As I'm taking a short break from the next chapter of Hakujitsumu (YES! IT LIVES Bwahahaha ~crackling lightning~ working on ch 8 as well speak!) ahem… where was I? Recently saw the Boruto episode where Sukea returns to poke his nose into the academy students and I just couldn't help but think: What if Sakura had run into him and realised that the same mysterious man hadn't aged a freaking day since she met him at age 12? What a wasted opportunity!
The title is based on my mum's favourite expression of criticism (usually of me) "A blind man on a charging horse couldn't miss it" -_ -'''
A Blind Man On A Charging Horse
"Sakura-Shishou?" A timid voice interrupted her concentration, though it didn't cause her chakra to falter, only a few more minutes! She thought.
"What?"
"Um, you asked to be reminded when it was three o-clock?"
"Yes, what about it?" The joint she was healing was tricky, the cartilage had been almost completely destroyed, it had be rebuilt with chakra from the ground up,
"It's nearly five past."
"Oh shit!" Sakura swore, her chakra wavering for a slight moment, thankfully the last stubborn knobble of cartilage finally knitted together and the only thing left to do was wait for the swelling to reduce, "Phew… Seira, please ensure that this leg remains elevated and check on the joint first thing tomorrow morning to ensure there's no sign of infection and that it's healing properly."
"Hai, Sakura-shishou,"
"Please take him to recovery, I've got to get to Sarada's teacher meeting, so only call me if it's an emergency."
"Hai! Sakura Shishou!" The two junior medics replied, snapping to attention as they spoke. Sakura hurried from the room, pausing only to wash her hands, pull off her lab coat and dart from the room. She leapt over the rooftops — there were only about ten or so between the hospital and the academy, so she shouldn't be too late. Just as she skidded to a halt on the last roof, an oddly familiar person caught her eye. She paused and looked back, he had an enormous overcoat on, a camera by his side and purple marks down his cheeks. Was that… Sukea-san? Sakura nearly fell off the roof at the realisation… this strange photographer she met when she was twelve had suddenly reappeared in Konoha? She focused her mind and read his chakra and she nearly snorted in delight: both for just how Kakashi like he'd been all those years to pull such a trick as he did and for the delicious opportunity that now presented itself. She saw him walk up to the academy entrance, just in time for Boruto to walk out, they chatted for a moment or two and Sakura made her move, she leapt down from the building edge and hurried over to them, looking flustered as possible.
"Afternoon, Boruto!" She waved, completely ignoring the other male for a moment, as if she hadn't seen him,
"Sakura-obaa-chan!" Boruto grinned, "You're late! Sarada's going to be mad!"
"Hai, hai— oh? Who's this?" She asked, looking at Sukea, who stared at their exchange passively,
"Some guy who wants to film the academy exams." Boruto answered,
"Oh?" Sakura turned fully to him and made a big display of looking carefully at him, right into his eyes, "You seem very familiar to me, have we met?"
"Ah… I was in Konoha a few years ago, perhaps we met then?"
"Oh course! Sukea-san! Aiya, you look like you haven't aged a day, still as handsome as you were then." She offered the compliment easily, though made it seem as if was something she was supposed to only think; certainly, she was sure, he'd look far more handsome with his normal silver colour.
"Ah… um…" Kakashi faltered,
"Well, I really should go, I am late for a conference, see you later Boruto," She looked back to him with a short bow of her head, "Sukea-san."
She hurried into the building with a big silly grin on her face, only just managing to wipe it off before she found Sarada, stood with her arms crossed outside the classroom,
"You're late!"
"Sorry, Sarada, I was held up in surgery; where's Shino-sensei?" She followed her daughter into the classroom and listened happily to the exemplary report she'd received from Shino. Only days like these, Sakura was only sad of Sasuke's absence for Sarada's sake: how much happier would the child be if she could be certain of her father's love? If she could share her victories and accomplishments with him? For all of Sakura's chasing and mourning of what she and Sasuke could have had, she'd leaned to move past it, to be happy without him and comfortable with his absence. Even after the four days he'd spent in Konoha twelve years prior, during which time Sasuke had gotten her pregnant and the subsequent months when Sakura informed him of that fact — via one of Sai's birds — the only response or acknowledgement she'd received had been a visit in person six months after Sarada's birth. That had almost made Sakura want to deny him as the father.
He'd seen Sarada only four times since then and he more than deserved to never be allowed into her life but for the compassion and gentleness he showed her, in those fleeting moments of contact. On some level, he dearly loved his daughter, but it was apparently not enough to bother actually being there for her. Certainly Sasuke would never be allowed back in Sakura's bed, nor her heart. Not that Sakura was on the look out for any sort of replacement, she was busy enough at the hospital and single parenting didn't leave her with any spare time to speak of. Still she and Sarada had each other and they had made it work, Naruto and Hinata invited them over often enough and regularly Kakashi himself had visited them, treated Sarada to lunch or on the rare occasion a training session. It wasn't as if he was trying to take up the mantle of a father figure, but it was blindingly clear just how much Sarada not only enjoyed, but benefited from his kind and patient presence; as much as he had her's. He had at least been one good constant in her life.
