Chapter Twenty Four

The sound of a distant shower in the background was the first thing Sakura heard as she pulled herself back into reality. The panicked knocking on her front door wouldn't register as she ran her tongue over her chapped lips.

Sakura sat up; her eyes stung with lack of sleep with a head full of muggy air she looked around her bedroom. Scratching her head, she noticed she was alone, the sheets beside her were ruffled with the blanket pulled back.

Where was Kakashi?

Sakura turned her head as the constant knocking echoing from the front door looped around her overworked brain. She sighed, pulling her legs from underneath the cocoon of warmth she left her bedroom moving to the living room feeling anxious grip her shoulders.

"What!?" Sakura snapped as she yanked the wooden door open, strands of her pink hair floated around from the whip lash.

"I-I-" A masked black ops shinobi stuttered, quickly dropping down onto one knee to show his respect.

"Why are you here!?" Sakura pressured.

"Yo-Yo-You are-are-"

"Is the village being attacked?" Sakura questioned, placing a hand on her hip.

"N-No-!"

"Is the fucking sky falling!?"

"N-No Comm-"

"Then why the fuck are you here!?" Sakura's lack of sleep licked the sharped edges of her words as she glared at the shinobi below.

"There is an issue with the new rotation of shinobi-"

"You're not answering me-!" Sakura shook her head feeling her agitation levels quickly spike. "-why am I looking at you right now?"

"Because we need you-"

"I didn't spend the last two months of my life correcting the fucking line of command in this village for you all to come running to me at the first sign of inconvenience. You now have bosses you need to go to before you come bug me, I don't do house calls."

"Y-Yes Commander you made that perfectly clear-"

"Then why are you here!?"

"Be-Because..."

"Leave."

"But-"

"The village isn't under any threat; the sky is intact for once. So go to the first person who gets paid more than you."

"But-But I don't want to bother-"

"You'd rather bother me?"

"N-No! I mean yes, I mean no! There-There is an issue with the rotation and all the shinobi are fighting-"

"Figure it out." Sakura rolled her eyes. "I am sure you all are capable enough to fix a little scheduling issue on your own."

"With all due respect, shinobi are under your jurisdiction Commander Har-"

"I'm about to be down one less shinobi in a fucking minute if you don't get out of my face." Sakura cursed.

"Tenzo-" Kakashi opened the door the rest of the way, revealing his masked face and closed eye smile. "-why don't you take off?"

"Lord-"

"Go." Sakura stiffly ordered.

"Ye-Yes Commander." Tenzo bowed his head before quickly spinning in his heels running with his tail tucked tightly between his legs.

"Your very harsh on the shinobi." Kakashi commented as Sakura allowed the door to slam shut.

"They are all idiots."

"They are still your idiots."

"Which is why I have to be stern."

"That wasn't being stern Sakura." Kakashi said crossing his arms over his firm chest, "The shinobi of this village should be able to feel they can come to you about anything-"

"A scheduling issue?" Sakura asked moving towards the kitchen with the hopes of fresh coffee waiting for her.

"Sakura." Kakashi sighed pulling his mask down as a smirk laid upon his plump lips. "You're too strict with them."

"They are not children." Sakura turned to him.

"You have only overseen the shinobi for two months-" Kakashi replied, "-you have changed so much, everyone needs time to adjust-"

"Like I said-" Sakura cut him off, "-the shinobi are not babies, I don't need to hold their hands. They are all grown people who have been trained, they will all be fine."

"Morale has been down-"

"Oh my God-!" Sakura darkly laughed; "-morale is down?" Sakura's voice was sparked with sarcasm. "Let me stop improving the village and getting this place in shape all because-"

"You know what I meant-"

"You are not in charge yet Kakashi." Sakura said crossed her arms. "You get to be the good guy, everyone's favorite because their lives don't rest on your shoulders yet. The people outside this village who want to bring us down won't give a damn if our morale is low. They will take us down without a second fucking thought and I won't let that happen."

"There isn't anyone outside our gates that is trying to bring us down."

"That you know of." Sakura countered,

"Sakura..."

"What?" Sakura sighed hearing his softened tone. "What are you holding back?"

"I just think..." Kakashi breathed, "...you have only been alive for a couple months-"

"Not this again." Sakura groaned turning back to the chore of making her sweet coffee.

"-and before you died, the Reaper's were your biggest priority, but they are gone you brought them down-"

"I know the Reapers are gone." Sakura groaned out, "But that doesn't mean there won't be someone else-"

"There is no one-"

"You have been spending too much time with Naruto." Sakura replied, "You know every time you cut down one evil, another always takes its place."

"I am aware of that-"

"I am just preparing this village for the next one." Sakura breathed, "Because that is my job."

"I know." Kakashi smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "You are the best Commander this village could ever ask for."

"Doesn't feel like it when you always call me out for being too harsh."

"This village isn't like the Waterfall."

"I am well aware of that."

"Then why are you treating them the same?"

"I..." Sakura sighed as she leaned into his grasp.

"You have to learn how to handle the leaf shinobi with care, just like they need to get use to you."

"They are not glass-" Sakura responded leaning her head onto his shoulder. "-they are not going to break if handled harshly."

"You don't need to handle them like they will bite the hand that feeds them." Kakashi kissed the side of her head. "They are not going to turn against you like your use to. You can relax and get to know them, maybe have a conversation with a few of them."

"I do have conversations with them." Sakura muttered.

"No-" Kakashi shook his head, "-you yell at them while they listen."

