A/N: Hello, everyone! I had said I was done with fanfiction, but...! I don't think I can ever have enough with KakaSaku. And what with how the manga ended? So awful! Thus I must make things right. It will be quite different from my previous works, but I feel it will be decent. Under the Moon's Eye is finally over, and I believe I have grown immensely as a writer from writing it. I absolutely loved every minute of it. Should you be new to my profile, Under the Moon's Eye is a story I co-wrote with Amrun. You can find it under her profile.

Also, you could call this story a bit AU as a reviewer has mentioned. I haven't kept up with what happened since the end of the manga. In this story, it is assumed Sasuke is wandering "for a mission" otherwise non-specified. He has never met Sarada. If you've read the following series or seen any subsequent movies, they are not part of this story.

Well, then! The story begins!

Chapter 1: Uchiha Sakura

...

Sakura waded through the crowd of the market, slipping between passers-by nimbly without a second thought. Today, she would buy raspberries. They weren't usually on her shopping list - how expensive such tiny fruit could get, Sakura would never understand - but this wasn't an everyday shopping trip. Her daughter was graduating and Sakura had promised to bake a raspberry cheesecake for the occasion. Sarada loved raspberries something fierce, but Sakura had little affection them. They were tiny and full of hard seeds Sakura would be fighting to remove from her teeth for days.

"Haruno-san, beautiful day, isn't it?" Yamada hollered as she approached his stall.

Much like herself, Yamada was in his early thirties, faithfully present every Friday afternoon. Sakura offered him a smile, raising a hand in greeting. "Isn't it? I bet you've got something super amazing for me! Can't grow bad produce in this weather, can you?"

Yamada laughed, then leaned in conspiratorially. "I can't disappoint my best customer, can I?" Flashing her a wink, he fished with one hand under the counter and produced a handful of blueberries laid out in a pretty pink tissue, no doubt for her benefit. "Here, a free sample for you."

Needing to be pried no further, Sakura gathered the berries in her own hands, immediately plopping one in her mouth. It had been ages since she'd had them - two summers past, maybe? Sakura couldn't help but sway from side to side in a giddy dance. The blueberries were delicious, a wonderful gift the weather rarely permitted. Those small berries were so finicky and hard to grow right in Konoha.

"Good, eh?" Yamada laughed, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "The wife picked them this morning. Haven't had 'em so perfect in years."

"No kidding," Sakura sighed, swallowing the last of them. Scanning the stall, she was quick to spot them between the strawberries and raspberries, for a price even more exorbitant than the other berries. Delicious as they were, they would be sold out either way. Smart move. "Awful as it is, that's not on my list today."

"What can I get you then?" Yamada was visibly surprised, though he did his best to keep a cheerful face.

Every Friday, she would come and he would give her a free, generous sample of his best fruit because he knew Sakura loved sweets above all else. Without fail, Sakura would purchase whatever she could afford that week as a treat.

"I'll have one of those large punnets of raspberries instead," Sakura said, pointing to them. "It's Sarada-chan's graduation today and I'm baking a cake for her."

"That time already? Figures." Yamada picked a punnet for her and prepared a bag, adding whatever else Sakura pointed to into it. "Feels like it was just yesterday you were here every week with her on your hip! Cute baby she was."

"Don't remind me," Sakura sighed. "I swear for every year she ages, I age three. What am I going to look like by the time she's all grown up?"

Yamada gave a hearty laugh, taking the bills Sakura handed him. The raspberries had set her back more than she'd expected, Sakura groused internally. "Tell me about it. My youngest might just give me a heart attack any day."

"I guess that's just what it means to be a parent, huh?" With another wave of her hand, Sakura turned to leave, making sure to flash another smile at Yamada to secure future free samples. "Well, I'll be on my way or I'll be late."

"Ah, Haruno-chan," Yamada called, leaning over his stall to grab a small punnet of blueberries. "Take these. It's on the house today. Graduation present, yeah?"

