Devastated after a broken relationship and burdened with the knowledge that she will never bear a child, Haruno Sakura decides to dedicate herself to becoming a tool for her nation; the strongest weapon Konoha has ever produced. Unfortunately, to do this she has to go through the Hokage first. [KakaxSaku]

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Chapter 1

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Not for the first time that morning, Haruno Sakura caught herself grinning and humming to an invisible tune in her head as two of the nurses present with her in the operation room where she was doing open-heart surgery eyed her with skeptical looks.

"Ne, Sakura-sama, is everything alright? You seem particularly happy today," one of the nurses, a normally meek 16-year-old with a knack of receiving the nasty end to Sakura's rather unpredictable mood swings, queried.

"Oh, no, don't mind me, Ayame-chan," Sakura cooed as she removed the gloves from her hands and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "I guess it's just… the effects of the weather."

Of course, Sakura knew she was lying as she said this, some secret mirth causing the corners of her lips to lift knowingly as she called it a day and signed the medical report that was handed to her with a flourish.

Seven years since the war had ended and four years since she and Sasuke had officially begun seeing each other as something more than just teammates, today was the first time Sasuke had ever made the first move.

"We'll meet at Madam Kuro's at 8pm," he had said earlier, when he dropped by unexpectedly at the hospital where Sakura worked just to relay the information. "I'll see you there." He wrapped the statement up with a tentative kiss to her forehead and fingers that lingered ever so slightly on her cheek.

The whole moment had caused Sakura to freeze, heart fluttering wildly against her chest and ears as pink as her hair.

It was no secret that Sasuke and Sakura had been seeing each other. She had loved him for years, after all, and it came as no surprise to anyone when Sakura had gladly welcomed him back into her life despite all his misgivings. They had started meeting each other without the presence of the rest of Team 7 four years ago, three years after Sasuke had completed his probation period.

At first, it was just Sakura who instituted the relationship, with Sasuke merely listening to her exaggerated stories with an expression less disinterested than usual. Sakura would talk or ask questions or suggest new places for them to hang out and, silently, without a word of protest, Sasuke would respond or let her drag him to wherever she wanted to go.

Four years down the road of their relationship and not much had changed.

All around her, friends and casual acquaintances alike were announcing their engagements or conveying their decision to move in with their other half – even Ino, who had finally stopped rejecting Inuzuka Kiba's varying attempts at courting her six months ago, had just conveyed the news a couple of days back that she had brought Kiba to meet her parents.

All this while Sakura still had trouble getting Sasuke to open up about how he really felt about her.

"You're moving too slow, Forehead," Ino had told her one fine day, two and a half years into Sakura's relationship. "You guys have been seeing each other for, what, almost three years now? Shouldn't you guys at least ATTEMPT to bring the relationship to the next level? Even that idiot Naruto's met Hinata's parents, hasn't Sasuke even considered marriage?"

"We're doing just fine, Ino," Sakura had confidently replied despite the nagging voice at the back of her head that had agreed with Ino's point. "You know how Sasuke is, he's still trying to get used to life as a Konoha citizen again. I'm happy to take it slow with him. Besides, I don't think it even matters if we get married."

Ino had graced Sakura's answer with a mere quirk of the eyebrow and even then, without having to listen to Ino nag on about it, Sakura knew she was kidding herself – becoming a good kunoichi and getting married were two of Sakura's most important dreams growing up. Granted, becoming a good kunoichi often took a backseat to the latter dream throughout the most part of her ignorant adolescence, but they were important dreams nonetheless.

Now a successful 23-year-old kunoichi and the strongest medic nin that Konoha ever produced, if Sakura were to be perfectly honest with herself, the fact that there seemed to be no progress in her relationship with Sasuke was beginning to get on her nerves.

Yes, she loved Sasuke with all her heart and, no, she was by no means going to push him into doing something he didn't want on his own terms, but that didn't mean, deep down, she didn't still have some frail hope that Sasuke would one day turn around and give to her the, "I devote my life to you," speech.

