The Flowers Cherish You

Chapter 12; Hanging out with the team

(A/N: Play the media for more effect.)

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

Sometimes, we make stupid choices.

Kakashi drags his sluggish form through the east gates of Konoha after he's been cleared to enter and heads for the Hokage Tower. His pace is slow and each step sends a jolt of electrified pain up his spine. He knows he'll immediately be ordered to go to the hospital after reporting and the thought of it makes his head hurt. That; and the anxiety of being away from his students doesn't help so much either.

Specifically, the idea of being away from Sakura while she's dealing with blow after blow in the form of loss (it doesn't help). Still, he trusts Yamato's work and believes in the man's unlimited patience to work with all three of his students. It's nearing 11 PM when he finally knocks on the office door and waits, momentarily, for his request to enter to be approved.

"Enter." Kakashi opens the door, dips his head respectfully, and closes the door behind him. "Kakashi? I wasn't expecting you for another week."

"The Yutagimo mountain passage has been destroyed," he answers dutifully. Then, heart heavy and fingers aching, he pulls out a scroll from his left pocket and walks forward to place it on the desk. "The bodies of our men are sealed within. I found all of the ones on the list you gave me before I left. They need to be examined for accurate cause of death." Kakashi keeps his voice monotone. Things like these are a part of a shinobi's life. Risks and possibility of death and everything in-between.

His former teacher inhales deeply and nods, dark blue eyes roaming over his face. "How was the passage destroyed?"

"I was engaged by unknown persons. They bore no village affiliation nor any former affiliation. They used Earth-based jutsu which caused massive avalanches and craters."

"How many?" Because this is routine by now.

"No more than 50, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi receives a nod. "I trust you to fill out the mission report as detailed as possible before submitting it to my office by tomorrow evening." A moment of silence passes around the room before Minato sighs - and even now, after all these years, it's hard to think about using his former teacher's given name - and leans back in his chair. "You need to go to the hospital, Kakashi. My eyes hurt just from looking at you."

"Tenzo's last update was brief even for him and I - "

"The last week or so hasn't been very pleasant for your students." Kakashi falls silent. "Sasuke and Naruto had a fight that resulted in both of them ending up in the hospital and, presently, the only time Sakura interacts with them is during training."

"She's distancing herself?"

Minato rubs at his temples. "It's...a bit more complicated than that."

"Hok - " Kakashi sighs. "Sensei, will you tell me?"

"She was evaluated for depression and her results are concerning."

Kakashi nods slowly. "Bipolar depression or dysthymia?"

"Dysthymia*. That's not...really the complicated part. It's how she reacted to the news that complicates the matter." Minato opens the top drawer of his desk and pulls out a sealed folder. It a flash of white light, the seal is broken and he's pulling out a thin stack of papers. "When she learned of her results, she shut down in a sense. It was like I was staring at an eight-year-old Sakura all over again; just days after she learned the news of her parents."

"Is she fit for active duty?" Kakashi can work with this information. We aren't so different, eh, Sakura-chan? "Will she be allowed to participate in the chunin exams?"