Sakura halted mid-stepped, mumbling a sound of surprise. "Ah, Yamada-san, I couldn't…"

Yamada extended his arm towards her, waving his free hand dismissively. "If you don't take them, I'll take it they weren't any good."

Sakura smiled, sheepish as she accepted the punnet. "I can't let that happen, now can I? You're the best, Yamada-san."

"Any time."

Fresh smile on her lips, Sakura left the market, heavy bags in tow. As soon as she was certain she was out of Yamada's sight, she began picking at the blueberries, taking her sweet time to return home. If they weren't done before she got home, then sharing was inevitable. Guilt nipping at her, Sakura glanced down at the little blue bubbles of happiness in her hand.

Sakura harrumphed, raising her nose high in the air. "I got raspberries for Sarada-chan. I can be a little selfish and keep these to myself…"

"Aah, Forehead!" Ino called from her side, bulldozing down the street with Tenten and Hinata on her heels. "Ooh, did you get those awesome blueberries?"

"Don't be so loud, Ino-Pig," Sakura scolded, already feeling the looks coming from the crowd around them. "It's rude."

"What's rude is not to share," Ino declared, unceremoniously picking blueberries right from Sakura's punnet. "These are so good."

"Hey, what are you doing!" Sakura pulled the berries away from Ino, though not before having more than she'd like stolen already. "Those were…"

"What's the big deal?" Ino's fine brow knitted together, her lips in an annoyed pout. "You can just buy more."

"I guess." Sakura couldn't help but grieve for the berries, no matter how childish it was.

"Ino-chan," Hinata cut in, leaning in from Ino's side with her usual innocent smile. "Those blueberries were quite pricey, didn't you notice? You should buy Sakura-chan some more to apologize for being so rude."

Sakura remained silent. Being Naruto's - the Hokage's - wife, Hinata was privy to far more of her personal life than Sakura would have liked.

"Relax, Hinata." Tenten gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes, clucking her tongue. "It's just a few blueberries. No one's going to die over them."

"So everything's still cool for tonight, yeah?" Ino chimed, sickly sweet smile on her painted lips. "You're baking and we'll bring the rest?"

"Yup," Sakura said, raising an arm to display her shopping bags. "Got everything to make the cake."

"Sweet! We'll see you then!"

As suddenly as she'd appeared, Ino was gone. Sakura sighed to herself. A full grown woman, and Ino hardly ever changed. Even Hinata had come around, shedding her shell and becoming a functional adult.

"Sakura-chan, what a surprise."

Sakura spun on her heels to find Kakashi behind her, his usual smile plastered on his face.

"Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura mumbled, smiling to hide the surprise from her face. "Stop that. You know exactly when I come here."

"Is that so? Are you sure?" Kakashi leaned down to reach for some of her bags, though not before ruffling her hair. "That's impossible. That would be mean I was on time today."

Sakura frowned, but followed him without further complaint when he headed towards her house. When her steps matched his, she offered him the blueberries, but he simply shook his head. "What do you mean, on time? For what?"

"Nothing, nothing," Kakashi chuckled. It was quite the walk to her house, but this market was the cheapest, since the farmers came here to sell their produces themselves. "What's for dinner?"

Sakura huffed, pointedly looking straight ahead. "I'm not cooking tonight."

"Ah, yes, that's right." Kakashi put a finger to his chin, and Sakura finally noticed the non-descript bag dangling from his arm. "Isn't it Sarada-chan's graduation today?"

"What's that?" Curious, Sakura leaned forward, trying to sneak a peak, but Kakashi was as secretive as ever. "Come on."

"It's nothing," Kakashi teased, though his smile became brittle when Sakura turned murderous eyes on him. "You'll see at home, alright?"

"Fine, old man," Sakura grumbled, settling back to her own side of the sidewalk.

"Is that a new wrinkle?"

