P.O.V Sakura Haruno
Deep under the leaf village were hidden tunnels and passages, it was also were they kept their prison where they housed the hardened criminals waiting to be transported to blood prison, which was a fun loving facility funded by all the villages where they could all drop their unwanted problems in a permanent time out.
I never allowed the waterfall village to deal with this place simply because we always killed the trouble makers instead of shipping them off to a building where they would spend the rest of their miserable lives wasting away, I never saw a point in this waste of money and resources.
Inside the leaf village's prison were a few of my favorite kind of rooms, they had four interrogation rooms, each with a secret room hidden behind a two-way mirror to watch the show. Tsunade, Itachi, Naruto, Dawn, Diem and I all stood staring through the dirty glass at the man chained to a metal chair inside the other room.
"So, what now?" Naruto questioned looking around at everyone.
"You said you wanted in on this?" Tsunade turned to Dawn who instantly turned to me.
"I need a favor." She said,
"What kind of favor?" I asked not turning from watching the sky village's commander, "The fun kind with toys or-"
"Your kind." Dawn sighed at my sarcasm. "I want you to take the first crack at him."
"Oh?" I was generally surprised I didn't have to fight Dawn and Tsunade to let me tag along, I figured they would tell me to go sit on a couch, rest, read a book, or maybe question all my life choices but no...here they were asking me to take first dibs, why?
"You're still the best interrogator I know, and we don't know what this guy and his little band of misfits had planned for the Leaf Village or for the Fire Nation. Hell, for all we know we could have simply scared them off and they are running towards another village getting ready to hit them hard." Dawn quickly explained, I nodded in response to her words.
"Are you sure that's..." Itachi trailed off unsure if me going in there was the best thing right now.
"No backsies." I called already opening the door.
"Sakura-!" Itachi hissed as I let the old metal door slam shut behind me, I sighed taking in a deep breath, filling my lungs and quickly exhaling before entering the room with the commander of the sky village.
I felt his eyes graze me as I walked in, shutting the door I took a seat across from him.
"So-" He was fast to talk. "-the rumors are true then?"
"Rumors?" I questioned with a tilt of my head.
"Yes." He nodded, "You, the Reaper, has returned from the dead. You yourself was spat back out from the depths of hell because even they didn't want you lurking around."
"Ah-" I nodded, "-those rumors."
"You probably weren't even dead, were you?" He leaned in, "You can tell me you know; we are both Commander's here."
"Mm." I said, "I was dead."
"Ha!" The commander laughed, throwing his head back as his chest shacked with amusement. "No way-!" He said lowering his face, his eyes held tears in them. "-were you...?" He trailed off trying to read my blank canvas of a face. "Ho-How?" I leaned back against the metal chair; it did not take long to convince this man of anything.
"What are you?" The commander questioned leaning closer as if to see me better.
"I don't fully think you understand the situation your in." I smiled leaning on my arm watching his stiff movements.
"I understand completely." The man said with a sleek nod of his head, "I am sitting before the infamous Reaper of Reapers, it is said you were born in the blood of the damned so when I heard you returned to the land of the living well...seeing you crawl your way from the shadows of hell shouldn't really shock me, now should it? I don't fully even believe your human."
"This is a lot of talk about me." I nodded; my eyes glowed in their Christmas wreaths, but I wasn't going to allow this man to see my eyes. I wanted to poke around inside his head without him knowing I was here. The longer my eyes were active the harder my head pounded, I wanted to get in and out without a fight.
"Nothing inside this room seems to be more interesting than discovering one of the biggest mysteries this side of the century and that my dear, is you, Reaper."
"Are you trying to sweet talk your way into not dying tonight?" I questioned lightly amused.
"Can you blame me?" The man across from me asked, "I have never seen a picture of you through out these years. Anyone who has ever had the displeasure of encountering you has never lived to tell their stories, yet your name had swept through every village and you placed fear in the hearts of every villager-" He was a charmer, and knew how to paint sparkly words, too bad he wasn't smart enough to know I was swimming through his head. "You must have killed thousands Reaper. Your hands must be saturated in red and yet I cannot get over just how gorgeous you are."
"Well aren't you just sweet like sugar." I commented, keeping him distracted.
