The Fragile

Sorry for the wait!!

A.N. I appreciate everyone who’s given this story a chance. I would love to hear what you think. Thanks to my husband who proofreads my shit – and helps me when I have writer’s block. Love you.

Disclaimer: Yu no su. Me no own.

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Chapter 10


The team of four made their way to Sakura’s apartment. Kakashi felt awkward about removing her spare key from under the potted plant. He hoped no one would ask how he knew it was there. But the truth was coming out sooner or later. And besides, Sakura would be pissed (not to mention her landlord) if he broke her kitchen window. After they made it inside Kakashi quickly instructed everyone to wait in the living room. He went into her bedroom and picked up a discarded shirt from the top of her hamper. It appeared to be a nightshirt. This was likely the last thing that she wore, and therefore carried a stronger scent than anything else they might use. Kakashi allowed himself a moment alone, looking around the room where they shared their only night together. He pulled himself out of his thoughts and found her pack in the corner of the room. He packed her kunai and shuriken before heading to her dresser to find her a change of clothes. He blushed under his mask as he picked up a pair of her panties and shoved them in the pack with the clothes he grabbed. He scanned the room a final time before heading out to the living room.

Kakashi held out her used shirt and Shino placed a few of his kikai on it, letting them memorize her scent. Nervously, Kakashi offered up the shirt to Kiba so that Akamaru could smell it. ‘I hope this isn’t a mistake…’ Kakashi thought. Kiba took the proffered shirt and held it for Akamaru to smell. He took several seconds to sniff and yapped once to confirm that he had memorized her smell. Kakashi wiped a small bead of sweat from his brow before leaving the room. He found a small bag in the kitchen and placed her shirt inside before rolling it up and placing it in his pack. He wanted to be prepared incase he needed to call on Pakkun for help, although he doubted that would be the case. Kakashi hefted both his pack and Sakura’s on his back and signaled everyone to move out.

Kakashi exhaled in anticipation as they left Sakura’s apartment. Shino released his insects and they followed the small swarm. They traveled long into the day, only stopping when they needed to rest or relieve themselves. They made camp by early nightfall. It appeared as if they were heading to the Mist village, but only time would tell. He hoped that wherever Sakura was that she was at least being taken care of. In the seclusion of his small tent, Kakashi allowed himself to reflect on his feelings towards Sakura. She had always held a special place in his heart, but now she held the biggest piece of it. Thoughts of her seemed to dominate his mind ever since the night they crossed paths in an alley near headquarters. He realized, belatedly, that he was falling for her. Kakashi felt foolish, but he allowed himself to smell her nightshirt, picking up on traces of her honey-almond scent. God, she smelled so divine. He hoped that he would get a second chance to tell her what he felt about her. Why should he live out the rest of his life alone when there was someone there who loved him back? Didn’t he deserve to be happy? Hadn’t he been through enough loss? Why should they both have to lose another person special to them? Kakashi came to the conclusion that if other people didn’t like their relationship that they could go fuck themselves. He wasn’t going to hide anymore. If the truth came out sooner than he wanted, he would just have to deal with it. It was with these thoughts that he drifted off to sleep. If luck was on their side, maybe he would see her tomorrow.

~8~

Sakura had managed to get through the last two days of her captivity without any real problems. It seemed that being pregnant took the fight out of her. She had neither the energy to fight back, nor the inclination. She didn’t want to chance harming the baby. She hoped that she made it out of this situation before they figured out her condition. They had managed to leave her alone so far. They had brought her some food a couple of times, some soup, bread and water to drink. She was grateful that she was able to keep the soup down better than anything else she had eaten in the past several days. It would be hard to keep her condition a secret if she were throwing up all the time. ‘Please come for me Kakashi…’ she thought. She still didn’t know what the Akatsuki wanted with her. She hadn’t been killed yet so she figured that she was worth something in their eyes. She lay on the bed trying not to think about everything that was going on. But that was proving very hard when one’s mind is their only company, their only escape. She would ask the next guard that came in if she could have a book or some paper and a pen… anything that would give her something to do. She would try to get some sleep until then.


