#ssm17d13

Her closest advisers filed out of the office, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Even though she wasn’t wearing the Hokage hat, she acutely felt its weight. It was the responsibility not only to protect her people, but also to treat them fairly and that included no special treatment. Not even for the Uchiha clan.

The Uchiha along with the Senju had been the village founders and currently they still held a lot of sway in the village. Their fighting prowess and political power made them the most influential clan in Konoha. To prevent one clan’s domination over the village affairs, it was agreed that the Hokage’s office and some other important positions couldn’t be given to the Uchiha clansmen.

Sakura was the student of the Fifth Hokage, which made her suitable for taking over the position when her shishou had had to resign due to a deteriorating health. Sakura had never had the ambition to lead the village—but when other candidates were either unsuitable, unavailable, or Uchiha, the task fell onto her. And she was determined to do the best job as a Hokage that she could. She wanted to make everyone proud of her. This was her duty and her pledge.

A man slipped into the office through the open window. Sakura wasn’t alarmed. She expected him to come.

Uchiha Sasuke, her former genin teammate and the current Uchiha clan head, was an imposing man. He could have easily become the Hokage if he wasn’t an Uchiha. Apart from his strength, he was known for his popularity with the female half of the village, though he didn’t reciprocate their feelings, to his clan elders’ eternal despair. And what a pity it was, as he was in a possession of devastating good looks and the family fortune, making him the most desirable bachelor in the village.

He was also the man Sakura had once had a crush on. Now her feelings were quite different…

“Rokudaime,” Sasuke said in a greeting.

“Sasuke-sama,” she replied with a respectful nod. She stood up from her seat. “You heard of my decision regarding Uchiha Kazuto?”

“His punishment is necessary, but you should leave it to the clan,” he retorted.

“His little stunt affected the village, not the clan. He is punished as the ninja of Konoha,” Sakura said forcefully as she walked up to him. “This falls under my jurisdiction as the Hokage, not yours,” she added with a stabbing motion of her finger being pointed at his chest, almost touching it. Sasuke looked down at it blankly until she let it down and crossed her arms.

“Can we talk about it in private?” he suggested without inflection.

“My ANBU won’t disclose anything said in this office,” Sakura said stiffly.

“What does it say about the Hokage if she is afraid of being left alone with one of her clan heads?” he asked with a challenge.

She gave him a long hard look which he returned, creating a standoff between them. Then she raised her hand and signed the order for the guards to leave. When Sakura and Sasuke were finally alone, the tension between them dissipated.

“Sasuke-kun, why do you do this?” Sakura asked with a sigh. Her demeanor softened as she gazed at him with admonishment. “You can’t question my authority like that. There are repercussions…”

“You worry too much,” he responded. “And it will look good for you if you don’t give in to my clan’s demands. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Sakura shook her head. “No. What I want is harmony and cooperation. Not the constant butting heads with everyone of status in this village,” she replied with sadness shining in her expressive green eyes, then turned to the window and surveyed the city’s panorama.

“That’s how things usually go. You can’t change that,” he said, taking a spot by her side.

“I know. I just… I don’t want to fight… not with you,” she confessed quietly.

Something caught in his throat, but he quickly clamped down on this feeling.

“It wasn’t much of a fight,” he observed with a snort. “Your decision is just. Kazuto will be additionally disciplined by the clan.”

Sakura tilted her head to look at him quizzically. “Then why did you insist on the house arrest?”

Sasuke blatantly avoided eye contact, looking everywhere but at her. “To save the face of the clan,” he replied, but it didn’t sound right. Sakura doubted he was lying, but he wasn’t telling the whole truth.

“But you couldn’t have expected a different decision from me,” she pointed out, “so your protest made you look defiant and well… arrogant.”

He didn’t refute.

“You wouldn’t do something so pointless, that’s not your style,” Sakura continued her deductions. “Then you must have gotten something else from it.” She frowned in thought. “Am I right?”

“More or less,” he admitted.

She studied him closely, his poker face, flawless as always, his black eyes in which she could drown. He was looking at her in a way that made her heart tremble. She hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder and when he didn’t shy away, she knew what this was about.

“You don’t need excuses to see me,” she told him softly. “We are still teammates. It’s normal to visit each other all the time.”

“Not when you’re the Hokage.” There was no accusation in his tone, just a simple statement of the fact—she was the Hokage and he was the Uchiha clan head, but she suddenly felt very defensive.

“You know I didn’t ask for it! There was no one else so I had to do it. It’s my duty.”

“I understand,” he replied.

“Do you?” she questioned. “It’s not my fault that I have to keep distance! Do you think I want to stay away from you? I even wanted to make you my adviser but they would never let me! Everyone would just say that I’m your puppet Hokage.” Sakura lowered her head to hide the coming tears. “I hate this so much,” she whispered.

She froze when his arms wrapped around her in a fierce hug. “Sakura, I don’t blame you,” he said heavily, breathing in the scent of her cherry blossom hair.

She put her arms around him too, running her hands up his back, like she was making sure that he was really there, real and solid beneath her touch. “You don’t?” she mumbled into his neck shakily.

“I don’t.” The conviction in his voice made her relax and just enjoy his tight, warm hold. He smelled so good, like the forest and fire, and a man… Sakura suppressed a shudder, but her heart wouldn’t stop racing. He affected her so much and she had no way to stop it. She didn’t even want to.

“I wish we could stay like this forever,” she said wistfully.

“One day we will,” he replied with unexpected confidence.

“How would you know?” She looked up at him.

Sasuke smirked lightly. “You promised me.”

Her cheeks heated up and she ducked her head into his shoulder. “Yeah, I suppose I did.”

He grunted. “Just don’t forget about it. I’ll be waiting.”

This declaration filled her with happiness. There were so many other available women in this village and his clan was no doubt trying to pressure him to marry, but instead he still chose to wait for her to fulfill her old promise, no matter how long it would take.

“Sasuke-kun, thank you,” she said, gazing up at him with a beatific smile.

In response, he closed the final distance between them and in the purpling glow of the sun setting over the village, they shared a long, tender kiss.

When Sasuke had to leave, Sakura looked after him with a dull ache in her heart, but despite of it there was also hope for the future. She believed as long as their hearts were connected, they would find a way to stay together.

Someday, they would be just Sakura and Sasuke, not the Hokage and the Uchiha clan head.