summary Right down memory lane

"One more time," Sakura demanded. Her eyebrows drew down low as she scrutinized Haku's form. She tucked her hands into her pockets, just her eyes following his path around the rink. She squinted as he launched up into the toe loop that had been giving him trouble all season.

"HAKU!" she yelled at the same time that Kisame did.

"I know!" Haku shouted back.

Sighing, Sakura leaned against the side of the rink. She shook her head when Kisame tried to offer her a sip of his coffee. Instead, she rubbed the back of her neck as tried to figure out what she could do next.

"Come on. It wasn't that bad. I think it was better that time," insisted Haku, stopping in front of Sakura.

"Better? You call that better? Sakura was landing jumps better than that by the time she was 15," scolded Kisame.

"Well, if she's so great, why doesn't she come here and show me!" Haku retorted.

Sakura lifted her head.

"Okay," she replied.

The smug look slid off Haku's face as he whispered, "Oh shit."

Sakura had left her skates back at the hotel. She wasn't even sure of why she had brought them in the first place. Maybe out of habit. So she had to make due with the rentals from the front desk.

Kisame sat smirking at Haku as they watched her lace up her boots. Her arms jerking as she tightened the laces and tied them.

She got to her feet. But Haku blocked her at the entrance.

"Shouldn't you stretch first? Warm up?" he fretted, even though he couldn't hide his grin. Sakura pushed him aside. Her blade cut across the surface, making that sound that she had always loved.

"Then shut up while I warm up," she replied.

She eased into it, well aware that her body wasn't as finely-tuned as it had once been. But she was also glad that she hadn't let herself go. She did a few passes around the rink before she tested a few simple jumps and spins. When she felt limber, she did a triple toe loop, landing with ease. She turned to find Haku staring at her.

"Okay. Let's run through your short from start to finish. I'll do triples during your quads, but otherwise I'll be able to keep up," Sakura said, holding her hand out to him.

He crossed the rink in a few short strides to grasp her hand.

The actual rink at the arena followed a very strict practice schedule. Each competing group was given a short window of time to use the use. To top it all off, the practice sessions were livestreamed so that the most hardcore fans could watch.

This second practice rink wasn't as close to the hotels, but it was quiet and they were allowed to use it to their heart's content. The owner was an old buddy of Kisame's. This wasn't the first time he had closed off the biggest rink for them.

Kisame blew on his coffee as he watched Haku and Sakura separate. They kept a good distance from each other. Blades were sharp and heavy. Getting hit by one, even as a glancing blow was no fun. At Sakura's cue, he hit the play button on her phone. The bluetooth speakers began playing.

As the piano began, Sakura and Haku took off.

Kisame remembered seeing Sakura's choreography of this song last summer. She acted like she had sent it over to Haku first. But she knew better. She ran it by him first.

"It's a little aggressive," Kisame had worried over the phone. And he could hear chatter in the background. Like she was at a restaurant or somewhere equally crowded. "Haku's not a teenager anymore. Do you really think this many quads is sustainable?"

"It has to be. Have you been watching these younger kids competing? If Haku doesn't want to get left behind, he needs to land those quads," answered Sakura.

And now, here he stood. His two students back in the same rink. Moving side-by-side, following the same rhythm. But there were little subtleties that he had long ago recognized.

Sakura's movements held a sort of fluidity that extended to the tips of her fingers. Her landings almost looked like they shouldn't make a sound; like she was weightless when she jumped. Haku's face was more expressive and there was speed to all of his routines. Both were beautiful to watch. And he was glad that because of their genders, they had never competed against one another. He didn't know how he would have dealt with that as their coach.

True to her word, Sakura matched Haku jump for jump. Spin for spin. She couldn't do the quads, but her triples were no less beautiful. And her expressions as she moved were filled with ease. Maybe because she understood that there was nothing on the line for her when she skated anymore.

There was a clang as the metal doors opened and closed. Kisame lifted his head. Staring as a man strode down towards him, a skinny little girl trailing behind him.

"Coach," the man greeted him.

Arms folding, Kisame nodded back. "Coach."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you would still be here. I thought you'd be done with practice by now," the man said, glancing down at his watch. Kisame jerked his head towards the two on the ice.

"That was true when we were running on her time. But this kid tends to wake up late," replied Kisame.

And the other man's eyes drifted to the figures on the rink. Widening when he realized that there were actually two people moving.

"Oh. She's..." and then he trailed off.

Sakura held one hand to her chest, other arm extended to the ceiling as she spun. Her eyes closed.

Kisame's eyes narrowed.

"Kaguya-kun," Kisame called.

Kimimaro jerked his head back toward him. Blinking like he was having trouble focusing. Behind him, the girl placed her hands on the sides of the rink.

"We're going to be here at least another couple hours. You should go ask if you can use the other rink," Kisame suggested.

"Did you see? I did it!" Haku exclaimed. All heads turned toward him. He raced toward Sakura, who stood in the middle of the rink, arms opened wide. He threw himself at her. Sakura squeezed him tight, laughing just as hard.

"GOE +1 million!" she declared. She yelped when Haku picked her up and began spinning her. Over his shoulder, she spotted Kisame, along with the two new guests. Eyes widening, she leaned in to whisper something in Haku's ear.

Haku set her down, muttering something under his breath. She hid behind him to fix her clothes and her hair. And then the both of them approached the side of the rink.

Her eyes flickered over him. His smooth silver hair, his shaven face. He wore a dark blue jacket and a checked scarf. She wondered for a moment if this was the scarf she had gotten him last Christmas. But then she put on her best smile. She was good at that.

