After that, they headed out toward the village, going home. They had an hour before their meeting with their friends, so they would take advantage of it to put all their things away in their rooms and see how the house was doing.
"Damn!" Naruto said when he saw how much the grass had grown. "Look at our garden! It's out of control!"
It was true. Everything had started growing except what they had originally planted. Luckily, with her magic she quickly trimmed the grass and trees that had grown wildly. She vanished the branches, leaves, and grass in a second. Fortunately, both the pool and the house had remained in perfect condition thanks to the runes and spells she had placed years ago.
"Open the windows so the place can air out for a few hours."
"Ugh. Can't you do anything about the stale smell?" Sasuke asked, sneezing even though there was no dust on any surface.
She used her powers to tidy the house, even though she was going to leave the windows open to let in fresh air. Everything was the same. It was obvious Kakashi, during the time he had lived alone there, had cleaned everything up before returning to his old house. Nostalgia washed over her when she saw her old room. She began redecorating the wall colours, window frames, and the bathroom tiles. The truth was she needed a change before settling back into her old room.
A few minutes later, after putting her clothes back in the closets and drawers, she took out her toiletries and organized them in the full bathroom, and decorated her room with some souvenirs bought during her travels. She left her room and went down to the main floor.
"We should go," she warned the others. "We have 15 minutes before the meeting at the Akimichi's place."
"Hn. I'm coming."
"Where's Naruto?"
"Here!"
Her brother came down the stairs two at a time, a few seconds after Sasuke. As if by agreement, everyone froze in the middle of the living room looking at the sofas, the kitchen island, the medium-sized table where they had eaten countless times…
"I can't believe we're here," Sasuke admitted, "and forever."
"Neither can I."
They had to leave the house quickly to arrive on time. As soon as they reached the restaurant street, they saw Ino at the door talking with who could only be Sakura. Seina raised an eyebrow when Ino noticed her and looked in her direction. Sakura, realizing it, straightened up. Even from afar, she could see her swallowing hard, with a somewhat nervous expression.
"Seina," Ino greeted, then gestured with her head toward the other girl. "Sakura wants to say something to you."
Sakura, however, said nothing. She made a deep bow in front of her. Beside her, Naruto and Sasuke watched the exchange silently. Honestly, she was surprised Sakura hadn't even looked at her brother, given how obsessed she had been years ago.
"I'm very sorry for how I behaved the last time we saw each other, Seina-san. My insecurities and my… jealousy took over me, and I acted like an idiot. I also shouldn't have treated Naruto the way I did. I'm really sorry."
"…It happens to all of us. Don't worry," she finally said when she noticed Sakura was truly remorseful. Naruto looked at her, but Seina shrugged.
"We accept your apology, Sakura," Naruto continued, much more serious than usual.
Sakura straightened up, although she kept looking at the ground. Once she read the situation more carefully, she understood what it was all about. Undoubtedly, during the time they were away, Sakura had begun to rebuild her friendship with Ino. Maybe also with the others. Now, with her presence in the village, being the team that Sakura had treated worst of all, this put them in an uncomfortable situation because if they had accepted Sakura, and her team didn't want her close, who had to step back? Them, who had been friends with everyone before Sakura? Or Sakura, who apparently had been accepted in recent years?
She looked at Ino, who obviously realized she had caught on to everything. If she didn't invite Sakura now, she would surely leave. The question was: did she care about having Sakura around? She had never thought much about her, except because in the end she had tried to hit her and was becoming a real nuisance, so she wasn't particularly resentful of her presence. What did bother her was Ino's manipulation. She could have approached Sakura at any other time to have her apologize and give them time to get used to her presence. Bringing her with her to the restaurant door was forcing her to accept Sakura or feel guilty for being the one rejecting her joining the group.
"Why don't you join us, Sakura?" she finally asked, with a neutral voice and expression.
"Really?"
"Of course."
She gave Naruto a mental nudge to distract her by talking, and so they could enter first. Sasuke went in second, glancing over his shoulder. She entered third, accompanied by Ino. She discreetly leaned toward her.
"Don't do that again," she whispered, angrier than she had expected.
