The Merry Widow

A/N: Hi! This is my first fan fiction in quite some time. I hope you will all go easy on me. :)

A little bit about this story: It's set in the future in the Naruto world. It's based loosely around an old opera called, 'The Merry Widow' by Franz Lehar. I hope you enjoy. Please R&R. :)

The Merry Widow Waltz

Lips are silent
Violins whisper:
Love me!
Every step
says please
love me!
Every hand-clasp
shows it clearly
Now I know, 'tis so, 'tis so,
you love me.

At each step of the waltz
My soul joins in the dance,
my eager heart leaps,
knocks and pounds: be mine!
And my lips say no word,
yet still it echoes on and on
I love you, oh so much,
I love you!

The Merry Widow
Chapter One

Sakura felt like a wooden mannequin that had its head hollowed out and stuffed with cotton. She had been staring at her books for hours, unable to comprehend the first sentence. After giving up on the last of many attempts to immerse herself in her reading, she groaned and sat back to massage her throbbing temples. Some had said it was too soon for her to be back to work after the death of her husband. She had told them it was alright. She was fine, that she would be better being busy than being all alone in her misery. It had been only part truth, seeing as she really didn’t care about her recently deceased husband. He had been a cheating bastard anyways. Instead, she found herself delirious with the idea that she was alone, a widow and that no one in the entire village would touch her. She had put herself on a pedestal by marrying but had been further held aloft when she had taken her perch amongst the hospital’s elite medic-nin. It was very lonely on her perch, so high up where everyone around her scampered like ants.

Deciding that a drink would loosen her thoughts, she pulled open the drawer only to realise that her coveted bottle of whiskey was not there. It was then that she remembered how she had finished it off the night that Shinjiro had died. “Dammit” She murmured and slammed the drawer shut. Outside, it had begun to rain and the wind was blowing. She could feel a cold draft coming from the windowsill. Was it worth going out there, just to get a drink? She glanced down at her neglected studies and decided to give it a try. It was only a block to the nearest watering hole and hopefully, it wouldn’t be packed tonight.

Much to her chagrin, the rain was pouring and the wind was blowing colder and harder than she had originally thought. She cursed her luck as she shoved open the door to the tavern and shook herself like a wet dog, splattering nearby patrons with water. She murmured apologies before picking out a booth in the back where she hoped she could be left alone. She had thought to bring one of her texts with her, figuring that maybe she could work on getting her studies done. A waitress came by and took her order. While she waited for the woman to return with her beer, she opened her text book and settled down to read again.

“Hello, Sakura-chan.” A familiar voice said at a disturbingly close range. She glanced up, meeting Kakashi’s half-hidden, yet smiling face as he settled into the bench across from her.

“Hello, Kakashi-sensei.” Despite the fact that he was no longer her teacher, she couldn’t bear to call him anything else. Perhaps it had something to do with a habit that had never been corrected, or the fact that to call him by the impersonal honorific ‘-san’ would mean she would have to let go of the tenuous relationship they had had in the past.


“How have you been?” The question was fraught with concern for his formal pupil. She glanced up again as the waitress set down her pint of beer and walked away.

Sakura took a long drink before answering the man, “I’m fine, Kakashi-sensei.”

“I’m really sorry about your husband. He was a good man.”

She snorted, “Hardly. He was a chauvinistic womanizer who liked his liquor too much.”

His silver eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Its bad luck to say such things about the dead.” He admonished.

“It’s the truth.” She shrugged, “And frankly, if the missions hadn’t killed him I probably would have gotten around to it.”

“Then why did you marry him?”

