Her body felt... constricted. Sakura could barely move her legs and her scalp felt so tight she contemplated ripping her hair right off. Why had she even agreed to this?

'Because we want to spend time with our friends. Can you stop acting like a baby and just tell kaa-chan to loosen the braid? '

Inner chided; Sakura threw some colorful words back at her in response.

In the end, she agreed, and asked her mother to do just that. Taking a look in the mirror, she determined that she did look good: the kimono Ino had helped her pick out was unfairly pretty, and after readjusting the white obi around her waist, Sakura could finally breathe again. The soft yet heavy fabric was dark green, with patterns depicting white sagiso and yellow maple leaves adorning its sleeves and rims.

Her mother had been right: it really did bring out her eyes, and she much preferred it to the pink one her best friend had first shoved in her hands.

Quite honestly, a part of her found it frivolous to be excited over a kimono and a festival, but another part of her believed that she deserved this. Especially after the grueling training session she had had with Shisui the previous night and all the stalking they 'd been doing around Danzo 's lair. She needed a fun night with her friends and a quiet day to welcome the new year with her family.

Naruto was getting ready in his room, being helped into his own clothes by her dad. Mebuki had picked out Naruto 's kimono the day they'd gone shopping with Ino and her mother. It was dyed green and gold, somewhat resembling Sakura 's; even though Naruto had pouted by the lack of brighter colors ' meaning, orange ' he was delighted at the idea of matching with Sakura.

Once all of them were ready and decked out in their festive kimonos ' Sakura had made sure to conceal a few senbon in her kanzashi and strap a kunai to her arm inside one of the long sleeves ' they went to meet their friends at the marketplace.

Sakura had been propped up on her father 's shoulder as soon as they'd made it out of their house, and Naruto was being held close by her mother. Her parents, a little tired after all the cleaning they had done that day around the house, seemed in a surprisingly good mood that evening. Sakura was absolutely entranced by their easy laughter, their friendly exchanges with neighbors and other Konoha civilians and shinobi they 'd pass on their way. Sneaking glances at Naruto, she couldn 't help the warmth filling her chest as she watched the smile painted permanently on his face and the raw amazement dancing in his eyes as he observed the people around him, the colors, the stalls set up on the corners of the streets and alleys.

She was glad her mother was the one holding Naruto. Haruno Mebuki would have no qualms about fighting off anyone who dared look at him the wrong way. Sakura knew down in her bones that her kaa-chan would even kill to keep Naruto safe; she may have been an untrained civilian, but her temper and ferocity were equal to ' if even stronger than ' Sakura 's.

As they neared the heart of the village, the smell of taiyaki, yakisoba, takoyaki, and many other delicious foods wafted over to them through the air. Sakura marveled at the life around her, just like she had on the day she'd first landed back in time. Children were clustered around the many stalls offering entertaining challenges to win various prizes and toys; couples were holding hands; people greeted each other, exchanging wishes for the new year.

This was the Konoha she would fight to protect, with her dying breath and last drop of blood if need be.

'Sakura! Naruto! Over here, oji-chan, oba-chan! '

Hearing Ino 's voice, Sakura demanded that her father put her down. Ino and her parents waved at them as they approached. Nara Shikaku and his wife were already with them, all of them in kimono. Shikamaru had probably refused to wear one, as he was wearing his casual clothes, but Choji looked strikingly sharp in his clan 's formalwear.

Ino broke off from their group and ran straight to Sakura, hugging her fiercely and telling her she looked great.

Sakura smiled as they parted, 'You too, Ino-chan! Purple really suits you. '

They all banded together as they waited for the rest to arrive. Choji, noticing Sakura 's confused stare, informed her that his parents had volunteered to help with running some of the stalls. It made sense, since the Akimichi were known to own several restaurants and yatai, although she couldn 't remember if the Head of the Clan had personally worked at any of them in later years.

A few minutes later, Sakura picked up on the Uchiha Head family 's chakra before they had even shown up. To be fair, their signatures were hard to miss, one, because she was awfully familiar with their chakra, and two, because of the intensity and the unique likeness to ozone and bonfire they all shared.

She noticed Fugaku-san first, who immediately nodded towards them. 'Excuse our tardiness, ' he spoke curtly, but as her father laughed and clapped his back, his expression softened slightly.

