-Something Just Like This-
"You're fired." It could only mean love. KakaSaku.
A/N: I don't think I've ever written an A/N before. So here goes! I have not been an active member of the FF community in a very long time. I'm a lot older now (go figure), but I really miss the creative process I used to indulge in many years ago. I also really miss the Naruto fandom because it's still a wave of nostalgia for me despite the fact there are so, so many things I wish I could change about it since that really disappointing and tragic and unfulfilling ending...which is why FF exists to fill in the gaps. (Sometimes I wish I could go back to those blissful days full of hope for a great delivery of an awesome story with so much potential. So. Much. Potential.) One of my resolutions this year is to release FF work once a month. Even if it's terrible. I'm pushing myself to do scary things. Now, I'm already close to failing as it's the last day of January, and the deadline is screaming at me. Right now I'm exhausted as I've just gotten home from a 6 hour drive, but I've been working on this on-and-off for months, and it's time to bite the bullet. It's not where I want it to be, but I'll have to be okay with it. There might be some future editing involved, but I just need this one to get out! I'll be better about the next one, so please look forward to more works by me! If you've reached the end of this ridiculously long and unnecessary and unwanted explanation of myself, I thank you for your patience. Truly. Enjoy.
Kakashi stared out the window. He sighed.
"I guess I can look forward to the next decade of my life being incredibly uneventful and dull."
"It's called peace, Hokage-sama," a voice lectured from below.
Crouched in front of him was his favorite medic, neatly tucking his pants into his sandals. Apparently, the Sixth Hokage no longer knew how to dress himself.
He groaned painfully at the title. "Not you too."
"You're going to have to get used to it."
"It's not going to happen."
"Tough. Would you hold still?"
"Is that how you talk to your Hoka- Ow! Did you just pinch me?"
"Will you ever stop crying? Now stop fidgeting! You're ruining all my hard work."
Kakashi muttered something along the lines of, "I won't stand for this insubordination," and "I'm going to fire you first chance I get," all of which went effortlessly ignored.
Suddenly, a head of pink came into view as his assistant rose to full height. His right eyebrow quirked up.
"Sakura, did you get taller?"
"Have I?" the medic mused detachedly.
"I can't see over your head quite as well anymore."
She pinched the sensitive skin above his elbow.
"Ow! Would you stop that?" Kakashi exclaimed, glaring lightly.
She smirked at him before she walked over to where the ceremonial robes hung. With a satisfying swoosh, the robes flared out as she grabbed them off their perch. Sakura settled the robes atop his broad shoulders. The handcrafted emblem of Rokudaime Hokage in beautiful crimson kanji stood out boldly against the crème fabric, symbolizing a new age. It almost made her shiver.
The kunoichi circled back around to stand in front of the new kage. Her bright green eyes were focused as she clasped the red rope tying the ceremonial robe together.
She was in the middle of fixing his collar when he quietly said,
"...I never wanted this."
Sakura's hands stopped working the fabric. She stayed still at first, as if contemplating her answer, before her gaze lifted to match his. Her eyes were unexpectedly blank as she stared into his oddly matching eyes. He wondered what she was thinking about. Then, she looked back down at her hands holding onto the robe's collar.
"I know," she whispered softly and continued straightening out the material.
The resulting silence was thick with the sounds of rustling fabrics and painful reminiscence. All Kakashi wanted to do was hold her to him. He wanted to tell her over and over again how sorry he was. But his arms remained still at his side as she smoothed out the shoulders of his new robes.
At last, she placed the final piece of his outfit atop his unruly head. After a bit of adjustment, she took a step back. She looked satisfied.
"Perfect."
Sakura grabbed his hand.
"Come look."
She brought them to stand side by side in front of the full-length mirror. Kakashi stared at his reflection as a million wonderings and questions raced through his mind.
Never in a thousand years did he even dare to think he'd be alive today much less staring at his reflection in full Hokage regalia. This position of honor was meant for deserving people like his sensei, not for lazy, porn-reading has-beens with a bad habit of being chronically late to everything. He wondered what Minato would say if he saw him now. What would his father say? And what of Obito and Rin? How much he wished they could all be here to share this moment with him.
