Sorry for the setback with updating. I've had a lot on my plate lately.
Reviews would be appreciated; they might help inspire me on this project.
I've never seen the moon look so lovely
As the night I saw it with you
Let me know I'd never seen the moon before (Never seen the moon before)
So many speak of the moon, as though it has no flaws
But to compare it to a beauty like yours
Would give one pause—Call My Name; Prince
"Wow, this exceeded my expectations completely." Kakashi commented as he watched the pink-haired med nin bring plates of dinner to the table. Everyone had squeezed together at the small table, the pleasant aroma making them lean forward anxiously.
Sakura set down the plates she'd been carefully balancing.
"Awesome, Sakura-chan's cooking!" Naruto cheered, practically crying tears of joy. "This looks even better than old man Teuchi's new special ingredient ramen!"
Sakura laughed it off casually. "Thanks Naruto; coming from you that's high praise." She sat down with her own plate and chopsticks. "Anyway, sorry it's nothing too fancy."
"On the contrary, beef stir fry is plenty fancy enough for me, seeing as home-cooked meals are a rarity." Yamato smiled.
"Mm." Sai nodded his agreement. "Thank you, Sakura."
Sakura nearly fell over, her green eyes wide. "Y-You called me Sakura?" Her hand instantly reached over to feel Sai's forehead. The artist gently lowered her hand, a placid smile in place.
"Sakura is your name." he stated simply.
"Yeah, but since when did you use it?" Naruto butt in.
"Since I read that close friends do not always need nicknames to establish intimacy. Especially when they've known each other long enough to be on a first name basis. I had thought that never getting a nickname from you meant that my attempts at friendship weren't reciprocated…but now I understand, that bonds transcend names."
Naruto and Sakura traded bewildered looks.
"Y-You were only calling me an ugly hag for the last year to be closer to me?" Sakura gaped, not believing her ears.
"And dickless?" Naruto chimed in.
Sai nodded silently.
A shaky laugh bubbled up from the pinkette as she found herself involuntarily blushing, pushing a strand of hair behind her pinkened ear. "Ehe…"
"The food is getting cold." Sasuke stated monotonously.
"That's right. We can't let all of Sakura's hard work go to waste." Kakashi clapped his hands together in praise, smiling behind his mask.
"Maa, maa I guess they're right! Sai's weirdness can wait!" Naruto agreed, clutching his chopsticks with stars in his eyes. "This looks delicious~!" Picking up some of the meat they'd looked so hard to find, he popped it into his mouth and for once, chewed thoroughly. Sakura began eating her own stir fry, though she anxiously watched her teammates for any reaction.
"This is…well, I've never had a home-made meal before, so I have nothing to compare it to…but I think I now understand why home is in the name." Sai said after taking his first bite.
"I gotta agree with Sai for once on this! It tastes like home somehow, ya know? Man, I guess it's times like this that all the hard work to finally bring the team back together paid off," Naruto had such a serene look on his face, that Sakura couldn't help but smile triumphantly.
This. This was what they'd fought so hard for. Moments like these. Moments where she had dinner with her boys, and they told her that her cooking tasted like home.
"This is excellent Sakura. My compliments to the chef." Yamato joked.
Sakura blushed prettily, turning to the last remaining men.
"It beats the takeout Kakashi normally gets." Sasuke informed her. She supposed that constituted as a compliment, that her meal at least beat takeout. She hadn't expected glowing praise from the former avenger though.
"That was supposed to be our little secret, Sasuke." Kakashi scolded lightly.
Sakura stared at the silver-haired nin with hopeful eyes. After all, she'd been inspired to make the meal because she'd ruined his original dinner plans by giving Pakkun and the others his beef without checking first.
She'd decided to make it an impromptu team dinner, because really, it was long overdue, and she'd feel bad if she'd only cooked for Kakashi.
"A-And you, Kaka-sensei?" The man was slowly peeling down his mask. After all the years of never seeing the face of the man she'd called sensei, Sakura was fully expecting some strange freak thing to happen at that moment that would keep her in suspense for another ten years.
When Kakashi began unceremoniously peeling down his mask and lifting the meat on the end of his chopsticks to his exposed lips, Sakura audibly gasped.
"What?" Kakashi paused. "Something wrong?"
