So, Kakashi was still going to be the Sixth Hokage. Tsunade was still going to step down, and he still had to take up her vacated seat. Yamato was still bound to stay inside Konoha's limits until after his trial was finished, and Sakura was out of reach in the hospital, Yamato not allowed to visit her as per the council's orders despite the fact that Kakashi was seen more and more with Rin at his side.

It was all well and good for a while, seeing as he'd had to have his cheekbone healed after Sakura cracked it with her fist after his stupid question. He figured she wouldn't want to see him right now, anyway. But, after two weeks of being kept out of the loop, he broke on of the council's orders and visited her parents. He had to know what was going on with her. If the details of her condition were only being released to her family, he would get that information from them one way or another. He just hoped they'd cooperate and tell him on their own.

Haruno Mebuki was hesitant about letting him through the door. She knew he was forbidden contact, but not why. The fact that her daughter asked every day if he had come by to find her or ask after her made Mebuki realize the man had to mean something to her. She just didn't know how much until he was sitting at the kitchen table, barely sipping the offered tea, looking at his hands more than anywhere else.

"You look like a school boy who got caught slipping into the girl's room, Yamato-san," she commented, pulling her sandy-blond air into a pony tail before buttering a piece of toast.

His head shot up, eyes not wavering from hers as he spoke, "Do you know what kind of relationship I have with your daughter, ma'am?"

"You're her taichou," Mebuki answered. "It's only right for you to be worried about her condition."

Yamato resisted the urge to fiddle with his hands. "It's become more than that."

"Oh, I know you're friends outside of work, too," she shrugged, biding her time.

"And she is with everyone on the team," he agreed. "Has she told you the council has been wanting to make her Kakashi-senpai's bride?"

The woman's eyes went wide. No, she had not heard this. Yamato continued.

"They want me out of her life in the hopes that the two of them will grow closer together... He doesn't have any attraction to someone so much younger than him, and she's already got someone who wants to take care of her."

"I take it you are that someone?" Mebuki asked knowingly.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then why haven't you visited her in the hospital?" she demanded.

"I have been forbidden any contact with her. Coming to you will get me a slap on the wrist, but seeing her could land me in prison. They already want me there, but Kakashi-senpai won't allow it."

"She is ten years younger than you, and has been under your command for a year now, Yamato-san. It's easy to see why it would be a bad idea for the two of you to be together."

"It's a worse idea for her to be forced to be with Kakashi," he blurted out. "Neither one of them care for each other the way Sakura and I do one another. She loves him as a dear friend, true enough, but she doesn't want to be with him physically. He is a respected mentor to both of us, and he has his eye on someone else. The council just doesn't like the idea of him being with someone who could vanish into thin air the way she appeared. They want him to have a child, and Sakura doesn't want to be the one to bear it."

"And what makes you think she'll have yours?"

Yamato grit his teeth. "It's not up to me whether or not she wants that. It's up to her. We haven't discussed that yet, and not being able to see her, we may never have that discussion. Right now, all I want to know is what is going on with her being sick. Shizune said there was a mass on her kidney. What does that mean, exactly? Does Sakura need surgery? Has she already had it? Were there any complications? Is she going to make it out of the hospital alive? Is she still going to be able to work? Do I need to say 'fuck it' to the council and break into her room right now and just hold her? Is she scared? Is she relieved? Is she keeping her food down yet? Has any of her strength come back? Does she ever ask about me? Has she tried to be like Kakashi and escape under everyone's noses yet?"

Mebuki smiled sweetly at him. "I wish Kizashi were here to listen to you talk like this, but he's taking Sakura some candies and socks right now. The aggressive treatments of chemotherapy are leaving her ice cold, and she's miserably sick."

"She has cancer?" he leaned forward, nearly knocking his teacup over as he reached to grasp Mebuki's arm.

The woman put her hand over his and nodded sharply. "They're doing their best to slow its growth and shrink it enough before they operate. She asks about you every day. There aren't good chances of her making it through surgery, but she's pushing for it anyway."

"A small chance is better that a definite death sentence," the smallest hint of a sad smile graced his features. "Can you take her something for me when you visit her tomorrow? Or will you be going back later today?"

"I was only home in the first place because someone tipped me off that you'd been hanging around near-by for the last three days at this time," she answered. "I wanted to hear you out before going back to her."

"Who told you I was here?" he asked, brows knitted together. If someone saw him waiting...?

"Naruto-kun," Mebuki answered, reassuringly. "I had to chase him out of her room yesterday when he tried hugging her too hard. It's almost like he's hurting as much as she is, but I think you've got him beat. At least he has a girlfriend he can go home to and cry with about all this."

Yamato's chest tightened. Yeah. Naruto finally listened and opened up to Hinata. She was living with him now. Setting those thoughts aside, Yamato concentrated his chakra and created a handful of seeds. "Tell her to take one of these every couple days, will you?"

"What do they do?" Mebuki asked. "If it could interfere with her treatments..."

"It won't," he assured. "I use these for tracking purposes. If the person I'm tracking swallows it, I can feel their chakra, get a read on their vital signs, sometimes determine their mood, if I'm close enough without seeing them. I made this batch special for her so that she can do the same with me. She will know where I am in relation to her, and get all of the same information on me that I receive from her. No words, no thoughts, just that little bit of connection we both could use right now."