Finally an update, hey? I cannot begin to tell you how busy my studies have kept me. I guess I was too idealistic in proposing to update very 2 weeks...So I'm sorry but I'll have to break a promise. Ghost Whisperer will still be continuing :P but I have now officially told ya that it will be VERY IRREGULARLY UPDATED.

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The Cherry Blossom of Konoha II

"Art is eternal...something wonderful that's left long into the future."
- Unknown


Dedicated to Dina Sana.


Sakura lifted the flap of fabric hanging at the shop's entrance and sauntered in after the eager blonde salivating in his seat at the incredible aroma in the air.

"RAAMEN! Finally!"

Teuchi chuckled fondly as he handed two delicious extra-size bowls of the day's special over the counter.

"This one's on me. Welcome back, Naruto."

Naruto grinned and all but tore his chopsticks apart in his elation.

"Thanks, Ojichan."

Ayame hid a cheerful smile behind her hand as she watched Naruto wolf down his noodles while Sakura rolled her eyes and in a much more dignified manner brought her chopsticks to her mouth. There was no mistaking the warm smile on her lips though.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto soon finished his bowl - drained it to the last drop - and ordered another, of course. Now that there were two extra-large bowls of raamen sitting in his stomach, Naruto reclined in his seat contentedly waiting for Sakura to finish her meal. He noticed that the shop was surprisingly crowded; it must have gotten more popular among the villagers while he was away.

"Ne, Sakura-chan...who told you that thing about art?" He asked curiously. "I didn't know you were interested in art..."

Sakura smiled softly. "Hm...yeah, I'm not really that type of person hey?"

"Well, you weren't but you might be interested in it now, right?" Naruto said thoughtfully.

.

People change.

.

Sakura burst out laughing.

"WHAT? What did I say?!"

"Hahaha. Nothing. I mean, you were thinking, Naruto."

"Sakura-chan! That's mean! You're spending too much time with the bastard, Sai!" He complained loudly.

Secretly however he enjoyed eliciting laughter from her, liked the way it sounded full-throated and warm. He had missed her. Missed talking to Sakura like this.

Suddenly her hand was in inches away from his face, dabbing at his nose with a folded piece of tissue. She grinned. "You're so childish Naruto. Who gets soup on their nose without realising it?"

He smiled sheepishly, not noticing that his question had effectively gone unanswered.

"Ah, Sakura-san! How have you been?"

A plump lady with rosy cheeks and bright brown eyes appeared behind them smiling warmly at Sakura, a bag of take-away raamen in her large hands.

"Yoshioka-san," the pinkette returned with a smile. "I've been alright. More importantly, how have you and your little boy been?"

The woman beamed. "Great! He's recovering speedily - it's all thanks to you, dear. Listen, why don't you come over to dine with us this evening? I know you're busy but if you drop by you'll find that we're serving your favourites - fried ginza and anko dumplings! I know you will be interested in this recipe!"

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Now Yoshioka-san, when did you get so good at bargaining?"

Yoshioka laughed. Then with a sincere expression on her face she reached out to lay a hand on the pinkette's shoulder. "Do drop by sometime, dear. Everyone will be happy to see you...I don't think I've seen my family so...complete since the day my Yuuko passed on."

Sakura gave the hand on her shoulder a gentle squeeze but otherwise remained silent as Yoshioka wiped a few tears from the corner of her eyes. "You fill the void, you know dear? You bring back my happy memories of her...Kami, I am being so emotional but I am really grateful to you, Sakura-san."

After a few sniffles and an awkward embrace, Yoshioka-san excused herself and left the shop with a bright smile on her face, having had Sakura promise to visit her sometime in the evening.

Sakura sighed amusedly at the woman's antics and turned around to find Naruto staring at her in awe.

"Wow. You're like...a hero, Sakura-chan."

She blushed and cleared her throat. "Baka. Could you be more oblivious?"

"Eh?"

"You're the one going to be Hokage someday."

You're the one who has a way with words and hearts.

Naruto's eyes were glazed over in happiness. "That's right. Believe it!"

Someone cleared their throat. "Well, that was very emotional."

"KAKASHI-SENSEI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"Sensei." Sakura said with a knowing smile.

"Yo," he replied, crinkling his eyes fondly at the contrast in their greetings. "I just finished my meal."

"NO WAY! That means I just missed seeing your face! Damn it!"

The silver-haired man raised an eyebrow. "You're still on about that?"

"JUST WAIT KAKASHI-SENSEI! I'll unmask you, dattebayo!"


The sun was setting in the sky, casting a golden-pink glow over the market street. Sakura walked comfortably flanked by Naruto and Kakashi who each held as many bags of groceries as the could. Sakura herself carried a bag of milk bottles, potatoes and cabbages. She could have carried more given her excessive strength but now that the boys were back - well Kakashi couldn't exactly be termed a boy, could he? - they were back to their protective ways walking her back to her apartment.

Kakashi had been astonished at how well-received Sakura was among the villagers who had all but shouted greetings and shoved bags of free supplies to her in appreciation of something or other she'd done for them. There were even a few she didn't particularly seem acquainted with either who merely enjoyed her conversation every now and then.

As they trudged up the staircase to her apartment and carefully laid the bags on the kitchen table, Sakura turned around to pour them each a cup of tea.

Naruto sat down on the sofa, strangely quiet as he reflected over the evening. Kakashi was helping her pack her groceries into the fridge and shelves, shooting discreet and thoughtful glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking.

He frowned. Sakura seemed to have wormed her way through the lives of so many. While it was most definitely not a bad thing he couldn't help thinking it was rather strange. Even in Konoha a minor group of civilians held a healthy fear of shinobi and admittedly even as a well-known medic for her to establish such a close connection with so many villagers was a near impossible feat in itself.

