Simplicity, a naruto fanfic

Hello everyone. It's been quite a while since I've written anything. Here I present to you a piece that's somewhat of a small tribute to Kakashi's birthday, since I suppose that would be the pervasive theme here. This piece is Kaka/Saku in my trademark subtle way, so if you'd like some food for thought, please continue. I'm taking bits from Kakashi's Gaiden and stuff, so I'm assuming you've all read about that. Please enjoy.

If anyone had ever taken the time to ask Hatake Kakashi why, at thirty-three years of age, he was still woefully single, the curious party might have been surprised by the answer.

While the elite shinobi of Konoha came well stocked with an arsenal of sad (albeit legitimate) reasons for living life unattached, Hatake Kakashi opted for neither the 'I could die any day; it wouldn't be fair to her' nor the 'I'm away on missions all the time; it wouldn't be fair to her,' and to the chagrin of Hatake enthusiasts everywhere, Kakashi didn't even consider the ever-handy 'My superior genetics cannot be passed on until I find an appropriate vessel to carry them.'

No. Hatake Kakashi had a reason, and while his reason could be considered a little inane against the grand tapestry of Shinobi relationship deterrents, it had nonetheless kept him single for thirty-three years and counting.

As an elite shinobi, Kakashi had spent most of his life around men, and rarely did a member of the opposite sex grace his presence long enough for him to grow sufficiently attracted. While the copy ninja was not so scrupulous that he would deny himself some harmless physical liaisons with anonymous females every once in awhile, in the back of his mind he hung onto a wish. The fact was this. Hatake Kakashi truly did believe that one day the heavens above would bless him with a woman, one who would stay with him long enough to become the perfect mate for whom he had waited his whole life.

If anyone had ever taken the time to ask Haruno Sakura why, after walking the earth for two decades, she had never been with a male in "that way," the curious observer might have been a little saddened by the answer.

The truth was, female ninja had a different set of guidelines to live by when it came to matters of a sexual nature.

In fact, there was a pamphlet about such maters, and every kunoichi was given this mythical "pink booklet" at the tender age of sixteen. The pink booklet's notoriety was so well guarded amongst the kunoichi that generations had passed without a man ever laying eyes on it or hearing of its true purpose.

If anyone—a kunoichi, of course—had asked Haruno Sakura to summarize the "pink booklet," she might have said these words exactly:

"A female ninja understands that her body is ultimately a carrier of bloodlines. In the event that she becomes impregnated, three options are immediately available. If the child belongs to a bloodline from outside the Fire Country, she is obligated to keep the child as to diversify our bloodlines. If the child belongs to a bloodline from within the Fire Country, she is obligated to keep the child as to preserve our bloodlines. If the child belongs to a civilian of any citizenship, she is free to choose."

Sakura never found the idea of mandatory motherhood for the good of her country very salient at all. In fact, something about the whole "pink booklet" bothered her, and while she would never admit it, it was fear of being forced to rear a child she wasn't ready for that kept her away from men.

How Sakura bottled her feelings of lust was always news to her best friend and confidant, Yamanaka Ino. The blonde kunoichi had said "screw the pink book" the second she finished reading it, and she had thrown her copy away while her more cautious counterpart had tucked it securely in the top drawer of her nightstand as a constant reminder of what could happen if she misbehaved.

That was probably why at age twenty, Ino had already entertained a string of lovers, and after every pseudo-relationship ended, the cheery blonde would turn to her medic friend and say through a large grin, "I'm not pregnant yet, see?"

Haruno Sakura never had an answer to her friend's brazen declaration.

It was common knowledge to the few friends he had that Hatake Kakashi never talked about his hobbies. It wasn't that these hobbies were so mysterious or deviant that he had to keep them eternally under wraps, but it was that they were actually boring. In fact, Kakashi really believed that if he were to rattle off a list of his favorite activities his listener would be dead from boredom before he finished. Perhaps that was why he hadn't told his first genin team about how he passed his spare time—he had simply wanted to spare the trio an excruciating end not at all fit for ninjas.

The legendary copy-nin enjoyed reading smut, watering his beloved Mr. Ukki, and standing in front of an immobile obsidian rock. But the rock had a secret; it represented that one thing he craved and never got, a woman who stayed.

