Queen of Air and Darkness

xviii. each preying on the other

Despite the progress of Konoha's reconstruction, and the ways in which the wounds of the battle had healed, a faint scent of rot seemed to permeate the air. It was the turning of the seasons, a season for change and contemplation. And Kakashi Hatake could not figure out where he had failed so completely.

There had been a time when he thought Konoha might heal from the tragedies of Tsunade's death, and the change would force Naruto into becoming a true king, ready to unite the realm. But everywhere he turned, the cracks seemed to show just beneath skin.

He saw Naruto's desolation before he knew the truth. Sasuke was gone. Blame punctuated every glance Naruto shot in his direction. For it had been after their confrontation that the traitor had turned and fled. No one knew where he had gone. The last person to witness his departure had been Naruto, but the young king swore up and down that he had no idea where the Champion had disappeared to.

Kakashi himself had led the interrogation (if you could call it that). It had bee over beers in Naruto's private quarters, a new dimension to the relationship he had with his former student. (Although Kakashi could practically hear Sasuke in his head, accusing him of changing all of his relationships with his students).

From the devastation writ large across his face, Kakashi could see plainly that he was not lying. Naruto could never fake the devastation in his wide blue eyes, and the harsh way his smile became a tiny bitter thing and he said, "I blame myself as much as I do you."

Despite the way the actors had changed, it was the same play he had witnesses four years prior.

Sasuke was the same angry young man, with a dark streak of anger and a penchant for betrayal. The only difference was that now he was older and more secretive, and now his secret schemes could tear a kingdom apart. Naruto was the same reckless vein of emotion, a furious storm of emotion utterly unchecked. But now he was an adult and a king, his emotions catalyzed into sharp steel, and Kakashi could only hold his breath and wait to see what Naruto would do with his newfound power.

But Sakura.

Something in Sakura had changed.

The first time Sasuke had disappeared, she had been a girl in love. She had disappeared from Kakashi's life completely, throwing herself into her studies with Tsunade. But his final glimpse of her had been bright green eyes filled with tears and a smile cut like jagged broken glass. But there had been a fire there, burning with determination to never be left behind again.

Now she had transformed again. Gone was that fire when she looked at him, now. The few times he could manage to catch sight of her, she barely spared him a look. She threw himself into her work with the other squires, lending their carpentry "skills" to the rebuilding effort. That last confrontation between them had shattered something, and as the days grew long, Kakashi feared it was beyond repair.

He wanted to go to her, to take her in his arms, and kiss this hidden sadness out of her. It was now as he watched her work, he cursed himself for his idiocy. The invisible barriers that had sprung between them were exactly what he deserved.

Kakashi took to stalking the city walls, surveying the great forest that fenced them in, where he and Sakura had conducted their affair. Where the days had seemed to last forever, and he had hoped against hope, even as he swore it would not continue, that such happiness could stretch beyond their journey.

Death nipped at his heels and duty called him to action. The realm could be his only mistress. It needed him as Sakura did not (for all he sprung to fight her battles). She deserved someone who could devote his entirety to her. She deserved someone who did not bring death with every touch, ending the lives of those who brushed too closely into his life.