Promises Remembered

Part 2 Chapter 12

Part 2 Chapter 12

Kazuki

Day three-thousand eighty-one without her

"Kazuki-chan!" Sakura found him almost as soon as his dad had, easily pulling him from his embrace into hers. It was crushing but he was as relieved to see her as he was his dad. "Oh I missed you!"

He laughed, looking back at his dad as she hugged him. "You were barely gone a whole week, Onee-chan."

"But it felt like years! So much happened!" Suddenly she jerked back, pointing at her forehead. "Look, Kazuki-chan. I finally managed Lady Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred seal! Isn't that amazing?" Her smile turned just the slightest bit smug. "It ended up being almost as important as anything Naruto or Sasuke did."

Kazuki smiled up at her, proud of her for what she'd accomplished. But then she stood up and smiled at his dad, who seemed... almost a little lost for a moment before smiling back. At that moment, he didn't see his Sakura-chan, his Onee-chan. With the small, familiar purple diamond on her forehead, a distinctly different color than Lady Tsunade's, Sakura looked exactly like his mother. Sure her hair was shorter, but beside his dad, all they needed was a bath and a change of clothes and they would have made one of the few pictures he had of his mother. He had always thought they looked alike... but this...

"Um... that's really amazing, Sakura-chan. I'm glad..." He shook his head and pasted on a smile. This was too weird. "I'm glad you're home too."

She beamed down at him and ruffled his hair. "Me too, Kazuki-chan."

<KSK>

Kazuki

Day three-thousand eighty-three without her

His dad was busy helping Tsunade with Kami knew what, and there wouldn't be classes for at least another week. Kazuki, still thinking about the impossibility of Sakura looking exactly like his mom, hadn't felt like going out that day.

Instead, he sat on his dad's bed, looking down at the worn photo from the day they'd married. It was crinkled and smooth around the edges from the countless times his dad had held it. His mom was beautiful. Bright green eyes, his eyes, Sakura's eyes, looked up at him with a painfully familiar smile. Her purple seal mark was there, just like his Sakura. Did it mean something that they were the same color? When he'd asked Sakura about it the other day, she said she thought if anyone else could manage it, it would be their own color. Then she'd poked him in the forehead and said she thought his would be green.

While it made him feel good knowing she thought he was capable of it, her answer only left him with more questions. Staring down at the photograph of his mother and her purple seal, Kazuki needed answers.

If his crazy idea was true, he couldn't go to his dad. He would have been keeping the truth from Kazuki his whole life, and he wouldn't tell him now. But who else would know? Maybe Aiko. She was there when he was born—he knew—and she was his mom's best friend. But would he be able to sweet talk her into telling him if she did? Biting his lip, he decided to go for it. At the worst, she'd tell his dad.

He started to replace the photo where his dad kept it, but suddenly thought better of it, carefully tucking it in a pocket as he dashed out. It did not take him long to get to Aiko and Genma's house. They lived in the rebuilt section of the village, closest to where he and his dad lived. It was only after he was standing in front of their door that he realized she might not be there.