Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ 14 Gifts ❯ Preparation ( Chapter 13 )

February 13th - Preparation

While Sakura went about her day at the hospital, Kakashi was making preparations for his future.

Well, for what he hoped would be his future.

There had been fewer high-ranking missions and Kakashi requested that he only be called in for A or S-ranked ones where his experience or certain skills would be required. His bank account could afford fewer missions since he'd been one to live quite frugally, mooching off of his friends and students from time-to-time. If truth be told, he never had to do another mission for the rest of his life if he wanted to. The money left to him by his father and clan would support him and his future family should decide to retire. It was fortunate that the Hokage was feeling charitable the day he put in his request and agreed.

Kakashi had been taking the time to clean and refurbish the home since he had decided to settle down. A lot of work needed to be done being left uninhabited since his parents had passed and young Kakashi had moved within the protection of the village walls. Being closer to his teammates, sensei and Hokage had been the purpose for doing so. It was just simpler at the time.

He had already done most of the major repairs to the house, the roof having caved in some parts of the single-story home and replaced the windows for better insulation during the cold winter months. The outer walls of the house itself had held up well over the years of being vacant, but the floors had seen better days.

Kakashi had to replace many of the old wooden floorboards that had warped from the rains and weathering where the ceiling had given in. He'd had commissioned a carpenter to come in and replace what needed to and the final product had been perfect. After sanding and refinishing the floor, it was difficult to see the difference between the old and the new.

The kitchen was still functional and any appliances that were not working had been replaced. The counters were still solid and in good shape, as were the cabinets. All that needed to be done was stocking them with foodstuffs along with the newly replaced refrigerator.

The original furniture had been brought in out of storage and Kakashi had made a mental thanks to the third for having the forethought to move it out and into storage. These were pieces that had been in the Hatake family for generations and had been placed in different positions than they had in his memories, which was fine with him. He wanted to create new memories.

There was still painting to complete today and he was now waiting for the painters to come in as he did a final walk-through. Everything looked so much like it had when he was a small child except for the arrangement of the furniture. Some still had been placed like it had in the past, but he purposely changed the master bedroom, making his mark there. He had also replaced the original bed with an entirely different futon in its place.

There were many traditional tansu for storage of personal items and clothing and he hoped that providing Sakura accepted his suit, she would find them acceptable and the room sufficient and comfortable.

Kakashi sighed. He still needed to buy groceries and move his personal items from his apartment. He had already told the landlord he was moving, having given him ample time to search for another tenant.

Once the painters arrived, Kakashi ran back to the village to take care of the final tasks.

And make a final delivery to his pink-haired kunoichi.

oOo

Sakura had gone to work as if it were any other day. Unfortunately, with the recent thoughts that she might have two males vying for her affections, it had her mind on things not related to work.

Shizune, noticing this immediately and having an idea what was plaguing her, ordered the pink-haired girl to take the rest of the week off. The Hokage had ordered this, telling Shizune to put the girl on a forced vacation as soon as Sakura's mind began to drift from her duties.

"But Shizune…" Sakura began to argue.

"No 'buts'. Your mind is not on your work and I have a feeling you would rather be elsewhere," the dark-haired woman explained. "Go. Take the rest of the week off and take care of what you need to."

"O-okay," Sakura stuttered, but inwardly she was relieved. She had some research to do and now she had the time to do it.

Leaving Shizune, Sakura went to her office to gather her things, grab any pending case files to hand off to the nurses' station and locked up.

She had a mission and her next stop would be the library.

Sakura sat alone in the second level of the library, way in the back where the history books were filed. It was the middle of the day and it left her the entire assortment of books to choose from without distraction. The only person there, besides her, was the librarian.

While there seemed to be a lot of books on the village itself, clans tended to keep their history within their own libraries and to themselves. It seemed that the Hatake Family was one of those clans.

However, being the diligent student for so long and after digging around a bit, Sakura was rewarded with a little information on the seemingly elusive family.