Sarada was almost a year old when Sakura had been unexpectedly called into the office by Kakashi, who explained she was needed out in the field for a major medical emergency. Sakura had happily agreed, but in fretting about who would take care of Sarada, Kakashi had calmly risen to his feet and lifted the child from her arms,
"She'll be fine with me, Sakura, just go."
"But, Hinata—"
"Hinata has her own infant to care for, I'm only going to be in this office anyway. Go, Sakura, I promise I'll take good care of her."
"Have you ever had to care for a child this age?"
"Had you, before Sarada?" Kakashi rebutted, holding the child up to his face and grinning at her — not that Sarada could see it — nevertheless she giggled and instantly reach for Kakashi's mask, yanking it downwards. Kakashi had spun his back to Sakura just in time, "Ah, a secret between you and me, Sarada-chan!" He said, his voice unusually clear, prompting another giggle from the infant.
"Okay fine. I'll leave her bag here and I'll be back as soon as I can, Kakashi… Thank you."
"Hai, hai," He waved to her, his attention still fully on the child now safely in his arms. Sakura smiled to herself at the memory as they walked out of the conference office,
"You're doing so well, Sarada! As a special treat, what you like for dinner tonight?"
"How about okonomiaki?"
"Sure!" Sakura agreed, "We'll stop on the way home for the extra ingredients."
"Well, if its all the same, I want to stay here for a bit, some of the class are worried how this conference is gonna go."
"Oh? Okay, you can just meet me at home later," Sakura shrugged, "I guess this is the start of an important few days for you all, how are you feeling about the graduation exam?"
"It will be challenging, but I think I'll pass." Sarada replied, full of Uchiha confidence,
"Haha, just don't let it go to your head; teamwork is the most important aspect of working as a shinobi."
"Yeah, yeah, you say that all the time."
"You're lucky to have such a wise mother." A voice drew their attention, they both looked up to find a camera pointed at them, "I'm here filming a documentary on the future shinobi of Konoha!" He shifted the camera aside to smile at them,
"That seems weird." Sarada replied, frowning slightly at the odd stranger who was, in fact, not a stranger.
"Sarada! There is no need to be rude. This is Sukea-san, he was also documenting Konoha when I was a Genin." Sakura explained, though Sarada only made a face, glancing suspiciously between the two adults; Sakura couldn't blame her, Kakashi had really hidden himself well, even Sukea's voice was nothing like his own.
"I'm going to talk with Wasabi. Later Mum… Sukea-san."
"Bye!" Sukea waved, but Sarada had already disappeared inside the classroom,
"I guess you've done well for yourself, Sukea-san."
"Hmm?" He queried, she nodded towards his camera, "Ah well times have improved for everyone since the war."
"I guess they have."
"Are you at the parent-teacher conference alone? Did you husband not get time off?" Sukea asked, Sakura frowned for only a split second before she reigned it in,
"No. I don't have a husband, Sarada's father is… indisposed."
"Hmm, what sort of a father doesn't have time for his own child?"
Sakura couldn't resist her hesitation, "…What sort of father, indeed?"
"Ah, gomen, gomen, I shouldn't have pried."
"No, it's okay." Sakura answered, a little more stiffly than she'd intended; the conversation, it seemed, was suddenly out of her control,
"It is a sorry affair when one parent is left with sole responsibility… sometimes it's through death, which is sad enough, but when its because one parent decides it isn't for them, everyone suffers. I'm sorry that you have been so alone." There was no mistaking the sincerity in his voice but it riled some anger in her — and she was torn between exposing the man for who he really was, for punching him with a fist full of chakra or busting into tears — but she did none of them. As quickly as the anger flooded it was gone; she reminded herself who she was really talking to: a man who never wasted an opportunity, no matter how unexpected or off course from original intentions it was. In her silence, he spoke again, "I am sure you have many who love you and Sarada-chan dearly."
"It's kind of you to say." She replied, unnerved by the intense look in his eyes,
"Excuse me, Sakura-san," Shino interrupted the moment,
"Gomen. Shino," Sakura stepped aside and the spell was broken, "Goodbye, Sukea-san." She offered a short bow and walked off down the corridor. He didn't follow. Kakashi had clearly been trying to say something, maybe he'd felt more able to speak his mind under such a disguise, but what it was, Sakura felt the answer was just out of reach.
..
.
A/n — Kakashi is an absolute teddy bear with kids and you can't convince me otherwise!