What have you been up to, Sakura?


"WHOA- ooops! Sorry...Sakura-neechan?!"

Sakura chuckled and shifted her bag of groceries to her other hip - fortunately she hadn't dropped it in the collision - then leaned down with her free hand to ruffle the boy's hair fondly.

"Be careful where you're going, Kenji-kun."

Kakashi looked on amusedly at the motherly scene, wondering how Sakura could manage to be so frightening at times yet so gentle at others. At the corner of his eye he saw two other kids hiding behind the fence, the girl wide-eyed with a mixture of fear and curiosity while the boy scrunched his face up in suspicion at the shinobi who had interrupted their game of ninja chase. Civilian kids, he noted.

Naruto was transfixed on the genuine expression of idolisation on Kenji's face even as Sakura crouched down to chide him. Sakura was so ...loved. He slowly bared his teeth into a grin. While his childhood hadn't been at all that great, he had gradually made his own circle of loved ones. The full impact of being home among them suddenly hit him and he turned away to hide his sniffling.

The boy removed the loose cloth around his eyes that must have served as a makeshift hitai-ate (forehead protector) during the game.

"Ne, Sakura-neechan. I want to be a ninja just like you!"

Sakura froze and pulled her hand back stiffly much to Kakashi's surprise. Kenji however was much too happy to care.

"Then I'll be able to protect my parents in place of Reiji-niisan!"

So his brother had passed away, Kakashi realised. He caught the odd expression in Sakura's eyes and felt slightly unsettled. That world-weary resignation...he hadn't expected her to react like that - that was more of... his thing.

Sakura laid down her baggage with a soft sigh.

"Have you ever thought about what it means to be a ninja?"

Kakashi flinched. Kenji beamed and replied exuberantly. "Of course, Sakura-neechan! It means I'll be strong, have super-duper fighting powers and -"

Sakura laid a hand on his shoulder. "What about leaving your mum and dad behind when you go on missions that take months to complete..." She hesitated before plunging on. "...missions that you might not ever come back from."

His friends gasped. Kenji's smile wavered. "B-But I thought..."

At the solemn expression in her eyes, he caught on to the gravity of her words; horror appeared on his face.

"It's not all fun and games, Kenji-kun...Who will protect your parents when you are away?"

Will they even be alive when - if - you return?

Kenji was shocked. Naruto shifted around uneasily. "Then...why are you a ninja, Sakura-neechan?"

"Hmm. I'm not just a ninja. I'm a doctor," she said smiling softly.

Doctor. Not medic-nin.

Kakashi wanted to applaud her choice of words. Or maybe how she had effortlessly maneuvered around the fact that she was also shinobi. What were the connotations? Delete one word and you have powerful implications.

I'm not a ninja. I'm a doctor.
I don't kill people. I save lives.

Had Sakura done it on purpose? Dimly Kakashi wondered whether or not she had had her first kill yet.

Kenji on the other hand recovered swiftly like all kids did. He caught on swiftly. "Then I'll be a doctor just like you!"

Sakura grinned. "No..."

"Huh? But-!"

"- I challenge you to be a better doctor than I am."

Pleasant surprise coloured the boy's face. "Y-you really think I can?"

Sakura laughed and Kakashi could feel the relief in her voice - relief for what exactly? Kakashi felt desperate to know.

"Try hard, Kenji-kun. Really hard."


The bag of potatoes landed with a thump on the ground as Kakashi seized her bare arm. She had rolled up her sleeves in preparation to cook unaware that a tiny treacherous, dark mark on the edge of her sleeve had caught his attention.
Because he'd recognise it anywhere even if it was just the tail end of the swirl.

ANBU.

Sakura was ANBU.

"Sakura."

He felt the anger seep into his voice making it low and strained. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

He cursed the fact that Tsunade had had him re-enact the bell test without telling him that Sakura was now in fact ANBU. Or the fact that he hadn't known even though he had always pretty much been around.

So Kakashi hadn't been wrong, not that he ever doubted it. Sakura holding back had been an understatement.

It took him a few seconds before he realised his grip on her arm was so tight bruises would form yet Sakura had said nothing, done nothing.

He let go unsurprised to see that the ANBU mark had disappeared, she had covered it up again with chakra. It was no good to walk around the village with it exposed to everyone's sight.

Wait...'again'?

He stared into guiltless, unsurprised veridian eyes realising that their owner hadn't been so oblivious after all.

She smiled even though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I've showed you now haven't I, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm."

You could have just told me.

(Would you have believed me?)

He didn't like it. Didn't like how she was following in his footsteps. Didn't like how he was still underestimating her and how she had predicted his move at every turn.

How had she known he would react like this?

Why did it seem that she knew more about him than he knew about her?

"I haven't told Naruto yet."

"I see. He'll...find out on his own."

"Yeah."

He picked up the potatoes, mildly embarrassed at his reaction. Sakura would think that that he never thought it possible she would make ANBU. It wasn't so far off the mark actually, he realised a little guiltily.

Shoveling the potatoes back into their bag, he straightened and caught sight of the wooden figurines posing on the highest shelf.

"That's interesting. Did you get them in Suna?" He gestured to one of the bigger ones, sculptured with tiny joints here and there bent backwards into a graceful arc.

"Hmm, I wonder about that..."

Kakashi's one visible eye dilated. "You made this?"

Sakura grinned then turned back to the stove as the oil sizzled.

"Teachers tend to leave a bit of an imprint on you, don't you think?"

Kakashi fell silent wondering why she suddenly said that. It was as if she had returned the conversation back to his earlier thoughts when he suspected her of following his footsteps.

The possibility that the conversation was moving onwards and not backwards never occurred to him.


To be continued...

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