Shrugging again, Sakura was unable to voice her reasons. Her eyes dropped back to the open book before her as her fingers painted circles on her glass. “I have my reasons.” She murmured. In fact, back then she had been convinced that she had loved him. Perhaps in his own strange way, he had loved her too. Unfortunately, things had gone downhill since the day after their marriage and despite constant threats of divorcing from each party, they had never bothered to do it. Divorce was common in the village, amongst the civilians. Unfortunately, it was not so with the Shinobi and least of all, the elite shinobi like she was. Divorce meant admitting you had made a mistake, a misjudgement of character and mistakes were not to be taken lightly within the coveted ranks of Konoha’s army. A divorced shinobi found himself or herself the butt of many jokes and would curry the disapproval of everyone. To Shinjiro, Sakura was sure he wouldn’t have cared, but her career and reputation meant everything to her. She had sacrificed too much to get where she was and even though he had destroyed her personal life, she’d be damned if he’d take her professional one down too.

Kakashi reached over and patted her fidgeting hand gently. His palm was warm and dry, rough with calluses from years of plying his trade. She glanced up from the page and gave him a quick smile before she pulled her hand away from his touch. “I appreciate the sympathy, Kakashi-sensei.” Now she wanted him to go away so she could work in peace. She glanced up at him and realised that he had no intentions of going anywhere. She sighed, unsure of what to do. She didn’t want to be rude to her former teacher.

“All work and no play makes Sakura-chan a dull girl.” He said, flipping the book closed.

“Well, if I don’t work then people die.” She gave him her sweetest smile before slipping her fingers in the pages and opening the book. “And besides, that’s rich coming from you... it was you who didn’t attend my wedding because you were too busy with missions. In fact, if I remember correctly, you didn’t even bother to stop by and congratulate me on that or my promotion.”

He shrugged, “From what you’re saying, it was probably a good thing I didn’t waste my words with wishing you a happy life with the man. As for the promotion, we all knew that you were the best long before you were officially appointed the title of chief of the medical staff.”

She gritted her teeth, infuriated with the man and his flippant attitude. How he had survived so far with such a mind frame, she would never know and that he was one the best shinobi Konoha had to offer boggled the mind. “I appreciate the compliment.”

“You’re welcome.” He sat back in his chair, looking pleased with himself.

Taking another greedy gulp from her glass, she fished in her pockets for cash. “Oh, look at the time. Have to go, now. Sorry I couldn’t stay longer and talk.” Sakura tossed coins on the table, snapped the book closed before hoisting it under one arm and stomped out of the tavern, into the cold night.

Back in her flat, she shucked off her soggy clothes and left them in a pile. Nothing short of a warm shower would chase the soggy chill from her bones. Afterwards, she sat on the couch with her book and settled in for more studying. She was shocked when there came a tapping at her window. She made a disgusted sound before turning and coming face to face with Kakashi. She frowned, wondering how much he had had to drink. He was being awfully persistent tonight. Opening the window lest a stiff wind blow him off the edge, she let him in and threw a towel at him.

“I’m trying to study, Kakashi-sensei.”

He patted the beads of water off of his exposed skin before dropping the towel on the arm of her sofa. He took two sweeping steps towards her and wrapped his arms tightly around her body, trapping her own hands between them. “Why can’t you just forget about your work, for once?”

Wiggling out of his grasp, she stepped around the coffee table in attempts to put some barrier between them. It was a pointless endeavour, but at least it didn’t make her feel helpless. “No, I can’t forget about my work. This is important.”

“It’s always important. Everything you do is important.” Kakashi pointed out, “Did it ever occur to you that the reason why your husband drank and womanised was because the one woman he wanted, had absolutely no intentions of joining him in the land of the living?”

She frowned, “What the hell do you know about my married life? You never came to check on me, never bothered to ask how I was doing. You were too busy with your own work to even care about anyone else and you’re telling me to forget my work? You’ve got some balls, Hatake Kakashi!”

“Well, you are good at driving men off, aren’t you?”

“The same could be said about you and women.” She snapped, her fists planting themselves on her hips, “You are forty years old and you don’t have a woman. What else do you have besides your job and your perverted books?”

Kakashi smiled suddenly, stepping over the coffee table to wrap his lean arms around her body. He murmured in her ear, “You know my feelings towards what you are doing with your life.”