Sakura wasn't going to lie to herself – it hurt seeing Kiba surprise Ino on random occasions and nuzzle his head against her neck affectionately while the most emotion she had ever seen from Sasuke was when he was glaring down an enemy in the battlefield.

Sasuke never held hands with her on his own account, never organized a surprise date for her, and certainly never nuzzled.

"But all that's gonna change now," said a small, obscure voice in Sakura's head resolutely as Sakura leafed through a couple of unfinished paper work and scribbled some inconspicuous notes into several of them. "Today Sasuke was the one who made the first move and Sasuke was the one who planned to meet me at Madam Kuro's at 8pm, the finest and most exclusive restaurants of Konoha – this definitely means something."

Sakura couldn't help but to smile at the thought of meeting Sasuke tonight, the glee of anticipation bringing a healthy blush to her cheeks.

"Yes, that's right. Ino, eat your heart out, because Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke are finally taking their relationship to the next level!" the inner voice in Sakura's head proceeded to exclaim. "Hmm… I wonder what would be the right outfit to wear?"

As Sakura's eyes glazed over the paperwork, mentally running through the two or three new dresses she had yet to try on, a knock suddenly sounded on the door.

Coughing abruptly, Sakura raised herself from her seat behind her desk to call out, "Come in."

The door opened slowly, revealing the slightly flustered face of the nurse, Ayame. "Sakura-sama, the Hokage would like to see you for his personal check up."

Sakura's smile slid off her face as she eyeballed her nurse dejectedly. "Can't it wait? It's almost 7pm and my shift was over thirty minutes-,"

"Ohayou!"

Sakura groaned, having expected this.

"Nice to meet you, too, my beloved student-san," said the voice of none other than her ex-sensei and current head of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi, as he crouched comfortably in the middle of her office desk, eyes squinted in an obligatory friendly nature.

"Fine," huffed Sakura at last, rubbing a finger to the swell in her temples. "Ayame, you are free to go. I'll give this idiot a quick check up before I leave."

Ayame scurried out of the office, door shutting briskly behind her, as Sakura's attention swiveled over to the 30-something-year old man resting comfortably on her desk as if he could be there all day.

"I believe I recall telling you we'd have your check up four hours ago?" said Sakura tersely, all trace of giddiness gone. "Why, pray tell, did you decide to drop by my office at 7pm when you know I'll be off duty by now?"

Kakashi's hand rose to an invisible scratch at the top of his head as he graced Sakura with a sheepish chuckle. "Oh, Sakura, you know I would have come straight to you if it wasn't for my current schedule," he replied calmly, taking particular amusement in the way his ex-student's nostrils flared as she eyed how his muddy shoes were staining her immaculate tabletop. "Besides, I knew you'd be here to fix me up regardless, ne, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura huffed, arms to her hips in typical irritated-female fashion. "You know, there's more to me than this hospital," she said grumpily, hands automatically fastening around Kakashi's wrists as she gently pried him off her table and down onto a stool. "Unlike you, I actually have a life."

"Oh, you're so very cruel to this old man, Sakura-chan," said Kakashi, hand clasping to his chest for dramatic effect.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Shut up and strip already," she snapped.

In hindsight, it was actually rather comedic how Kakashi's usually droopy eyes suddenly bugged, cheeks heating up in the barest sign of a blush as his typically sharp mind processed Sakura's order. At the time being however, 15 minutes past seven and with only 45 minutes left to rush home and dress up for tonight's date with Sasuke, Sakura took no pleasure in seeing her ex-sensei squirm.

"Just take your vest and top off, already. I need to conduct the medical exam, geez."

Kakashi laughed sheepishly, extending his arms above his head as Sakura tsked and unbuttoned his vest for him.

"Okay, now, take a deep breath," said Sakura as she pressed her hands to his chest.

Kakashi breathed. For a couple of minutes, the room was completely still and quiet; the only sound coming from Kakashi's rhythmic breathing.

