A/N: It seems like I end up apologizing for my late updates at the beginning of every new chapter. Maybe I should give up apologizing… and just tell you to expect my updates late? Ahhh! -pulls hair out- Curse school for sucking up all of my free time.

Yosh! On to the next chapter! -pumps fist-


Requiem of Despair: Chapter 6

Sunflowers

Sakura slid open the door to the Yamanaka flower shop and stepped over the threshold. Floral scents assaulted her senses as she took in the colorful displays engulfing her.

"Oi, Ino-chan! How are you today?" Sakura grinned at the blonde girl sitting lazily behind the counter.

Ino looked up from her magazine. She had not been expecting her first customer for another couple hours or so, since it was only ten o-clock.

"Sakura-chan! I haven't seen much of you lately. Busy at the hospital as usual, ne?" Ino replied with a wave.

Once best friends, the two girls had turned into rivals over a certain moody Uchiha boy. However, lately they had become much friendlier towards one other. One could even find them in each other's company occasionally, more often than not…observing fields of flowers.

"Yeah, Tsunade-sama has been working me to death! I finally got the opportunity to sneak away. Hey listen, I need to run some errands first… but I'll come back here later when I'm done. I need you to help me pick out a flower or two." Sakura chirped while leaning over to sniff a chrysanthemum.

Truth be known, she honestly didn't know what possessed her to buy flowers for her ungrateful former sensei.

Pffft. Like he deserves them…

However, his weakened state was causing her to be a little nostalgic, recalling the last time she had brought flowers to Lee and Sasuke while they were hospitalized.

This would probably be a lot easier if he actually was comatose. Pain in the ass stubborn man…

"Oh… and who are the flowers for, Sakura-chaaan?" Ino inquired, awakening Sakura from her musings.

"Just a depressed patient. I thought the colors could cheer him up a bit." Sakura waved her off nonchalantly before exiting the shop with a farewell.


Her next stop was among the various food venders lining the streets of Konoha. She approached a colorful stall boasting an assortment of vegetables and examined them carefully…briefly wondering when the last time Kakashi actually consumed a vegetable had been. Men always eat far too much meat for their own good, and as long as she was in control of his diet, she would make sure it was well balanced…much to his chagrin. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips at the thought of his future complaints.

After selecting and purchasing a few plump, red tomatoes, a stalk or two of celery, four potatoes and a crisp head of cabbage, she made her way over to a fruit vender.

"Welcome kunoichi! Take a good look around…" the over-zealous vender bellowed, while sweeping an open hand over his produce, "…You won't find fruit fresher than this in all of fire country!"

She stared at his creepy grin and bushy eyebrows for only a second before noticing how his eyes were slowly undressing her. She wasted no time to turn on her heel and walk away rather quickly in the opposite direction.

Eh, Kakashi-sensei doesn't need fruit that badly…


Her day continued as such, minus another perverted vender incident. She managed to stock up on a good selection of meats, eggs, rice and noodles as well, before exhaustion and a certain blonde-haired idiot demanded that she take a break.

"Come on Sakura-chan! Have lunch at Ichiraku's with me!" Naruto begged, batting his big, cerulean blue eyes at her.

She wondered, for the millionth time, how Naruto could possibly live on ramen alone! In all the years she had known him, not once had she ever seen anything but ramen pass his lips.

A small sigh escaped her. Well, she had been growing more and more aware of her hunger over the past hour or so…and she might as well spend some time with her annoying teammate.

Sakura carefully placed her groceries near her feet and took a seat next to Naruto. After ordering a bowl of miso ramen, she leaned forward on an elbow and shifted her body to face the blonde shinobi beside her.

"So Naruto-kun, how has your training with Jiraiya-sama been going lately? Have you learned any new jutsu?" She began while patiently awaiting her lunch.

"Training's been alright… whenever I can get Ero-Sennin to stop peeking in on girls and actually get to work," he scratched the back of his head with an annoyed look on his face.

"You know… he hasn't really taught me anything exciting since I mastered the Rasengan! Damn that old man… I'll have to bug him about it later…"

Sakura tried to stifle a giggle behind her hand, but failed miserably. He was exactly the same Naruto as the one she teased six years earlier, although much taller now, and with a slightly less annoying voice. Very slightly. She would even go out on a limb and say that he had become a fairly attractive young man, however…

Being around him too often would bring back depressing memories of their lost teammate. Well that, and she would never date him anyway. She was more into the "mysterious" type…and Naruto was about as far away from mysterious as one could get. The energetic blonde was well known for wearing every emotion on his sleeve.

