Disclaimer: kakasaku and whatnot are not mine. I'm going to go be sad now.
Following Memory
After the little catharsis, Sakura composed herself. So, Kakashi was back. In some way. Not in the village, or else she would have heard about it. Thus, he was back in a metaphorical, intangible, Kakashi-esque way. Which meant he was back in her life, but not necessarily bodily back. Why was she still here in her office contemplating the many definitions of back? She should try and find him! But how. She ran over the facts.
The ugly pot of...greenary smelled like him.
There was a note assumedly written by him.
Maybe there was clue in the shrubbery...
Sakura began parting the leaves and stems of unnamed plants and rediscovered the note. She flipped it over, but nothing was on the back. She raised it up to the light, but nothing was there. This was a waste of her time, why didn't she just go ask someone? Quickly shedding her white doctor's coat, the kunoichi raced out the hospital, leaving her secretary and several confused nurses and doctors to gossip about the abrupt leave of Haruno "Hospital Dweller" Sakura.
Who would know, who would know, hey, red bean mochi's selling at a sixty percent discount? Nonono focus on the task at hand, oh isn't that Ino? Don't wander! And as suddenly as she had begun running she stopped in front of the Hokage building. That's it! she thought, Naruto-kun would know! Ah/Hokage/ would know!
Carefully dusting off her skirt, Sakura entered and briskly climbed the stairs to Naruto's office. She didn't have to ask anyone where it was, all of Konoha knew where the Rokudaime's headquarters were. You could smell it.
Yes, Uzumaki Naruto's office was Ichiraku Ramen Bar's second store, Nii-chiraku Ramen Bar. The thought sometimes made the medic groan and shake her head. What respectable, sane shinobi would establish headquarters there? Then again, Naruto was none of the aforementioned.
After climbing three flights of narrow, wooden stairs, the entrance of the ramen shop was in view. Red cloth hung over the doorway, and a poster to the right of the door depicted Naruto smiling and eating pork ramen and saying, in a cartoon caption, "I'm Hokage and I eat at Ichiraku every day!". Sakura was disgusted by the blatant exploitation of her former teammate's eating habits. Then again, he would probably be allowed to eat there forever without charge thanks to that bit of advertising, so the kunoichi was happy for him. Enough talking! she said, chastising herself, finding the Ramen poster boy is the number one priority!
Sakura didn't have to look far. The moment she entered the smoky, ramen-drenched bar, she saw a mess of distinctive blonde hair poking out from under a wide-brimmed hat. It was simultaneously bobbing up and down, trying to eat ramen, and talking to a very bored Shikamaru. "All I'm saying" slurp "is that we should" gulp "move whatever ANBU units we have" muffled swallowing "to the border. What's wrong with that?"
And this was the person that was suppose to help her find Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, ex-ANBU and damn pervy Jounin.
Oh goody.
The kunoichi slowly approached as Shikamaru left grumbling and Naruto slurped the remains of ramen from his bowl. Before she could utter a word, Naruto noticed her presence.
"Hey Sakura-chan! Want some ramen?" he exclaimed
"Ah, no, no thanks, Naru- I mean, Hokage-sama" she stuttered, remembering suddenly to bow, "I was wondering if you could help me."
"Aw, don't be formal like that! Come on, grab a chair, what's up?" the Rokudaime insisted as he personally dragged a chair for the medic nin to sit down in. Sakura dutifully plunked down, unsure where to begin. She decided to begin logically.
"Um, Naruto-kun, I mean, Hokage, I was wondering if you've heard from, um, our sensei in a while. Uh, would you happen to know where he is?"
"Yeah. Why? You wanna visit him?" asked Naruto as he finished the noodles. When did he get so smart? Sakura held the urge to scream YES joyfully at him.
"Yes, but, I don't know where he is."
"Don't you listen to rumors?" Naruto asked, cocking his head sideways in confusion. Now Sakura was confused.
"What does that have to do with anything, you moron? I mean, Rokudaime."
"He's at the bathhouses"
"What?" she said shocked. From now one, she was paying more attention to Konoha gossip. "As in the bathhouses that Jiraiya-sama gave you as a congratulations present for becoming Hokage? Why?"
"I asked him to manage it for me until I finished up the Grass and Mist treaty mediations. I don't have time to run a spa when countries are fighting! And since Kakashi-sensei wanted to get away for a while, I gave him the job."
All she could do was gape and stare with large jade eyes as Naruto flung about sensitive information in a greasy pub. By the time the information had sunk into her skull, Naruto was armed with a bowl of pork ramen and had resumed eating.
"D-does that mean I can go visit him, N--Hokage?" Sakura stammered unsuredly, twisting a lock of carnation hair around an index finger.
"Sure! Leave tomorrow! I'll fix it up with the hospital! You need to get out more anyway, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, waving a hand. "You better get packing. The bathhouses are at least a four day trip." Sakura had no choice but to bow gratefully and hurry out of the 'office'. As she returned home, she ran through supplies and the location of the bathhouses, known to everyone. But despite the joy, she could not shake off what Naruto had said but knew nothing about.
"...wanted to get away..." she said softly
Break>
Sakura ran through the list of meticulously chosen supplies and scrutinized her knapsack. It had been a while since she had gone out of Konoha for a mission or even a trip, a daunting fact.
Map, compass, money, food? check.
Clothing, hygenic...devices, for a lack of a collective noun. Check.
Weapons. Check.
Miscellaneous? Check.
She had to smirk. Still queen of bare minimum packing.
She'd start off at dawn. Yes. But for now...
With a yawn, Sakura dragged herself onto the bed, and instantly fell asleep.
A/N: Oh, I really hated this chapter's ending, but it's all I can think of for now. Review if you want more or have suggestions!