Before too long, Kakashi was seeing her everywhere. She had started coming back to practices with Team Minato, standing, talking with Rin for hours while he had to train with Obito. He kept trying to convince himself that training with Obito would be good for both of them. Obito would become useful, and Kakashi would learn to fight those at a much weaker skill level as him. But after three months he just wanted to kill him. Or her. She didn't come every day, she assumed the other days she was training with Gai and his team. Or, durations where she was gone for weeks, she was on some mission. Minato-sensei never told them where she was, and on the days they had dinner at his sensei's house, (which for Kakashi, was quite often) he never saw her, though she was supposedly living there.
He would see her sometimes, from his perch in a tree, trudging towards his teacher's house dirty, smelling of sweat and failure (it was a similar scent to Obito). Kakashi would watch her intently. The sound of war was growing louder every day and he couldn't help but be wary of her. She had shown up so conveniently, and started training with Konoha ninja, but seemed never to be around.
He knew she had to be an enemy. She stopped under the tree he was currently in and leaned heavily against it. She frowned as her eyes unfocused and a deep frown set on her face. Kakashi watched almost fascinated by her. Her hair wasn't as thick as Kushina's looked. It looked smooth and silky. Her shoulders where straight, strong and powerfully built. Her chest (which Kakashi's thirteen year old mind could not help but look at) was small compared many other girls her age, as it heaved in and out.
"Kakashi." She said warily. "I know you're up there." He didn't say anything, just watching her. "I know you don't trust me. And I can understand why." She said softly. "But I'm not going to harm anyone from this village. I will protect them." The last phrase confused Kakashi.
"Protect them from who?"
He could see Sakura's eyes gloss over, but she smiled. "From them." She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Who?" she shrugged, making him frown. "You shouldn't keep this from the village. If we're going to be attacked, then you should-"
Sakura laughed softly. "You don't understand. But…I can't expect you to." She looked up at him and smiled. "I will protect you with my life. All of you." She held her hand out wide before pushing herself off the tree. "See ya." She hobbled off.
Kakashi frowned, "What the hell does that mean? I don't need your protection!" Sakura shrugged.
The next time Kakashi saw her was a month later. Team Minato was coming back from a mission. She was half a mile from the gate, blood dripping down her arms. Rin ran past them, as she fell to the ground. Minato appearing next to her as Konoha ninja appeared out of the woods.
The war had begun.