I. A Few Problems to Start Things Off

The room was still dark when Kakashi opened an eye. Something had woken him, and now that something was in his house silently waiting. It was an ambush of the worst kind: business. The red numbers on the digital clock at his nightstand announced the time to be 4:12 AM. He groaned and threw an arm over his eyes; he had just gone to bed two hours ago.

"Really? You couldn't wait?" He asked out loud.

Kakashi took the silence to be a "no." He pulled his mask over his face, and struggled out of bed, wincing as the pads of his bare feet touched his apartment's cold wooden floors. Yesterday had been the first day of spring, but winter refused to loosen its grip just yet.

"I know you've been gone for a while, Sasuke, but breaking into the Hokage's sleeping quarters is still illegal—I think" Kakashi rubbed the crud from his eyes. "Can't believe those ANBU kids just let you waltz in," he grumbled unhappily.

"You should consider new security detail, or not have them take up space on your roof." The voice came from somewhere across the room.

Kakashi wondered why his old student couldn't just knock on his front door like everyone else. Then again, Sasauke had always been one for the theatrics. He and Naruto were a lot alike in that way, though the Uchiha would probably stab out his own eye before admitting to such a thing.

"It's protocol." Kakashi's joints popped and creaked as he stood—age was not being kind to his body. "Ever consider joining the ANBU?"

"I have better things to do with my time."

"You're right. Being on ANBU sucks. Don't do it."

Kakashi was making his way towards the general direction of light switch, when something fell loudly against the ground. It sounded heavy— sort of like a body.

"Sasuke?" He ventured, only to be answered by a sickening silence.

He made for the lights a little faster and hit the switch, squinting against the sudden flood of brightness. Through his cracked lids he spied his old student crumpled on the floor. He hissed out a low curse before sprinting to Sasuke's side.

"Sasuke," Kakshi tried again, but the Uchiha didn't answer. Kakashi carefully rolled him onto his back and his brows furrowed at the gash across the front of Sasuke's poncho, flagging the dark blood-stains around it; that was never a good sign. Taking a kunai from Sasuke's holster, Kakashi cut open the cloth to get a better look, and his frown deepened upon seeing the bandaged wound soaked through with fresh blood.

Sasuke stirred, grinding his teeth against the pain.

"How bad is it?" Kakashi asked.

"Not great," Sasuke huffed and held out a scroll. He let his eyes fall shut after Kakashi took it. "Couldn't stop the bleeding. Poison on the blade, probably," he mumbled, sucking his teeth in annoyance.

"Not great" from Sasuke probably meant very, very bad.

"Tomoe! Azuki!" Kakashi barked loudly. Two masked ANBU appeared in the room. Finally.

"Hokage-sama, need I remind you, using our names is a security—"

"Get Haruno Sakura here, now," Kakashi ordered. "She's working this shift at the hospital. Tell her it's an emergency."

Azuki, the one who had spoken lifted off his mask. "Is that Uchiha Sasuke? Wait, what's going on?"

Kakashi gave the youth a dangerous look. Before he could give him a verbal dressing down, Tomoe, the other operative, smacked Azuki upside the head. "Shut up idiot and just do as you're told," she snapped and gave Kakashi a sharp nod before grabbing her partner by the back of his collar and disappearing.

Kakashi's shoulders rose and fell in a tired sigh: peacetime it seemed, had dulled the blade, though he still wasn't sure whether that was cause for joy or concern. He refocused his attention to the crisis at hand, pulling away part of Sasuke's bandages to gauge the situation's severity. The puckered wound looked deep, and even he, with his rudimental first-aid training, could recognize a bad infection when he saw one. An extra line of worry appeared on Kakashi's forehead— no matter how vehemently his detractors criticized him, Uchiha Sasuke was undeniably one of the most powerful Shinobi Konoha had produced in recent history. Only a monster would be able to land a scratch like that on the Uchiha, and from Kakashi's experience, monsters were rarely ever friendly; most of them wanted to either subjugate all of mankind or destroy the world or both.

He eyed the scroll in his hands, caught between curiosity and apprehension. When Kakashi had become the Sixth Hokage, there was a tacit understanding that he was just keeping the seat warm, and that was fine by him. Honestly, Kakashi would have been perfectly happy idling the days away reading Icha Icha behind the Hokage's desk, waiting for his blonde protegee to get big enough to fill out the robe and that silly peaked hat. After two great ninja wars and the death of almost everyone he held dear, he was ready to kick his feet up and let the whippersnappers have a run at it.

Yet, here was, Lord Hokage and probably standing at the cusp of another global disaster.

He heaved a tired sigh and opened the scroll. "Duty calls, I guess."