"Well, er, n-no…" Sakura sputtered. "Not wrong but—"
"WE FINALLY GOT TO SEE KAKASHI'S FACE!" Naruto screamed, fist pumping.
If she wasn't so fixated on Kakashi's features, she would have been surprised when Sasuke reached across the table to punch Naruto in his face, knocking the blond flat on his back. "Shut up," the Uchiha hissed quietly. But the fact that he was staring at Kakashi from his peripheral vision was a good indicator he was just as interested.
Sakura soaked in Kakashi's full features, expecting him to cover his face again at any minute. He really was handsome, the mole on his chin reminding her of a movie star. "Wow, so that's it then..." she breathed.
"Hm?" Sai tilted his head thoughtfully. "Is Kakashi-san's face special?"
"You haven't been on the team long, so you don't know how long we've waited to see it!" Naruto explained, sitting up slowly. "And shit Sasuke, you bastard! I owe you for that one!"
"Leave it to you to take up all the attention, even at something as simple as dinner." Yamato chuckled.
"Y-Yeah well now that you've all had your curiosity satisfied, can we eat?" Kakashi laughed awkwardly.
"I agree. Let's just enjoy the food," Sakura nodded, picking up some fried rice. She had to admit, it'd turned out better than she'd hoped for. Maybe because she had wanted to give her teammates a special meal full of good memories. Cooking good food came from the heart, didn't it?
"So," Yamato started. "What are everyone's plans tomorrow?"
"I'm going to see Ino." Sakura informed them. "To see how she's been holding up since…you know." She clearly remembered the tearful embrace they'd exchanged at Inoichi-san's funeral. Even without a body to bury, he and the others caught in the blast had been honored with a proper send off. Ino had given a beautiful speech about everything she'd learned from her father, and placed a fresh bouquet on his grave along with her mother.
"I planned to spend some time practicing art outdoors, before winter sets in." Sai explained.
"I have a meeting with the Hokage and elders," Kakashi rubbed his head. "Hopefully it's nothing serious…" he sighed.
Everyone's eyes slowly crept to Naruto, who had become unusually quiet as he shoveled food into his mouth. Even while chewing, he was usually more animated. "I've got…some stuff to take care of I guess." He shrugged awkwardly.
Yamato looked at the stoic Uchiha. "Well, it looks like that leaves us, Sasuke." It went unsaid that the Uchiha had yet to gain enough ground with the council to be allowed out unsupervised. In the event that Kakashi was unavailable, someone else qualified would guard the Uchiha.
Sasuke barely bothered to look up from his plate, simply grunting under his breath to indicate he'd heard. "Hmm…but I had planned to go to the library for a while myself." Yamato muttered aloud. "Looks like you'll just have to come with."
The Uchiha didn't respond.
"Would it kill ya to make some conversation?" Naruto complained. "It's like we're talkin' to a corpse!"
"Should I run my mouth all the time like you do instead?" Sasuke answered without missing a beat.
"Still the same asshole as ever!" Naruto growled.
"Hey, can we have one meal together without the pissing contest?" Sakura huffed in aggravation. "And I worked so hard on this…"
Naruto instantly deflated, and though it wasn't obvious, Sasuke's eyes lost some of their coldness.
"Sorry Sakura-chan…" Naruto sulked.
"Hn…"
Sakura smiled around a bite of stiry fry, thoroughly pleased subtle guilting had diffused the situation. "Thank you."
"I see." Sai muttered, stroking his chin.
"See what?" Sakura asked.
"This is what's meant by 'wrapping someone around your finger', no? Manipulating their emotions in order to get—"
Sakura reached over and bonked his head. "J-Just shut up, alright?" She was clearly flustered, evident by her pink cheeks.
"Oh Sai, you've still got quite a bit to learn about women I see." Kakashi chuckled.
XoXoXoXo
It was late by the time everyone got ready to leave Kakashi's apartment, and Naruto had insisted on seeing her home.
Sakura smiled at the offer. "No, really, it's fine. Your apartment's not even in the same direction, is it?"
"It's not like I mind!" Naruto insisted, trailing behind her. Yamato and Sai had already left after saying their goodbyes, and Naruto had quietly promised Kakashi he'd see Sakura home.
"Do you guys really still think I can't walk myself home?" Sakura asked, slightly annoyed. Her teammates could be sweet but equally frustrating in their intentions.
