Konoha was a city full of secrets being kept from the general public. The secret that the Uchiha clan massacre was plotted by the elders; the secret that Naruto was not only the container for the nine tailed fox, but also the goddaime's son, the secret that Kakashi had a child. It's easy to keep a secret no one knows.
Sakura stared at the small box that Tsunade held out to her. The twenty year old took the box gently and held it at arm's length like it was a trap. "Why am I only being given this now?" She asked cautiously, her eyes dancing across the fancy carved designs.
Tsunade sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "It was in the hall of records, and had been bound to the shelf it was placed on until yesterday." The hokage poured two glasses of sake, having a strange feeling that she and Sakura both would need it in a moment.
"So, it has my mother's name on it. Haruno Hana. But what's inside?" The pinkette asked, slowly bringing the box closer for a better look. "No one knows." The sanin replied calmly. "Do you think I should open it?" Sakura asked, placing the box on her mentor's desk, taking a seat and pulling it close to the desk's edge. "It is up to you. You have always wanted to know more about your mother. Perhaps there is even something about your father in there."
That was enough to encourage the girl to flip open the dusty lid. Tsunade watched her apprentice reach into the small box and pull out a folded letter yellowed by the passage of time. "It's addressed to Kakashi." Sakura whispered, confusion flowing through her freely. She looked into the box again and found another folded piece of paper in the bottom with 'To my baby' scrawled across it. "There's another one, I think it might be for me." She pulled it out and unfolded it.
An old black and white photo fell to the table, drawing both their attention. Inside the frame were two people, arms wrapped around each other. One was quite obviously a young Kakashi; however Sakura wasn't sure who the woman was. She'd never seen a photo of her mother as she'd grown up. Her foster parents had never known her birth mother or father.
She flicked her green eyes back to the loopy writing and read aloud.
'Dearest baby,
I don't know your name yet, or if you'll be a boy or girl. But the doctor told me today that the odds I would live through your birth were slim. I have moved to rain country to give your father his space, because I know he does not want a child, nor does he want me as his wife. The picture folded in this letter is of me and him before we broke up. I've requested a small escort to return you to Konoha once you're born, because of my debt to Mikoto. She helped me to escape in secret asking in return only that if you are a girl, you may marry her little boy whom has just been born.
Don't be cross with me, as I have a feeling you will be a girl, and I have seen her son. He is sure to be handsome, and with a mother like Mikoto, I am sure he will be very nice. I have locked this note in a sealed box, you will not be able to open it until you have turned twenty, and it will be your decision on whether or not to hunt down your father. His name is Hatake Kakashi and he has silver hair. I can't say much else as he never spoke much of himself. Just know I love you, and will watch over you always.
Love,
Haruno Hana,
Aka mom
Tsunade felt her jaw go slack as the pinkette read the letter. "Hatake Kakashi, that reclusive, womanizing, perverted old man? He's your father?" She watched the realization dawn on her pupil's face.
Sakura snatched up the pre-poured glass of sake and downed it in one gulp. "I spend my whole life trying to find out anything I can about my father, and for at least half of it, he's right in front of me." She was in shock to say the least.
She held up the picture and scanned every detail of her mother's face. There was no mistaking it was her mother, they had the same face. But how come Kakashi had never said anything about knowing her mother? Surely he had seen the resemblance?
She caught her mentor's eyes and hummed out loud. "Should I tell him? I don't know how he'd react…"
Tsunade let out a low whistle and drank her own cup of sake before nodding. "He does deserve to know. But what I am far more concerned about is how the Uchiha is going to react."
The sanin had a valid point, Sakura supposed. They had become friends since his return, although their friendship was quite tense. "I'll worry about that much later. Perhaps I won't even tell him about it. He would think I was lying anyway." She stood from the chair and picked up the note her mother had written for Kakashi, as well as the picture. "Wish me luck." She said softly, disappearing from the room in a swirl of leaves.
She appeared at the usual team seven training grounds, knowing that Sasuke and Kakashi spent their afternoons sparring, since the jounin was too lazy for missions, and Sasuke was still on probation. She spotted them taking a break in the distance and screwed up all her courage. She had a very tentative relationship with her former teacher, and was not particularly fond of him. He had always focused on training the boys, and never spared her any time.
She walked over to them trying to think of something to say, but found she could think of no words for the occasion. She dropped the letter into the jounins lap and walked away quickly. She felt all of her courage drain instantly as she saw him unfold the paper. She was gone in a whirlwind of leaves before he had even begun to read what was written.
Sasuke stared between the piece of paper Kakashi was reading and his face. He could see shock settle in over the supposedly calm demeanour of Konoha's prized jounin. Curiosity getting the better of him, Sasuke cleared his throat and asked casually, "What's it say?"
