XII: The sleeping beauty.

The journey back to Konoha was as arduous as the stay in Suna itself. An almost unprecedented sandstorm broke out in the middle of the road without warning, forcing the Hokage and his small retinue to stop in the middle of the road for a few long hours.

Kakashi was upset. His original plan now was interrupted, and everything he initially thought as soon as arriving home should be delayed, with the plus, that he was no longer coming back home with Shikamaru and his driver but with Temari too. Somehow, the Kazekage had convinced him that it would be a good idea if his sister would travel to Konoha to start supervising the summer camp thing. The Kazekage was right; it was a logical decision after the mess that Naruto had caused with the kids in the Sand village. However, what was not right was the strange, so far unknown feeling that deep inside, Kakashi also accepted the princess presence because he couldn't avoid the eager pleading eyes of Shikamaru. A look he could rarely see in the boy, and he, the Hokage, couldn't put aside. Kakashi chastised himself for that. When was he turning so soft? Was this the light in his heart that the Sandaime spoke so long ago while he was still in Anbu? If it was, he didn't like it one bit. But then, as they were stuck in the middle of the road, Kakashi let his mind roam around, and all his thoughts went back to Sakura.

Kakashi was able to see the light there; actually, he was able to see it since team 7 passed his ridiculous bell exam so long ago, then he lost it again when Sasuke ran away behind Orochimaru, and recovered it again when Naruto promised to bring him back, and lost it again and found it and lost it and... "Ah what the hell?" Kakashi thought to himself. He was always dancing between the dark and the light no matter what he did to gain some stability, and somehow in a very masochist and narcissist way, he kind of enjoyed it. It made him what he was. A great Anbu, a cold-blooded shinobi, just as the village expected from him. A dubious but great Sensei with an enormous amount of values. A war leader, twice friend killer (perhaps the darkest part, the one he could never forgive himself). And now a modern, diplomatic, bit lazy, but balanced, peaceful and intelligent Hokage, so what was wrong with having a dark side as long as he could be able to see the light at the end of the road to guide his path? It was like the Yin and Yang, the Eros and the Thanatos, all those impulses all together, mixed up and...

"What a drag..." Shikamaru's complaint took Kakashi out of his reveries. He would much prefer to remain there.

"What is it now, Shikamaru?" He asked tiredly.

"Nothing, Hokage Sama" Temari began, "This excuse of advisor doesn't understand anything about sandstorms".

"I'm not an excuse of advisor, tomboy" Even if Shikamaru was crazy in love with Temari, he couldn't avoid their antics "I'm just saying that it could be wise if we look for a place where to spend the night" he finished.

''In the middle of nowhere?" Temari replied mockingly.

"What do you suggest? Return to Suna? I bet your brother would be delighted to see Kakashi again so soon" Shikamaru was right. Though Gaara appreciated Kakashi, it was for sure that more than two days with Konoha's Hokage was more than enough for the moment.

"Do you spend all your time together like this?" Kakashi asked the boys, pointing with his fingers at the two of them.

"Yes... no...well" They were so young after all, he thought. Light and dark, again, in front of his eyes, light and dark.

"We are not coming back to Suna, and we are not going to look for a place to spend the night" Kakashi was the authority after all, and he had the last word in the matter "tell me Temari, how long do you think the storm is going to last?"

"I guess by dawn is going to be over, so I think one more hour?" Temari knew her land, and she could bet her ass on its weather behaviour.

"So is settled. We are going to remain here till the storm is over and we are heading back to Konoha as soon as possible."

Kakashi didn't want any more delays, as he wanted to be in Konoha as soon as possible. There were too many reasons to be home instead of searching for lodgings, spending one more day between villages and eye witnessing the growing relationship between Shikamaru and Temari. That could only mean more troubles and headaches.
First, who knows what Tsunade could be doing as his replacement? Probably nothing, but god save the poor guys working with her again right now. Then there was the Naruto issue: he really needed to talk with the future Hokage if that day actually became a reality. At the same time, he was in need to go to the hospital and have a chat with Shizune. With Sakura's vacation, even though the first one was the senpai, nobody was more competent than Sakura, so he had to check that everything was in order, even more so now that the village would be filled with reckless children. And finally, and maybe the most essential thing in his failed plan day, was checking Sakura herself. He really, really needed to see Sakura. Why? He didn't even know why, but it was almost like breathing. Maybe it was about the books, perhaps because he had an infatuation towards her, maybe because she was his friend or maybe because she had those terrible calming green eyes that told him all the time that being Hatake Kakashi was ok. And he smiled despite himself, and Temari knew, and he didn't care one bit.