Itachi regarded the slumbering kunoichi coolly. He had been getting reports on her from whoever was on guard duty each day. It surprised him that she had not attempted to escape, really. He remembered she was responsible for the death of a fellow Akatsuki member, Sasori of the Red Sand. That was quite an incredible feat. She could not have won that battle on sheer luck. Of course she had help from Chiyo, Sasori’s grandmother, but he knew that she alone was capable of inflicting incredible amounts of damage through her training with the Hokage. So, why so docile? She had requested some books to read, and could be found either sleeping or reading, but mostly sleeping. How did it come to be that this once lethal kunoichi was as harmless as a house pet? Itachi laughed internally. ‘No, she is still capable of such feats. It just appears that she has not felt threatened enough to use them. But it would be interesting to see just what would make her feel inclined to do so!’ Itachi pondered a little longer on the questionable woman before leaving the room. He honestly hadn’t figured out just what to do with her if the Hokage of Konoha didn’t take the bait. It was just an opportunity he couldn’t refuse. Itachi walked away, deciding that he would just burn that bridge when he got there. But nevertheless, he would be sure to keep a more active interest in his captive to determine her motivations, or more precisely, her lack thereof.

~ <0> ~


Kakashi sighed as another day had passed without finding any trace of Sakura or the Akatsuki. His anxiety level had steadily risen throughout the day. He needed to let out some aggression, so he left the slumbering shinobi and found and excellent tree near enough to the small clearing where they had set up camp. He could see well enough to tell if an enemy happened upon them. He began practicing his taijutsu, hitting the tree with great force. It took him only minutes to work up a sweat. He paused to wipe the sweat that was stinging his eye and admired the crater that was left in the tree trunk. He continued his assault until he felt that he could no longer lift his arms. Weary, Kakashi made his way back and crawled into his tent. He was exhausted physically, but his mind was still racing. Kakashi choked back a sob, covering his mouth as all his emotions that had been building up these past several weeks came crashing down on him. It was almost too much to bear… How was he to lead this mission effectively when it had such a direct and frightening impact on his personal life? He knew that he should have refused to lead the mission. The Hokage should have been informed of his relationship to the target, and someone else should have been assigned. But how could he refuse? After the death of his comrades at his ‘self-diagnosed’ negligence, he would never allow himself to live if she died and he could have been there to save her… and his child. Kakashi pulled up his hitai-ate to reveal mismatched eyes as he used his sleeve to wipe the tears from his eyes. His mocking laughter reached his ears as he realized that he hadn’t cried since the day of Rin’s death, shortly after Obito’s. Ninja’s aren’t supposed to show their emotions. Kakashi realized at that moment that had been his mistake all along. He should have told Sakura how he felt. He should have realized that some things in life are just too important to let go of. ‘Never again…’ He made a silent vow to himself that night. He was a Shinobi at heart to be sure, but he was also just a man who had his own needs that he had neglected in the name of duty for far too long. When he found Sakura, he was going to be sure to make her his, no matter what the cost. Kakashi fell asleep that night dreaming of a little baby with silver hair that glimmered pink highlights in the sun.


A.N. I apologize for the short chapter, and the long wait… Had a very bad case of writers’ block. Still not completely satisfied with this chapter. But I just had to get it done in order to move on, and hopefully that will push me past my block. I hope to post chapter 11 in the next day or two (with any luck)! I still would like to hear what you all think should happen!!! In the next chapter or two you can look forward to a chapter that I will co-write with my husband. That should be a special treat because A) If there’s anyone who knows more about Naruto than me, it’s him (he got me addicted after all), and B) He has written RPG’s for more years than I’ve known him (and that’s quite awhile, folks. Like 14 or 15 years.) I know what he’s capable of, but you’ll just have to wait and see!! Tee hee! Epic battle scenes ahead! Well, maybe not epic, but exciting!

Thanks to:
XheartKakashi – het means heterosexual… are you sure you’re old enough to be reading this? Thanks anyway for the review.

CianaRui – Only time will tell. I’m not sure yet what I’m going to allow to play out…but I hope to make it worthwhile. Thanks for the review! You made my day.

Saya – Thank you for your review.

Love_less_lover – Just incase you didn’t catch it… Sakura is about 21, so no weird lolicon is going on in this story. But thanks for giving it a try, and thanks for the review!

Ozzgirl – You truly made my day. Thanks!

Allyluv – Thanks for leaving a review. Each one makes me happy!

Zelha – Thanks!! ; )

Jennjennr – Another review that made me squeal like ton-ton and do a happy dance!! Thanks!