A/N: I wasn't planning on writing actively again, but I blame this one on Leafygirl! As always, reading her work inspired me to write something of my own. So thank you Leafy! I hope you continue writing for the Kakasaku community. So this one goes out to you Leafy. And of course, this also goes out to my dear Deni, because I REALLY miss your fics too!


The first time she met him she was five and scared. He had been introduced as the Hatake heir, and while his height had been imposing, his smile had been easygoing and his eyes had closed merrily as he ruffled her hair.

"Hello Sakura-chan," he had said. "Welcome to our estate."

Sakura had just stared timidly and nodded her gratefulness. She stayed rooted to the spot, holding tightly to the old bunny that was her constant reminder of her parents.

"Shizune will show you to your room, Sakura," the lady of the house stated in a commanding voice. "Please make yourself at home." A lady with a sweet smile and dark hair guided her away with a gentle hand on her back.


Tsunade sat by the fireplace with a glass of wine, her gaze reflecting the yellow and orange glow of the fire.

"Will she be okay here?" asked Jiraiya, sipping his own glass while looking at his pensive friend.

"Who knows," sighed Tsunade. "However, it was the least we could do, after what we did to her parents—"

"You could have never known that they would encounter those guerrillas on their way to the village Tsunade," interrupted Jiraiya.

"I knew it was a dangerous area," insisted Tsunade with a shake of her head.

"Yes, which is why relief doctors were needed. It's not like they were not aware of the dangers. They were strong willed doctors with gifted skills and with a greater heart that wanted to help."

"And it got them killed!" shouted Tsunade, angry tears forming in her eyes.

Jiraiya got up and put an arm around her shoulder, taking a seat next to his long time friend. "Yes, but that was not your fault. This was their decision and they knew the dangers, which is why they entrusted Sakura to your care. They knew what they were walking into Tsunade."

Tsunade angrily wiped at her face. "I know. I just wished I had never enlisted them to the relief forces."

Jiraiya just sat in silent support knowing that there was nothing that could be said to make her feel better. They had lost two good people today and he also wanted to take the time to mourn the loss. After a little while, he leaned over to Tsunade.

"Want to have sex?"

Tsunade huffed and pushed him off the couch, Jiraiya falling unceremoniously to the ground. "You idiot," she spat out, but the corner of her mouth was lifting in a smile. She walked away and as Jiraiya sat up to retake his seat on the couch, he smiled knowing that he had made it a little better, even if for a moment.


"Oi!"

Sakura turned around and smiled big as she saw Kakashi with his hand in the air and the other in his pocket. She waved before she took off in a run towards him.

"Kaka-kun! You came to get me today?" she automatically grabbed his offered hand and Kakashi shouldered her pink school backpack.

"Hmm," was all he said as they started walking back towards the Hatake estate.

Sakura, knowing full well that at 25 Kakashi had much better things to do than picking up a little kid from school, pushed her nose up in the air and declared in an air of supremacy, "So what did you do to really piss off Tsunade-sama this time?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly. "Well you see, I was supposed to show up at some important meeting this afternoon, but on my way there I saw this kitten stuck on a tree, and you know I would have to be a heartless man to leave the poor thing out there, so –"

"Oh no!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed as she halted her steps, her little hand covering her mouth. "Don't tell me you missed 'the' meeting Kaka-kun!"

Kakashi laughed at her dramatic flair. He nodded yes and smiled widely at Sakura's shaking head. He tugged on her little hand to get her to move along.

'The' meeting was Tsunade's elaborate matchmaking introduction that she had arranged with a noble from another country. It just so happened that Kakashi had no intention in marrying someone unless it was because of love. He didn't care if he was the last Hatake and he had a responsibility to carry on the name and the business, he would do things his way.

Turning to Sakura expecting the scolding the 11 year old tended to make, he was a little taken aback by the excited smile on her face.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked, curious by the sudden change in her demeanor.

Sakura's head turned quickly towards him and then back to look at the road, a little blush decorating her baby face. While there was shyness in that face, her eyes showed determination.

