Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Realizations ❯ Chapter 1

It was a typical scorching hot summer day in Fire Country. The village Hidden in the Leaves had not been exempt from the heat and many of its inhabitants attempted to deal with the heat the best they could. Some visited the local river to cool down while others sat before fans while drinking cool beverages.

However, many still had chores or jobs to perform and had to deal with the heat as best they could. One such pink-haired kunoichi could be seen out of doors hanging her laundry to dry from the lines set up for that purpose. Each piece of clothing was methodically pulled from a wicker basket and neatly hung over the wire before being secured by wooden clothes pins. The sun had reached its zenith and would dry the clothes quickly while scorching all that were unfortunate to be out and about that day.

This was a typical mid-morning task on Wednesdays. Sakura had pulled dirty clothing from her room and her daughter's, moving to the washroom where the washer stood. Each piece of her daughter's clothing inspected for bloodstains to be pretreated prior to being tossed inside the washing machine. As the laundry went through the cycles of wash and rinse, Sakura tidied up the kitchen from the morning meal she prepared for Sarada and herself before her daughter left to train with her genin team.

By the time she finished cleaning up her mess from the morning (usually including a quick sweep of the floor followed by a swift mopping), the laundry had finished washing and was ready to be hung to dry. It was times like this

that left Haruno Sakura, now Uchiha Sakura, alone with her thoughts.

It had been over twelve years since she'd last seen her husband, Sasuke. The day that she told him that she was pregnant with a daughter he'd up and left, stating that he had a mission. She hadn't heard from him since.

He had been the one man she wanted to marry since she first saw him all those many years ago. Even when he had left the village to become stronger, to defeat his brother and avenge his clan, only to return after the last war, Sakura had never lost her love for the last remaining Uchiha.

Sasuke had left the village for a short period of time after the war but had returned, only to propose to her within a few days. She had been stunned, but happy. It was, after all, what she had wanted all her life.

Right?

But she still couldn't understand why he had lied to her about the mission. A few weeks after Sasuke had left, Sakura had gone to the Hokage to ask how long Sasuke was expected to be away on his mission, only to be informed that he would be gone for an undetermined amount of time.

Sakura had almost fainted from the stress of knowing that she would most likely be raising their child alone for a long while. When she informed her ex-sensei and current Hokage of her condition, he had been profusely apologetic. Had he known, Kakashi would not have given Sasuke the requested mission.

Thinking back over the years, it was amazing how well she had done on her own. She had very little financial support from her missing husband and no fortune left from the Uchiha Clan. The monies and property had been taken by the council to be used for the good of the village when the clan had been eliminated and Itachi had been killed by his missing-nin brother. As far as the council was concerned, there was no Uchiha left. The council on behalf of the village had claimed any property or money left behind.

Sakura continued to work at the hospital through her pregnancy and after, since she was the main source of income. It had been hard, but with the help of her friends to watch over her daughter, Sakura had managed to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table and clothes on their back.

She reflected on those who had helped over the years. Sakura had been able to depend on Ino and Hinata to watch over little Sarada while she worked at the hospital. Oftentimes Temari would help out when she wasn't overwhelmed with her own son. On the very rare occasion that neither was available, even Kakashi had helped out.

Sakura smiled as she recalled the few times that the then-Hokage had watched over her dark-haired little girl. For someone who that seemed to not like working with children, Sakura had discovered that he was really good with little Sarada. Her heart warmed at the times that she had seen Kakashi talk like a baby and make funny faces when he thought she wasn't around. Even with his mask on.

She didn't know how he did it, but Kakashi could make her daughter cackle and smile just with a look.

Sakura hadn't realized just how often she saw Kakashi, even when he was Hokage. It seemed like she saw him more since she had become pregnant with Sarada than she did when they were teammates.

Sakura had finished hanging her clothing, picked up the basket and made her way through the back door dropping the basket on the washer for the next load to finish and to be hung up to dry. From there she walked into the kitchen and decided to prepare herself a cup of tea.

As she went through the motions, Sakura's mind continued to play flashbacks of Sarada as she grew up and all of the important little things that her father had missed. Sasuke hadn't been there when Sakura went through her pregnancy and how she had horrible morning sickness for the first four months. Who brought her crackers when she was nauseous? Kakashi.

Sasuke wasn't there when Sakura felt the first movements of her child within her womb. Funny that she recalled that it had been when she was at Ichiraku's eating ramen - Kakashi had been there.

It seemed like her ex-sensei was there each and every time Sakura went on an emotional roller coaster as well. There were many a time when Sakura cried on Kakashi's shoulder whenever she thought of her husband and how much she missed him. Sakura would never know just how much the tears she shed for Sasuke hurt Kakashi.