As the Princess predicted, the storm was over almost an hour after what she said, and they arrived at Konoha early in the morning with the sun still rising. Kakashi dismissed Shikamaru and Temari to their lodgings which he assumed could be the Nara house, and he retired to his chamber at the Hokage Tower, not without asking Tsunade one more favour: one more covering day and she would be free forever. The Godaime was no fool and capable of seeing the glint and anxiety in Kakashi's eyes, she only said yes, dismissing him with her hand like she had done many times before. So after a long shower, a change of clothing, a little bit of rest and a few unanswered messages, he went straight to Sakura's house.

Kakashi was worried. Sakura not answering her phone was not expected. Of course, she could be upset because he didn't text her the previous day. He didn't tease her about the books or tell her he was coming home, but the truth was that everything turned out more complicated than what it was expected for the last day. Suddenly, he felt guilty for neglecting her, but the fact was that he was working. Sakura, more than anyone should understand that, and if not the... Wait... What was he feeling guilty about? It was all about work, besides it was Sakura, the girl who only worked and he had to impose vacations to. It had to be something else, and that's worrying him more than anything.
He walked to the pink-haired girl faster but not as fast as to raise the suspicions of the few villagers on the street of Konoha early in the morning nor the attention of shinobis and Anbus walking around, yes. He could see them all. After all, it was him who had put them there and seeing the Hokage rushing to the Nin doctor house could only mean two things: one, that he would need a doctor, and that could be something to worry about or two that he also "would neeed the doctor", and that could be even worse, even if it was partly true.

Kakashi arrived at Sakura's house successfully unnoticed, and he was proud of it. He was still he, and that felt refreshing. However, something wasn't right there. He had been in Sakura's house before, and today it smelled different; it smelled like sadness, salinity, and anger, quite close to how everything smelled when Sasuke left. Not that he had been officially there at that time. But it wasn't Sasuke's scent. It was somebody else, a man too, a grown-up, older than him even. Pakkun would be so proud; Kakashi made a mental note to remember to brag in front of his dogs next time, and he continued the exploring. He knocked on the door not once or twice but three times, and no response came from inside.

Even if a little voice in his mind told him no in his head, he couldn't resist but try the door; it was open, and he came in. Kakashi found two sets of dishes on the table with food half-eaten, two glasses, some books on the floor, and that smell of tears and anger again. Sakura seemed not to be there, and the silence was complete. He contemplated all the chances. She was out, somebody had attacked her, or she had just had an accident. Nothing was remotely possible in Sakura's world. If she wasn't at home, she would have left everything tidy, and the door closed. If she had been attacked, he pitied the poor bastard who had tried, the bad guys weren't the same as before, and if she had had an accident, Tsunade would have taken care of it by now. It only remained that she was dead or missing, and both perspectives were terrible. Kakashi ventured himself inside the apartment a bit more, and there even without seeing her yet, he understood everything. On the coffee table was resting Icha Icha very comfortably, while poor Anna Karenina wasn't so lucky, like brand new as she was, some pages were already missing.

Kakashi only had to look to his fit to find what he was looking for the first time.

Sakura was fully asleep on the floor, hugging her knees like a little girl with flushed cheeks and hair matted with tears. Anger still marked her fairy skin and clenched fist.
Kakashi wondered how many hours Sakura had been sleeping in the same position and when would it have been that she had fallen asleep from exhaustion after crying for hours. It was evident that she had fought with her father again, although she had never told him anything about it. It had been a long time since Sakura had stopped being a girl and become one of the most splendid women that Kakashi had ever seen, but suddenly, seeing her like this, so fragile, broken, and anguished, was seeing her as a little girl again. As his little girl from team 7.

"Damn it, Kakashi; what the hell are you doing?" He asked himself in a soft, resigned, sighed.

He looked at Sakura once more, and as tender as he could be, he lifted her up and took her to bed.

Come on, Sleeping Beauty, let's take you to rest.