Naruto's bloody body was sprawled over a large boulder. She huddled over him as her tears dripped onto his face, adding to the moisture from the heavy rain. Naruto forced a pained smile. "A-a-are you OK, Sakura-chan?" His eyelids closed and his head fell limply to the side. Sakura checked for a pulse. His heart beat faintly against his chest. She ripped off her gloves and began healing. A kunai whizzed by, barely missing her. Naruto's assailant stood proud and tall, admiring his ability to defeat his pathetic rival. "This is all? I leave for a few years and you're still completely useless?" Sakura stared at her cold love. "Sasuke…" She struggled to appear strong in his fearless, icy eyes. Sasuke tossed his head up to gaze upon the dark clouds above them. "Make no attempt to follow me. It would only keep me held back…" He disappeared in a flash and Sakura tried as hard as she could to stop her tears from flowing as she healed him.

Everything was a blur now. All that mattered was saving Naruto. She whimpered softly as she stared at his unconscious corpse-like body. Her eyelids began to feel heavy. Her chakra flow sputtered, unable to supply her demand. As exhaustion set in, a gray and blue smudge caught her as her world faded to black.

Sakura jolted upright accompanied by a throbbing headache. She fell back onto her pillow with a thud and groaned. A masked jounin leaned over her feverish face. "Sakura?" He paused. "Sakura? Are you awake?" Sakura opened her eyes slowly. "Nnnn… Kakashi-sensei?" The copy-nin let out a sigh of relief and plopped onto a chair at her side. She propped herself on the blazingly white sheets. She was in Konoha Hospital, but not in the Emergency Care Ward. She recognized the familiar sterile smell of the area she worked in the most often. She had few bandages, obviously having been healed for chakra depletion more than injuries. "Where's Naruto?" she demanded in a harsh tone. Kakashi waved a hand at her. "Stay in bed. He's fine, mainly due to our hasty chakra usage…" Sakura looked away, ashamed. So he thinks I'm useless too… Kakashi saw her scowl and grumbled. "I don't think you're stupid or useless ya know." He scratched his head, slightly embarrassed by the corny comment. "You just need more training. Hokage-sama gave me permission to train you after you recover." Sakura sat up and closed her eyes. "OK" Kakashi smiled a little, but then sighed again. "It's still raining today…" Sakura's pink hair moved in a flash to reveal a determined glare. "Let's go."

"Now, now Sakura. You should heal a little more before we do anything." Sakura sped intently to the training grounds. Kakashi let out a groan. "Fine. Have it your way." He trudged behind her, huddled over his green book.

Sakura found the Team 7 training ground without effort and took a fighting stance. Kakashi shoved his book into his pocket. "Come at me." Sakura hesitated, trying to contemplate a strategy. In the blink of an eye, Kakashi was behind her holding a kunai at her throat. "Too slow." He straightened his headband to reveal his mismatched eye. "This is a battle Sakura, not a training spar. You have no time to come up with a strategy, observe the enemy, or hesitate to go for the kill. Attack as if it were Orochimaru." Sakura gulped, unsure of how to react to this strange training method. He back flipped farther behind her and threw the kunai. "Begin." She dodged flawlessly, as expected, however Kakashi sent a flying punch to her face. Sakura slammed into the mud. Kakashi raised a kunai to stab, but Sakura grasped his ankle and pitched Kakashi into an open clearing. "Wrong! You should've smashed me into a tree!"

And normally she would've, but her sensei's words echoed in her head. I don't think you're stupid or useless ya know… She couldn't summon enough power to hurt him after he had been so kind. A glorious firebird swooped onto her. She escaped with several scorches or burns.

Over and over she was tossed into mud, rocks, and trees. Fire, water, earth, and wind slashed at her mercilessly. Finally, she took a final blow. She had torn up the field to piles of disheveled earth, scorched, soaked, and covered in snail slime and weapons. She was barely injured, thanks to her artful dodging and healing capability. She attempted to force herself to stand. Kakashi loomed over her. "Not only did you fail to hurt me, but you didn't come at me like you needed to kill me. You wasted chakra and as a result, you're barely injured but you have no more strength to even stand." He shook his head and walked away, removing the green book from his pocket.

