WARNING: UPCOMING WORD VOMIT. I wrote chapter 1 with the idea to quickly follow it up with this one, but life happened. Haphazardly written, but this has been an idea for way too long. Hopefully, I get the will to edit this.

A prequel to the events of chapter 1

There was a reason why Sakura chose Konoha University and it had nothing to do with Naruto and Sasuke making the school their top pick. It wasn't the school's athletic scholarship program either, though, Sakura has to admit, that was a nice bonus. No. The reason why Sakura chose to study in Konoha University was because of a random stranger.

Sakura hated that she had been crying again. Ever since she was a kid, she had been teased for her rather large forehead. Yet now, when she was already in middle school, why was it that she isn't already desensitized to these taunts? 'At least I already learned enough self-control to hold back, and not break down in their presence,' Sakura thought as she burrowed further behind the playground bushes she was hiding behind.

"Hey." Sakura whipped her head in surprise. She had specifically chosen this spot because it was secluded and hard to see. She shrank back further, curling her body some more to make herself harder to see. "I can hear you crying, you know."

Oh. So that's what it was. Sakura realized that there's no point in staying invisible if you're pretty loud. Slowly, she stood up and rubbed the tears off her eyes. She was met with the sight of a young man with silver hair lounging under a tree in front of her hiding place. "I'm sorry for bothering you." She said to him.

"Huh. You're a bit taller than I expected. With the way you were crying in a playground, I thought for sure that you were seven at most." The young man said nonchalantly. Sakura felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry for not living up to your expectations, then." She managed to say evenly as she moved away to leave.

"Wait. Tell me why you're crying." Sakura stopped and turned on her heel to face the young man, studying his face. Despite his shock of silver hair, he looked like he was only a bit older than Itachi nii-san. She furrowed her brow at him.

"Why should I?"

The man shrugged. "I don't know. Might make you feel better."

"And you care about this, why?" Sakura replied sharply.

He sighed, "I really don't. Only, I'm bored and you look like you needed a friend."

Truth be told, that wasn't really a very convincing point. However, Sakura found herself drawn to this young man despite the alarms in her head screaming 'Stranger Danger!'. Despite the warnings drilled into her since childhood to not talk to strangers, she sat next to him, making sure to keep a generous distance between them, just in case he turned out to be a creepy kidnapper, after all. She would later chalk up her decision to vulnerability during that moment and the desire to confide her deepest insecurities to someone she doesn't have to see ever again.

She found out that his name was Kakashi and that he went to Konoha University. As soon as they began talking, words just seemed to spill out of her mouth, and next thing she knew, she was telling him about her problems as he patted her head consolingly. The warmth from his hand was reassuring to Sakura, comparable to the comforting hugs she would receive from Naruto and Sasuke.

Despite their age difference, Sakura found that Kakashi was surprisingly easy to talk to. Or perhaps, he just tried to adjust to the conversational level of a middle schooler. Sakura enjoyed their conversation and his witty comebacks so much that she didn't notice that the sky was already melting into a reddish orange hue that signalled sunset. When Kakashi stood up and announced that he had to leave, Sakura had to tamp down the sense of disappointment that welled up inside her. As she watched his retreating back, Kakashi turned to Sakura one last time.

"Hey, kid? Next time someone says something mean to you, punch the little sucker in the face. That way, he's the one who'll be crying and not you," he said as he gave her a lopsided grin.

Sakura laughed for the first time that day, and in that moment, it was as if the weight of her insecurities felt lighter. The next time Kiba teased her about her forehead, the boy was promptly acquainted with Sakura's right fist and that had been her preferred method of dealing with bullies ever since.

After that day, Sakura actively tried not to look for him. She really did. Still, she frequented the park in hopes to see him again, while telling herself that she was there, not to wait for him, but simply to get some fresh air. She changed her route on the way to school to one that would take her closer to the road to Konoha University rationalizing the move as a shortcut. Despite these though, she never saw Kakashi again.

Sakura supposed that to work her ass off to enter Konoha University because of a childhood crush was extremely childish. Which was why she never told anyone that the real reason that she desperately wanted to get into this school was to feel closer to the young man whose words turned her into a stronger person. Her one-off encounter with Kakashi had been a turning point in her life, a divider of sorts that heralded the growth of a fiercer, and a more self-assured Sakura. The sense of pride and power she got from defending herself from her bullies made her feel exhilarated, and she wanted more of that confidence. It snowballed from there until she became the woman she was today. Whenever she thought back to that fateful day, she would always think that it's funny that sometimes, it's the unknowing words of strangers that have the most impact in our lives.

