She always knew she wasn't meant to wear that hat.
It never felt right on her head. Never. It felt too heavy, it didn't fit. And every time she woke up and put it on, she saw his smiling face. She remembered his determination, recalled his promise: I'll be the next Hokage.
But she convinced herself she was doing this for him. He'll come back someday. He will. I'll hand this to him then.
He'd been gone nearly six years. Too long. Murmurs flew around the village – that Naruto was dead. Sometimes she believed them, and she'd go home at the end of the day and weep. Most of the time she told herself that they were wrong, because they didn't know him. He'd promised he'd come back.
In the meantime, she lived life. Or tried. She stopped wearing the hat for the most part, just like the one before her had. She knew she would never fill Tsunade's shoes, but she tried her best.
She tried to get over him – and Sasuke, too, for that matter. They were both gone, and now she was alone, the thing she'd always most feared.
One day her aid hurried to her desk, whispered the words she'd so wished to hear in her ear.
"Uzumaki Naruto has returned."
She stood up immediately, tore out of the room, and raced down the street.
It was pure coincidence she was wearing her headdress that day.
Finally she spotted him. He was standing, looking golden as usual, at the front gate. He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering for a moment on her hat. He'd changed a lot, yet he was still the same. He smiled.
"You've accomplished my dream for me, Sakura-chan."
She stepped toward him, each motion deliberate. She took the hat off of her head and placed it on his.
He looked at her for a moment as if she was crazy.
"It fits you perfectly."
a/n: Just a little oneshot I wanted to get out of my system. I kind of wondered how closely they'd follow in the footsteps of their teachers, and besides of which… I don't think I've ever seen Hokage Sakura before. You can interpret it as friendship (that's what I was going for) or romance (that's fine, too). I just hope you enjoyed it. Review! (constructive criticism is goodness. Just be nice.)