It was rather difficult to find anything fancier than a cotton skirt riddled with stains from either the battlefield or hospital. After combing through what she thought could be appropriate for the night a few days prior, Ino stepped in and took her to a couple boutiques in the village to pick out a dress.
Sakura looked in the mirror meticulously scrutinizing the outfit. It was detailed with cream coloured lace that covered the silky sheath dress underneath ending mid thigh. It was this or a short and tight number Ino insisted was beyond what 23 year olds should be wearing.
"This is classier." she had said but Sakura knew Ino's motives. In the end it really didn't matter because really Sakura didn't really care for figure hugging clothing, she felt that it was too constricting preferring loose materials that flowed allowing her to actually move instead of hobble around. Not to mention being able to breathe. Ino could have the bandage-like dress and she couldn't care less.
After inspecting her dress and shoes of choice (gold sandals, because Sakura never really enjoyed standing on her tippy toes and obviously for comfort reasons) her eyes flickered up to her face. Her makeup was done heavier than she would have liked. Although she typically only wore concealer if she had stayed up into the wee hours of the night scouring through medical scrolls so anything other than that to her seemed like too much. She had long ago discarded most of her cosmetics keeping only what was necessary for certain missions. Since the age of 13 she decided to be a minimalist and it suited her just fine after realizing absolutely how shallow she was worrying over looks and what others thought of her, especially being in her profession.
And to her surprise, she liked putting on eyeliner and mascara. It made her miss being girly, but only briefly as she then remembered it would be a hassle of tugging and rubbing just to take off what was on her face. The smallest hint of blush was brushed on and finally Sakura slicked on a deep shade of red onto her lips. As she smoothed it on she smiled slightly, remembered words going through her mind, "The colour suits you."
It may not have been worthy to be a sweet memory for some but to Sakura it made her heart thump against her chest because who it came from it most certainly was a compliment and those were never given out easily.
With a final glance in the mirror, Sakura took a deep breath and walked out into the living area of her apartment. Ino was already there prepping the last final hors d'oeuvres, placing them onto plates and setting out small plates and napkins. She looked up and gave her best friend a wink and whistled.
An hour later her apartment was bustling with guests drinking wine and beer and eating the finger foods Sakura had meticulously prepared the day before. While making her rounds saying hello and thanking friends for coming, Sakura couldn't help but scan the room every few seconds looking to see if the one person she was hoping to come had arrived.
Hours went by and more drinks were sipped on and minute by minute Sakura felt her stomach drop lower. By the end of the night as her friends slowly trickled out the door she felt herself becoming overwhelmed by disappointment. It was as if her gut had been kicked hard and she was choking on the pain. Cleaning up some of the mess from her dinner table she sat down and covered her face with her hands, tears slowly making their way down her cheeks.
He promised he'd be here.
Somewhere in Konoha, not far from her apartment Hatake Kakashi sat alone in a bar shoulders slumped, eyes weary full of regret. He lifted up a glass of burning liquid to his masked lips and quietly murmured to no one in particular,
"Happy birthday Sakura."