NOT EVEN LISTENING TO ALEXA read aloud one of the juiciest chapters of Fifty Shades of Grey was enough to get Sakura out of Kakashi's head. Gaara had long since stopped asking (read: begging) him to shut it down and had retreated to the backyard to train with his sand, leaving Kakashi completely alone in the house since Sakura was out at school. 

You see, he had been feeling really down lately and it wasn't because of this whole displaced-in-a-new-world issue (though it was part of the reason), but it was because he couldn't get that scene of Gaara and Sakura talking to each other like close friends at the poolside out of his head. They hadn't even realized that he was there, watching them from the balcony. Too distracted with each other to notice. 

It was a good thing he didn't have the Sharingan anymore, he didn't think he could handle witnessing that scene with the incredible clarity that eye would've given him. 

Kakashi loved Sakura, and seeing her sitting so close to Gaara hurt almost as much as seeing her grow depressed over Sasuke. He knew it was wrong to pine over her—especially since she only thought of him as a 'sensei'—but hey, the heart wants what it wants and for the past several years, it's been yearning for Sakura. 

It was why he was silent on her wedding day, why his smile didn't reach his eyes at the news of her pregnancy, and why he couldn't help but feel elated and angry at the same time when Sasuke left for his mission all those years ago. 

Kakashi loved Sarada too—not romantically of course, but he truly did start seeing her as a daughter. And he knew that she also started to see him as a father... 

Kakashi briefly wondered if he should leave Mr. Ukki II under Sakura's care. The Uchiha Manor was filled with plants of all kinds—succulents, cacti, roses, peonies, etc. etc and they were all flourishing beautifully under Sakura's love. He was sure if he left Mr. Ukki II with her, he would bloom just as wonderfully. 

Just as he was wandering around the living room admiring the flora, his foot grew dangerously close to one of little Sarada's toys: a small figurine of a unicorn with a pointed gold horn and a rainbow mane. 

He lifted his foot, casting a large shadow over the figurine and as he stepped down, the golden horn dug deep into the fleshy and sensitive part of his arch. He let loose an embarrassingly high-pitched yelp when it happened and jumped about three feet into the air to get away from the attacker. 

He glared at the offensive thing while nursing his foot tenderly. He couldn't believe it. Kakashi of the Sharingan, fearsome Jounin, and the sixth Hokage of Konohagakure—defeated by a toy unicorn with a golden horn, rainbow mane, and ridiculous smile.

Before he could open his mouth and spat curses at the goddamn thing, he spotted the four year old little girl standing at the bottom of the staircase. 

He straightened up immediately, "Sarada-chan, isn't it nap time for you?"

"Not sleepy," she mumbled tiredly. "When's mama coming home?" 

He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only four o'clock in the afternoon and Sakura wouldn't be coming home until much later. Ever since Tsunade and Shizune left to travel the world, Sakura was now Konoha's best medic and everyone was constantly relying on her. Being the head of the Medical Department wasn't an easy task, it didn't help that she was seriously dedicated to her job to an almost unhealthy extent.

"She won't come back until much later. Probably after dinner time..." He answered. 

Her face fell and he gave her a soft grin. "Maa, maa, Sarada-chan what's that look for? You don't wanna spend time with me? I even bought you your favorite ice cream..." 

She gasped and rushed towards him to hug his leg. "No, no, I sorry! I wanna spend time with you, don't go!" 

He chuckled in pure amusement as he ruffled her hair before swooping her into his arms. 

"You gotta stay." She told him with an adorably serious look on her face. 

He nodded, equally as serious. "Of course, of course. Since you're up, how about we watch TV together and eat ice cream?" Sakura was gonna kill him, but hey, she did eat her lunch beforehand at least.

He plopped down on the couch and settled her beside him as he switched the television on. Now he was stuck watching some show about talking cats. Disgusting. How could the producers choose to create an entire show about cats when dogs were just so much better? His hand itched to change the channel, but Sarada was so immersed with it, she'd probably throw a fit if he tried.

This particular episode was focused on a baby kitten bonding with the papa cat. He could see Sarada's little face fall slightly as the papa cat sang a horrible cat-themed lullaby in order to get his child to fall asleep. 