"How else are they supposed to learn?" Sakura questioned with a tilt of her head.

"By not ordering them around." Kakashi replied.

"I took orders from Kaguya for years, who is more twisted than I am-"

"Just...try talking to them." Kakashi weakly smiled.

"Trying to talk to half of these shinobi is like swimming in the shallow end of the human gene pool." Sakura grumps to herself as she rolls her emerald eyes.

"Sakura-" Kakashi went to speak but was cut off by three quick knocks on the front door.

"I swear to God if it's that ninja, I am getting away with murder today." Sakura promised as Kakashi nervously opened the front door. The masked shinobi let out a sigh of relief seeing Carver standing in the doorway.

"Carver." Kakashi stated the leaf ninja's name, his muscles relaxing.

"Yo." Carver waved, "Sorry to interrupt-"

"Then don't." Sakura snipped.

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side if the bed this morning." Carver murmured.

"Why am I looking at you?" Sakura asked.

"Because I am your favorite?" Carver joked. Sakura stared blankly at Carver.

"Hurtful." Carver pointed to her. "Anyway, I am afraid I have to steal you for a bit."

"You make it sound like being around me is a chore." Sakura commented sipping the steaming liquid in her coffee mug.

"I mean..." Carver trailed off, chewing the inside of his cheek as he gauged Sakura's stone expression. "...that's a trap."

"Why do you have to steal Sakura?" Kakashi wondered steering the conversation away from a fight.

"How big of a headache are you going to give me today?" Sakura asked, beating around the bush.

"Oh, come on!" Carver chuckled, "Don't I always provide you with a good time?"

"So, I should grab the prescription meds-"

"Rude!" Carver scoffed. "You only need the hard shit when Raiden is around."

"Uh-Huh." Sakura nodded glancing at Kakashi.

"Why are you so crappy?" Carver wondered as Sakura slid into her shoes. "Aren't you getting laid now?" Carver glanced at Kakashi who choked on his spit. "Why aren't you doing your job?"

"Alright-" Sakura announced, pushing Carver out of the apartment. "-shut up and walk, where are we going?"

"Oh, you're going to love this." A smug smile leered over Carver's face as he led Sakura and Kakashi out of their apartment building and into the warming streets of the leaf village.

----

"Where are you taking us?" Kakashi wondered as they stepped their way through the luscious trees surrounding the hidden leaf village.

"Well..." A deep breath escaped passed Carver's lips as he turned his head to gaze lazily over his shoulder. "...we did our best to contain the situation-"

"What situation?" Sakura questioned.

"Ah well..." Carver trailed off, "...you'll just have to see it for yourselves." Carver nodded his head as the group emerged from the trees into a small clearing. Sakura gazed ahead, the cool breeze brushing over her exposed neck threading chills down her spine.

"This is one for the books." Sakura stated taking in the collection of black ops members who stood around a long blonde with a fiery attitude as their voices mixed and pooled together creating a waterfall of different sounds.

"I told you I never disappoint." Carver smirked at Sakura as he shook his head moving beside the blonde Hokage who struggled holding down the trashing body.

"What in the actual fuck?" Sakura breathed to herself watching the leaf village Hokage pin a young woman down, the unknown woman's face pressed into the cool grass.

"Wh-What are you!?" The young girl gasped as Commander Haruno came onto the scene. The woman couldn't have been older than sixteen with how her face still held onto its baby fat, the girl's short pink hair brushed her shoulders as she tried to wiggle free.

Sakura stared blankly as her nerves turned numb.

Every fiber inside Sakura's being urged her to pull a razor-sharp blade from her weapons pouch and slice the young woman's throat open. Sakura despired to feel the rushing blood running to freedom steam onto her fingers, painting her arms red.

"Sakura?" Kakashi's husky voice pulled the commanders attention back into a twisting reality.

"Sakura-" Tsunade called out in panic-stricken tone, "-what's going on!?"

"I don't know!" The young girl underneath Tsunade cried as large bubble tears filled her eyes. "Who is that-!?" The girl cried onto Tsunade's shoulder, "-why does she have my face!?"

"Commander?" Distilled voices muttered around the chilled night air as Sakura took in a deep breath.

"Who sent you?" Sakura went on questioning despite the hollow comments floating around her.

"Wh-What!?" The girl yelled out, glaring at Sakura as Kakashi flitched at the familiar sound.

"Who sent-"

"I know what you said!" The girl bit. "I just don't give a damn, Lady Tsunade what is going on!?"

"Who sent you?" Tsunade copied Sakura's question.

"What are you talking about!?" "The girl yelled as tears fell down her round cheeks. "No one sent me! I just-"

"Who are you?" Kakashi stepped forward.

"What?" The girl breathed, "Sensei how do you not-" Sakura cringed at the word. "know me! It's me! Sakura Haruno!"

"You are not Sakura Haruno." Tsunade shook her head.

"Yes, I am!" The girl cried into Tsunade. "I am your student and-"

"I-" Sakura stepped forward, anger bubbling inside her chest. "-am Sakura Haruno. Commander of this village."

"Wh-" The girl breathed with wide dull emerald eyes.

"And you need to start answering my questions-" Sakura glared down onto the helpless girl, "-before I start ripping them out of you."

"Sakura-"

"What?" The girl looked up as Tsunade spoke.

"-what is going on?" Tsunade finished, choosing to ignore the girl clinging onto her shirt as she kept her eyes locked onto the woman she made commander of her beloved village.

"That thing-" Sakura nodded down to the girl, "-is a print."