Kakashi poked the corner of her eye, right where Sakura had spent a full ten minutes this morning bemoaning its very birth. Her face fell. "I - No - How rude can you be?!"

Kakashi laughed. "Don't make fun of others if you can't take some teasing yourself."

Lesson learned, Sakura shut her mouth and didn't dare speak a single word until they were finally home. As she walked in the kitchen, Sakura sucked the juice of the blueberries from her fingers and threw the punnet in the trash.

"Those were so good." She turned to Kakashi, sticking her tongue out at Kakashi. "Your loss for not taking me up on my offer."

Kakashi simply smiled, placing the grocery bags on the counter next to the others.

"Right. Not into anything sweet. Sooo…" Sakura sneaked up behind him, peeking from his side at the bag he had brought with him. "Can I know what's in that now?"

"Are we home yet?" Kakashi said, a grin on his lips Sakura wanted nothing more than to rip from his face. "Fine, fine."

Without further ado, Kakashi untied the bag and pulled out a small outfit. Sakura gasped, immediately leaning in closer to inspect it. It was a qipao dress much like she had worn as a genin herself.

"It's a little fancier," Kakashi said, anticipating Sakura's question as she felt the dress and discovered it was armored. "I figured ninja ought to have the right gear."

"It's pretty," Sakura said, taking it from Kakashi's hands gingerly when he handed it to her. It was rather heavy, but its benefits would far outweigh such a minor inconvenience. "I wish mine would have been like that, too. Though I would've probably just complained it was too heavy anyway."

"It should fit her," Kakashi said, scratching the back of his head. "I figured you and her were the same size at that age and used your old outfit for measurements."

"You what?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, mouth agape. "When did you get your filthy hands on that?"

"Remember when you were sick?" Kakashi took a step back, ready to defend himself if necessary.

Sakura remained puzzled for a moment, until the memory hit her - that had been more than six months ago. Sakura had caught a bad case of the flu and could hardly move for a week. Kakashi had taken care of her, Sarada and the house in his spare time. It wasn't so surprising she hadn't spotted Kakashi stealing her old clothes.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura held the present in her hands carefully, inspecting it again. The quality was more than decent and it had surely cost a pretty penny. "I can't accept this. You've already - "

"Shush," Kakashi said quickly. "It's just a present from a mother to her daughter, hm?"

Tears stung the corner of her eyes and Sakura immediately wiped them away. "I'm still such a crybaby, aren't I?"

Kakashi remained silent, so Sakura hurried to regain her composure and got to storing the groceries in the fridge. Kakashi helped her, only flashing her his trademark smile when she looked up at him with more gratitude than she could find the words to express.

While she began preparing the cake, Kakashi lounged on the couch, visible from the kitchen. To this day, Kakashi was rarely seen without an Icha Icha book in his hand.

"Kakashi-sensei," she called, smiling at the red mess her hands were. "Why don't you read it aloud for me?"

"I didn't know you were so risqué, Sakura-chan," Kakashi said, affecting the bored tone he always did when he was asked to do something he'd rather not do.

"I hate cooking," Sakura scoffed. "You know that. Yet you just lie there, book in hand. Entertain me."

"Must I obey your every whim?" Kakashi turned a page, deliberately slow.

"Oh, just read already!" As carefully as she could whilst riled up, Sakura mixed in the raspberries with the rest of the mixture, admiring the red swirls it created. Maybe if she was careful enough, they would remain even after the cake was done?

A chuckle later, Kakashi began reading out loud for her pleasure. Sakura stifled giggles here and there. More than a decade later, she had never read the books herself. Though Kakashi appeared right in saying they weren't only smut, the whole premise still seemed cheesy to her.

By the time she had put the cake in the oven, Kakashi was starting on the second chapter. Sakura joined him in the living room, waving her hand at him to scoot to give her some space on the couch. Once he was sat up, Sakura dropped on her rear end besides him, sighing loudly.

"I'm so tired."

"You've hardly done anything."

