Shattered (#1 in Shifting Series)

A New Life

Kakashi opened his backdoor, careful to not disturb Sarah as she slept on his back.  He doubted any of his neighbors had seen him carrying an unconscious woman into his house.  That could have brought up a lot of questions he did not feel like answering at that moment.  He was far enough away from his neighbors, he doubted anyone would have noticed regardless.  As he looked at Sarah, he knew she would be in a lot of pain when she woke up... if she woke up. He silently closed the door behind him and set his pole to the side.  He shifted his eyes to look at her again.  She looked so young when she was sleeping and once again, he wondered at how old she was.  She had to be at least ten years younger than him, he couldn't imagine that she was any older than that even if she had a more mature demeanor to her.  Her features were too smooth, no hints of wrinkles showing as of yet.  He grimaced; he could not say the same of himself.  He had noticed the lines at the corners of his eyes when he turned forty.  War and fighting had also taken a toll on his body.  He might not show it to others, but he could feel the difference in his body.  It was for that reason he had trounced Might Guy at the reminder that time was catching up to him.

He had been surprised when she had said she knew a form of martial arts.  Since she was a little overweight, he had assumed she had lived a rather inactive life.  Her job was quite sedentary, that much was clear from his observation. He wondered if she had gained weight after losing her husband and child.  She appeared to have retreated into herself and had been completely overwhelmed in her grief.  He wondered not for the first time how they had died and if she had been there when it had happened.  There were so many unknowns about the woman he was carrying, even after his brief visit to her world.

Silently he carried her into his bedroom.  He had a feeling she would have resisted had she been awake, but she was in no position to argue with him at the moment.  With a skill he had learned through the years of carrying injured comrades, he maneuvered her off his back and slowly lowered her onto the mattress.  She did not stir and for a moment, that concern that he had lingered too long overwhelmed him.  He stared at her for a long time, trying to sort out the emotions that thought brought to him.

Her wet hair had dried on the journey back and now fanned out on his pillow.  He hesitated for a moment before touching a lock between his two fingers.  It was very soft and had a curl in it from air drying.  In the shadowed room, he still could not tell if it would be more red than blonde.  He smiled slightly before releasing the lock to look over her face.  Her features in sleep were delicate and the skin was smooth unblemished with any imperfection he could note.  He shifted his gaze to her heart shaped lips and for a moment, the impulse to kiss them went over him.  He almost jumped at the thought, shocked for even thinking about it.  He swallowed hard and raked his fingers through his now dry hair.

He had moved past all of those kinds of inclinations when it came to women.  He had found contentment just reading about those mysteries in his Make Out Tactics books.  He knew well enough that any woman that became entangled with him would be in danger.  He had many enemies that would look for just that kind of weakness and exploit it.  It did not matter that they were in an age of peace.  There were those that would never stop wanting to seek revenge against him.  He was angry with himself for even thinking such a thing, especially since she could be bleeding out inside and possibly dying at the moment.

Kakashi was thankful when he heard the door in the other room open.  Sakura's voice called out his name in question.  He turned towards the sound to answer, "In here."  A moment later she came through the door with a concerned look on her face.

"Kakashi sensei, Pakkun said that someone was injured?"

Kakashi motioned towards the bed and Sakura's eyes widened.  "Who is that?"