The walk back was hard, but fortunately spared from any confrontations or natural occurrences. She didn't make it far when Temari and her men met her on the way to Konoha, her shishou and the other two Sabaku siblings on their way back to Suna. They traveled for 5 days, and to her own surprise, she found herself regularly checking that Sasori was still alive, the jutsu that Kabuto put on the child not dissolved until she was on Leaf ground. The ANBU rarely paid her attention when they camped for the night, the child clutched against her to assure nobody would try to steal it, her own blanket wrapped around him to ensure he wouldn't freeze to death.

There was only one time, when Temari had sat with her, sharing the food someone else on the team had brought with them. Crisp fire burning wood - the only comforting sound in the dead of the night.

„What's his name?" she says, using her chopsticks to give Sakura another strip of meat.

Most of the ANBU had put their masks back on, so she couldn't tell whether they listened in or not.

„It's-" It was hard to tell what would become of him, maybe it was predefined destiny, maybe it was epigenes.

But she had a mission to accomplish, and a village tie to uphold. She wasn't allowed failures.

„It's Shuuya."

Temari turns her eyes upwards in thought, her legs stretched out in tomboyish fashion. „A learner?"

Sakura removes one hand to draw the appropriate Kanji in the air. „Not quite."

„Ah!" Temari exclaims, grinning, reminding her eerily of her younger brother, Kankuro. „'An excellent beginning'. My bad. When did you give birth?"

Sakura readjusts her grip, hoping no one in her group was occupied with analyzing her body language and concluding that she was a terrible liar, because Temari was doing an excellent job. So much for my "A dying mother wanted me to have him" heroic adoption tale. She thinks.

„He's barely 2 months old."

„Doesn't feel very safe to me."

Temari wasn't wrong, but she was also making it harder on her freshly fabricated story.

„I suppose I shouldn't ask about the father."

„It's best if you don't." Sakura smiles, and takes the cue to stand up, making sure Sasori wouldn't fall out of her reach. „Who's on guard tonight?"

Temari uses her chopsticks to point at a man with an owl mask, seemingly uncaring to her rude gesture. „This guy."

„Ah." The owl-man in question doesn't react to being called, but he didn't seem threatening to her. „I will be going to sleep then."

„Sure." Temari takes the hint and stands up as well. It's funny, Sakura thought, how much Temari was towering over her in height at this point. „I'll accompany you to the tent."

„How noble of you, Temari-san."

„Drop the suffix." Temari rolls her stiff shoulders, and flashes her a toothy grin. „I'm seeing one of your friends, after all."

Sakura hasn't been in Konoha for the past two years, so she isn't exactly sure who Temari was referring to. Do I really want to know?

When she arrived in the early morning hours in Konoha, not a soul was found on the streets, sparing her - for now - from any unwanted questions or prying eyes. Good for her, because as soon as she parted from Temari with the knowledge that the eldest sand sibling would have to come back soon enough, and closed in on Konoha grounds, the bundle in her arms started squirming.

The jutsu wasn't working anymore.

The trip to the apartment was swift, despite having to hurry through the streets - Sakura didn't trust herself to jump over rooftops with an infant in her arms - and entering her small welcoming space gave a sense of security she didn't realise she had longed for on her trip.

Little changed in the last two years she was gone. An elderly neighbour of hers had occasionally come by to water the plants, but nothing else seemed to have been touched upon her arrival. It was a one-person apartment, near the hospital, mostly meant for employees and retired shinobi. At the time, her parents decided to move out of Konoha into one of the smaller villages within fire country, and she couldn't afford to pay rent for her former, much larger home - so Tsunade pulled a few strings for her to settle into this place. It was small, but it would do.

"Thank god, you didn't start screaming." she resisted to urge to simply plop on the couch in exhaustion, instead entering the bedroom to lay the baby on the bed - gently - unfolding the bundle further to come face to face with the cocoa brown eyes she's expected him to have. Sakura lets her legs give out under her finally, her toes curling under the familiar feel of her carpet while her upper body was still on the bed. She huffs. "I'm already tired."

Sasori at this stage, of course, isn't able to comment much on her fatigue. It's still a surreal thought to her, a reincarnation of the late criminal of Suna for her to be raised by, molded and shaped into a person Lady Chiyo had always wished for him to become.