He hadn't loved her, and every time his eyes fell upon her name, cold and etched in stone, his mind wandered to what could have been. Often he would ghost his fingers over the kanji, and while he always hoped that a shudder would run up his spine or a specter of longing would fall upon his heart, his body always refused to respond to her name.

At age fifteen they'd agreed to spend the rest of their lives together. He still didn't know why he'd agreed. She, of course, had been completely enamored with him, and in some ways he saw that as weakness. The chauvinist in him still maintained that kunoichi were only as strong as their ability to renounce love. He, however, had agreed out of reasons varied and vague. A little bit of his duty to Obito inched him towards Rin; some of his desire to relieve himself of the void his father's suicide left in him moved him closer to the girl, and perhaps even seeing his own sensei supremely happy with his impregnated spouse lit a small fire in Kakashi. Whatever the case, things went awry, as they often did, because Rin had concluded the rest of her life much quicker than anticipated.

Since then there hadn't been a woman who'd stayed long enough in his life to matter.

The Godaime Hokage was not a cold woman, as much as she presented that image. She had, in fact, once gone into seclusion for twenty some years in response to her lover's death on the battlefield. While this sometimes callous and always pushy woman spent much of her time barking at her apprentice, in her heart she did care for the girl as if she were her own daughter. That was why she approached her number one medic one sunny spring afternoon and asked the question that had been nagging her for quite some time.

"Are you still single, Sakura?"

The girl was quite predictable, and as her master had expected, the young medic turned a fine crimson upon hearing the question.

"Um, yes shishou, why do you ask?"

"You're getting a little old aren't you?"

"I'm twenty, shishou."

"That's nearly a hundred in ninja years, and about fifty in woman years."

There was a pause.

"Is this about the pink booklet," was Sakura's response, to which her master let out a roaring laugh.

"My goodness, Sakura, heavens no. My own family line ends with me; if I were advocating that you start a litter now I would be the greatest hypocrite this country's ever seen, wouldn't I?" the woman finished between bouts of laughter.

Sakura gave back a meek smile, and she chose her next words cautiously.

"Then may I please ask where this conversation is going?"

The sandy-haired woman gave her apprentice a thoughtful look and after a few moments had passed, she put her hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"You deserve to be happy, Sakura. Don't end up like me. Find someone and hold onto him."

Hatake Kakashi didn't understand why everyone thought he hated hospitals. Frankly, he quite enjoyed waking up in a warm, sterile bed knowing he was still alive. At this point in his life he was also pretty sure he'd spent more time in the hospital than he had his own apartment.

He'd been on a mission of prime importance, and as usual with such missions, he'd crawled back to Konoha torn to shreds. Somewhere in his memory, however, he recalled himself gathering enough energy to send a bird to the Hokage indicating his success before he passed out in front of the hospital building. Happy that he'd thought to notify her before going comatose, the copy-ninja folded his hands behind his head and leaned back against his propped pillows.

Just as he was about to drift off into a dream state, he heard the door handle turn, and he cracked open his non death-inducing eye to see who was intruding. In floated his ex-student, and at the sight of him staring at her one-eye open the other closed, she let out a squeak of shock, and the clipboard she was holding fell to the floor with a clatter.

"Oh, My, God," Sakura gasped as she held her chest to steady her heartbeat. "You're awake! Do you know how long it's been?"

He shook his head no.

"Sensei, it's been four months. Everyone has been worried sick about you. I've been here everyday making sure that your . . ."

The girl's eyes suddenly widened, and she cut herself off quite awkwardly. She looked to the ground in embarrassment.

"Now come on Sakura, you can't do that to an old man who just woke up from a four month coma," prodded Kakashi, his voice tinted with curiosity and amusement.

She looked up at him, worry and excitement both painted on her features.

"Sensei, this is kind of hard for me to admit, but I trust you," Sakura began as she pushed back a stray lock of pink hair.

"Mmhmm?"

"Four months immobile in bed will cause horrible bedsores, and a person's muscles will begin to atrophy something fierce."