"...Kashi-san?" She murmured. 

He had a feeling he knew what topic she was going to bring up. "Hmm?"

"Mama said... that you're not my bilogical daddy." She said. 

"Biological," he corrected. "And yes, she's right." 

"How come?" 

"Biological means that we're related," he began to explain carefully. He wondered if Sakura had ever explained the birds and bees to her yet. "But we aren't. Sasuke is your biological father. He and your mother... made you. I'm just your godfather." 

Sarada's dark eyes nearly popped out of her sockets as she whirled around to face him. "You're a GOD?!" 

A part of him wanted to say 'yes', just for shits and giggles, but he decided against that. He needed to take this talk seriously. He wasn't blind to how attached she was to him, he knew very well that she saw him as her father. But he needed to remind her—and himself—that he wasn't her real father. 

No matter how much he wished he was. 

He chuckled, but it came out weak and empty. "No. A 'godfather' is someone who gains custody over you should something happen to your parents. I'm like... you're backup dad, you could say." 

"I don't want you to be my backup dad," she told him. "I want you to be my real dad. Can't you?" 

He swallowed thickly, his heart aching. "It doesn't work like that, Sarada-chan. I can't be your 'real' dad because your real dad is Sasuke." 

She scowled at him and that was when she was starting to see the painful resemblance between her and her father. She not only looked like him, but she wore his facial expressions too. Though her's were much less scarier and more cuter. 

"I don't like him." 

"You've never met him." He pointed out gently. 

"Yeah!" She cried out indignantly. "He's never home and he doesn't take care of me like you do! And he's not nice to mama too!"

"Sasuke loves your mom," he said. 

She shook her head. "Nuh uh. He always makes her cry." 

This caused him to furrow his brows. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean... he just makes her cry a lot!" She tried to express with her limited vocabulary. "Even when he gone, mama still cries! I hear it sometimes! When I ask about him, she cries and cries! He's bad! But you don't make mama cry, you make her happy! So you be my papa instead!" 

Kakashi's throat ran dry. He knew how sad Sakura was about Sasuke's absence, but she always stayed strong for her daughter's sake. To hear that her strong exterior was finally beginning to crumble to the point that even her daughter was beginning to notice... 

It made him feel all sorts of things. While his chest clenched at how brokenhearted Sakura was feeling and it burned with rage directed at the Uchiha, he felt a small piece of hope. Maybe Sakura would finally end it between her and her withdrawn husband—because god knows she deserves better than this. Maybe he could finally get a chance to show her how much she meant to him.

Or maybe he should be a little more upfront about it. He had basically been acting as a husband and father for her and Sarada for the past four years and she still didn't get the hint... Like honestly, what the fuck? How much more obvious did he need to be? He was pretty sure more than half of Konoha knew about his feelings for her (whether they approved of it or not, he didn't care, he was the Hokage dammit).

He was pulled away by his thoughts by a quiet sniffle and saw that Sarada was struggling not to cry.

"I don't like him 'cause he hurts my mama. You're better 'cause you make her happy." She reiterated, looking up at him with a mix of hope and sadness. "I want you to be my papa forever. Please?"

He bit the inside of his cheek and after some debate, nodded. 

"I promise." He said. He had already broken so many promises before, but this one... He was determined to keep it. 

The bittersweet memory ended and Alexa had moved on to the next chapter. Kakashi slowly rose from the couch and gave a lazy order for the bot to stop reading. 

God he was so bored. He had already read all the erotic literature he had bought and even reread Fifty Shades of Grey at least ten times by now (though the Icha Icha series would always have a place in his heart).

Usually he'd be taking up suicidal missions by now, but he didn't have any missions here and there was truly nothing to do in this world. Not even fighting villains who would stumble upon him during his trips to the bookstore was enough for him. They were so pathetically weak that even eight year old Academy students could beat them up. Hell, even Sarada could do it and she was only six. 

Being a Pro Hero must be a boring job. Either that or they were terribly weak too. 

He reached into his phone and tried to text Sakura. 

Sakura-chan please help me, I'm bored D:

Sakuraaaa

[You have invited My Favorite Student to play Pool]

No reply. She was most likely in class and Sakura being the good little student she was would never dare to have her phone out during that time. 