"Isn't that awful?" Sakura complained, shooting him a hurt glance.

Kakashi only chuckled, nodding at her to get closer. She did, allowing him to guide her head on his shoulder. "How about I read my little Sakura-chan to sleep?"

Sakura snorted, and Kakashi frowned childishly. "And trust you with the cake? No way."

"Fine. Be like that."

Angry as he pretended to be, Kakashi continued to read for her. It was only when he stopped that Sakura realized she had begun dozing off. Discreetly, so he wouldn't catch her, she checked the time on her watch. The cake wouldn't be ready for another fifteen minutes, thankfully.

"Why'd you stop?" Sakura asked, glancing up at him to see he was still reading, only silently.

"It gets a bit… troublesome from here."

Sakura laughed, unsurprised that he didn't take his eyes away from his precious to answer her. "I wonder who'd be more embarrassed if you kept reading. I can see your cheeks are red under your mask!"

Kakashi knew it was a fib, so he hardly reacted. "Good eye, Sakura-chan."

"C'mon," Sakura goaded. "Three lines. Show me how mighty the Copy Nin is when he has to read the juicy bits of Icha Icha out loud."

"Whatever would I gain from doing such a thing?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, leaning his head on his fist.

"I'll bathe the dogs next week?" Sakura offered, more interested now that he'd shown an opening. "All of them."

"What about my laundry?" he chipped in, and Sakura knew she had him.

"Fine. I'll do your laundry too." Sakura placed her head back on his shoulder and lightly jabbed him in the ribs. "Now read."

Kakashi hesitated still, but, with a deep sigh, began reading. "He ran his hands down the length of her sides, enjoying the supple flesh that gave under his touch, spurred on by the soft breaths of his forbidden lover. He left a trail of heated kisses down the valley of breasts, down to her taut stomach, and finally, with a pause, to the inside of her silky thighs. She shuddered and…"

Sakura frowned and looked up again. "And what?"

To her satisfaction, Kakashi avoided meeting her eye. This time, there really was a tinge of red above his mask. "You said three lines. That's where the third line stops."

"Bummer." Sakura deflated against his side. "Can I bribe you some more?"

"Maybe another time," Kakashi chuckled. "Or maybe you can get your own copy and read it yourself."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Disinterested, Sakura stood up to go check on her cake. Though the timer indicated there were still a few minutes left, the cake seemed ready so she took it out of the oven and left it to cool on the counter.

"Well, I'll leave you to get ready and get going," Kakashi said as he stood up from the couch, clapping Icha Icha shut. "I'm sure you've a busy day ahead of you."

"Yeah. Thanks for everything, Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura watched his back as he left, a small smile on her lips. At the very least, Kakashi was there.

…

By the time, Sakura had reached Naruto's house, a few others had already arrived. The Yamanaka and Akimichi, mostly.

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata greeted, ushering her inside with the other guests immediately. "Is that the cake you went shopping for this afternoon? It looks wonderful!"

"Hey, it actually does!" Ino crowed, leaning all sides to see the cake better. After all, Sakura had managed to keep the pretty swirls in. "It's pretty, too!"

"You say that as if you expected anything else," Sakura said through gritted teeth, nonetheless flashing a sweet smile at Ino.

"Well, we can't all cook like the Akimichi, now can we?" Ino rolled her eyes, retreating to the large living room.

Large was a good way to qualify all of Naruto's house. But then again, he was Hokage, and that was only to be expected. With nostalgia washing over her like a warm tide, Sakura remembered the tiny, crummy apartment he used to live in by himself. How far he had come.

"You wouldn't believe who I saw at the bookstore today," Tenten said to Ino, simply accepting Sakura's presence as she usually did. They saw each other often after all, ever since they'd all gotten pregnant and had too much time on their hands. "Miyumi."

"What about it?" Temari scoffed, offering a roll of her eyes.

Out of all of them, Temari had changed the least. Even a mother, she remained cool and unaffected by their mundane everyday life.