Closing his eyes, the Hokage of Konoha allowed Sakura's warm, gentle chakra to flood into him and merge with his own chakra system. Although he would never admit it out loud, he always enjoyed the sensation of Sakura's chakra prodding his own – an admission he would have never come to with anyone else, medic nin and regular nin alike. Sakura's chakra was unlike any other; it wasn't offensive or even docile; it was inviting, calm, generous, but with the promise of a fight, if need be, much like its wielder.

After about twenty minutes, Sakura finally released her hands from Kakashi's chest, cutting the connection.

"Okay, looks to me like you're all good," she said briskly, eyes soft despite her attempt to fix him with an irritated expression. "Now, please, if you don't mind, I've got a date to attend."

"Aah, no wonder the rush," said Kakashi, rising to his feet and putting his shirt back on. "If I had known, I would not have come today. Thank you for your time, Sakura-chan. I hope you have a good time on your date. If you're ever up for some good ole' fashioned quality time with this old man, I'll be around the bar, having a drink by my lonesome. Ja~"

With that, Kakashi disappeared, leaving Sakura frowning and alone in the middle of an empty office.

Glancing at the clock on her desk, she suddenly broke herself out of her reverie and cursed, "Shit, I'm late!"

"You're late," said Sasuke when Sakura finally arrived at the entrance of Madam Kuro's.

Sakura grinned sheepishly, fingers automatically reaching for security in the tresses of her now shoulder-length pink hair. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun," she said delicately. "At least the good news is I look okay…?"

Despite knowing in advance that she was just fishing for a compliment that would never happen, Sakura couldn't help but have to swallow back the swell of dejection she felt as Sasuke merely turned away from her and wordlessly stalked into the restaurant. "Come. I've made reservations. Hopefully they haven't given our table away due to your tardiness."

Sakura sighed, slumping in.

As it turned out, the restaurant did give the table away due to Sakura's tardiness, but thanks to a flash of red from Sasuke's otherwise ebony-coloured eyes, the waitress nervously stepped out of the way and called management in to empty out an even more posh table.

"We will have the white wine and your house specialty," Sasuke ordered once they were seated. "Sakura, would you like to make any other requests?"

Sakura eep'd, having, for the first time, been acknowledged with such a question from Sasuke throughout their whole 4 years of history together. "Err, no thank you, Sasuke-kun," she replied politely. "I'll just have whatever you're having."

Sasuke nodded and the waitress left.

"So…" said Sakura when the silence was too much to bear. "This place is very… nice. Was it very hard to get reservations, Sasuke-kun?"

"No," replied Sasuke briefly, eyes just as disinterested as they usually were on one of their weekly outings at Ichiraku Ramen.

Sasuke sighed, knowing her attempt at mindless conversation would go nowhere with her highly pragmatic boyfriend.

"Sasuke… is there any particular reason why you invited me here tonight?" she quipped at last, daring to meet Sasuke's obsidian eyes with her own. "You… seem tense."

This observation was no lie; Sakura had noticed the build-up in Sasuke's back and shoulders since she arrived at the entrance of the restaurant a couple of moments ago. At first, she chalked it up to Sasuke just being irritated with her tardiness and the possibility that their reservation would be taken, but, now, seated in a significantly better table overlooking the city skyline, it was highly improbable that Sasuke's tense demeanor had anything to do with her tardiness.

"Sakura," he said at last, after the oddest few minutes of staring blankly at her face. "We have been going out for four years now…"

"Oh my God," screeched inner-Sakura, doing backflips and somersaults in the deepest recesses of her mind. "Don't tell me…"

"Most people would say our development as a… couple… has been slow," Sasuke continued, as inner-Sakura proceeded to fangirl with increasing tenacity. "Within this time… we have been having sexual intercourse approximately 576 times now."

