"I'm an idiot. A total idiot. A complete moron. The stupidest man in the world..."

Silence.

"Who normal goes to bed with their apprentice?"

Silence answered him again, as well as a slight gust of wind that enveloped his face, even tearing through the fabric of his mask.

"Sometimes I would prefer you to punch me in the face so that I can get myself together, because at this point I only complicate my life..."

The wind was his only companion. Or was Obito expressing his opposition to this cosmic joke that was Hatake Kakashi's entire life?

"Yes, well... I acted very irresponsibly and now I should face the consequences..."

Kakashi looked up from the monument to the cloudless sky, shielding his eyes from the glaring rays of the rising sun. It was going to be a really beautiful day, and nothing foreshadowed the disaster that Hatake was about to announce.

"I will be a father," said Hatake, and the wind carried his words far into the forest. "I'm just not sure if that's what she wants... if she wants it... What I want is a completely different matter, but it's too late for anything and I can't let her mutilate herself for the rest of her life... I'm going to ask her for delivering a child, and then possibly putting it up for adoption..."

Kakashi closed his eyes, absorbing the chill from a stronger gust of wind, as if Obito completely disagreed with him.

"I would like our life to be much easier..."

Hatake clenched his hands into fists in the pockets of his pants, persistently staring at the monument on which his best friend's name and surname were engraved, as well as the other shinobi who had fallen in battle.

"Kakashi-senpai?"

Hatake turned at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Ah, it's you Yūgao," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and usually, when he visited Obito's monument, he wouldn't see anyone here. Well, apart from occasional meetings with Yūgao, who recently had another reason to come here.

Uzuki stood next to Kakashi, who had already looked back at the monument and focused on his own thoughts.

The purple-haired kunoichi hung her shoulders, staring at the plaque engraved with the names of the lost shinobi.

"Hi, Hayate," she said.

And only a gust of wind answered her the same.

Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment. It was enough to mention his name to remember what happened to the two of them. It was a close call, and maybe he would have ended up the same way, either losing Sakura or dying... no, she would never let him die because there was always some way to save him. And she could find him every time... unfortunately. Despite the fact that Hatake had come to terms with his own fate long ago, which would most likely be death, he always somehow managed to escape her claws. Sometimes he wondered if it would be better if such Hayate survived so that he could build a family with Yūgao, while he... Hatake Kakashi somehow tried to get away from it. Well, he didn't... he somehow wanted to, but... it all depended on Sakura, and she told him to make a decision the last time they saw each other outside the training field; and he fucking hated it. Making decisions was different during the battle, but in love department he was completely green...

"What are you doing here, Kakashi-senpai?"

"Probably the same as you."

Uzuki smiled, but the smile was sad and full of unspeakable pain. Kakashi understood her perfectly, especially after the recent events. His life was full of pain, which he learned to suppress under a blanket of ordinary indifference, and only years later did he begin to absorb books. Little did he know that he needed as little to be happy as the imaginary characters depicted in an imaginary story, descriptions of feelings and scenes that stuck in his mind so much that they almost warped his mind. Although Hatake never completely forgot about all the pain and those who gave him that...

Yūgao probably felt the same at that moment.

"I miss him," she said, and Kakashi heard her voice tremble. "There are just days that... I can't bring myself out of bed. And although Tsunade is understanding to me, I still feel powerless after so many years... I thought revenge would bring me relief, but it didn't... sometimes I feel that it's even worse after that."

Kakashi nodded slowly.

"It never gets easier, and revenge sometimes sinks us much deeper. Sometimes it isn't even worth taking revenge, because it causes even more pain and opens up old wounds."

The woman at his side shuddered.

"Why him?"

The question left a sad aftertaste on her tongue as it was still painful to pronounce his name. The memory of him remained in her heart forever; however, there was also a void that grew larger as the years passed, fading for a while and growing larger as the anniversary of his death approached.

"I might ask the same," Kakashi replied, out of the corner of his eye, seeing the woman clench her fists before turning her face twisted in a grimace of fury.