"She was buying Icha Icha," Tenten whispered, as if a dangerous secret was crossing her lips.

"Icha Icha?" Sakura blurted out, unable to keep from laughing. "For real?"

"I know, right?" Ino guffawed besides her. "Out of all the smut she could buy, she chooses that old cheesy thing Hatake-sensei carries all the time."

"Well," Sakura cut in, reigning in her grin. "Maybe she wants a little spice in their life. What's wrong with that?"

"Miyumi-san could have, perhaps, been a hint more discreet?" Hinata said, taking a seat on one of the couches. Ino and Sakura followed suit. "Such intimate matters… I can't imagine if someone would see me do such a thing…"

"You'd have a heart attack, wouldn't you?" Temari smirked, throwing her a wolfish glance. "Poor little Hinata-chan."

"T-that's… It would be an embarrassment to Naruto!" Hinata quickly interjected, shoving her hands on her knees. "I can't let such rumors happen about Hokage-sama."

"So you're saying you think Shino's not good enough for his wife in bed?" It was Ino's turn to bare her teeth in a smirk too large for her own good. "I didn't know you like this, Hinata!"

Hinata simply kept her lips shut. Sakura smiled, patting her shoulder for whatever comfort it was worth. Though for reasons much unlike her own, Sakura could sympathize with Hinata. Thankfully, she was always spared from this sort of discussions. Sasuke's absence was not a matter to be brought up lightly. For that kindness, Sakura was grateful.

When the door opened and the children poured in, their conversation evaporated as if nothing had ever been said. The mothers greeted their children and husband quickly, sharing kisses and hugs and congratulations. Before long, Hinata led them all in the dining room, where all the food and drinks had been laid out. Sakura set Sarada's present among the others, now well wrapped and giving no hint to its contents.

"I'm so proud of you Sarada-chan," Sakura cooed, stroking Sarada's hair. "A genin already. Do you like your new headband?"

Sarada shrugged, adjusting it on her forehead. "I guess."

"Oh, come on now," Sakura said as she leaned down to flick her daughter's nose. "How can you be so morose today? It's your graduation."

"He's not there, is he?"

Sakura's heart sank right down to feet. No, he was not. The disappointment clouding Sarada's eyes made it clear she had hoped he would be here, today, at least. Just one day. The smile was wiped from Sakura's face. She would have given anything, a hundred of those punnets of blueberries if need be, for her husband to be here. To never see that sadness on Sarada's face ever again.

"Are you talking about me, by any chance?"

Sakura straightened her back quickly, caught off guard by Kakashi's voice.

"I'm late, aren't I?" he said sheepishly, affecting his smile.

"Just barely!" Sarada said, now sporting a hint of a smile. "I didn't know you were coming, Kakashi-sensei."

"I couldn't miss this, could I?" Kakashi ruffled Sarada's hair the way he always had Sakura's, annoying her. "To think you think so little of me…"

Kakashi shot Sakura a concerned look, and Sakura knew she had let herself slip. Excusing herself quickly, she retreated the bathroom. As soon as the door was shut behind her, tears fell from Sakura's eyes. How unfair it was to Sarada, Sakura repeated to herself over and over. Clear as day, she still remembered when Sarada, barely a year old then, had called Kakashi daddy.

Sakura pressed her palms to her eyes, willing herself to calm down.

Of course such a thing would have happened. Sarada couldn't possibly remember her father at such a young age, not when the only times she had seen him were out in the wilderness during the first week of her life. By then, Sakura had become too exhausted to follow Sasuke everywhere and he had sent her home - a good decision, truly. It was no way to live for an infant.

A small laugh escaped Sakura, but she silenced herself quickly.

How she had cried, and cried, and cried, for weeks. How she had missed him, and continued missing him, until missing him was no longer an emotion but a state of mind she had grown used to, as she had grown used to motherhood. As she had grown used to Kakashi's increasing presence in her life, had begun to ignore her ego and simply accept Kakashi's helping hand.

