The rays of the sun danced across the water's surface, their shine becoming practically blinding for her eyes. Her hair whipped around her face, tickling her cheeks. Sakura closed her eyes, inhaling the comforting scent of the sea around her, the tenseness in her muscles practically evaporating, and even her generally sour mood brightening. This was the closest she felt to home in months.

The faint strip of land on the horizon was becoming closer and closer, the peaks of the hills were more defined, and if she strained her eyes, even some buildings situated near the port could be discerned. She grew more impatient with each passing second, each fibre of her body wanting to be finally ashore, to be at the place where she always belonged.

She resisted the urge to sigh, when a man walked up next to her. She puffed out her cheeks, hands grabbing the railing in front of her with a little more force than necessary.

"You shouldn't have come, I won't escape." Her stare didn't waver from the horizon.

"He didn't send me because of that…it's so that I can keep you out of harm's way. You're the queen, after all." Genma stated simply, leaning casually against the railing.

Sakura only scoffed at what he said. It was fairly obvious that the reason why Kakashi sent his most trusted guard was because he wanted to keep tabs on her. It was really pathetic, how he wanted to seem disinterested in at what she was doing, but at the same time needed to know about every movement made by her.

"I know that it's none of my business, but you should really make up. You both seem to be rather down recently."

Smiling, she looked at Genma, her demeanour concealing the anger boiling inside of her. "You are right." His shoulders relaxed at her retort, probably expecting her to lash out on him previously. "It's none of your business."

The ship reached the harbour a little less than half an hour later. To her surprise the docks were filled with people, all happy to see her after all this time. After spending such a long time in the company of those who didn't really want her where she was, it was just overwhelming to see people that were actually glad to see her. Sakura waved at them, her heart swelling up with each step she took on her homeland. Even after so many months, she was still homesick, it was something she was quite sure that she'll never really lose, and her fallout with Kakashi only intensified this feeling.

She didn't stop waving even when she got inside the car. They sped through the main streets of the capital, her eyes roaming over the buildings framing the road. There stood the best bakery in town, her favourite bookstore from where she always got her weekly dose of light reading, the Yamanaka flower shop, where she and Ino spent most of their teenage years gossiping. Back then these places seemed ordinary to her, visiting them was only a part of her daily or weekly routine, just a bullet point on her to do list. Only when she moved away did she realize their true importance in her life. These seemingly insignificant places, together with the people dearest to her were the ones that made her feel truly at home.

Sakura practically leapt into her mother's arms once they arrived to the palace. Closing her eyes, she tried to memorize the warmth and tenderness of the hug. While neither she nor Tsunade were much for expressing their emotions physically, this mere act right now meant the world to her.

"Hi." She choked out.

"I'm so glad that you are here." Tsunade whispered in her ear, her hold tightening.

"Me too."

Tsunade loosened her arms around her, holding her at arm's length. Upon landing on Sakura's face her golden eyes narrowed. "You look tired."

"Of course I'm tired, the journey was quite long." Sakura huffed. She tried to avoid her mother's scrutinizing glare, so she started walking up on the stairs leading to the main entrance of the palace.

"The bags under your eyes tell me that it's not because of travel." Tsunade looped her arm in the crevice between Sakura's elbow and ribs. Her grip wasn't tight, but it did make it impossible for the younger woman to escape the oncoming interrogation.

"Oh, well you do know how busy court life can be." Sakura shrugged.

"I do, but I still don't resemble a walking corpse at the end of the day."

"The hospital keeps me a bit busy."

"Why don't you delegate? You did the same back here." Sakura resisted the urge to groan at the never ending questions. The blonde was firing them at her one after another, with the sole purpose of catching her off guard.

"Because I can't."

"But you can now?" They reached the top of the stairs, Tsunade's grip still holding her firmly in her place. Her honey eyes narrowed into slits. "Why are you here Sakura?"

Sakura bit down on her lip, avoiding the older woman's gaze at all cost. She didn't come back here to talk about what was happening in Konoha. She came here to be away from all of it and not to be reminded of the mess her private life was. And she definitely didn't come here to whine about it to Tsunade, she was far too old to complain. Especially considering the fact that it would wound her surrogate mother even more, since she was still feeling guilty about making her part of an arranged marriage.

She was preparing to tell Tsunade a lie, the cogs in her brain working on full force to conjure up some kind of believable story.