"I'm only 19, so don't call me mom." She brushes her knuckle against his cheek. "Besides, you're like what? 39? Creepy."

Sasori gurgles, and Sakura likes to think he's probably being offended.

"You can call me Aunty. Aunty Sakura- Nevermind, that's weird, too."

A glance at her bedside clocks tells her that the sun was starting to rise, and she'd have to report to Kakashi as soon as Shizune comes back. (She herself would have prefered Shizune travel with her from the very beginning, but Suna liked to be tight about secrecy among other formalities.)

Slowly, she positions her hands at each side, lifting herself of the mattress, quickly realising how every muscle in her body ached for a nap in her sweet feathery bed after nights upon nights of thin tents and itchy futons.

Speaking of which-

Sakura's eyes widen, but the baby doesn't look in her direction, focusing his gaze on one of her stuffed bears.

"I have to ask Shizune to lend me some money." She bends down to search through the backpack for her wallet, and finds spare ryos. "I don't even have any means to feed you around here. Let alone pay rent." She was already used to having Shizune deal with their funds, damn.

"Technically, you're Suna's responsibility, not mine." Sakura throws her wallet in the general direction of her backpack, narrowing her eyes at nothing in particular, before returning to the bed. "I should just have them pay for the entire mis-"

The doorbell rings, and ceases her voice abruptly, moving a finger to shush the both of them instead.

Sakura doesn't close the door to the bedroom, but makes sure the curtains and windows remain closed, lest this be her first assassination attempt.

On the other side of the front door, a woman sighs.

"Sakura, it's just me, Shizune."

Very slowly, Sakura opens the door to her apartment, coming face to face with the amused expression of the older shinobi, holding a very giddy Tonton in her arms. Sakura checks the surroundings for any possible traps, and when everything is cleared, she opens the door wider, inviting Shizune in without any further inquiry.

"Good morning to you, Sakura. Did you sleep yet?"

Sakura yawns in reflex, and Shizune lets out a short laugh, setting Tonton down to untie her sandals.

"I actually arrived just an hour ago."

"Really?" Shizune moves to check on the child immediately, leaving Sakura to follow her back to the bedroom. "I was faster than you, then."

"Temari and I took a different route to avoid being seen." Sakura explains, and blinks her eyes at the woman in front of her. Shizune was using her medical chakra to check on Sasori.

She hums in response, checking to see if all of his limbs moved accordingly, and receiving more gurgles in return.

"He's as healthy as he can be. How old?"

"Two months, I believe." Sakura lets Shizune carry the child as they move to the small adjoined kitchen in the living room. She really needed some coffee, right now.

"That seems about right. This little guy right here might be able to focus on objects, but he doesn't turn his head when we talk." Shizune says. "At this stage, babies need about 15 hours of sleep, but there's no telling how his sleeping patterns with be. It'll be easier for you if you take notes to adjust to his cycle." It doesn't surprise Sakura how oddly gleeful Shizune was behaving at the time of day, her being very much fond of children. Maybe it was better to just let her handle the entire thing?

Her thought process is interrupted when the coffee machine beeps, grabbing the mug and taking a tentative sip. It's bitter, and she grimaces, but there were no sweeteners around to milden the taste of.

Shizune holds out a finger, and the baby reacts to it, grabbing it with his own tiny, pudgy hand. "What's his name?"

"Saso-" She catches herself again. "Shuuya."

Shizune glances at her, but refrains from commenting on the slip up any further. "It's a pretty name."

The caffeine is kicking in now, to her absolute joy, trying her hardest to ignore the aches.

"Isn't it? I kind of came up with it on a whim." She smiles, but Shizune doesn't look all that amused.

"This could get you killed faster than you can blink, Sakura. Best be if you don't address him by his old name at all."

Sakura snorts into her coffee. "That's harder than it sounds."

Shizune moves around the small space, grabbing items to see if the baby is able to hold them. "Just make sure to not shout it in public. Besides-"

Sakura finishes her drink, leaving it unwashed in the sink for the meantime. "I don't have anything around here, I know-"

"The sixth sent me. He still needs your report."