It had seemed like the entire village and hospital had been on 'baby watch' during Sakura's pregnancy so it had been fortunate that Sakura had been at work when her water broke. She swore up and down that her fellow medics swarmed her and she was in a room and changed and in bed faster than any other expectant mother. She blamed it all on Tsunade, who was running the hospital at the time. The Godaime told her to blame the Rokudaime for being so overly protective of his "favorite student."

Labor and delivery had been terribly painful but wonderfully rewarding. She hadn't been entirely coherent during the process due to fatigue and pain, but she wasn't so out of it that she hadn't noticed a certain silver-haired Hokage holding her hand through the entire process. When she passed out after the grueling twelve hours of labor, Sakura could have sworn she felt the press of lips on her forehead followed by quiet words of praise for a job 'well done.'

She could recall the times that the silver-haired male invited the two Uchiha females out on picnics, away from prying eyes, where they would eat and teach Sarada shinobi skills under the guise of games. Had anyone been privy to their interactions, one would think that they were a family: a mother, father and child. If anything, Sakura had felt like they were a family.

When Kakashi retired from being Hokage and from being an active shinobi (even ANBU), he seemed to gravitate to the Uchiha home and its females. Sakura being Sakura had welcomed her ex-sensei every time inviting him in for tea, or depending on the time, a meal. Besides, Sarada loved Kakashi-sama and Sakura couldn't see what harm there was in inviting him into her home. Sakura had enjoyed the conversations they had during those visits and even the times after Sarada had gone to bed for the night. She remembered how comfortable he looked sitting in her living room and how she liked it.

For the first time since Sasuke had run off, Sakura could say that she was happy. It was then that she realized - she had strong feelings for Kakashi. He was part of the reason for her happiness.

The sound of the front door opening brought Sakura out of her thoughts. "I'm home!"

Sakura stood from the table after setting down her cup of tea. "Welcome home!" she responded while walking towards the front of the house only to see not only Sarada but Kakashi.

Sarada ran up to her mother and hugged her. "I hope you don't mind that I invited Kakashi-sama over, mama?"

Sakura let go of her daughter and looked at the male in the entryway and saw the unsure look in his eyes. She smiled. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

She saw the tension melt from his shoulders. "I wouldn't want to impose.

"You're not imposing at all."

oOo

Dinner had been eaten and the dishes washed, dried and put away. Sarada had requested that Kakashi-sama read her a bedtime story, making Sakura look at her daughter questioningly. Sakura allowed it giving the kunoichi time to think.

When Kakashi had fulfilled Sarada's request and she was tucked in for the night, he returned to the living room to find Sakura looking at the pictures of her family.

Sakura ran her fingers over the only photo she had of Sasuke from their wedding. He had dressed all in black while she was in white. At the time she had thought they looked like balance - yin and yang. Now that she looked at the picture she wasn't so sure.

"He'll be back, you know," Kakashi told her, not knowing why he said such a thing.

"I'm not sure I want him to come back," she replied. "Does that make me bad? To wish he wouldn't return?" Sakura put the photo down - facing down on the cabinet.

Kakashi grabbed her shoulders and turned her around. There was something in his eyes that Sakura couldn't read. "What do you mean by that?"

"He hasn't been a husband to me in years. He hasn't been a father to Sarada. Hell, he hasn't been a friend to Naruto either." Sakura dropped her head. "I'm finally finding happiness for the first time since he's left and I'm terrified that he'll come back and ruin it!"

She tried to hold back the tears, but failed miserably. Kakashi pulled her to him, reveling in the feel of her and wishing he could take away all of her burdens. Instead, he took a risk.

"Sakura, look at me."

She looked up and was surprised to see his mask less face. "Kakashi," she whispered.

He gave her a crooked smile that made her heart soften a little more and shut her eyes to commit it to memory. Kakashi took the opportunity and pressed his lips against hers. Sakura froze a moment before melting into his embrace and responding to his kiss.

Kakashi reluctantly pulled away from her lips but continued to hold her closely enjoying the way she felt in his arms. However, Sakura's conscience caught up to her and she froze before pushing her way out of Kakashi's embrace.

"I-I'm sorry, Kakashi," she stuttered out. "I-I just can't."

Kakashi stood a few feet away from her and watched her struggle with her feelings and understood.

"If things were different," she started.

"If Sasuke were dead, you mean."

Sakura stared at him. "I don't wish him dead. Please don't think that of me," she pled.

But Kakashi was the one thinking it. He knew she'd never think that.

"I want a divorce, but he's not here."

Kakashi thought long and hard before his strategic mind came up with a plan. "Start the proceedings, Sakura. I'll make sure he's here to finish them."

To Sakura it seemed like a threat. But for Kakashi, it was a promise.