Inner-Sakura halted mid-leap, leaving real time Sakura just as speechless and shell-shocked as she was. A part of Sakura was getting red over the fact that Sasuke had mentioned sex over dinner whereas the other part of Sakura was just at a loss for words over the fact that Sasuke had actually counted.

"Maybe we should just… hear him out," said inner-Sakura, a little off-balanced about where Sasuke was going with the conversation.

"Sakura, all I'm trying to say is that… throughout these four years and 576 times we've had sexual intercourse together… are you not yet pregnant?"

It was as if the wheels of some other-worldly vehicle had screeched to a halt. Sakura's heart stopped pounding a mile a minute as she took the few seconds of open mouth-gaping she had been doing to try and comprehend what Sasuke was trying to say to her.

"Sasuke… are you saying that… all this while, you were waiting for me to get pregnant?"

The impossibility of the night turned worst as Sasuke squirmed in his seat. "Sakura," he said after a while. "You know my plan… I've told you before that I am dedicated to repopulate the Uchiha clan once again."

Sakura nearly fell over in her seat, but was thankfully saved by the waiter who placed some rather expensive looking food on the plate in front of her. "Please enjoy our house specialty! Might I say you two look amazing together, Mr. Uchiha-sama and Miss Haruno-sama," said the waiter happily, completely and blissfully oblivious as to the going-ons of the two persons in front of him.

"Thank you," Sakura was mindful to say to the enthusiastic waiter before turning over to Sasuke and practically hissing at him, "Don't tell me that all this while, all you've wanted was for me to have your babies!"

Sasuke had the gall to look genuinely certain as he nodded. "Of course, why else would I be in this relationship with you?"

Sakura's hand shook as she snapped, "I don't know, maybe because you actually LOVE and CARE about me?!"

If Sakura had ever complained about not getting a reaction out of Sasuke, she was certainly getting one now. Sasuke's already dark eyes darkened ever so slightly as he fixed Sakura with an eerily calm look. "Love and care have nothing to do with this relationship, Sakura," he said softly, face strangely pale. "I require a maternal figure for my future off springs, and you have shown dedication to me and my purpose… I am asking you again… are you not yet pregnant?"

There was an edge to that question which hinted at Sasuke's disapproval of a wrong answer.

Sakura swallowed, knowing the truth that, long ago, she had discovered herself to be completely unable to bear off-spring – this being a result of her commitment to her byakugou seal and strength of a hundred technique.

"Sasuke," she said at last, her voice suddenly soft. "There is something I've been meaning to tell you, but I didn't think it was important until today because you never showed interest in furthering our relationship…"

Sasuke was deathly silent as he observed the pink-haired ninja, eyes glistening with the promise of unshed tears as she tore her eyes away from his own and focused on the hem of her sleeve instead.

"I am not able to get pregnant."

Sasuke's eyes closed, the invisible weight on his shoulders feeling heavier than ever.

"I thought so," he muttered after a while. "You never showed interest in protection when we slept together, and your chakra never showed signs of carrying another…"

The unshed tears that lingered in Sakura's eyes now manifested into real tears that glistened and trailed down Sakura's cheeks. "If you knew all this while, why didn't you end this relationship?"

Sasuke's sigh was not exaggerated as he clenched and unclenched his hands on the tabletop in front of him. "I had… hope… that things would change," he said softly. "I know it was selfish of me, but I wanted to believe that somehow we could defeat the odds and that you would carry my offspring."

"And when I didn't?"

It was Sasuke's turn to look away, his expression unchanging albeit for a slight softening of his eyes. "I knew I had to break it off," he finally said. "I couldn't keep stringing you along forever, not when I know you will never bear the Uchiha lineage…"

Sasuke couldn't bring himself to look up as Sakura's tears turned into muffled sniffs and the occasional soft hiccup.

"I'm sorry, Sakura…" added the Uchiha, unable to meet her devastated gaze. "But if it helps... I... I really did start to care for you."

It didn't help. In fact, knowing that Sasuke cared for her hurt even worst.

AN: Please review, it motivates me to write :)