Kakashi's face, too, she could remember perfectly. His eyes had widened, but he simply smiled and corrected Sarada, acting unfazed.

Sakura swallowed hard and grabbed a towel, pressing it to her face to erase any evidence of tears. She couldn't stay away from the party so long without drawing attention, so she breathed in deep and returned to her daughter.

"Your cake is delicious, Haruno-san!" Chocho, Choji's daughter, said with all the enthusiasm in the world. She was an Akimichi, alright. "Can you bake it again soon?"

"Of course, Chocho-chan," Sakura said, offering a bright smile before moving to where Kakashi was sitting.

Of this, no one said a word, either. Whether it was because nobody thought it was odd that she and Kakashi were so often together since her return to the village, or because nobody dared imply there was something between them, Sakura didn't know. Whatever it was, she liked it this way. Her relationship with Kakashi had always been the one thing to remain hers and hers alone. No one questioned her about it and it remained private.

"Distracted much?" Ino scolded, waggling a reprimanding finger in Sakura's face. "I'm talking to you!"

Sakura started, looking up at Ino with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I was distracted."

"Everything alright, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked from behind her.

Sakura twisted to look at him, always finding the strength within her to put on a bright smile for Naruto. "Of course, Naruto-kun. Today is such an amazing day."

"That's what I like to hear!" Naruto cheered as he pulled her in a too-tight hug. "Even Kakashi-sensei found it important enough to grace us with his presence!"

Kakashi offered a smile, though he remained silent and willingly separated from the group on his end of the couch.

"It's true we don't see Kakashi-sensei around very much," Sai said, appearing at Sakura's side. "It is a grand occasion."

"Laying it on a bit thick, eh?" Naruto said, one eye twitching. "He's just an old man now, he needs plenty of rest."

From the corner of her eye, Sakura spotted Shikamaru and a horde of children around him, pulling and tugging at his jonin vest. "Maybe someone needs to go rescue Shikamaru there."

"Come on!" Bolt complained, the flashiest among the children with his sunny hair. "Show us what a jonin can do! I bet I can do better!"

"Bolt, leave him alone!" Naruto scolded, going to his son. "You know Shikamaru is ten times as old as he looks. He'll have a heart attack if you bother him too much."

Shikamaru, recognizing an opportunity when he saw, immediately fled from the children, annoyance scribbled on his face.

"Then you show us!" Bolt shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Naruto. "You say you never have the time, but now you're free, right?! So show me!"

Naruto gritted his teeth, eyes narrowed in hot-headed anger that was more playful than mean. "Fine then! Kakashi-sensei, we're on!"

"We're what?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow high, suddenly stiffer in his seat.

"Let's spar, show those runts what the big boys are capable of." Naruto grinned, stretching his arms. "It's been a while, too. I'll make you bite the dust now."

"I'm not sure I'm so enthused by that - "

Before Kakashi could finish his sentence, Naruto had him by the collar and was dragging him outside. The children followed, all vocal and jumping in excitement. Much to Sakura's relief, even Sarada dared to smile.

…

"How about we open the presents now?" Hinata said cheerfully as she picked up the last of the dinner plates from the table. "You must all be so impatient!"

Proving her point, the children all hurried to stand from their chairs and ran to the pile of gifts. Behind them, their parents followed, breaking their group into smaller cliques. Kakashi followed Sakura when she went to find Sarada's gift. At her side, Sarada looked up to her expectantly. If only for now, Sakura was glad that her daughter could be happy and forget about all that pained her. If only it was always so simple.

"Here you go, Sarada-chan," Sakura said, a great smile on her lips as she handed her daughter her gift. "I hope you like it."

Sarada tore apart the wrapping, along with a part of Sakura's heart. She had put so much effort into making it pretty - but then again, that was what wrapping paper was meant for.

