Sakura shook her head trying to clear her clouded vision. She had now been awake for seventy two hours and the stress of the whole ordeal was getting to her. At twenty two, she had accepted the mantle of Hokage, not fully realizing that the responsibilities that came with the title could be excruciatingly difficult. She vaguely wondered what in the world the previous generation was thinking, making it legal for a twenty two year old to even be nominated for such a position. But then again, she mused, she had officially become a ninja at twelve so a young kage seemed reasonable enough.
Breaking out of a daydream where kids graduated at eighteen and only people above thirty were eligible for the higher positions, she turned towards her two students, both uncharacteristically silent as they filed her papers.
"I assume you both think that I'm being horribly unfair to Maya?" She questioned
A moment of silence passed before Kyo spoke up,
"Unfair?! You're being downright cruel, sensie! I didn't realize that freedom of speech wasn't a thing in Konoha anymore-"
"Kyo shutup" Maya cut him off, frantically. "I really am sorry Sakura sensie, I was out of line, but still…"
"You both need to understand that I'm a kage first and then your teacher. I know this might seem a bit unfair, given that I became your teacher long before I was made leader, but it's true. Naruto and Sasuke… They're war heroes. You guys might not remember but most of this village remembers each and every thing that the two have done for, and in Sasuke's case, against this village. I couldn't let you disrespect him like that."
Abashed by the sense of authority and wisdom in her voice, the two nodded.
"I'll apologize to Naruto kun right away!" Maya exclaimed, "I'll pester him till he forgives me"
"That won't take long seeing how utterly annoying you are.."
"Kyo! Damn you!"
Sakura smiled, as their voices filled the room. She had never been so glad that she'd decided to take the two under her wing six years ago. Maya, the feisty Yamanaka that refused to use, no, even learn her clan techniques making her quite the anomaly and Kyo, one of the many refuge children who'd been misplaced after the war. His family was originally from Iwa, and all but his sister and him had perished during the war. Somehow both of them ended up at Konoha and in the confusion of the aftermath never found their way home. Not that either was complaining.
Kyo had found a kinship with Maya and he was pretty much a genjutsu genius, soaking up every single thing Sakura taught him while his elder sister, Keiko, was one of the best jounin that Konoha had to offer.
"Hokage Sama?" A voice broke her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she grinned at the familiar face and shooed her two brats away.
"Ino chaan" She drew out the suffix "How can I be of service?"
Ino huffed, all the previous formality melting away as she threw herself on the couch "You haven't even spoken to me once since your old teammates came back. Am I really that replaceable?!"
"Such a dramaqueen" Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. "I've been busy! Arranging huge welcome ceremonies and what not. Everyone that knows the two is to be invited, and since pretty much everyone knows them, it's a whole lot of people!"
"Fine, I'll let that one go. But what about the fact that I, the prestigious head of the renowned Yamanaka clan was not allowed to conduct the mental health evaluation?!"
"Ino, you had a personal relationship with both of them-"
"Personal? With Sasuke? Only in my dreams!"
"You know what I mean! The council thought that you might be biased in their favor and voted against it. Now unless you want a mutiny against me, there's not a lot that I can do."
"You sure have the answers for everything. Fine. I'll forgive you for your transgressions" Ino waved her hand dramatically, "Now, let's talk about you. How're you dealing?"
"Ino, I think we've talked about this already, your mind reading skills donot make you a bloody psychiatrist"
"Bloody? What are you, a tea country native?"
"I'll have-"
"Sakura! Focus! I'm asking as your friend. Stop evading and spill"
Sakura sighed, silent for a minute as she tried to formulate words to explain what it was that she was feeling. A few seconds later, Ino's patience ended and she proceeded to fill the silence with her own feelings;
"Personally, I'm glad that they're both back. It takes a huge weight off my shoulders! I was half convinced that the two had hit their heads on a rock or something. You have to admit, it was a plausible theory, especially knowing Naruto" She paused for a millisecond before going on "Ofcourse, it has made things a bit awkward. I overheard some villagers talking about how you would abdicate your position in favor of Naruto, who would then appoint Sasuke and replace Sai. I put them in their place immediately. What a ridiculous notion, right?!"
