[A/N: Wow... this turned out to be a much longer project than I expected! Holy crow! But I am SO happy to say, ladies and Gentleman, this is my VERY FIRST, 100% finished fanfic project. I've never had a desire to do a oneshot until I saw this lovely Picture by Neonanything on Tumblr. I apologize for any AU or AT differences you may see. I absolutely detested the ending of the series and had to try my attempt at something a little different. A little darker perhaps ;] Please come at me with all you got, the good, bad, and the grammar! My program is a little screwy, so please pardon as I get back into the swing of editing. Love you all! Nice to see you again ;] ]
It wasn't very often , that Uzumaki Hinata found herself in this kind of situation. And in the middle of daylight! The weather was beautiful! So that meant lots of people were walking around... Granted, this was a rather empty side of town during the week. And seeing her old friends was pretty common. They even somehow found time to spend together outside of missions as their irregular schedules allowed; especially lately she mused.
So what she had seen wasn't strange per say. But there was something...just somethi-,"...-nata-chan" This.. this was something that she didn't know she had been expecting until it was hap-"Hinata-chan! Hi-naaaa-taaaaa!" Came the-whinier -than-he-probably intended call from Naruto as he waved his hand in front of her face. Her carefully concealed thought train now derailed, she blinked her lavender eyes in shock. She quickly leaped away from her hiding place and attempted to distract him from her spacey behavior.
Bashfully she covered her mouth with her hands as a blush swiftly ran across her face. She giggled nervously, "Oh sorry Naruto-Kun! I was..lost in thought. What was it you said?" The young Hokage's blue eyes shined back at her with concern."... All I said was Hi! Are you okay?! You look like Shikamaru after Temari-chan gives him chores and he's trying to get out of it. Is something bothering you? And why are you hiding in such a weird place?" He placed his hands on his young wife's shoulders, his eyebrows crinkled in worry.
She inwardly sighed. As dense as Naruto could be.. or rather always was, he knew her like the back of his hand. She smiled sweetly and placed her hands over his." I'm sorry Naruto-kun, I'm just tired I suppose. Do you still want to get some ramen?" As tuned into her as he was, one infallible strategy that always worked with her favorite Hokage was a good distraction. "YEAH! Now you're talkin'! Let's go! Kakashi -sensei and the others said they'd meet us there!" Hinata's ears perked up at the name mentioned and couldn't help but glance over at the person sitting beneath the willow tree a little further down the street.
She and Naruto had agreed to meet outside of the Hokage tower just after noon for lunch. Thinking suddenly, she gave him shy little smile and grabbed his hand walking forward," Okay, lets get going so we can get Ichiraku-sama's lunch special." With a quick change of subject and the mention of ramen, Naruto lept into action Instantly. He swept off of her feet and launched into the air with a loud ,'Whoo!' . She squeaked in surprise and clung to his chest in fear. She inwardly groaned. She loved her husband, really she did. But she would NEVER get used to his 0-100 speed at the drop of a hat.
She tried to keep her her heart from leaping out of her throat as she thought back on what Naruto caught her peeking at.
She had been waiting for him in their usual meeting spot by a grassy patch behind the sheltered back of the old tower. It was the closest thing this side of the village had to landscaping and she often liked to think it was their little secret. It was secluded from the rest of the village's busy streets and always smelled heavily of the climbing sweet pea vines which blanketed the old building. Hinata found herself often wandering there as she waited for her husband's rare free moments. This time, however, circumstances had been a little different. As she walked the path that her feet had seemed to memorize between the office building and the Hokage compound, she spotted her old friend beneath the willow tree.
She paused a goodly distance away from the sleeping Sakura before and was about to go check on her before she saw some else approach. Leaping behind a nearby abandoned fruit stand on instinct, Hinata instantly masked her Chakra. No one had seemed to notice her as she peaked around the corner. Why was she hiding again? It's not like she had just burst into a private affair!
She took a short breath before peaking through a small tear into the fruit stand's canvas walls. The scene she saw unfold before her led her to rethink her original judgment on just how intimate this was. She struggled to hear the words that were being exchanged.