"Woah." Sarada held the dress up in her hands, eyes looking it up and down slowly in wonder. "It's like the one you wear in the old pictures, mom!"

"It's a little different," Sakura began explaining, pointing out the armor inside of it.

"Can I wear it for my mission next week?" Sarada asked excitedly, turning to Kakashi. "Eh, Kakashi-san?"

"Why don't you ask your mother?"

Sakura's stomach dropped into her feet once more. Sarada was no longer so young she was blind to the situation around her. "Of course you can, Sarada-chan."

Kakashi placed his palm on the small of her back, comforting her with a smile. Sakura offered him a smile of her own, apologetic. When Sakura noticed the odd way Sarada was watching them, she shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"Well, didn't you get me anything?" Sarada said to Kakashi, holding out her hands.

"Did I?" Kakashi pondered, fisting a hand under his chin. "Was I supposed to?"

Sarada frowned, tugging on the bottom of Kakashi's vest. "Of course you were! You always get me presents for my birthday!"

Humming, Kakashi picked Sarada up and sat her on his hip. Even big as she had gotten, she was only tall enough to be face to face to Kakashi now. "What would you want, then?"

Sarada held onto Kakashi's vest, eyebrows knitted in thought. "Your mask."

Kakashi laughed, and Sakura soon followed. The mystery of Kakashi's face had been passed on to the next generation, and Sakura wondered if he would ever reveal it to them.

"How about a few training sessions then?"

"Really?!" Sarada let out, bouncing in Kakashi's arms. "You mean it?"

Kakashi nodded.

Sarada fought against Kakashi's hold, until he finally put her back down on her own two feet. She pointed at him, accusatory. "Then stop treating me like a child! You have to take me seriously from now on!"

"Aah," Kakashi sighed, turning to Sakura. "How fast they grow. I thought I still had a year or two left with this one before she turned like you."

Sakura slapped his shoulder, frowning playfully. "Idiot."

…

Sakura stared straight ahead as she scrubbed, eyes unfocused and set on whatever inconsequential thought managed to occupy her mind for a moment. Sarada and the other children had remained at Naruto's house for a grand sleepover, and so, Sakura had returned home alone. She had thought she would, maybe, use the childless night to relax. Have a few cups of sake, a bath, maybe even find a copy of Icha Icha to read for herself, after all.

Yet, Sakura was in the kitchen, assaulting the stains she had left this afternoon with a discolored rag. When she was done with the stains, she found herself doing the dishes, and then the dusting, and then the sweeping. One task seamlessly became the next. Before she knew it, Sakura had mopped all the floors and even cleaned the bathtub.

Now, she was cleaning the inside of the oven.

The cheesecake had spilled over just slightly, and now this one burnt-to-crisps bit simply didn't want to go away. So Sakura scrubbed harder, but it was still as stubborn. Decidedly more stubborn than a piece of burnt cheese, Sakura renewed her efforts, until she finally slipped and instead cracked a fingernail.

"Fuck!"

Sakura inspected her finger, annoyed to see it bleeding.

"Fuck," she repeated, feeling the anger expanding in her chests as she took deeper and deeper breaths. When her lungs simply couldn't inflate anymore, it rose up her throat so she could curse louder. "Fuck!"

Sakura threw the rag at the oven, annoyed at the tears that gathered in her eyes yet again.

What the fuck was she doing here? In an empty house, obsessively cleaning everything that didn't need to be cleaned?

Sakura laughed to herself.

"Fuck this bullshit," she croaked, grabbing the rag to pummel the oven with it. "I'm done!"

The oven never groaned under her assault, so Sakura dropped the rag once more. "I'm done. I'm done."

Done with the oven, done with the floors, done with the grocery trips, done with the baking.

Done living for a husband that didn't live for her.

Fueled by determination rather than anger, Sakura got to her feet, her features set in stone as she reached for the alcohol cupboard and retrieved her best bottle of sake. She'd kept it for a special occasion - for Sasuke's next visit, of course - but tonight was better, she convinced herself. Then, she headed out, her feet following the clear path her mind had already set for them.