'No worries, my friend, we just got here ourselves. Miko-chan, ' he exclaimed, pulling the Uchiha matriarch closer, 'come, we need to show your skills off to everyone, ' he pointed at a stall.

Sakura watched her mother release an amused sigh just as Mikoto spoke, 'Kizashi, those are children 's games. Do not tell me you still go around trying to win cheap toys. '

'Aw, liven up a little, Miko-chan, ' he whined, 'we need to win as many as we can for our kids tonight. You against me and whoever loses has to buy everyone snacks. '

'I would like some ikayaki, Kizashi, ' Fugaku-san said with a slight tilt to his usually stern mouth, giving his wife a quick glance. Sakura stared at the man, feeling strangely touched by the irrefutable conviction he had shown in his wife 's skills.

That ' was not the image Sakura had painted for the Uchiha Head in her head, but she couldn 't deny that she was growing fond of him.

Mikoto gave her husband a dazzling smile, before her expression hardened with determination. 'You 're on, Haruno. Move it. '

As they left them all to their challenge ' Naruto had followed, cheering for Kizashi ' staring at their backs, Shisui inched closer, laughing. 'Your otou-san is amazing. I think I'll strive to be just like him. '

Sakura shook her head, but as she watched her father and Mikoto-san trying to one-up each other, she simply smiled in amusement.

'They 've always been like this? ' Inoichi-oji-chan asked, and her mother laughed as Fugaku-san averted his gaze from his wife, turning back to their group.

'You have no idea!" Mebuki exclaimed, "The first time I met Kizashi 's old team, I was overwhelmed with how often the three of them challenged each other at every single opportunity. Well, my husband was the one who always initiated it, but the other two never failed to follow. '

Sasuke greeted all his friends before joining Naruto, but he made sure to vocally offer his support to his mother. Itachi stepped closer to Sakura and Shisui, bowing to everyone.

Fugaku-san and Mebuki shared an exasperated look, 'My wife never backs down from a challenge, and the Hyuga pride wouldn 't allow Hizashi to do so either, so they kept up with this tradition for years. ' Regarding the Nara Head, Fugaku 's eyes lit up, 'You 'd know all about Kizashi 's drive too, Shikaku. '

The man 's shoulders drooped, 'Oh, I 've been dealing with him for far longer than any of you, and please, Mebuki-san, I know you live with Kizashi, but trust me, he loves you too much to

actually

want to get on your nerves. '

Her mother hummed, pushing her short blonde hair back, 'He doesn 't do that, because he 's afraid of the consequences, Shikaku-san. '

Yoshino-san chortled so hard while nodding at that that the men of their group exchanged horrified looks. Even Shikamaru swallowed hard, and Shisui was losing his shit while holding on to Sakura, snort-laughing in her hair. She herself wasn 't faring much better.

The confused expressions Ino and Choji were wearing only made it even more hilarious.

Kiba chose that moment to announce his arrival, his sister and mother trailing behind him. Tsume-sama had a fierce smile on as she approached them, and Sakura turned to wave at her. She had always liked the woman, and the few times she had been to Kiba 's place, they had 'really vibed ', as Hana had put it. Even her wolfish dog partner seemed to like Sakura and, having seen the beast in battle, that never failed to shoot a strange sense of achievement down her spine.

Sakura was sure that Tsume-sama and her mother would get along famously. Whether that was a good thing or future cause for absolute chaos ' remained to be seen.

Eventually, Naruto and Sasuke returned, their arms laden with different kinds of plush toys, and Mikoto and Kizashi were carrying even more. As expected, Mikoto-san had won the most, and so her teammate promised to buy everyone their favorite snacks.

Then the adults left the kids to their own devices, under the watchful eyes of Shisui, Itachi and Hana.

'If Itachi-kun and Hana-san weren 't here, I doubt they 'd trust you to watch us alone, ' Sakura teased Shisui as they all walked through the streets, looking around in wonder.

Shisui took a sharp breath and brought a hand to rest over his heart, 'Birdie, that was uncalled for! You broke your nii-chan 's heart, ' he pouted, wiping fake tears away.

At Sakura 's deadpan expression ' and it was hard, because Shisui just looked ridiculous ' Itachi let out a snort at his best friend 's expense and petted Sakura 's head for a job well done.

