Fade In

Fade In

Chapter Three – Blossom

…

Sakura fidgeted. Standing in front of a more than furious Hokage was never a good thing.

Drumming her fingers along the wooden desk, Tsunade stared down her former apprentice and tried very hard not to lash out at the pink haired ANBU kunoichi. The busty blonde downed another cup of her precious rice wine, letting the alcohol glide down her throat like water.

“Your teammates have already reported to me.” She began.

Sakura could see the muscles in her jaw twitch, followed by her eyebrow and the very noticeable vein threatening to pop.

“Hokage-sama—”

And that’s when Tsunade snapped. “What the hell were you thinking!?” Her powerful hand came down and splintered part of her desk, bits and pieces of wood fluttering to the floor of her office. “You could’ve died Sakura! Again!”

“I—”

“Don’t interrupt me! Do you know how many times I’ve had to save your ass? You, coming in barely breathing and poisoned, bloody and ripped more times than I can count! What the hell were you thinking taking on eight Sound shinobi?”

“They were—”

“Inexperienced and idiot ninja. I know that already from reading your report. What if they hadn’t been? I…Konoha can’t afford to lose you Sakura. You’re one of the top medic nin here and a formidable ANBU kunoichi.”

Green eyes fell to the floor as she rolled her hands into fists. Why couldn’t they understand? Being ANBU, being a ninja meant putting duty before herself. It was putting the well being of Konoha before her own, knowing that at any moment in time she could die or be captured by the enemy. She was perfectly aware of that and had even come to accept it.

“Sakura…”

“Hokage-sama, I understand your concern and I appreciate you saving my ass all those times,” A smug smirk crossed the older woman’s lips and Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “But I’ve taken care of myself for a long time now. I’ve kept my team alive and I’ll continue to do so, and yes, even at the expense of my own life. I told Kakashi the same thing you know. I’ve lost too many people to start losing more now.”

Tsunade folded her arms across her ample cleavage, scrutinizing the younger woman and finally relenting. “Don’t think you can take on the world all by yourself Sakura. I know you’ve been alone for a while now, but sometimes it’s okay to let others in.”

Sakura lifted her gaze and let it fall on her mentor of so many years. She saw the hidden concern in the Godaime and sighed. “I’m sorry Hokage-sama. It’s just that…”

“You know Sakura, sometimes I miss you calling me shishou, and the days when you were an annoying little pain. Well, you still are.” A reminiscent smile lifted her red lips before she leveled a woman-to-woman look at her former apprentice. “I know you’re a perfectly capable and intelligent ANBU operative, but I’d like to hope that being one hasn’t made your heart as cold as ice and careless with your life. Being a ninja isn’t all just about missions and covering your tracks. Happiness and maybe even love aren’t as farfetched as you might think.”

How was it that Tsunade always knew what was going on in her head and in her heart? How was she able to voice all that which Sakura herself was too stubborn to realize and admit? A needle thin spear struck her heart and her gut clenched after hearing the Hokage’s words. It was too close to the truth and it suddenly made her a little uncomfortable.

Dispelling those thoughts far away from her mind, Sakura watched her mentor consume another cup of sake and inwardly shook her head. Apparently Shizune couldn’t hide all the bottles from her. Despite drowning herself in sake and shirking her paperwork duties whenever possible, Sakura knew Tsunade wasn’t all just monstrous strength, scary temper, and rice wine. She had found her happiness in protecting Konoha and those she held dear.

And love? During the years of being under her tutelage, Sakura wasn’t just bringing dead fish back to life and filing. Always the keen observer, she realized that Tsunade and a certain Ero-sennin shared something more than just being old teammates. The small blushes covered up by indignant shouts and pretend irritation. Random nosebleeds in her office when just a little bit more boob happened to ‘accidentally’ slip out of a certain short green yukata top. Oh yes, Sakura would’ve had to been blind to miss that.

An unbidden smile touched her lips, her current thoughts of the two Sannin ebbing away the tide of her own discomfort with emotions she had kept under lock and key. She watched as a blonde brow rose inquiringly. “Just thinking Hokage-sama.”

