A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but I've been extremely busy with this past semester, and whenever I did have time, the words didn't want to come out. I'm on Christmas break, so hopefully I'll have the inspiration to update this sequel more often.
Enjoy the chapter, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas!
The Uchiha compound was bristling with abundant activity as the clan prepared for Kakashi's birthday party.
To the disappointment of the younger clan members, Katsumi declared that the party couldn't be kept secret since her paranoid husband hated surprises of any sort. That didn't deter the children from wanting to shout "surprise" once the copy-cat ninja would arrive.
Sakura was currently in the main house's large kitchen as she helped the other women finish off the last of the pastries. Apparently Kakashi had a big sweet tooth.
His wife refused any help while she baked the cake for her darling husband.
"Kakashi absolutely adores white chocolate," she stated. "Especially when combined with raspberries, but he's rather picky with how it's made. He says that only I make it exactly the way he likes it."
Her son made a disgusted expression. "Eww. Normal chocolate is the best! Right, Sakura-nee-chan?"
The rosette smiled at the boy affectionately. "Any chocolate is delicious. My personal favorite is dark chocolate."
Kai's expression turned scandalous. "Eww! I rather have white chocolate than the disgusting black one!"
Katsumi gently flicked her son's head. "Don't be rude, Kai-kun. Everyone has their preferences, and you must respect that."
The boy flushed in shame. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.
Sakura's heart melted at his cuteness, and she ruffled his hair affectionately. "It's alright, Kai. If it makes you feel better, most of the Uchiha clan don't like sweets, so you'll have most, if not all of the chocolate to yourself."
Kai's eyes widened in glee, and he cupped his cheeks. "It's okay that you don't like normal chocolate."
Sakura and Katsumi laughed at his antics and resumed their work.
Around them, the other Uchiha women laughed and chatted amongst themselves as they've prepared the grand feast for that evening.
The men busied themselves by putting up colorful lights and setting up various entertainment stalls for the children.
By mid-afternoon, the entire compound was ready. Only one important detail was missing.
Katsumi let out an exasperated sigh as two hours went by without any sign of her elusive husband.
Minato stifled an amused snort. "Kakashi hasn't changed from his childhood. I shouldn't be surprised that he'd be late even to his own party."
Beside him, his wife huffed in annoyance. "It's your fault for not discipling that boy and beating out of him that bad habit."
The blond man chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.
"As much as I love him, I refuse to allow our son to pick up his bad habit." Katsumi declared. She emphasized her point by squeezing her son's hand and ignored his struggles.
Naruto grumbled to himself in annoyance, though he kept his temper in check as his new wife rubbed his arm.
After another twenty minutes, Sasuke broke the silence. "We'll have to find him."
Naruto puffed up at the suggestion. "Finally! I'd rather be out looking for Kakashi, than standing here like an idiot waiting for him."
Itachi nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea, however, you'll need to narrow down possible hiding spots. The village is quite large, and Kakashi-san could be hiding anywhere."
Sakura added in her two cents. "Minato-sama, do you know where Kakashi-san could be hiding?"
A pensive expression plastered itself on the Hokage's face. "There are a few places where he used to hide, although I can't guarantee he'll be at any of them. He used to enjoy staying at the dango shop, the adult section of the library, casually walking through dark alleys, or…" His expression saddened. "He also used to spend hours at the memorial stone."
Naruto blinked in confusion. "Why did he go there? Who died?"
Kushina gave his head a hard slap, which caused him to let out a yelp.
"Have some tact." She whispered harshly in his ear.
Katsumi closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "When he's ready, Kakashi will tell you."
Regret filled Naruto at the suddenly solemn mood he unintentionally created.
Sakura decided to intervene. "The only way we'll know is if we go out to look for him." She stared at the two men she regarded as friends, and more. "Naruto, Sasuke-kun, will you come with me?"
"Absolutely, Sakura-chan!"
The rosette's fiancé nodded mutely.
She smiled at the two men and addressed the rest of the group. "We'll find, Kakashi-san. In the meantime, enjoy yourselves. We might be a while."
The large crowd murmured in agreement, and the trio made their way to the Uchiha compound's entrance.
Sakura turned around to face the men. "We should split up. I'll search the memorial grounds. Naruto, you'll take the library. Sasuke-kun, you'll take the dango shop."
Naruto grumbled. "Why do I have to go to the porn section? People are going to think that I'm a pervert."
The Uchiha snorted. "As if you aren't. The toad sannin was your master, after all."
Naruto glared at him. "Bite me, teme!"
Sasuke shook his head. "No thanks. I'll leave that to your wife."
Sakura pinched her nose in annoyance. "Are you two machos done? We still have to decide who will check out the dark alleys."
