Reborn as Sakura and Hinata: Lost in the Wind (Part 2)

Kakashi Gets a Vibe Check

Taking walks was nice; it was one of my favorite pastimes to be honest, but becoming the Hokage had a way of taking up one's time I supposed. This walk wasn't entirely for leisure either, but a slow pace and idle chat was good enough to pretend that I wasn't walking back to my office to fall back into the cycle of reviewing documents and dealing with subordinates.

The subordinate next to me, though, was making the time much easier to pass and the work to do, and I glanced over at Sakura to see that she was already scanning the papers in her hands so we could get to work as soon as possible. Everything had become so much easier now that she was back, which was odd to say given that I held the exact opposite opinion of her presence when I had first met her. But, now, the world seemed to be right in a way although I wasn't sure what had changed, except her being back of course.

Maybe it was simply the fact that I knew she was safe, I was nowhere near heartless or dense enough to think that I didn't care about her. She was my student, and then she was my comrade, and then maybe even a trusted friend, at least that was how it felt now.

Things were just easier now, and it certainly did help that I ended up appointing her as my advisor. It was a multi level move on my part. If she held that position, she'd be close enough for the council to think we were getting our 'use' out of her, but because of her rank, they didn't have the ability to do whatever they wanted with her. I also had to admit that this was a way of keeping her monitored, especially now that she had her leg and could run around wherever she pleased, it was important to me to know where she was. That, and she simply wanted the position, and I saw no reason to say no.

It was certainly a bonus that she took the job seriously, and even in her time in isolation she had matured considerably; it was admirable in a way.

Sakura glanced back at me, and I realized I might have been staring. She, thankfully, didn't seem bothered, tilting the documents towards me with a smile, "I think the Raikage's really itching to visit."

"That's good news for us isn't it." I hummed, "Perhaps we should also consider appointing you as an ambassador since you're already in favor with most of the world leaders anyways."
She grinned, "That would be fun. I'd have excuses to go see Gaara and the Raikage!"

"Not the Vine?" I questioned, you'd think she'd like the prospect of getting to know Hinata's strange group of cohorts.

I wasn't expecting the scowl that banished her previous ease, "No, I don't think I'd visit them."

Perhaps she legitimately didn't like them, but I also had the sense that maybe jealousy was the reason she had a distaste for them, "Well, I hope you can work out your differences before your friend's wedding."

Anger waning, she dropped her eyes back to the papers, "I guess we might as well consider it a diplomatic event, right? A lot of Kages are going to be there anyways."

"That might be a good way to think about it." I nodded, the Budokage's wedding served the same purpose but for more obvious reasons, but thinking about how I, Gaara, the Mizukage, and the Budokage would be at Hinata's wedding for personal reasons, there was no reason not to see it as a sign of goodwill.

"But," Sakura's brow furrowed as she shifted her documents around, "Back on the Raikage, he says that he'd like to receive his prosthetic arm in person."

"How are those going, by the way?" I inquired, "The prosthetics? I'm guessing that the process is much smoother with you involved."

She nodded with a smile, "They all did a pretty good job with the basic design and stuff, but now the joints have a lot more mobility and the channeling networks are much more refined. We'll be making them standard in no time!"