Eldritch


Sakura awoke with a jolt. Unexpectedly drenched in cold sweat, she took panicked, deep gulps of air. Her heart hammered in her chest. Trying to get ahold of her breathing, she shut her eyes and concentrated on mindfully inhaling and exhaling. In for five seconds. Hold. Out for five seconds. Hold. Repeat.

She ran a shaky hand through her long, pink tresses. Some strands clung to the side of her face and she quickly tucked them behind her ear. Looking around her office, she realized she had fallen asleep at her desk. Again. Glancing at the clock that hung above her, she saw it was around three in the morning. An otherwise eerie silence was metrically interrupted by the soft ticks of the red second clock hand.

Letting out a soft sigh, she wondered what she could have possibly been dreaming about to elicit such an extreme physiological reaction. Maybe she was pushing herself a little too hard. However, she just got final approval and full funding for her children's mental health clinic. Construction was to begin within the month and the groundbreaking ceremony was to take place next week. Kakashi had promised to be there. In the interim, while construction was taking place, she had received permission to start piloting her program with five children who had been displaced by the war.

It was well worth pushing herself a little bit more.

An uncontrollable yawn erupted from her. She had about six hours before her official shift started. Looking down at the general research notes, open medical textbooks, and half-filled out grant proposals littering her desk, Sakura decided to call it a night and go home. As she stood, she upwardly stretched both arms far above her head and slowly twisted her neck from side to side. Sleeping at her desk was killing her upper back.

She gently patted a vividly bright orange toad figurine that Naruto had gifted her for her last birthday. It was a good luck charm that brightened her otherwise drab, overwhelming desk. Shutting off her office lights and closing the door behind her, Sakura paused. She couldn't actually recall when she had fallen asleep. Or recall what she had been doing before she fell asleep.

This had been happening more frequently. And by this, she meant the not remembering – the lost time. But given her long list of priorities and constant stress levels, it wasn't abnormal for some cognitive slips here and there. Sakura had taken to writing most things down. Not just her to dos, but her thoughts and observations, in order to serve as a self-reference point. It didn't always work though.

Shaking her head lightly, she set a brisk pace down an empty hospital hallway. Her light footsteps loudly echoed after her. Most of the lights were off given the late hour and that this was a low-traffic section of the building, however there was dim illumination from the emergency lights which created large, dark shadows around her. It smelled of strong antiseptic. A smell she thinks she'll never get used to.

Suddenly, she felt as if she wasn't alone.

"Sakura."

She frantically whipped her head around.

"Hello?" she called out.

Silence. Taking her time, she slowly looked all around her and tried to sense if anyone had joined her. The hallway remained empty. No one was there. Giving herself a little mental kick, Sakura berated herself. She really needed to sleep more if she wanted to avoid startling auditory hallucinations. Sakura doubled her pace through the hospital complex and upon arriving to a secure side entrance, she slipped out into the chilly winter night.

Dry leaves crunched loudly underneath her tall black boots. A howl of wind broke past her and she tugged the fabric of her bulky coat closer to her body, wrapping her arms tightly around her. As she walked down the empty main street of Konoha, the Hokage tower came into view. She was surprised to see light flicker from Kakashi's office. Her eyebrow twitched. She swore he was worse than her sometimes, which was an unfortunate achievement.

Grinning, she made an impulsive decision.


Kakashi absentmindedly massaged the back of his head, deep in thought, as his hand raked through his unruly silver hair. He squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment as a reprieve from the small font before him. The lamp at his desk emitted a soft amber glow that definitely was not conducive to reading for a prolonged period of time. Sighing, he found himself at a definite impasse with his productivity. The reason why he was up at this unholy hour was that he had been repeatedly distracted during the day. Often his thoughts wandered to a rose-haired kunoichi. He really needed to make a plan on how to address this lest he drive himself crazy.

This being… well, he couldn't concretely define it yet. He only had personal observations, which some might consider more as obsessive scrutiny. No one else seemed to have noticed things about her. But the more he thought about it, he had to admit that they really did spend most of their time together, so no one else would really have the opportunity to notice. Maybe he was letting his paranoia get the better of him. Ever since he could remember, there was always a looming threat to grapple with – an ongoing war, a potential insurrection, the Akatsuki, weird ass chakra aliens.