"Sakura-chan!" The gasp that escaped her mouth instead of her excuses made her almost choke. She stared at the man standing at the entrance of the palace, his teeth bared in a grin. Her legs started moving on their own accord, and she faintly even registered the fact that Tsunade's arm slipped from her own, but all coherent thoughts were lost to her the very moment she saw him. He enveloped her in a tight hug, his chest reverberating with laughter.

"Naruto." She murmured, joy bubbling from deep inside of her.

"It's good to see you again, Sakura-chan." He patted her head.

"How come you are here?" She looked up at him, still not able to believe that he was truly there.

"I told you that I was ready to come back, so here I am." He let go of her and spread his arms wide, his grin never faltering.

She remembered the conversation they had on the day before her wedding. How he told her that he was coming back after so many years of traveling, that he was finally at peace with what happened on that stormy night. And then he also told her that he was ready to fulfil his promise of marrying her. It wasn't a long time ago, but so many things happened to her since than that it made her dizzy.

Naruto wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders, guiding her inside the lobby.

"So, how does it feel to be back again?" Was her obvious question to him.

"Good. It really is." The laxness in his posture, and the genuine curving of his lips were clear signs that he truly meant what he said.

"Did you settle in?"

She furrowed her brows at his sudden hesitation. "Of course." Naruto looked away, making it far too obvious that he was hiding something from her. And while she wanted to ask him about it, she got greeted by several other people once they were inside the palace, taking the opportunity away from her.

She settled into her former room quite fast. After all, nothing really changed inside of it, each piece of furniture was the same and situated at their original place, even the comforter on her bed remained seemingly untouched. As if she hadn't move out of here, like the months she spent in Fire were just some kind of trip from which she came home.

Sakura let out a content sigh once she climbed inside her bed, the exhaustion of the past few days finally catching up to her. Sleep seemed to avoid her ever since the hospital opening. Well, it would be a lie to say that she didn't sleep per se, it was just that she spent most of her nights with tossing and turning, often catching herself staring at the ceiling of her room, thoughts racing through her head. Medical reports, supply requests and bills would plague her mind even well before dawn. She'd be thinking about how to solve the problems that seemed to appear every day, often practically out of thin air.

Back in the days when she was running Whirlpool's most important hospital, she wasn't as worried like now, even though she had to face the same problems on a daily basis. But she didn't have the likes of Sarutobi Hiruzen waiting for her to fail either. She had to be extra careful with spending even the last penny right, afraid that they would use it against her. And now that not even her own husband was backing her, she was quite an easy target.

A brief knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts. Sitting up, she prompted the person to enter. It was Tsunade, and much to her surprise she was balancing a bottle of sake and two cups on a silver tray.

"Dress up, the weather outside is quite chilly." She gestured towards the silk robe at the foot of Sakura's bed, and then opened the glass door leading to the balcony.

Furrowing her brows, Sakura did as her mother said, finding the whole situation at hand weird. While it wasn't a secret that Tsunade liked to have a drink or two, Sakura was never the kind to indulge too often. So, it was quite unusual for them to drink together when there wasn't any formal occasion.

By the time she went outside, Tsunade was already sitting in one of the wicker chairs, with two full cups on the table next to her.

Sakura sat down on the chair opposite of the older woman. "So, what's the occasion?"

"Your visit, of course." The blonde handed her one of the cups. Sakura stared sceptically at the contents, raising it to her lips and swallowed the clear liquid. It left a searing path down her throat, warming the pit of her stomach.

"How are things going in Konoha?" The nonchalance in Tsunade's voice made her believe that the only reason why she asked the question was in order to kick start the conversation. But Sakura was not a newbie when it came to her mother's tactics. She certainly had ulterior motives.

"Good."

"What about the hospital?"

"Well, you know. The usual things, many surgeries and endless paperwork." That earned a chuckle from the blonde. Sakura stared at the cup in her hands, her thumb tracing its rim.

"It reminds me of the times when the first hospital opened here. There was chaos…I spent many sleepless nights with solving problems that just kept appearing."

The late summer night breeze hugged Sakura's exposed legs, leaving goose bumps in its wake. Since they were much closer to Water, the nights in Whirlpool tended to be colder. On the other hand, the climate of Fire was warmer, sometimes even slightly suffocating due to the humidity. As much as she hated to admit, she already got used to the weather there. Her hand grasped the end of the robe, dragging it over her knees in a futile attempt for warmth.