"I'm aware of that Sakura, and I expect you did something given that my skin looks quite normal, and I can still move my limbs?"

"Sensei, I, uh, have been in here everyday walking you."

Kakashi opened his second eye at this statement, and Sakura fidgeted under the intense gaze of his sharingan.

"And how have you been doing that, Sakura-chan?" he asked, his voice low and mellow.

"Chakra strings. You know, like Sasori did."

"You walked me like a puppet?" Kakashi asked, unable to suppress the surprise in his voice. Something about Sakura attaching her chakra to him while he flopped around unconsciously caused him a certain amount of discomfort.

"Shh, not so loud!" scolded the girl as she moved closer to his bedside. Her next words came out just above a whisper.

"I've been able to use the puppet ninjutsu since I was fifteen. Shishou thinks it has to do with the fact that the Obasan from Sand gave me her life force and through that I was able to gain many of her ninjutsus as well."

The look of surprise on Kakashi's face tickled Sakura, and she cracked a smile. Putting her hands on her hips, she looked at him with an expression of mock arrogance. "What?" she began. "Didn't realize how awesome I am until now? That's hardly new, sensei. We all know how sexist you are!"

His expression softened at her half-hearted accusation, and he watched in silence as she began checking over his chart.

"Sakura, have you told anyone? Have you used these skills on missions?"

At his question the girl let out a noise of exasperation.

"Are you kidding? You realize Gaara would have my head? Tsunade-sama has instructed me to never use the ninjutsu unless it's a life or death situation, or something completely frivolous," the last words she said with a quick wave in Kakashi's direction. "It's a trademark Sand skill whose users are all supposedly dead, and you know I'd be bound to get Suna in trouble if I used it on one of our missions."

Kakashi nodded slowly, but he did not take his eyes off the girl who'd become ten times more fascinating to him in the last five minutes. She stood there looking back at him with an unreadable expression.

"You were out for four months, do you even know what day it is?" Sakura finally asked.

Not liking to admit that he didn't know, Kakashi said nothing.

"It's September fifteenth! You missed all of summer, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed as she continued perusing his chart. "Wait," she said suddenly as her eyes came across something on the paper. "It's your birthday today! How much of a coincidence is that? I guess your body didn't want you to miss your special day. You only get to turn thirty-four once!"

The copy-ninja still said nothing. He was feeling quite old now.

"September fifteenth," Sakura mused to herself. "Hey! That's the day we graduated the academy too! Do you know what that means?"

"That life is full of coincidences?" was Kakashi's somewhat lame guess.

"Well sure, but it really means we've known each other eight years today! Best part is it's been eight years, and neither of us is dead yet, well, we've all hard our near misses. . . gosh it's felt like an eternity already."

Hatake Kakashi knew from the moment she uttered those words that he was in trouble.

Haruno Sakura would never admit that she'd secretly enjoyed the many private hours she'd spent in her sensei's hospital room spinning him around like a marionette. There was something about Kakashi's sleeping face that comforted her, and the very thought that she was using her skills to keep him healthy warmed her heart. She also did something in those hours that she would never tell anyone until the day she died.

She had cheated and looked at him without his mask on, and how she drank in the site of his naked face.

Sakura had always expected that her sensei was quite handsome under that bothersome cloth he wore. From the side his profile gave telltale signs of a strong nose and a rugged jaw, but nothing compared to seeing the real deal. The scar gave his pretty face so much character, and on more than one occasion Sakura found herself running her finger over the cut and desperately thirsty for more of the man's back story. It was during those times that she realized how painfully little she knew about her own sensei. She'd even begun to ask seemingly offhand questions about Kakashi's past to her shishou, but the older woman's answers were always short and vague.

The kunoichi was worried. What kind of medic took such acute interest in a comatose man, especially when the man was none other than her ex-sensei? As Sakura shut the door to Kakashi's hospital room, she fell against the wall and collected her thoughts. Running her hand through her mane, Sakura sighed. She had definitely taken to Kakashi in a way she couldn't quite explain, and currently she had no way of knowing from what emotion her interest stemmed.

