Bring her back

Chapter 2

"I'll do it" he said in a warm voice as he took the fish from her and sat down on the rock next to Sakura facing her. They were so close, that his knees touched her thighs. He put the food down, leaned forward, slid his hands on her thighs, and gently closed her shaking hands between his, resting them on her legs. She could feel his breathing on her skin, he was so close. She turned her head towards him and looked into his eyes. Sakura felt butterflies in her stomach, and blushed a little, while she kept a serious face.

"Sakura, I'm really worried about you, please tell me what's going on with you" he told her carefully as if he was afraid that she might run away. Her breath stopped for a few seconds then she took a bigger breath.

"It's nothing... It was just really busy in the hospital lately... I haven't slept a lot and forgot to eat a few times." She said with a fake smile.

Her answer made him angry as she was clearly far from okay. But he managed to hide his anger, because he didn't want to scare her, and he knew that the only way she'll open up is if she will feel trust and safety towards him.

"Listen... I don't believe you. I know that you don't want to talk about it, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. You can come to me every time, with anything. My door is always open for you, Sakura" he said in a nice tone while caressing her cheeks. Sakura couldn't help it and her eyes got filled with tears. She quickly turned his head away and started to get up because she felt embarrassed. Kakashi grabbed her left arm and pulled her back, into a hug.
"It's okay..." he said as he rubbed her back with one hand and held the back of her head with the other. Sakura started to cry and sobbed into his chest as he was comforting her.

Naruto got back with the wood and wanted to enter when Sasuke stopped him.
"Listen" he said quietly as he pointed towards the cave.
"What happened?" Naruto whispered scaredly when he heard Sakura sobbing.
"Kakashi's with her don't worry" Sasuke said
Naruto stared at the cage and got angry as he knew that she was in such pain, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Kakashi didn't know what happened to her exactly, but he was sure that it had something to do with Ren. The fact that she started crying when he was nice to her, tells it all. He's abusing her. But she has to be the one saying it. That's the only way he can help her.

"Thank you!" Sakura said as she pulled back with a gentle smile.
"Just don't be afraid to talk to me, or anyone you trust well, if you feel the need, okay?" He told her while he squeezed her hands.
She nodded smilingly, but it didn't calm Kakashi at all. 'I can only just hope that she will trust me enough to talk to me.' He thought.

The guys came in, Sasuke made the fire, and they cooked the fish. Sakura hesitated again when they handed her the food. 'You have to eat, you have to prove to them that, you're okay. You can't get them involved' she thought as she was staring at the fish. She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply then took a bite. She realized that the food actually enjoyable since she was with them. It doesn't feel like eating sand anymore.

They were chatting and laughing just like a few months ago and Sakura felt happiness for the first time, in a so long time that felt like forever to her.

They put out their sleeping bags and placed them on the cave's ground.

"I'll do the guarding first." Sasuke told them.

"Then I'll change you." Said Kakashi.

Everyone agreed, so they went to sleep while Sasuke went to the cave entrance.

Sakura was sleeping between Kakashi and Naruto because she started to shake from cold in her sleep. When they noticed they went closer to her, to keep her warm with their bodies. Kakashi couldn't sleep and was just laying there while looking at the back of Sakura. 'Poor little Sakura. No physical abuser could even lay a finger on her, she could destroy any man with her bare hands, but when it comes to her soul, she can't protect herself. How could someone abuse her mentally like that?!'He thought as he was looking at her silhouette. He caressed her back gently because he didn't want to wake her up.
Suddenly she turned around and Kakashi froze. He was relieved when he saw that her eyes were closed, and she was still sleeping. Kakashi was staring at her angelic face and was amazed at how gorgeous she was still, even with a sunken face. 'I have to help her to get out of that situation, whatever it takes.' he thought while he reached out to her face and caressed her cheeks.
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"Kakashi" he heard Sasuke whisper. His eyes cracked open when he remembered what was he doing before falling asleep. But his hands were on the ground in front of Sakura's face. From the outside, it didn't look weird at all.

"Is she cold?" Asked Sasuke as Kakashi was standing up.

"Yes, she was shaking. So we kept her warm." Answered Kakashi.

Sasuke walked to his sleeping bag, picked it up, then walked to Sakura and placed it next to her while sliding Kakashi's away. 'Sasuke changed a lot, positively.' The silver-haired thought as he went out.

Around an hour have passed when Kakashi walked back to check on Sakura. He couldn't help smiling when he saw the way their former students were sleeping. They looked just like when they were kids. Naruto is on his back, on the top of his sleeping bag, his legs and arms are stretched out in 4 directions while one of his hands was resting on Sakura's head accidentally. Sakura was curled up facing Sasuke, and he was sleeping all normal with his back to her.
He remembered how Sakura would punch Naruto in the middle of the night when she woke up to his hand on her head. This memory made him laugh a little, then he went back to guarding.

They woke up early in order to get to the border in time. After they packed up, they headed out into the forest.
The team was going fast with Sasuke in the front and Kakashi in the back.
"Stop!" Said Sasuke suddenly.

"We have company" He added.