"They'd be proud, you know."
He caught her eyes through the mirror. Sakura's sea green eyes held his dark gaze. It was a curious thing. She claimed she never knew what he was thinking, but she looked at him as if she could see straight into his soul. And she had a knack of always saying the right things. It was a bit unsettling, really.
Kakashi sighed.
"I look stupid in this hat," he finally deadpanned.
The serious look on Sakura's face disappeared instantly and was replaced with a wide smile. She tried not to laugh.
"I know."
Sakura flew over rooftops, wind in her hair. It was late in the evening. Stars littered the night sky, and the moon was big and bold.
The residential area came to an end, and she was back on the ground, running between trees. She was closing in. She hopped smoothly over the low fence, not bothering with the gate.
She ran past rows of graves before slowing down. The kunoichi stopped running when she could see the outline of the memorial stone glowing from the moonlight. It was a worn old thing whose most dedicated visitor was none other than Copy Ninja Kakashi. Despite the whirlwind of recent events, his visits to the cemetery had not decreased in any way. He was a creature of habit.
And there he was, leaning against said object of obsession with eyes closed and a half-emptied bottle of shochu in his right hand. Sakura stood quietly before him for a few minutes. She wasn't yet ready to disturb the serenity of this moment. His shoulders moved in time with his slow, even breaths, as if he were asleep. And she smiled barely, grateful he could find moments of peace such as this.
"Naruto worked really hard on that surprise party for you, you know," she said.
A single eyelid cracked open to stare at the pink-haired woman. Well, he would have to say her hair looked more violet under moonlight.
"It wasn't much of a surprise. Naruto isn't exactly the poster child of subtlety and secret-keeping," he replied. "He's almost as bad as that Yamanaka girl."
"But still," she protested. "He's a bit miffed you didn't stay. It's your first birthday since your appointment as Hokage."
"Ah," he mused. "I guess I'll start preparing my apologies. Grab a pen, Sakura. I need you to write this down. I, Hatake Kakashi, Roku-"
Sakura rolled her eyes.
"You're a pain in the ass, you know that?"
She took a seat beside him, close enough to feel the warmth radiating for him but not close enough to touch.
"I believe you remind me of that at least once a day," he said as he proffered the bottle.
She took a large swig before sputtering and handing it back.
"Ugh! That's vile," she groused. "What is that? Pure acid?"
"It gets the job done. Although I do wish I had the foresight to grab that delectable sake Tsunade-sama had brought with her," he replied before taking a drink himself.
"She probably would've pummeled you into the ground before you could take a single step out the door," Sakura said. "Remember what happened to Kiba and Naruto on my birthday last year?"
"How could I forget? Those poor boys…stuck in the hospital for a week…"
"And then she made them complete a hundred D-rank missions before they could get back on their regular roster!" the medic remembered with a delighted cackle.
"Tsunade-sama is one scary woman," Kakashi said as a shiver ran up his spine.
"That she is," Sakura agreed, a giggle still in the back of her throat. "That she is."
With a sigh, Sakura leaned back and rested her head against the cold stone. Her eyes slid shut.
The night air was cool and crisp. A perfect mid-September evening in Fire Country. Her respiration was deep and relaxed. She could easily drift off to the sound of the steady breeze rustling the leaves of her beloved hometown. When her breathing slowed, Kakashi thought his assistant might have fallen asleep.
"You know…spending every birthday at the memorial…don't you get lonely?" she asked sleepily.
He used to.
When he had awakened from his temporary death at the hands of Pein, he noticed Sakura had started acting differently. She seemed more fidgety. But the fidgeting was different from her days as an insecure genin. Then one day, it occurred to him that Sakura was only this anxious around him. He would feel her eyes on him at random moments and for unsettlingly long periods of time. It made him uneasy to feel so closely watched. At first, he tried to ignore it. Yet when he started catching her eye, thinking she would stop out of embarrassment, she would never look away. When he finally confronted her about her odd behavior, she had smiled and said, "It feels like you might disappear one day when I'm not looking." She had been afraid to lose someone again. To lose him.