'Traitors, both of you! '

'Shisui, you 're annoying, ' came Sasuke 's comment, which broke her resolve to remain serious. Hana couldn 't help herself either; the glare Shisui threw his baby cousin would have been more effective if everyone around him wasn't laughing.

They played around the various game stalls and of course, the boys made a dare out of everything. Shikamaru was content to try catching goldfish, but Ino 's patience ran thin and she soon moved towards a vendor selling beaded bracelets and hair ornaments. Shisui followed her and when they came back, he presented Sakura with a metallic tama kanzashi.

'Shisui, you shouldn 't have! '

He simply shushed her and gently placed the hairpin in her hands. Leaning to her ear, he whispered, 'The man is a retired shinobi. The ball actually has a hidden compartment for poison, and you can sharpen the end of the kanzashi to use as a weapon. '

Her smile turned devious, 'Oh, I think that 'll come in handy. Thank you so much, really. '

'Don 't mention it, birdie, now let 's go catch up with everyone else. '

As they re-joined the group, both Sakura and Shisui noticed that Itachi took his babysitting job a little too seriously and wasn 't having any fun himself. At Shisui 's nudge, Sakura strutted forward, taking Itachi 's hand. She beckoned Sasuke too, and they stopped in front of a stall. The woman there showed them different combinations with the kendama and whoever managed to complete the exact sequence got a box of free dango.

'Don 't use your Sharingan, ' she told Itachi, and pushed him forward to try.

Itachi watched with great focus as the woman swirled the handle around and the attached ball landed on different sides. When it was handed to him, he quietly observed it and adjusted his grip before performing the same combination the woman had in perfect order.

Well, Sakura hadn't expected anything less, but the smile he gave her when he got his box of dango was priceless. Sasuke tried it after him, a frown marring his face every time he failed, but he finally managed after a few more tries, and simply handed his dango to Sakura.

'Good job, Sasuke. Thanks for this! '

Proud of himself, he gave her a warm smile of his own and ran back to Naruto. Probably to brag.

By the time the bells of the main shrine echoed through the village, the children had filled their bellies with every kind of treat and won as many toys as their tiny arms could carry. Sakura knew that they had to find their parents in order to visit the shrine and pay their respects, so she extended her chakra in order to pinpoint their location.

A bad decision, really, because the chakra signatures from all around her overwhelmed her so terribly she almost fell to her knees. Itachi was quick to catch her, worry rising in his eyes.

'I 'm okay, ' she tried to assure him, but he didn 't let go of her arm. She tried again, this time asking Inner to block out all the irrelevant chakra in their vicinity while she stretched her own further and further, visualizing the signatures she was searching for. When she found them, she opened her eyes to Itachi watching her intently.

She smiled, 'I was trying to find our parents. They 're close to the Tower, heading towards the shrine. '

'Your sensory abilities have grown, it seems. '

'I train every night, ' she told him and he nodded, finally letting go of her. Hana, Itachi and Shisui managed to round them all up and started leading them towards the location Sakura had pointed out.

Shikamaru glanced at the box in her hands, 'Unlike you to leave any dango untouched. '

'They 're for someone else, ' she answered, peering down at the remaining dango sticks. The young Nara lifted an eyebrow at her, but she didn 't add anything to her curt explanation.

Catching sight of the person she was looking for, she walked a little faster, trying to reach Shisui, who was leading their group at the front. When she came close enough to her target, she faked stumbling on her geta. With a small squeak, she felt her body slamming into someone 's leg. Strong hands immediately came to rest on her shoulders.

'Regaining ' her balance, she looked up, eyes wide, 'Oh, I 'm so sorry! I almost slipped, but thanks for catching me, shinobi-san! '

Genma 's eyes held confusion, which quickly morphed into recognition and mirth. 'It 's fine kiddo, just be careful, yeah? '

She bobbed her head up and down, feeling Shisui coming to stand right behind her. She chanced a glance at the two men next to Genma.

'Score! '

She thought.

'Kakashi 's here too! '

'And Gai-sensei, '

Inner moaned.

'Come on, he 's nice! '

'Sa-chan? ' Came Shisui 's voice, and when had he adopted her parents' pet name for her?

