Author's Note: This is not a conclusion (like fluffpenguin wanted). It's hardly even a continuation (like patient platypus wanted). However, I did write it (awhile ago) so here it is. You don't have to read this second part, Bleak Triumph was meant to be a one-shot. This is just a little extra for you. Enjoy.

Bleak Triumph 2

Kakashi peeled his eyes open. Dimming sunlight greeted him. There were clouds blowing lazily in the sky above. Birds twittered in the trees nearby. A breeze rustled Kakashi's hair. The air was so fresh, the freshest he'd tasted since. He shuddered at the memory, sending wracking pain through his body.

Kakashi fought against the scream in his throat and struggled to remain still until the worst of it passed. The more he moved the more it hurt, but the pain demanded he move. He needed to get away from the agony. His mind slammed down on the irrational fears and waited, using each uninterrupted second to calm his panic. He needed to remain still and he focused on that.

The last Hatake tried to breathe in through his nose, slowly, but his pained gasps slipped out occasionally. Kakashi hoped that they weren't too loud. Drawing attention to himself was as sure as drawing more pain toward himself. And yet he smelled fresh air, not the stale, putrid stench of the cave. He focused on breathing, pushing all other thoughts, both fearful and hopeful, out of his mind.

After the pain subsided to a manageable level, Kakashi opened his eyes again to see Sasuke looming over him. Kakashi blinked in confusion. Could he dare to hope? He'd thought he'd seen Sakura earlier and now Sasuke was here. "Sa-Sakura?" He croaked out. He wanted to cough but knowing how it would lead to even more discomfort, held it in.

"She's sleeping." Sasuke answered shortly. "Should I wake her?"

"No," Kakashi shot out quickly. The quick reply almost initiated a cough. He swallowed carefully. "I'm alright."

Sasuke gave Kakashi a flat look. His face didn't hold much expression in general but Kakashi could read the words clearly in his eyes as if he'd spoken them. The last Uchiha didn't believe him. Just the same, instead of rousing Sakura, he sat down next to Kakashi.

Kakashi tried to imagine how he looked to his former student but then quickly discarded the task. Haunting memories loomed over him and threatened to overwhelm him. He cleared his mind's eye and focused on Sasuke. "Are you two alright?"

Sasuke scoffed, emotion leaking into his eyes. Kakashi saw the concern there before the Uchiha quickly tucked it away. "We're fine."

They sat in silence for a long while, neither of them with anything else to say. Sasuke knew Sakura would want him to ask half a dozen questions. However, the brunette couldn't bring himself to interrogate his tortured former sensei.

Kakashi's eyes slowly drifted shut. He fell back asleep to the sound of the wind in the grass and birds in the trees tweeting their goodnights. Sasuke sat with him while silently watching Sakura as she slept in the growing twilight. He finally whispered out to the sleeping man, "we thought we were too late."

Sasuke glanced down at the last Hatake. The man was battered, bruised, and looked exhausted even when asleep. The dimming light made him look like a corpse on the battlefield. The shadows that his gaunt profile cast over his eyes made his pale skin stark and skull-like in contrast. Sasuke shuddered and dug a blanket out of Sakura's pack. He draped it over the sleeping jonin, pulling it up to Kakashi's chin.

Then the Uchiha got up and began to build a fire. Sakura would be famished when she woke up. Sasuke hoped to get her to eat something before she examined Kakashi again. Then maybe they could get Kakashi to eat something as well.

Sasuke looked at the sleeping faces of his first team as the firelight fought the shadows for possession of their campsite. Things were so quiet when Naruto wasn't around. Sasuke smirked. He would have welcomed the blonde's company that evening. Between Kakashi's bruised visage and Sakura's strained smiles, things felt bleak indeed. He frowned at the fire.

What had those men wanted from Kakashi? They'd set a trap specifically for him, had carefully prepared everything. Sasuke shook his head, disappointed in himself. He hadn't left anyone alive to question. After seeing Kakashi hung from the ceiling like a slab of meat. Sasuke shook his head, no, meat was treated better. After seeing that, he had no desire for any of them to live. It only occurred to him afterward that this would mean Kakashi would have to explain what those people had wanted. Sasuke scowled at nothing in particular.

Sakura stirred, pulling the Uchiha from his thoughts. He hadn't finished preparing the meal. It was only rations but he'd thought he'd at least heat them up. Then he'd gotten distracted with his own thoughts. He fished out a package for Sakura and tossed it to her after she stood up. She caught the compact meal on reflex, not even looking at Sasuke. She stepped over to Kakashi and knelt next to him. "Any change?"

"He woke up for a couple of minutes," Sasuke replied, knowing he was about to get an earful.

Sakura's eyes went wide, then her expression darkened. That's more what Sasuke had been expecting. "Why didn't you wake me?" Her hands began to glow as they hovered over the Hatake's chest.

Sasuke reached out and grasped her hands. The glow went out and she glared at him. "He said he was fine and to not wake you." Sasuke hesitated but then, "when he first woke up he was in a lot of pain." Sasuke ignored Sakura's glare. "He tried to hide it and once it was over he was coherent for a couple of minutes before going back to sleep."

"Did he say what hurt? Were his eyes focusing? Did he ask for water? Did he-"

"Sakura," Sasuke cut her off. "He's alright."

Sakura stood up in a rush, her voice a hiss. "He is not alright, just look at him." Her words thinned out. She put a hand to her mouth and turned away.

Sasuke heard her muffle a sob. He pretended he didn't hear it.

Sakura turned back to him, slightly more composed. Her voice still broke when she said, "we let this happen."

Sasuke shook his head. "Blaming ourselves isn't going to fix this. And there's nothing we could have done, no way we could have known."

"I just," Sakura said but cut herself off. "I just can't get the image out of my head."

Sasuke rose slowly and approached Sakura. He hesitated but then his arms raised slightly, hesitantly, as if he'd forgotten how to embrace a fellow human being. Sakura did the rest, pulling him into a proper hug. He would never admit that he needed it as much as she did.