One Day at a Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters and make no money from this.

Day Twenty: Switch On/Switch Off

"It's still dark." Sakura commented from the spot where she was lying down on the floor as she woke up from her nap, still within his reach. Sleep had been sparce for both of them due to the discomfort of constant hunger and thirst. Being constantly in the absolute dark probably didn't help either.

"Slept well?" His voice was as hoarse as hers, rough from the lack of hydration. A soft hum was all she gave as an answer before she crawled up to his side, curling up against him for some warmth. Even if they were still in the middle of summer, the temperature in their place was a little low for comfort.

"I think I'm starting to believe I'm blind. Is that what they were after?" Sarcasm dripped from her tone, though he could definitely relate to the feeling of having no vision anymore. It was strange how quickly the human body adapted to any change thrown its way. One day without your sight and you could pratically forget that you had ever seen once.

"I don't think so." He forced his body to relax a little, the tension that had been building up in his muscles stiffening them to much for his liking. Gentle fingertips dragged across the skin of his chest, down to his hip, back up to his shoulder. They explored with confidence, sometimes stopping to caress spots she appeared fond of. His cheek pressed to the top of her heard, nuzzling her hair affectionately.

It wasn't long before his own fingers itched to imitate hers, a sudden emptiness causing his chest to ache in a strange way, in a way he experienced whenever he longed to see the familiar faces of people since long gone. It was unexpected for the jonin, considering that the girl was very well alive and cuddling against him, touching him. He lifted his hand to her knee, only giving it the faintest brush of skin before his palm pressed to the the outside of her thigh. He raised his hand slowly, relishing in the wamrth and softness of her, until he reached the top of her hip. The small curve there piqued his interest and he ran his hand back and forth over it a few times before he was satisfied enough to move on to her side.

He could hear her breathing had deepened, he was pretty certain his own had a while ago as well. Her ministrations slowed considerably as he his hands wandered her body some more, though they remained innocent all along. The need to feel more of her led him to haul her into his lap and embarce tightly with one arm, his free hand playing in her hair in the meantime. Feeling her hot breath fan across his cheek, his head turned to face her before capturing her lips with his. The soft whimper of surprise she emitted made him grin, only adding to the bubbling affection building up in his chest. He couldn't get enough of her, ever.

The kiss they shared was languid, their lips moving together in a deliberate slow pace, rarely breaking the contact between them. To see her reaction right then would have been worth gold to the older man, to be able to check for himself if the spark he wanted to see in her beautiful eyes was present or not. The only hint of confirmation that the Copy Nin could draw from was the she kissed him back willingly, without any apparent hesitation to make him doubt of the girl's feelings for him.

The sound of the door opening registered in both their minds, causing Sakura to try and pull away from her partner who only held her back, distracting her with small nibbles to her bottom lip. To acknowledge the intruder that had entered their room would only put an end to this adorable moment, thus the silver-haired man refused to. That is, until the object of his affections was snatched away from him. Mismatched eyes opened to glare at the man who dared to break such a sweet moment, though his enemy's gaze matched his, as if he had been betrayed himself by their exchange. The light was finally back on, much to his relief, even if it was killing his eyes right then.

"You two really can't keep your hands off of each other, can you?" Koroku seethed as he gripped Sakura's arm tighter, shaking her in the process like he was scolding her. Kakashi stood up immediately, ready to attack if the other man tried to do anything else to his comrade.

"I can't believe you'd do this to me!" The kidnapper shouted to the young girl he held captive, his attention now solely on her. "I confessed to you. You're even treating to my disease. How could you?" He spoke with disbelief, the pain of betrayal heavily laced to his voice.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Sakura screamed back, trying to step back, away from him, but he only grabbed her wrist and kept her close to him.

"You're mine, sweetie. I thought you knew that." The whisper directed to the pinkette infuriated the Copy Nin, surprising him with its intensity. His whole body tensed, his hands balling into fists as he approached his opponent, determination obvious in his eyes.

