Kawaii-sensei!! Kawaii-sensei!! Sakura, w-wait up!" Sakura turned and found Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi huffing and puffing behind she and Cherry. Sakura giggled to herself. Sasuke looked so cute with so many packages in his arms, almost like a little husband! Naruto was stuck with a larger armful and Kakashi-sensei-- well, Sakura could only barely see the top of his pointy hair.
"What's wrong guys, tired already?" Sakura said as she put her hands on her hips. The pile of boxes that was formerly known as Sasuke jiggled a bit as he shifted,
"You're really good at being a pain, do you know that?" Sasuke asked with (presumably) a smirk on his face.
"Yeah! Yeah! Sakura-chan!! Sakura-chan, can't we please stop shopping now!? I mean-- we've gone into, like, twenty stores already!" the orange ninja whined from behind the mountain of packages he carried.
"Come on, guys, we've only been shopping for four hours." Sakura said as she skipped ahead of the group,
"Ooh! Look-- a shop specifically for dresses! Come on, Kawaii-sensei!!! Just wait out here guys-- oh, and don't put those packages on the ground! They could get all dirty!" Sakura grinned as she heard a moan from all three of the 'pack-mules'.
Kakashi looked about for a place to sit, and finally just decided to sit on the ground with the mountain on his lap. Sasuke, somehow, managed to balance all of the boxes on his gelled head and leaned cool-ly against a wall.
"Master Kakaaaaaaaashi, why are you even going aloooooong with this!?" Naruto complained as he wobbled to and fro. Kakashi shrugged (from what they could tell),
"Uh. . . This is a valuable lesson for Kawaii-chan." Kakashi said.
"And that would be. . . ?" Sasuke asked from where he stood. Kakashi's eye wrinkled in a smile,
"It's teaching her to be confident in a social environment with people she's never met before." Naruto nodded,
"That makes sense! That makes sense!"
Kakashi chuckled,
"And it's also teaching her how to use a charge-card."
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"Oi, Kawaii-sensei! Kawaii-sensei, look at this!" Sakura cooed as she pulled a frilly pink dress from one of the racks,
"Isn't this beautiful!?" Cherry nodded hesitantly and then returned her stare to where it had formerly been. Sakura followed her gaze to a flowy purple dress. It was hanging delicately on one of the major displays with a sign next to it that said 'One of a kind. Please do not touch unless you intend to buy it.' Sakura's eyes trailed down to the price tag and then looked back up at the solemn woman. Her expression was almost indescribable. Such a look of sadness, almost of longing. The looked changed into a daydream-ish look and then became serious once again. After that, the redhead turned away from the display and walked further into the store. Sakura watched her as she pretended to busy herself with other dresses as she fumbled through them. Sakura smiled,
"Kawaii-sensei, I have to. . . Um, use the restroom. I'll be right back. Don't you go anywhere, ok?" Cherry nodded and smiled sadly as Sakura turned and walked out the front doors.
Kakashi looked up from Sasuke and Naruto's argue and found Sakura twiddling with her skirt and biting her lip,
"Everything okay, Sakura?"
Sakura looked at the ground and shook her head slowly,
"Kakashi sensei. . . Um. . ."
Kakashi nodded,
"Yes?"
"I. . . Well, do you know what we've bought for Kawaii-sensei so far?" Kakashi shook his head.
"Well," Sakura said slowly, "We've bought her new shoes, a couple of jackets, and some practical clothes that would be good for rehabilitation and activity. . . Oh, and some for everyday use. But. . ." She glanced at the expensive dress store, "Come on." she said as she took the Jounin by the wrist and pulled him to his feel, knocking the mountain of packages to the ground,
"Those packages will be fine." Sakura said as she pulled Kakashi into the store past Sasuke and Naruto's disgusted faces.
Kakashi stared up at the purple dress.
"Was I right?" Sakura asked quietly, as to not pull attention to herself from Cherry. Kakashi was silent for a moment,
"It's. . . very nice, Sakura." he said softly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed.
"Don't you think it would be wonderful on Kawaii-sensei?" Sakura asked hopefully.
