Last Time .....
Madara and Tobirama always referred to Sakura as a "little girl," partly because her age, relative to their own, truly made her a young girl, and partly because Sakura herself acted like an innocent and immature young girl. In the Sengoku period, 16 or 17-year-old girls were considered mature women and wives; they would never treat her like an immature child.
"Haha, just like you said, times have changed. Isn't this exactly what you and the First Hokage wanted to see? Everyone can grow freely according to their age."
Minato laughed. He quite liked Sakura like this. A young girl should have the brightness and innocence of a young girl; it was the distorted era that forced children and teenagers to grow up prematurely, displaying a maturity inappropriate for their age—a maturity that was heartbreaking.
Tobirama remained silent. Well, this was what they called "you can't have your cake and eat it too."
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As soon as Kakashi returned to the ninja world, he went straight to find Sakura. She and Itachi Uchiha were cooking together, apparently making curry. An enticing aroma filled the air. Itachi was instructing Sakura on how to season it, scooping a spoonful of coffee powder into the pot and teaching her earnestly.
"The secret to delicious curry is adding a spoonful of coffee powder. It makes the curry's aroma more complex."
Sakura nodded in surprise. "Really? It smells even better now! It's about adding coffee powder? That's amazing!"
Itachi then took out an apple and honey, explaining, "Sakura-san, your taste is on the lighter, sweeter side. So, here's another secret: add a grated apple and three spoonfuls of honey to the curry. This will neutralize the spiciness of the curry and add a fruity flavor."
Sakura looked at Itachi with admiration. "Itachi-san, you know so much! I used to just throw in store-bought curry cubes and boil them, I never knew there were so many little tricks."
Itachi smiled slightly, "To make food taste good, you have to be willing to put in a little effort."
"Mmm-hmm." Sakura nodded repeatedly, taking the apple from Itachi's hand with a bright smile. "Itachi-san, let me mash the apple into a puree. Just keep an eye on the fire; the curry needs to be stirred constantly, otherwise it'll burn."
"Then I'll leave it to Sakura-san." Itachi smiled back, continuing to carefully stir the bottom of the pot with a ladle.
Kakashi called out at that moment. "Yo~, Sakura, Itachi."
The two turned around simultaneously, and Itachi greeted them politely. "Kakashi-senpai."
Sakura's eyes lit up, and she excitedly rushed towards Kakashi, holding the apple in her hand. "Kakashi-sensei, you're back!"
Kakashi smiled as always, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons. He gently ruffled Sakura's hair. "Yeah, I'm back, Sakura. I've been so busy lately, I haven't had a chance to see you properly. I'm sorry. This time, Izuna and I are taking turns, so I can stay here for a while."
Sakura immediately blushed awkwardly. "Izuna-san really took turns with you? He didn't say anything to you, did he?"
She knew she hadn't been feeling well, but she was worried Izuna wouldn't have told Kakashi-sensei about it. It felt so embarrassing.
Kakashi knew Sakura was not only incredibly proud but also loved to put on a brave face, so she wouldn't want anyone to talk about her low spirits. He simply blinked, feigning ignorance, and asked, "Hmm? What's wrong? Did he need to tell me something?"
"Nothing, as long as he didn't say anything." Sakura immediately waved her hand, trying to cover it up, then grabbed his wrist and headed towards the kitchen counter, excitedly saying as they went. "Kakashi, come quick! Itachi-san and I are making curry. We made a lot, so we can eat together later."
Kakashi let Sakura hold his hand, smiling as he followed behind. He didn't forget to thank Itachi. "Itachi, thank you for taking care of Sakura these past few days."
Itachi's tone was humble and polite. "Kakashi, you're too kind. I was just doing it as a favor; it wasn't hard work at all."
Once the curry was ready, Itachi cleaned up the counter and went back to preparing his nutrient solution. Since he didn't need to eat, and watching Sakura eat made her uncomfortable, Itachi always let her eat alone.
However, today, Sakura finally had a dining companion—Kakashi. The two of them each served a large portion of curry and placed it on the makeshift outdoor table. After sitting down facing each other, they put their hands together and said, "Let's eat!"
Sakura scooped up a spoonful of curry and took a big, blissful bite, her eyes crinkling as she exclaimed, "Wow, this is delicious! Now, the time I look forward to most every day is mealtime. If Itachi-san weren't a ninja, he'd definitely be the best chef!"
After several more bites, Sakura, engrossed in the delicious food, suddenly remembered something. She stopped eating abruptly, her eyes fixed intently on Kakashi.
Although she had eaten with Kakashi-sensei several times, and even spent a lot of money on several occasions to pay for the bills he left for her—she had never actually seen his face behind the mask! This time, she was determined to see what could stop her from seeing Kakashi-sensei's face!
However, her momentary distraction had caused half of the curry in Kakashi's bowl to disappear, but half remained. Sakura clenched her fist—chance! She stared intently at Kakashi's mask.
Kakashi, observing Sakura's eager and curious expression, couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Chewing on his curry rice, he asked innocently, "Sakura, aren't you going to eat? Why are you looking at your teacher?"
Sakura chuckled. "Sensei, I'll eat later."
"Is that so?" Kakashi teased the little girl, deliberately pulling down his mask slowly. Sakura instantly tensed, leaning forward involuntarily, her eyes fixed intently. Almost there, she was about to see!
But then, a sudden gust of wind blew, whipping Sakura's hair against her face, blurring her vision. She frantically brushed her hair away, and when she looked at Kakashi again, she found his bowl empty, only his cheeks bulging as he chewed voraciously beneath his black mask.
Sakura was stunned for a moment, then slammed her hand on the table in anger, exclaiming, "No way!"
She was practically going berserk. What kind of fatal coincidence was this? Every time, she always failed at the last minute! Was fate playing a cruel joke on her? Sakura slumped dejectedly onto the table.
Kakashi laughed. He admitted that he was a bit wicked and always liked to tease Sakura on purpose. He even used the lure of seeing Sakura's true face to freeload several meals off his student. But this time, he was really prepared for Sakura to see his face. However, fate played a trick on him, and Sakura failed again.
Kakashi encouraged her, "Sakura, seeing your teacher's face is actually quite easy. You'll have many opportunities to see it in the future."
To Be Continued ...