She looked back at him, smiling innocently and forcing a small blush to her cheeks, 'It 's okay, nii-chan. I just can 't walk all that well on my geta and slammed into ' ' she turned to Genma, expectant.

'I 'm Genma, kid. Hey Shisui! '

He nodded and pulled Sakura closer to him, 'Shiranui-senpai, Hatake-senpai, Maito-senpai, ' he greeted them all. Sakura, glancing back, saw Itachi leave the kids with Hana and walk over to join them as well.

'Ah, so you know Shisui-nii?! Tell me, is he as cool as he claims to be? '

Gai 's laughter filled the air around them, 'What a youthful child! Shisui-kun, I didn 't know Uchiha came in spring colors! '

Now that had Genma doubling over, and as Itachi came to stand on her other side, Kakashi and he exchanged a polite nod.

'I 'm Haruno Sakura, shinobi-san! But yes, Shisui is my nii-chan and Itachi-kun is my good friend. I assume you know them, as well? ' she asked the Uchiha boys, receiving a small nods of confirmation.

'Are you hurt? ' Itachi asked, knowing of course that she wasn 't, but they had decided to treat her like a normal five-but-almost-six-year-old around most people, to err on the side of caution.

She shook her head and looked back at Genma, 'I was at fault here, even if it was just a slip, but Genma-san caught me. ' She pouted, quietly observing the senbon bobbing in his mouth. 'I apologize, please accept these, ' she smiled brightly at him, extending the dango towards him, her other hand clutching the bag she was carrying her plush toys in.

'Oh, no need, Sakura-chan. '

'It 's dango, Genma-san! You can 't say no to

dango

! '

Sakura relished the way in which Genma 's expression was suddenly overcome with surprise. When she held her sensei 's stare, she made a point to run her eyes all over him and rest them on his hair. She scrunched her face in contemplation, before gaping at him in feigned surprise. By the way his eyes pinned her down, she knew that he knew that she knew who he was. Well, he knew that a little kid had figured out he was the ANBU on her roof from a couple weeks ago.

To prove her 'discovery ' even further, she turned back to glance at Naruto and then at her sensei, offering him a grateful smile, but didn 't say anything.

Instead, she focused on her dango's fated recipient. 'Genma-san, you could share them with your friends. I won 't take 'no ' for an answer. It 's my way of apologizing and thanking you for catching me before I fell on my face and soiled my kimono. '

'Better take it, senpai. Knowing Sakura, she 'll simply chase you around the village and won 't leave you alone until you do, ' Shisui joked lightly, but when their eyes met, she saw the questions there.

'Hey! ' she protested, but Itachi put his hand on her head.

'Sakura-chan has a way of just doing whatever she puts her mind to, without reservations. I 'll be going back, but it was nice meeting you here, ' he addressed the other shinobi. 'Shisui, Sakura-chan, we 'll have to move soon if we want to meet with our parents for the prayer. '

'Go ahead, 'tachi, we know where to meet you. '

Itachi nodded and moved to rejoin the rest of the group. Sakura saw Sasuke and Naruto 's confused gazes, while Shikamaru smirked at her, piecing together the mystery that had arisen from their previous conversation. They all walked forward through the crowd around them.

She once more shoved the box towards Genma, who finally took it. 'We could walk together if you 're also heading to the Shrine, ' she chirped, earning a '

youthful '

acceptance from Gai.

As they started moving, Shisui held her hand, 'Careful not to get lost, birdie, ' he said, loud enough for the trio of shinobi to hear. After all, she was supposed to be his almost six-year-old 'sister '.

Sakura, even though she knew she wouldn 't really get lost, couldn 't deny that the crowd was awfully thick around them. She had even lost sight of her friends, and they were only a few paces in front of them. Shisui began conversing with Genma and Gai, while Kakashi circled them, standing by her side.

Smiling up at him, she waved her hand, slightly hindered by the bag of toys, 'Hi again! '

Her sensei looked a little suspicious, and maybe rightfully so. 'Yo! ' he said nonchalantly.

'Betcha he wants to lay open his smutty book and curses himself for having a young kid around. '

Sakura snickered inwardly,

'He never hesitated when he was our sensei. '

'Maybe he has

some

morals? '

'So, you like dogs? ' she asked him, and it should have seemed like a perfectly innocent, if out-of-the-blue, question a kid would ask a new acquaintance. But of course, they both knew what she was talking about.