The girl pushed herself back into standing position, and as if on cue her stomach grumbled audibly. Two nurses walking by cast her a sympathetic glance, and she shot a sheepish grin back. She set herself in the direction of the cafeteria.

"What would you say to me now, Rin?" asked Kakashi to no one as he buried his head in his hands.

He'd found the woman who was going to stay, but there was no way that he could ever expect her to return any sort of affection he might direct her way. They were almost an entire generation apart, and the girl held a sort of innocence to her that he could never bring himself to taint. But she was strong, strong enough to stay alive always, and he didn't fear her disappearing from his life the way he feared for other women.

Kakashi shook his head as he pressed his palms deeper into his eyelids. Spurts of color swam in and out of his darkened vision as a mild wave of nausea swept through his still recovering body. He was thirty-four, an old man by comparison to her youthful twenty, how could these thoughts even begin to plague him now?

It was because she was in every way his equal, and that fact alone made her the most special.

Haruno Sakura had been eating hospital cafeteria food since she was thirteen, and there was something to be said about consuming seven years of subpar culinary confections. The girl poked warily at the gelatinous meat mass sitting on her plate, and her face scrunched into a look of extreme displeasure. She would probably resign herself to buying a candy bar from a vending machine later that afternoon because in the mean time she still had patients to look after.

Sakura rose from her seat and quickly bussed her tray. As she was about to run off to her next appointment, she suddenly caught sight of a certain silver-haired man slowly making his way into the cafeteria. He had a crutch under his right arm and a look of mellow concentration on the part of his face that was visible.

The kunoichi felt her heart rate pick up, and she silently cursed herself for letting her body respond so brazenly to seeing Kakashi. She forced herself back onto her original trajectory out of the cafeteria, and as she whipped away, Kakashi only managed to catch a glimpse of a few wisps of pink hair disappearing around the corner.

He stared for a few moments at the spot where he thought she'd been standing, and he let out a deep breath. Why was his mind doing this to him? There were plenty of women out there who would die for his affections, and courting any one of them would be ten times easier than courting Sakura. However, truthfully, underneath the underneath he knew that he could wait another ten years and no female a third as interesting or talented as Haruno Sakura would waltz into his life. But there was something just so taboo about his newfound attraction, and Kakashi suspected that the voyeur in him liked it for just that reason.

The Godaime Hokage always went into fits of rage whenever one of her elite warriors fell into spells of deep unconsciousness. There were so many times that her ninja never woke from said spells that Tsunade had come to loathe them with particular venom. As the famous copy-ninja Kakashi always held a soft spot in the old woman's heart, the news of his near fatal injuries had hurt her particularly deeply.

The night the Konoha nurses found him passed out in the rain outside the hospital had been one of the most hellish of Tsunade's life. It was in trying to heal Kakashi's monstrous chest wounds that Tsunade suffered a most brutal flashback to the night she had tried to heal her own dying lover, and the memories had been so vivid that they had effectively incapacitated the renowned medic. In fact, had the Godaime's young apprentice not been there to finish her master's work with a cool head and a steady hand, Hatake Kakashi would no doubt have been dead and buried already.

Tsunade had been shocked by the power of Haruno Sakura that day. The girl had worked through the flood of tears that rolled continuously from her eyes to finish healing a man so near the brink of death that Tsunade could have sworn she saw the god of the next life standing at the foot of his bed. But Sakura's back had been turned to the greedy god, and with her power and her power alone had staved off death for the man she called her teacher.

It was then that she realized how truly capable the girl had become, and never had she felt so sad that a girl so gifted was alone in the world.

Haruno Sakura ran through the streets of Konoha so quickly that those she passed only saw a blur of pink and red. This was probably better for them too as the look of anger painted on the girl's face would probably have scared them dead.

"Left without checking in with the nurses," Sakura muttered angrily to herself as she flew by shops and residences.

"He could be dead by the time I get to his place," she continued ranting with her bitter comments being received by no one but the wind.

When she got to Kakashi's apartment she took a moment to catch her breath before she fixed his front door with an angry glare and brought her fist down on the poor wood. The heavy thuds that followed filled her with a fraction of satisfaction, and she restrained herself from abusing the door for a second time.