"How can I ever be lonely when you never let me out of your sight?" he said.
When she didn't say anything, Kakashi glanced down to see a small, contented smile gracing her resting face. He looked back up at the stars and closed his eyes. He couldn't help his own lips curling slightly at the edges. What an odd woman.
The Rokudaime looked outside the window with a fisted hand underneath his chin. The scenery of their beloved Fire Country whizzed by, and he was bored. His gaze drifted to the woman sitting across from him and glared. The evil witch had taken his precious books hostage—how, he would never know—and refused to return them to his possession. Her back was to the wall, one leg stretched out on the bench and the other propped up. She was writing in a thin notebook that rested on her raised knee.
It was a rare occasion that his assistant, Sakura, was dressed in official jounin garb. Her flak vest was unzipped, revealing her skin-tight black top. She had opted for the sleeveless one with a slightly high collar, showing off toned arms and shoulders. Her knee-high boots covered more leg than her shorts, and her beloved black gloves peeked out from her hip pouch. It was odd to not see an inch of red fabric on the kunoichi.
"Glare all you want. You're not getting them back," Sakura said, not looking up from her writing.
Kakashi sighed dramatically and went back to staring out the window.
They were on the train to the border of the Land of Fire, which they would then continue by foot to reach Iwagakure, to meet the newly appointed Tsuchikage. The rails would eventually extend into the Land of Earth, a symbol of peace and goodwill between the two large nations in the new age while also connecting Grass. It was a huge financial undertaking that would undoubtedly promote economic growth and diplomacy amongst the countries involved.
The entire car was empty, save for the two of them, with the Hokage's main ANBU retainer team in the nearby vicinity. It had only been an hour since departure, and it would be another nine hours before the train arrived at its final destination.
He sulked as he watched the passing trees. Ten minutes later, he turned back to the pinkette. She was still scribbling away in that tiny notebook.
"What are you doing?" the Copy Ninja asked curiously.
"Something that's of no importance to you, Hokage-sama," she replied, still not looking up.
He nearly rolled his eyes at her this time.
"You stole my books. You might as well entertain me with some decent conversation," he said.
"Ah," she mused. "But that would be being nice when I'm trying to punish you."
"Punish me? For what?"
"I'll leave you to figure that out."
Kakashi gaped at her before furrowing his brows then going back to staring outside the window. What could he possibly have done that warranted this level of humiliation? Sure, he'd done a lot of things to piss off his lovely assistant, but stealing Icha Icha was extreme, even for her. She usually preferred the more violent ways of unleashing her wrath upon him.
There was that one time she found out that he had falsely told a group of Academy students that he'd show them a really cool jutsu if they did a week's worth of paperwork for him. That resulted in him being thrown across the village. He remembered thinking what remarkably good aim she had because he had landed smack right in the middle of the forehead of his carved stone likeness.
Then there was that other time she...never mind. He didn't want to rehash that particular memory. It still gave him the chills two years later.
"Is it because I faked sick during that jounin meeting?" he asked.
"Nope," she chimed quickly, not relenting on her writing. "I had Shikamaru use his shadow jutsu to hold you in an uncomfortable position for several hours to deal with that."
"Oh, that's what that was for? I thought that was for taking those drunk photos of you from the New Year's party."
She was suddenly in his face, sea green eyes flashing dangerously.
"You did what?" she ground out.
Kakashi backed up as far as he could into the seat of the train with both hands raised in attempts to pacify the medic-nin's rage.
"It was Naruto's idea! He has all the photos!"
She continued glaring at him.
"Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry!"
An outsider might be appalled to see the Hokage begging for mercy from his usually charming assistant, but most Konoha-nin knew this to be a regular occurrence. The members of the old Team Kakashi were infamous for having the most eccentric dynamic. In fact, it was rather amusing to those who spent time with them.