Just across the street, a little further down the path, Sakura snapped her eyes in the direction of a strange noise. What she expected to find was a person or at least an animal of some kind. Instead all she saw was an old fruit tent and a rusty tin can blowing around the street from light breeze. Not a creature in sight. Sensing no danger or real movement, she let out a breathy sigh deciding that she didn't want to expend what little energy she had. It might've been careless...but she decided to write it off and looked back down to the pile of old books in her lap.
She leaned her back against the knurled bark of the old tree and relaxed her muscles. Enjoying the coolness of the shade, she fluttered her glassy eyes closed. For a time span of less than five minutes Sakura allowed herself to doze. She had just finished her fifth double shift at the hospital this week and she was starting to lose her sanity. They were still in the recovery stages from the war, and when filled beds outnumbered skilled hands, it was her responsibility to fill the gaps. Three years later and things were still like this. If she were really honest with herself, it would probably take decades to replace their forces. Even then, this was the beginning of Naruto's reign, and they lost so many comrades that could never be replaced.
Somewhere, deep inside her heart, she hoped that this was the very beginning of the end for the Shinobi way of life. All she could foresee was a long line of healing for the people of Konoha under their new Hokage's eternal sunshine. Thankfully, this was the greatest time of peace that the Ninja world had ever known. With the destruction of the Akatsuki, the underground had turned into a much more controllable entity. Between mundane diplomacy missions and hospital shifts though, she sacrificed a lot of sleep to keep herself busy. With her resignation from ANBU, her time had been dangerously free. And that wasn't good for Sakura's health either.
It wasn't until a familiar, calming presence pricked her senses that she caught herself ghosting a rare smile. Ah..there was that wonderful feeling again. She opened a single, half lidded eye to find the source of that unique Chakra signature standing less than half a foot from her. Her open eye started at his shinobi sandals and lazily traced his form until she stared into the single, charcoal eye of her former teammate and Sensei. Here he was, in all his irritatingly superior, aloof, and mysteriously handsome glory.
His silver hair shined in a subtle glow beneath the dots of sunlight under her willow tree's canopy. As usual, he was in what had been his uniform for the many years she had known him. It was those little things that had this effect on her. Always familiar, and always uniquely him. Nothing out of place or in disarray. He seemed always the same; ever steady, ever persistent, ever late and one of the few constants left in her young life. Deep down...VERY deep down, she appreciated this about him immensely.
She jealously guarded each cherished moment of normal that she could have. Unbeknownst to him, she had become quite attached to his quiet dignity. He never judged her and never expected anything more or less than what she was. Apart from him she was the Former Hokage's last legacy, the lesser Sannin to the Ninja world's greatest living legends. She was world's deadliest Fuujin jutsu user, worlds foremost expert in Medicine, and one of the greatest minds to ever be weaponized.
This was all she was in her own mind of herself.. a rather dark place really. Apart from her, he was the infamous Copy Ninja, son of a traiter , White fang, and the legendary Sharingan warrior. He was the driving force behind the great Hokage's success and the ( Former) Last Uchiha's tie to redemption. Together, he was just Kakashi and she was just Sakura.
Two friends who had been to Hell and back side by side. He held her together at times she thought there was nothing left to hold. She reminded him to slow down, to breath. The past would always be painful, but the present had little moments of joy worth being optimistic about. She taught him that.
With the few smiles she had lately, it almost always occurred when she felt him near. Funny how that was. Today was different though. She noticed changes in him this time. The only changes that Sakura had ever seen occur in Hatake Kakashi were unnoticeable by everyone else in their world. But maybe that was because no one ever bothered to look at him as closely as she did. He had always naturally fulfilled his role their rock, so why should that ever change? Firm, strong, and just plain good.