Finally, two steaming bowls of ramen were placed in front of them. They chanted "Itadaki-masu!" in unison before picking up their chopsticks and devouring the soup. Although, after a few bites, Sakura's mind started to wander to a certain silver-haired jounin…causing a loss of appetite.

I hope Kakashi-sensei is doing alright… what if he needs my help? She wondered briefly between noodles.

"Don't stay here on my account. I'll be fine. I've dealt with far more serious situations than this on my own."

His accusing voice still rang in her ears. How would he react to her return? Would he tell her to leave again? She wasn't sure if she could take that kind of rejection from him…

Wait a minute. What do I care if he welcomes me or not! It's just…my job. That's all.

Sakura gazed into her bowl of soup, not really seeing it… and chewed at her lip.

But I do care whether he approves of me or not…Her eyes widened a bit in realization.

Back when they were still a three-man genin team, Kakashi had always paid more attention to the boys. She was assumed weak, defenseless, and worthless. She was unable to stop Sasuke from leaving, and was unable to assist Naruto and the others in his failed retrieval. Naruto had risked his life to return Sasuke to her… and what could she do? Absolutely nothing.

Training under Tsunade-sama had been her first step in becoming truly useful. It was the only way she could prove her worth to her teammates, and to herself. Finally after years of perfecting her skills… she was blessed with the opportunity to demonstrate said skills to her former sensei. To protect him when he was weak, as he did for her on countless occasions.

But it wasn't enough…I'll never be good enough…

After finishing his fourth bowl of ramen, Naruto noticed that Sakura had barely touched hers.

"Sakura-chan?" He drew his face up close to hers while poking a finger into her side. "Is there something wrong with your ramen?"

She turned to face him, noting the concern etched into his eyes, before faking a cheerful smile.

"No, no… the ramen is delicious! I'm just not all that hungry right now." Picking up her grocery bags and paying Ichiraku, she waved goodbye to Naruto. "See you later Naruto… and good luck with your training!" she shouted before making her way back towards the flower shop.


That was close…I don't want him worrying about me.

Along the way, her mind started wandering again.

"Don't stay here on my account. I'll be fine. I've dealt with far more serious situations than this on my own."

"Don't stay here on my account…"

Well, she would just have to stay on her own account then! Not even Kakashi could argue with that logic. With a new burst of confidence, she threw open the flower shop's door.

"Well, Ino-chan…I'm back! Now what do you suggest?" Sakura grinned while once again setting her groceries on the floor.

"Oi, Sakura-chan… I was wondering if you were ever going to show up! So, what do you want this flower to say?" Ino replied, before tying a white apron around her neck. Who could Sakura possibly want to give a flower to? I couldn't be just some depressed patient… she works in a hospital! She sees depressed patients everyday! This person must be special somehow… and Ino was determined to find out who it was.

"Hmmm… do you have a flower that says 'I'm not helping you because I feel sorry for you, I'm helping you because I care about your wellbeing'?" Sakura blushed slightly.

Ahhh… I'm blushing, aren't I? Why am I blushing? ...Stop blushing!

"Eh, I'm not sure if I have a flower with that exact meaning… but I think a sunflower or two will do the trick." Ino suppressed a smirk. Sakura didn't need to know that the sunflower represented adoration…and judging by her pink cheeks, she obviously cared for this person.

Ino carefully removed a few bright sunflowers from the display and wrapped the stems in plastic. The two girls exchanged flowers and money, before Sakura once again waved goodbye to her blonde friend, picked up her groceries, and started off in the direction of Kakashi's apartment.


A/N: Wow this chapter ended up being long! I'm soooooo sorry that I didn't get to the much anticipated the Sakura/Kakashi confrontation… but next chapter. I promise! XD I just had to finish up all the other stuffs first.

Now don't you forget to leave a review! Oh how I love reviews! Gaah… when did I become such a review whore? Well, I suppose it can't be helped. X3

And once again… thanks muchos to my wonderful beta-reader, Cari! Without her… who would I be? Well, I'd be a lonely writer prone to typos! And that would be just awful. Let me tell you. XD