Tsunade shot her an incredulous look. “Well, you can think while hauling your ANBU ass out that door.”

The pink haired ninja nodded and turning around, made to exit the office.

“Take a couple days off and relax Sakura. It’ll be good for you.”

She cast a knowing smile and a quick nod over her shoulder as she disappeared behind the door.

…

Sakura walked through the crowded streets of Konoha, inhaling the familiar scent of the village and the calm that flowed through her. Three days in the hospital and she was feeling just as good as new. Well, minus the stiff shoulder, but that would go away eventually.

She fixed her shoulder bag, where inside sat her new ANBU gear that Aki had brought over earlier. Apparently Mr. Dumplings (his name was really Mr. Unagi, the maker of the ANBU uniforms and thereby, issuer, but she had taken to calling him that because every time she saw him, he was always eating dumplings) was going to start charging her. Really, he’d make a fortune off of her considering how many she went through. Sakura could bet that he’d start crying if he saw his beloved clothing in the torn and tattered deaths they suffered after a particularly bad mission.

She tucked a wayward lock of rose behind an ear, the braid that reached the middle of her back messy and loose. Side swept bangs, baggy lounge pants and an oversized sweater completed her rather lackluster appearance. The clothing compliments of Aki’s own wardrobe since they didn’t have time to get into her apartment. She was comfortable though and that’s all that mattered to her at the moment.

A chilly breeze passed by, uplifting more strands of hair. It was autumn, soon to be winter in Fire Country, where the nights would be longer and the days much shorter. Her feet walked listlessly through the crowds, leading her to the empty and no doubt dusty apartment she resided in. Her roseate hair stuck out like a sore thumb, occasionally drawing a curious gaze or capturing someone’s wondering attention.

She was beautiful in her own right. A unique beauty. A not your every day beauty. She was a jaded kind of beauty that was rough around the edges and adorned with plenty of scars. But she was smooth and stunning within, sensual and deep and enticing.

A couple of kids, no older than seven or eight she guessed, ran past her, laughing and shouting without a care in the world, a countenance that only kids their age possessed and wielded with a fierce passion. ‘The springtime of youth!’ in the words of one green spandex suit wearing jounin and his devoted former student that was a younger spitting image. She absently wondered what Lee was up to, probably on a mission no doubt with his own ANBU team.

Long toned legs led her up the flight of stairs of her apartment building on the east side of the village, about a ten minute walk from the hospital. Her strides soon became quicker, feet moving swifter and soundlessly until the key was in the lock. Turn. And she pushed open the door to reveal her lone apartment just as she had left it. Simple and clean.

And cold…

…

Hatake Kakashi sat at the cherry wood bar. A medium container of warm sake with a small glass beside it was half way filled, sitting on the counter in front of him as he buried his head in the latest volume of Icha Icha.

However, he found himself not really reading the words (much to his chagrin) but drifting instead to a one Haruno Sakura, pink haired ANBU kunoichi who liked to play with death and if she wasn’t careful would be seeing death before it was ready to see her.

Kakashi lowered his book, snapping it shut and quickly gulped down the sake in the small cup. Letting loose a pent up breath, he propped up an elbow and leaned on his palm.

Konoha’s little Sakura-chan had become Haruno Sakura, ANBU squad leader with a penchant for ending up half alive in the hospital after a mission.

He downed another small cup of the warm sake.

As her former sensei, he had every right to be angry with her lack of care for her well being. As a former sensei he had every right to point out her foolishness. As a former sensei he had every right to throttle that stubborn neck of hers and tell her how worried he had been behind the mask, behind the hard planes of his face and the stiff posture.

But that was the thing. Former.

His cherry blossom was no longer a stray petal dancing on the winds. She was in full bloom. A woman comfortable in her own skin now and no longer the awkward and lost teen with complexes too many to name.

And somewhere along the way, she had left him behind.

Or maybe he had left her behind.

Another small cup of sake gone.