"I bet you melt hearts like water-" He flashed a yellowed smile. "-but what I find the most alluring thing about you right now, is the fact that this isn't even your village and yet I can almost see the embers burning inside your chest."
"Oh?" I replied.
"You have always been a wild card Reaper, you're the Commander of one village but you fight for-"
"Your wrong there." I pointed out,
"Huh?"
"I am not the Commander of the Waterfall Village." I said,
"W-What?" The man nervously laughed, "Of-Of course you are."
"No." I shook my head, "I died, my title was given down to my second in Command. So, you're sitting in your little chair there, believing that the laws between the villages will keep you safe while sitting across from me, the reality of your situation is your sitting across from the Reaper of Reapers with nothing but my sore arm preventing me from tearing your vocal cords out and shoving them back down your throat."
"I-I know-"
"You know nothing." I said, revealing my brightly lit eyes to the commander. He gasped realizing I had been letting him chat away without a care in the world, it was easier for me to get what I wanted from him.
"I have leverage-"
"Your useless." I said allowing my eyes to flicker back to their emerald shade.
"I am not-"
"You're the Commander of the Sky Village, but much like the Waterfall village anyone can challenge you for your title. Unlike us however-" I said leaning back in my chair, "-you don't have anyone watching your back, should you fall ill or become injured you won't be searched for, you won't be missed and you will be instantly replaced."
"How-How do you-"
"I read your mind while you tried picking me up and stared at my chest. It honestly doesn't surprise me your assault on the Leaf Village failed with you in charge of it."
"My village would have succeeded if you and you Waterfall-"
"No." I shook my head, "The Leaf Village would have been able to fend you off, it may of taken them longer without me or Commander Dawn and Diem here but they would have defeated you either way."
"No-"
"When you were captured I know you were automatically presumed dead, all your attack plans will change, your camps will be moved, and you have no idea which rock your people have crawled under."
"I-I" He stuttered, his face flushed with soft reds.
"I could let you go-" I muttered more to myself, "-if you find your people they would either kill you or shun you away due to them already believing you'll do everything in your power to stay alive."
"No!" He gasped out, hear echoed through his eyes.
"Good thing it isn't up to me." I smirked.
"H-Huh?"
"I am not the Commander of the Leaf or Waterfall. I don't personally give a fuck what happens to you and I don't have to care-" I explained as I rose to my feet. "-my job was simply to make sure you didn't still pose a threat to the Fire Nation." I moved to the metal door.
"What about me?!" The ex-commander cried,
"What about you?" I asked confused.
"What is to become of me?!" He questioned and I shrugged.
"I am not going to be the one to kill you where you sit if that is what you're asking." I answered, "Your blood isn't worth being on my hands."
"Reaper!" The ex-commander shouted as I exited the room, my body felt drained of all energy having used my eyes for far to long today.
"Sakura!" Naruto called coming from the observation room.
"Did you get all that?" I breathed looking at Tsunade who nodded.
"Yes, thank you."
"So-" Dawn cut in, "-what about the rest of the Sky Village? Do you think they are going to be a problem?"
"Yes-" I answered, "-but that guy isn't going to have any useful information on getting a step ahead of his village."
"Damn." Dawn and Tsunade breathed together making me smile a bit.
"Hey!" I turned along with my small group seeing Carver and Raiden moving towards us,
"What the hell!?" Raiden whined, "Why did you guys leave us with all the work!?"
"Uh..." I trailed off, "...I don't live here?" I shrugged.
"Why not!?" Raiden huffed.
"You look exhausted." Carver noted looking at me.
"Thanks." I said, "You look picture perfect too."
"Well this has been fun and all-" Diem groaned as he stretched, "-but we should get heading home. You know, we have a village to run and stuff?"
"Yeah." Dawn agreed looking just as tired as I did.
"Sakura!" Diem shouted, "Beam us home!"
"Nope." I said.
"Huh?"
"I can't."
"And why not!?" Diem whined, "I want to raid Finn's stash, take a shower and crawl into bed!"
"I can't use my eyes." I shrugged, "I over did it."
"Dammit! Itachi-!"
"I can't either." Itachi breathed, "I overused my sharingan during the battle, I need a nights rest before I am able to use them again."
"Are you freaking kidding me!?" Diem cried to himself, "We are stuck here!?"
