"Ano…" Sakura said, breaking Rin out of her thoughts.

"Hm…? Rin asked.  "What is it?"

"No… nothing," Sakura said, and turned back to her tea.  She had been training her in some of the more finer points of the assassination techniques, and since Kakashi hadn't put a dateline on the completion date for the techniques, Rin could go at a pace that was comfortable for her and Sakura.  She deemed that Sakura has had just about enough for today, and so decided to stop early.

"Sakura, what's bothering you?  You seem to have something to say, but you don't say what it is," Rin tried to coax her.  "You know, sometimes talking does help."

"Um…" Sakura still seemed a little reluctant to say, but decided to confide in her anyway.  "Would you ever tell someone that you like your true feelings?"

"Hmm…" Rin said, putting her hand to her chin.  "I don't know, because the last time something like that happened to me, we didn't say anything, we both just felt it."

"Felt it?" Sakura was getting curious.  "What do you mean?"  Rin started to smile to herself, and continued.

"You see, I know someone, who used to work for the Anbu as well, he's still there, I think," Rin started, and Sakura leaned in further to listen.

"From the same squad?" the younger girl asked, but Rin shook her head.

"He was from another department.  You see, he might not have been a really popular guy, but when you get to know him, he's actually nice," Rin said, getting more than a little dreamy.  "I don't even remember when I had decided that I liked him."

"I remember when I started to like Sasuke kun," Sakura told her.  "I'll never forget it."

"What about Naruto?" Rin asked her, and Sakura gave her an 'are you kidding?' look.  "I heard that even Gai's student is interested in you."

"Huh?  Geez, I don't think I like him in that way." Sakura added.  "I think I respect him more than I did when I first met him, but nothing more, I guess."

"Don't be too sure," Rin told her.

"Why not?" Sakura asked her.

"Because the man I dated for 3 years definitely wasn't my number one choice, if you know what I mean." Rin hinted to her.

"You mean you had a crush on someone else?" Sakura asked, hoping that perhaps she would understand her position. 

"No, but I would never have imagined myself dating someone like him." Rin replied honestly.  "I can just imagine feeling like that when I was your age.  You know, no matter what anyone says about ninjas being cold blooded killers, that is definitely not true," Rin told her.  "Coz we still have feelings like any other human being."

"I see," Sakura said to her.  "But would you have told him how you feel?"

"I don't think so, not unless under some unforeseen circumstances, especially since I didn't really expect to like someone like that," Rin answered her.  "But I'll tell you something, if you want to tell him how you feel, then go ahead.  Besides, it would probably have been much better than waiting for something to happen."

"I see," Sakura said, and Rin was wondering if she should do the same thing, given her current situation.  "But, you know, Rin, I don't know if I'm up to it."

"Neither do I," Rin said with a wink.

"Rin, are you still dating him…?"Sakura asked after a slight pause, and Rin gave her an odd look.  'Er… sorry, it's ok if you don't want to tell me…"

"Not exactly," Rin replied truthfully, it was a little depressing talking about this, and she really couldn't fathom why she was discussing this with a girl half her age.  "But even after 2 years, I can tell you that I still miss him."