"Alright." Sakura rubs her eyes in frustration at the comment; Couldn't Kakashi wait two more hours before demanding her to move? "Will you stay here?"

Shizune turns towards her, and Sakura notes that Sasori seems to have fallen asleep again. "I think I can handle it."

"Shizune forwarded me your reports." Kakashi shifts in his chair to get a better look through the stacks and stacks of paper surrounding him. "She said you were a great help."

Sakura straightens from her bow to reply properly. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Don't call me that." Kakashi rolls his eye, and Sakura notices that a great of silver-white hair is covering up the other - non existent - eye. He raises his hand and stops at a certain level from where he sits. "I've known you since you were this young."

Now it's Sakura's turn to roll her eyes. "Alright, Kakashi-sensei."

His mask does a great deal of concealing his facial features, but his eye crinkles into a smile.

"We won't be registering your little experiment."

"Huh?" Sakura looks up in surprise. "What about the formal-"

"Kakashi."

A third person joins the room, and Sakura turns around to come face to face with Yamato, who raises his hand in meek effort.

"Yo."

"Yamato-taichou!" Sakura's face lights up, as she hasn't seen or heard anything from the man the last time she's left. "How have you and Gai been doing?"

"We all three have been doing very well, Sakura." Kakashi intercepts, so all the focus is back on him. "But we're not here to talk about that. I invited Yamato for a certain reason."

Yamato walks past her to grab one of the chairs present to sit on them. "You met Kabuto."

Oh, so that's what this is about.

"Yes, there was no information to steal."

Yamato is hesitant in his question, leaning forward in his chair. "Was Orochimaru around?"

Both men stare at her, and when she gives no reply, Kakashi gets up to stand next to Yamato, a scroll in his hand. "You probably aren't too familiar with Orochimaru's projects, but Yamato used to be one of Orochimaru's….experiments. Just like-"

Sakura knows who he's referring to. "I named him Shuuya."

"Shuuya, it is." Yamato's body is tense, so Kakashi lays a hand on his shoulder. "I have to be frank with you, Sakura. Suna suffered a lot of losses during the war, many Shinobi who were partly responsible for holding up the inner security system. Suna might be at peace now, but we can tell they're at a very vulnerable state."

"We haven't confided with the elder council in this when we agreed to the operation." Yamato says, his body seemingly relaxed, but the edge in his voice gives him away. "To resort to cooperation with Orochimaru... there must be a bigger gain behind this. We were wondering if Kabuto or Gaara have revealed anything."

Sakura thinks back to the stoic faces of the Kazekage and the self-sufficient smirk of the Sannin's minion, but neither of them were ready to reveal anything beyond pragmatic decisions. "We set up a few conditions for handling Shuuya's further education, but there wasn't anything else."

Kakashi sighs.

"We suspected so. Yamato will be sent away soon for investigations regarding Orochimaru and an organisation claiming to work for him, so we hoped you'd have more leads."

Sakura shrugs, and it's all she can do within her rules of support. "Sorry."

Kakashi seems final in his speech, and Sakura isn't really sure how to react, her eyes wandering the room, unable to focus on one object at a time."Is that...all?"

Kakashi returns to his seat, and Sakura realises he must have passed the scroll to Yamato. "One more thing."

Kakashi fumbles for a pen on his desk, missing the object by a scant inch, before succeeding in grabbing it. "I am little concerned in the operation itself, but I don't believe it will plan out the way Gaara wants it to."

Sakura is taken back at the statement, swallowing the urge to accuse him of claiming her incompetent out of impulse. The more rational part of her brain begs her to hear him out.

She grits her teeth, and Kakashi's eye crinkles again. Whether it was reflex, or intention, she can't tell.

"Some people don't change - no matter how much Suna is inclined to believe so. They have a stellar example at the top, after all."

Kankuro flashes through her mind briefly, and a tiny part of her wants to agree with Kakashi - but she's already made her bed, and now she has to lay in it.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm afraid your doubts will do little to shake mine."

"I understand, Sakura. My students were always very stubborn to begin with." Yamato gets up to stand next to Sakura, and nods when Kakashi spares him a glance. "You don't have to worry about formalities; I won't interfere with your decisions, but I also won't be able to help you. Keep that in mind."