Kakashi felt his eye twitch involuntarily, "I'm…a…..f-father." Was all he could stutter out, causing the Uchiha to jump to the wrong conclusion. "You slept with Sakura?" Sasuke spat with disgust, feeling jealousy well up in his gut.
The silver haired jounin was snapped out of his shock at the young man's words, and sputtered out a quick, and serious, "NO!" He threw the paper at the Uchiha, who looked ready to kill, and said, "Read it. It's not from Sakura, it's about Sakura."
The Uchiha felt ready to burst as he finished reading the note and saw how Kakashi shuddered. "You had a fling with her mother, and never noticed she was pregnant?" His voice was incredulous and accusing, pulling the jounin out of his state of shock.
"I didn't know. Hana moved to rain country after we broke up. I never saw her again." Kakashi stood suddenly, and looked in the direction Sakura had taken off in. "I've been a terrible father." He muttered, thinking back on the years he had favoured the boys. He wondered why she had only told him now. He knew she'd been raised in a crowded foster home, if he'd known she was his daughter he could have raised her himself. It hurt to think that she had known and never said anything.
Sakura sat atop the hokage mountain, deep in thought about her mother, and why she'd locked the box containing her father's identity away for so long. The note had tried to assure her that her mother loved her dearly, but she felt that wasn't true. If her mother loved her so, why would she willingly resign her to being raised by strangers when her father should have been the one to raise her?
She wasn't startled as she heard the approaching footsteps of who she assumed to be Kakashi. She was, however, surprised when Sasuke was the one who took a seat beside her. "He let me read the letter." He said calmly, staring out over the horizon, being careful not to let his emotions show on his face. "Oh." Was all she could say in return.
"It was only fair, I guess. Since half of it was about me." He didn't see her flinch, but he felt her shift away as though she waiting for his outburst. "I didn't come here to get mad at you for it." His words stopped her from moving any further.
She gulped and nervously began playing with her fingers. "I wasn't planning on telling you." She said softly. He nodded, as if agreeing with the reasoning she hadn't bothered to state. "Seeing as I know about it now, there's no escaping what needs to be done." He pulled a small box out of his pocket and placed it beside her hand.
The pinkette blinked owlishly at the box and slowly opened it. There was a beautiful ring inside. "I don't want you to marry me because of a deal our mother's made." She said quickly, shutting the box before she could be tempted by the offer. She was still in love with the Uchiha after all.
"I planned to ask you anyway; eventually." His voice was cold and calculated; she could tell he was waiting for a second rejection by his tone, he only ever got so cold when he sensed things were not going his way.
"I want to marry you." She whispered, opening the box again as he turned to look at her.
Kakashi paced around Konoha, muttering to himself and scaring the civilians. He had decided that the Uchiha should probably speak to her, his daughter, first; if he wanted a positive response. However the young man was then supposed to send her to find him. It had been two hours. He was just starting to think that Sasuke had forgotten when he saw them walking up the street.
Suddenly he could feel his throat swell and hands begin to sweat. He wasn't ready to be a father. Especially not to Sakura, she was far too violent; something that was probably his fault.
Sakura took a deep breath as Sasuke led her to where Kakashi was waiting. She ran her fingers through her hair nervously, trying to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach.
Kakashi was about to stand up and run away when he took notice of how small and afraid Sakura appeared. Sometimes he forgot she wasn't like her teammates. She was a girl, one whom had known nothing about her parents all her life, with people sweeping her aside as if she was just some small annoyance. He scolded himself for even thinking of running away as she and Sasuke stopped in front of him.
Sakura felt herself begin to shake with years of bottled hurt feelings as the jounin wrapped his arms around her, whispering apologies for having been unaware that she was his child.
Sasuke felt a small bubble of jealousy as he watched his new fiancé hug her father, their teacher for many years, thinking about how he had barely gotten a smile out of the pinkette. Although he supposed she was still in shock from the day's events. He slipped away silently as the two took a seat and began to talk. He should probably tell the dobe what was going on.
Sasuke watched in amusement as Naruto's jaw opened and closed silently. He had never seen the blonde speechless before. "Kakashi is Sakura-chan's father?" He asked finally, seeking out Sasuke's eyes, "Yes." The Uchiha replied with a smirk. He rather liked the dobe when he was dumbstruck. "And you're engaged?" Naruto asked, confusion marring his features, his hands making minute gestures as if pushing two objects together. "Hn. You're slow, dobe."
Tsunade grinned to herself as she saw Sakura and Kakashi walking down the street together. She had been fairly certain that her apprentice would have lashed out against the jounin, but she was glad she had been wrong.
Haha I've been working out this story all day. I couldn't think of a way to make it longer, so it's a one shot. All the same, I hope you enjoy it. It's just part of some random idea I had about team seven. I threw in a little sasuXsaku because I really couldn't resist. Which is why it's under SasuXsaku.