It had been quiet. Perhaps he should stop trying to find problems and just appreciate the normalcy and peace for the first time in his life. Perhaps—

There was a sudden knock on his door.

"Come in Sakura-chan." Well speak of the devil.

Kakashi saw a flash of pretty pink hair. She was smiling demurely at him, walking steadily toward him in a ridiculously large and puffy white winter coat. A bright red, oversized scarf was wrapped around her neck numerous times. His nose twitched as her classic scent registered with him – peonies and honey.

"Did we have a meeting right now? You know how I tend to lose track of time."

Sakura shook her head and scoffed at his poor attempt at humor, "No, even I'm not crazy enough to have a meeting at this hour."

He leaned back in his chair and stretched.

Continuing her train of thought, "I was passing through and decided to quickly scold you for working so late. You're not a spring chicken anymore, you'll work yourself to an early grave and Naruto isn't quite ready yet."

"Mah Sakura-chan, you know you could at least try to feign respect. I am your Hokage after all."

"I show you the same amount of respect I would Tsunade-sama."

They both knew that was a blatant lie.

Too tired to call her out, "Well, it's not like I'm trying to make this into a habit. Today just got away from me."

Head perking up in interest as she flopped down in the chair across from him, "Anything you need help on?"

Yes, but it's about you. "Nah, it was just an off day."

Sakura nodded.

Deciding to call her out on something different, "What are you doing out and about at this horrific hour?"

She gave him a sheepish grin, "I fell asleep at my desk."

"Again?"

"Again."

Shaking his head at her, "Honestly you should tear down a few walls to expand your office and then just move in there. It'll save you time on your commute."

"Trust me, if we had the budget I would," she cheekily responded, "Plus I'd be much closer to your office and can harass you even more."

His gaze softened, "Honestly I appreciate the company. They never advertise how isolating being the Hokage is."

"Yeah, especially when you've already been a huge pain in the ass your entire career. So many more people want to kill you on a daily basis that your ANBU detail doesn't let anyone step foot in the tower, let alone your office."

Kakashi gave her a deadpan look, "You know I have the power to easily assign you a genin team with a snap of my fingers, right?"

Throwing her hands up as a sign of defeat, "I was just teasing. Beg your pardon Hokage-sama."

He grinned at her.

"Don't worry, I'll get out of your hair soon. I really did just want to quickly scold you," she continued, locking her eyes with his and giving him a warm smile.

He had been almost expecting it, but that strange feeling hadn't emerged again. Maybe it was paranoia. Maybe it was all in his head.

"Consider me thoroughly scolded," he yielded, "I think I'm supposed to conduct a special Chunin ceremony tomorrow. We have some really gifted brats, as you know. I really should get some sleep if I want to survive."

Melodic laughter erupted from the woman across from him, "You're such a curmudgeon. You know like every kid in the village thinks you're super cool?"

"At least some people respect me," Kakashi sighed out.

Her mood suddenly shifting, she gave him an intensely heated glare, "I'm still pissed at you about him though. I still think it's too soon."

Kakashi swallowed. He could only nod in acknowledgement.

Standing up, Sakura lightly dusted the front of her jacket with her hands. Another yawn slipped past her and she shook her body to perk herself up, "Well, as much as I like hanging out with you, I should head home now!"

"Ja ne, Sakura-chan."

She flashed him a peace sign, while sticking her tongue out at him, as she poofed away from his office.

Finally allowing himself to yawn after her departure, Kakashi stood up to make his way home. Reviewing their latest exchange in his mind, he didn't sense anything abnormal.

Yeah, maybe it was all inside his head after all.


A few hours later, Sakura awoke again, but this time in the luxurious comfort of her bed. Her extra-large, white down comforter was wrapped around her like a cocoon. A few powerful rays of sunshine danced around her as they peaked through her blinds. She could hear the bustling hum of the street below her apartment as shopkeepers started opening for the day and neighbors exchanged cheerful greetings.

