Notes:

A huge thank you to everyone who has read and given me feedback on this story. I promise I will respond to your kind comments asap. This story is on the downward swing with only two chapters left after this one, BUT I'm also currently writing and posting "Caffeine Cold" which is from Kakashi's POV and has different and additional scenes.

You can find the first two chapters of that story here: /works/30418170

Thank you again!

Story Playlist: playlist/0Vc9XriT4rjD0Fuw1ALkdD?si=fbc687d5193b4009

Week 7

Sakura entered the hospital and could immediately tell there was a problem. Her staff wouldn't make eye contact with her, and they scattered like rats every time she turned a corner. Heaving a sigh of exhaustion, she turned toward the staff lounge instead of her office. Someone was going to tell her what was going on, now.

As she neared the lounge, the faint sound of voices grew louder until it became clear that there were people arguing with each other in the very room she was heading toward. Thankful that she wouldn't have to waste time searching the hospital for the root of the problem but annoyed this was happening in her hospital again, she slammed the door open and peered inside. Everyone in the room froze.

"Harun-"

"Save it, all of you." She stared at all the occupants and observed that while many were seated at tables along the walls, Suzuki Daichi and Amari were at the center of the room, standing dangerously close to each other and both red in the face as though they were screaming at each other moments before. Which of course, they had been.

"You two need to take a seat," Sakura commanded, her tone even as she pointed to Daichi and Amari. "The rest of you, please leave. If you're still on your break, take an extra ten minutes on me and go to the southend lounge. Thank you."

She stepped out of the doorway, and the group of onlookers begrudgingly left the room. Sakura closed the door behind them, wishing she had a silencing tag in case they loitered on the other side. Then she turned toward the pair who were glaring at each other from opposite sides of the table.

"Now, we're going to talk about what's going on," Sakura insisted as she sat down in a chair at the same table, making sure she had a clear view of both of them. "Fill me in."

The silence stretched on for a few minutes, and Sakura thought she might lose her mind with impatience. Her fist, which she had concealed under the table so not to frighten them, itched to simply splinter the table in demand of an answer.

Instead, she took a deep breath and turned her gaze on Daichi. Although Amari was someone she worked with closely and was being considered for the Suna project, she had spoken with Daichi just last week. "I told you that you can come talk to me if you need, Suzuki-san. So please, let me know what's happening here."

Daichi's mouth fell open, closed, and then he looked down at the table's surface. "I-Haruno-san, I don't want to be a snitch, but I've been accused of stealing an observatory seat for my niece."

Sakura blinked. "The one I offered?" she asked, carefully. In her peripheral, she could see Amari startle, and then color considerably.

"Yes, Haruno-san."

Sakura swung her gaze to Amari. "Why would you think he stole an observation spot?"

"We only have, on average, two chakra realignments a year. Daichi was already assisting on the surgery, and knew I wanted to observe. He took that seat for his niece to screw me over."

"I did not-"

Sakura held up her hand to put a halt to the upcoming resurgence. She still didn't understand what exactly was happening here, but she needed to resolve this smaller fight first. "Amari, I offered the seat to Suzuki-san, and there didn't seem to be any ill-intent around the decision to give it to his niece. If you really wanted to observe that procedure, you should have asked Kimura-san. She may have even let you assist."

"She wouldn't have, because she's one of them," Amari pouted, looking away. Sakura knew immediately that them meant the Old Regime. If the divide was that great between these two groups, Sakura wasn't sure how she could resolve it without firings on both sides. But more importantly-

"Why is seeing this procedure so important?" Chakra realignment was certainly rare, as Amari had stated, but it wasn't the most interesting. All of her medics had learned the procedure at least via textbook during their studies. As a matter of fact, the details of it were simple enough that she planned to include a few questions about it on her apprenticeship exam…

The last thought gave her pause, and she frowned. Maybe Amari, certainly a candidate for her apprenticeship program, had heard that may be on the exam and had wanted a look. It certainly would explain her strange excitement over the observation seat.

Sakura stored the thought away for later consideration. The two medics in front of her were silent as stones, but now that Sakura had a hypothesis, she was less concerned about getting an answer. She wanted to test the theory out.

"You don't have to answer me now. Come on, the three of us are going to my office." Sakura saw the stricken look on both of their faces, and delighted in the light torture she was giving them. After the endless stress these fights were causing her, she didn't feel bad in the least. Let them think they were in trouble for a few minutes; the reality might be much worse.

Sakura could hear footfall scatter as the three of them neared the door. 'What terrible shinobi,' she thought to herself and gave them a moment to hide before opening it and entering the hallway. She stepped aside, allowing Amari and Daichi to walk out, a small parade of anxiety and dread as they walked in silence toward her office. Sakura felt gleeful, but also a little anxious. She hoped the idea she just came up with didn't blow up in her face.