What to do, what to do... He wandered around aimlessly. Maybe he should go outside and spar with Gaara? He kinda wanted to beat the kid up especially after witnessing that particular scene a few days ago... but nah, that would be too boring. 

Maybe he should summon Pakkun and—

Wait. Summon. 

Holy shit, he was an idiot.

─────•~❉🌸❉~•─────

The week was almost over and Sakura's patience was wearing thin, which was saying a lot because she had the patience of a saint. Exhibit A: Sasuke (though that was wearing thin too). 

So far she had no progress with Recovery Girl. Oh the elderly woman was more than happy with Sakura's presence in the nurse's office since she had healed over 20 students so far, but Sakura hadn't gained a single bit of info crucial to returning home. 

Recovery Girl showed no signs of being a mad scientist who kidnapped people from their homes and had about a hundred lackeys working under her thumb. No, she seemed like a perfectly normal civilian in and out of the school. At UA she was a diligent nurse who healed the students wounds and chided them to be more careful and at home she was a simple woman who liked to drink tea after work and enjoyed watching old soap operas. 

As a shinobi, she was trained to see who was lying and who wasn't. After observing her for nearly a week, Recovery Girl lived a perfectly genuine life. She wasn't faking or hiding anything sinister. 

Which meant there was a 60% chance she wasn't the 'Doctor' they were looking for. 

A knock came on the door in the middle of modern literature class. Cementoss—their teacher who was made out of literal concrete—walked over to the door and slid it open. With her heightened hearing, Sakura knew that it was Recovery Girl and she was requesting for her help. 

"Uchiha-san? Recovery Girl would like your assistance. Since this is the last class for the day, you should bring your stuff with you." Cementoss said. 

Sakura merely nodded and quietly gathered her things. As she shouldered her backpack and walked for the door, she could hear the murmurs of her classmates. They had always been curious about her—to them, she was the mysterious student who rarely talked unless spoken to and always had to leave the middle of lessons due to something with Recovery Girl. 

She paid them no mind and met the short woman outside the door. 

"The 1-A kids are having their Heroics class with All Might," she explained with a shake of her head. "As expected, it's a mess. That man... he never knows when to step in. Now we have Midoriya-kun in the office." 

"What is his status?" Sakura asked her in a professional tone. 

It always impressed Recovery Girl how professional she was. She always spoke with a formal tone and used medical jargon Recovery Girl would never dream a girl her age would know. It was as if she had years of experience despite being only fifteen. 

"He's unconscious. Numerous burn wounds, some scrapes, and bruises, but the biggest problem is his broken right arm." She replied. 

Sakura nodded wordlessly as they traveled through the hallways. She could meet the infamous Midoriya Izuku at last. Though she'd rather it be through better terms. 

They reached the office and on the nearest bed was the familiar green haired boy from the library. His small body was completely battered with bruises and fresh burns, but her eyes were more drawn to his right arm. It was a hideous shade of purple, no doubt that everything beneath the skin was completely shattered. 

He would never last as a shinobi, she couldn't help but think. But in this world, shinobis didn't exist. Heroes did. And right now, he wasn't doing so good being a hero-in-training either. 

While Sakura went to work, Recovery Girl stood by and watched on with a critical eye. Immediately, both noticed the boy beginning to stir awake. Sakura didn't bother to stop healing him and focused on her work instead. 

"Hmmuhh...?" He mumbled, eyes fluttering open weakly. Through his blurred vision, he could see a slight pink blob that slowly began to turn clearer. "Uhwhaa...?"

"Midoriya-san?" She spoke up, sounding like she was underwater. 

He groaned in response, his less-injured arm shakily reaching for his head. A gentle hand grasped his and carefully set it back down. 

"Something wrong with your head? Hmm, I'm sensing a slight concussion here..." She muttered, her face drawing closer to heal his head. 

He could see her better now. The person tending him was a pretty girl with soft pink hair and bright green eyes, lighter than his own and much more lovelier to stare at. In his delirious state, he slurred out, "Yerr a purrty angel..."

He heard someone let out a bark of laughter while an amused smile danced on the angel's lips. 

"You're sweet, Midoriya-san." She said. 