She pulled away as soon as she felt herself relaxing in his arms. Gritting her teeth, she pointed at the door, “Please go. I have work to do.”

“It’s 11 at night... couldn’t you think of anything else to do. Maybe sleeping?”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sakura bit back the urge to scream. She took a few deep breaths through her nose before asking, “What the hell do you want from me, Kakashi? What?”

He smiled and headed towards the door, “You know what I want.”

She shook her head, “It won’t happen, Kakashi-sensei.”

The door closed behind him. She slid the bolt home and turned towards the living room. She could hear his footfalls as he went down the hallway. She didn’t move until she could no longer hear him and then she closed her books on the coffee table before stalking into her bedroom and slamming the door. It seemed that whatever gods that be, didn’t want her working tonight. She threw back the covers on her bed with a disgusted sigh and sat on the edge to rummage through her night stand. Popping a few sleeping pills, she sighed softly as she settled down on the soft pillows.

Five years ago...

Sakura dropped from the branch of a tree and stayed crouched there, making sure that her movement hadn’t alarmed the guards she was trying to slip by. Somewhere ahead of her, her team was silently dispatching their targets inside the camp but she was getting antsy. Something didn’t feel right and she couldn’t stand still and just let whatever bad feelings she had, happen right in front of her.

The silence was shattered, the deep shadows of night receded in the face of a massive blast. She covered her face as pieces of trees shot through the air, deadly projectiles. Gasping, the medic-nin didn’t hesitate as she launched herself towards the source of the blast. She dispatched the alarmed guards, slitting throats and breaking necks as efficiently as the best ANBU. In the clearing, she found the first of her team. He had a gash in his throat and had already bled out, his life’s blood soaking his clothes and the ground beneath him. The second had been torn in two, his hips and legs were a few feet away. She turned away, desperately searching for the last of her team. He was the one who mattered.

“Kakashi-sensei!” She cried as she caught sight of a man who lay in a crumpled heap at the base of a tree. Her hands skimmed over his prone form, fishing out and finding the hole that was draining his life away. Perforated organs. Anyone less talented wouldn’t have been able to heal these injuries, but she knew it was within her capacity to heal him. She knew...

He moaned softly as she began. First, she had to plug the gaping hole in his abdomen to keep him from bleeding to death. Next, his spleen which resembled swiss cheese. She worried her bottom lip as she efficiently healed the worst of his wounds. When finally it was done, she sat back and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Kakashi came to soon after that, slowly sitting up while clutching his abdomen. He was feeling the residual pain of his injuries, he glanced at her. “The rest of the team.” She shook her head, unable to meet his eyes.

“Gotta get going.” He murmured, getting to his feet, “They’ll be here any second.”

It was a long time before they stopped to sit down. They had stood at the bank of a river, gasping for breath. Sakura dropped like sack on the sands, not sure if she’d ever get back her breath. Touching her throat, she doubled over and vomited what little water and soldier’s rations she had managed to stuff down as they had run. Kakashi seemed to be worse off. He had sustained injuries that were not as serious as his destroyed spleen, but they were still causing him too much pain. He had tried to keep off the ankle that he was sure was broken, only his training kept him from giving up hours ago. He pulled off his sandal, gingerly running his hand over his swollen ankle.

Sakura crawled to him on hands and knees, she shoved a hank of sweat damp hair from her eyes. “I don’t think it’s broken.” She murmured as she wrapped her fingers around her fingers around his leg. “Hold still.” She shot him a quick look before forcing her chakra into the torn muscle and bruised bone.

The pressure from his wounded foot eased as she healed him. “Thank you, Sakura-chan.”

She gave him a fleeting smile before dropping back onto her butt, utterly exhausted. She had spent the last of her strength on him and now, she was so tired she didn’t think she could keep her head up for long. Sakura lay on the sand, fighting back the urge to close her eyes and drop off to sleep. She didn’t think she’d be able to wake up if she did and if their enemies were to fall on them, she’d be helpless.