What were they? Sakura and Kakashi. Kakashi and Sakura. Former sensei and student. Friends. Two people looking for something…running away from the demons of the past in the form of mission after mission, kunai after kunai, ninja after ninja, death after death.

Another small cup. Another medium container of warm sake please.

Sakura. His cherry blossom with the bright green eyes and beautiful smile and the healing touch and the deadly touch all in one.

When had she stopped calling him Kakashi-sensei? When had it turned to just simply Kakashi? Whispered like a soft caress that made him feel funny things. Dangerous things.

And anoth—

“You shouldn’t drink alone Kakashi.”

His eye fell on the feminine hand resting on his forearm, stopping him from taking another small cup of the rice wine.

“Mind if I join?”

“Who am I to stop you?”

“You couldn’t even if you wanted to. I know you find my presence absolutely delightful.”

“Right. As much as your temper.”

Sakura narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. Childish yes, but it made her feel better all the same. She motioned for the bartender to send over another container of warm sake. It arrived moments later and she lazily filled the small ceramic cup.

“So, what’s your reason?”

“Reason?” Kakashi threw a side long glance, watching her take a sip, swish, and sip again.

“Mmhmm. Why, Kakashi, are you here sitting at a bar drinking all by your lonesome? And without an Icha Icha volume no less!”

“Ah.” He stared at the clear alcoholic liquid sitting innocently in the cup. “Just…thinking Sakura.”

She finished the contents in the glass and poured another. “About what?”

You. “About the report I have to write up for the Hokage.”

Sakura gave him odd look. “Since when do you think about your reports?”

“Since now.”

She snorted and shook her head. Pouring another cup, she tossed that back just as quick, ignoring the bitter burn as it swept down her throat and into her stomach.

“And what’s your reason Sakura?”

A hesitant pause filled the space between them as she fiddled with the rim of the cup.

“You know what I was thinking when I was fighting those Sound shinobi? I was thinking about blood, about dying, about which jutsu to use to kill them…about the way my ninjaken would feel sliding through their chests. But I was also thinking that if I didn’t kill them, they’d go after those I care about, after Aki and Kano, the village. That they’d hurt and kill those I care about…take them away from me…and that was enough justification for doing what I did.”

Sakura absently took another sip, eyes far away and unseeing. “And I didn’t care if I died saving them. That was fine with me. I’d make the ultimate sacrifice with my life and hopefully end up some place half way decent. But when I think about it now, all I wanted as I traveled back here was my nice warm bed and my fluffy pillows. The comfort of my own home.”

Kakashi tossed back another small cup, silent and steady as the pink haired kunoichi dropped her barriers and let him in. It had been a very long time.

“But you know,” She turned her soulful eyes on him and he could see the sorrow and pain, the determination and the loneliness, the acceptance of everything that had happened to her, of all the choices she had made. He saw all that made and was Sakura swirling in those suddenly revealing eyes.

And then it was gone.

She looked away, gulping another cupful of the sake. “My bed wasn’t warm. My pillows were flat and dusty. And my home didn’t feel like a home.” She laughed a bittersweet laugh. “I’d probably feel more comfortable on the forest floor or on a tree limb.”

Sakura could start to feel the effects of the alcohol in her system. It was a warm fuzzy feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. Leaning forward, she rested her chin on the palm of her hand, a lopsided grin playing on her lips, but not quite reaching her eyes.

“I just spilled my guts out to you Kakashi. I don’t remember the last time I ever did that.”

She turned to look at him, chin still resting against her palm and head tilted.

“You’re the one constant in my life.”

“And you’re the one change in mine.”

It was a murmured confession in between the warm sake and the emerald gazes…among the slightly fuzzy thoughts and the demons of the past that were never too far behind.


…to be continued…


A/N: I wrote this chapter over a few times, until I was finally satisfied with this one. I tried to convey certain emotions through it and hopefully I succeeded somewhat and hopefully it gives you a little more depth into their characters. But, have no fear, things will start to pick up, I just wanted to set some foundations without rushing too much. Thank you to all those who took the time to leave me such sweet reviews!

-hasu86