Chapter Text
Sakura Haruno was three days old the first time Kakashi noticed her.
It was a Tuesday, like any other Tuesday, when Minato-sensei strolled through the village. Kakashi two steps behind him. They stopped in front of a small house as if it were the most normal thing in the world for the Hokage to visit civilians in the middle of the afternoon.
He remembered the faintly smell of soap and early spring, somewhere nearby someone was hanging laundry. It was quite warm for early April.
A young woman, probably around Minato’s age, was holding a baby carefully, almost like it might vanish into thin air right in front of her. Minato was talking, asking about the baby. The man beside her answered, beaming with pride. Of course he did, the Hokage himself asked the questions.
Then the baby yawned. What? Her hair was pink – not the pale kind the man had, but bright, stubborn pink that stuck out in every direction. Babies weren’t supposed to have hair like that. Why would anyone dye a baby’s hair? Kakashi stared longer than necessary, unsure whether it was real. Minato-sensei didn’t seem surprised by the colour. Still odd, he thought.
“We named her Sakura, Hokage-sama,” the man said. Kakashi cringed internally. Pink hair in combination with that name? A bold choice.
“A beautiful name for a beautiful girl,” Minato answered. It was baby? How are babies beautiful?
Kakashi watched them again. The baby slept through the entire conversation. Her tiny fist curled into the blanket as if she were holding on to something.
“You know,” Minato said when they left, “it’s important that everybody in this village trusts us.”
“Even civilians?” Kakashi asked.
“Especially civilians.” Minato glanced back once at the house before they turned the corner. “The Harunos lost their son three months ago. The academy incident.”
He remembered that day. One of the clan children had brought an active explosive tag into the academy to brag about it. It blew up. Twelve children and a teacher died.
“It’s sad,” Minato continued quietly. “The boy was smart, and their dream of having a shinobi in the family probably died with him.”
“Are they a threat?” Kakashi asked. If they wanted revenge, they could be dangerous, you never knew who these civilians end up knowing.
Minato shook his head. “No,” he said. “But a little compassion never hurt anybody.”