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Chapter 3 Interim

Mercifully, the days dragged on to weeks without any major problems on the part of those shinobi who recuperated. Recovery was slow, but sure. Those who could go back to their own villages began to start on their journey back home.

With the countless bodies that perished, they all had to be buried where the great ninja war had had taken place. Innumerable gravestones protruded from the earth, lining the field symmetrically. Visitors of those gravestones trickled like sand on the beach. People never stopped mourning, and crying over their loved ones.

Hinata would often be seen in front of Neji's headstone, offering a prayer or two. And continuously, Naruto would be behind her, patting her back.

Kakashi kept brooding, most of the time up on a tree somewhere, since walking on trees was probably one of the simplest techniques that he could do better than sleeping.

Yamato, or Tenzou to his ANBU comrades, once again put his talent to good use as he led the first group to get back to Konoha and fix whatever there was that needed to be fixed. He used his Mokuton jutsu to create wooden cottages to provide shelters for the poor civilians caught up in the war, those who had lost their homes.

Slowly, life was going back to normal. Those men who were able helped build more houses in Konoha. The number of patients and makeshift shelters seemed to dwindle on each passing day. Everyone was getting back on track.

All of them knew there wasn't much to go back to. But you gotta start from somewhere sometimes, right?

One breezy day, as Kakashi sat unmoving on his tree, just staring at the sky and not reading his infamous Icha Icha series, a group of elders approached him. Konoha elders.

Even from a distance, before they got even closer, Kakashi knew what they wanted. He could say he had been expecting this one way or another. His hitae-ate had been sitting idly beside him and when he saw them approaching he put it back on his head to cover his Sharingan. His mask had never left his face.

"Hatake!" one elder called out to him from below.

For a man whose bones had badly been broken, he made jumping from a tall tree seem to look like a walk in the park, did not flinch as his feet landed on the ground. Hands in his pocket, and a bored expression on his face, Kakashi nodded to them in acknowledgment. "Yo."

The woman elder said, "Greetings, Hatake. We know everyone has been through a lot, and we will not mince words. We don't want to keep you."

She was barely able to continue when Kakashi said, "With all due respect, is there no one else you can come to, to be Hokage?"

The woman sighed. He had never lost his insight before things even began. "You're the best choice."

"Not the best, but the only choice, at this time," another elder piped up. "Shikaku and the others- their death- Kakashi, there is no one more grateful than the village for all of you risking your lives to save it. And now that it is relatively safe, we need to make sure that someone will again lead us."

Kakashi's face still bore no emotion, as he was staring into space, his right eye half closed. "How long?"

"Until Tsunade-sama can get back to her office. It may take three, four months at the most. This will just be temporary. We need to have an official name on our seals as we submit the reports to the Shinobi Alliance. There are also a lot to pick up on, like our current trading system. Because of the war, businesses and trade exchanges have crashed down dramatically, and if we cannot help each other get everything back up again, our village will hunger."

Kakashi knew this was of utmost importance and no matter how he hated clerical work and sitting behind a desk all day, he knew he had to do this for the village.

He shrugged, his lone eye looking elsewhere. "Just give me a damn good assistant."

"At the moment Shizune is also indisposed. The only other one we can think of who knows a lot about the Hokage's schedules, timetables and programs is Haruno Sakura. But she's a medical nin here and may not be able to get back to Konoha right away. We may have to appoint you a different assistant." They rattled off names of people that Kakashi did not recognize.

The white haired Jounin replied, "I'm familiar with Sakura. She knows how I work, and my… err… behaviors as well. I will be new to this job and have little knowledge of what goes on with it. I would appreciate it if I will be able to work with someone I know completely."

"Alright. Since most of the wounded here are recuperating nicely, they can make do without Sakura," one of the elders agreed.

"How soon will I start?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly, as if the task of being the highest ranking official in Konoha was as common as cleaning the toilet. Frankly being assigned to teach in the Ninja Academy years ago produced more emotions from him.

"As soon as you can. And I have to speak to Sakura," the woman elder replied.

To which Kakashi said, "Nah. I'll do it. I'll see you around." With a wave he walked away from the group who appeared to be stunned. No one just walked out like that from the elders. No one would dare dismiss them like he did.

But oh well, Kakashi was Hokage now. Temporary or not.

Sakura was busy accounting for the medicines they needed replenished. Their resources were thinning down but she couldn't help but feel satisfied that more and more patients were looking good and going home. She might be able to go home, too in a month or so.

A soft movement startled her and she looked up, seeing Kakashi's sleepy right eye. "Sensei, how are you?"

He wasted no time explaining. "Pack up, Sakura."

"Huh?"

"You're coming with me."

She stood and scratched her cheek in thought. "Where are we going, sensei?"

"Home. You are to work under me."

She still looked puzzled. "Work under you?"

"Yes, under me. Can you think of a job that requires you to be beneath me?" He had the gall to wink at her..

She looked annoyed. "What the heck are you saying? I'm quite busy for your perverted innuendos."

At her angry expression Kakashi snickered. At sixteen not much had changed about how her face crumpled when she got mad. She still looked very much like the little genin he used to have a hard time teaching. "Come on. You are to be my Shizune."

Sakura had always been a perceptive girl and the thought was not lost on her. Gaping, her emerald eyes went wide. "Y-you? You mean you are now-"

He clucked his tongue. "Didn't ask for it. If I could only disappear somewhere that's the first thing I'd do."

It took a few more moment for the disbelief to leave Sakura's face and when she was able to fully understand what was going on, she cracked up, putting her hand on her mouth to muffle her laughter.

Kakashi frowned at her. Definitely not what he expected her reaction would be.

"Oh, sensei. You're the world's saddest excuse for a Hokage, do you know that?" she cackled.

"I am not!" he huffed, feigning affront. Then he joined in her laughter. It had been so long since he had let go like this.

That was why he wanted to work with someone he was comfortable with, like his former student Sakura. He could say the stupidest things and she would just brush them off. She could give him work tips that he was sure he would not follow and she would not be that insulted.

Being Hokage would definitely be an unknown territory to him but as long as he had a comrade, or rather a friend who could guide him through it, he knew it would be okay.

"When are we leaving, Kakashi-sensei?"

He couldn't help but be pleased with her. Gone was the girl who used to cry and mope when given a challenge she deemed would be too much for her. Now, she just accepted things thrown her way without so much as batting an eyelash. Didn't even ask for the specifics of her new job. He figured she must know what it was to be a Hokage's assistant, based from observing Shizune.

Kakashi knew he was indeed a sad excuse for a Hokage and even sadder as a sensei to Team 7. He just wasn't the teaching sort of guy. But he still felt proud to know that this strong dependable kunoichi had once been under his tutelage.

He reached out and ruffled the top of her head as if she was still twelve years old. "Are you fit to travel?"

"I should be asking you that," she said, not minding the hair ruffling. "How are your injuries?"

"And have you gotten some sleep? With my broken bones I don't want to carry you all over to Konoha if you fell asleep travelling." He lowered his hand, not answering her question directly.

She pouted. "Ah, sensei. You still say the weirdest things. Okay, let me grab my pack, and say goodbye to the medical team."

He nodded and let her do the things she needed to.

He sighed, and placed a hand at the back of his weary shoulder. How he was able to smile and hide his misery these days he didn't have a clue. This new beginning that they were trying to start, would it really be any different than the past histories that unfolded before them?

Would they really be able to attain peace from now on?

Sadly, he had no answers.

…..

Datte bayo!

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