Sakura's eyes fluttered when the sun started to filter through the window. Kakashi would have to listen to her. She's been telling him that he needs curtains or at least blinds to keep the sun out!
"Kakashi." she called out the name of the man that is too stubborn for his own good. Her hand is feeling his side of the bed but found nothing. She opened her eyes fully and found herself alone in bed. She tried to sense him, but she is the only one in the apartment.
Thinking that he went out to buy something, she got up to prepare for the day. The hospital will be bustling with activities. Since Konoha is closer to the frontlines, all the wounded shinobi that can't be treated in the makeshift hospitals in the battlefield, they send them here.
Because of that, she found herself seeing more broken parts and dead people than she ever did in her entire 22 years of existence.
"Good thing, Kakashi wasn't - " But before she can finish the sentence, she found herself staring at the half-empty dresser. Kakashi's jonin uniforms are missing. As well as half of his black mesh undershirt and long sleeves that he wears under the vest. She immediately opened one of his drawers where he keeps his weapons and found herself staring at an empty space.
"Kakashi." she heard herself calling his name. "Kakashi!" she shouted.
She quickly made herself presentable before going out. She immediate made her way to the Hokage's tower, she needs to know where he is!
Sakura's footsteps echoed through the corridors of the Hokage's tower as she made her way to the Hokage's office. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and worry gnawed at her as she approached Shizune - Hokage's secretary.
"Shizune, I need to talk to Tsunade-shishou." Sakura demanded to her.
Shizune, sensing the urgency and concern in Sakura's voice, didn't hesitate. She nodded and quickly led Sakura to the Hokage's office, her steps quick and determined. They arrived at the door, and Shizune knocked before entering.
Tsunade was sitting behind her desk, her brow furrowed in deep thought, but her expression softened when she saw Sakura. "Sakura, what brings you here so early?" Tsunade asked.
Sakura quickly explained the situation, her voice trembling with anxiety. "Tsunade-shishou, Kakashi is gone. I tried to look for his but half of his things were gone together with his weapons. Shishou, where is he? He didn't tell me he's leaving. Where did you send him?" Sakura asked her master. Although in her heart, she knows where he is, she just doesn't want to acknowledge it. Acknowledging it means that she might never see him again.
Tsunade's expression shifted from curiosity to concern as she listened to Sakura's frantic explanation. She leaned forward; her eyes focused on her apprentice.
"Sakura, I sent Kakashi in the frontlines." Tsunade told her apprentice. "He is needed there. His skill is valuable there, we are trying to minimize the casualties. I cannot keep my best jonin here."
Sakura's heart sank at the confirmation of her fears. She had suspected as much, but hearing it from Tsunade made it all too real. She clenched her fists, her eyes filling with tears. "Why would he leave without saying anything to me? Why didn't he let me go with him? I am not a burden, the medical team on the ground can use me."
Tsunade's eyes softened with understanding as she saw the pain in Sakura's expression. She leaned back in her chair, contemplating her words carefully.
"Sakura, you know Kakashi. He's always been a solitary figure, fiercely independent," Tsunade said gently. "He might believe that he's protecting you by not involving you in this. He's seen the horrors of war, and he may not want you to experience the same."
Sakura wiped away a tear and took a deep breath, her resolve hardening. "I understand his concerns, Tsunade-shishou, but I can't just stand by and let him face this alone. I love him, and I can't bear the thought of him out there in danger."
"You are a shinobi, Sakura. Act like one." Tsunade reprimanded her student. "If Kakashi left without saying word, then he doesn't need you there." She knows that she's being hard on Sakura. But this is war, these emotions will interfere in their work. "If Kakashi died there, he will die as a hero of the Leaf."
Sakura flinched when she heard her master say that. She doesn't want to confront that possibility. And she doesn't want to stay behind. She's needed outside the village.
"Shishou, I want to go on the frontlines." Sakura said.
"In your condition?" Tsunade asked. "I didn't know that you are that reckless that you're going to harm such innocence."
Sakura's brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't know what you mean, Tsunade-sama. But please, I need to be out there."
"No." Tsunade answered simply.
"But, Tsunade-sama - "
"Sakura." Tsunade said, warning in her voice. "The warfront is not something you should go right now." Her hazel eyes smoldering hers. "If you go there and managed to kill yourself, you will kill the next generation of Hatake as well."
Sakura was taken aback by Tsunade's stern words. "What?" she managed to let out that single word. She doesn't understand what her master is saying.
Tsunade pointed to her stomach. "You really can't feel it?" she asked. "And here I thought you surpassed me."
Sakura's eyes widened in shock as she followed Tsunade's gaze to her own stomach. For a moment, her mind couldn't process the reality of what she was feeling and what Tsunade was implying. She placed a hand gently on her abdomen, and then a flow of different chakra hit her – she was pregnant.
Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes as a mixture of emotions flooded her. Shock, disbelief, joy, and fear all competed for dominance. She couldn't believe she hadn't realized it earlier. The happiness of knowing she was carrying Kakashi's child was now entwined with the fear and worry of his safety on the frontlines.
"I... I'm pregnant," Sakura whispered, her voice quivering.
Tsunade nodded solemnly. "Yes, Sakura, you are. And that is why you cannot go to the frontlines right now. Your well-being and the well-being of your child are of the utmost importance." Tsunade explained. "You really didn't know?" she asked and watched her student shook her head. "And I take Kakashi doesn't know as well." she shook her head. "And here I am, feeling that chakra even before you entered my office."
"I don't really know." Sakura said loud enough for her master to hear. She sat at the chair in front of Tsunade's desk. "He doesn't know. And he might kill himself out there." Just the thought of it killed her inside, she burst out crying again.
Tsunade sighed. If she had known of the situation, she would have not sent him out today. Maybe in the few months, but he is really needed out there. And she can't and won't recall him. His presense there is needed.
"Sakura, go home." Tsunade said. "I'll see what I can do about Hatake." She said that to appease her crying student, but she really cannot pull him out of the group. He is needed there.
Sakura left Tsunade's office with a heavy heart, her mind racing with a whirlwind of emotions. The news of her pregnancy had hit her like a tidal wave, and she couldn't shake the fear and anxiety that threatened to overwhelm her. She knew she had to trust Tsunade's judgment and experience in this matter, but it was incredibly difficult to accept.
Returning to her now empty apartment, Sakura sat on the edge of the bed, cradling her abdomen where her unborn child lay. Her tears flowed freely as she thought about Kakashi on the frontlines, unaware of their child, and the danger he faced. She felt a deep sense of helplessness, torn between her responsibilities as a mother and her love for Kakashi.