"Ah, about the formalities-" A beat. "Temari made me lie about the child being biologically related to me, and her ANBU were around when it happened, so I'm not sure whether it being unaffiliated would be a good idea."

With a village that values tradition as much as Konoha and their bigger clans do, how could she not?

Kakashi raises his head - as if in thought - but from where she stands, he seems to be squinting at the ceiling lamp.

She'd have to write Tsunade about possible signs of faulty eyesight.

"I see... Yamato." Kakashi points in the general direction of a pile of documents, stacked in a corner. "The register."

Yamato leaves her side to cross the small room, picking up a heavy book she's seen on Tsunade's desk before. He places it on said desk, and as Kakashi requests right after, turns the page to her family tree.

Kakashi rolls the pencil within his fingers.

"Have you made up the identity of the father, Sakura?"

"No, I haven't but I-"

"Have your parents agreed to let you raise a fatherless child, Sakura?"

That thought hadn't even occurred to her, even when she was aware that her mother hated anything that breathed from the general direction of wind country. Shit.

Her silence is a sufficient reply to Kakashi who closes the book and drops the pencil into Yamato's hand. The repetition of his sentence feels mocking to her.

"We won't be registering your little experiment." It'd only make things more complicated. "You're dismissed. Make sure to report back to me at least once a month."

The walk through the tower with Yamato is awkward, but to her own admission, she spent the larger portion of it trying to calm her own impulses in order not to burst out in tears - or smash the entire building to pieces.

When Sakura finally feels decently approachable again, she speaks. "Yamato-taichou."

The older man doesn't react, walking next to her right side as if- as if she hasn't spoken at all. It's not until Sakura deliberately halted her steps that Yamato turns around in confusion. "What's wrong, Sakura-san?"

She crosses her arms, and narrows her eyes. "You weren't answering, that's all."

Yamato's blinks, and his confusion shifts into realisation, rubbing the back of his head in apology. A smile crosses his face. "I figured you didn't know, yet."

He isn't wearing his metal plate, she notices. Yamato's hand moves from the back to the left side of his head - pointing at his ear. "I was caught in an explosion, and the damage evaporated my hearing on this side."

Now it's Sakura's turn to be surprised, and she comes closer to get a better look. It's faint, but scars litter the entire area, his ear even looking a little deformed. "Is the outer ear cosmetic?"

"Synthetic, yes."

Sakura actually feels a bit guilty over her ignorance, so she apologizes, and Yamato waves his hand, mutely communicating his acceptance.

They fall back into step, and Sakura makes sure to switch sides before asking. "Isn't that dangerous on missions?"

"I'm lucky to being able to rely on earthly vibrations and lip-reading for compensation." Yamato says. The silence following is awkward, and he is quick to change the topic.

"Bye the way," Sakura hums in response, and Yamato continues. "Have you kept in contact with Naruto?"

Sakura is glad that they weren't walking down stairs - because she would have tripped and broken a few bones in response to that statement. She wasn't really ready to tell Yamato that she's fumbled for explanations of her letter exchanges coming to an abrupt end, that her evil little mind kept her up with thoughts of Team 7 doing just fine without her at night, sending her anxiety on a roller coaster of emotions that left her unable to work at times. So she did what she did best - avoided having to reply to the loud mouthed blonde.

They come to a stop before a door, much to her surprise, and Sakura remarks that she forgot to answer. "We haven't... exchanged letters in a while."

"I see…" Whether Yamato deliberately or unintentionally means to imitate Kakashi in this moment, she doesn't know. His silence is short-lived however, as he opens the door and another voice pierces through the quiet, busy tower. Before Sakura knows it, a blur of orange tackles her, and Yamato sidesteps the impending crash gracefully. This is exactly what she didn't plan on doing today.

Curse her karma.

"Sakura-chan!" Is Naruto crying? God. "They kept me locked in this room! All night!"

Sakura begins to feel breathless in the quite literal sense, so she pushes Naruto off of her. "Hold on for a moment-"

"Naruto, it's not my fault you're refusing to do the paperwork." Shikamaru's languid voice can be heard inside the room, and from where Sakura is standing, she also sees the silhouette of Sai napping on the couch. Yamato gently pushes both of them into the office and Shikamaru raises his hand in salute, not looking a bit different from the Shikamaru who's waved them off at the gate two years ago. "It's been a while, Sakura."