"Kaguya-san," Sakura greeted him, nodding a little.

"...Haruno-san," Kimimaro replied. And when he also nodded at Haku, Haku only glared.

"What's going on here?" inquired Sakura, looking at Kisame. Kisame only shook his head.

"Just a little scheduling misunderstanding. They were just about to head out," answered Kisame, staring directly at Kimimaro. There was nothing threatening in his tone. But also nothing friendly.

Kimimaro glanced at Sakura again. Lips pressing together. And then he nodded.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed your practice. Good luck tomorrow, Shimizu-san," Kimimaro said. Haku only grunted. His glare followed Kimimaro as he gathered his student and then headed back out the rink. Once the doors swung shut, Haku made a face, sticking his tongue out.

"Coach, get me some salt. We have to purify the air," Haku grumbled, miming sprinkling the powder all over the rink.

"Be mature, Haku," sighed Kisame.

"I am. Did you see me do a flying kick at him? No? Then I was mature," retorted Haku. And then he leaned against Sakura, hugging her.

"I can still do it if you want, though. And I'll keep my skates on," Haku whispered. Sakura laughed a little.

"No need. Just skate better than he ever skated. That'll be the best vengeance for me," replied Sakura, patting his cheek.

The following day was jam-packed with events.

Sakura woke Haku a little early so that they could warm up together. They had a session at their private rink. She ran through the places he was making the most mistakes. He was surprisingly soft-spoken, which she knew was just because he was getting nervous. But that was normal. She remembered that feeling, a tingling in her gut as time ticked on impossibly slow or impossibly fast.

They headed to the arena together, Haku sipping on a vegetable and fruit smoothie. Kisame did the usual routine of blocking the worst of the reporters with his body. But this only worked until about halfway through the lobby when they were swarmed from the other side by more reporters.

"Excuse me! Haruno-san! Haruno-san!" they all shouted.

"Go ahead. Just get it out of the way," Haku whispered, nudging her forward.

Heaving a sigh, Sakura tugged on Kisame's arm. He cleared a path for her to approach all the cameras and microphones.

"You've been so out-of-sight all season. What have you been up to?"

Sakura put on her camera smile as she replied, "The Olympics were exhausting both mentally and physically. So I've been resting, mostly. And also choreographing for Haku-kun."

"There have been rumors that you were planning a surprise comeback. Can you confirm or deny them?"

"I'm retired from competitions. That's not something that's going to change, unfortunately," answered Sakura. She blinked as several camera flashes went off at once.

"Are you planning on officially coaching any other skaters?"

Sakura's smile faltered for a second. She felt Haku grasp her hand, like she might haul off and punch one of the reporters. But she took a calming breath, smile returning.

"Not at the moment. Both Coach Hoshigaki and I are devoted to making sure Haku-kun has his best season yet. Thank you."

Sakura lingered for a few more seconds, letting the photographers snap a few more pictures. But as she turned to leave, someone else shouted her name from the back.

"Just one last thing, Haruno-san! There has been some concern over the fact that you and your husband have been seen apart so many times. Are you willing to comment about that?"

Sakura froze.

"...motherfucker," Kisame muttered under his breath.

And when Sakura turned back around, she shook her head.

"Of course not. We've just both been very busy. Kimimaro-san has been hard at work training his student. And I wanted to stay to support Haku-kun," answered Sakura.

Naruto's jaw dropped. The noodles that he had been chewing on dribbled out of his mouth. Onto the table.

Beside him, Shikamaru froze, beer still held in the air in front of his mouth.

At Kushina and Minato's urging, everyone had piled into their house to watch the Grand Prix Final. Although most of those present weren't so interested in skating, the idea of glimpsing Sakura on TV was incentive enough.

"KUSHINA!" Minato called. There was a loud crash from the kitchen. And then Kushina flew in, wiping her hands on her apron. She fell to her knees between her son and husband, grabbing their shoulders for balance.

"What did I miss?" she demanded.

But Kiba hushed her as the interview went on.

"It's been difficult being so far apart. But we agreed that both of us pursuing our goals is important," Sakura went on.

"There have been many rumors that you retired because you were pregnant," one of the reporters spoke up.

"No, a child was not the reason why. We've decided to hold off on starting a family for now. It just wouldn't be fair for a child if mom and dad were both on opposite sides of the globe all the time," answered Sakura.

"Holy shit," whispered Kiba.

"They don't know that they divorced?" Naruto said.

"Why?" wondered Minato.

"This is a very important competition for Haku-kun. As one of the people supporting him, I'd like for the focus to be on him. He's worked very hard all season, and I want people to acknowledge that. Therefore, I would like to ask that questions from now on be directed towards him and not matters of my personal life," Sakura stated. Several more flashes went on. Reporters scribbled down her words on their notepads.

Orochimaru sighed, taking off his glasses. He pointed at the TV with them.

"That's why. She didn't want the scandal all over TV. Especially since this is Kaguya's student's senior debut. All press for her would have been completely blotted out by the news of the skating world's dream couple splitting up," replied Orochimaru.

"So... the entire rest of the world thinks that she's still married?" Itachi inquired.

Shikamaru rubbed his temples, nodding.

They sat in silence. Watching as Sakura turned her back and headed away from the reporters.

"...Well...uh... who needs another beer?" asked Kiba.

Several hands shot up around the room. Minato and Kushina smacked Naruto in the back of the head as he raised his hand too.