"You're delusional." He spat as his hand closed around the other man's wrist in a crushing hold.

Glaring back at the jonin with an expression that could only be described with insanity, he freed himself from Kakashi's hold and backed away with his captive.

"Let's prove to your friend who's crazy. You are mine." The tone in Koroku's voice sent shivers down the silver-haired man's spine, anxiety swelling in his chest as he watched him closely. The mortified look on the chuunin's face only intensified when the missing-nin pushed her against the wall whilst his free hand tugged at the last piece of clothing on her. She struggled immediately, pushing him away with all the strenght she possessed, yet it was not enough to keep him off of her.

"If you intervene, Kakashi, I'll just call my men. It'll be easy to lock you in here while I take Sakura somewhere more private." The threat made the jonin's blood boil, both with imcoparable hatred and the immense frustration of being unable to act in his friend's favor. He avoided Sakura's terrified eyes when Koroku's hands roamed her body once she was naked, her breathing erratic. Shutting his eyes tightly, he tried to ignore everything around him. Maybe he could focus on something else intensely enough to forget. The scared gasp coming from the pinkette quickly eradicated that option, since there was no way he could block her out of his mind.

When his gaze locked with her brimming emerald eyes, it was all he could think of. His best friend was about to be raped right in front of him, and he was supposed to just stand there and let it happen.

The sound of Koroku's belt coming undone broke Kakashi out of his frozen state, reminding him that he had to react immediately if he wanted to help her.

"Koroku!" He yelled on impulse, allowing his body to act on its own accord. The larger man turned his head to glance his way, startled by the sudden disturbance. "What you want is in here, right?" He continued as he tapped his temple with two fingers. The only answer he received was a perplexed look from his enemy, who was obviously trying to figure out where was headed with this. The jonin leaned his head from one side to the other, his neck cracking loudly as he did so before his eyes moved to the wall he stood next to.

Without an additional warning, he smashed his head against the wall, holding back a grunt of pain when it collided with the brick. The shocked call of his name from Sakura only motivated him further to repeat his action, even if he already felt blood trickling down his forehead. After the second hit, he faced Koroku once more, eyeing him carefully and ready to keep going if he didn't let go of Sakura.

"I can do this all day. I'm pretty sure I only need to do this a couple more times before my memory is gone." He let out nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. "So let go of her."

With an indignant huff, his enemy let go of his female friend and moved to the exit the room, stopping at the doorway to throw him a dirty look.

"You won't always be there to protect her." Was all he said before pulling the door closed behind him, not giving the couple a chance to retort.

"Kakashi!" Immediately, the pinkette rushed to his side and cradled his head in her hands as she inspected his new wound. Even if he could feel a pounding headache quickly developing, all that caught his attention was that she had dropped the sensei honorif for the very first time.

"I'm okay." He comforted, running a hand through her hair.

"Oh my gosh, no you're not!" She shrieked as her fingers ghosted over the contours of his bleeding injury. "I think you almost managed to crack your skull open..." She breathed out worriedly, eyes squinting in concentration as she probed the wound carefully. He stared back at her with slightly wide eyes as he processed her words. Having hurt himself without a single thought, he hadn't realized what kind of strenght he put into it.

"It's going to leave a scar, isn't it?" He muttered in annoyance, not quite happy to be adding another one to the count, a self-inflicted one to top it off.

"Without a doubt." He sighed at her answer, slouching at the same time as the adrenaline rush subsided. At the very least, this scar would be worth it.

His body slumped to the ground as the last few minutes finally sunk in his mind with a good slap in the face from miss reality. Sakura kneeled in front of her, folding her hands neatly in her lap as her behavior switched from medic to young woman. Her teeth clamped onto her lip as her eyes roamed about aimlessly, as if searching for something.

"Thank you." She finally whispered, looking up at him with somethin akin to admiration, though there was something about it that was completely different from before.

"Any time, Sakura." He replied, a sad smile curving his lips. At least, this time he could do something for her.


Chapter Twenty-One: Click Here