she didn't want to hear their pity or listen to their sympathy. The pink haired shinobi didn't know what to do with his belongings, Kakashi was a kind man who would have probably of liked to known his worldly materials were donated to people who needed them but that isn't what Sakura did. She packed his apartment up in boxes and moved them to her house. Sakura's reasoning for this was because she was busy and didn't have the time to go through what should be kept and what could be given away.

Sakura sighed as she placed the book beside her on the floor as she leaned against the wall. The truth was she couldn't get rid of his things because to her he didn't feel dead, the concept that he was truly gone still couldn't register inside her head for some reason as she played mindlessly with the ring on her hand.

After two hours of drifting between memories Sakura poured herself another drink of Kakashi's favorite scotch and began to move all the boxes into the empty room where his bed had been migrated. After stacking the boxes, she crawled between his sheets wearing one of his shirts as she went back to reading the famed book he loved so much.

Sakura growled pulling the sheets off her body and getting up from the empty bed, it was looking like another night of no sleep for her as she moved into her exercise room pulling up the sleeves of his large shirt. Sakura jumped onto a treadmill and began running trying to blow off steam and clear her head, then maybe she could get a few hours of sleep.

The heaviness inside her chest clinched as she turned the machine off her heart pounding, heat collected around her skin as she clenched her eyes shut tightly, her hands gripping her skull as tears pressed against the back of her eyes. Her blood boiled at the thoughts scraping the side of her head she wanted to see him again, she desperately needed to feel his hands on her soft skin even if it was just one last time. She opened her glossy eyes wishing to see his unmasked face, but she had no pictures and a foggy memory of him due to being inside the waterfalls training ground.

Sakura moved to exit the room.

She shook her head; how could she have been so naïve? How could she have allowed herself to get so close to him? How could she have fallen and gotten so attached to a man like Kakashi? Where did all those years of training go to stop this from occurring?!

Sakura slammed her hand into the wall, it crumbled into pieces as her eyes glowed from the anger filling her body. The rage ignited the blood pumping through her veins mixing into what felt like lava burning her, she felt the need to set the world on fire and bathe in the ashes.

All the sweet words he whispered to her in the middle of the night as they laid together echoed her head as she gripped her skull willing his memory to leave her be! He died, Kakashi was dead why couldn't the imprint of his presence he left with her go with him!?

Sakura cried out, tears spilling over her eyes against her will as her legs gave out, she fell to her knees as she held her chest feeling the sharp blade death leaves behind on the living. Sakura felt like a rug had been pulled out from under her feet, she was left confused and her mind spinning. She shook her head as the realization of Kakashi's death circled around her. How could Kakashi go and get himself killed and leave her all alone?

She was just starting to get use to him, she was getting use to crawling into his bed late at night after a long day and sleeping in his strong arms. Sakura was just getting use to the feel of him in her life and the safety he made her feel. She was getting used to being loved by him...through all her years on a battlefield, all the scars she endured through, none of that compared to this pain that engulfed her being and Kakashi wasn't here to get her through this agony.

The front door opens opening Sakura's eyes as she pulled herself to her feet, her hand twitched praying it was another soldier who had come to try and collect her job. She had a lot of rage racking up inside her and she would love nothing more than to express it.

"Sakura." Kaguya smiled, Sakura's face showed she unpleased to see it was only her.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura questioned.

"I was informed that the reports for the new incoming soldiers had not been finished, you were supposed to do that yesterday."

"I have been busy."

"Doing what?"

"None of your fucking business. I have an idea, why don't you do something for fucking once and do the fucking paperwork yourself." Sakura snapped, Kaguya nodded her head knowing Sakura has had a short fuse the past few months but didn't understand why.

"I spoke with Tsunade of the Leaf."

"You did something for once?" Sakura laughed, "Fucking shocker."

"You have been...snappy since you returned from defending the Leaf Village from the Reapers."

"What the fuck is your point?"

"Tsunade told me Sakura...about Kakashi Hatake." Kaguya examined Sakura's body language as she noticed her muscles tense at the sound of his name. Kaguya felt herself nod, finding the root of Sakura's anger. "I had no idea you were in a relationship."

"My love life is none of your fucking business, so tell me why you are here or get the fuck out." Sakura spat out.

"It's going to be ok." Kauya nodded.

"What?" Sakura shook her head confused.

"I'm here to take the pain away."

"What?" Sakura repeated not understanding, she snapped her head down feeling a circle of chakra being drawn around her. "What is this?" Sakura sneered in Kaguya's direction.

"I am going to take the pain away." Kaguya repeated with a motherly smile, Sakura didn't understand until the circle glowed, and a pressure pushed its way inside Sakura's head. Sakura quickly held her head as she cried out falling to the ground. "It's all going to be ok." Kaguya repeated as she gazed down into Sakura's anger coated eyes.