"I know you've lost a lot of friends, but have you ever lost a person you loved more than your own family?! Who would you be willing to die for?!"

Kakashi sighed. Well, Obito, Rin, Minato-sensei and Kushina belonged to his family, he only loved his father more, but he was the real family. And there was also...

Sakura.

"Almost."

Uzuki's expression softened, and even her eyes widened in surprise.

"How's that?"

Well, Kakashi up to one point in his life treated Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke as his family, and later Sasuke's place was replaced by Sai; however, Sakura definitely went beyond his family and friendship ties, especially after what brought them together.

"The last of my missions was difficult."

"Are you talking about the one where you also saved Ao from the rebels?"

Kakashi nodded.

"But you still don't understand..." Yūgao groaned.

"Or maybe it's you who don't understand?"

Yūgao blinked in surprise.

"You mean that you..."

Kakashi sighed in resignation and lifted his head, staring at the celestial vault.

"I'm a fucked up man..."

His interlocutor frowned, a bit confused by his words.

"You wanna talk about it, Kakashi?"

"Not necessarily," he muttered, his lips pressed into a narrow line as the words pressed themselves against his tongue.

"Sometimes such a conversation helps."

"Because of my stupidity, Sakura almost died."

Uzuki blinked in surprise, then returned her gaze to the monument, remembering Hayate, and then cast another curious glance at Kakashi. She saw him in a completely different light now.

"Besides, she's suffering even more now because of me."

Beloved of the deceased Hayate stared expectantly at Hatake, who seemed to be confiding in front of her with little breaks.

"Did I mention that I will become a father? Or maybe I won't..."

The familiar kunoichi looked confused. However, slowly everything started to fall into a logical wholeness.

"Are you saying that Sakura is pregnant with you?" When her question met with a sluggish nod, Uzuki understood. "You have to explain it to me here and now!"

Kakashi sighed in resignation as he looked down at the grass moved by a gentle gust of wind.

~ * ~

"Oi, Sakura-chan, why are you so wasted after yesterday's training?" Naruto greeted her with these words.

The mentioned woman almost gritted her teeth in response, but it was impossible for her to bite off as the whole breakfast came to her throat. It's been another two weeks since Sakura left Kakashi with a difficult choice, and she had to admit that by then, she had already hated the second month of pregnancy. Even before she left the house, she stood in front of the toilet twice with the intention of returning the meal she had eaten; however, that never happened, so she had to stick around for another half-hour, until finally she was incredibly late for training. Only on the way did she feel sick again.

"Shut up," she growled as the contents of her stomach returned to its place, leaving a bitter taste on her tongue.

Naruto raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Okay, okay, just kidding, dattebayo!" And then he sent her this disarming smile, Haruno couldn't do otherwise than reciprocate him.

It was at that moment that Sai emerged from the bushes with his sketchbook under his arm. He greeted his friends with a smile.

"Are you okay Sakura-san?" he asked, seeing her pained expression.

"What are you guys so stuck to me?" the young kunoichi snorted.

"You know, Sakura-chan, we are worried about you... you have been going around so depressed lately and you feel bad every now and then... something's bothering you?"

Haruno sighed resignedly.

"It's nothing."

"Kakashi-sensei won't be happy to find out that you came to training sick. You can have stomach flu if you're feeling nauseant like that, 'ttebayo!"

"I'm afraid Naruto might be right, but I'm not a medic, so you should know best," Sai added.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Kakashi... sensei knows about my condition," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "And yet he told me to come to training."

Naruto exchanged meaningful glances with Sai before they took a step back from their friend.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, but we don't want to get infected, dattebayo."

The mentioned one snarled in annoyance but didn't dare to correct them. Not until Kakashi has yet to make up his mind. And then she doubled over and returned half of her stomach contents. Sai discreetly looked away, and Naruto turned pale before he turned away from Sakura for good.

~ * ~

"That's it?"

"Yes."