Sakura stumbled to her feet and began to train by herself. I won't be useless anymore! Unfortunately, her strength gave out as she struck a tree in the nearby forest.

Someone knocked urgently on Kakashi's window. Kakashi rose from his bed, having been peacefully asleep, to greet Kotetsu and Izumo. He opened the window and ushered them out of the rain. Kotetsu addressed Kakashi. "Hokage-sama would like to know if you know the current whereabouts of Haruno Sakura. She missed her lesson and has not been seen for hours." Kakashi's eyes widened. Was I too harsh at the training session?! He coughed through his mask. He shook his head. Izumo nodded. "Thanks anyway." The pair exited through the window and hopped between the slippery roofs to the Hokage's office.

Kakashi dressed and bolted out his window toward the training grounds.

Kakashi arrived at the training ground with no sign of her. He jogged about the training ground frantically, praying she wasn't unconscious somewhere. He began to scan the outskirts of the uneven ground. As he leaped from tree to tree, he barely noticed a hand sticking out of the slimy mud. He immediately dropped and yanked her out from under several layers of sticky mud. "God Sakura. I'm so sorry!" There was no reply. He checked for any sign o breath. There was a heartbeat, struggling to keep her alive. He wiped her mouth with a soggy glove. "This is all my fault. If I had paid more attention, you would be OK. I promised to protect you and I've failed." He breathed into her mouth. Nothing. He persisted, unable to believe she could die so easily. After a few long breaths, she coughed out a disgusting mixture of water and mud. However, she remained unconscious. Kakashi gathered her filthy body in his arms and sprinted away.

She was so cold. He would have changed her, but the cold mud would be no benefit. He glanced at the bathroom reluctantly. He stepped into the bathroom and cautiously laid her down in the bathtub. He covered his eyes with one hand, blushing miserably at his perverted fantasies, and unzipped her shirt with the other. He ran into a problem. He needed to keep his eyes open. "Oh dear lord…" He uncovered and drooled as his eyes caught a glimpse of her body. Even when covered in mud, her pale body glowed. She had matured so much and he had noticed her body's changes as he trained her. But nothing he had ever seen compared to her body. He shook his head and began to finish the challenging job.

When the tub was full, he washed her face gently with a hot washcloth. Sakura blinked and came face to face with a concerned Kakashi. His expression changed to absolute horror as she screamed, realizing the situation. Kakashi stood quickly and ran out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him with a "SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!" She laughed and smiled as she saw the dirty washcloth. She emptied the tub and showered instead to clean herself.

Meanwhile, Kakashi paced outside the bathroom door, the blush refusing to go away. She must think I'm a horrible pervert! Maybe I can explain! There's no way in hell….The door opened slowly. … FUCK…

Sakura stepped through the steamy doorway in nothing but a small, white towel wrapped around her petite body. Kakashi winced, expecting a mind-blowing punch for gawking at her. Nothing happened. Instead, she smiled gently and asked, "Do you have some extra clothes I could borrow?" He dashed to his dresser drawers. He face fell when he realized all of his laundry was dirty except for a clean pair of boxers and the clothes he was wearing. He tossed her a pair of boxers and slipped off his shirt, tossing that as well. Sakura blushed as she glimpsed at his rippling white muscles. He was drop-dead gorgeous, even compared to Sasuke. She graciously accepted the warm clothes and retreated to the bathroom to change.