Once in her office, she moved right to her desk and pulled out the data she had been analyzing from her drawer. She held up the bundle of papers in her hand, and then came around to the front of her desk to lean against the edge. She had watched Kakashi make the same move countless times when he was trying to be persuasive but friendly with a visitor.

"This is data I've collected and begun to analyze on many of the high-ranking shinobi who were promoted into ranks while under the age of fifteen. The collection covers the profiles of those that have come through our hospital in the last twenty years. As you can imagine, the information is extensive."

She unbound the pile, split it in two, and held it out for the two of them to look at. She gave them a few minutes to glance at the notes and patterns she had written up, the charts she had drawn by hand. She could tell she had their interest by how their eyes scanned the documents slowly, taking in the information. She let out a sigh to get their attention, and they both looked up at her immediately. "Next week, I'm planning to use what's in this data to propose an age adjustment to the ranks. This proposal is going to be in front of the Hokage and the Council, and it's going to be a hard sell. I need help prioritizing the data and highlighting the most important examples. I also need to scrub any information that clearly identifies the patient to honor their privacy."

She paused then, considering them. She could see understanding was beginning to dawn in their eyes, hope lighting their features. "So, do you think you two can put aside this fighting and help me with this? Or would you prefer I make an ass of myself in front of the most powerful figures in our nation?" She gave them a smirk, knowing they were up for the challenge.

Hope lit, the two medics smiled up at Sakura. "Yes," they replied, almost in unison.

"Then I'll modify your assignments for the rest of the week so you can assist me as soon as I get in from the Hokage's Tower. We'll start tomorrow afternoon, okay?" She could sense the excitement coming off of them as they nodded. It made her happy, but she needed to put the caveat in place. "Good. But what this isn't is a competition; if you two are at odds the whole time, it won't work. This research is very important to me; if I have to take you off the project or do it myself, I'm not going to be happy."

"We understand, Sakura-san," Amari assured her, and when her gaze shifted to Daichi, the understanding was mirrored in his expression. The opportunity they were being given could be ground-breaking if it was successful. She watched as both carefully put the papers back in order and then held them out to her.

"Excellent. Now go back to work, and tell your colleagues the issue has been resolved. Amari, if you truly would like to see a realignment done, we can set up a time in the near future for me to run a demonstration. Going forward, please come speak with me if you or anyone else has an interest in something specific. No more accusations about stealing spots."

"Yes, Sakura-san. Thank you." The two medics stood and bowed at her, and Sakura cringed at the formality. Before she could insist they didn't do that again, they were already out her door.

Sakura hoped that her attempt at building teamwork worked. And while they were working on the task, she was going to find out what was so important about these observation spots.

"You were right," Sakura admitted to Kakashi as they walked side by side the following evening. It was after hours, and they were getting some food to take back to the office for a late work session. Sakura's hours at the hospital had been productive; Daichi and Amari had a similar work style, and they were amicable and focused as they zeroed in on the dataset she gave them. It was only day one, but Sakura was feeling very optimistic.

"Oh?"

"I caught two of my staff members in the middle of a yelling match yesterday. I successfully resisted the urge to put them through a wall." She grinned at him, lightly swinging their bagged dinner. "And I put them on the research project with me. Today they were working together well and being resourceful."

Kakashi gave her his typical eye-crinkled smile. She knew by now that underneath his mask, the corners of his lips were upturned in a small, closed-mouth smile, and she felt herself flush with pleasure. "That's good, Sakura."

"It is. But how did you know that was the right method?" He pointed at the dango stand to their left as they walked, and she followed him up to the merchant. She eyed the different colored sticks, and pointed one out when Kakashi signaled for her to pick what she wanted.

"Because that's the approach you have to take when you enter a position like this. You didn't need to hold back when you were younger. You were facing an enemy that was often stronger or outnumbered you." He paid the cashier and held out the stick of dango toward her in offering. "But now you hold all the power; now, you would be punching down."

"Ah. You're right," she agreed. She was beginning to feel more at ease with being in charge with every passing week, but she was also seeing how wielding power responsibly was a constant balancing act. It made her admire Kakashi all the more, knowing that he had been in different positions of power-team leader, ANBU leader, jounin teacher, troop commander during the war, and now Hokage-most of his life.

She bit into the first piece of dango as they walked together, uncaring that she should have her dinner first. She was too happy to not add some more sweetness to the moment.

Sakura entered the Yamanaka flower shop with a bag of sweets and an agenda. She called out for Ino, knowing her friend was in the back taking stock of a new collection of flowers that had come in earlier in the day. When she heard Ino call her in, she maneuvered around the counter and into the backroom, where she was assaulted with the overpowering smell of floral arrangements and chaos. Stem cuttings and tags were strewn about the floor, and rolls of tissue and waxed paper in every color were settled against the walls haphazardly.

