"Kakashi-san!" She called. "I'm going to get more firewood!" She grabbed her coat, bundled up and bounded outside. She was full of energy, and waned to let some of it out, productively. Kakashi waved to show he had heard her, but she was already gone, and didn't see it.
It had been nearly ten years to the day since he'd found her in the woods. In fact, Sakura's birthday was tomorrow. Her birthday, however, was something she no longer celebrated. The way she looked at it, her parents murder was nothing to celebrate. Kakashi had trying to persuade her otherwise--not because he wanted to get her a gift so badly, but because he wanted her to be happy.
For the first year that she lived with him, she was completely catatonic. She didn't speak, she didn't move much, and she didn't eat. He'd had to almost shove food down her throat to keep her from starving to death. The only thing she did was sleep. And it was fitful sleep. She tossed and turned, clearly having nightmares about that day.
He didn't pry. He let it run its course, and it all went away. She started to be happy, and that was something that made him happy.
Outside, it was winter. It was very much a day like the one ten years ago, except, Sakura was no longer small and frail. She was fifteen, and petite, but strong. She had an air about her that made everyone take her seriously, and no one overlooked her anymore.
She rarely saw people, what with living in a cabin in the woods, but every once in a while she and Kakashi would go to the nearest town to shop, or they'd meet someone who needed directions. Usually it was a group of campers or a couple who were taking a walk and got lost.
The snow drifts were up to the girl's knees, but she still went across the clearing to the river bank. That was where all the fallen logs were. There were sometimes branches for kindling strewn across the ice that coated the river, but Kakashi warned her never to go out on ice. And she listened.
Sakura found a few good logs and took the hatchet from her back. She hacked them into pieces that were easier to carry to the cutting block and quartered them there, and, once done, piled as many as she could into her arms and walked back.
A raven cawed in the distance, making her drop everything in her hands. "Damn bird," she muttered. She was afraid of ravens. They were the birds of death. Annoyed, she gathered all the wood again and clomped home.
"Kakashi-san!" She called as she walked through the door. He was still reading, same as she had left him.
"Hm?" He asked, on eyebrow raised.
"I got the wood!" She seemed cheerful as set a small pile next to the table.
"That's nice." He was distracted by his book. She frowned.
"Can't you put that away for two seconds and have a conversation with me?"
"Nope." He turned the page lazily. She rolled her eyes, exasperated, and went about doing the household chores. She'd taken that responsibility upon herself as soon as she was capable. The dishes needed washing, the floor needed sweeping, the beds needed making. She'd seen her mother doing all these things and tried her hand at it when she discovered Kakashi only did it about once a month.
"So," she said as she scrubbed food off a plate. "Anything interesting in that book?"
"Yup."
"Really?"
"Uh-huh." Sakura sighed. She was getting nowhere fast. She took a ribbon from her pocket and bound back her long pink hair, then returned to washing the dishes. When she was done, she started to cook. Key words started. She was going to make a casserole with the leftovers they had in the icebox, but they were out of milk.
"We need milk, Kakashi-san."
"Okay." Sakura waited.
"So are we going to go get some or what?" He looked up, finally taking his eyes away from the pages of his captivating novel.
"Oh, you mean now?"
"You wanna eat, don't you?" She asked, and put a hand on her hip.
"Alright," he sighed, and got up from where he was reclined on his bed. He found his boots and a coat, pulled them on and wrapped his head in a scarf. By the time he was ready, Sakura was outside, already waiting for him.
"Hurry, Kakashi-san!" She called. He walked out the door, blinking at the bright light.
"Just Kakashi," he told her for the billionth time. "You don't need to be so formal. How long have you known me?"
"Yes, Kakashi-san." This was almost like a game hey had. He was somewhat sad that she called him "san" like they were strangers, but every time he reminded her he wasn't, shed only laugh and say it again. He'd come to be used to it, but still didn't like it. On occasion he called her "Sakura-chan" but that wasn't every time he addressed her.
They trudged along the path in the forest toward town, where the market was. Their breath came from their mouths as hot puffs of steam, something that seemingly-carefree Sakura enjoyed watching. She watched them as they got smaller and smaller the higher they went until they disappeared.
"Sakura," Kakashi said. She looked at him. He put his hand out in front of her face just before she walked into a branch. She giggled, embarrassed, and ducked under it, running ahead on the path until she could see town. It was at the bottom of a ravine, which she had become accustomed to sliding down, paying no heed to the warnings of Kakashi, who warned her that she was going to break her leg and fall into the river at the bottom and die.
The ravine was where the river she'd been at previously led to, and there was a small bridge that crossed to the small town. Sakura used to attend school there but dropped it once they all figured out she already knew everything they had to teach. She was proud of her intelligence.
"Slow down, Sakura," Kakashi said. She obediently slowed her pace to let him catch up. He didn't like letting her cross the bridge on her own. In reality there were two; one made of stone and very sturdy, and one made of rope and planks of wood. The stone bridge was a few miles away on the other side of town, though, and used mainly for horses and carts.
He was always afraid, though, that she would fall off that bridge and die.
It wasn't like him before he found her to be afraid of so many things like that, but Sakura, even though more than ten years younger than him, was his first friend in a long time. He didn't want anything to happen to her. She walked carefully across the bridge, him close behind her, and then ran the rest of the way to the marketplace in the center of town. By the time he caught up to her, she'd already found the dairy farmer and was judging how much to buy. Kakashi just paid the man and let her get however much she wanted.
She just got two gallons, and carried the big jugs by the metal handles, handing one to Kakashi as they walked back. On the way, they ran into someone they knew.
"Sakura-chan!" The blond boy cried. It was Naruto.
"Hi Naruto," Sakura replied, giving him a smile. He was madly in love with her, so he thought she looked dazzling, even though it was her normal smile. Sakura looked around for someone else, though. Because, if Naruto was there, then it usually meant so was...
"Hi Sasuke!" She said, smiling at the quiet, stoic boy. His dark hair had always attracted her, but it was his eyes and cool demeanor that made her love him.
It was just a silly childhood crush, but she wasn't growing out of it fast. She'd been infatuated with him since she was about eleven. She just didn't want to give him up. She had one rival, a blond girl named Ino.
"Hn," replied the boy, and he walked away. Sakura's face fell, but she perked up when she thought of dinner after hearing her stomach growl. She walked determinedly toward the bridge again, her sliver-haired companion right behind her.
"I have a bad feeling about tomorrow," Kakashi said randomly during dinner. The casserole had been a success, so Sakura was happy.
"Why?" asked Sakura, her back stiffening. He realized too late that it wasn't a good idea to tell her bad thins were going to happen on the anniversary of her parents' death.
"I dunno, just a feeling I have." He put away his dishes and sat on the bed, hoping Sakura would drop the subject. But she persisted.
"No, really, Kakashi-san. What kind of feeling is this?" She put her dishes in the sink as well and then came to sit on the foot of his bed, ready to pester him until he told her.
"Nothing. Probably just a premonition of a paper cut of something." He sighed. She shrugged and got up, but in no way was she done. She'd pry it out of him. Or she'd wait and see what would happen the following day.
A/N: Okay, this was a bit of an uneventful chapter, but I wanted you guys to get sort of a feel for what her daily life is like now before I mess it all up with real excitement. So, yeah. I might start the next one out with a bang.