Thinking about what was on her agenda, she squealed excitedly. After her hospital shift, she would begin meeting the five children who would participate in her pilot program. She could finally start helping children process the trauma they experienced and adopt healthy coping mechanisms to move on with their lives and not relive horrors on a daily basis. She could do some real good.

Hoisting herself up from her bed, Sakura made her way into her bathroom. She could already tell by the temperature in her apartment, despite cranking her heat up as high as her landlord would allow, that it was another frigid day. Hopping into the shower, she turned on scalding hot water and let out a content sigh. Immediately she started to work up a lather in her hair. As she thoroughly massaged her scalp, she allowed her mind to wander.

Sakura thought of her boys, wondering if they were doing okay and staying healthy. Deep fondness radiated from her as she thought about her former teammates. She hadn't seen Naruto in a while, but last she heard he was making quite the impression in Mist. Mei, the Mizukage, had become particularly fond of his 'refreshing diplomatic approach.' Apparently, they decided to team up in giving Shikamaru a hard time given he was such a 'stick-in-the-mud' about protocol.

Given Ino's budding relationship with Sai, Sakura knew he was doing well, although he continued to be socially inept. She tried to block out the unsolicited additional information Ino had shared with her – something about how Sai's creativity was equally phenomenal both on the battlefield and in the bedroom.

Sasuke was gone from the village for who knows how long again. But the last Team 7 dinner they had together was really happy and satisfying – even though they had all been given a lifetime ban from Gyu-Kaku BBQ afterward. Kakashi had to pull some serious strings to reconcile the damages.

Pausing her hands, Sakura reflected on the last conversation she had with Sasuke. It was brief, but it stuck out to her because he had initiated it. His words were soft and subtle, but she understood the underlying gist of what he was asking her.

He wanted to know if she was waiting for him.

She didn't even really think about her response before a candid 'no' escaped her lips.

He then asked if she was at the very least content, if not happy.

She answered a confident 'yes.' And truthfully, she was. The war was over, Sasuke had come home, her team was complete once again, Naruto was on his way to achieve his dream of being Hokage, and the people she loved dearest were safe.

Sasuke seemed visibly relieved after their brief exchange, giving her a very rare, small smile. When the entire team saw him off, as they always did, Sasuke gave his customary, individual goodbyes. An eye roll to Sai when he told Sasuke to 'try not to do anymore war criminal shit.' A respectful nod toward Kakashi who responded with an eye crinkle. Naruto and Sasuke always bumped fists after exchanging a unique insult. And then lastly, Sasuke would always flick Sakura's forehead while she gave him a sweet smile, reminding him to 'stay safe.'

A smile graced her lips at the memory. Sakura then started rinsing out her hair and proceeded with the rest of her shower routine. Getting out of the shower, she wrapped herself in a very large, white fluffy towel. She took a smaller towel and began gently wringing out residual water from her long hair. After making her way to her sink, she opened her medicine cabinet to get out her toothbrush and toothpaste.

Closing the cabinet, she briefly stared at her reflection. Her bright green eyes were bloodshot, accompanied by dark circles underneath due to her poor sleeping habits. Ino's voice rang through her head, giving her grief about letting herself get to such a state.

Her byakugō seal sat prominently on her forehead. Staring intently at the rhombus, she gave it a little knock with a knuckle. She had been steadily, yet aggressively, accumulating chakra again ever since their battle with the Rabbit Goddess ended. Although hoping to not have to tap into its' power anytime soon, she figured it was better to be safe, than sorry. Sakura would never forgive herself if she couldn't save any one of her boys because she had run out of chakra.

Letting out a deep sigh, she turned on the sink faucet and proceeded to brush her teeth. Two minutes later, she went to spit out the accumulation of foamy liquid from her mouth. As she rose back up, she caught her reflection again in the mirror. No, not her reflection, a reflection. Wicked, white eyes stared back at her piercing straight through her soul. Her breath caught in her chest.

Sakura's fist swiftly shattered the mirror in front of her.