She smiles. "You haven't changed at all."

He eyes her briefly, snorting. "Naruto hasn't either. Whether that is a blessing or curse is such a drag to discuss."

Sakura looks at the boy glued to her arm, and can't help but agree, at least on a personality-related level. Appearance wise, Naruto's hair was shorter now - it didn't suit him, but maybe she was just not used to it - and he's definitely grown at least a few inches, not to mention that-

"Wait, Naruto. Get off me for a moment." She peels Naruto's left arm off of her to turn her attention to his right arm, which she had remembered blown to pieces the last time she's seen him. She gropes for a pulse, and is pleased to find one under the white bandages.

"I can't believe they actually fixed it. Tsunade-shishou is a miracle worker."

"Huh?" Naruto's briefly dumbfounded at her statement, before her implication strikes him. He flashes her toothy bright smile. "Oh yeah, Grandma Tsunade fixed that one for me. It's just like the real thing!" As if on cue, Sakura can feel his powerful chakra flowing through the arm. "One the other hand, Sas-"

Shikamaru slamming his hand on the desk is what draws everyone's attention back to the jounin. Sai, however, is unfazed by the noise surrounding him, not even stirring in his sleep. "Naruto, get back to work. I'm not going to do it for you."

"Work?" Sakura plays along hoping she could leave this room without Naruto finishing that other sentence. "Are you two working for the Hokage?"

"Sakura, you haven't cut your hair in ages." Naruto - whether he was deaf or intentionally ignoring Shikamaru - grabs a handful of her shoulder length pink locks, much to her annoyance. She hadn't realised how much she valued her developed personal bubble now that Naruto hadn't been around for a while, either.

Shikamaru cuts in before she can scold him however. "I help the Hokage here and there." He gestures to the stack of paper left on another table. "Naruto, on the other hand, is here to become one."

Sakura's eyes widen in shock, and Naruto keeps his grin locked in place, blue eyes shining in pride. "I'll be able to protect the village for real, this time. It won't be for a few years, but there isn't much to do outside of Konoha, and Kakashi-sensei said I should start early."

Sakura should have seen it coming, and she's happy for him, but she also has a hard time imagining an older Naruto slumped over mountains of bureaucratic boredom. But hey, if Tsunade's survived it, surely he will.

"If you keep procrastinating even on these simple D-Rank reviews, you'll never make it to the top," Shikamaru folds his hands behind his head in an eerily similar fashion to Naruto. "Idiot."

Naruto pouts, and she's not surprised that Shikamaru is so frustrated with him. Shikamaru yawns, rubbing his eyes, and Sakura is reminded that she hasn't slept in 20 hours. "Until Sasuke comes back, there's nothing to do for you, anyways."

Wait-

"What?" Sakura blurts out. "Where is he?"

"He's been gone for a year now. Was imprisoned for a good while." Shikamaru's constant lazy attitude servers as quite the poker face, and he drawls out the next words as if they weren't a big deal. "You didn't know?"

The arm Sakura has been grabbing onto for a good while now begins to tense, and she releases her grip hastily. There she was, worrying that Team 7 was living the good 'ol life, but Sasuke wasn't even in the village.

Welp.

"Sakura-chan moved around too much, so I couldn't write her." Naruto smiles, possibly an attempt to avoid her wrath. "Right, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura's shoulders tense, but Shikamaru isn't even looking into their direction, moving towards the couch to plant a foot on Sai's stomach. She sighs.

"Yeah" A beat. She doesn't remember whether Shikamaru was even good at guessing a fib. "Right."

Yamato coughs, and Naruto jumps, probably having completely forgotten the silent man in the room. "Sakura-san."

"Aw, do you have to go already?" Naruto pouts again, and she already knows what's coming before he's letting the thought escape his mouth. "Can I come?"

She'd rather not have to explain the current predicament in her bedroom on her first day.

"You don't leave this tower before you've finished these for the Hokage." Shikamaru grabs Naruto's collar, seemingly unsuccessful in awakening the ever so stubborn Sai.