After a few more moments of unrelenting furious glaring, Sakura's lips turned into the beginnings of a grin before she fell back into her seat, bursting out laughing. Kakashi was confused and still very wary. When she eventually settled down from her unexpected bout of mirth, his shoulders were still tense.
"Oh, you should've seen the look on your face. That was fantastic," the medic remarked, body still trembling from laughter. Her smile was wide and teasing. "I already knew about that and promptly took care of it."
Kakashi didn't ask as she worked on catching her breath, but his furrowed brows revealed his confusion. Then there was that dangerous glint in her haughty gaze that had him curling his toes in anticipation of what she was about to say next.
"You know when you and Naruto had some inexplicably frequent bowel movements for a week from something you ate? Yeah, let's just say that wasn't exactly from natural causes."
His eyes grew wide in recognition.
"That was your doing? I was strapped to the toilet for six fucking days, Sakura! Have you no shame?"
He was so appalled, but she was laughing again.
"You do realize that that incident set back our schedule an entire week and a half."
"I know, but it was so worth it."
The smirk on her face spoke volumes of how undeniably proud she was of her little trick. It was making the little hairs on his neck stand on end.
"Has anyone ever told you what a beautiful and awfully terrifying woman you are?" he asked.
Her smirk grew wider.
"Only the ones that wish to die a painful death."
He swallowed and cleared his throat.
"Duly noted."
She took a deep breath, large smile still plastered on her face.
"Ah, that was a good laugh. Even better that it was at your expense."
Kakashi stared at the only other occupant in the train car with him, wondering if she'd give chase if he jumped out the window. But, of course, she would.
"You take way too much after the Fifth," Kakashi muttered under his breath.
Still rather pleased with herself, she ignored him and began to hum as she reopened her notebook and took up the pen again.
"I still don't know what I did wrong."
"Let's just say that this is a premeditated countermeasure."
"...Meaning I haven't done anything wrong."
"Yet," she added with emphasis. "I'm taking precautions this time around."
"I was wrong. You are worse than the Fifth."
She glanced up, winked at him, then returned to her writing. He sighed.
"Will you tell me what you're writing now?"
"No."
He got up, plopped down next to her, and peered over her shoulder.
Nothing.
"Don't you worry your little kage butt. This book only responds to my chakra signature, so I'm the only one who can read it."
Annoyed, Kakashi moved back to his seat.
"How am I supposed to pass the time? It's a ten hour train ride."
"Just sit there quietly. You're good at that."
The Hokage narrowed his eyes before rather ungracefully dropping his head on top of his palm and staring poutily outside the window.
"Yep, definitely worse than the Fifth."
He could see Sakura's mischievous smile from the corner of his eye.
"Surprise!"
The Rokudaime blinked. His assistant had been waiting for his arrival with what appeared to be a picnic basket hanging off her left arm at his favorite nap spot.
"How did you find me?"
"Well, Hokage-sama," she began dramatically, "you wouldn't believe the amount of trouble I had to go through to find out where you've been running off to all these months when you're trying to avoid your responsibilities. I had to resort to blackmailing Shikamaru into telling me that you've been hiding in his clan's private forests!"
Kakashi nearly shuddered at the evil glint in the kunoichi's eyes. He didn't even want to know what kind of dirt she had on his other assistant. She was the devil.
"And so, I thought, when I eventually caught you in the act, we might as well make a nice little picnic out of it! Now sit."
Sakura's tone was final, and Kakashi had no intention of disobeying her. And so, very fearfully, he took a seat on the grass. He watched her kneel on the ground and take out two bentos. She poured some green tea from a thermos into a matching cup and handed it to him. Eyes still warily on her, he waited until she poured herself a cup and drink before he took a sip himself. Having known the she-devil for many years, he knew she had no qualms about non-lethally poisoning him and letting him suffer in immeasurable discomfort before healing him. All to teach him a lesson. That woman was more calculating than most people gave her credit for.