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When Sasuke opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the ceiling. A machine beeped steadily in the background. He blinked once and raised his arm, noting all the wires and tubes running out of it before letting it flop back down.

'Hospital,' he concluded.

His head lolled to one side. Through the bars of the hospital bed, he caught sight of Naruto and Kakashi. Naruto was turned away from him, but even doped up on a massive amount of painkillers, Sasuke could recognize the back of that stupid head anywhere. Kakashi glanced over at him. Sasuke wanted to ask about the scroll, but the breathing mask covering his face was making it hard. He reached up to pull the bothersome thing off, when someone gently took his hand away.

Something cool pressed against his forehead—a hand—and Sasuke felt his whole body slacken against the mattress beneath him. He looked up to see Sakura. Strands of hair had fallen out of her little ponytail, falling messily around her face. Sasuke thought she looked tired despite her smile. Naruto's and Kakashi's faces appeared behind her. Naruto laughed and said something, but Sasuke didn't catch it. Probably something dumb.

He closed his eyes, letting the crushing weight of drugs and exhaustion pressed him back into sleep.

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Ino had been raving about Iccho all month. It was Konoha's hot new restaurant and all the trendy young villagers frequented the spot, meaning Sakura, who usually ate whatever the hospital cafeteria served, had never been. Located above a pottery workshop in the Arts District—a new name for an old area—the restaurant had an impractical space to seating ratio, with way too little tables for the massive space and a line out the door to boast for it. Apparently, the owner was one of those young, renegade chefs who had eschewed tradition for innovation. Sakura didn't know what exactly it meant to be a "renegade chef" and how food could be innovative, but that's what Ino had said, and that's what she told Kiba when he had first suggested the place for dinner.

"Well, I guess that settles it! Iccho it is!" He had replied. "Actually, I heard the same thing. Don't know what any of it means, but I'm game to find out!"

Reservations were rumored to impossible, but Hana had some pull—something about performing a cardiac bypass on the owner's overweight pug—and the two were seated almost immediately upon entry. Sakura had to admit the place was pretty hip: they had preserved the old wooden beams and paneling, but chose to decorate with more modern pieces from Kumo. It was definitely...different. With her work schedule being what it was, she rarely saw anything beyond the walls of the hospital these days and wondered how many more of these types of places had sprung up in Konoha.

"You're pretty quiet today," Kiba observed as they waited for their food.

Sakura smiled for him. "Sorry, long day at the hospital."

He propped his face against one hand and swished the ceramic teacup with the other. He was drinking sake that had been distilled through a complicated-sounding process involving locally foraged pine needles and spring water from Kumo. The waiter had explained it all with loads of enthusiasm and detail, but Sakura still really didn't get it.

"Anything interestin' happen at work?" Kiba asked, prodding the conversation forward.

"No, not really," She said, wondering whether she should mention Sasuke. "How was your day? Did you end up finding a girlfriend for Akamaru?"

Kiba's nose twitch, the way it did whenever he sensed something was amiss, but a playful smile stretched across his face regardless. "Naw, that guy's even pickier than me. What's the worst thing you saw at the hospital today?"

And as Sakura began recounting the incident about the chunin who had accidently set off an old explosive tag in training ground 11, Kiba draped an arm over the back of his chair and listened attentively with his head cocked and a wolfish smile. He laughed at all the right moments, but nothing seemed able to shake loose the unease that had lodged itself in his chest.

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Sasuke woke up feeling like his head was being squeezed between a vice. He could already tell he'd be stiff for the next few days judging by the way his whole body screamed in protest as he struggled to sit up in bed. The antibiotics had left his mouth feeling like cotton, and just as he was contemplating on ripping out the IV and going home for a glass of water, the door to his room swung opened and an old nurse stepped in. Funny how hospital staff always seemed know when you were planning an escape.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, you're awake. Please leave your IV in—you are not to be discharged until Sakura-san says so," she said when she caught Sasuke with the IV between his teeth.

Sasuke's arm fell against his lap.

"Now, now, don't look so put out," she chided. She went to the machines to check his vitals. "You still need to get some rest before you go cavorting about town."

"How long was I out for?"

"Three days. That wound of yours was quite nasty," she continued with her back to him. "Sakura-san spent hours in the surgery room. You were quite lucky, you know. Apparently, it was some new-fangled poison, I hear even your heart stopped for a few—"

The old nurse paused and frowned. She peered closer at the machines. "That's strange, now why would it say it's not getting a clear—" She turned around and sighed when she saw the IV tube hanging freely from its drip. Sasuke's clothes were gone from the chair, and the white curtains billowed freely against the empty bed as the cold breeze drifted in from the open window.