"And how's His Royal Majesty?" It was a casual question, something that anyone would ask. Yet, it didn't stop the weight from settling into the pit of Sakura's stomach. It was beginning to be rather obvious where the conversation was heading.

"He's good." Her reply was a bit rushed, making her wince. Even if Tsunade wasn't suspecting that something happened, she did now.

The blonde let out a sigh, motioning for Sakura to give her the sake cup. She poured another generous amount to both of them, the bottle's mouth clinking against the porcelain rims.

"I suppose his wellbeing has nothing to do with the fact that you are here." She looked at Sakura from the corner of her eye.

"He's not the reason why I'm here." That earned a smirk from Tsunade. She raised the cup to her lips, stopping only when the rim brushed against the soft flesh.

"Of course. There must be another reason why you practically fled here." The older woman downed the whole cup in one shot, her honey eyes glancing at Sakura.

"Wha…t?" Her defences were crumbling with each quip made by her mother.

"Oh, come on now. You announce that you are coming here, and not even 24 hours later you are at my doorstep. I might be old, but I'm not stupid, Sakura."

The younger woman fell back in her seat, emitting a frustrated growl. "We are not on speaking terms, okay?"

"Since when?"

"The hospital opening."

Tsunade creased her brows, deep in thought. It was fairly obvious that she was adding up the days in her head. "A month?" The sheer volume of her voice made Sakura wince.

"…and four days." She added unhelpfully.

It wasn't like Sakura counted the days like some lovesick girl who couldn't get over the fact that the love of her life didn't speak to her. The sole reason why she kept track of the days was because of how angry she was about the mere fact that the person who she currently hated the most was only a door away from her.

"What happened?"

"He…he-" Sakura grabbed the cup beside her and drank its contents in one go. Warmth spread throughout her body, making her limbs tingle and her brain slightly fuzzy. She was only two shots in but she was already tipsy, there was a reason why she never drank that much. Her scrambled thoughts were starting to make some kind of sense, taking in a slow breath, she spoke up once again. "One of the more important nobles diminished my achievements in front of me, meanwhile he just stood there like a mute. We got into a fight after it and never spoke to each other ever since."

"I see."

Sakura was half expecting for Tsunade to make some sort of comment about how she shouldn't act like this towards Kakashi, but she said none of that. The stiffening of her jaw told Sakura that she was as upset as her.

"And what about before that?"

She let out a deep breath, one she didn't even realize that she held, before responding. "We were…"

They were what? After all that had transpired between them, she couldn't really define the character of their relationship, even if she ignored their argument. As angry as she was at him, she couldn't deny the fact that she made some really special memories with him during this short time.

"I guess that we were friendly."

"Friendly? Well, that's a big leap from what you had before leaving for Fire."

"And now we are back to square one." She grumbled, grabbing the bottle and pouring another round of sake for both of them.

"Is it regret that I hear in your voice?" The question almost made Sakura lose her grip on the bottle's neck.

"What?" She put the bottle down on the tray with a clang, the incredulous look on the younger woman's face intensifying.

"You feel sorry for the fact that you had such a bad fight."

"Of course I do, having to avoid him each day makes my life harder." Sakura huffed, sinking back in her chair.

"And is that the only reason why?"

"What is your point?" Her eyes widened. "Don't tell me that you want us to be back on friendly terms." Sakura was starting to question where Tsunade's loyalty rested.

"Do you know the reason why I never married?" Tsunade's gaze was fixed on the sake cup she was now holding in one hand

The question almost caused Sakura whiplash. For a moment she thought that their discussion was about her disaster of a marriage, and not about Tsunade's complete lack thereof.

"Because you didn't want to?" That earned a smirk from Tsunade.

"If only." The older woman downed the whole cup in one shot, and then slammed the porcelain against the silver tray.

It would be a lie to say that Sakura wasn't interested in the direction their conversation had headed. As a teen, she often wondered about why her surrogate mother never got married. It wasn't like there weren't any suitors along the years, even after Sakura got adopted by her. She could clearly remember the throng of diplomats that came from all corners of the continent, each communicating in the most elaborate and archaic way their masters' proposal. They would come with exotic presents, one of them always being an almost life sized portrait of the king or prince in question. Oftentimes the same diplomat would come back after six months, or a year and would repeat the bid. But Tsunade always declined the offers, even if they were made by influential rulers.