People never meant to overlook these kinds of things happening to people they cared about. But Sakura knew him well enough to know that the dark circle beneath his only visible eye and the paler than normal complexion on his brow, meant that something was very wrong. He stood a short distance away from her, lazily following her gaze and chuckling a little as she closed her eyes, seemingly to ignore him. She couldn't immediately alert him that she knew something was off. That would instantly drive him away. And if she ever knew anything about Hatake Kakashi, it was how much he loved his secrets.
" Hello to you too Saku-chan." His single eye crinkled in fondness and he found himself lowering into the grass next to her. Knowing she'd grow irritated at the shortened, and somehow insulting nickname. It was his favorite game. Irritating her and then being forced to make it up to her somehow. This was their almost weekly ritual after the war. They had kept it going for years, clinging to what little joy it brought them. Lately however, their encounters had become less frequent. So she couldn't say she wasn't at least a little surprised to see him . Sakura would always sigh in exasperation and would follow up with a heated lecture.
He would find her in whatever spot she decided to collapse in, at the any moment she had time to rest. They'd exchange hollow pleasantries and then she would force him into telling her how high on the pain scale it was. She would proceed to probe him like any other patient and move straight into healing his eye.
This time... she surprised even herself. She opened her eyes, and turned her head towards him. He was not looking at her, and instead had chosen to snatch one of the history books off her lap to flip through a few dusty pages. His eye lazily moved across the lines but she knew he wasn't actually reading. Before she had even moved she could see the incredible strain he was under this time. A thin sheen of sweat glossed the tiny bit of his neck that was visible and she could tell his heart beat was fluttering with labor. He was in pain, and judging by his unusually pale color pallet, a lot of it.
She pushed the other books off of her lap and into the grass in front of her . In one fluid movement she switched onto her hands and knees in front of him and moved between his legs, one hand upon his knee, the other supporting herself in the grass.
Kakashi's eye snapped up to her in question," Saku-...Hnh?" He had only spoken half of her name before his eye widened at their proximity and her boldness. Her touch had cut him off in surprise. This time she had forgone their usual routine to save his pride and instead placed one of her now un-gloved hands upon his visible cheek. One hand upon his knee and the other upon his cheek, her eyes narrowed at him in concentration. Initially he had been frozen stiff, ready to recoil at her touch. His visible eye searched her face for answers as he strained his brow. "Sakura.." he almost pleaded. It was a labored whisper, and it sent shivers down Sakura's spine.
She had NEVER seen him look so desperate. Her breath quickened and she placed her other hand on the opposite cheek. Her eyes glittered in sadness. In that singular moment, He shakily placed a hand over hers on his face gazed into her eyes, and then let his hand drop. He softened, and released the vice grip he had placed upon her other wrist. As if he was sand running through her fingers, he melted into her cool touch. With horror she watched his body go limp and his eye slide shut.
His heavily muscled body slumped forward into her already waiting grip and she caught him firmly. Cursing and snapping into action, she wrapped her arms around his middle and shifted her weight. She noticed he was shaking slightly and took her other hand to remove his leaf forehead protector. His eyes, though shut, were strained and squeezed tight with stress.
Even in unconsciousness he was in extreme pain! He was in complete and utter surrender this time and a part of Sakura's heart broke for him."Kakashi.." She whispered gently, scolding him in irritation and worry. After his forehead protector was sufficiently removed, she set it aside and laid him down gently but quickly into the grass. Snatching her pack a few feet away, she shifted his weight so his head spilled in her lap and she was underneath him cross legged, back against the tree. She removed her remaining glove and closed her own eyes.
A warmth he had grown so used to, now blanketed her hands with green, humming chakra and hovered over his exposed eyes. After a while, she gently lowered them to his temples and gently massaged small circles into his skin. It took a few moments, but slowly, his breathing visibly calmed and healthy color began to return to skin. Sweat trickled on her forehead and eventually the green humming around her hands flickered out. She opened her eyes and released a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Taking a moment to calm her pounding heart, she gazed down over him at him. Her expression was a bizarre mixture of concern,irritation and relief. She wasn't sure which one was the source of the most pain but she couldn't have cared less in that moment.