As Kakashi revealed his story to his former subordinate, a love story, her eyebrows went up, then fell again, frowning mercilessly. And when he was finally done, he almost breathed a sigh of relief, for it felt as if all that sat in him was gradually exhausting him, until at last an uncontrolled flow of words would explode in front of the most unsuitable people. Uzuki was probably the best option.

"So, you want this baby?" Yūgao just wanted to make sure.

"Yes..." he replied hesitantly.

"And you think she doesn't want it?"

"Yes."

"How old are you, Kakashi?"

"Twenty nine?"

"So old, and so stupid ..." she snorted. "Do you really think that a twenty-year-old dreams about depriving herself of the possibility of becoming a mother for the rest of her life?!"

"That was my impression when she brought the vial to me."

"Because you let her do it! For years of ignoring and after returning to Konoha through no contact! I know you're worried because me and Hayate had similar concerns that they wouldn't understand us, but at first glance you can see that she just doesn't want to disappoint your expectations!"

Kakashi was already opening his mouth to interrupt her, but he was given nothing more than a pathetic groan as Uzuki's waterfall flooded him with words, "I can't believe that such a great commander can be such a moron in private affairs! Get yourself together, man, and finally get what you really want from life! Do you want to be a father?! You have it at your hands! Do you want to be with Sakura? Then convince her that you won't be such an asshole anymore! If she hadn't cared for you, she certainly wouldn't have sacrificed herself for you! If she hadn't wanted this baby, she would have used this potion on herself a long time ago! Besides, hey! It could always have been worse! If Uchiha were alive, who knows if Konoha wouldn't have to put up with another such a gloomy, or at least it will be fun when a kid with an eternally bored expression on its face will wander the streets of Konoha! And judging by what your father looked like, it probably won't be ugly."

Kakashi felt his cheeks flush.

"I inherited the features of my mother's face," he replied shyly.

"In that case, let's hope that when he's a boy, he will be similar to grandpa, because it's not known what you're hiding behind this mask." That said, she waved her hand dismissively until something hit her, then pointed an accusing finger at him. "So, Sakura saw you without the mask!"

Kakashi nodded.

"And this means that either... you're as handsome as Uchiha, or even more! And if so..." Here Yūgao clenched her hands on his shoulders and shook him vigorously. "Get the fuck out of here and find her!"

~ * ~

"Yo!"

Two shinobi resting in the shade of trees jumped to their feet, while a young kunoichi crawled out of the bushes white as a ghost. As soon as Kakashi noticed this, he almost paled himself. He paused in a half-step, unsure whether to run up to her or stand still. Sakura was one of those types of self-sufficient women who weren't easy to break, and they always wanted to do everything by themselves because they did it best. But at that moment his ex-apprentice seemed so fragile, as if any gust of wind would knock her over.

Kakashi hurried toward her, after a brief moment of reflection. And when he reached her, Sakura gave him a questioning look, but didn't shake off the arm that embraced her to keep her upright.

"Everything's all right?" he asked discreetly.

Sakura shook her head.

"No... this pregnancy is wearing me out," she hissed, then realized what she said and bit her tongue painfully.

"Naruto! Sai!" Kakashi shouted as he helped Sakura settle onto the fallen tree trunk.

The two shinobi approached the commander, stopping at a safe distance from the sick woman, who was currently rummaging in her bag for what turned out to be one of the pills she had once prepared for Naruto, and although the twenty-year-old remembered how awful it tasted, he knew that it helped him, and he appreciated the efforts of his friend.

"Training today is based on..." Kakashi looked around at the two boys' terrified faces and sighed heavily. "Training your own abilities. So, you practice alone until you collapse unable to fight on or even stay on your feet."

Naruto nodded vigorously and Sai smiled politely before asking, "What about Sakura? I think she's sick."

Hatake reciprocated the same trained smile, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the young woman.

"She'll be fine. I need to talk to her." Then he shifted his hard gaze to the two shinobi and, frowning, gave the command, "Go!"

When Naruto and Sai finally disappeared from sight, Kakashi turned his attention to Sakura, who no longer looked as pale as before, but still felt that something was bothering her. Her eyes remained sad, wandering on the ground as if she couldn't bear his gaze.