Kakashi stared at it for a moment longer,
"It would be beautiful." he breathed as he walked to the front desk. An annoyed woman answered him,
"May I help you with something, sir?" He nodded,
"The purple dress on the display. Wrap it up." he said simply. The woman grinned,
"Certainly, sir!" she said as she hurriedly fetched the dress and boxed it up,
"So," she said in a nasal voice, "Who's this for? Wife? Sista? Daughta? Motha?"
"A friend." Kakashi said blatantly as he took out his wallet and paid the woman in cash.
"Thank you for your purchase! Please shop here again soon!" The woman said happily as Kakashi took the box and exited the store.
Sakura stood where the dress had been, a look of extreme shock still on her face. She was only going to ask Kakashi-sensei to chip in for a third-- a half, maybe, of the cost. But he-- he had paid the entire amount-- 30,000 yen for that dress! She was pulled out of her shock as she felt something tug at her sleeve. Sakura looked up and found Cherry staring patiently down at her. Sakura smiled weakly,
"So, did you find anything you like?" she asked, still a bit shaken. Cherry shrugged and glanced at where the dress once hung, suddenly obtaining a disappointed look.
"Oh, some guy came in and bought it for someone while you were looking around. . . Sorry." Cherry shrugged and regained her happy air as she and Sakura headed out of the store.
About another hour of shopping and the girls were finally ready to go home.
"Whoo! I never thought I'd be so happy to sit down in my entire life!" Naruto exclaimed as he set the packages down on the table and flopped down on the floor. Sasuke also gratefully dropped the packages and sat down against the wall and Kakashi put all of the packages down and then made a motion to Sakura. Sakura nodded,
"Come on, Kawaii-sensei! WE need to go wash our hands because we've-- um, been out in the public shops all day!" As soon as Sakura and Cherry had made their exit, Kakashi whisked up a thin black package, and without another word, poofed away., only to be back moments later, empty handed. By this time, Naruto was already snoring and Sasuke couldn't care less about the mysterious package.
Sakura and Cherry spent the rest of the day in Kakashi's room, Cherry trying on all of her new clothes. Sakura had actually bought Cherry her own green suitcase for when she would return to Lady Tsunade's. Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke spent most of their "free time" (ha) hauling empty packages, bags and boxes out to the dumpster after Cherry and Sakura had emptied them. (They actually filled a whole dumpster and had to sneak about ten big boxes and twelve bags into the next block's dumpster.)
Sakura and Cherry then busied themselves with dinner. Kakashi sat on the ceiling and read his new Icha Icha book as Naruto tried to grab it from him and Sasuke was having another conversation with his squirrel-friends out on the balcony.
"Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Saaaaaaaasuke-kuuuuun! Cherry-sensei and I made some dinner for you!" Sakura sang excitedly as she skipped merrily into the room, plates of steaming pork in her hands. Hearing the word 'dinner,' Sasuke came in from the balcony, Kakashi floated down from the ceiling and Naruto dropped his antics and practically threw himself down at the table. Cherry followed Sakura into the room and they began handing out the steaming plates. Naruto immediately tore up his food and Sasuke ate quietly, once in awhile insulting Naruto's eating habits. After a while, Kakashi stood and took his plate out to the balcony. Sakura watched as Cherry's eyes followed the copy-nin.
"Oi, Kawaii-sensei, why don't you go and eat on the balcony with Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked with a smile. Cherry bit her lip and stood slowly. She picked up her dish and gracefully headed to the door.
Kakashi stared up at the night sky as he lifted a hand to his mask. He froze as he felt a presence behind him at the door. He turned and found the red haired beauty softly walking toward him. He smiled to himself,
"You want to eat out here with me?" Kakashi asked, more in astonishment then an invitation. Cherry nodded and sat down next to him. Kakashi sat still for a moment,
"Kawaii-chan, would you mind. . . Not facing me while we eat?" he asked softly. Cherry looked up at him and their eyes met. She smiled up at him and turned away from him. She sat with her back against his and continued eating. Kakashi could feel Cherry lean the back of her head against his back and he quickly removed his mask and downed his food. His returned his mask to the appropriate position,
"Kawaii-chan. . . I'm very proud of you." he felt her shift so that she sat silently at his right.
"You're adapting very well, do you know that?" Cherry blushed as stared down at her clenched hands.