It appeared that the clan members were originally vegetable farmers, having built their fortune and reputation from supplying their own and the neighboring villages with their bountiful harvests.

The Hatake Clan was also known for having kept wolves as pets, having domesticated them. Their intelligence, faithfulness, independence and ability to protect had been the reasons to keep the canines nearby. It was unknown if they were the predecessors to the ninken Kakashi currently held a blood pact with, but it explained a lot.

There really hadn't been much for Sakura to read about Kakashi's family, but there was the tie to the wolves as found on one of the spoons that had been hand-carved. Plus the fact that they had been farmers would tie into the love of plants, hence the almond?

Sakura shook her head feeling that she was grasping at straws. While some things did seem to tie in, she felt that she may be wanting to make things makes sense.

What if she was wrong? What if there really was another male vying for her attention?

"Oh Kami," she moaned, dropping her head in her hands as she sat at a table in the library. 'What do I do if someone else shows up tomorrow to pick me up at the hospital?'

Sakura decided that dwelling on these questions wasn't going to do her any good, so she decided to go talk to someone to get another opinion.

'Ino. Even though she has a big mouth, I think I can count on her to be impartial.'

Sakura closed the book she had been reading and put it back where it belonged, along with all of the other tomes she had pulled from the shelves with the hope of uncovering more details about her elusive ex-sensei's family. When she was done, Sakura exited the library and walked in the direction of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, hoping her blonde friend was working that day.

When the bell of the flower shop rang, the Yamanaka matriarch looked up from her floral arrangement to greet the one who entered. Her eyes widened a bit before gathering her composure at seeing her daughter's best friend Sakura.

"Yamanaka-san," Sakura greeted. "Is Ino working today?"

The elder woman shook her head in the negative. "I'm afraid not, Sakura. Ino has today off," she explained to the young woman. Seeing the frustration in her face and the conflict in her soul, the florist asked, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Oh no. I was just hoping to talk to Ino. It's been a long time since we've spoken and was hoping to catch her," Sakura told the woman. Sakura fidgeted, looking undecided as what to do next.

"Are you sure there isn't something I can help you with? I'm very good at listening," the elder woman offered.

Now Sakura wasn't sure she wanted to air her problems with the source of Konoha's gossip. It was well-known that Ino and her mother were the biggest gossips in town regardless of their positions in the village and in their clan. However, looking at the woman before her, Sakura felt like Ino's mother would be able to help her sort through her thoughts.

"Well… I've been receiving these gifts," Sakura began.

By the time Sakura left the Yamanaka Flower Shop, she felt a lot better about things. Even though she wasn't completely positive that Kakashi was her admirer behind the gifts, she had a strong feeling that he was.

Sakura knew that Ino's mother knew more than she was telling and that was okay with her. The elder woman had been able to help Sakura sort through her emotions and make sense of them.

By then it was late afternoon and beyond her lunchtime, so Sakura decided to go home. She needed to decide what to wear tomorrow for her date.

When she arrived at her apartment door, she was surprised to find another gift.

'Isn't Kakashi away today?' Now Sakura was really confused. If he was away on a mission there would be no way that he could have delivered another gift today. 'Unless, he had someone deliver it,' she surmised. 'That has to be the explanation.'

Sakura picked up the small box and attached card and carried it into her apartment placing them on her kitchen table. Sitting down, Sakura opened the small box to find a silver chain with a silver sakura blossom pendant attached to it. The blossom was beautifully crafted with detail and Sakura immediately fell in love with the piece. Unclasping the chain, she put it around her neck and was pleased to find that the blossom sat just between her collarbones.

Sakura took the attached envelope and opened it, curious to see what her admirer had to say today.

'My Sakura -

The necklace is only as beautiful as the one wearing it. To me, your beauty outshines anything and everything.

I look forward to tomorrow eve. Wear something comfortable for short travel.

Until then.'

Sakura now had another mission.

'What to wear? What to wear?'