Ears ringing, she let out shaky, labored breaths. Small pieces of glass had painfully imbedded in her right hand. Deep, red blood steadily oozed out from the lacerations. Droplets fell on her white porcelain sink and emerald tiled floor. On instinct, her chakra immediately rushed to her fist, enveloping it in a healing glow. With her unharmed hand, she started grasping around, looking for a large enough glass shard. Finding one, she abruptly brought it to eye level.

Green.

It was her own eyes reflecting back at her. Slamming the shard of glass down on her sink, Sakura let out a nervous chuckle in relief. She made a personal vow to get on a healthier sleep schedule and stick with it. And lessen the number of late-night hang outs with Kakashi – they were some of her favorite things to do after all.


Kakashi hated wearing formal Hokage attire. The robes made him look like a pompous idiot. They were stuffy and cumbersome to move in. The hat matted down his hair. Everything totally clashed with his normally cool, understated aesthetic. However, they were required when commemorating the promotions of ninja to visually reinforce the importance and formality of the event.

He internally sighed (sighing out loud would be a bad look right now).

A voice in the room droned on, announcing the various accomplishments of the three, promising youth in front of him. Two of the members had above average ability and while their promotions at age 12 were well deserved, they were also well within the normal age range. There was a cute girl in pigtails who hailed from the Nara clan and showed early promise as a highly skillful tactician. The other girl was from a civilian noble family, who had an impish face and shocking red hair. She had a fiery temper and explosive offensive capability to match.

But it was the third member that really caught his eye.

Kakashi stared at the boy in front of him. Slate grey eyes and long black hair. Elegant, aristocratic features yet he came from an unknown family in a quaint town that no longer existed. He was small, but that was to be expected. He was only six years old.

Thinking back to the boy's file, a lot of the characteristics and abilities he demonstrated reminded Kakashi of… well, himself. A certified genius that graduated with top grades at the academy within one year. An already well demonstrated affinity for lightning release. Unfortunately, the similarities did not stop there. Tragedy had befallen both of them at a very young age.

During the war, white Zetsu had decimated his town and he was the only survivor. A rescue team found him a week after the fighting had ended, sitting in the burnt down debris of his childhood home, still grasping the hand of the rotting corpse of his mother. Wild animals had mostly eaten the body of his baby sister who had been tucked protectively under his mother's other arm.

The village immediately took him in as a refugee. At the orphanage, he demonstrated incredible physical and chakra aptitude for his age, and he was quickly enrolled into the academy. Sakura had been carefully managing the boy's case since he first stepped foot into the village. She was the doctor assigned to rehabilitate him, and naturally became deeply attached due to her large heart and compassionate nature. The boy became a huge source of motivation for the creation of her mental health clinic. And she was fiercely protective of him.

One of the few legitimate arguments that Kakashi and Sakura had was regarding the boy's upcoming promotion to Chunin. ANBU had nervously stood at attention outside of Kakashi's office as both of their chakras flared in contention. She had vehemently opposed, saying his mental state was too fragile to be burdened with that responsibility, no matter how capable of a genius he was. Kakashi argued he had the skills, maturity, and mental faculty to succeed as a Chunin, and he had earned it. There had been no indication of instability from the boy based on both Sakura and Ino's assessments, and she couldn't let her biased feelings stunt his growth. Eventually she relented under the strict condition that the boy would be one of the five children participating in her mental health pilot program.

Kakashi immediately agreed.

Snapping back to attention as it was now his time to speak, Kakashi individually called up each shinobi to receive a certificate formalizing their promotion. Both girls had given him dazzling, proud smiles as they accepted their scrolls. It was then the boy's turn.

"Congratulations, Byakuya-kun. Thank you for your steadfast dedication and service to Konoha. We expect great things from you."

"Thank you Hokage-sama," he replied softly as he kneeled before him.

Byakuya rose to stand. As they locked gazes, Kakashi thought that although the boy had experienced incredible misfortune early in his life, overall, he was rather lucky…

Kakashi would have killed to have someone like Sakura in his life at that age.