The blond ninja gestured to Sasuke. "Let the teme do it. Only Kami-sama knows how much the sun bothers him. He might actually enjoy it."
It was Sasuke's turn to glare at the other man, but a hard look from his fiancée stopped either men from bickering again.
Sakura refrained from sighing. "Now that's settled; whomever finds Kakashi-san first should flare their chakra to let the others know."
"Sure thing, Sakura-chan."
Sasuke nodded in agreement.
The rosette smiled at them. "Let's get going. Hopefully, the search won't take too long."
After the trio stepped out of the compound, they went off on their separate ways.
The rosette immediately set off towards the training grounds. She silently praised herself for choosing to wear dress pants rather than a dress or skirt, since the wind swirled her clothes and hair all around.
Shortly afterwards, she arrived at the outskirts of Training Ground Three, yet she was puzzled to find it empty.
The rosette walked around a bit, and when she found nothing, decided to explore the entirety of Training Ground Three.
It took over half an hour to explore the entire grounds, yet Sakura was frustrated at the lack of results.
As she paced back and forth, and epiphany sparked through her mind, and the rosette had to refrain from slapping herself.
I can't believe that I forget. Shortly before I left, Tsunade-sama had the memorial stone relocated to the palace.
Sakura squished down any discomfort she felt by the mere memory of her former master and headed towards the palace.
In no time, she arrived at the palace, and made her way inside.
She crossed the large hall and entered the courtyard where the beautiful gardens awaited.
The leaves were a gorgeous blend of red, orange and yellow, and they shimmered under the sunlight.
Sakura took a brief moment to admire them, before she focused once more on her task.
She moved deeper into the gardens, until her destination and man-in-question appeared in view.
The copy-cat ninja had his back to her. He wore black dress pants and a simple grey shirt that complimented his figure rather nicely.
Sakura approached him and stood beside him.
As she glanced up at him, she noticed the solemn look plastered on his face.
Kakashi's lone visible eye were rooted onto one spot.
Out of curiosity, Sakura looked at the name. Uchiha Obito.
The rosette looked back up at the man.
Kakashi's gaze never left the memorial stone as he spoke. "I take it that the party's ready."
The rosette ready. "All that's missing is the guest of honor." She said, somewhat sarcastically.
The man snorted quietly, yet his expression eased up slightly. "I do have the tendency of being late."
Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "That's an understatement. We were ready three hours ago."
Kakashi finally looked down at the woman. "You guys could have started without me."
Sakura shook her head. "It wouldn't have been the same without you there. Besides, your wife insisted that we wait until you arrive."
At the mention of his wife, Kakashi's expression turned sheepish and he and rubbed his head. "Ma, that woman really wants me there, huh."
Sakura nodded. "I wouldn't keep her waiting more than you already have, if I were you."
The man nodded slowly and glanced back at the memorial stone. He gently traced a finger over the name, before he dropped his hand.
Kakashi looked at Sakura. "After you," he said more cheerfully.
Remembering Katsumi's words, Sakura shoved away her curiosity about the name, and instead nodded at the man.
They made their way back to the Uchiha compound, and Sakura flared her chakra twice.
Soon enough, the pair were joined by Sasuke and Naruto.
Upon seeing them, the blond ninja pointed a finger at Kakashi. "Oy, you made us wait for so long and then we had to walk all over Konoha just to find you!"
Kakashi swatted his finger away. "Ma, I would have come eventually."
Sasuke snorted in disbelief. "Even your wife acknowledges your bad habit. No need to bullshit us."
Sakura rolled her eyes at the men's unusual dramatism. "Well, he's been found. Let's go back and enjoy the party."
The two younger men quieted down, and the group of four arrived at the compound.
The stepped inside and made their way to the main house.
The trio insisted that Kakashi open the door first. He sighed but did so without argument.
As soon as the screen door slid open, an unsynchronized chorus of "surprise" rattled the shinobi's sensitive eye drums.
Kai ran up to his father. "Happy Birthday, Tou-chan!" He shouted and leaped into his father's arms.
Kakashi's disgruntled look was replaced with fondness as he held his son close. "Thank you, my boy."
Hatake Katsumi made her way to her small family, and leveled Kakashi with an exasperated, yet loving look. "I honestly have no idea what to do with you, Hatake Kakashi."
Her husband gave her a sheepish look as he let their son down. "I would have come eventually." He repeated.
Katsumi rolled her eyes. "You'll have to make up for making me wait for you."
Kakashi's eye darkened, and he pulled his wife by the waist to him. "How about I give you my undivided attention tonight. We can sneak away."
His wife blushed but giggled as she hugged her husband. "It's a promise."
Naruto faked a gag as he overheard them, and quickly made his way to his wife.