Ino didn't flinch, but was so close she saw the hairs on her arm stand on end when she heard her voice, somewhat sinister, near her ear. Kurama hissed inside, irritated that a sixteen-year-old brat thought she could manipulate them.
"Sorry, but I knew it was the fastest way," Ino apologized in a low voice.
Seina said nothing, although she would have liked to say she didn't care at all. Ino had just lost part of the trust she had with that little game. As soon as they entered the Akimichi's reserved room, there was a second of silence before several people jumped up to hug them. So many voices laughing, talking, almost crying, that it was hard to distinguish what was being said. After being hugged by several people, she sat beside Shikamaru, seeing Ino sit at the other end.
"I told her not to do it," he sighed, seeing how Ino seemed to avoid her gaze. "She's been stressed for weeks over what might happen."
"Hn."
She understood Shikamaru's words, but it didn't make it hurt any less how Ino had used her. Shikamaru sighed again but said nothing more. Neji, Sasuke, Hinata, and Tenten sat near them, the others scattered around the table.
"When Ino told me you were back, I was really happy," Hinata said kindly, much more confident than three years ago.
Hinata's genuine happiness, along with the nods of the others, made her forget what had happened minutes before. Ino was young, and she could imagine what she must have felt lately knowing that her friend groups were going to collide with her in the middle. She didn't like what Ino had done, but she understood why she had done it that way. Both knew that Seina was indifferent to Sakura, but for Sakura what Team 7 thought or did really affect her. Quite a lot more, comparatively.
It was easier to get Seina to accept Sakura than to ask Sakura to step away for a while. Also, she could imagine what it would have meant for a teenager to lose her new network of friends for something she did as a 12-year-old. Would it have been understandable if Seina didn't forgive her for raising her hand and trying to humiliate Naruto? Yes. Was it fair to judge the current Sakura for something she did as a child, and a dumb one at that? Maybe not. She sighed realizing it made no sense to be angry at Ino. She had even apologized right away!
She discreetly looked for Ino's gaze across the table. As soon as they locked eyes, before she could look away, Seina nodded slightly with a smile. Ino seemed to relax in her seat, smiling more genuinely knowing she had been forgiven. Damn. She hadn't even been in the village a day and her teenage friends were already pulling her into their dramas.
She turned her attention back to the conversation around her.
"We visited practically the entire Fire Country," Sasuke explained, much less antisocial than before, "although most of the time we spent it in the Land of Whirlpools."
"I've heard what you set up there," Neji said.
"I think everyone has heard. I'm surprised no one's tried to sabotage you."
Seina raised a magical barrier so they wouldn't be overheard. Sasuke blinked feeling her magic. She had spent so much time by his side, using her magic, that he had begun to sense when she used it in the form of barriers. Maybe because he was inside her magic circle.
"They tried," she chuckled as she said it. The others fell silent upon hearing her. "But my protections stopped them at the beach."
"Stopped them how?" Kiba asked.
"I'm afraid they ended up crispier than yakiniku meat," Sasuke laughed, grinning from ear to ear.
Seina started laughing too. She didn't know why, but it was funny to imagine their enemies' corpses as grilled kebabs. More than one shuddered hearing their malicious laughter. Naruto just rolled his eyes, exasperated but more resigned and used to his team's bloodlust. His brother played innocent, but both Sasuke and Seina knew why they were a good team. Deep down, Naruto was just as violent as they were, he just reserved that violence for when someone tried to hurt his loved ones.
"You should find it funny too, Hina, most were from Kumo."
"From Kumo?"
Some exchanged somewhat worried looks.
"We disposed of the bodies so they have no proof," Naruto waved a hand, uninterested. "After a few weeks they realized their teams weren't coming back and stopped sending ninjas."
"Why are you always involved in something?" Chouji asked, as if nothing, eating his rice with chopsticks.
"Things do happen."
They went on explaining what they had done over the last few years. Some had risen to jonin, Sakura rose to chunin along with Karin, Hinata had secured her position as clan heir after defeating her younger sister, they continued training together on Mondays when they could… The most interesting thing was learning about Karin's relationship with Shino. Obviously, she had had an idea thanks to Kakashi, but it was Karin herself who admitted it was true.
