It has now been 4 years since Sasuke left on his journey and Sakura was starting to lose hope that he would ever come home. And even if he did, were they just going to automatically be together? She didn't want him to be in a relationship with her just because he felt like he was obligated to. "I want him to be with me because he loves me like I love him, but I don't know much longer I can wait." Sakura thought, sighing to herself while sitting and looking out the window of her office at the hospital. All these thoughts led Sakura to begin seriously considering something she had been thinking about the past few years. Adoption.
Sakura had always loved kids, whether they were her friends' small children or the ones she treated at her Mental Health Clinic. Of course she was happy for all her friends getting married and having kids, but at the same time she just couldn't help feeling jealous. Because it seems like everyone else has exactly what she wants, a family of their own. Furthermore, she knew how many children in the Land of Fire needed a home and she was more than capable of providing one. Running the Konoha hospital gave her a very nice salary and she has plenty of savings, and she lives in a spacious 2 bedroom apartment that's right next door to a park. Milling over all this information, Sakura couldn't find a reason not to fulfill this thought. "Alright" she thought while getting up from her desk, "Time to tell mom and dad."
"I'm going to adopt a child," Sakura said casually to both her parents when the conversation had died down over their shared dinner. This caused Mebuki and Kizashi to tense up and look at their 21 year old daughter. "What made you decide on that Sakura?" her mother asked calmly. "Well, you both know I've always wanted kids and right now I have the means to do it and I just feel like now is the right time," Sakura said genuinely, hoping for her parents approval. Kizashi thought for a moment about what Sakura had just said before saying "Now I know you would be a great mother, you're a natural nurturer. But are you 100% sure about this? Because there are no take backs or changing your mind when it comes to this," he said suddenly speaking seriously. "Of course I am dad, this is what I want to do," she said while reaching out for both of her parents to hold their hands. "What about the Uchiha?" her mother said quietly, knowing that it was a sore subject. Sakura faltered for a moment before answering " I honestly don't know if Sasuke-kun will ever come back, and even if he does I don't know if he'll finally return my feelings. But if he does it'll just be a package deal of two." she said with a small laugh. After that her parents seemed satisfied with her answer, and they spent the rest of the night reminiscing on how Sakura was as a baby and discussing what their grandchild will call them.
The next morning she went to tell her old sensei and now hokage that she would be taking a year long leave from the hospital. "What brings this about Sakura?" Kakashi asked with an eyebrow raised at his former student. "You'll see soon enough Kakashi-sensei" she said with a smile as she walked out of his office.
The following week went on normally except for Sakura visiting different orphanages in the Land of Fire. She spoke with many people who worked at the different orphanages and learned about how the adoption process worked and all her options. After many visits to different orphanages, she decided on a small one that was a 30 minute walk from Konoha. And that's how she found herself in the office of the head of the orphanage discussing what all comes with adopting a
child. The woman she's speaking to is named Yuri-san and she knows who Sakura is and what all she has accomplished, which makes the process much easier."So Sakura-san is there a particular age of child you want to see?" Yuri-san asked. "Two and under," Sakura replied, she felt it would be best to adopt a younger child so they wouldn't have as hard of a time adjusting. After hearing her response Yuri-san began to dig around in a file cabinet before pulling out a folder and handing it to Sakura. "These are all the two and under kids that are living here, go through that and tell me whoever you feel drawn to. Then we'll have the two of you meet and then we can go from there." Yuri-san said before walking out of the office to give Sakura time to think.
With Yuri-san gone, Sakura started going through and reading all the profiles and her heart was bursting and breaking at the same time. There were so many precious babies from rough backgrounds that needed a home. "How am I supposed to choose something like this?" Sakura thought, feeling tears well up in her eyes. While still going through the profiles, pink hair that was several shades darker than her own caught her eye. Bringing the profile to the top of the stack, she began reading through it and she felt the tears coming on even stronger. His name was Kiyoshi and he was 13 months old, and was found on a busy street in Iwagakure, before he was brought to this orphanage by a man who was traveling through the lands. His profile also said that he hadn't spoken any words yet, and this often led to him crying due to not being able to communicate his needs. And that he was difficult to soothe because he didn't like being held, "Well of course he doesn't like being held, that's what happens when you abandon a baby," Sakura thought angrily.
After she processed all the information she had just learned, Sakura went and found Yuri-san who was in the kitchen preparing dinner for the children. "Have you made your decision Sakura-san?" Yuri-san asked while stirring a big pot of miso soup. "Yes I'd like to meet Kiyoshi," she replied, feeling happy at the thought of meeting him. Yuri-san nodded her head and told Sakura to come back tomorrow at 10 am. Sakura nodded before heading out of the orphanage and began her walk back to Konoha to get some sleep before meeting little Kiyoshi.
The next morning Sakura arrived at the orphanage and was taken to one of the play rooms to wait in while Kiyoshi finished his breakfast. About 20 minutes later Yuri-san came in with little Kiyoshi trailing behind her, she then kneeled down in front of him and said "Kiyoshi this is Sakura-san, she came here to meet you today so please be kind to her, and I'll be back later." She then closed the door and now it was just Sakura and Kiyoshi, and she had to refrain from pinching his chubby little cheeks. Because he was the most precious little boy she had ever seen! He had dark pink hair, hazel eyes, and was dressed in knee length black cotton shorts and a blue t-shirt with a shuriken on the front. He was also holding an elephant plushie that he seemed to be very fond of. The little boy looking at her intently, snapped Sakura out of her thoughts and made her realize she hadn't said anything yet. "Hi Kiyoshi, I'm Sakura," she said and extended her hand slightly to see if he'd take it. Which he didn't but this wasn't surprising, she had to earn his trust first. And right now based on his body language, she could tell he was anxious and unsure of the situation. So Sakura moved and sat down at one of the small tables and began fiddling with some of the toy blocks the playroom had. She was hoping Kiyoshi would
come join her, and he did but he sat two seats down from her at the table. Then Sakura and Kiyoshi sat and played with the blocks silently for the next 30 minutes until Sakura spoke up. "So Kiyoshi did you enjoy your breakfast this morning?" she asked with a smile. The little boy then replied by scrunching up his face in mild disgust while pointing to his stomach, "Does your tummy hurt?" Sakura asked with concern, lacing her tone. The boy nodded and Sakura replied with "Well you're in luck today because I'm a doctor! And I can make your tummy feel better if you let me." she said not wanting to push him. But Kiyoshi nodded his head and Sakura moved chairs to be closer to him. "Now my hand is going to glow green and I'm going to hold it over your tummy to make it all better, is that okay?" Sakura asked in an encouraging tone. Once again the little boy nodded and Sakura began to run her chakra through his small body to settle his stomach, and check his overall health.
As she checked him she could see him start to relax and his little eyes begin to droop, "Must be time for a nap," Sakura thought while smiling. Now that she was satisfied with her checkup and Kiyoshi was on the verge of sleep, Sakura got up to go find Yuri-san. But as she was about to walk away she felt a small tug on her shirt, and she looked down to find Kiyoshi's small hand gripping her shirt and his pleading eyes telling her not to go. Sakura kneeled down and asked "Do you want me to hold you while you nap?" she asked and was expecting a no based on his profile, but he replied by reaching out to her with his small arms. The sight in front of her caused a warm feeling to spread through her chest and it increased as she scooped up the little boy in her arms. Kiyoshi then wrapped his arms around her neck and nuzzled his face in her shoulder before falling asleep. So Sakura stayed in the playroom for the next two hours, holding and rocking the little boy she already loved.