Sakura had not the slightest idea what to think or feel. For a long time she had wished for nothing more than to get one last chance to talk to Naruto – try as she might, she could not remember the last time she had seen him before the chaos of war had consumed them both. But watching his, Naruto's, facial expressions invade Kakashi's unfamiliarly unmasked face, hearing him talk with Kakashi's voice but in his own loud, fast paced tone, seemed surreal.
Naruto did not know how he had come to possess his former teacher. One minute, he explained, he had been in limbo, the next he woke up here.
"So, you're not really dead?", Sakura asked reluctantly. She did not really want to know, couldn't say what she wanted to hear.
Naruto-Kakashi shrugged.
"Dunno", he stretched and yawned and Sakura had to look away, too overwhelmed by the weirdness of having Naruto's mannersisms posed upon Kakashi's physical form.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, you think Ichiraku's still open?"
At this remark all blood left Sakura's face. She quickly shook her head, relieved that she did not even have to lie. By now it was way past midnight.
"Shame..."
"Say, in... limbo... are you alone?"
"Hm? Nah, not really. Just in bad company", he grinned and turned his gaze back to the village.
They were sitting on the Hokage's Residence's roof, from where they had a clear view on the rebuilt streets and houses, and also the top of the Monument, which – Sakura was sort of glad – Naruto had not yet spotted, or at least not yet recognised as an image of himself.
"Are you with", she hesitated, the name suddenly seemed like a dark and forbidden incantation "with Madara?"
"Hm", Naruto gave a half-nod, then turned his eye to Sakura and let his unmistakable, wide and optimistic smile spread over Kakashi's face, where it looked oddly out of place.
"Hey, know what? I'm gonna find a way back here! For real and as myself, dattebayo!"
Sakura blinked back her tears and returned his smile. She had completely forgotten how impossible it was to lose hope in Naruto's presence.
"What about Sasuke?", she asked, hesitantly. There was something in the air that told her, she should not ask. The fact that Naruto had not so much as mentioned him, for one thing. Her suspicion was only confirmed when Naruto in reply said nothing, but shifted his weight uncomfortably, scratched his head, gave a faint laugh and then quickly changed the subject.
"Tell me what happened here!", he demanded, and Sakura knew that repeating her question wouldn't get her any answers. And so she told him, told him how the war ended, how many of their former friends and comrades had died. She felt his arm placed around her shoulders while she was talking. She told him how Kakashi had been assigned Hokage, and how she had become his assistant, told him about Shikamaru, and how his sight, his behaviour, had unsettled Choji enough to make him run away and abandone the village. She told him about the Alliance of the Five Elements, and of how many shinobi and kunoichi still believed that peace was the end of their profession. She did not tell him about her suicide-attempt, nor could she bring herself to mention Kiba in any way.
She wanted to tell him about Madara's plans to return, but could not find the right words to begin and describe what had happened. She just came to think that maybe she should instead ask Naruto about what life (or existance) in limbo was like, and if he had noticed Madara doing anything out of the ordinary lately, had just begun to form the perfect question that would make Naruto give her the insight she needed, when she felt his head, which he had for some time now rested against her shoulder, sink and with a light thud land in her lap – either asleep or unconcious, Sakura could not tell.