"Oh yeah-" Naruto muttered, "-make it sound so terrible..."
"We don't mean it in a bad way." Diem sighed, "It's been a long fight, I want to go to my home, in my warm bed ya know?"
"Yeah." Naruto smiled, "I can understand that."
"We don't even have any money!" Diem gasped holding his face as he turned to Dawn, "I forgot my wallet in my room!"
"Sakura why don't you stay the night at my place?" Carver offered, I nodded happily accepting.
"Hey!" Diem said holding his arms extended and his chest puffed out.
"I was getting to you!" Carver sighed looking up at the dark stone ceiling. "Calm down, you're so dramatic!"
"I am not!"
"You really are, sometimes you make Raiden look mature."
"I am mature!" Raiden butted in as we slowly dragged ourselves to exit from the underground tunnels.
"See what you started!?" Carver snapped at Diem, I smiled closing my eyes...I had missed them.
----
The first few drops hit my skin, already relaxing my tense muscles I sighed out in relief leaning against the cream-colored shower for support as I allowed the shot water to burn trails along my sensitive skin.
Itachi and I both had overused our eyes and were unable to transport Dawn, Diem and myself back to the waterfall village. Carver offered us to crashed inside his apartment, which I thought was sweet but sadly he only had one bathroom to offer and with everyone feeling grimy from the fight, I was borrowing Naruto's shower.
I opened my eyes, feeling a stinging pain on the left side of my head. I really must have over done it today, I reached out shutting the water off. My body groaned as I moved from the shower into the steam stuffed room as I began to dry my hair and get dressed. I wanted to remain inside the burning water, but I knew Hinata and the others would want to wash up, so I couldn't use all the hot water. I wasn't that much of an ass.
Hinata lent me a pair of her purple baggy pants, a tank top and socks to wear for the night. I brushed my long hair and awkwardly braided it with my sore arm behind me to get it out of the way. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, my right forearm was wrapped in a clean gauze.
"Hey!" I looked up from staring mindlessly at the floor, Naruto and Raiden stood from the tan couch.
"Hey." I replied with a tilt of my head, "What are you two doing?"
"Waiting on your slow ass!" Raiden flashed a grin.
"Why?" I questioned; I didn't need a babysitter.
"Your still in recovery-" Naruto started to explain their presence but his words annoyed me, I was tired of being told I was 'in recovery'. "-we just wanted to make sure you were ok being in here alone."
"I can shower-" I sighed,
"You're tired." Raiden stepped into the conversation, "I don't know about Itachi but I know you, I know what happens when you overuse your eyes."
"I am fine." I groaned out.
"We know." Raiden smiled, "We are here just in case, you taught me that it's always better to be safe than sorry."
"Don't use my words against me." I waved him off with my hand.
"Then don't teach me important life lessons." Raiden chuckled.
"Where is everyone?" I questioned as I picked up my bag holding my uniform.
"Hinata and Carver went to get some food." Naruto answered, "They should be getting back any time now."
"I see-" I muttered as they followed me out the apartment into the hallway, "-what are they getting-?" I wondered looking over my shoulder to watch them answer. I was too busy watching Naruto laugh and Raiden look annoyed when I was told Naruto convince Hinata to get takeout from ichiraku ramen I didn't realize I wasn't watching where I was going until I ran into a moving body.
"Sakura!" Naruto caught my hand before I fell backward into the hallway's wall. I recovered quickly turning to see who I had ran into, but my eyes widened as my stomach soured making me feel like vomiting. Hanare shook her head as she sat on her ass, her plastic white bag filled with assorted foods rested on the ground spilled around by our feet.
"Oh, I am sorry!" Hanare slowly stood, "I suppose I wasn't watching where I was going and-" I watched Hanare as she shambled an apology together, she wore a red tank top with a yellow long sleeve crop top over it with jeans.
Hanare had a fit hourglass figure, a strong jaw line with flawless skin and small nose. Gazing at her now, after the shock wore off, I could see how she would catch Kakashi's eye. Her hair had curls laced through them and was pulled into a messy bun, long strands of her hair fell to freedom from the white hair tie holding her locks back.
"Commander?" I looked into her deep brown eyes,
"Hm?" I hummed casually.