"I'm glad you didn't go Kaka-kun."

Kakashi was surprised to hear this. Little miss follow-all-the-rules was happy he skipped a meeting? Amused, he inquired, "And why is that Sakura-chan?"

Blush still on her face, her green determined eyes turned to look straight at him.

"Because you will marry me someday!" she declared.

Kakashi slowed down a bit and could not help the chuckle and silly smile on his face. He was even more amused by the sudden pout Sakura made at his reaction.

"Is that so?" he asked shaking his head at the vivid imagination of the little adopted child of his aunt Tsunade.

"Hm-mm," she huffed letting go of his hand and crossing her arms as she continued to walk, annoyance written in her every step.

"If you say so, Sakura-chan," he replied, amusement taking over at such a preposterous idea.


Sakura woke up with a start at the sound of the door unlocking. She stood and tried to straighten her beautiful dress, realizing it was too wrinkled to fix with a simple hand. Looking at the clock on the wall, the number 4 let her know just why the dress had wrinkled that much. Giggles, a thump and then louder giggles made her huff and head to the entryway where two men hang onto each other while trying to walk up the stairs to the hall.

"Fun night?" Sakura asked, arms crossed and brow furrowed.

Both men jumped in reaction, one falling not too gracefully on the ground and the other touching his heart while he maintained his balance.

"Sakura-chan! You scared us half to death!" whispered Kakashi holding his chest with one hand and trying to help his friend up with the other.

"Yeah, Sakura-chii, don't you know it's bad manners to sneak up on young men like that?" replied the dark haired boy who was now up and rubbing his behind.

"Bad manners? Seriously? Do you two know what time it is?" whispered Sakura back, indignation in her face and voice.

"But Sakura-chan, we lost ourselves on the road to the estate and –"

"Oh please!" interrupted Sakura, her arms in the air in frustration but taking the steps down to help the two idiots up the stairs.

"My, my, you look so nice Sakura! Were you expecting a hot date or something?" added Obito, lumping his arm around Kakashi's shoulder to aid in the arduous path up to the guest room.

Sakura paused mid-step, and then lowering her head, she continued on her way down to grab Kakashi's arm and help him up the stairs. "It was my birthday," she said very quietly.

Kakashi was leaning on Sakura when 3 steps up something triggered in his mind.

"Oh shit, Sakura, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot –"

"It's okay, Kakashi. I can see you and Obito were intercepted by two old ladies that dragged you to an all night drinking party."

"Hey, hey, Sakura! That's amazing! How did you guess so accurately?" Obito laughed as he could recall Kakashi saying that same lame excuse on their way into the house as the reason they should tell anyone they might run into on their way to their beds. Sakura simply shook her head.

While Obito continued to laugh, Kakashi noticed the defeated tone in Sakura's voice. He wanted to come up with the right words to apologize, but somehow they had arrived at the hall with the bedrooms.

"I trust you guys can make your way to the bedrooms from here without peril. Have a good night, or morning I guess," she said as she turned around and headed for the stairwell. Before Kakashi could say anything, she was gone.

"Kakashi, help me to the guest room please. I really think I had way too much to drink."

Kakashi sighed and holding onto his best friend, helped get him to his door.

"What did you forget by the way?" Obito asked as he finally got the door opened.

"Sakura turned 16 yesterday. I promised to take her out to a fancy dinner to celebrate, but then work was such a drag and you called for happy hour…"

Obito whistled low. "We are such bastards man!"

Kakashi only nodded as he took a quick glance towards the steps.


"You forget your place, Sakura!" Kakashi said forcefully, his words hurting her worse than his slapping her hand away. The glass broke as it hit the floor along with the aspirin pills.

"Kakashi, I just want to help –"

"Why? What do you think you could possibly do to help, huh?" Kakashi was so angry. This was not new. Ever since the accident on the mountains, the avalanche that took Obito away from this world, Kakashi had become depressed, developing a nasty mean drunk routine.