She simply sat there, allowing the Copy Ninja to sleep blissfully for the first time in months (as she imagined) and glared hard at him. She had to resist the urge to smack him upside the head for being so careless and had to bite back her notorious short fuse. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let her hands sink to the grass in defeat. She opened them again, and peered back down at her sleeping teacher. She pondered their lives at this moment in time and a smirk began to gently find its way into her expression. She reached a hand up to brush a few shining silver strands off of his sweat soaked forehead. She gently rubbed his heated forehead and rested her cool hand there, lingering longer than necessary.
Here he was! The Great Copy Ninja of Konoha, son of the notorious fallen martyr, The White Fang. Hero of the Third Great Shinobi war, former ANBU captain and part-time Hokage lying half unconscious in the lap of his former student. Haruno Sakura, the World's greatest Chakra medic. Infamous for her inescapable Genjutsu, merciless battle strategy, and fierce loyalty to the country of Fire and the Village Hidden in the leaves. She too was a hero of the Third Great Shinobi War and was named alongside her team mates as the second generation of Legendary Sannin. She had given up everything for that day and it had been worth it to for her friends' happiness.
Naruto defeated Orochimaru and every evil that he had resurrected with him. Kyuubi-san and him had finally made their peace. Obito was stripped of the dark curse that Madara had bestowed upon him and sacrificed himself to end Madara for good. Kakashi had told her a couple of weeks later than he had finally gotten to say goodbye and that he was sorry.
The village had been saved again and under Naruto's gentle guidance, had rebuilt everything that had been lost. Almost. After Hinata's passionate confession, she hadn't left his side. They married just a few short months after the village was rebuilt. Everyone had gotten their happy ending.
Sasuke had left them for a short time after they had been reunited, and somehow had figured out a way to bring Itachi back, despite all odds. He never fully disclosed what had happened to make that possible and Naruto forbade anyone speaking of it. No one else besides the Rookie nine who were in the field of war knew of Itachi's initial death anyway. They were inseparable since then, and he finally had some piece of his happiness given back to him. Both were pardoned by Naruto instantly for their past crimes in exchange for the help they had given to defeat Madara. Itachi had married the betrothed civilian girl named Setsuna he left behind so many years ago, and retired from active shinobi duty indefinitely. That was the only day she had ever seen Sasuke really smile.
Itachi had taken up teaching students at the Academy and, with Iruka's guidance, eventually won over the young students. Sasuke himself had taken his place at Naruto's side on the council, and served faithfully for his long time best friend. Hanabi Hyuuga's father saw to it that he readily accepted Sasuke's proposal when he was approached by the young Uchiha. Hanabi couldn't have been more pleased to be to married to such an influential figure and Sasuke started his family. They had two little boys now, twins, Fuuma and Shisui. And soon, a little girl on the way.
The rest of the rookie nine paired off, and found comfort somewhere. Lee and Tenten mourned Neji's loss together, but honored him each year after their marriage. Shikamaru had lost his first love in the very last battle of the war, blaming himself for being unable to protect her. He mourned her for a couple of years before accepting a long term diplomacy position in Suna. Temari and he always made sure to visit Konoha to pay tribute to Asuma each year on the anniversary of his death. They were married early last year and have expressed desire for little ones, but haven't given any news yet.
Kiba surprisingly found himself drawn to Karin, and after some serious shock, but eventual approval from his peers, proposed to her eagerly. She was adopted into Konoha as a citizen, but was forced to forfeit her shinobi position. She was happy to do this, and became the iron-fisted head mistress the the Inuzaka compound needed. Funny, Sakura had always pegged her to be a cat person.
Chouji, Sai and Shino found themselves drawn to another person outside shinobi life and continued their active duty. Sai rejoined ANBU and was appointed commissioner as soon as Naruto had his coronation ceremony. He met a lovely civillian artisan named Ritsuka, and they were expected to marry someday. Even Yamato Sensei began dating Ayame from the Ichiraku shop! Everyone settled into a calmer time of peace for Konohagakure.
Everyone had their happy endings of some sort. All Sakura had ever sought for herself anymore was only time. It was all she could ask for.