"That's not it," Naruto quickly protested. "We all know how strong you are. Believe me, I know." Naruto rubbed his head absently with a pained expression.
Sakura couldn't help but laugh at that. He obviously remembered all the times he'd been on the receiving end of her blows, when she was less discretionary about hitting him for annoying her. These days, she tried to keep punching Naruto to times she deemed strictly necessary.
"But you know, we all just like spending time with you, I guess. Like tonight!" He beamed at her. "Having everybody get together was great! Even if teme was a teme and Sai was a creep." He added offhandedly. Sakura's heart warmed at his sincerity. Leave it to Naruto to say something so innocent and sweet.
"I like spending time with all of you too." Sakura confessed softly. "The war let me know what I was taking for granted, I think…"
Naruto's head dipped somberly, thinking about the hard-won battle and all the sacrifice. "Yeah, talk about a team effort. We all came pretty close to…you know, getting wiped out. And you!" He suddenly took her hand and squeezed it. Sakura gasped, her cheeks burning red. "You were amazing! You saved my life."
Sakura slowly pulled her hand away, unable to look into Naruto's honest blue eyes. "What does that make it? One time to all the other times you saved my life?"
"You know I don't keep count of something like that, Sakura." Naruto said bashfully. "I've got your back and I know I can count on you to have mine."
The pinkette chanced a peek at his face. As she expected, the warmth in his eyes and the soft smile made her feel a little overwhelmed. Naruto was such a bright person. Sometimes being around him, she felt…unworthy to call herself his teammate, let alone his friend. At the same time, she greedily found herself clinging to him. For friendship, for strength, for unyielding support. She didn't have the right. She knew that. But she couldn't bring herself to think about letting go, either.
An autumn breeze blew, and Sakura rubbed her arms, cursing herself for wearing short sleeves.
"Eh? Are you cold?" she heard him ask. "You shouldn't be wearing short sleeves in this weather, Sakura-chan. A medic like you should know how easy it is to get sick."
"Am I really being scolded…by you?" Sakura smiled softly. Then, there was something warm and decidedly comfy draped around her shoulders. She blinked, looking down at the fuzzy orange and red jacket Naruto had put on her. It wasn't his usual one. It was a thicker one, made for fall, with some sort of wool around the collar. It retained his heat, and a strangely comforting smell.
"Naruto, what good is it to give me this if you get cold instead, huh?" she whirled around, lightly clutching the jacket to keep it from falling off her slim shoulders. "Baka…" she said without heat.
"Just let me have this for once…" Naruto whined, quickly zipping it up before she could protest.
Sakura wanted to shrug out of the jacket…she really did. But she found herself sinking into its heat instead. Then again, she'd also told herself she wouldn't let Naruto walk her home either. And look how that'd gone…She was 0 for 2 tonight. 'Maybe Sai had it wrong. Maybe it's not me who's got them wrapped around my finger.'
Naruto, with his short attention span, didn't notice her enternal conflict. He was looking up at the sky, memorized. "Look, Sakura-chan," he said in the quietest voice she'd heard him use.
Sakura peered up at the dark sky, only to see the full moon shining in all its glory amid a cluster of stars scattered across the dark background. Somehow, with the autumn ambiance and Naruto's presence at her side, the moon looked like it was shining brighter than she'd ever seen it. Maybe it was because she was seeing things differently lately. The little things seemed so much more important than they use to be. 'Go live through a war, I guess…' Sakura thought.
Sakura turned to look at Naruto. They had both stopped walking without realizing it. "Does it ever feel like lately, you find beauty in the simple things?" Naruto met her eyes, and she suddenly felt inexplicably shy. "O-Or does that sound stupid? N-Never mind, sorry. I guess I was just feeling sort of nosta—"
"No." Naruto interrupted. "It's not that I don't get it…I was just kinda…surprised we were thinking the same thing." He scratched his head sheepishly. "I'd go to bed looking at the moon lots of times before. But it feels so big and bright right now, y'know? It's like…I've never really seen it shining at all, compared to now."
"Hard to believe Kaguya was sealed up there all that time." Sakura wondered aloud. "Oh! Do you think maybe that's why it looks brighter now? It's not some creepy monster trapped up there anymore."