Look underneath the underneath, right, sensei?

Like she had predicted, his lone eye narrowed momentarily, before it creased, 'Yep! And you, kid? '

'There 's one that guards my friend and I like him a lot. '

'Is that so? I think you shouldn 't be as ' welcoming. Dogs can bite, after all! ' he said pleasantly, his eye flickering to Shisui before resting back to her.

She didn't turn around to see if Shisui was paying attention to them. 'Well, my evidence points to the dog being a good one. Even tried to calm me down when he thought I was having a panic attack. '

Kakashi hummed, facing ahead. After a while, he spoke again, 'People often mistake dogs for nice, but they are careful when trusting people. '

'They are loyal to those they trust and like, aren 't they? ' He gave her a contemplative look before nodding. 'Well then, I just need to earn his trust, don 't I? He already has mine, after all, ' she said.

He faltered in his steps then, leaving her side. She glanced back, only to see him frozen, though his grey eye had never left her. People were starting to cluster, obscuring her view of him. 'Kakashi-san? ' Sakura slipped out of Shisui 's grasp before they could move too far ahead and tried to run back to him.

Her heart ached to hold him, tell him that it was okay to open up to her, to others. She knew that in his mind, the words

Friend-Killer

were engraved like the names on the Memorial Stone, but he was so much more than that. Yes, Hatake Kakashi would never find peace with the ghosts haunting his past, present and future, he wouldn 't be an attentive friend or sensei as long as he tried to shove his emotional luggage into the basement of his heart while hiding behind a detached mask. But she also knew that it wouldn 't be like that forever. Not really. She could make him see that there was more to him, she owed him as much. Even if he felt unworthy of her trust, she simply knew no other way and he 'd just have to accept it. Unconditionally.

Lost in her thoughts, her focus solely reserved for the man a scant few steps in front of her, she failed to keep her guard up, failed to register the yell of

'watch out! '

until she was being held close to a body smelling of pine trees, and felt the roughness of the standard jonin flak jacket.

She registered then that Kakashi was holding her, stiffly but tightly, and they were standing back at Shisui 's side. Looking over his shoulder, she saw a man had fallen to the ground where she'd been standing before, a cup of steaming broth spilt on his shoes.

'Sakura! ' came Shisui 's distressed voice, and she was unceremoniously passed to his arms; he held her like a lifeline. 'Are you trying to kill me? Just stay close, that 's what I asked and you ' '

'I 'm okay, Shisui-nii. I just ' ' she swallowed hard; Inner stayed silent this time. 'I wasn 't paying attention. I 'm sorry. Did I scare you? '

Shit! Shisui was ready to lose his wits and she couldn 't blame him. He was in the dark as to how Sakura knew Genma and Kakashi in this lifetime. Yes, he knew Kakashi used to be her jonin sensei, but she never told him about the whole roof incident, because she 'd have to speak to him about her nightmare and

that

she just wasn't ready to do.

And she had been lost in her thoughts, so invested in reaching Kakashi ' because she hadn't been able to in that cell, and he was

deadeadead

' and she hadn't even been paying proper attention to the world around her. She was a fucking shinobi, and she almost got squashed by a middle-aged civilian. She couldn 't blame Shisui for being mad and disappointed, because

dammit

, she was trained to be better than that. Kakashi trained her to be better than that, Tsunade trained her to be better than that, Shisui was training her to be better than that!

She almost got hurt and she didn 't even realize and Shisui was scared because she was stupid and weak and '

'Sakura, it 's fine, it 's okay, ' she heard being murmuring in her ear. Warm hands were wiping her cheeks and when had she began crying? 'I was just surprised. I 'm not mad, okay? ' His curly hair tickled her as he rubbed his head to her cheek. 'Tell me the second clause medic-nin should abide by. '

She tried taking even breaths, as she had been taught. Sakura wasn 't having a panic attack, but she was feeling a little overwhelmed with everything that just happened. Shisui pulled back, keeping his eyes locked on hers. 'Sakura, the second clause medic-nin abide by. '

Finding her own voice again, she sniffed before answering, 'No medic ninja shall ever stand on the front lines. '

'And what do you say to that? '