Kakashi sat on the bed, watching the rain pitter patter against his window. The bathroom door creaked open slightly as Sakura tiptoes into the room, unsure if he was asleep or not. He turned his head to the side to look at her. She was absolutely adorable, as she was drowning the soft fabric of his shirt. She blushed at his gaze and stuttered. "I-i-is it al-right if I um lay down?" Kakashi scooted over and patted the bed. She crawled in and snuggled into the warm covers. Kakashi smiled through his mask and turned on his side. When she was sure he wasn't looking, she smelled the shirt she was wearing. He smells… so nice. Kakashi saw, but Sakura was unaware. A chuckle escaped, but he hid any sign of it with a cough and a shiver. Sakura sat up, concerned. "Aren't you cold?" Kakashi sat up as well and scratched the back of his head. "Well… sort of… but it's nothing to worry about!" She pouted. "You've always been a horrible liar Kakashi." There was no sensei suffix. Kakashi blinked and his mouth remained open slightly. Maybe there is a chance…NO! None of that!

It was then that he noticed she wasn't wearing a bra underneath his shirt. Oh dear God…. The cold was so not helping this. Kakashi began to lose his cool even more. Sakura cocked her head to the side. "Are you alright?" He nodded and tossed the blanket over her. "Sleep. You must be exhausted." He slammed himself into the pillow, totally embarrassed. She yanked the blanket off and folded her arms across her chest. Sooooooooooo not helping Sakura! "You're cold too. Get under the blanket." Her demanding tone left no room for argument. He obeyed, but rolled to the farthest part of the bed to avoid any contact with her. Sakura sighed and turned over to click off the lamp and go to bed.

It was getting late, but Kakashi was unable to sleep. Sakura had rolled closer to him. They weren't touching in any way, but he wasn't sure if he could control himself if she got any closer. He noticed that though she was sleeping like a log, she was shivering. He took the opportunity to grab some extra blankets from the closet. Before he could get off the bed, Sakura grabbed his shoulder. "Wh-where are you going?" She rubbed her eyes sleepily. "To get some more blankets now go back to sleep." She shook her head groggily. "I don't need them. I'm fine." This was what angered him the most. He pounced onto the bed. "Why do you think you're so strong?!" Sakura was wide awake now. She looked away, pouting grumpily. "I am strong." Kakashi scowled. "You're not that strong. No one is strong enough to survive too many cases of chakra depletion or hypothermia! You have to know your limits!" Sakura was furious. "So you lied to me?! You think I'm weak too?!" "No!" He hovered over her and pinned her wrists so the pillows. "Everyone has weaknesses…. Even Sasuke and…" "And?" "And me." Sakura scoffed. "You don't have any weaknesses…" "Yes I do." "Oh yeah? Name one." He hesitated but forced out the words. "You." Sakura froze and ceased struggling away from his grip. The cat was out of the bag now. Might as well. Knowing the consequences, he kissed her. Sakura kissed back immediately, rather eagerly. After a few innocent kisses, Kakashi threw himself off of her and scurried to the side of the bed, cursing his inability to resist the temptation. "Sorry. Go back to bed. I'll sleep on the floor." He rose to stand, but Sakura leapt onto his back and yanked him back onto the bed. "Where do you think you're going?" Kakashi sputtered unintelligibly before Sakura stole a kiss. Kakashi allowed himself to lie on top of her and kiss her sweetly. He was about to stop when he heard a growl. "Stop now and I'll break those pretty arms of yours." Kakashi laughed and said, "Ya know. I don't think this is as much fun with my mask on." He slid his mask off and over his head, tossing it carelessly to the floor. Sakura stared, captivated by his gorgeous, indescribable face. Despite the slight tan from constantly wearing the mask, his complexion was flawless. His eyes, even the Sharingan, glowed gorgeously in the moonlight. His soft lips were a light pink. She gasped as she beheld his dazzling smile. "Oh…my…" She couldn't finish as she was silenced with a kiss.

Kakashi decided to continue as he traced his kisses down her collar and her neck. A hand slipped up the borrowed shirt, caressing her slender figure. Sakura groaned causing Kakashi to halt. "Am I hurting you?" She shook her head. "You're hands are cold!" He laughed and removed his hand. With one last kiss he rolled off of her and onto his side of the bed. "Good night, Sakura." And then she shivered again…