Hatake sighed in resignation, looking ahead into the distance. He then pulled a vial with an amber liquid inside from his pocket. He rocked the bottle and the mixture swirled inside.

He heard his companion swallow loudly.

"I was going to smash it at the Obito statue today, but..." Here he looked hesitantly at her, her wide green eyes staring at him in disbelief. "I didn't know what you really wanted..."

Sakura blinked in surprise but was still silent.

Kakashi turned to her side to hand her the vial.

"Because if you only wanted to, I would be honoured if you gave birth to my child."

Haruno sucked in a breath with a hiss, and her hands trembled as she reached for the bottle. However, before her fingers could clamp on the glass, the same vial fell, shattering after its close contact with the ground.

It was Kakashi who released it.

"I know that I haven't been the best partner material recently, let alone father, but... if you give me a chance, I'll make sure you have everything you need..."

Sakura couldn't bring herself to say anything, but the tears that flowed from her eyes were proof enough of gratitude. Like what she did a moment later.

"Oh, Kakashi..." she sobbed before she threw herself on his neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you..." she muttered over and over, pressed against his chest.

Hatake recalled the moments when Kushina attacked Minato with the same sudden bursts of tenderness, and his smile immediately widened. He had just found his ideal of a woman who he had been searching all his life without realizing it, only when happiness knocked on his door did he understand what a gift he had received. A real gift. His own Kushina...

And though for a moment, Hatake was stunned by this sudden tenderness from Sakura, he quickly regained his temper, wrapping his strong arms around the tiny female figure. He then dipped his face in her colourful hair and sighed with relief.

"Forgive me for making you feel like I didn't want you," he whispered after a moment, kissing her hair.

Sakura didn't know how to answer to him, so she only hugged him tighter and breathed a sigh of relief when she was enveloped in the familiar scent that she missed so much. She clenched her hands on the material of his jōnin vest, so well-known to her, savouring the warmth, strength, and fragrance that Kakashi exuded around her, as if those few weeks, or even years, weren't separating them at all. As if what was originally meant to challenge her and then turned into a desire so strong it was impossible to resist, had only happened yesterday. As if when Kakashi was hugging her in the cell then, it was just a moment ago... She didn't feel so good and stable since then.

"Thank you," she whispered right into his shoulder, sniffling; although she was well aware that no words were needed here, because deeds were enough.

Kakashi threaded his fingers into her hair, and she, like a sunflower turning to the sun, stared at his face, realizing with delay that the face was bare and the man's mouth was approaching her own dangerously fast.

Sakura tightened her hands on the material of his vest, shoving him back a little.

"Kakashi," she admonished him when his expression seemed too blissful.

"Hm?"

"We can't."

"Yes, we can."

"That's not the point, I..."

It was true that it was about an hour ago, and only a slight bitter aftertaste remained in her mouth, but it remained. Despite the fact that she had already rinsed her mouth three times and had a fairly normal snack after the pill started working, and Sakura didn't want to return the entire contents of her stomach.

Kakashi's hand pressed against her cheek.

"What's up, Sakura-chan?"

"I just... just threw up and you'd rather not kiss me right now," she replied.

"This bad?"

"Yes, because if you didn't know, it's your fault that I'm in this state and vomit everything I eat almost every day," she growled, feeling a burning blush on her cheeks as she noticed his pained expression.

Maybe she shouldn't have said that. It sounded like she blamed him.

"I mean..." she began after a while, just to justify herself. "It's not your fault, Kakashi, because I could have taken the pills with me and most of all not forcing you to..."

Suddenly she fell silent, unable to say a word more. That's because the grey-haired shinobi bent down and placed a kiss on her lips. She felt weird, despite being agitated, but also stressed by the unsavoury aftertaste of morning sickness and the pill she had taken to help herself somehow. Even rinsing her mouth three times with water didn't help.

Then Kakashi stepped back a little to look right into her eyes. Sakura gave him a questioning look, completely surprised by his behaviour.