"I wouldn't exactly call it ridiculous." Sakura responded dryly
"Haruno Sakura! You cannot seriously be considering making Naruto hokage! He doesn't even have any formal training for Kami's sake! No matter how much people like him, he'd be pretty damn incompetent!"
"Don't talk about him like that!" The pinkette said vehemently. Looking at the blonde's shocked expression; she softened her expression before continuing. "Look. I don't exactly know how I feel about this impromptu team seven reunion, hell, I haven't even spoken to Kakashi about it yet. I'm glad they're back but.. I don't know, I sort of feel like I've betrayed them. I mean this was what Naruto wanted from before he could even walk"
"Despite what people think, I'm not the wisest of them all and this situation has me stumped" Ino laughed "But I'll tell you one thing. You're a damn good kage and I know that you'll figure this out. We all do."
Xxx
A psyche evaluation, it turned out, was even less fun than it originally sounded. Naruto's pounding head was a testament to that statement. He quickly decided that he was going to outlaw each and every Yamanaka in the village if he ever became hokage. His angry thoughts quickly took a downward spin, darkening his mood even further has he contemplated what he'd just decided.
When did it go from when he became Hokage to if he became Hokage? Naruto had been certain of one and only one thing since he was six years old and that was that he would be Hokage again. Everything but his goal was variable and now these self-doubting thoughts had left him feeling quite conflicted.
With a sigh he headed towards the apartment that Sakura had allocated to him. It wasn't exactly the slums but it didn't compare to the luxury he'd imagined himself being showered in upon his return to Konoha. Conveniently, Sasuke lived right next door, so at least there was that. As he reached Sasuke's front door, he found it ajar. Sensing four chakra signals, he walked in just in time to hear the last part of what Sakura was saying.
"…So right before I begin the ceremony, you have to ask me for a moment to speak and then proceed with your public apology and make it very clear that you regret everything that you've done in the past to harm the village!"
"Public apology?!" Naruto interrupted, "You think Sasuke's gonna apologize in public? That's rich! But- wait, what does he have to apologize for?"
"As Hokage sama has already explained to Uchiha kun, it has to do with the whole defecting to Sound thing." A feminine voice answered
Naruto started, realizing that two of his childhood peers, Tenten and Lee were present in the room. He grinned widely at them.
"That was so long ago Sakura chaan! Don't make Sasuke teme go through the humiliation!"
"Naruto kun, I donot believe that it is appropriate for you to address the Hokage so informally in a crowd!" Lee cried out, obviously shocked at Naruto's casual attitude
"But-"
"Enough" Sakura held a hand up, "Sasuke, you donot have a choice in this matter; If you don't do this, you might face up till a year of imprisonment and then further probation. You'd be let off with this apology because your war efforts honestly change a lot of mindsets around here! But the people still have to know that you regret it."
"I don't regret a single thing I did"
And for a second, Naruto was so strongly reminded of the Sasuke from before the war that he couldn't form a single word. Sakura, however, wasn't having the same issue as she said sharply;
"I never said that you had to mean it, Uchiha. You are going to go through with this, donot test my limits. I have absolutely no problem with throwing your ass in prison but I'm giving you this chance. Go through with it or else you'll find out how much of a hardass I can be."
And with that, Sakura Haruno got the last word without even flinching. Naruto could only gape in silence as the three ninja walked out. A few seconds later, there was a small dent in the wall and Sasuke too disappeared.
Xxx
A/N: Wow, I thought I was destined to get only five reviews per chapter but I got six last time, so yay! Thanks guys. Especially you, my anonymous boop, for leaving the longest review I've gotten yet. Much love!