Very well. Dear reader, thank you a bunch for reading this story - if you have read it since the veeeeery beginning, please excuse me for the irregular uploads - it's done now, though. I hope you've enjoyed the story a lot, I liked writing it and I am sorry that I didn't come to the conclusion earlier to load it all up. With these words, I will give to you: the last chapter of "Respect thy sensei".

Song (by Seamus Heany)

or

Every end is a new beginning

"INO-CHAN! MOVE IT! SAKURA-CHAN IS COMING BACK TODAY!"

"I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW!"

Two blonds were running down the main-lane of Konoha, darting through the crowds, big grins on their faces as they raced each other there.

On their way, they were joined by a group of friends.

"TENTEN!"

"OY, THE TWO BLONDS! RACE YOU THERE!"

"I'M FASTER THAN YOU ANYWAYS!"

"NEJI!"

"MY YOUTHFUL COLLEAGUES YOU WILL ALL EAT DUST!"

"LEE!"

"Stop!" a laughing voice commanded.

In their competition they had not realized that they had already reached the gate. They looked at the smiling gate-keepers.

"Hey, Izumo! Kotetsu!"

Another figure came running towards the gate – the beige coat floating behind her, and at her side a mop of silver hair.

"Anko! Kakashi-sensei!"

The two dropped down simultaneously and smiled at the Rookie 9 and the gate watchers. Anko was downright beaming and her boyfriend – since 2 years! – gave off an Aura of the highest satisfaction.

"I can't tell you how happy I am that they are coming back today!" Anko squealed and hugged Izumo, who laughed and swirled her in a circle, to settle her down again.

"I know, I know…"

"I am already so anxious to see how forehead changed!" Ino squealed and hugged Naruto.

"Yeah, me to. I just hope she didn't cut off Morino's head …" Anko snickered.

"She'd never do that …" a new voice interrupted. "She'd make pretty little holes in his neck with many, many senbon and then she'd just tilt it…"

"GENMA! Don't say something like that in front of the young ones!" A new voice.

"Oy, Raidou … we've heard and seen enough gore …"

Finally assembled the group settled in the watch house and made themselves comfortable, waiting for their friend and their superior to return.

Tsunade sat in her office and looked over her intertwined fingers, her nose pressed against her thumbs, her elbows supporting the weight.

She looked at the door and willed it to open.

Willed it to open and willed two persons to enter, bickering and fighting.

"Just anything so I know that they are alive…" she whispered and closed her eyes.

Since two years she made herself reproaches, thought of 'what if's' and wished that she had never sent her daughter on a mission like this.

"Of course I know that she is more than capable of this … I know it …" she whispered as if she could hear Sakura's voice, asking her with vigor if she thought that she wasn't strong enough or capable enough.

"I'm just so scared of losing you once again …" the woman whispered.

She felt as if Sakura was in the room, right now and right here, right next to her. She suppressed a sob, when she chided herself that she just imagined it.

"Meow" a small voice made itself noticeable and the Hokage opened her eyes, to look at a small, white tiger in front of her … with incredible green eyes.

A rowan like a lipsticked girl.
Between the by-road and the main road
Alder trees at a wet and dripping distance
Stand off among the rushes.

There are the mud-flowers of dialect
And the immortelles of perfect pitch
And that moment when the bird sings very close
To the music of what happens.

She bowed over his almost lifeless body and cried. Her slender fingers glided over his brusque features and she wished she could have prevented it.

There is one way, you know …

The hole …

She looked down at his tortured face and smiled one last time – they had to go after the snake one way or the other.

"Can you remember when Sakura spilled the coffee over Morino-sempai?" Anko giggled.

"Of course, because it was full of sugar!" Genma guffawed and nearly lost his senbon.

"God it will be great when they will come back…" Raidou smiled. "Even if both of them are crazy-heads …"

"Don't say that, Raidou. They could be spying on you at this very minute and sempai will make sure that you'll pay for it!" Hayate grinned.

"What an intelligent man!"

Their heads turned at the new voice and stared at the person standing in the door.

"Gate-keepers you do a pretty lousy job. An elephant could have infiltrated our village and you wouldn't have noticed it."

"HOKAGE-SAMA!"

The group jumped up and bowed to the blond woman that had just entered the gate hut. Around her feet strived a tiger pup. Naruto knelt down and held his hand towards it.

"Hey little buddy, who are you?"

"She …" Tsunade said "… is the messenger."

The tiger came close to Naruto's hand and smelled it carefully, before it ducked its head under the boy's hand.

"Messenger?"

Ino looked at Tsunade – already fearing for the worst, as the Hokage held up a scroll and opened it. Licking her lips, the Hokage started to read.

"Dear mother, dear everyone.

I am writing this, with not much time. In our time as servants to Orochimaru, we realized that he possessed the scroll to a time tunnel. We feared for the worst but couldn't let it disappear because of his right hand-man, Kabuto.

Now it is too late, he used it to destroy Konoha from the roots on.

We will follow him, and take his every chance to do so. There is just one problem – the control of this time tunnel is close to zero, meaning I don't know how long we will be gone. The tunnel only serves once, so we will travel after Orochimaru and if we have prevented it, we will come back.

I have my sensei lying almost dead at my knees and I have to act quickly, before his soul gets too unstable to travel.

The last thing I can do is write you these few lines, in hope that you understand that I love everyone of you. I'd like to write you a real letter, but it's not possible with the limited time. I send Kushina to you. Yes, Naruto, this little one's name is Kushina, I want you to take care of her.

I love every one of you, Okaa-san, this is not your fault. It is our decision and we do it, because we love Konoha, and we know that the time now is far from perfect, but it could be by far worse and I wouldn't have known you otherwise.

Love,

Sakura"

The hut was silent, Anko already lay in Kakashi's arms and cried silently, whereas the rest of the team sat down and silently looked at their hands.

The Hokage sat down as well and took her head in her hands.

"I should have never sent them … I should have never sent them. I am so sorry …" she whispered.

Kushina jumped up the table and rubbed her head against Tsunade's purring soothingly. The woman looked up and patted the animal.

"I think everyone of us would have done the same." Naruto spoke up. "Every one of us would have taken that time tunnel to hinder Orochimaru from destroying Konoha. We will always remember Sakura until the day she gets back with her sensei and when they come back, we will be able to celebrate them as heroes and listen to their stories."

Ino took him in her arms, knowing that he spoke more for himself than for the others – he had just lost another one of his friends to the snake.

"It was only one year that those two made our life hell in the tower, but man I'd give everything to relive it again. And if it means to wait a hundred years, I'll wait a hundred years." Raidou decided.

"I feel the same as Raidou. If we are to wait, I'll wait. I'll have a reason everytime to get back to the village and to stand up every day. Until the day they come back." Genma agreed.

The woman breathed heavily.

"Sakana, you can do it. I can already see its' head. Just push!"

Screams of a woman and – minutes later – of a baby filled the room. Breathing heavily, the woman looked at the small bundle that was handed to her. She smiled at the baby.

It had immediately stilled as it felt the warm and slightly sweaty hands of her mother. The woman pulled back the cloth and looked at the little of the hair that was visible at the head of the child.

"It's a girl, Sakana."

"Pink hair …" the woman whispered and smiled. "Sakura."

Yes, I decided that it'd be an open ending like this - whoever has an idea to continue? I bet there are a lot =) I hope you liked the story,

*~peace and love~*

chuppa-chupsz