"And is it serious?" she asked Shino.
"Maybe someday I'll need to talk to you."
Some started to whistle upon hearing Shino's words. If he wanted to marry Karin, he would have to talk to the clan leader. For now, that was her. Karin seemed delighted, blushing but smiling. Naruto and she smiled in her direction, happy that Karin had completely left her past with Orochimaru behind and had fully adapted to Konoha.
"What about the others? Any relationships we should know about?"
Everyone turned to look at Shikamaru, who sighed.
"How indiscreet… I've been seeing, more or less, Temari. Since her brother is the Kazekage, she does diplomatic missions between Suna and Konoha. Still, for now it's nothing serious considering we don't live close. It's… complicated."
"I see. Either way, I'm happy for you, Shika."
Hearing how her friends were starting to date people, making their own lives, made her happy. Even though they had been and still were child soldiers, they continued living their lives happily. They hadn't been asked. Everyone knew they loved each other like siblings, and they had been away from Konoha for three years so it made no sense. Oh, how she would laugh when Kakashi returned and she could hold his hand in public.
A few hours later, they said their goodbyes, promising to see each other soon to train and fight together, as they usually did. As soon as they started walking, they were stopped by someone else.
"Seina! Look, Raido!" Genma exclaimed, dragging a smiling Raido. "I told you it was her!"
"I know."
"How have you been?"
She stayed chatting with Genma for about five minutes before saying goodbye. They decided to teleport home before anyone could stop them again in the middle of the street.
"Phew. I'm full," Naruto complained. "Did you see Karin with Shino? Who would have thought!"
Actually, Seina could understand why Karin found him so attractive. He was handsome, athletic, had an interesting voice tone, intelligent, powerful… He was like Sasuke, but more approachable. Also, surely what had caught Karin's attention the most about Shino were his kikaichu. For Karin, they must be like perceiving a starry sky, or something similar.
"What happened earlier with Sakura and Ino?"
Sasuke's question silenced Naruto. His brother didn't seem to have noticed much of what had happened, nor remembered it, until Sasuke brought it up. She showed them what had happened from her point of view, somewhat indifferent and exhausted by the subject. Naruto frowned as he realized Ino's actions while Sasuke seemed even more indifferent than her.
"In a way, I'm glad Sakura apologized to you and left me alone. I haven't said even three sentences to her, so maybe she realized she doesn't know me at all," Sasuke shrugged.
"Could be. Honestly, I don't care much about Sakura. But if Ino has become friends with her again, it surely means she has changed. We'll see."
They spent the next few hours at the house, enjoying doing nothing, when one of her summons arrived. Surprised, she received it at the window.
"Kakashi has returned. He's badly injured in the hospital. S."
As soon as she read those few words, her heart raced. She handed the note to Naruto, who had approached her side at her sudden silence.
"Sasuke! Kakashi-sensei is injured in the hospital!" her brother called.
"What? Really?"
He got up from the couch, and seconds later they were at the hospital door. She ignored the surprised expressions upon seeing her enter after almost three years. She approached Keiko, the receptionist, and asked about Kakashi.
"He's being operated on urgently by Tsunade-sama. Third floor, operating room 5."
They hurried there but weren't allowed inside. Understandable, once the door of an operating room closed it was best not to distract the professionals. Especially for an emergency operation. They waited there for a couple of hours, sitting in the waiting room chairs.
"I didn't think I'd spend the whole afternoon in the hospital the first day back. What do you think happened?"
"Surely something went wrong in his mission."
Seina didn't speak but agreed with Sasuke. As time passed without news, she tried not to worry too much or think negatively. Her teacher wouldn't let him die, and if more help was needed she surely knew she was there. When night fell, Naruto leaned back in his seat, mentally asking her to make it more comfortable, and went to "sleep," though he knew he'd wake at the slightest noise. Sasuke, next to him, let her rest on his side like a cushion while sitting upright with eyes closed.
She didn't know how much time passed waiting for news, but finally the operating room door opened and out came her teacher with Kakashi on a stretcher, covered by a white sheet from feet to nose. She straightened up as she watched the man she loved being taken unconscious to a private room, like most rooms on the ninja floor. Small, but private. There was no worse patient than an injured ninja, after all.