"I asked if you were alright?" Hanare smiled with her full lips, my mind was a twisted bitch as she thought about how those lips kissed Kakashi like how I used to.
"Fine." I answered dully wishing I could use my eyes to vanish from this encounter.
"I'm glad." Hanare's smile reminded of a peaceful Lily pad, "I was worried, I heard you were injured and Commander Harun-"
"It's not Commander anymore." My voice was flat, but I couldn't sum up the motivation to flux my voice into anything else except sounding pissed off.
"O-Oh?" Hanare blinked, she reached up brushing her loose strands behind her ear when the light reflected off her wrist. My eyes snapped to the delegate chain wrapped around her fair skin, my heart squeezed seeing his clan's charm hanging off the silver chain.
"That's-" Naruto gasped from behind me, giving me no choice but to believe that this was my reality, this woman who was known to be calm like a trickling river was wearing the bracelet Kakashi gifted to me the Christmas before I had died.
"That bastard recycles!" Raiden harshly muttered under his voice, I looked away from her wrist and then into Hanare's confused eyes.
"Nice bracelet." I said, turning onto my heel without waiting for Naruto or Raiden to follow. I opened Carver's door moving through it only to feel my heart jump into my throat.
"Sakura, what are you-" Raiden gurgled his voice to a halt seeing Kakashi standing inside Carver's apartment. The two of them were casually talking as Hinata was setting out take out boxes on the coffee table next to the couch.
"Hey." Carver turned seeing me and my stone face, he looked from Kakashi and then to me. Clearly Carver thought I would be in the shower longer than what I was. Kakashi turned as well, his hands casually resting inside his pockets. Why did he have to look so good doing absolutely nothing?
"Sakura-" Kakashi nodded at my presence, my heart skittered around as I felt an aridity of different pain and joy seeing him pump through my chest filling the cavity so tightly, I felt as if I might burst under his foreign gaze. "-good to see your-what happened to your arm?" I wanted to believe I heard the tone in his voice change from his casual laid back composer to sounding generally worried for my well being, but I knew I was fishing for something that wasn't there.
But I knew then staring at his masked face, feeling stunned frozen inside my own body that I couldn't do this. I couldn't see him and not be able to touch and feel him, I couldn't watch him live his life with another girl no matter how peaceful and good for him she may be and if that makes me a selfish person than so be it. I wasn't strong enough to watch him love another woman when to me just last week he was sleeping with me, I was the one sleeping in his bed, I couldn't do this...
I needed mercy.
"There you are!" Hanare's voice entered the room through the open door, I looked away from her as she casually walked up to Kakashi's side, she had the audacity to act like she belonged there. With her added into the mix of people watching me and looking around the apartment I felt like I was being backed into a darkened corner.
I knew I stood inside the familiar place Carver and Raiden made into a home, I knew the people around me were the same faces I missed every time I left this village while commander of the waterfall village but even knowing all of that, I didn't understand why the hell this place felt so cold and unfamiliar.
"Hey-?" Naruto placed his hand on my arm, I snapped my eye towards him. His face displayed all his emotion like an open pop up book, he was always the worst at masking what he was feeling.
"Well this has been fun-" I faked a smile, trying to ease the distress expression along his handsome features. "-but I am going to bed." I said sounding like a joke turning away from the group, using my tone to camouflage the fact all I wanted to do right now is bolt out the door and not look back.
I crawled into Carver's still bed, pulling the blankets tightly around me as if they could compare to his warm embrace. I buried my face into the pillow searching for a shred of comfort I use to feel when lying beside him as tears unwillingly flooded my eyes.
It wasn't fair to Naruto, Carver and the others and I knew this but there was nothing I could do to fix the fact that when I thought about the leaf village, I automatically thought of him. I thought about the memories I was burnt with, memories that I couldn't erase and didn't want to because I still loved Kakashi. When I thought back to all the time, I spent with him it made me so happy, but I died, he moved on and I can't be simply be friends with the man I pictured spending the rest of my life with.
I couldn't stop the hope from flourishing inside me every time I looked at him, hope that he would just look into my eyes and everything would go back to how it was before I was taken away by Malachite. This wasn't fair to myself or to my poor heart that felt like it was on the edge of a cliff about to shatter at any second, but I needed to just get to over with and let it break.
I had to stop holding onto a life that I no longer had here.