The morning air is cool and crisp. A small breeze caresses Sakura's skin as she lays on the grass, morning dew kissing her exposed skin. It's been a few days since they finally made it back to Konoha, and Sakura finally has a chance to well and truly breathe. By herself. Without anyone poking at the reasons behind her sighs. Sakura stays there for a while, enjoying the shade of the Hashirama tree. Surprisingly, she gets a lot of hours to herself. It's strange how her team's chakra signatures linger sporadically at the edges of her sensory net rather than right next to her. The clouds pass by lazily, moving at the pace of the wind across the sky. She used to wonder why Shikamaru always sat on this hill cloud watching, but now she knows. It's therapeutic in a way. It helps her thoughts settle and focus when she's tired of being stuck in her head overthinking. Despite the fact that their mission is well and truly over, Sakura knows that Wave will always be an important part of her development as a shinobi. The marks from her experiences there will never leave. But Sakura is fine with that. She blinks up at the branches above her, sunlight filtering through the leaves.
"Hey there, sensei." Sakura greets Kakashi with a smile, her eyes closed as she basks in the speckled sunlight. She hears the jōnin mix a huff and a laugh, a temporary breeze brushing her hair out of her face as Kakashi undoubtedly shunshins next to her. The two-fingered poke to her forehead marks her assumption as right, and she opens her eyes slowly. Kakashi smiles back at her, smoothing his hand over her hair. Sakura is surprised to see the jōnin here at all, considering his usual disappearing act. Before Wave, she'd never bothered to track his chakra signature. So she didn't actually know where Kakashi went when he was avoiding his team for a solid four to six hours. Kakashi temporarily pulls her from her thoughts when he moves towards the tree trunk. Her view of him goes sideways as he sits down. Her head is suddenly lifted, the sky growing closer. Sakura moves her hands downwards, unsure of what to do with them at the moment. Then she is gently set back down right onto Kakashi's thigh. Her hands naturally fold over her stomach and she lets go of a satisfied sigh. This was far more comfortable than lying on her hands. Which, of course, now have a terrible case of pins and needles. The situation is still a bit awkward however. She had feared that her bond with her socially awkward teacher would unwind once they returned. Obviously, that wasn't the case. Her thoughts wander.
The Hokage had given them three rest days. After today and the next day, they would be back to D rank missions. Hopefully with an improved relationship. Sakura is unsure how she will be able to handle Naruto and Sasuke going right back to intense arguing even after all they've been through. At least, the kind of arguing that gets no work done. And now that Sakura thinks about it... she's going to need to subtly teach Naruto a fair few things. She doesn't want to admit it, but she was so wrapped up in her own pains and sufferings that she refuses to acknowledge others'. That was probably the reason why she obsessed over Sasuke so much. He was an incredible student at the Academy, and looked as if nothing affected him. As if he could manage fine and well without anyone to care for him. Sakura was jealous of him, if she were honest with herself. She had lost everything first, was a civilian born, was ignored. What kind of right did he have? Is what Sakura used to think. Scenes from Wave flash before her eyes, causing Sakura to flinch. Visions of bodies lining the streets. Of dismembered dead strewn with no care or regard. Sakura breathes softly. Except, life isn't a competition in suffering. A hard lesson she never even realised she learned until she collapsed on the beach, lightning burning at her shoulders. Sakura startles as fingers begin running gently through her hair.
"See that cloud?" Kakashi whispers, his unoccupied arm stretching over Sakura's head and into her line of sight, pointing at the sky. Sakura squints at their portion of the sky, eyes flickering from cloud to cloud. She tries to follow the direction of his finger, waiting for further clarification.
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Fanfiction"A hundred stones sink beneath the waves, imperfect and uneven kanji chipped into them by an unpracticed hand. The owners only recently buried as ash and dust beneath coarse dirt and sand. And Sakura, the one behind it all." A Different Wave: Book O...