Tsunade-sama approached her.
"Team 7. Follow me to his room. You're the closest to him, so I'll give you his report." They accompanied her to the room, watching as he was hooked up to machines and IVs checked. Soon they were left alone.
"Kakashi is out of danger but has been unconscious for two days. His own Anbu team brought him back. Apparently, the information we received was false, a trap."
"And how did he end up like this?"
"According to reports, he had been low on chakra reserves for days. In the last attack, he saved his teammates at the cost of exhausting his reserves and taking the hit himself before they could escape."
Seina stood by his side, observing Kakashi's pale face under the dim night lights. She examined him with her magic to make sure he was okay. He was being treated, as expected from Tsunade-sama, but still unconscious. She heard her teacher's final assessment before they were left alone with their former jonin sensei. Once Tsunade left, she used her magic to reduce swelling in some wounds, heal bruises, and help him sleep more peacefully. She understood why the Hokage hadn't fully treated him. A bit more chakra could destabilize him and erase all progress.
"How is he?" Sasuke asked quietly, putting an arm around her shoulders and holding her close for comfort.
"He'll wake when his body recovers."
"What are we going to do? Take shifts?" Naruto asked. Seeing her nod, he continued, "Then I can stay first and mentally alert you if he wakes."
"I'll leave a clone with you, just in case."
Neither Sasuke nor Naruto argued. She knew he wouldn't wake in a day, maybe longer, so she didn't mind Naruto staying first. They went home after setting protective barriers all over and conjuring a super comfortable sofa bed for Naruto. He had his pouch with all kinds of distractions, so they left the hospital, not without bringing plenty of food from the cafeteria.
Sasuke didn't say a word when they got home and she went straight to her room. She needed to relax and think about what had happened in just a few hours. Her bath took a long time.
"He'll recover soon. Kakashi's not just anyone."
Seina smiled weakly at Kurama's comforting words. Still, when he felt she needed to be alone, he went to sleep inside her for privacy. She couldn't believe she had finally had Kakashi in front of her and hadn't even been able to touch his face with Naruto and Tsunade-sama there. He hadn't even seen her or been aware she was there after so long.
She swallowed her tears, telling herself crying was useless, and closed her eyes to remember Kakashi's face. It hadn't changed much. He looked slightly more mature, but as a ninja who took care of his body, he was still devastatingly attractive. His hair was a bit shorter and his complexion paler after so much time under a mask. Still, considering all those small differences, he was still the man she loved.
She went to sleep without dinner but felt better realizing that, in reality, things weren't as different as she had imagined.
The next day she woke at dawn with her stomach growling. It was her birthday, but the last thing she wanted was to celebrate.
"Naruto hasn't said anything. Do you think he's still unconscious?"
"In a coma," she corrected. "And yes."
"I'll tell Ino and the others we're at the hospital."
Sasuke was offering, all by himself, to go see Ino so she could visit Kakashi again. She smiled weakly at him, silently thanking him, and nodded. She quickly ate breakfast and dressed again in "street" clothes, though with her ninja headband. She hadn't worn her uniform in years, so she'd wait until her first mission again.
"I'm going. See you later?"
Sasuke nodded. She arrived at Kakashi's private room seconds later. Naruto was awake, yawning but alert. Kakashi hadn't moved all night. Naruto confirmed that with a nod.
"Go shower and have breakfast, Naru. I'll stay here and when Sasuke finishes telling the others what happened, he'll come keep me company."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Her birthday passed slowly, at the hospital. Sasuke came back with a few words of congratulations from friends, but no one disturbed them. The next day everything was the same except for the flower bouquets starting to arrive for Kakashi as they took turns protecting him because he was totally unconscious. A third day passed, then a fourth, a fifth…
On the sixth day Tsunade-sama told them what she had started to believe herself: he would wake soon. She could feel he was practically recovered chakra-wise. She didn't know what the hell he had been doing to run out of reserves when she knew Kakashi wasn't exactly someone with mediocre reserves. Knowing he'd wake didn't stop her from being worried and sad that his return was this way, but what could she do?