Uncharted Territory

❖ Embers of Change 🌸

✦ Cover Artist: @sayurinomoe (Tumblr)🔝

or @SayuriNoMoe1 (Twitter)

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❖ Author Note: Back to our regularly scheduled program... continuing from Tsunade's thoughts from chapter 4.

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❖ Chapter 6| Embers of Change 🌸

Three Months later...

The sun hung high in the evening sky, casting a warm glow over the village hidden in the leaves. Sakura leaned against the railing of her apartment balcony, the cool breeze carrying the scent of cherry blossoms to her nose. Almost two years had passed since that pivotal night when Kakashi had held her together at her request.

✦ Artist: Neonanything (Deviant Art/Tumblr)

Sakura was no longer the naive girl who had pined after Sasuke. She had grown stronger, wiser, and she was determined not to make the same mistakes again. The last thing she wanted was to plunge into another emotional abyss like she had with Sasuke, where her feelings went unnoticed, unreciprocated.

Kakashi was different though... is different.

The way he regarded her, the way he listened, the way he didn't judge, it was a stark contrast to the indifference she had faced from Sasuke. There was a gentle understanding that bloomed between them, born from that night of comfort. Their friendship deepened as they silently avoided addressing the unexplored territory that pulsed between them.

The memory of that night played vividly in her mind. It had been a moment of vulnerability, a breaking point where she had turned to him for comfort. He had held her, his presence a soothing balm to her wounded soul. And from that night on, something had changed. What had started out as a crush had strengthen into something more profound, something she hadn't expected.