It was just so sad that she never got to see him again, and probably wouldn't ever in her life. Sakura sighed as she entered her General Sciences classroom. It's her first day in her dream school, and she was glad that in some way, she was honouring the memory of a person important to her life. She was just taking out her multi-colored pen set when she heard the door open and shut followed by a lazy drawling voice.

"Yo. Sorry I'm late. I got lost on the way here."

Without turning to look at the newcomer, Sakura's first response was to roll her eyes. She heard that the professor of this class was a renowned PhD holder, somebody around his fifties, perhaps. With the way he greeted the class, he sounded like he was one of those old people attempting to be hip and relatable. There was something about his voice that seemed familiar, though. Before Sakura could place what it was, he spoke again.

"I'm your professor for General Sciences this semester. My name's Hatake Kakashi. You can call me anything from Hatake-sensei to 'That Pain in My Ass', I don't really care."

Sakura turned her head so fast she got a whiplash.

It's him.

The same shock of silver hair that stood out in Sakura's memory. The same heterochromatic eyes. It was Kakashi in the fucking flesh after so many years.

The first day of General Sciences went by in a daze for Sakura as she can't help but stare at her professor. She had always wanted to see Kakashi again but had resigned herself to thanking him in her mind, hoping that some twist of fate would allow her thoughts to reach him. But now that he was here, right in front of her, she really wasn't sure what to do. With a little digging, she found out that he left Konoha around the time that she met him to pursue his masters and doctorate degree overseas. He completed those in record time and proceeded to make a name for himself in the scientific industry. He just returned to Konoha this year because of a teaching post the university offered.

Sakura slowly discovered a newfound appreciation for General Sciences. Granted that she was planning to go into medicine and that she liked the subject in the first place, Kakashi's presence in the classroom seemed to multiply her interest by tenfold. She found herself acing her tests and even holding discussions and consultations with Kakashi in different general science topics. He was still the same, Sakura thought fondly. Still easy to talk to, still witty, and still gave Sakura the extra push she needed to improve herself, only this time, by giving her new scientific topics to ponder on after every time they had a discussion. General Sciences became her favorite class, spending more time on it than her other subjects combined. And Naruto and Sasuke noticed.

"Sakura-chan has a crush on her General Sciences professor." Naruto declared sagely one day, when he, Sasuke, and Sakura were all together in the Uchiha's house.

Sakura's face turned red as she tried to splutter out a reply. Sasuke only rolled his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know," he replied as he stood up to get more chips.

After that day, Sakura came to the realization that Naruto was right. Kakashi was smart, fun to talk to, and had been Sakura's knight-in-shining-armor at one point in her life. There was also that tiny tidbit that she was just noticing now that she was a full-grown woman, and that was Hatake Kakashi was definitely easy on the eyes. Admiring her professor's butt might seem a little creepy, but she decided that if she kept to the 'look but don't touch' rule, she could probably avoid being classified as a sex offender.

It was a bittersweet feeling when General Sciences ended. Bitter, because Kakashi didn't teach any of Sakura's future required courses and she would definitely miss interacting with him. Sweet, because the man is brutal on his students and Sakura didn't think she could take another of Kakashi's terrorizing tests.

On the last day of their class, Sakura found herself getting ready to leave the classroom at a much slower pace than her classmates, savoring the last few moments she had with Kakashi. However, there was only so much arranging and rearranging of school supplies in her bag that Sakura could do. Her other classmates had already gone and she was the only one left in the classroom with their professor who was busy typing at his laptop at the moment. She spared him one last glance and turned to leave the room.

"Sakura-chan," she heard him say. She turned her gaze back on him, keeping her face neutral despite her delight at being called by him.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

His eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Good luck in your studies. You had been a great student, having you in class was a delight."

Sakura felt her cheeks redden slightly at the unexpected compliment. "I-I enjoyed your class as well, Kakashi-sensei." She managed to reply, "it's a shame you won't be teaching any other course I would have to take in the future."

Kakashi chuckled, "yeah, it is too bad. I'll see you around campus, Sakura-chan. Don't be a stranger," he said as he returned his focus on his laptop, effectively ending their conversation.

"See you around, Kakashi-sensei," she replied as she turned and left the room, in higher spirits than she was a few minutes ago. Kakashi was right. Konoha University was small. She was bound to run into Kakashi from time to time, and maybe talk to him on occasion as well. She still had a few years with him. Or maybe more, if she played her cards right until graduation. Her face cracked into a smile. The decision to go to Konoha University really was the right one.