"Calm down. I don't even have your nose, and I can smell the anxiety coming off of you in waves. I'm not going to poison you. Relax," she insisted as she opened both bentos, handing one to Kakashi with a pair of chopsticks.
The aroma of savory tamagoyaki was the first thing to hit his nose followed by sour notes of pickled vegetables and a starchiness from steamed rice. It smelled really good.
"I wouldn't put it past you. You did it to Naruto," the Hokage childishly pointed out.
"That was once," she refuted. "And you know he deserved it."
"All he asked was if you'd been going easy on the snacks, and you poisoned the kid."
She glared at him between bites.
"Don't make me rethink poisoning you."
"Did you know that poisoning your kage is an act of treason punishable by death?"
"Not if it can't be traced back to the source," she said with a cheshire grin.
That made him shut up and look away. He stared down at the bento in his lap.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to look."
He glanced up at her to see that she was partially turned away from him. He broke apart the wooden chopsticks, pulled down his mask, muttered a short itadakimasu, and began to eat the packed lunch.
"I thought you'd take any opportunity to finally see my face," he said.
"You could say I've lost interest," she said, face still turned away.
"What, not interested in catching a glimpse of my sexy mug?"
"I understand why you hide it. And I respect your need for privacy. We all have our secrets."
Kakashi blinked. He hadn't expected that response. There was a warmth swirling in his stomach that wasn't from the food, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that. It was somewhat uncomfortable. But not entirely in a bad way. Well, whatever it was, he decided it was harmless and let it go. But he was curious about one thing.
"And what secrets might Haruno Sakura be hiding?"
"It wouldn't be a secret if she told you, hmm?"
They continued their meal in silence, enjoying the mild weather and the chirping of songbirds. It was a peaceful afternoon. At the conclusion of their meal, they both leaned back to lie on the ground, hands behind their heads.
Kakashi thought about the paperwork waiting for him back at the office. He thought about a suitable punishment for Shikamaru for ratting him out and where he could find a new hiding spot now that this one had been rendered useless. He thought about annoying assistants too good at their jobs who made it really difficult for him to be bad at his.
When some time had passed, Sakura got up and began to clean up. As she reached out her hand to wake up Kakashi, he called out her name.
"Sakura?"
"Hmm?"
"You're fired."
Sakura stilled, momentarily stunned, before bursting out in unrestrained laughter. Kakashi opened his eyes to witness her mirth. With a large grin on her face and chuckles still in the back of her throat, she stood and extended a hand to him.
"You're just upset I'm good at my job and won't let you slack off. You need me to keep this village running. Come on. Let's get back to the office."
With a mask-covered grin of his own, Kakashi grabbed her hand, and the two vanished in a whirlwind of smoke and leaves.
The Rokudaime Hokage sat in the reserved section of the stadium flanked by Sakura on his right and Shikamaru on his left. The two men looked positively bored while the destructive taijutsu expert eagerly looked on, rooting for her favorite. Jounin sensei and their students sat on the opposite side of the massive arena. ANBU shinobi were scattered around, hidden in the shadows.
It was the finals of the Chuunin Exams held in Konoha that year. Currently fighting in the arena was a genin from Suna and the other from Kumo. Their attacks sounded like an angry thunderstorm was about to hit, but the skies were clear. Kakashi found it disorienting.
In the middle of the Suna-nin's sweeping wind attack, a chuunin approached Shikamaru, whispering something into his ear. He nodded and got up. Kakashi and Sakura looked up at him expectantly.
"There's something I need to take care of. I'll be back in a few," he said.
The second he was out of earshot, Sakura said, "Two thousand on Suna."
"Deal."
The battle ended with a stunning upset in the form of the Kumo-nin's victory. At the last moment, when the Suna-nin's victory seemed guaranteed, the opposing blonde genin revealed her hidden weapon. While standing her ground against a powerful gale, her hands flew through the seals. Streams of blinding light burst forth from her open palms and converged on her opponent, nearly frying him to a crisp before the match was called. Proctors and medics flooded the stadium floor to clean up and prepare for the next fight.
"That's… Was that the Raikage's Ranton?" Sakura asked.