Naruto stared up at the moon's milky white surface, glowing serenely. "Huh. I never thought of that. Then again, I guess I'm not much of a deep thinker. So I'll leave that to you, Sakura-chan." They had slowly started walking again, side by side.
"Up to me, huh? Well, don't forget I can do my own share of the heavy lifting too."
"H-Hey! Sakura, if you do the thinking and all the fighting, what's left for me to do?" Naruto complained. Sakura noticed they had walked into her neighborhood, street lights on. For some reason, she felt a little reluctant.
"It's simple Naruto, you'll just get to watch my back." She patted his shoulder with a giggle. "Anyway, I should be okay from here. My house is just a few more blocks. Thanks for walking me back," Sakura smiled wryly. "Even if I would have been okay by myself."
Naruto chose to ignore the backhanded comment. "No problem." He grinned, a smile that looked even brighter in the moonlight.
"Well, see you around, Naruto."
"Goodnight, Sakura!"
She waved to her blond teammate, as he stood there admiring her pink hair under the glow of the full moon.
Kakashi was somewhat apprehensive about why the Hokage had called him in. A lot of scenarios had gone through his mind already. He wouldn't exactly say he was worried, but…
He wouldn't exactly say he fully trusted the head members of the council, either. Sitting on either side of Tsunade were the Third Hokage's former teammates, Mitokado Homura and Utotane Koharu. Idly, Kakashi wondered how they'd both managed to live as long as they had when he'd known shinobi who he thought more highly of, cold and buried before their time.
"Hatake Kakashi, good to see you." Koharu's wrinkled mouth smiled.
"Likewise, Koharu-sama." Kakashi said politely. "Hello Lady Hokage."
"Meh," Tsunade waved him to sit with an annoyed scowl. That expression was always glued to her face whenever the village elders were in the room. "Thanks for showing up on time today, Kakashi." She seemed thoroughly annoyed to be sober at the moment.
"It seemed like an urgent matter, so I figured it was best to come on time for a change." He said lightly.
"It is an urgent matter." Homura confirmed. "One that'll effect the future of this village."
Now Kakashi lifted a brow, in curiosity. This couldn't possibly be about…
"Kakashi, I'll be frank," Tsunade sighed. "The war has me feeling pretty tapped out. I think I've done the best I can possibly do for this village over the last four years. And I'm not as pigheaded as my predacessors."
Kakashi grinned wryly at the jab. It was a lie though. Tsunade was every bit as stubborn as the previous Hokage had been. But he valued his health too much to contradict her.
"I'm not staying in this office until death forces me out." She concluded. "So now's the time to choose my successor. And the council seems adamant on seeing you seated as the Rokudaime. So, what do you say?"
Kakashi sighed as all three of them leaned in to hear his answer. "It's…a big decision to make on the fly, ne? May I have some time to think about this."
"Of course," Tsunade immediately agreed. "We can give you until the end of the week."
Homura looked indignant that Kakashi hadn't accepted on the spot. "But it would be in the best interest of everyone if you—"
"No Homura, the young one needs time. So time he shall have. Not too much of course. This village needs its new leader soon." Koharu added.
Tsunade sent the older woman a sharp glare. "Right then. We'll discuss this later Kakashi. For now, dismissed."
Kakashi stood, his mind already working over how he could find a way around this. He bowed to the three older ninja out of respect, poofing out of the room and onto the rooftop outside. He was going to need some help for this, and he already had some people in mind.
So Team 7 has now seen Kakashi's face. I mean since his face has been revealed in canon I figured there was no reason not to reveal it in this story. I actually like him better with his mask on, but in terms of writing clever ways that team 7 wouldn't be able to see his face…yeah that gets old.
The NaruSaku moment in there got a little unexpectedly angsty. Whoops…Anyway, I may try to have some SasuSaku or KakaSaku or even YamaSaku next chapter. Right now, since this is a poly fic I haven't really been planning the romance moments around any one couple. They just sort of happen. The snippets of SaiSaku and NaruSaku? They just sort of wrote themselves. I don't have any particular Sakura pairing I'm rooting for out of the ones in this story since they're all showcased anyway. Just sort of enjoying writing Team 7's dynamic for now. :3
Oh by the way, should Kakashi be Sixth Hokage in this story, or should it go to our favorite orange-wearing knucklehead? I may do a poll on my profile on it. So cast your vote.