Sakura heard shuffling coming from the other side, and she stepped back a little as not to be too close to him when he did answer. He took what seemed like an eternity to finally get to the door, and the girl heard the sound of various locks clicking to allow her entry. Finally the door opened a crack, and a sleepy black eye looked out at her.

His gaze seemed to imply "can I help you?" and Sakura knit her brow together in response to his insolent stare.

"Who do you think you are leaving the hospital like that? Do you know how many people just up and die right after waking from a coma? I haven't even told shishou yet about you waking up. If you died right after waking up under my watch whose ass do you think would be on the line? No, not you of course because you would be dead!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as the girls somewhat disjointed rant, and he couldn't help but hide a smile under his mask at the sight of her cute face looking so particularly angry. She fumed a little at his lack of response and conceded in staring nastily at his emotionless face.

"I felt like coming home," he finally said.

"Ugh!" the girl yelled as she threw her hands up in frustration. "You are going back to the hospital even if I have to drag your sorry ass there."

"No thank you," he answered, his eye closing and arching to indicate a smile. Just as he was about to close the door on the angry girl, she wedged her foot into the crack.

"I will not allow this, Kakashi-sensei" she ground out. "Either you come back to the hospital or I stay here until I deem you fit."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in amusement at her tenacity. Something in him found the prospect of her staying over so enticing that he allowed the door to open just a fraction more. Taking this as her advantage, Sakura quickly squeezed her way into the apartment, ducking under Kakashi's arm to bypass his form blocking the door.

"I'm serious. What will it be."

"Sakura," Kakashi began, this time a tinge of pleading in his words. "It's my birthday; I don't want to spend it in the hospital." Truthfully he didn't care at all that it was his birthday; he'd simply been at a loss for an excuse.

The kunoichi let a small smile grace her lips at his somewhat childish response.

"I understand completely. I'll stay here."

There was silence for a few moments as she continued to gaze smoothly at her ex teacher. His expression shifted to one of mild discomfort, and he said nothing as he looked slowly around the room though searching for another alibi that would be better suited to alienate her.

"Besides!" she suddenly began, breaking the silence. "It's your birthday! You should totally spend it with someone, and since as your medic I won't allow you to go out I'll make it up to you by being here!"

There was something so cute in how emphatic her words were, and Kakashi softened the slightest at her earnest declaration. He would have enjoyed nothing more than spending his birthday with her, but the thought of agreeing to her innocent suggestion made him feel like some sort of dirty old man.

He sighed.

"Okay."

Even dirty old men had to give in sometimes.

Steam rolled out from the edges of the pot of boiling water. The lid wobbled back of forth making impatient clattering noises as the hot air pushed up from below it. The copy ninja sat precariously on one of his breakfast table's chairs. He sat on the back of the chair with his feet on the seat, and from his high perch Kakashi cast the pot a wary glance before looking back towards the girl hurriedly chopping vegetables.

She had thrown her hair up in a messy swirl on top of her head, but stray tendrils of pink locks spiraled down haphazardly to frame her face, which was currently set in a look of deepest concentration. Wiping her hands on the apron she'd dug up in Kakashi's kitchen, Sakura waltzed towards the angry pot of boiling water and swiftly deposited two small packets of dry noodles into the scalding liquid. The water settled immediately as the noodles began to bend, curl and soften on contact with the heat.

She wiped a strand of hair out of her eyes and returned to the vegetables.

The chopping noises were so well timed that Kakashi began to zone out to the metronomic sound. Soon the kitchen began to smell of cooking vegetables and savory broths, and the copy-ninja couldn't help his stomach from grumbling a few times. His stomach's protests always caused the girl to look up, and she would cast a smiling glance at him and promise a prompt dinner.

When the food did finally materialize, Kakashi realized he had never tasted anything better. Sometime in the last eight years his young student had not only become a talented kunoichi but a masterful chef as well. He watched her carefully as she ate her dinner with measured delicacy, and he suddenly realized that the girl sitting across from him bore very little resemblance to the one he'd met eight years ago under the sky bridge. Maybe there was redemption for him. She was not the same girl he'd known, and it was the memory of who she used to be to which he couldn't be and wasn't attracted.