"You know how to cook, how to get along well with different kinds of people, you've learned to be in a public place and not be afraid, and you've also learned to shop." Kakashi said and chuckled,
"I've also noticed that you're walking a bit better then when I first saw you. Kawaii-chan. . . I think that. . . You're almost ready." Cherry looked up at him, perplexed. Kakashi painfully tore his gaze away from her soft golden eyes and forced himself to look at the sunset. Not matter how much he didn't want to say it, it was his duty as a shinobi to complete all of his tasks,
"I think it's almost time for you to return to Lady Tsunade at the Hokage's Tower. She's asked for you to stay with her and to work for her until you're fully capable of living on your own, even longer if you so desire. My job. . ." he sighed,
"My team's job is only to rehabilitate you and to get you back on the path to full recovery. It will be a complete. . . joy to see you return to a normal life." Kakashi said as he closed his eyes. He gathered his thoughts for a moment and then turned his gaze back to the woman. Her expression was unreadable. She sat with her hands clenched and her eyes were almost on the verge of tears, yet her actual expression looked almost thankful.
"Kawaii-chan, are you alright?" Kakashi asked. Cherry's eyes darted up to his and her expression changed in the blink of an eye. She smiled up at him happily and nodded. Kakashi grunted,
"Good. Then. . . I think. . . I think that we'll take you back to Lady Tsunade tomorrow evening. Is that alright?" Cherry's thin eyebrows knit as she stared out over the roofs of Konoha and then she gained a peaceful look and nodded.
"Alright. Then, we better be getting to bed, ne?" Kakashi asked as he stood and helped Cherry to her feet. She smiled gratefully and they headed inside.
"Nuh-uh! I bet Kakashi's just got a birthmark or something under his mask!"
"I bet he has whiskers!"
"Whiskers? All older guys have 'whiskers'. Sakura, Naruto, you're so obnoxious."
"Oh yeah, gothie!? Well, at least I don't wear black clothes that clash with blue hair!"
"Hey! Naruto, don't insult Sasuke! I think he looks very handsome in dark colors! Besides, you're blonde and wear an orange jumpsuit!"
"Hey! It's a fashion statement! Besides, it's better than Mr. Emo!"
"It is not! Take that back, Naruto!"
"No way, Sakura! If he has a problem, he can tell me himself!"
"Well-well-UUGH!"
"Bedtime, brats." Kakashi said bluntly, interrupting the fight. Cherry peeked out timidly from the widely-shouldered man. Naruto grumbled about 'and I was winning the fight, too.' while Sasuke continued to sulk. Sakura took Cherry to the master bedroom.
Kakashi sat down heavily on the floor,
"Sasuke, Naruto, tomorrow we'll be taking Kawaii-chan back to Lady Tsunade tomorrow." Kakashi said.
"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted, head growing large,
"But-but Master Kakashi! She hasn't been here for very long! And-and she hasn't even spoken yet! How-how can you make go back to Grandma Tsunade without even fully curing her!?"
"Going to miss her, are we?" Kakashi said as he pulled out his little orange book. Naruto blushed,
"No! Well, maybe. . . But how can you be so mean, Master Kakashi!" Sasuke grunted in agreement,
"I hate to say it, but Naruto's right. For once. Don't you think if would be risky to bring her back so soon?" Kakashi shook his head,
"I've already told Ch-- Kawaii-chan. She seemed fine with the idea. Besides, it will be good to settle her into her new home before she gets. . . too. . . attached. . ."
Naruto plopped down on the floor with his arms crossed,
"Well, what's wrong with her being attached to us!? She's really cool and we all really like her, right Sasuke!?" Sasuke hesitantly nodded and grunted,
"Sure, whatever."
Kakashi said nothing for a few moments and sighed,
"You'll understand this when you're older, Naruto. Sometimes you. . . just have to do what's best for someone who's important to you. . . Even if the result isn't pleasant to you. After all, you want to be Hokage, right?" Naruto grunted eagerly.
"Being Hokage is more then just being the best and having the title. You learned that from Sabaku Gaara Kazekage, didn't you?" Naruto thought back to the actions of the noble fifth Kazekage,
"Yeah. I guess so."
Kakashi smiled,
"Good. Now, it's time for bed."
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Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter! Ooh! And I even snuck Gaara into this chapter (sorta). Please review so I don't go any crazier than I am already. Thank you to my (few) reviewers! I hope to post the next chappie soon!
Mysteria Pearl