He hummed in response, his eyelids drooping. "Mmmm... pink hair... pretty..." 

And then, he slipped back into sleep. 

Midoriya didn't wake up again until an hour passed. Sakura was still in the nurse's office in case more students came in while Recovery Girl left to go fetch something from a 'vending machine'. She had no idea what those were, but she had a feeling it was those tall machines filled with snacks and beverages. She once walked by one in the street that sold various types of ramen. Naruto would've loved those... He would probably steal one and take it home too... 

The school day just ended several minutes ago when Midoriya finally regained consciousness. 

"Ah... wha...?"

"Glad to see you're awake, Midoriya-san," Sakura chirped, getting off her chair to address him properly. 

He looked stunned to see her. "W-wait, you're... real?!" 

She tried to stifle her snickers, but couldn't help it. "Yes, I'm real, but unfortunately, I'm no angel. I'm human just like you, but I thank you for the compliment." 

His face was turning so red he rivaled Sasuke's precious tomatoes. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as he struggled to say something. "I was—no—I—um—I'm so sorry!" 

She chuckled warmly, fighting back the urge to pat him on the head. She was more than used to this. Sometimes she'd get an occasional patient or two who would confess their undying love to her. "There's nothing to apologize for. Now, onto more important matters, Midoriya-san, how are you feeling?" 

"I..." He trailed off, looking down at himself. He expected to see scars, but was surprised to see flawless, unmarred skin instead. When he moved around, he didn't even tired or sore. "How...?" He breathed out. 

"I healed you," she answered simply. "You had several burns ranging from first degree to second degree and a broken right arm. And those were just your major injuries."

He swallowed at the chiding tone she was giving him and bowed his head. "I'm sorry." 

She patted his shoulder, causing him to look up. He was greeted by a friendly smile. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Midoriya-san. Just promise to be more careful alright? Recovery Girl debriefed me on it and it sounds quite self-destructive." 

His eyes widened in alarm and his whole body tensed up—details that she spotted immediately. "S-she told you about my Quirk?!" He squawked, then tried to calm himself down. "Sorry, I mean... um, what exactly did she tell you?" 

"Everything," she answered just to test his reaction. Just as expected, his eyes widened in horror and she noticed the sweat building down his brow. His hands were gripping his blanket tightly. Then she said, "She explained to me that you have some sort of strength-enhancing Quirk that damages your body. You ought to be careful with a power like that, especially with the sort of career you're aiming for." 

His body relaxed at her words and that was when she knew that there was more to his Quirk than what Recovery Girl told her. Something that he didn't want her to know. Something that Recovery Girl was aware of. 

"Oh, yeah..." He said with shaky relief. "I'm a late bloomer, you see... M-my Quirk didn't come to me until recently and, um, I'm still getting used to it." 

Yes, she knew that too since Recovery Girl told her. 

"I see... well, I hope you get the hang of it soon. Train hard, but know your limits okay?" She advised, giving him a smile. 

He smiled back—albeit awkwardly, as if he didn't know how—and nodded in reply. "Um, you're a student right?" He asked curiously. 

She nodded. She was wearing the uniform after all. 

"Are you in 1-B?" 

"No, I'm in 1-C. General Education." She replied. 

His mouth made a little 'o'. "Oh! Do you mind me asking about your Quirk? Is it similar to Recovery Girl's?" 

"My Quirk allows me to heal without needing to use the person's stamina," she answered vaguely. 

"What's it called?" 

Before she could answer, Recovery Girl returned. 

"Ah, Midoriya-kun you're awake. That's good. I have quite a few words to give you..." She said, menacingly waving her cane. 

Midoriya gulped and prepared himself for the scolding. 

─────•~❉🌸❉~•─────

Usually once school ended Sakura would be following Recovery Girl around, but that apparently that wasn't the case now. She received an urgent phone call from Kakashi ordering her to return back. 

"What's wrong?" She asked as she stepped through the doors. Both Kakashi and Gaara whirled their head to face her. That was when she noticed the ninken on the floor. 

Her eyes widened. "Pakkun?!" 

"Yo." He greeted. 

"I can still summon my ninken here despite being in a different world," Kakashi said. "That made me realize that you could summon the slugs as well."