A weird sound escaped her throat then. A surprised laugh mixed with the beginnings of a sob. 'That 's bullshit, that 's what I say. I 'll be a medic ninja fighting alongside my teammates, shannaro! '

'Obviously! ' Shisui smiled, then let her climb off of him. 'Do not do that again, though. It 's packed around here, and we need to stay close. '

'Sorry. '

Shisui waved her off, gripping her hand once more. Sakura turned to her sensei. 'Thank you Kakashi-se '-san. Sorry for the trouble. '

'Um, ' the jonin was scratching the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable, 'it 's okay, kid. '

Tugging Shisui, she motioned to her bag and he freed one hand to search inside. Pulling out a strawberry plushie, she offered it to Kakashi.

'As a thank you. I didn 't win any dog toys, only a kitty, and the fox I got was a gift from Naruto, so I can 't give you that. '

Genma, Gai and Shisui were laughing on her other side, but she paid them no mind. Kakashi was assessing the smiling strawberry plushie like it was an explosive tag, ready to go off at any second.

'Well, ' he started, coughing to hide his embarrassment? Amusement? 'I 'm a little too old to play with this. '

Sakura shook her head and all but shoved it into his hands. 'You can just use it as a decoration. It 's also round-ish, so maybe a pillow? You could throw it away for all I care, I just want to show my gratitude. '

'I swear to the Sage this man is even more stubborn now than he was back in our Team 7 days. '

Inner scoffed,

'Ain 't that just great. '

Finally, he gave her a nod, tucking the plushie under his arm. Sakura smiled at him, openly, warmly, and offered her hand to him. He stared. Shisui took the bag she was holding to help her out, then reached for her other hand. She shook her extended hand towards Kakashi, until he slowly, reluctantly took it.

Well, it 's a start

, she thought, even if his posture became stiff, body inching to the side because of how tiny Sakura was compared to him. But she kept her smile and stream of easy chatter as they walked on.

When they finally reached the huge group of parents and children, Naruto saw her and ran towards her. She was fast to drop Shisui 's and Kakashi 's hands to meet him half-way in a hug. Ino joined, and she had to explain why they were late.

Gai had already greeted everyone with high energy, and even Genma seemed to be on good terms with Inoichi-san. Surprisingly, Kakashi hadn 't vanished the moment they'd stopped, and he gave Fugaku-san a nod. Her father and Mikoto-san banded together, exchanging glances that Sakura found most curious.

They seemed to whisper something, and, with a light push, her father came forward. 'Kakashi-kun, how are you? '

Sakura 's jaw almost dropped to the ground. Itachi, who was by her side, turned to her with a questioning look, he too having witnessed their parents ' exchange and Kizashi 's familiarity with Hatake Kakashi. She shook her head, watching her father and sensei.

She wasn 't the only one observing them.

'Good, Haruno-san. ' His tone was clipped, pained, in a way, Sakura thought. His shoulders were drooping, but the way his fingers squeezed the plushie and his whole body tensed betrayed his need to flee.

'It 's been a while, boy, ' and Kami, her father was way too serious for any of this to be a good sign. Then, slowly, Kizashi 's face lit up slightly, 'Happy New Year, Kakashi-kun. May you be blessed. '

'Health and prosperity to you, ' Kakashi answered, perhaps a little too fast.

Mikoto-san approached them slowly and Sakura felt her mother 's hand on her head. 'Why don 't you join us for the blessings, Kakashi-kun? ' the Uchiha matriarch asked with a tender smile.

'Okay ' what is going on? '

Inwardly, Sakura shook her head,

'I have no idea, Inner. Do you think we ended up in a completely alternate universe instead of back in time? Because I can 't remember my father and Kakashi-sensei ever being like ' like

this

. '

Inner sighed,

'Had they met? You know, before? '

'I don 't think so, but maybe? Sensei never turned up those times I said kaa-chan wanted to meet my team. Only Sasuke and Naruto did, so I don 't know. '

'Something is going on here, Outer. They clearly know each other. '

Sakura agreed.

'I assume sensei at least has met Mikoto-san because of the whole Sharingan business, but tou-chan? '

She was going to investigate. Okay, it wasn 't so farfetched that somehow her father knew Kakashi. Maybe sensei shopped at their store or had guarded her tou-chan on a trip somewhere. But their whole exchange was weird. They definitely hadn 't just met once or twice. They knew each other. Again, not impossible, but why was Kakashi-sensei so tense, why was her father not laughing and throwing his arms around him, like he did with most people?