"How's processing going?" she asked when she located Ino with her head in a large bushel of daffodils. Sakura knew the process well enough from her years of helping at the shop in their youth: a new shipment of flowers came every week, were organized and inventoried, and then the Yamanakas would build bouquets from the new shipment to display out front for customers. It was an intricate process: They never wanted to pick the best of the bundle because the flowers out front were handled the most, but they also wanted to pick flowers hearty enough to attract and survive. Flowers that seemed more delicate or bloomed quickly were given hormone to last longer and donated to the local temple as arrangements to sit at the fallen's graves.

"About halfway through," Ino responded, not bothering to look up from her work. "What's up?"

"I figured you would be here late tonight, so I brought some sweets to tide you over." Sakura shook the bag, the contents making a shuffling sound as they were displaced. "Have you been able to keep anything new down?"

"Just soup and mochi. He's going to be a weird kid, I can tell already."

Sakura smiled. "Of course he's going to be weird. Sai's his dad." She put the bag down on an empty spot on the worktable, and went over to where Ino was working. As though on automatic, she picked up a pair of clippers and began to pick up the daffodils in pairs, snipping the ends of the stems the way Ino had shown her when they were children.

"Shut up, Forehead."

"He should settle in another week. If you start feeling any weakness or dizziness though, let me know. I can temporarily cut off the nausea and give you a day to fatten up." She stuck out her tongue teasingly, knowing Ino was sensitive about her weight gain despite not showing yet.

"Just wait until it's you. I know you're going to blow up like a balloon."

"Mm," Sakura offered noncommittally. She didn't know when or if that would be; her days were packed with work, her evenings with research, and the only person she had a current interest in never indicated he had any romantic inclinations outside of a smutty book series, much less a desire to have a child. She felt her cheeks redden at the sudden idea of carrying Kakashi's child: She was getting way ahead of herself.

"How are things at the hospital?" Ino asked, sensing Sakura's desire to shift the conversation away from her lack of romantic attachments.

"I caught two medics having a verbal brawl over an observation seat for a chakra realignment," Sakura began, grateful for the topic change. She watched Ino carefully through the foliage once she planted the information. After decades of friendship and rivalry, she knew the best way to get the truth out of Ino was to talk with her while she was busy working. She watched as Ino carefully grazed a batch of flowers with her fingertips, inspecting for the best bloom to add to a bouquet.

"The Old Regime starting problems again, no doubt," she responded off-handedly, her attention entirely focused on her task. She plucked three flowers out of the batch, and then moved to the bucket of baby's breath that was to her right.

"That's the thing. One of the medics was accusing another of stealing the seat to screw her over, but I actually gave the person permission. What I couldn't figure out is why the seat was so important." Sakura shifted her voice to sound confused, knowing Ino could rarely resist the opportunity to educate Sakura on something she didn't know.

"Well, of course it's important. Amari wants to do well on the apprentice exam, and seeing the procedure is better than regurgitating what she knows from a textbook."

There it was.

"INO." Sakura pushed the large bunch of baby's breath aside with her hands and shoved her head between them. On the other side of the bunch, Ino's eyes went wide in surprise at Sakura's sudden movements.

"Sakura, don't fucking be so rough with the flowers! What is wrong with yo-"

"Pig! I didn't mention Amari's name. And no one knows what's going to be on the exam except for me and you! Why the fuck would you tell her that?"

Ino had the decency to look embarrassed, her cheeks flushed at being caught. Sakura pressed on.

"How much did you tell her? I need to know. They were so wound up I was considering firing them over the argument."

"Um." Sakura couldn't remember the last time she had seen Ino so flustered, especially when the matter had nothing to do with Sai. She continued to glare at her friend, waiting for answers.

"Amari knows you'll be reviewing for an apprentice soon, and some of the questions you plan to put on the exam. I wouldn't have told her, Forehead, but she wants you to be her mentor, and she was so anxious that someone else would get the spot-"

Sakura rubbed her forehead to keep the coming headache at bay. Suddenly, Daichi's excitement about the observation seat for his niece who was interning at the hospital made a lot more sense: Daichi wouldn't be a good candidate as an apprentice since he was much older and didn't have the chakra control necessary, but perhaps his niece did. Sakura had no doubt that word had spread she would be looking for an apprentice soon, and what might be on the exam.

They weren't trying to disrespect her. They were trying to gain her attention using the most ridiculous methods possible.

"Ino, you started a war in my hospital by sharing that information. And now I'll need to do damage control. Did you even tell Amari that I'm looking to start a program so I will have more than one apprentice?"

"Uh...no. I didn't realize you were doing that."

Sakura resisted the urge to scream and instead took a deep breath. She could do this. Now at least she knew what was going on. "Let's just...let's put together the bouquets. After this, I need to go lay down for awhile."

"Maybe Kakashi-sensei could help-"

"PIG. Flowers. Nothing else," she warned, and Ino laughed, but didn't say any more.