The sun ascended to its place in the sky, enveloping Konoha in its golden rays and signifying the start of dawn. In about an hour or so, the village would start its day as well. The Yamanaka Flower shop was no exception. Ino Yamanaka was rushing around preparing her shop for the day. Ever since her father had died in the war, the responsibility of the flower shop was left to her. In a way, that was how she was honoring his memory and building on to her father's legacy.

She checked on her Cranebill geranium flowers. Pushing some closer to the window, as they needed lots of light. They had such a pretty purple color that Ino adored (as her favorite color was purple). She gave her yellow Helianthus plants extra water, so they got enough moisture. She didn't want them to wilt. Then, she checked on her white Salvia plants and her Coneflower plants. Her Shasta daisies and Daylily. Her Penstemon and her Morning glory plants. This routine check usually took about an hour or so. So when she was done she flipped the sign from "Closed" to "Open".

Looking at the purple clock hanging from the wall, she knew that it was about time to wake her son up.

"INOJIN! Time to get up! You'll be late for training!" She bellowed as she sorted out her assortments of herbal teas from the Land of Tea. Flowers didn't sell like they used to anymore. So to supplement for the drop in sales, the Yamanaka Flower shop started to sell special tea bags which were a big hit and enough to keep the shop running.

Inojin with toast in hand, descended down the stairs from their apartment that had been built on top of the flower shop. "Hey, mom? Do you know where my tanto is?"

"How should I know?" Ino huffed. She didn't know why both her boys just assumed that she knew where they left their items. "You should know better than to leave your stuff around." Ino lectured.

Inojin shrugged, taking another bit of his toast. "You coming to training today, mom?"

"Not today," Ino hummed, "Your Uncle Choji wanted you guys to himself today."

"Okay," the boy grabbed a purple watering can beside him and watered his yellow roses. "I'm going to meet with Boruto and everyone afterward."

His mother nodded, "Sounds good." She ruffled his hair, "Try not to destroy too many things in the village this time, okay?"

"Mom," Inojin stressed, "That wasn't me! It was Boruto!"

"Sure, sure. Just get going, I'll look for your tanto in the meantime."

"Thanks, Mom." the younger Yamanaka exited, running through the crowded streets on the way to the training field.

Ino was left alone.

Left alone to her thoughts.

To tend her flowers.

"Did you miss me?"

To deal with her ghost.

Ino breath hitched in horror, recognizing the voice. Her hands shook with fear.

When had breathing become so hard?

Her composure broken. The control slipping from her fingers.

Years of terrifying nightmares. Years of therapy. Years of retraining her mind. Yet, all was meaningless.

She was doing so well.

She was able to actually look at their faces again.

Look at her old photos.

To talk about them.

To cope like a normal person.

She'd made it 6 years.

Why?

Why now?

Why could she still hear it?

She couldn't breathe.

"I thought I got rid of you." she choked out.

She turned to the sound of the voice. Only to find an empty room. They had played this game before.

"I got rid of you, years ago!" She gasped out. She spun around the room. "How are you still here?!"

"You think it would be that easy?" The voice chuckled behind her, mocking her.

Ino whisked around, this time coming face to face with-

"You can never get rid of me, pig. I'm a part of your mind."

It sneered, revealing blood stained teeth. Crimson flowed from the corners of its mouth, splattering on the wooden floor below. Blood began to pool around them.

"No..." She stumbled back, tripping over a empty plant pot, shattering it with her fall. Shards embedded into her back, but she did not register the pain. "No!"

"You never spend time with me anymore, Ino. Why?"

"I-I..."

She couldn't breathe.

The image of her best friend morphed into an older, familiar face.

"Oh, aren't you such a pitiful thing, Ino. You don't deserve the title of Jonin. "

"Asuma-sensei, I-I..." Her hands were stained with blood.

It shifted again.

"I'm so disappointed in you."

Tears streaked down her face. Dad.

"You were too weak. You couldn't save, Asuma, Sakura, me. You've failed!"

She couldn't breathe. She was dying. She couldn't think. She...

The greatest mind manipulator, Ino Yamanaka, leader of the Yamanaka clan, was trapped in her own mind.

Sakura Haruno leaped from building to building, avoiding the crowds and their unwanted stares. She was supposedly on her way to get new clothes at her parents' suggestion. She was certain it was a ruse just to get her to leave so they could plan something. Hinata also returned to her house. She had a smile on her face that made Sakura weary. Hinata was planning something.

What was she planning? Sakura had no clue; however, she had an inkling that it was a surprise party.

She skidded to a stop when she felt some familiar Chakra.

Masking her own, Sakura changed directions and headed to the graveyard.

Once again, he found himself at the Fourth Shinobi World War Monument. He had been spending more time there since retirement. He glanced over the several black polished stones etched with the names of those who had made the ultimate sacrifice. His hand traced against a name that he had first seen on his new list of Genin.

SAKURA HARUNO

What had people told him? When she died.

A Hero.

A Healer.

A Powerful Kunoichi.

A Sanin.

They'd told him that she had died honorably. She was a shinobi till the end.

That's not what he saw. He saw a little girl, giddily looking at her teammate. So innocent. Not ready for the horrors of the world. He wanted to protect her, but he ended up not training her. Not encouraging her.

Ignoring her.

But she had proven him wrong. She had been ready, and he had seen it too late.

The Sixth Hokage sighed, letting his hand fall away from the stone. "Hey, It's me. Sorry, I'm late." He gave a melancholy chuckle, "I was always too late for you, huh? I hope you're doing well."

"I'm doing quite well actually. Thanks for asking, Sensei."

Kakashi Hatake froze and turned towards the voice.

It was her, leaning nonchalantly by one of the black stones.

He moved towards her in what felt like slow motion.

"Sensei?"

They stood there in silence for a few moments. The sound of birds chirping in the summer's breeze filled the silence. Emerald met black.

Suddenly, his eyes crinkled, and his mask crumpled slightly as he smiled.

"Welcome home, Sakura."