“There’s a hut over there.” He stood, scooping up her exhausted body and holding her to his chest. “We’ll stay there until nightfall.”

She couldn’t say anything. She just let him scoop her up and put her in the hut. Her tired body was far too heavy for her to help him as he juggled her in his arms in an attempt to pick up the fishing net and make a suitable bed for her. When it was finally done, he lay her down gently, tucking her limbs beneath his flak jacket, which he laid over her exhausted body. “Thank you.” She murmured before dropping into a much needed sleep.

It was dark when next she woke. Slowly, she skimmed the surface of her consciousness and allowed herself to bask in the warmth of her blankets. Rolling over, she felt an arm tighten around her waist. She sighed happily and squirmed towards the source of warmth. Only after she had completely wrapped the body around her did she realised who it was she was snuggling with. She jerked in surprise, causing the man behind her to do the same. She stared at his face, her cheeks burning with humiliation. “Oh god, I’m sorry.” She blurted, her brain still not working at full capacity.

He slid his knife back into its hiding spot beneath his makeshift pillow. He knuckled his eyes and settled back in their bed. “Relax, Sakura-chan. It is cold outside. It started to snow and the temperature dropped sometime during the night. I figured that instead of risking building a fire, we would share some body heat.”

Rather than let the heat of their body escape into the cold night air, she lay down beside him. Unlike before, she found it hard to snuggle up to him. “Of course. It makes sense.” She scrubbed her face with her hands and asked, “How long was I out?”

“You slept the day away.”

“Any followers?”

He shook his head, “I took care of the few that had managed to keep up with us while you slept.” He gave her a disarming smile, “We’re fine for now but I would like to get going in the morning.”

She couldn’t help but share that smile with him. “Alright.” Sakura felt the chill leech the warmth from the border of her covers. She squirmed backwards, her rear brushing against Kakashi’s warm body. She shifted slightly, as Kakashi moved his arm beneath her head. He pulled her close, setting modesty aside for the pursuit of being comfortable. She turned and glared at him, obviously not as practical as he was.

“Makes no sense to be cold. I won’t tell anyone if you won’t.” He said simply, wrapping his free arm around her waist.

She sighed, “If you even so much as try anything I don’t like, I’ll pound your head in.”

His mouth was almost pressed against her ear, his voice was soft as he whispered, “Don’t worry. I would never take advantage of you, Sakura-chan.”

Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and forced her body to relax under his touch. It would not do if she were to waste what little time they had by fretting about her modesty. She couldn’t excuse ruining what chance she had to preserve her energy in case they ran into trouble on their way back to Konoha. What he was doing, was being practical. So why was she freaked out by this?

“Sakura-chan...” His voice rumbled, “Please stop fidgeting.”

“I’m sorry... It’s just...” she clenched her fists, unable to smother the discomfort growing in her stomach.

“You don’t trust me?”

She turned in his arms to stare at him, her fingers immediately tugged at some lint that clung to Kakashi’s shirt. His own hand reached from beneath the depths of the blanket and clutched her hand, immediately stilling her nervous movements. “I’m sorry... it’s just that you were my teacher and I never imagined that we would be in this type of situation...”

“Sakura... dare I ask... have you ever been intimate with a man before?”

Her eyes went wide and like a trapped animal, she fought against his hold to stand over the bed. “I hardly think that’s any of your business.” Sakura spat.

Leaning on his elbow, he patted her vacant spot, “Come back in here, Sakura. You’ll freeze.”

“No! I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you such a personal question. What you do with yourself is your own. It just shocked me that such a beautiful young woman would not have a lover...”

She felt sheepish. She dug at the dirt floor with a toe and murmured, “I have been too busy to worry about things like that.”

“Things like what? Like living?” He laughed, dropping back into the makeshift bed when he realised that she wasn’t getting back in it any time soon.

“I am living. This is what I have wanted to do since I was a child!” She sighed.

“Sakura-chan... it’s nice to have a direction, a purpose in life... but you are getting tunnel vision. You aren’t stopping to take a look at the bigger picture.”

