There was nothing Sakura loved more than training in the rain. The small pellets crashing into your skin, mixing with salty sweat, blending in, it was almost like you were becoming a part of nature. As she turned sharply, her boots slid in the mud, making her have to recalculate her balance, leaning farther as her boots searched for grip. Sometimes physics would get the best of her, making her crash into a muddy heap, making her laugh.
She loved the way her laugh sounded in the rain. Shattering the soft sounds of rain drops on leaves. But it wasn't a bad shattering. It was exhilarating. Sometimes, if she was feeling quirky, she would purposefully slide in the mud. 'Slip.' 'Training for all elements.' She wasn't afraid to get dirty. To let the rain wash the mud from her face.
And this is how Kakashi-sensei found her.
She had slid, unintentionally, as she practiced a form. The idea was to move back three steps, plant her feet and spin backwards, elbowing hard in the chest. She over rotated and fell on her side. And she just collapsed on the ground, smiling widely as rain tickled her face. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Do I even want to know?" She peaked an eye open before quickly closing them again, smiling broadly.
"Probably not. Hokage-sama." She clicked feet together, taking another deep breath. Kakashi-sensei muttered something incoherent and she smiled wider. He was wearing the full Hokage robes, including the ridiculous hat. And he held an even more ridiculous umbrella. He had to hold it high to cover his hat.
"What's the point of the umbrella?" It had tiny dog bones and collars.
"Why are you rolling around in the mud?"
"I asked you first?" They were silent for a moment. "I'm relishing in the freedom of the rain."
He let out a 'hmmm.' But no other comment. She listened as the rain hit the umbrella. It was different than the leaves.
"How's the Hokage-ship?"
"I'd much rather be rolling around in the mud."
She looked up and watched him stare at her. He stared blankly, giving up nothing. She patted the ground next to her. He rolled his eyes.
She shrugged her shoulders, ready to close her eyes before she saw him lower his arm, carefully close his umbrella and, very ungracefully, flop down next to her. He lifted his arms, already covered in mud, over his head and sighed contently.
She looked around skeptically. "Who are you hiding-"
"Everyone." He didn't open his eyes. "Mainly Shikamaru." He sighed dramatically. "I picked him because of his laziness, but he's quite persistent."
She frowned. "I'm sure he appreciated it when you told him of his qualifications."
Kakashi-sensei shrugged. "He just sighed."
She smiled.
They sat like that, listening to the rain as it softly hit the leaves. Sakura thought she had fallen asleep when she hear Kakashi-sensei whisper. "You think this was the right thing?" She didn't speak. "Me? Becoming Hokage?"
She let out a drowsy hum before turning to face him. "You took career advice from a half-dead psychopath that seconds before had taken you to an alternate dimension, bent on killing you because of a girls unfortunate demise." She shrugged her shoulders. "I've heard of more far fetched reasons for things."
He stared at her for three seconds before he moved to get up. "I'm done here."
"Wait!" She laughed, moving to grab his hand. She ended up grabbing a piece of his sleeve and tugging a bit too hard. He lost his balance and came crashing down. He would have landed on her if it wasn't for his reflexes that he ended up in plank above her. She quickly grabbed the front of his robes.
"You will be the best Hokage Konoha has ever seen." She said, the smile widening on her face. She giggled. The rain had made his hair splatter around his face, and as it started to slowly come down harder, she swore she could see the crown of his head. "I'm not sure your qualifications, but you'll do fine. Can't be worse than Naruto."
He nodded his head in agreement.
"Besides." She said, adjusting her shoulders. "Shikamaru will do most of the work." She wasn't sure why her voice had dropped, her why her heart had suddenly sped up. Kakashi-sensei seemed so much closer, his eyes were either wider than normal or he was closer. "Isn't that what he's there for."
"Sakura?" His voice was low, and raspy. She realized as his hair brushed her forehead that she was leaning up, knuckles white as she watched his masked lips.
"Yeah?" She shuddered slightly and not from the rain.
"You're acting strangely." She swore his voice lowered as did his neck. She licked her lips and laughed.
"The rain makes you do strange things." She kissed him lightly. She inhaled deeply as she pulled him towards her, breathing in his scent and the crisp scent of the rain. She smiled widely against his lips as she let go of his robes. He pulled back, but after one, long second.
He lifted a hand, pushing hair and dirt away from her face before he rubbed her cheek for a moment. He leaned back in, making her heart skip.
"Those are ruined." Kakashi-sensei pressed his lips to hers chastely before pulling himself away to look at Shikamaru. She glanced at Shikamaru, who was gripping his umbrella tightly. He looked like he'd just smelled three month old milk. "Gross."
Sakura vaguely noticed the rain had stopped as Kakashi-sensei pulled off his robes. "You could have done that before you left. Or never bothered putting them on." Shikamaru swooped down and picked up Kakashi-sensei's discarded umbrella. "Do I want to know what was going on?" Kakashi-sensei shrugged as he dumped his wet robes onto Shikamaru, placing the hat on his head.
"Next time you train, Sakura-chan, please inform me. I don't want to get rusty." The sun had burst through the clouds, quickly heating everything up. Sakura felt the humidity rise as Kakashi-sensei stretched.
"You call that training?"
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei."
"Don't call him that after-that!" Shikamaru sighed dramatically. Sakura watched as Kakashi-sensei gave her a small wave and started walking away.
"I agree with you, Shikamaru-kun."
"Well, it's a start."
She smiled as the rain rose from the ground as steam.