Sasuke couldn't say that he wasn't at least a little surprised at Sakura's initial rejection. He'd assumed that she'd need time to forgive him and reexamine her role as a member of Naruto's council. After all, a mother couldn't be an active Shinobi, and he couldn't accomplish his second goal alone. He had done much to spite her, and understood despite his irritation.
So he gave her time. Initially, she might've agreed that's all that she needed. But time only proved to Sakura that it wasn't time that she needed from him. She already had too much of that. Sakura needed... Sakura needed something that she knew, or maybe had always known, that Sasuke could not give her. He had already told her that he never intended to cease active Shinobi duty and in fact would continue on his quests to master his new found blood limit.
He would leave her and whatever children they had in Konoha, always wondering if he would ever return. He most likely wouldn't ever truly understand how she had felt the way she did about him.
She saw him for what he really was at that moment and then she saw herself too. They had become two very different people , shaped by a life that they had lived so separately, for so long, she couldn't imagine ever feeling that she was adequate to fill the void he had. She gently let him down after that, assuring him that he deserved a gentle, dutiful wife.
He had been a little angry at first, but eventually humbled and left her in peace. They maintained a friendship of sorts and often trained together. They enjoyed the silence. You see, Sakura had changed. Loss had its way of doing that. Maybe, in the end, they had become too similar instead of too different.
In the wake of the war, Sakura lost her parents, her best friend, her teacher, and the only boy she had ever loved. She missed Ino. She missed Tsunade. She missed the boy that Shinobi life had stolen from Sasuke. But most of all, she missed herself. The innocence.
She missed believing in goodness, in the greater plan, in Justice. She missed believing in the honor of a meaningful death. She missed believing in the endlessness of time with those she loved. But she couldn't begrudge the peace her loved ones would find in the afterlife.
The years following only served to further her slow ascension into numbness. When it came, she welcomed it. She had decided to forgo her position on the council with Sasuke, despite Naruto's protests,and instead joined ANBU to become one of the most deadly agents they had ever seen. Naruto had even gone so far as to assign Kakashi back into ANBU to keep an eye on her.
Naruto had known her too well for too long, but the woman he saw before him was no longer his Sakura-chan. This woman had changed. She was Captain Haruno and nothing more. He almost couldn't contain the tears that sprang up the day he realized she no longer smiled. It happened when he announced that Hinata was pregnant.
If anyone, out of all of the people he knew, that deserved to be at peace, if not happy, it was Sakura. After all she had lost, after how much he thought he failed her, she deserved at least that. He had loved her, and always would. But she had to make the journey without him this time. On his watch, though, she wouldn't be alone.
She had been hostile towards the arrangement at first, feeling childish and checked up on. But she soon learned how much experience he truly had to offer. Thus began the strange comfort they found in one another's presence. Kakashi never changed. He was always the man who had sacrificed everything for the village he loved and her teacher. He was a veteran, a genius, and she had always trusted him more than anyone else she had in her life. They were partners from that point forward, risking their lives every day for one another and the team they commanded.
Their partnership was even given the amusing nickname White Blood by their peers; even enemies seemed to recognize the dynamic duo's credentials. Kakashi's white Raikiri and the blood red scarf Sakura sported to hide her far too conspicuous hair color made reason for the name, she supposed. However silly it seemed.
Kakashi never expected more or less that what she was. And she was now Captain Haruno. The woman who was his equal, confidante and friend. They had spent endless days in flooding forests, crashing avalanches, and deadly swamps facing insurmountable odds. Always being assigned to the most difficult targets meant they were the best. One life threat after the other, each more dangerous than the last.
One fateful mission even caused them to lose Sakura's favorite trainee, and Kakashi seemed to do what he always did. Blame himself. He quit Sakura's team immediately following and resigned from ANBU immediately following Harumi's funeral. Sakura would miss her, but it was Harumi's own carelessness that earned her fate, nothing Kakashi had done. She wished he had understood that.