"Kakashi," Sakura tried again, her heart breaking at seeing him this way. She reached over to him, her hand grabbing his bicep. "Obito wouldn't want –" She was suddenly on the floor with the force of Kakashi wrenching his arm away from her. She was so stunned that she barely heard the sound of the door opening behind them.

"Don't. you. dare." Said Kakashi, voice low and full of malice. "Don't you ever dare say his name like you have any right to be in my life!"

"Kakashi, stop this—" Tsunade tried to intervene as she ran to help Sakura get up.

But Kakashi roared, his anger reaching new heights. "Stop acting like my wife, Sakura! Whatever delusions you have as to what you mean to me, I assure you that you are wrong. You have NO right to say his name! You are nothing but the orphan child that my aunt wanted to help and you will never be anything special to me or amount to—"

"Enough!" Jiraiya yelled as he pushed Kakashi to the floor.

"Don't—" Kakashi angrily tried to continue as he struggled to get up.

"Don't you say another word, Kakashi," Jiraiya warned. He turned to see Sakura standing next to Tsunade, tears running down her face.

"Excuse me," she said weakly and ran out of the room. Tsunade sent a meaningful look towards Jiraiya and when he shook his head, she turned to follow after Sakura, the door closing behind her.

Kakashi had finally gotten up, his anger not less than before. "You guys need to stop coddling her! She's fucking 18 for fuck's sake! I don't know what ideas you guys have encouraged in that little head of hers but—"

"Kakashi," Jiraiya interrupted solemnly, both his hands on Kakashi's arms making the man face him. "You need help, the professional kind, and we will get that for you. But please, stop saying anything else you will regret more than what you have already done. Enough son."

Kakashi looked at the stern gaze of Jiraiya and felt some of his anger deflate. "Why me, Jiraiya? Why did they all die but me?"

Jiraiya pulled Kakashi into a strong hug, feeling sorry for the young man as he felt his sobs, but also thinking of what other loss Kakashi may have caused tonight.


"Are you sure about this?" Tsunade asked, her gaze soft and her heart in her throat.

Sakura nodded her head, a sweet smile on her face. "You know this is the best thing for me Tsunade. You have done so much for me and I'm so grateful. I had no idea I would get in and I just, I just really want to follow in their steps."

Tsunade had no doubt Sakura would get accepted into the prestigious medical school. She already had shown a great affinity to the profession and had great intellect. She would be a wonderful physician, she knew. She was just worried about the timing.

"Sakura, are you sure that this is not because of the argument with Kakashi last week? You know he didn't mean it."

Sakura's green eyes turned sad, but the sweet smile stayed on her face. "I know he doesn't mean it, shishou, but…well, he was right. About the part of me forgetting my place."

Tsunade couldn't help but sit straighter, ready to argue with the young girl.

Raising her hand, Sakura got ahead of Tsunade. "Before you jump all over me, what I mean is that I had forgotten to find the place that is for me. You and I both know that I love medicine and that I have affinity for the profession." She turned her gaze to the floor, her hand lowering as it fisted on her side. "And come on, you and I both know that I stayed here for something I shouldn't have."

Indeed, Sakura had been in love with Kakashi since she was a little girl, Tsunade knew. Still, she had hoped that with the years this blossoming woman would either move on or Kakashi would wake up and realize what he was missing. It was sad to see that neither had taken place.

"Will you be okay if you do this?"

Sakura took a deep breath and looked up to face Tsunade again. Determined green eyes pierced her with her intensity. "I'm positive Shishou."

Tsunade couldn't help but smile and nod. Sakura would be leaving and would become a great doctor, there was no doubt in her mind, and nothing would stop her.


Kakashi sat in his office watching the rain outside the window. His thoughts sometimes would take him down a dark path, a revisiting of old mistakes that always took a toll on his soul.

"Hey," whispered Hanare, her hand slipping into his. Kakashi turned and smiled softly, a look of love in his face.

"What has gotten you down?" she asked, knowing Kakashi well. They had met at rehab and had fallen in love. Sometimes facing hard things brought people together.

Kakashi pulled her to the couch and sat next to her, their hands still interlaced. "I wrote to Sakura. I invited her to the wedding."