Kakashi nodded. "Yep. That girl's his protégé. Now pay up."
Grumbling, Sakura handed over the cash. Kakashi smugly pocketed it.
"That's cheating. You had insider info," she said.
"All's fair in love and war," Kakashi said with a wave of his hand.
Sakura rolled her eyes. Sometimes Kakashi wondered how her eyes never fell out of her head with all the eye rolling she did.
"I didn't even know Darui's student would be participating in this exam. How did you know?" she asked accusingly.
"I met her on our last state visit. The one you couldn't make. He won't say it, but he's really proud of her. He thinks she'll be the next Raikage."
Sakura looked stunned.
"But that's neither here nor there. It'll be a while before anyone will replace Darui. In any case, I'll be long gone by then."
His assistant glared at him.
"Please stop saying things like that, Hokage-sama. You have a village to lead, and your pessimism reflects badly on your leadership," she said.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled jovially.
"I'm just kidding, Sakura-chan. You're so easy to tease," he said.
She rolled her eyes again and turned away from him. She was still a bit irritated.
"You know how much I hate it. I can't tell if you still mean it," she said.
His smile dropped then. Flashes of memories crossed his vision, and he was suddenly sorry. He reached out to grab her hand.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Bad habit."
He gave her hand a squeeze and waited until she squeezed back. She pulled away and sank deep into her seat. Her voice was sad and distant as if recalling a bad memory.
"Do you mean it?" she asked.
He took a moment to think.
"No," he finally said slowly. Tasting the truth on his tongue. "Not anymore."
She exhaled as if a weight had been lifted off her chest. His heart twinged at the sight of her relief. Of pain he had caused.
"I know I joke about how much you need me, but I need you more than you need me, Kakashi."
He chuckled lightly. "I don't think you realize how much I need you. I can't even fire you even though you're the worst assistant ever."
"I think you mean best."
"No, you're actually the worst. What kind of assistant ignores her boss's every word?"
"One who actually cares about getting things done, Hokage-sama."
"You're fired."
"For what?"
"For calling me Hokage-sama."
"That's your title."
"And I've told you not to call me that."
"I can't not call you by your title. It's a breach of protocol."
"This is why you're a terrible assistant. You never listen to me."
She sighed again but smiled this time. Her eyes were back on the match in the arena.
"Whatever you say, Hokage-sama."
The noon sun was bright.
"Do you miss him?"
Sakura put down the bottle that was to her lips and looked over, blinking owlishly. She swallowed the water in her mouth.
"Who?"
Kakashi slipped off his forehead protector to wipe the sweat off his brow.
"Sasuke," he said. "Do you miss him?"
A wistful smile graced her lips as she turned her head towards the sky. It was a typical day in Konoha. Cloudless and temperate. The air was sweet and the grass soft. Earlier that day, Kakashi had claimed that the office was getting too stuffy and dragged Sakura out for a sparring session. She had been surprisingly compliant, claiming she'd been itching to throw a few punches the entire day. That should've been warning enough because his jaw and ribs were sore as hell now. How could he forget? It was the anniversary of Sasuke's death, after all.
"Five years now, is it?" she mused. "Five since he left us for good."
When Sakura and Kakashi had found the mangled bodies of their teammates at the ruins of the Valley of the End, the medic immediately rushed to their side. Barely conscious and fading from blood loss, the two boys had smiled at her, as if they weren't missing arms, as if they weren't dying before her eyes. There was a lump in her throat, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
"You idiots," she said as her hands lit up.
Naruto's grin only grew.
"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. His normally loud voice was soft and weak. "Just like old times, huh? I missed this. I really missed this. I'm so glad we're all together again."
He sighed, heart full and content.
"Me too."
"I'm just going to rest my eyes. I'm so tired."
"Don't fall asleep, Naruto. Keep talking to me."
"Just for a little bit."
"No, Naruto, I need you to stay awake."
His eyes closed, and she tried to work faster. She was completely spent, utterly chakra depleted, and when the green glow around her hands began to flicker, panic set in. No. No, no, no, no, no. Not now.