This was when she had stopped seeing him and he avoided her whenever possible. Naruto eventually figured this out and invented a new way to keep an eye on Sakura. It was only about six months ago that he was ordered directly by Naruto to go to her for regular healing sessions that she they were back to semi-normal.
They never spoke of what had happened that day, and eventually they eased back into their old friendship. Kakashi's sharingan had constantly been wearing down his life force and would literally burn his chakra paths from the inside out. Similar to what she would get if she healed to long. Excessive use would do that to you. She would ease the pain and carefully knit back together destroyed paths, allowing him the old use he had lived without.
However often it seemed to go away,it always come back with a vengeance. Sakura had been researching the origin of the Uchiha clan in the books she had been thumbing through shortly before he showed up today. She was hoping to find some helpful clues in its pages for him.
But just for one blissful moment, she was just Sakura-chan, and this man trusted her completely. This moment spoke so loudly of the great friendship they had fought so hard to keep. She idly brushed her fingers through his hair and shut her eyes again. She readjusted so that she was leaning her back up against the tree and she slid her eyes shut. Kakashi would be furious if he knew the reason she resigned from ANBU a few months ago was to have more time for sharingan research.
It had been that long since she had seen him last. It was the very least she could do for this man that she owned so much to. And she had to admit she was facinated by the things she discovered. Sasuke had even allowed her access into his Clan's private library that had been kept in the compound's vault all these years.
She would never be able to repay Kakashi for loving her at all... The last thought was the only one that made coherent sense to her before she slipped completely into a Chakra-exhausted coma.
Hinata's hand had been clamped over her own mouth to prevent aduible gasps and her face was beet red with shock. She took a few very deep, quiet breaths and moved her hand away. A very big smile crept onto her features as she realized just what this meant. She had grown so found of Sakura after she gained her confidence and married Naruto. She was the closest thing to Ino that Sakura had found too, though still never quite the same.
Eventually, Hinata had the gained the same desire to see Sakura happy that Naruto and ( in his own strange way) Sasuke desired for her. But she never would have guessed THIS. It was after she had this last thought that Naruto found her. Thankfully, neither exhausted member of team-7 had woken, and Hinata inwardly celebrated this new development. She couldn't wait to tell Naruto! Well... On second thought, she should probably wait. After all, her husband wasn't exactly the quietest of sorts, and this was still far too new to be disturbed. She smirked to herself realized that Naruto probably wouldn't have guessed this happening when he originally plotted to use Kakashi as his Sakura Spy.
She wished she could have stayed to see Kakashi's reaction when he woke up in Sakura's lap, what she would have given! Strange... She wasn't usually the type to be giddy over relationships! She sighed and focused on the beautiful sunset beyond the Ramen stand instead.
It wasn't the quiet chirping of the crickets starting to begin around him, nor the ecstasy of release from the pain he had grown so used to lately, that took his breath away when his eyes opened. It wasn't the warmth he felt being nestled in the lap of one of the most eligible bachelorettes in all of Konoha's lap, nor was it the best sleep that he had in...well..ever, for that matter. It was the sheer fascination he felt when he watched the fading light play off her natural pink-touched hair. The way the orange glow framed her was unearthly. Her ivory skin made the perfect canvas for the playful light as it faded into darkness. Kami, she was like the paintings his father had posted all around the house that he had as a child. They were his mothers, and all he had ever known of her. He watched her with his head still in her lap as nostalgia tightened his chest in fondness. A faint blush crept onto his cheeks as he realized he had managed to re-position himself in his sleep so that he was on his side and curled up like a cat around her hand. His gloved hand ghosted a touch across hers and gazed up at her in surprise. Her lips had curled into a smile, though it was obvious she was still very much asleep. He watched her and smiled in return. Maybe this was all they needed. Maybe all she needed was his strength. Maybe all he needed was her light. Maybe all they needed was time. And maybe the peace they found in each others presence, was all either one of them had left to give. Loss did that to you after all. But maybe, it wasn't just loss anymore. Maybe in those few hours, on that one day that he woke up hating, just maybe, they both found their finally.
_END_