When she first started as a medic, she heard from Tsunade a tidbit of her wisdom. "Women statistically seek out their fathers in their spouses."
It was something to ponder about all those years ago as she studied psychology as a requirement for being a medic. She hadn't really understood it at the time, but maybe the reason it was a requirement was because of all the PTS cases they had at the hospital. (Then again, working as a shinobi was a very stressful occupation.)
During those years training to be a medic, this was probably her favorite thing to ponder seeing how it applied to her somewhat, if not directly. On the rare occasions when she wasn't training with Tsunade or helping out at the hospital, she was curled up in her work area. Propping her legs on the table that served as her desk with her arms over her chest as two chair legs stood high in the air, the other two staying very well grounded, she would spend all her free time pondering this. Over the years, however, this idle fact became lost in the hustle and bustle of her busy schedule between Team 7 missions and her job as a medic at the current age of 19, but a recent study made her pick up her queries where she left off.
As she sat under the cool shade of one of the many trees of the training grounds, the sound of the small river mixing in the background with a familiar laugh, she found her thoughts immersed in that small fact. Women statistically seek out their fathers in their spouses. No matter how many times she tried to imagine it, she couldn't see it in her mind. Then again, she hadn't thought to analyze her family.
Her father and mother were practically complete opposites. While she was warm and caring with a smile on her face, he was stoic with a grim look always somewhere on his face. He constantly wore dark colors, almost always wearing the same black color as his hair. If she had gotten anything from him (as she took almost completely from her mother), it was his bright emerald eyes.
A chuckle left her mouth and she placed her hand over the lower portion of her face as she tried in vain to hide her smile. Looking back on it now, her father reminded her almost entirely of Sasuke. In fact, many of her crushes seemed to follow the same mold as her father. The stoic genius that was her best friend's teammate, Shikamaru, the Hyuuga prodigy, Neji, the Kazekage, Gaara, hell, even Sai for a short while. They had all been exceptionally talented like her father, had the same stoic expression, and even had the same smirk she remembered fondly in her childhood. The one that was his way of saying 'good job' without having to utter a word at all.
But as she sat in the comfort of the cool shade and the lazy midday sun, she realized that she had, at some point, grown out of it. She didn't exactly know how, or when it had happened, nor why her choice in men had taken a seemingly strange turn elsewhere (she was still trying to figure out how it started), but it just happened and now she was stuck. She had remembered coming close to finding the answer (she could still feel the giddy shivers running up her spine), but just as she came upon it, she found she understood and didn't understand at the same time. It was an answer that had just only made sense. It did make sense, but just in a strange, vague manner and she found herself wishing she hadn't forgotten it.
The tree rustled in the small breeze that floated in the sky and felt her hair brush her shoulders (the hair she had spent the last year trying to grow back) and reached up to twirl the elbow-length hair. As she did, she remembered how she had spent her genin years growing it out and keeping it nice for Sasuke-kun's approval and smiled reminiscently. Just then, she heard a familiar voice, different from the one still playing in the river.
"Sakura-chan." it said.
At the familiar sound and the familiar fluttering feeling she got when she heard it, she had to wonder just when it started happening.
"Sakura-chan."
When did she start feeling that strange butterfly/wind-knocked-out-of-you feeling around him?
"Sakura-chan?"
When did she find herself visiting more than she used to?
"Sakura-chan?"
When did she notice that her touches seemed to stray and linger longer than necessary?
"Sakura?"
When was it that she had an undeniable urge to just kiss him, no matter where they were or who was watching?
"Sakura?"
When was it that she wanted to scream from the rooftops just how much he meant to her?
"Sakura-a-a-a?" the voice sang.
The scientists in the study said that women statistically looked for their father in their spouses. Women essentially fell for their fathers.
"Sakura?"
It wasn't a lie. They had a five-page article and television special on this study, but science had been wrong before.
"Sakura-a-a-a. Yoo-hoo."
Scientists said that women statistically look for their fathers in their spouses. They fall for their fathers, but…
"Sakura!"
A tap on her shoulder brought her out of her reverie and she blinked owlishly up at the smiling man before her. She took in what she could of his face, though the sunlight glaring into her eye didn't help. Raising a hand to shield her eye, that's better, she thought to herself, she studied his visible features. His lone dark eye, speaking volumes in what the mouth couldn't. The small lines that appeared just at the corners of his eyes when he smiled, just like he was doing now and the top of the bridge of his nose that peeked out ever so slightly from his mess of silver hair and the edge of his mask.
"Ready to go?" Kakashi asked, one hand on her shoulder while the other held a well-worn volume of Icha Icha Paradise.
"Hai." she nodded and felt the familiar sensation of his gloved hand ruffling her pink locks playfully. She let his hand stay there for a second, basking in the warm euphoria it had to offer her before she batted at his hand playfully. "Hey!" she chided laughingly and he chuckled and smiled, the familiar crinkles appearing once more before he went to fish Konoha's number 1 knuckle-headed ninja from the river.
Sakura watched him leave before letting a heavy sigh escape her lips and falling back against the tree. Science had said women statistically fell for men like their fathers, but it was wrong. Science was wrong. Haruno Sakura hadn't fallen for the father…
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as he waved from the top of the hill. Sakura blinked. Just how long was she there for? Kakashi chuckled. "Come on, Sakura. We don't want to be late." he smiled.
Sakura nodded and pushed herself up and away from the tree. Haruno Sakura hadn't fallen for the father…
"Hey! Wait up!"
…she'd fallen for the crazy uncle.
PTS: Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Commonly found in people returning from war or other stress-inducing situations.