"You're definitely not normal," she said in a trembling voice that threatened to burst out into an uncontrolled burst of laughter at any moment.

Hatake gave her that charming smile of his, almost knocking her off her feet, for she hadn't seen this expression partially obscured by the mask in a long time.

"I never claimed otherwise," he replied, then scratched his cheek with his index finger, smacking it as if he tasted something. "But I find that a rather dull aftertaste... what did you have for breakfast? Maybe a fish?"

At first, Sakura covered her mouth, but then she burst out laughing.

"You're unbearable, Kakashi!"

"Ah, music my ears."

~ * ~

"How good that you're better now, Sakura," Sai said before something hit the ground with force and groaned in pain.

The sound of Sai's voice scared both Sakura and Kakashi. Haruno immediately stiffened and pinned her nails into the beloved's bare arms more tightly, looking over one of them at the intruder. Hatake froze as well, wrapping his arms around his companion's half-naked figure as he realized they had been caught.

"Sai," said Hatake firmly, holding Sakura tighter as if to make sure that she wouldn't want to throw herself at the boy with the paws.

"Yes, Kakashi-san?"

"Could you please turn around?"

"No problem," he said, giving Sakura his famous smile. "Ino also doesn't like when I look at her during..."

"Sai!" Sakura and Kakashi shouted simultaneously.

The boy merely nodded before turning away.

"Sakura-chan, I think I need a medic ninja," Naruto groaned pitifully, lying on the grass after pumping out almost all of his chakra.

Sakura, however, didn't react as she was busy adjusting her outfit, while Kakashi was naked from the waist up, so he had to dress again. As can be seen, they weren't able to enjoy their private moment.

"Sorry, Kakashi-san. I could train a little longer, but I noticed that Naruto fell to the ground exhausted and I decided to bring him here," Sai explained.

"You did well," Kakashi confirmed, sliding his mask over his face. "I just had something important to tell you."

And then Hatake turned, and when his eyes met Naruto's dull gaze, he didn't budge.

Sakura, on the other hand, looked from one to the other, analysing why Kakashi was so calm in the face of what had just happened.

"You'll be the first to know," Hatake said bluntly. "Well, Sakura will have to take a longer vacation from the team seven due to the fact that..."

At that moment, Sakura covered his mouth, placing her hand on the mask. Kakashi merely raised an eyebrow at her.

"You can't... you know..." she began, but then something struck her.

She looked at Naruto, who could barely move one finger, then looked back at Kakashi, perfectly reading his intentions this time. Well, it looked like the great Copy Ninja wanted to show off his new role in life, because that's why he had two boys train until they losing strength, which was taken literally by her blond-haired friend, which was somewhat of a precaution in case of an accident, if he went mad after hearing this revelation.

Sakura took her hand away.

"And in a few months, I'll go on vacation, too," he added, studying her reaction, but when he saw no objection, he blurted out, "Because I'm going to be a dad."

There was silence.

The only thing missing was the chirping of crickets.

"Congratulations, Kakashi-san and Sakura-san," Sai announced.

"Well, cool..." Naruto muttered, who didn't even try to open his eyes. "Now, can Sakura-chan help me, 'ttebayo?"

Kakashi slipped his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"But you understand what I'm trying to say by that, Naruto?" the former teacher of the team seven was making sure.

"Mm..." the boy groaned.

Kakashi exchanged meaningful looks with Sakura.

"So, we're taking the poor man to the hospital," Hatake muttered, and Haruno laughed.

"Your plan fell flat, Kakashi," she announced as they lifted the blonde from the ground, and Sai tried to help them somehow by grabbing his legs.

As the four of them walked towards the hospital, Naruto suddenly regained consciousness.

"Oi, Sakura-chan?"

"Hm?"

"Are you even able to lift me up, 'ttebayo?!"

The pink-haired kunoichi laughed.

"Don't worry about me, Naruto, because you will be the one tormented in recovering chakra."

"Dattebayo..." he groaned in pain.

~ END ~