Hanare's brow rose. She knew that the end of that friendship had been a strong regret in Kakashi's heart. "And?"

"She said she always understood and that there was nothing to forgive." Kakashi squeezed her hand, "but she cannot make it to the wedding."

Hanare took a deep breath. "Did you really expect her to come?"

"I just," Kakashi ran his other hand through his hair, "it's been 3 years. She used to be a constant in our lives and I just thought…I thought this would be a chance to start over again. All of us."

"Hmm," sighed Hanare, aware of his inner conflict. "Well, you have done your part. I'm sure that when the time is right, she will be back in your lives."

"Our lives," said Kakashi, a happy smile on his face.


"Sakura! Seriously!" whined Ino as she waited impatiently by the reception area. It had been 10 minutes since Sakura said they were leaving, except that she kept going back to make notes on the nurses log for her patients. At this rate they would never make the dinner.

"Okay, okay," Sakura relented, finishing scribbling something on a file and closing it. "I'm ready now, let's go."

"Finally!" rejoiced Ino, standing from her slouch position and grabbing onto Sakura's hand. "Let's go celebrate Sak. We made it!"

A huge smile adorned Sakura's face. Indeed, it had been a tough 7 years, but they had made it. They were doctors! Her residency and fellowship were done. She had been able to finish much faster than the average doctor due to her brilliant mind. She attributed this feat to her lineage and tutelage, his parents and Tsunade had been incredible surgeons, it only made sense that she would become even better than them. She had made a name for herself in her field and as of today she was officially Surgeon Haruno!

"Let's party!" exclaimed Sakura while she and Ino headed for the subway to go meet their other friends.


Kakashi poured himself some whiskey as he got ready to read the final papers. He guessed he should be lucky that Hanare had not wanted more. Without a prenup, Hanare could have taken him to the cleaners. Instead, and thanks to the ever vigilant eyes of his aunt, he had made Hanare signed a postnup that was now saving his family's fortune. No wonder his dad made Tsunade the leader of the business until he was ready to take it over. She was brilliant.

With a sigh, he grabbed a pen and signed his name on the 3 lines. Sitting back, he let the reality of the situation hit him. He was 38 and officially divorced. He wasn't sure where it happened, or when, but somewhere along the way in the past three years Hanare and him grew apart. He had been warned about relationships with fellow rehab patients, but he had been so convinced that Hanare was the right woman for him. And she had been, for a couple of years. Until the business and the matter of taking over the company started to take more of his time and Hanare found herself alone more and more in this world that wasn't hers. The fact that she was from a different city and grew up in a different environment, it just all added up to a kind of loneliness that drove her to fall in love with someone else. He supposed he should be more hurt about the situation, but if he had to be honest, he felt relieved. The past year had been full of tension and arguments and he was ready for some peace of mind.

The door to the office opened and Jiraiya walked in. "Happy Divorce day!" he announced, a cheeky smile on his face and a special glint in his eye.

Kakashi shook his head in amusement. "Is there such a thing?"

"But of course my dear," replied Jiraiya. "I should know!"

And he should. Jiraiya had divorced 3 times already. There was no one happier to see Kakashi out of his "shackles" than the old man.

"Oh you with great experience, what happens now?" asked Kakashi, still amused by the antics of his aunt's right hand man.

The smile on Jiraiya's face turned outright devious. "Now my dear boy, we go to the bathhouse!"


"Happy birthday Kakashi," murmured Jiraiya, dark circles under his eyes and a soft but tired smile on his face. He was holding a cupcake in his hand. "44 isn't it?"

"Gosh, I had forgotten. Thank you. Where did you get this?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "There might or might not be a child somewhere missing a cupcake."

Kakashi couldn't help but smile. It felt good to do that again. However, his smile didn't last long. "How is she doing?"

Jiraiya put the cupcake down and his face crumpled. "It doesn't look good Kakashi."

Kakashi was aware of this. Tsunade's health had taken a sudden turn for the worse. It was hard enough that she was being so difficult with the doctors, but her reluctance to admit the seriousness of her issues, combined with her ridiculous knowledge of drugs, had kept them in the dark until she was way past the point of recovery.