She was getting cold and the exhaustion she had succumbed to earlier was sapping the strength from her limbs. Stuffing her cold hands in her armpits, she groused, “Why the hell is it so cold in here?”

“It’s the middle of the night, near a rushing river during fall. Do the math, Sakura-chan.” He said blandly.

With a moue of frustration, she jumped back into the bed and wrapped a blanket around her shivering frame. “And for your information, I do not have tunnel vision. I stop to smell the roses.”

“Right... well... you’ll wake up when you are pushing forty and you’ll realise that you have more regrets than you do fond memories.”

She cocked her head to the side, “It’s not like you to be so melancholy, Kakashi-sensei. What brought this on?”

He sighed as the mirth bled from his handsome visage, “I... just see you going down my path. I feel like it’s my duty as your former teacher to instill some wisdom.” He sat up suddenly and wrapped his arms around her body, cradling her against his chest. “Sakura... if there’s anything I can say... it’s just relax. I know that working like a dog is all you’ve been able to do for the last 10 years of your life maybe it’s because you think that the constant stream of gratitude from other people validates your existence. It doesn’t. It really doesn’t. Nothing matters in the end because we all die. It all ends sometime.”

She placed a hand on his chest and pushed away. “As flattered as I am to receive this bright and shining pearl of wisdom, I’m not.” She stood up and grabbed her own flak jacket and shoved her feet into the sandals that lay by the heap of fish nets they had slept in. “I’m living my life the way I want to and I’m happy—so absolutely, utterly happy.” She stabbed a finger at him, “And I do not need anyone, least of all you telling me what to do. You have overstepped your boundaries by miles, Kakashi-sensei.” She stomped out of the hut and kicked a buoy along the way, watching it bounce down the path towards the river bank. When she had thought of something else to say, she stormed back into the hut to find Kakashi putting his own sandals on. “You think you know me? You never cared about me. It was always about either Naruto or Sasuke. Never ever, not once did you think about me until finally I had made improvements to myself. You never accepted me for myself while I was taking it easy and living my life—“

“You were twelve years old.” He interrupted.

“Yeah and even at that tender, young and impressionable age did you even take one second to ask me how I was doing. Your uncaring attitude towards me told me that I had to improve myself if I ever wanted to matter in your eyes.”

“Oh really? So I matter now? What about Sasuke? Wasn’t he your motive? Your sun, your earth, your moon. The sky that held your stars and the air that filled your lungs?” He grabbed her arms and shook her with each word he spat at her, “And you say it’s all my fault?”

“You wouldn’t have even considered me for the job of rescuing Sasuke if I hadn’t been better.” She snapped.

“Of course I wouldn’t have! You were a useless, insipid little girl. You had to grow up and realise that just studying, memorizing katas and recalling every single detail of Konoha’s illustrious history would not keep you alive for much longer. You could have been killed.” His one visible eye searched her face for and rested on the single tear that slid down her cheek. “I cared for you, Sakura. Oh god, I loved you—all three of you, with every inch of my being. I knew that you had to work harder than the other two in order to become great. It wasn’t born in you, it wasn’t in your blood like Sasuke and Naruto. You scraped and scrabbled for every tiny piece of information that would vault you into the elite. You have done it, Sakura. You have become this awesome, powerful person... but now, I see it eating you alive.”

“It worked just fine for you!”

He laughed again, “No. It didn’t.” Kakashi stilled, pulling the young woman closer. In one fluid movement, he hooked his finger under his mask and before she could catch a glimpse at his exposed face, she found her lips mashed against his. Raking his hands through her cotton candy coloured hair, he nipped her bottom lip as if to beg entrance to her mouth.

“No!” She yelled against his mouth and threw herself out of the hut. “No! Not happening!”

He stood and watched her pace back and forth, shoving her hair out of her face. “We should get going. I’m sure the village thinks we’re dead or worse. They might be sending a party out to look for us.”

“Of course.”

TBC