Her brain immediately ran through all possible options, but the answer was painfully clear. Somehow, Sasuke knew.
"It's okay," he said.
She didn't want to accept it.
"No, Sasuke. Don't make me choose. I can't. I can't do it. There has to be another way."
"Sakura."
The moment he said her name, her eyes locked with his. Hers were full of fear, but his were calm, accepting. It was the first time she saw his eyes up so close since before he left the village.
"I'm choosing for you. Save Naruto."
She sobbed.
"I'm ready. I want to see my parents. I want to see Itachi."
He looked wistful. She was in anguish.
"Even after all this, after everything, you still want to leave us. Why do you keep hurting us like this?"
His smile was sad.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I hope you can forgive me."
She was still looking at him, trying to read him. He was a dying man—no, boy. In the world of shinobi, he had long been considered a man. But it didn't change the fact that he was only seventeen. He should have had more years than just the seventeen short ones he had ultimately lived, albeit destructively. She was still looking. She could see a little bit of hope, a little bit of regret. She decided then she couldn't lie to him. She shook her head and locked gazes with him again.
"No. Not now. Not today. Probably not tomorrow or even a year from now. But maybe, just maybe, someday. I can give you that, Sasuke. I can give you someday."
He smiled, looking grateful and at peace.
"Thank you."
And just like that, his last softly spoken words ripped through her worse than Sasori's poisoned blade as Sakura felt his life force dissipate beneath her bloodied fingertips.
"Sometimes when you and Naruto are walking ahead of me, I can see him walking next to you two. Sometimes when I pass through the market, I can see him picking up tomatoes on his way home. Sometimes when I make onigiri, I add katsuobushi even though I don't like it."
Sakura sighed. Her head was still tilted upwards, gazing into the clouds. Soft. Unfocused.
"I don't regret, for a moment, my decision. If I had to do it again, I would choose the same. It was the right one."
Kakashi stepped closer. His hand rested on her shoulder.
"But it still makes you sad," he said quietly.
She turned to look at him, matching his gaze. She nodded, eyes downcast.
"Yeah," she said even quieter. "It still makes me sad."
Kakashi's arms wrapped around her, pulling her into his chest. With a sigh, her arms reached around his back and held him close. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat, grateful he was still here.
Evening fell on the day of Naruto and Hinata's wedding. It had been a long day full of festivities and rituals dating back hundreds of years with the final soiree being hosted by the Hyuuga estate in their illustrious gardens. It was Sakura's first time at the beautiful landscaping paradise, and she was immediately drawn to the plum blossoms floating down onto the koi pond. She sat underneath the overhanging tree to watch the fish swim.
As the groom's best friend, Sakura had been heavily involved in the preparations and execution of the event. Now, she was exhausted and badly in need of a nap that she wouldn't wake from until next week. The moon glowed brightly in the night sky.
"Thought you ditched me."
She turned her face towards Kakashi, smiled, and patted the space beside her. He maneuvered his formal kimono and sat.
"Never," she replied. "I'll be rejoining the party soon. Just needed some quiet."
She was back to watching the fish.
"I don't think I've ever seen you in a kimono," he said. "You look nice."
The corner of her lip quirked.
"Thanks."
Sakura then leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. Kakashi held out his palm face up, and she slowly interlaced her fingers with his. These public interactions were rare, but today was special. And so, they indulged. Even a little.
"Naruto must really be missing him right now," Sakura said.
The music was loud but far enough away that he had no trouble picking up her voice. Soft and heavy with nostalgia.
"Don't you?" he replied.
"Of course."
She breathed in deeply and exhaled long and slow. His hand tightened around hers.
"Thank you, Kakashi. For being here," she said. "It's easier with you."
"I will always be here," he said, "as long as I can help it."
"Even when you're trying to fire me?"
"Especially then."
She smiled.
They lapsed into silence. Music and laughter were roaring behind them. Flicks of fins splashed the water's surface. The moon made its slow journey.