"They are saying that she might need a transplant Kakashi. At her age, I'm not sure that she would qualify for one, much less survive the surgery. I'm not sure…I..." Jiraiya looked lost and it really squeezed Kakashi's heart. This was the only family he had known since he was 9 and his father passed away. They had been with him through thick and thin, taking care of him and his father's business, growing it to the point that when Kakashi took over 6 years ago, it was complete smooth sailing. The company had grown even greater than it had been. He owed both of them so very much.

"Don't Jiraiya. She will pull through. We had the specialist come in from out of town. I was told he was the best. Let's wait and see what he tells us."

Jiraiya composed himself and nodded. Kakashi couldn't help but go over to the man and pat his back.

"Why haven't you told her that you love her?" asked Kakashi after a few minutes, the question had been nagging at him for years.

Jiraiya let out a deep sigh and stood a little straighter. "Because she deserves better than me."

Kakashi frowned. While he understood where he was coming from, he thought Jiraiya was not looking at the complete picture. "Maybe, but she also deserves to be loved unconditionally by someone who knows her better than anyone else. And there is only one such person in the world Jiraiya."

He headed to the door intent on leaving the man to think on what he had said. Time had proven to be a luxury. He was hoping to finally see two of the most important people in his life come together, as it should have been long ago. However, the door opened in front of him and the specialist from out of town walked in.

"Doctor, what are the news?" Jiraiya immediately asked, his mind now focused on the young, pale genius.

"She is very weak and her stage is too advanced. She needs surgery immediately if she wants to have a chance to survive without a transplant."

Kakashi inhaled sharply and fisted his hands. "Can you operate then doctor? Can you save her?"

The doctor looked at both men and then shook his head. "Not alone." He then looked pointedly at Jiraiya and added, "There is only one person I know that can improve the chances of Tsunade's survival. You must convince her to change her mind on this. The call has to be made."

Kakashi looked to the doctor and to Jiraiya, who was frowning deeply. Kakashi was insightful enough to know something was being kept from him. "What's going on?"

Jiraiya just turned away from Kakashi and the doctor sighed. However, the doctor seemed to suddenly find his resolve and turned to look straight into Kakashi's eyes. "Your aunt has specifically requested that we do not contact—"

"Wait," interrupted Jiraiya. His eyes pleading and his head shaking no. The doctor deflated and acquiesced, which only made Kakashi more confused and upset.

"Jiraiya…" Kakashi stated in a warning tone.

"Doctor," said Jiraiya, tone firm, "are you absolutely sure that there is no one else that can do this?"

The doctor turned to look at Jiraiya with renewed hope. "Absolutely sure. She is the best in the field."

Jiraiya looked at him for a long moment, before nodding his agreement. "I will make the call doc, thank you."

The doctor's demeanor completely changed and Kakashi could see, and feel, hope in the sudden development. "Let me know immediately when you have word. I'll start preparations on my end."

"Wait," said Kakashi again, frustrated, "What is going on?"

The doctor gave a quick look at Jiraiya, who with a turn of his head in the direction of the door, told the doctor what he needed to do next. As the doctor exited the office and before Kakashi interrupted again, Jiraiya spoke.

"Kakashi, there was a request that Tsunade had made of me early on that I had wanted to honor. She had specifically asked me not to tell a certain person of her situation or she would kill me. However, given that we've exhausted all possibilities and that the one that might die is her, I can't do anything else but go back on my promise."

Kakashi looked at Jiraiya confused for a minute. "Is this doctor someone that Tsunade hates?" he asked.

Jiraiya scoffed as he took the phone out of his pocket. "On the contrary," he replied, "it's someone she loves."

Kakashi looked even more confused, that is, until Jiraiya spoke the next words on the phone: "I need to speak with Doctor Haruno please. Yes, Doctor Haruno Sakura."


A/N: I really tried to get it all done in one chapter, but oh well. Guess I'm too much into details. Anyway, hope you enjoy. I will have chapter 2 up soon.