She was quickly beginning to fit the pieces together. "And because Tsunade-shishou's alive, the contract's bound to her too... I can make contact with her!" Then her face fell as she realized something. "But I don't have enough chakra..." 

Gaara walked up to her. "What do you mean?" 

"Katsuyu-sama is probably the hardest summons to earn," Pakkun chimed in. "It requires a lot of chakra to even get a small version of her." 

Sakura nodded in agreement. "I was only able to summon Katsuyu-sama once I gained the Byakugou Seal..." She trailed off, biting her lip.

Gaara could sense the dread radiating from her. "...And how long did that take?"

"Three years." 

His throat ran dry. "Is there a way for you to achieve it sooner?" 

"I-I don't know... Shizune even said that three years was the quickest time she'd heard of. I don't know if I can regain it in less than that." She explained. 

"How exactly does one get the Byakugou Seal?" He asked curiously. He had heard rumors of it and the extreme dedication one needed, but he never bothered to research it further. 

"You have to constantly pour your chakra into a single point on your body for an extended period of time, nonstop." She explained. 

He frowned, "If you were storing your chakra away then how was it that you were able to heal everyone and fight?" 

She grinned. "I managed to find a way to divert a small portion of my built-up chakra back into my normal reserves. For those three years, I was storing away only 80% of my chakra and left 20% of it for healing and fighting." She didn't want to stand around and be useless, so she poured hours of studying to find a way to loop around that rule and succeeded. Tsunade was so impressed that she even shared her most expensive bottle of sake with her.

His eyes widened and he looked at her in a new light—or a brighter one at least since he had always placed her in a high pedestal in his eyes. "So then your fight with Sasori—an S-Rank missing-nin—you were only using 20% of your power?"  

She couldn't help but preen at him as she nodded her head. "Yep." 

He gave her a smile. "You never cease to amaze me, Sakura." 

Her cheeks flared pink and she chuckled nervously at the Kazekage. "O-oh, it was nothing..." 

Kakashi interrupted the moment by clearing his throat and both teens turned their heads to face him. 

"Sakura, can you explain how you store your chakra away?" He asked, his voice serious as he avoided looking at the other man's direction. 

She straightened up, remembering the previous topic of conversation. "Well, because it takes a high concentration to store chakra away into a certain point, I had to make sure to keep it's movements slow and steady as to not mess up. It's kind of like... Er, how to explain this... It's kind of like using a gardening hose?"

Both men stared at her. Figures she'd use an example that had to do with gardening. 

"There's this dial that controls how fast you pour the water out, right? But if you pump out too much water, you might lose control, so it's better to keep the water coming out slow and steady. That's what I do with my chakra. I don't want to lose my concentration so I keep my chakra flow slow." 

"Does the pace of the chakra influence when you get the seal?" Kakashi asked. 

"It does... but..." She swallowed unsurely. "It takes a lot of concentration, more than usual. And I have a higher chance of messing it all up and starting over." 

"Do you think you can do it?"

She looked at both men, seeing the well-hidden desperation in their eyes and nodded. "Yes, I can do it. I've done it before, I can do it again. Since I've already had prior experience with this, I might have an easier time... Nonetheless, I'll do it." 

In fact, she should probably increase the amount of chakra she was storing away too. There weren't many threats in this world, and those that were threats (the villains) were fodder at best. She should probably stick to using only 5% of her chakra while storing the remaining 95% away. 

"I can do this," she told them. "I'll get the seal, and once I do, I'll summon Katsuyu-sama—" 

"—And then have her contact Lady Tsunade," Gaara said. 

"And maybe they could find a way to bring us back." Kakashi finished with a smile. 

— author's note —

Okay so when I wrote this chapter, it was when Midoriya was still part of the harem but then I had him removed. I'm so sorry, but I struggle to write anything romantic about him because I just find him so... boring? I'M SORRY, DON'T KILL ME PLS but while Midoriya's cute and all, I just don't find him interesting enough to write him as a love interest. I'll probably just have him be one of Sakura's close friends (and BakuSaku and ShoSaku shipper).

Again, I'm sorry!

Another Naruto character makes an appearance in the next chapter~