and the scarry skies above

above all else

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Feh." Kicking back in his chair, Naruto throws up his feet. They meet the oaken surface of the table with a solid thump. "I am physically unable to sit through a single council meeting. I already get pins and needles in my ass when I just think of it. Besides." He takes the hokage hat off his head and frisbees it at Itachi, who catches it easily. "The red clashes terribly with my hair. It really suits you much better."

Eyeing the broad rimmed hat as he turns it over in his fingers, Itachi sighs. "I really think you would be a better fit for this." Naruto frowns at him from where he is perched precariously behind the table. Just beyond, past the large panorama windows, Konoha sprawls peacefully in the sunlight.

"Nonsense. You've only had this office for eight months and already changed more than the old man in his entire career. You're good at this." They words are meant to console, but all they do is tighten the lump in Itachi's throat. He drops his gaze.

The legs of the chair hit the floorboards audibly, and then Naruto is walking over. He lays a gentle hand on Itachi's shoulder. "Hey. No matter what anybody told you. This truly is the best outcome."

"Sakura said it was your dream to become hokage." It is feeble, a last attempt to sway the unchangeable. Naruto smiles, a lopsided little thing that is as much content as it is sad.
"Dreams change, Itachi. I've been gone for a very long time and this village… it's not as I remember."

"You could make it yours."

Blue eyes cloud over with sadness. "Ah, perhaps I could… But it's not mine anymore, you see? I would feel like an intruder… I live in my friend's apartment, for gods sake. No. No, truly, you are the perfect choice, Itachi." Then his face lights up with his usual glee, and the spark returns to his eyes. "Besides, there are a pair of footsteps I have yet to follow in… I feel like there's a novel in the making… Don't you think?"

Itachi sighs, and the fight drains from his body. "What about?" he asks. Quietly. Morosely. "Oh, I don't know… But I feel like a scandalous teacher-student love affair would make for a nice plot hook, don't you think?" Years ago, that comment would have hit Itachi like a kick to the chest. He always used to feel like he was caught red-handed. Now, his shoulders merely slump tiredly.

Naruto continues, undeterred. "I don't know… No… I think I'll write about a brave man. Maybe a king, or a general, who is pressured into ruling because he's wise when really all he wants to to is plant some potatoes… That sounds better, don't you think?"

"If you say so…"

Naruto grins at Itachi's lacklustre response and raises his arms high above his head.

"Well, I'd better get going," he says and stretches. "Got a lot of road to cover."

With one final friendly punch, he steps past Itachi and out of the office. The door doesn't quite latch behind him, and drifting through the gap Itachi can make out the murmured conversation that follows.

"No, he's alright for the job. He really doesn't want this, you know, but the best he had was 'I thought you wanted to be hokage'. Either he's a pushover, or he'll always put his own needs last. In any case, he's a good candidate."

A dry snort. "How does being a pushover make him a good hokage?" "Because he has you…" Itachi's heart twists. "You'll guide him to the best of your abilities. You know what it is expected in his position, and you'll be able to counsel him, much better than I ever could. I've been away for too long, Sakura-chan."

She sighs, and Itachi can almost hear the unhappy turn of her mouth, the slump of her shoulders.

"It feels like I've been around forever, Naruto… Truly, I'm getting tired of all this."

Naruto laughs, and Itachi can no longer help himself. He sneaks up to the door and peers through the gap between the panel and its frame. From here, he can see Naruto's broad back, and Sakura who is turned to face him.

"You know I would take you with me in a heartbeat, but it's not as if you'd ever leave. Still…" He gently rests his hands on Sakura's shoulders. "I regret leaving you behind… again." She smiles, reaches up to cover his fingers with hers. "I don't care. I got you back, at least for a while… And it's not like you'll be gone forever. We can always see each other…" She trails off, traces her thumbs over Naruto's wrists. Then she tips her head and whispers, "Nevertheless, I'll miss you."

They hug each other then, an embrace that starts off soft and frail, but turns heart-wrenchingly desperate as the seconds tick by. "I'll miss you, too," Naruto breathes into her hair, and a single stifled sob escapes Sakura.
They stand like this for the longest time, and Itachi feels like an intruder. And yet, he cannot bring himself to look away. His eyes are glued to Sakura's face that is scrunched up in pain, tears slipping down her cheeks.

At the sight, he almost cannot believe that she will stay. Here. With him.

But she does. Naruto and her part ways with one last wave. Then the sage moves and leaves the village, and Sakura remains, slumped and alone in the corridor outside the hokage's office.

By the time she finally moves, knocks on the door, enters on his soft call, Itachi is already back at his desk, sorting through documents and scrolls. His hat is flung carelessly into one corner.
"Well then," Sakura says. Her voice is still teary with an edge and her smile is tiny, but it is honest. "That's that done away with."

Itachi refrains from commenting on her grief, remains silent instead. For a moment, all they do is stand and watch each other, measuring, waiting. The longer Itachi looks into her sad green eyes, the more the few feet that separate them seem like an ocean. An ocean in which he can find no purchase, and he is drowning and she is the shore, a promise of safety and warmth and home. But he can never quite reach.

Because, deep down, pulsing faintly with every heartbeat and thrumming through the very marrow of his bones, there is the knowledge that, when asked to walk with him, away from it all… she wouldn't have followed.

A/N: So that's that. What do you think?

I want to, once again, thank all of you for sticking with this story. It has been a bumpy ride, and updates have been more irregular than anything else, but still I enjoyed it for the most part, and it is my sincere hope that you did as well!

Thank you especially to all the people who wrote about how my writing style managed to grow on them, despite their usual preference for longer and more elaborate chapters. I am truly glad I managed to win you over, and hopefully afford you a good read.

Now it is off to new shores (longer chapters and a rare pair... MinatoSakuracoughcough. Corona quarantine allows me A LOT of time to write.)

Thank you all for sticking around, commenting and, most importantly, reading!

Lots of love, as always.

planless