The Scarecrow and the Cherry Blossom
By Mikomi Hatake
Disclaimer: I do know own Kakashi, Sakura, or any of the said characters in this fan fiction.
Author Notes: This was written as a drabble, but I began to ramble on, and on. It was supposed to be a one-shot in the beginning, but I may continue this, I may not. Its leaning both ways at this point. If I do continue this fan fiction, then this will be only a prologue to the story.
It was a warm summer afternoon in the village of Konoha. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. Children were playing in the streets, and the markets were buzzing with the sounds of civilians shopping and chatting with one another.
Among the trees of the training grounds, a young kunoichi sat against a cherry blossom tree, her pink tresses blowing in the wind. Her eyes were closed as she began to hum to herself.
Beside her lay her teammate and former sensei, with his head resting in her lap. At his side lay his small infamous novel, Icha Icha Paradise. As soon as the pink haired woman started to hum the copy nin would put down his book, and listen as Sakura began her song.
It always started out the same way, after a vigorous morning of training the two ninjas would relax under the same cherry blossom tree. Some times they would talk for a little while, and other days they would just sit in silence. As time dragged on Sakura would begin to hum to break the silence, and slowly the mummer would become a whisper, and eventually she would be singing.
It was the same song every afternoon. Sakura would sing to Kakashi in a foreign language, her voice slightly off tune, but the copy nin never said a thing about it. He enjoyed the company of his former student, and he knew that her singing was something special. She never sang to Sasuke when he was around, and she never sang to Naruto. As far as he was concerned, he was the only one she ever sang to.
She had never learned the name of the song, all she knew were the words of a foreign language. It was a melody from a music box that her father had brought home from a mission when she was only a baby. It was one of the only things that did not burn down with the rest of the Haruno estate.
That was a rather tragic day for the young kunoichi. She lost her home and both of he parents in that fire at the tender age of seventeen. All that she had left of them was an old photo, and her music box. But as time went on, the emotional pain began to heal along with the burns and scars from the fire.
Once she turned nineteen, Sakura had become dependent on only herself. She was able to purchase a small home on her nurses salary, and with the income from her missions she was able to keep it furnished. Every few days would she find her teammates crashing at her house, sleeping in the spare room, and raiding her fridge. She didn't mind at all. After the loss of her parents she welcomed Kakashi and Naruto into her home with welcome arms.
But with Naruto joining the anbu black ops, Sakura found herself spending more and more time with the one constant person in her life. The one man she would always be sent on missions with, and the one man who was not afraid to challenge her in a spar, Kakashi. He was always the one who would give up his Sunday mornings to visit the Haruno's at the cemetery, and he would always put aside nights at the pub to sit with her when Naruto was away. As the days turned to weeks, and weeks became months, Sakura found herself used to the constant presence of her former teacher.
Whenever Tsunade sent the copy nin away on a mission it was always expected that the other would ask to go along, as the team's medic. And when the missions brought the team home, it was always expected that Tsunade could find them both at Sakura's home, with the copy nin laying in her bed. And she would always be watching over him, healing his wounds, the same wounds that he received from protecting her.
It never upset him that he would become wounded from protecting her. The silver haired jounin was just glad that he could keep the medic-nin happy. He absolutely hated to see her cry. He would do anything to keep her happy.
They had their arguments, the kind of fights you expected to find in the home of a married couple. It was not what you would expect from an ordinary teacher and his student, but they did not have an ordinary teacher-student relationship. They were Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura. The infamous copy nin, and the apprentice of the legendary Sanin, Tsunade.
Sakura was known to keep Kakashi in his place. She would drag him home from the pub, drunk, and when he woke up with a pounding headache the next morning she would be sitting next to him saying "I told you so." She was the one who tried to keep the silver haired ninja on time, or as close to it as she could. That was one thing that would never change with him.
Kakashi was known to keep the temper of the medic-nin under control. She was very hot headed, but with the copy nin at her side, she was able to keep her cool. Most of the time. He was also known to keep the male population away from his cherry blossom. No one ever asked her out when he was around her, and even when he was gone, many were still afraid of the copy nins wrath.
There were rumors going around Konoha about the copy nin and the Hokage's apprentice. The civilians shared stories about a romance between the two, that dated back to when Kakashi was Sakura's teacher. They told of cradle robbery, and lust. But the Konoha elite knew better then to believe the stories. They believed that nothing was taboo in a village of ninja.
The said medic nin and copy nin were oblivious to the rumors started about them. The villagers were hushed around the 'couple' and the other ninjas were careful not to mention the stories in public.
But of course that did not keep the rumors from circulating around both Tsunade and Naruto. They were usually the ones who fuelled the fire, and added to the rumors. They had even started a bet one night at the pub. The stakes were currently in the Hokage's favor. For once. If a relationship did bloom between the scarecrow and the cherry blossom, the Hokage would be treated to a bowl of ramen, courtesy of the loud mouthed ninja.
Of course the chances of the Hokage winning a bet were slim to none.