Title: The Summer that Fades

Date: 4/11/2011; 4:53a.m.

Soundtrack: Ten Years Down (Story of the Year)

"Destiny is what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their destiny is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny."

-Paulo Coelho

Pink hair had long ago been traced with silver, leaving the naturally pastel tones softened into something that seemed more fitting into a picture that was black and white. Age, she thought, had taken it's toll on them all. Whether or not it had been kind was a matter of opinion.

On her face, there were lines that hadn't existed decades ago. But she had lived-and lived well. Looking up to the stars, she smiled fondly. Her family. It was her life. All those years ago, she had fought for a love without understanding what it had meant.

Family.

It eluded them all. For a team that had never understood what it meant, their ends had been surprisingly kind. Who would have thought that two boys who had lost everything, and a girl who had never known that something could have been held onto, would have had happy endings?

Reaching a hand up, it was her adult son who drew her to her feet.

"You know this isn't good for you, Mother," he scolded in quiet concern.

Looking up at his height-long ago, it had surpassed her own-she only shook her head.

"It is good to talk to an old friend. There are memories that shouldn't be forgotten, you understand. These days, it seems that all I can do is rehash the events that happened all those years ago…I thought he would like to hear it." The explanation was a quiet one, against the twilight sky. There was weight behind the words, and her son frowned down in concern at her.

"I doubt Hatake-san would be happy to known you sat beside his grave for an entire evening, Mother. The cold bothers you more this season. You shouldn't expose yourself so. He would understand."

"Maa, maa," she remarked, batting a hand against his upper arm. "You worry too much. It isn't even winter yet. Stop being so bothersome."

Besides, she thought as she glanced back at the grave, her son leading her further out of the cemetery-there had been a reason to come.

. . . . .

"Are you happy, Kakashi-sensei?"

The question was a loaded one, Sakura understood. Frankly, what did happy even mean, anymore? Team Seven was broken beyond repair. Sasuke..well. There were some things that were unforgivable. Naruto, well - if he could ever see beyond his own nose, then perhaps he stood a chance at living a life beyond that which he had embraced as his job.

As for her? Life had treated her fairly, she supposed. She had grown. She had learned, and lived. It was enough to change one's perspective, Sakura thought with a private smile. Lifting her mug of tea up to cover the expression of humor that could not have been explained had she been pressed about it, the young woman took a slow drink of tea, looking at the older man evenly from across the table. The years, she saw, had touched him, too. It really shouldn't have been a surprise.

While she was just starting to come into her genuine maturity at the age of twenty two, Hatake Kakashi had lived not just years longer, but had existed in a world beyond what she had ever seen. He had fought in a war. He had seen everyone he loved, die around him and remained helpless to do anything. His thirty five years must weigh heavily on his shoulders, Sakura thought in wonderment-and still, he had never wavered.

Instead of answering, her former Sensei merely observed her steadily from the single eye that peeked out at her.

And then, a smile. The mask creased in an expression that would only have been termed as fake, Sakura concluded sourly.

"I think I should be asking if you're happy, Sakura-chan. You have been in Sand for a very long time, you know."

Narrowing her eyes at him, the pink haired woman carefully replaced the mug on the table. A distinct clink told the man across from her that she would have rather thrown it and heard it shatter. Preferably, against his head. It might have given her some small measure of satisfaction that, frankly, she was certain Kakashi owed her after the years of his acquaintance. An easy person to work with, he had never been. And yet, it was not anything that she would have traded for the world.

"I do believe I know exactly how long I've been here, Kakashi. After all, I'm the one who has to pay rent on my apartment for every year I'm here. The price isn't something I'm likely to forget."

Tilting his head slightly to the side in a gesture that could only have been described as canine in nature, Sakura recognized it from long-standing exposure to the man. He was telling her to continue with her monologue. Yet, Sakura thought with a private smirk, two could play the game that he had engaged in.

Folding her hands on the edge of the table, she stared back at him guilelessly, green eyes gleaming in faux earnestness.
It was an expression that Kakashi instantly recognized.

Scowling at how the hand played out, the man reached a hand to scratch the back of his head, uncomfortable with how the conversation was progressing. While he had managed to avoid answering her question, she had with equal adeptness, avoided answering his. If he pressed her for more, she would have been entitled to do the same.

Dropping his hand to his side, Kakashi sighed.

"The Lady Tsunade is...aging," he began carefully. One never knew how well Sakura would take unexpected news, and in regards to her beloved teacher, the only safe bet was to be cautious. "She wishes to instate Naruto as Hokage before her sixtieth birthday."

Briefly, Sakura wondered how was it that Kakashi actually knew Tsunade's age. For a woman of her vanity, it was virtually unheard of for anyone to be aware of the Slug Princess's true age.