"Kakashi?" she asked as she suddenly looked up.

He barely had time to swallow his mouthful of noodles and pull his mask back up, but as usual, his movements were too rapid, and the girl caught only a blur of bluish-black cover her sensei's face.

He coughed a little in recovering from the rapid swallow.

"Sorry," she laughed and grinned. "I promise I wasn't trying to see your face."

Why would she try when she'd already seen it?

He smiled under his mask.

"Anyways," she began. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Mm?"

"How did you get your scar?"

There was silence for a few moments, and the sound of a crow squawking outside came in through the open window. The sun had almost finished setting, and Kakashi suddenly became aware of how dark the room had become. Sakura hadn't seemed to notice, however, as she continued to stare at Kakashi, expectant for an answer.

"Sakura . . . "

She came to her senses. A look of mild surprise graced her face as she took in the edge of warning in his voice.

"I'm sorry, sensei, that's probably completely private, and you don't have to share it with me at all. I just feel like I've known you so long yet I know nothing about you."

"I could say the same thing about you, Sakura," was his answer.

"That's not true!" she protested. "You've known me since I was a kid. You've been there when the most traumatic things have happened to me. I'm like an open book to you! And you know how transparent I am. If you wanted to know something about me you'd only have to ask. I have no secrets from you."

He stirred his noodles around the bowl in search of an appropriate answer. Her heartfelt proclamation had taken him somewhat by surprise. When he looked up she was still staring calmly at him, this time with a look in her eyes he couldn't quite place.

He took a deep breath.

"During the war with the Stone, my best friend, Uchiha Obito was killed trying to rescue our third, a medic named Rin. In the process of trying to protect them, I was foolish, took a misstep, and had my left eye slashed. Obito's dying wish was to give me his sharingan because . . ." Kakashi suddenly realized what else made this day come full circle. ". . . it was my birthday."

There was something about the way Kakashi's voice cracked on the last four words that pained Sakura. She hadn't meant to uncover old wounds and seeing her generally flaky and emotionless sensei display feeling for such a dusty memory caused Sakura's affection for the man to swell.

Before Kakashi could react, the girl had moved from her spot across the table and was kneeling next to him. She rested her right hand lightly above his two folded hands, and the sudden contact caused him to flinch unwittingly. She looked him straight in the eye, and despite the fact that her heart was beating like a hummingbird's, she was able to say in the most soothing tone, "I want to know, Kakashi. Please. Please stop keeping things from me. I don't want to be a stranger to you anymore."

The copy ninja was too perplexed by the nature of the situation to give an immediate answer. The room was almost completely dark now, and the lights of the village shown happily through the window. Crickets chirped in the cool early autumn air. Sakura's hand was on his hands, and her green eyes, still bright in near darkness, looked up at him pleadingly.

He sighed and took her hands in his own. Just from the touch he could tell she too was made nervous by their closeness.

"Why are you doing this to me, Sakura," he asked calmly.

She hadn't expected the situation to turn on her like that, and for a moment she was at a loss for what to say.

Why did she want this? Why did she force him into a position that neither of them were comfortable in? What right did she have to ask this of him?

"Because," she finally managed to begin, her voice in such a whisper that she sounded hoarse. "You're the only constant I have. Naruto leaves all the time; his destiny is so great that it's the only thing he will ever have time for. Sasuke died in my arms after trying to kill us all. He is only a black mark on my memory now. My parents were killed in the last attack on this village. Kakashi, you're the only one who has ever stayed. You never disappear, but if I don't know anything about you, you might as well be invisible to me."

Her honesty stung and surprised him. She may as well have cut out her beating heart and laid it on the dinner table for him to inspect.

"It's a long story, Sakura, and not all details are happy."

"I have time, Kakashi."

The Godaime Hokage was not a nosy woman, but on occasion she would allow herself to eavesdrop on what seemed like particularly juicy office conversations. What was the point in being the best ninja in the village if you couldn't use your skills to occasionally rake up some gossip anyways?

Currently she stood around the corner from two young secretaries sharing a coffee break. The two buzzed away eagerly unaware of the intruder who was happily taking in their conversation whilst snacking quietly on a bag of rice crackers.