Sakura caught Sasuke's eyes. Her fiancé leveled her with a smothering stare and a slight smirk on the corner of his lips. His entire expression promised her that they'd have their own fun later on.
The rosette smiled shyly at him, before the couple mingled in with the rest of the guests.
The party was a blast, with Naruto failing to remove Kakashi's mask.
As predicted, sometime during the evening, the guest of honor and his wife were conspicuously missing.
Their son was too busy playing to notice, and even if he had, probably didn't care.
Around midnight, the party ended, and the men began to take down the stalls while the women put their children to sleep.
Mikoto carried a sleepy Kai in her arms and made her way to a guest room in the main house.
Sakura noticed Itachi quietly talking to a beautiful brunette. They were sitting on a porch and were sharing dango.
A wide smile blessed the rosette's face when she saw Itachi cup the woman's face and kiss her.
Sakura quickly went around the corner to give them privacy.
She gasped when a hand snatched her wrist, and pulled her in.
Onyx eyes met eyes, before warm lips pressed against hers.
Sakura wrapped her arms around her fiancé's broad shoulders.
The Uchiha's lips left a trail of fiery kisses on her bare skin, earning a moan from the woman.
Her fiancé led them into his bedroom, where the rosette surrendered to the blissful sensations for the rest of the night.
Once Monday morning came around, Sakura woke up bright and early to prepare for her meeting Shikamaru. She hadn't forgotten their conversation from the wedding, and to say that she was curious as to what he wanted to show her was an understatement.
She didn't get why the Nara wanted to meet at the library but shrugged it off as unimportant.
Sakura arrived at the library shortly after it opened and entered the building.
She saw Shikamaru standing near a bookshelf and walked over towards him.
The man noticed her and nodded his head in greeting. "Sakura."
"Shikamaru." The rosette replied. "I do hope that you've got something interesting to show me."
Uncharacteristically, the man's eyes lit up and he grinned. "I believe you won't be able to focus on much else."
Sakura raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "I admit that I'm wondering why you asked me to meet you here instead of your clan compound."
"My parents have been busy rebuilding homes for the sudden influx of clan members. Ever since we've arrived in Konoha, we've either had to camp out in the Nara forest or rent rooms elsewhere. This week, the final touches are being done."
The Nara turned around and led them to a private room where the forbidden texts were held.
They sat down at the wooden table, and Shikamaru go straight to the point.
"Remember that temple we've investigated while searching for the Akuma nest?"
Sakura nodded.
"Inside were paintings that depicted extraterrestrial beings that visited our world and interacted with our ancestors. The interesting part is what Shizune has only recently divulged to my clan, and with her permission, I'm divulging to you."
Sakura didn't realize that she leaned forward in her seat.
"Have you ever wondered how the Phoenix Army's armor was resistant to the Akuma's acidic blood? Danzo's Root discovered a crash site with Akuma eggs. The council ordered them to be brought back for experimentation."
Sakura nodded again. "Shizune-san told me this as well."
A wry grin formed on the Nara's face. "Yes, but did she tell you that it's still operational. Did she give you the location?"
The rosette blankly stared at him, yet interest blossomed within her.
Her silence seemed to satisfy Shikamaru, and he leaned forward. "In that crash site, Tsunade recovered extraterrestrial metals and formed them into armor that the Phoenix kunoichi use. Sakura, you've been wearing and benefitting from alien technology and you didn't even know it."
The rosette's mouth opened, yet no words came out, and she quickly closed it.
How could she reply to such a statement?
Shikamaru continued. "Shizune-san has grown tired of keeping secrets. She's only told my clan since we're the ones with the most interest in this topic. She also wanted you to know because of your history with the Akuma. From my observations of you in the temple, I take it that the Akuma somehow exchanged their knowledge with you. Did they show you anything of their past?"
Sakura snapped to attention. "The memories didn't come because I willed them to. My guess was that they were provoked by pheromones that lingered in the air. I only saw the crash and the attack that wiped out Uzushiogakure."
The Nara cocked an eyebrow. "You didn't see anything else?"
Sakura shuffled in her seat. "Without a Queen Mother, the Akuma's consciousness are blocked off from members of other hives. Since my embryo didn't have her own Queen, the memories that she was able to share with me were limited."
"So you wouldn't know if there are more Akuma out there, hiding and waiting for their chance to retaliate?"
The blood in her veins went ice-cold at the thought, especially of the mystery behind Kirigakure's silence.
"My embryo's dead. I no longer receive memories, so I wouldn't be able to tell."
The Nara stared hard at her, yet Sakura kept her expression cool.
Finally, the man spoke. "Would you be interested in visiting the crash site? Perhaps by being there, you'll unlock more memories."
Without hesitation, Sakura replied. "Yes."