Thanks for the reviews, they motivate me to keep going! Just in case anyone was wondering, I'm altering Kakashi's age a bit… Instead of 26, he's 28 and a half-ish. Oh, and I'm not quite sure where this story takes place in the Naruto timeline… It's supposed to be March, because that's when Sakura's birthday is. Um… Well, I want Sasuke to be in it, so X the Sasuke retrieval arc. Right before that, I guess. He hasn't defected to Orochimaru. It's fan fiction, anyway, it doesn't need to fit into continuity.

Haruno Sakura woke to the sound of her beeping alarm. Glancing at the clock, she saw that she was half an hour late for practice. It hardly mattered, though— Kakashi-sensei was always hours late. He's so irresponsible… I don't think I need to worry about showing up 30 minutes late today.

What with combing her hair, showering, brushing her teeth, and grabbing a quick breakfast, Sakura showed up about an hour late. She was shocked to see that standing behind Naruto and Sasuke was none other than Kakashi-sensei.

"Sakura-chan, you're late!" Naruto jeered. "Later than Kakashi-sensei, even! How is that even possible?" He laughed at his own joke, while Kakashi glared at him over his book.

"I…I…" Sakura was lost for words. "Ka-Kakashi-sensei, I'm…" Her voice faltered when she saw that Kakashi-sensei was staring at her now instead of Naruto, his one visible eye narrowed as if he were thinking about something very serious. "Ka-Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi snapped out of it immediately. "What? Sorry, I was just thinking about something…" Although he sounded as aloof as usual, Sakura wasn't fooled. Something was bothering Kakashi-sensei… Did it have to do with her, or was it just coincidence that his eyes were focused on her?

As they passed through Konoha's large gate upon returning from that day's mission, Sakura was lost deep in thought. All throughout the mission, Kakashi-sensei seemed more distracted than usual… What could he be thinking about? On more than one occasion, Sakura caught him staring at her out of the corner of her eye. When she'd turn to look at him straight in the face, though, he'd be back to reading his book, as if he had been reading it the whole time.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called, jogging to catch up with her and breaking her train of thought.

"What is it, Naruto?" she snapped.

"Tomorrow's your birthday, isn't it?"

Sakura blinked— She had completely forgotten about that. "Oh," she said simply. "I guess it is."

The group had stopped walking— Sasuke was standing at the back, moody as ever; Naruto and Sakura were standing at the front, and Kakashi was right behind them, unnaturally quiet.

"Kakashi-sensei, shouldn't we all get her presents?" Naruto asked Kakashi. "After all, she'll be turning 13, won't she?"

Kakashi closed his book, putting it away. "Well, it is an important age," he said. "You don't turn 13 every day."

"I know what I'm getting you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "But it's a secret!" He placed a finger over his mouth. "Well, bye! I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura-chan!" He waved, then ran off in the direction of his apartment.

I wonder if Sasuke-kun will get me a present, Sakura thought. She could picture it now….

"Sakura-chan, I have no material gift for you," he would announce. "But I do have this." He would lean over and whisper in her ear, "I love you," then place a light kiss on her cheek.

"I'm going home."

Sakura's dreams were interrupted by Sasuke's voice. She turned to watch him leave, emitting an aura of distinct annoyance. It would probably be best not to follow him….

"Sakura."

Sakura looked around in surprise— someone had said her name softly, barely more than a whisper. It had sounded like…. "Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi was standing in the same spot as before, watching the sun set behind the trees. It didn't seem as if he were talking to her, nor did he appear to have heard her, so she said it again: "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm?" Kakashi blinked and looked at Sakura.

"You… said my name," she said, feeling uncomfortable. She had never been alone with Kakashi-sensei before, and he always intimidated her a little.

Kakashi looked surprised. "Really?" he asked. Sakura nodded, thinking, Is he so out of it that he can't even remember what he said? "Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about something…"

That's the same excuse he used before! Sakura thought angrily. What's wrong with him?

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura," he said, then left her alone on the dirt path.

Tsunade sat in her chair with her feet up on her desk, a mountain of paperwork lying before her. I don't feel like filling out paperwork right now, she thought lazily. She sighed. There are so many things to deal with… Being Hokage isn't all fun and games.

There was a knock on her door. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she thought, That must be Kakashi. "Come in, Kakashi," she called.

Kakashi walked in, looking very troubled. Tsunade gestured for him to sit down in a chair across from her desk.

"I see that you've been expecting me, Tsunade-sama," he said, taking the seat. "I'm glad that you remembered… I don't think I was up to bringing it up myself."

Tsunade sat up. "So, Kakashi, what do you think? 13 years is a long time… I think it's about time you told her."

"I agree… I think I've procrastinated much too long," Kakashi said wearily.

"Would you like to do the honors yourself, or would you like someone to break it to her for you?" Tsunade asked.

"… I think that, if her foster parents would rather tell her themselves, they should be allowed to do that," Kakashi said slowly. "Otherwise, I'll do it myself… After all, she is my responsibility."

Tsunade half-smiled. "You're afraid, aren't you, Kakashi?"

Kakashi's face remained expressionless. "It's…. a big change," he said simply. "And it will undoubtedly affect my career dramatically… I won't have nearly as much time to spare, even if Sakura is also a shinobi."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair again. "We'll manage something," she said. "You're too valuable to Konoha for us to give you up entirely to fatherhood."

Kakashi managed a smile. "Thanks for the compliment," he said, standing up.

"I'll send someone to inform her foster parents," Tsunade assured Kakashi's back as he walked out of the doorway. "Let me know when things have settled down."

"Will do." With that, he was gone.

Sorry if it started out a little slow, but it will get better, I promise!