"I've seen him too, the one with the snowy white hair? He always comes to my desk to file his reports. I bet he's really good looking under his mask! You know I think he's famous."

"I've only heard things about him. I don't really know many shinobi, but I dated a chuunin once who worked with him. I think his name is Kakashi. He's supposed to be incredibly powerful, but I mean the guy I was dating was such a loser anybody would've looked powerful compared to him."

"Oh! I've heard that name. It's Hatake Kakashi, I think. Oh wait, I think we're out of luck then. Someone by that name applied for a travelling permit the other day; his travelling partner definitely had a girl's name. Oh what was it . . . Saki, or, Sakura, I think."

"Sakura? Haruno Sakura? The Godaime's apprentice? No way! How do they even know each other? Are they together do you think?"

It was upon hearing this last bit of information that Tsunade choked on the piece of cracker in her mouth. Unfortunately the choking noises coming from around the corner alerted the two secretaries to the third presence, and they rushed over to see who had been there the entire time.

"Hokage-sama!" the first girl blurted out in shock as she watched the older woman somewhat comically clutch at her throat.

When Tsunade finally managed to swallow the angry piece of rice cracker lodged in her throat, she quickly regained her composure and rose to her full height. She cast cool glances at the two women staring at her in bewilderment, and she bade them good day and walked off.

While the two secretaries continued to stare at Tsunade's retreating form in utter shock, the sandy-haired woman was already deep in concentration and heading straight towards the permit room. Upon reaching her destination, she opened the door slowly and was happy to find the room empty. She quickly found the appropriate filing cabinet and flipped through the manila files with ease.

Hatake, Kakashi

She might have heard the gossip, but seeing the real thing was even more shocking. There it was in her hands, a passport confirmation document attached to a temporary leave notice. She shut the file and her fingers walked through another few files to the one that rested just a couple spots behind Kakashi's.

Haruno, Sakura.

The same two documents materialized, and the Godaime had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. How had something like this happened without her approval? But more importantly, she had to know what those two were up to. Ominous suspicions floated into her head, and the thought of her own apprentice and her most loyal jounin betraying her and taking side missions brought a pang of hurt to her heart.

She stuffed the documents in her voluminous Hokage robes and swiftly set out to confront the two.

It was nearing evening before she found them. It wasn't where she found them, however, that surprised her. It was how she found them.

Kakashi had left his living room window open, and not wanting to knock for fear of scaring him off, the Godaime had snuck in through the window like a neighbor's curious cat. A quick glance around the room was enough to clear her mind of all suspicions she had harbored.

The copy ninja was napping quietly. He had fallen asleep in the oversized rocking chair that graced the corner spot of his living room. In his lap she too had fallen asleep. She had the right side of her face against his chest along with the palm of her left hand. Her body rose and fell with his steady breathing. He had his hand snaked around her waist, holding her close.

She had truly stumbled in upon the most curious picture. Another inspection of the room brought to the Godaime's attention two traveling packs lying against one another in the opposite corner of the room. On the kitchen table rested two letters, both bearing her name in vastly different handwriting.

She approached the table warily and looked down at the envelopes staring up at her. She itched to take them for fear that their contents might include notices of defection and denouncements of the village that she might hope to prevent, but something told her everything was okay. The sleeping pair in the corner confirmed it.

Tsunade glided out the open window as quickly as she had come.

A few days later she sat at her desk smiling through tears.

Shishou,

I've finally done it. I found the person I want to be with. By now you will probably already have heard the news. It couldn't be done quietly in a village this small. Kakashi and I are going to spend the next few months traveling the neighboring countries. We're going to the places that have significant history for him, and then we're going to find new places to give them history for us. I am sorry I was too scared to tell you in person; I was worried about how you might react. I don't really know what we have between us. I always thought love was something grand and complex, dramatic and devastating, but I think I know now that it's not. It's beautiful in its simplicity. When it feels right it's right.

See you when I return.

-Sakura

The other letter, though curt and nearly illegible, also brought a fresh flood of tears to her eyes.

Esteemed Godaime,

You've produced a most pleasant apprentice. Thank you.