Sakura was swept away by Ino and Naruto before she could hear Kakashi 's answer. Soon, they were all walking towards the temple again, and she would occasionally turn her head around, her pink braid whipping in the air, to see if her sensei, Genma and Gai were still with the rest of their group. Damn her short body; she couldn 't see past Shikamaru 's parents, who were walking right behind them.

They all came to a stop as they reached their destination, and Sakura heard more than saw the Sandaime give a speech about prosperity, health and blessings to the civilians of Konoha.

If her expression turned sour at the sound of his voice, no one noticed. There was not much love lost between her and Sarutobi Hiruzen. Yes, he was her Hokage, yes under his rule Konoha had prospered for years, it seemed, but it was also under his rule that Orochimaru had been allowed to live, Danzo was committing his crimes freely, Naruto was being treated like scum.

Maybe it wasn 't entirely his fault. Sakura had heard Tsunade often talk about her sensei having been too influenced by the Council, or the Council always having been way too pushy towards him. The Elders, Koharu and Homura, were his former teammates, Danzo had been his friend, Sakura knew those facts, but still, she couldn 't believe how the man had been so stupid, or maybe gullible. He was supposed to be the

damn Hokage

.

But Sakura stood and listened and clapped with everyone else, once the Sandaime had finished his speech. He was her Hokage, after all, and she was a shinobi of Konohagakure. Well, technically she wasn 't one yet, but those were merely semantics.

Following her parents as she held Naruto 's hand, they placed their blessings. They would come back, probably the next day, to say their full prayers.

The bells were still ringing when their group decided to say goodbye and disperse, and it was then that Sakura realized the unexpected trio of shinobi had stayed with them. Throwing any kind of precaution out the window, she slipped between bodies until she was next to Kakashi. While everyone was still chatting with each other, he was standing a few feet away, observing and not engaging.

Carefully, so as to not alarm him and lose her head in the process, her hand rose to tug at his long sleeve. When his lone eye zeroed in on her, mist gone once she supposed he was no longer buried in his own mind, she gestured for him to crouch and get on her level.

Blinking a few times, Kakashi eventually relented, squatting in front of her. She saw the dark mask shifting as he opened his mouth to say something, but Sakura beat him to it.

'I wish you health and happiness this year, Kakashi-san, ' she told him honestly, not putting up any of her pretenses. No easy smiles, or five-year-old cheerfulness. 'I 'd like to see you around more often, '

stay in the village more, sensei,

'so if I meet you on the streets or something, I 'll call for you, so do the same, okay? '

When he didn 't answer, Sakura slowly raised her hand painfully slowly, making sure it never strayed towards his blind spot, and brought it to his hair, petting the untamed silver spikes.

'Take care of yourself and stay warm during the winter. Make sure to eat regularly and if you get injured, go to the hospital. ' He hated hospitals and medics, she knew he 'd never take her advice to heart, but she 'd always been the caretaker of Team 7, she wouldn't abandon the role now. 'I know that you 're probably very busy, but you need to take care of yourself, yeah? And ' '

And come to me when you need to talk to someone '

she couldn 't say that. Kakashi had barely opened up to her before the war, and he would most definitely not do that at present; she was just a little kid.

'And thank you, Kakashi-san. '

Thank you for everything, sensei. No matter how small or big.

Feeling a familiar sting on the back of her eyelids, Sakura quickly pulled away and, relieved, walked over to Shisui, who had been standing just a little further back. She didn 't know when he had followed her, but she was unspeakably grateful for his presence. He seemed to not be paying attention to them and their little exchange, but as soon as she approached him, Shisui pulled her up into his arms, and she rested on his hip, head buried in the curve of his neck.

Sakura breathed and closed her eyes. She just needed a moment hidden from everyone, even Inner.

Geta

- traditional Japanese 'footwear

Kanzashi

- 'hair ornaments/ Tama kanzashi - hairpin decorated with a bead/ ball on the end

Kendama

- japanese skill toy

Around midnight on New Year's Eve the Buddhist temples bells strike 108 times. Now I don't think there's like a set religion in Konoha but I put this in since it's a Japanese tradition.