Seconds after she'd knocked on his door, Kakashi opened it, a frown on his face when he spotted the bottle. "Who died?"

"I did."

For Sakura believed in the truth of it. There had been few of these times in her life - less than she could count on a hand, infact - but there was no mistaking the quake that shook her to her core. She had cut her hair on a whim the first time it had happened, and had then finally found her strength. The next had been during her fight with Sasori; that fight had taught her what lengths she would go to protect those she loved. That her hands could kill. Finally, the last had been when she had given birth to Sarada. She had howled in pain for hours, cursing to high heavens. Yet, when she had first held her, it had all been forgotten. No pain would ever be enough to take happiness from her, and strengthened her resolve to hold onto everything she held close to her heart dearly.

So dearly that it took more than a decade to understand it wasn't happiness, and that she had to let it go.

Kakashi stepped to the side and allowed her without a word. Sakura could only chuckle internally. How dramatic she was being. While Sakura sat on his bed, Kakashi fished for cups in a drawer of his single dresser. To this day, he still lived in the same tiny studio, as if he had made it his life's goal to prove one could live with so little. Sakura opened the bottle, leaning forward to fill the glasses he presented. Once she took her own glass, Kakashi grabbed the bottle and set it on the windowsill.

Comfortably leaned against the wall, he raised his glass and bumped it with hers with a faint clank.

"Sarada didn't like her gift?" Kakashi asked, eyes set on the wall across from it and the various sheets pinned to it.

"Of course she did," Sakura chuckled. She took a large sip from her glass, all too satisfied when it burned down her throat. "She was happy you came, you know."

'Someone had to be there."

From the corner of her eyes, Sakura watched Kakashi. Only rarely did he express any frustration for her familial status, and only through implication as he had just done. Sakura hummed. He was right, after all.

For a while, they drank in silence, until Sakura huffed and said, "Do you know how long it's been?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Two years? I haven't seen him myself in at least five."

Sakura nodded. "Two years. Two years, three months and six days."

At her side, Sakura could feel Kakashi tense. His fingers tightened around his glass, just barely, but she didn't miss it. It was small things like that that should have knocked some sense into her long ago - it was things they all did whenever they spoke of Sasuke and herself. All of them; it didn't matter if it was Kakashi, or Naruto, or Tsunade.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "My life is everything I wanted when I was a child. I became a ninja, married him, had a beautiful life. I even got to be a housewife."

"Shall we toast?" Kakashi said, incredulous, no doubt hesitant at the sight of the sardonic smirk she plastered on her face.

"Yeah. I came here to you in the middle of the night for a toast - "

"It's only eleven," Kakashi cut in. "Hardly the middle of the night."

"You don't have children," Sakura said pointedly, throwing him a dirty glance.

"Point taken." Kakashi slouched further against the wall, stretching his legs over the end of the bed. "Middle of the night it is."

"I'm not who I wanted to be when I was a child," Sakura continued, ignoring his antics. She lowered her eyes to the pale liquid in her glass, sloshing it around carefully. "I didn't grow up to be the person I wanted to be."

Kakashi remained silent, staring straight ahead of him once more.

"That's okay," Sakura finally said. "What does a child know of the person they should really become?"

"What are you getting at, Sakura?" Now, Kakashi was looking, eyes dark and heavy with expectation that made Sakura's stomach churn. He took the the glass from her hands and set them both on the window sill with the bottle. "What is this?"

"I'm done," Sakura repeated, the same resolve burning in the pit of her stomach as it had in her kitchen. "I'm done."

"Done with what?"

Sakura snorted, a smirk on her lips. Nothing but a direct answer would satisfy him, ever. He always needed to prod and needle until she bared her innermost thoughts to him. But that was what she had sought him out for. "I'm getting a divorce."

…