To her teenage self these refusals were somewhat romantic. As if Tsunade was waiting for the love of her life, not being content with marrying someone for superficial reasons. But several years and an arranged marriage later, her perception changed. The rulers of countries never wed out of love, they got married to form alliances. Alliances that were necessary for a small country like Whirlpool to prosper. And even so, Tsunade always said no to her suitors.

"I never believed in arranged marriages." She supplied. "They never wanted only marriage. Even during my grandfather's tenure, when I was a fairly young princess they wanted other guarantees as well besides my hand. Trading deals with this country, hostility towards that country, their men in key positions…Buy one and get five free." Her gaze was fixed on the night sky above them, the pale moonlight shining down on her flushed face.

"Grandfather never accepted the proposals." She smiled fondly. "He refused to be dictated by foreign agenda when it came to the politics of the country. Some said that it was foolish of him to think like that…especially since Whirlpool was such a small country, lodged between two powerful kingdoms. But he was relentless till his death."

"I became queen at fifteen. And while I was strong willed, and still had most of the supporters that were following my grandfather, the transition didn't go that well…" A bitter smile graced her lips. "There was still a major faction of nobles, who questioned my capabilities, given the fact that I was only a teen and well…a female."

"They would constantly block any reforms that I was trying to make, and were regularly undermining my authority. It wasn't hard to find out that their purpose was for me to marry the eldest son of the most influential member, who also had good relations with Water."

"But you didn't…"

"I accepted the proposal." That earned a gasp from Sakura. "Either that or I would've been dethroned sooner or later." Her honey eyes glanced at Sakura. "Bear in mind, that I was only fifteen, and had lost my last family member barely four months before. No one was really on my side. I was terrified." She grabbed the almost empty bottle, pouring out the remnants of the clear liquid inside her cup.

"His name was Dan, your average noble heir. Highly educated, well spoken, handsome. And completely insufferable. At least to fifteen year old me. While I wasn't really the romantic kind, I never imagined myself to be part of an arranged marriage."

"Was he mean?" Sakura never saw the kind of smile that appeared on Tsunade's face before. Her honey eyes glinted with actual happiness, and her previously tense posture became lax in a matter of seconds. The woman sitting beside her wasn't her surrogate mother, but rather a teenage girl.

"No, not at all. He was probably the kindest person I've ever met. He brought me flowers every day. He wrote me poems…Christ, it was so silly." She chuckled, running a hand through her locks. "He made all these grand gestures, and I eventually really enjoyed spending time with him. But then I also had doubts." She took in a long breath. "What if his kindness was just for show? What if the moment I marry him he and his clan would plot against me, cast me aside? It was certainly plausible."

"I distanced myself from him, even though I knew that I had no other choice than to marry him. But I couldn't let my guard down. The day of the wedding was imminent, and I was just so tense all the time. Dan confronted me after a few days, we had a fight… a huge one…and we said things, horrible things to each other. I regret them even today." Her voice cracked, and for a moment Sakura thought that the older woman will start to cry.

"We decided to call off the wedding and engagement. Things went on as usual after that. The nobles were undermining me on a daily basis, while also trying to act as matchmakers. And I missed Dan tremendously. But, I stood firmly by my decision, and gradually it became more of a pride thing, than being actually convinced that he had ill intentions from the beginning." Tsunade sat hunched over, her shoulders sagging under the weight of her past decisions.

"Dan left for Water a few weeks later… but never arrived." She swallowed hard. "He…he…" Tsunade closed her eyes, taking in a few calming breaths. "There was a huge storm, and the ship sank. No survivors." The last cup of sake was downed as well, as if she was hoping that its sharp taste could give her some support.

Sakura stared at the broken woman sitting in front of her, barely able to recognize the previously strong and confident queen that adopted her many years before.

The older woman grabbed the armrests of her chair, pushing herself up. Her eyes locked on Sakura's sitting form. "What I was trying to tell you with this story is that we sometimes say or do things to people we care about that we shouldn't have. He didn't support you when you needed him the most, and you probably retaliated by saying awful things to him."

"I know for a fact that you two were getting along quite well." She ignored Sakura's surprised look. "It would be a shame for you to regret losing it in the future, and having no opportunity to make amends."

Tsunade leaned down, grabbing both of her shoulders. "Please, for the sake of your own happiness, don't make the same mistakes as I did."

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