Among all the protests, Yamato shows her the way out before Naruto can, and so she sends a weak wave before the door closes behind her and a loud shrieks emits from it. It's not before they're out of the tower, that Sakura speaks. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Besides, Shizune is waiting for us."

It's not until early afternoon that they make it back to her place, Sakura having to stock her fridge on the way home. (She hadn't even realised how quickly time passed between leaving the apartment and coming back to it, hoping Shizune wouldn't be sore with her.)

As she was unpacking whatever she had quickly grabbed on the market, Yamato was embraced warmly by Shizune, who asked, much to her confusement, about a person named Botan, and whether the delivery went smoothly.

Did Yamato have a child with someone?

When late afternoon hits, and Sasori returns to sleep, they're still sitting around her small kitchen table. Her suspicions are very much intensified when Yamato - after checking Sasori for any possible genetic traps - hands her the scroll, and she unfolds it to find an envelope with money in it. "Take it. It's hard to raise a shinobi when you don't get to work for a while."

"Yamato-taichou." Sakura feels bit weird about it, but after seeing Yamato build her a perfectly sculptured wooden crib, she had to know. "I hope it's not inappropriate of me to ask, but are you married to someone named Botan now?" Sakura asks, and the way Shizune bursts into laughter immediately after makes her feel like she's a clown on display.

Yamato gives Shizune a gentle shove, but even his own seemingly dead eyes hold a sense of amusement to them. "Of course not." He coughs. "Botan is Kakashi's kid. Well, our child, that is."

Sakura is feeling awkwardly silent at her embarrassing question, so Shizune changes the topic. "I've examined Shuuya while you were gone." She places her small notebook on the table, urging Sakura to take it. "Nothing out of the ordinary, he behaves like any other baby would. I had no problems bottle feeding him. I've written everything Tsunade and I know in here, as Yamato's department means I'm back in the Hokage tower - so it'll be harder for me to help you."

"A child is a big responsibility, Sakura-san. Neither of us will be around for aid, so you're on your own for this one."

Sakura buries her face in her arms, a sleepless-induced headache incoming. "When can I go back to work?"

"Not for a while, but I can get someone to bring you hospital paperwork if money's tight."

Asking her parents, who weren't even in Konoha anymore, was out of question, so there weren't many more options left for her, either. She groans, and it comes out muffled.

Sakura raises her head, fiddling with the loose hair clip meaning to hold her overgrown bangs back. "I'll pick it up myself, thank you."

When Shizune, Tonton and Yamato leave in the evening, the little apartment feels oddly vacant again, the sun long set. Sakura pops a pain killer, and seats herself on the couch with a bowl of canned fruits, her ears trained for any noises coming from her bedroom, while her eyes are fixed on her small bookshelf. (She didn't have a tv, spent most of her time away, anyways.)

The full-body mirror near the entrance grabs her attention, and she puts her bowl down, staring at her reflection. Sakura plays with a strand of long pink hair the way Naruto has done it earlier, and frowns.

"I'm really due for a haircut."

Maybe she should ask Ino to help her? They haven't heard of the other in a while, but surely Ino wouldn't be angry with her, right?

Sakura blinks her heavy eyes, grabbing the bag Shizune left with her, and opens it on the small coffee table. Sakura, in all her frenzy, wasn't courageous enough to stroll into the next maternity section and buy the things herself, so Yamato promised to gift her a few items they wouldn't be needing anymore when Botan grows up. Shizune - bless her - had already thought a step further.

To her relievement, Naruto doesn't show up when her digital clock strikes 10, and so she goes to bed with good conscience, stealing a glance into the small crib beside her, where Sasori slept ever so soundly.

I'm sure Shizune wouldn't mind if I called him that way within these walls. She thinks, folding her hand gently over the sleeping child's.

The quiet doesn't last, and the first cry of the night pierces through the room approximately three hours later.

Sakura groans into her pillow.

"Welcome to the stone-cold reality, Sakura Haruno."

A/N:

Lots of exposition in this chapter, haha.

In case you are confused, I'm using the KYG children from gaikage/aerynlallaboso in this story! They are just super lovely and I am smitten. ;_;; You can find the post here, definitely check them out! post/123753501443/my-favourite-naruto-endgame-headcanon-is-the-one