"He's been told to be back in Konoha under no uncertain terms, by mid June. He'll undergo the rest of his familiarization with the paperwork process..and then before August, be inducted in."

Had time really passed so quickly? She was left to wonder. And yet, Naruto only had two months to complete the task that had ridden him for years. Sasuke. Always Sasuke. It always had been, the young woman concluded with a smile that might have been called bitter. Observing her, Kakashi was left to wonder what it was that she was thinking. Her thoughts hardly seemed to be joyous. It was a surprise, given that he was expecting his former student to at least have something to say about Naruto becoming Hokage.

"The idiot," Sakura remarked at last. "We'll be lucky if he doesn't demand a national holiday for ramen." Cracking her knuckles absently, it was very evident to see what would befall the young blonde man, should he try. If nothing else, he had people surrounding him who would not just support him, but keep him grounded.

For a brief moment, Kakashi felt a twinge of jealousy. They hadn't grown up alone. It was a relief.
They would never have to be alone.

"Maa, maa, Sakura-chan. No need to get violent with me. Hokage-sama wants you to come back, though. She said that if anyone could keep the knucklehead in line, it would be you."

Left to laugh at the language that was very clearly Tsunade's, Sakura smiled. A rustling caused her to glance down, and she saw the sheaf of papers that Kakashi slid across the table to her. Looking up at him in silent inquiry, when he nodded, the young woman slid a finger under the edge to open it.

"It's time to come home, Sakura."

The message was curt-but it was true. Five years had been much too long.

. . . . .

And so, Sakura saw herself making the three-day trek back to the Land of Fire. Along with Kakashi, Nara Shikamaru had been given his papers as well, summoned back to the city for 'The Event'. There was little doubt in her mind that the Nara would be required to help present information to Naruto in a manner that the blonde could digest.

Tsunade never had possessed the patience for such tedious acts.

With Shikamaru holding the rear of their unofficial formation, she was able to push more chakra to the bases of her feet, propelling herself forward beside Kakashi. Brushing his sleeve unobtrusively, her green eyes remained forward, fixed on the vast expanse of land they had still to cover, before they crossed the border into the Land of Fire.

"Kakashi."

It was the solemnity in her voice that got his attention the quickest. Lacking in jest or playfulness, her apparent inability to meet his eyes alerted him that this was not one of those moments that he could escape with a quip about a lady's cat.

"I really do hope you're happy."

Life, Kakashi concluded, was decidedly unjust since she had opted to bring that back up. As her hand slid away to her side and she veered further away to reinstate distance between them, almost as if she were pretending that she had not just pressed for something so impossibly private that the notoriously reclusive shinobi would have broken out in a rash from the pressure, were he the type. Reaching out to stop her retreat, his hand settled heavily on the top of her head, as he had done all those years ago.

"I am content."

"That isn't really what I had asked," Sakura objected quietly. "What does that mean, anyway? Content. It sounds like perfectly adequate, to me-and who wants that?"

"You'll understand," Kakashi concluded with that mocking smile that everyone loathed so much, "when you're older."
Only, he thought privately in the recesses of his mind, he rather hoped she would never know.

. . . . .

Forcing her eyes to turn back to the star-scattered sky, she could only smile as her son oh-so-carefully tugged her away from the graves that had been her silent sentinels for the passing hours. It was only at the gateway to the cemetery that the grandmother paused, forcing her son to stop alongside her.
Waving him on with a gesture that bode no tolerance for a lack of obedience, her green eyes-dimmed with age-watched him walk a ways down the path, before he halted, waiting for her once more.

Turning to face the direction she had come from, all she did was smile. Bowing her head, the woman sought the words to ease the ache in her heart that she had wished to assuage all evening.

"I understand, Kakashi," she spoke at last, remembering that day all those long years ago, running on the sand under the heat of the sun.
"But I'm not content. I just thought you would want to know. I am happy."

And as she returned to catch up to her son, three of her grandchildren running up the path to grab at her hands and the edge of her kimono, somewhere in the trees around them, a breeze rustled as if in acknowledgement.

That little girl who had learned to have so much strength, who had shown so much courage, deserved nothing less to be happy.
It was what Hatake Kakashi had realized all those years ago.

A/N: Well it's been quite some time since I've updated this but for some reason, this chapter was bugging me to be written. I think it speaks much of how our minds change as we mature. We lose sight of what it means to be happy-or maybe, we just give up on it.

We'll return to The Great Love Story in the next chapter (whenever it may show up, for which I apologize!) and we'll see more of Sasuke shortly.

Again - there is quite a twist in this story, and there has been another significant hint in this chapter for what it is. If you see what it is, you should let me know! Or, review. Either works. I'd love to hear feedback on this.