Author's Notes: Okay… so, I should really be studying right now, but I wrote this instead :P… also, I'm not entirely sure what this is, but it's different from the other drabbles, similar to Jiraiya's, maybe. I hope you like it. It's Tsunade this time XD Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!
Drabble 8
Word Count: 540 words
She was there when he decided to join the world of the living. Prematurely, she may as well add. But, that wasn't the only trouble he's caused his parents that day. Parent, she absently corrects as she desperately tries to block out the horrible cries of a newborn infant and the half-attempts at coos by his father as his mother is buried deep underground.
It's too easy to walk right up front and take the crying baby from his mourning father's numb arms. It's even easier to shut the brat up so that even the tiniest of whimpers is no longer heard.
The crowd disperses. Sakumo stays, which means that Kakashi -and who came up with a name like that, anyways?- has to stay, and ultimately, Tsunade has to stay too.
She doesn't know what to do, except stay silent. She doesn't know Sakumo all that well, but he's a friend of Jiraiya's, which inevitably means that he is her friend too.
She lets Sakumo have his peace as he tries to remember the woman he loved before her body gave up on her, and before she decided it was okay to leave a kid with a man who only knew how to kill.
She knows the youngest Hatake has been already checked over at the hospital. Her hands glow green anyways; she has nothing better to do. A quick check up on his chakra pathways tells her that the young boy is a tough one, even though he came much earlier than anyone expected. It also tells her something that makes her breath hitch, which is just enough for the older Hatake's eyes to snap to hers.
"What?" He rasps out worriedly, clearing his throat before he repeats, thinking that Tsunade hasn't heard him the first time, "What?"
"Hmm?" She ignores his anxious eyes and stalls for time as she tries to think. She should tell him, but she doesn't, "He inherited your chakra's nature," Not a lie, but not what she should have said. She mentally kicks herself. She should tell him the truth. She should tell him that his son has a handicap that could kill him if he were to become a shinobi. She doesn't, and Sakumo smiles, just a tiny bit, but it's genuine, and Tsunade counts it as a win.
She dumps the brat in his father's arms, where he belongs, before she turns on her heel and escapes. She doesn't want to give herself time to rethink her actions. She doesn't want to give herself time to break a man's already cracked heart even further.
She keeps walking, and she never turns back, fully expecting to find out some time in the near future that Hatake Kakashi has died: he never heard the enemy coming. She never tells anyone.
She is surprised when she comes back long, long years after that incident to the same village she has vowed never to set foot in again.
She finds that Hatake Kakashi is still alive. She discovers that he has become one of Konoha's best Jonin. She wonders how he manages, even as she gives him a mission she's sure anyone else would fail.
Kakashi, however, does not fail. And Tsunade still never tells anyone.
Author's Notes: Thank you so much for reading! Also, I would love to thank you all for your continued support, whether by reviews, favorites, follows, or just plain reading this! A special thanks goes to my reviewers! Your reviews really keep me going, so thank you so much! You guys rock ;D
A Response to the Reviews on Drabble 7:
Kumikocr: I know right XD Thank you!
ChibiSkies27100D: Thanks :D
srirachacha: Thank you so much for your kind words! I hope this drabble did not disappoint :)
okami amaterasu: So glad to hear from you again! I'm going to take this chance to reassure you that I am working on 'In the Dark of Night', and the next chapter will be posted after my tests :D And, thank you, as always, for the lovely review! I felt bad for Itachi too. I hoped that he'd have some sort of payback for everything he's done, but… even he was happy, in a sense, in the end, I suppose.
Vanzee: Your review really made me smile. :3 I'm glad you enjoy reading my work! Thank you so much! :D
Tobi Uchiha-chan: I'm happy you're excited to read more of this :D Thanks!
readwithcats: Love the name, by the way, even though my cat never really lets me read in peace :P Thank you for the review! I hope you liked this drabble :D
Until next time!