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Kakashi had been in the office all-day reading and signing documents. What was the point of getting his left eye restored only to have it ruined by all this fine print? What a terrible waste. He placed the pen down on the desk and flopped against the back of his chair, flexing out the cramp in his fingers.

He used to be a legend in the Shinobi world, and now the greatest threats in his life were growing nearsighted and getting carpal tunnel.

There was a knock at the door. He sat up and grabbed the pen.

"Come in," he called out, shuffling through a stack of papers so he appeared appropriately occupied.

The door open and Sasuke came through. Kakashi dropped the pen and papers and reclined back into his chair.

"Sasuke, good, you've finally risen from the dead. Actually, sorry, that was probably a bit in bad taste. How're you feeling?"

"Like I slept for three days straight."

"Well, that's because you did."

Sasuke shifted his weight his other foot, trying to stave off his creeping exhaustion. "Did you read the scroll?"

"I did," Kakashi replied, and he could feel the fate of the world upon his shoulders again. He'd been able to ignore it for the better part of the past few days, but alas, all good things had to end. "How likely is its existence? Do we even know what it is exactly? "

"Based on what I saw, the probability is high. And it's unclear—I didn't come back just to give you that report; I need to search my clan's archives for more information."

"How's your injury related to all of this?" Kakashi asked, eying the tear across Sasuke's poncho.

"There was an old trap in the ruins. The blade just grazed me, but it was poisoned. An old poison, one that Orochimaru didn't even have in his collection."

"Ah, Sakura did mention the poison was pretty ugly—something about how it ate away at flesh?" Kakashi recalled. "Anyways, you're lucky she managed to whip up an antidote just before your heart stopped a second time. You should thank her. I believe she stayed up an inhuman amount of hours to keep you alive."

Sasuke turned to go. "I'll be leaving in a few weeks after doing some research."

"She's usually at the hospital until from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays" Kakashi continued, reciting his student's schedule from memory. "9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She usually enjoys spending her weekends at the training grounds, though she likes to take extra shifts at the hospital on Sundays," he added helpfully.

Sasuke wordlessly slammed the door shut behind him.

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It was early Saturday morning and most of Konoha was still asleep, leaving the streets sparse with pedestrians. Sasuke was taking an old route home, though it had become unfamiliar in its absence. A small apartment complex had replaced the park where he used to play when he was younger, a new restaurant had taken over his favorite bakery, and the old bookstore he used to frequent afterschool was gone, swallowed up by a row of modern-looking residences.

He supposed a lot of it had to do with the post-Pain reconstruction. Sasuke hadn't been there when Pain had crushed Konoha, but he had heard stories about it since during his travels and about how Uzumaki Naruto, Hero of the Hidden Leaf and Savior of the World, had stopped him with a godly flick of his index finger. Sasuke doubted Naruto's index finger alone was good for anything aside from picking his nose, but he conceded that the destruction must have been extensive to warrant this much change. He sprang up and landed lightly on a telephone pole for a change of scenery. From here, Konoha spread out before him in a familiar jumble of roofs and trees and telephone wires.

He had also been gone for a long time, he reminded himself, and it was foolish to think the sleepy little village in his memories was impervious to the passage of time. Konoha would continue to move forward and change, with or without him here to witness it.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper he'd found in his pocket as soon as he had left the hospital.

Sasuke-kun—

I figured you'd leave before you were supposed to.

Naruto and I are getting dinner tonight at Ichiraku at 9. It's still in the same place. You should show up since I also have some medication for you and it's kinda important that you take it or else your heart might stop again.

Plus, it'd be nice to have Team 7 get together-Naruto's been so busy and you've been gone for so long. Anyways, rest up and don't overexert yourself or else it'll raise your blood pressure and put a lot of strain on your heart. Did I mention your heart stopped?

Okay, anyways, see you tonight!

- Sakura

p.s. I have your arm.

He gazed up at the washed out skies, the March sunlight grazing weakly against his skin. A few branches were beginning to bud with the promise of spring. Two winters ago, he had popped back into the village to help Naruto save the world. If it wasn't a shinobi goddess trying to bring about the apocalypse, then it was the moon crashing into the earth. And now, if he didn't figure out exactly how his ancestors had planned on destroying the village, the world might end up being in danger of ending. Again.

In the distance, the Hokage Monuments loomed, Kakashi's face carved into the rock as a new addition to the succession. He turned to gaze beyond the main gates where a forest of skeletal trees, stripped bare of their leaves, spread out towards the horizon until they met the snowcapped mountains to the north. When the weather warmed, the trees burst into the dense sea of green that was the village's namesake— Sasuke wondered if he'd be around long enough to see it happen.

He folded up Sakura's letter and replaced it in his pocket. He breathed deeply.

He was home.