Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto the anime or Naruto the Manga. I do own this fanfic however.

:Sorry about the first 2 chapters, as I just now realized that my dividers didn't transfer over, heh. It should be fixed in this chapter though, and I'll be fixing the other as well. Enjoy:

Chapter 3: We Meet Again

Sakura stepped out of the shower, emerging from the steam into the cool air of her apartment. She quickly wrapped a towel around her scar ridden body and dried all of the water from her skin. Away from the stinging sensation of the scalding water, she felt cold again, as if she was disassociated from her body, watching it go through the motions of lying down in the bed and covering her body with the black comforter. It was the same with killing. Every time she took a life she disconnected her mind from the actions of her body. She knew that the last seconds of the lives of the Missing-nin she hunted were spent looking up into green eyes that appeared to have no soul attached.

This was not a newly acquired skill. She had learned it quickly after her first kill, after staring down into the lifeless eyes of the Uchiha, the sharingan faded into a dull, black ocean. She had fallen to the ground, her chakra filled hand still inside the chest cavity of the body. She had laid there on the ground that was quickly being saturated with the same blood that trailed out of the Uchiha chest and over her right arm…laid there, eyes open wide in disbelief at what she had just done, feeling her own blood drip down her face from the kunai would under her eye. Her body had trembled uncontrollably and tears had coursed down her face. But never again would she have that weakness. Never again would she cry over a dead body. Even as she had stared down on the bodies of her mother and father, realizing that no healing jutsu would save them, she had not cried a single tear, just closed her eyes and said to herself, "Stay in control…keep breathing…"

With the thoughts of her parents swimming through her head, she stared up at the stark white ceiling, seeing faces she would never see again. She turned over and switched off the bedside lamp and slowly drifted off into a restless sleep, exhaustion the only thing keeping her eyes closed as the images started flooding her sleep, images of death, nightmares she couldn't escape. Unknown to her barely sleeping body, a Jounin clothed form watched her through the window.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Kakashi had just come in from a mission that had taken him away from Konoha for nearly 2 years. He had been in an under cover position in the Sand Country, observing the new Kazekage who had replaced Gaara after his death. The new Kazekage had yet to make any sort of alliances with Konoha, unlike what Gaara had done during his ruling period. So the Hokage had sent over Kakashi to monitor the situation, in case the Kazekage was entertaining thoughts of attacking Konoha. He had yet to report to Tsunade on the results of the extensive mission, as she was asleep with her head down on her desk when he walked in. He figured he'd wait till the next day to report. Besides, he wanted some time to rest after the long journey back from the Sand.

As he was walking down the streets toward his own apartment he noticed something up ahead, an ANBU in full uniform on a Sunday, walking at a brisk pace towards an apartment building near his. She was a kunoichi he guessed, from the shape of her lithe form, a kunoichi in a very good physical state. There was something vaguely familiar about her, though he couldn't see her face behind the white mask she wore. As she turned to the building and slipped inside it struck him what was so familiar about the ANBU. A long pink braid hung down her back, the ends darkened by…

"Blood?" He questioned to himself. Sakura an ANBU? He knew she had trained with Hokage-sama for several years, but he never thought Sakura would choose the path of ANBU. The elite assassination squad was known for its cold and precise method of killing and he had always considered Sakura to be an emotional girl. He knew that she had become rather withdrawn after she killed Sasuke on her first Jounin mission, but he had left shortly there after for his last mission, expecting she would just need some time to get used to the feeling of having taken a life. He had actually thought the experience would probably turn her away from the shinobi life completely.

Kakashi stood in the street, scratching his head for a moment and then entered the apartment building across from the one Sakura had just entered. He quickly flew up the stairs and dug through a pouch for the key to a room he hadn't entered in nearly two years. As he opened the door a musky smell of unused entered his nose. Sure enough, there was a film of dust on every surface of the apartment. He sighed as he dropped his pack to the floor, thinking about the job it would be to clean up the room. He then turned to the bathroom and turned on the water as hot as it would go.

While he waited for the water to heat up a bit, Kakashi walked over to the other side of his one room apartment and pulled a framed picture off of a shelf, wiping off the coat of grime on the sleeve of his shirt. Two young men stood glaring at each other over the head of the pink haired girl standing in between them with a look up complete happiness on her face. He thought about where his 3 former students were now. One was dead. One was off training with Jiraiya. One was across the street from him, though he never would have recognized her if it wasn't for the abnormal coloring of her hair. Sakura had definitely changed from that person in the picture if she had become ANBU.

He showered quickly, wanting to get to bed as soon as possible so he could be up early to deliver his report to Tsunade-sama. However, as he walked over to his window to open it to allow some fresh air into the musty apartment, he noticed something. Across the street, her window directly across from his, was Sakura, climbing into bed. He watched her carefully as she laid on her back, eyes open staring at the ceiling for a few moments before finally reaching over to shut off her lamp and submerging the room in darkness. He stayed at his window a little while, wondering what all had happened while he was gone from Konoha.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Sakura was up before the sun the next morning. If she was forbidden to do missions for 3 days then she would spend the time training as much as possible. She dressed in the quiet dark of her apartment, discarding her ANBU uniform for the training clothes she barely had time to wear, as she was usually on missions. The dark pants and sleeveless top hung on her frame. She raised an eyebrow. "Apparently I've lost weight." She mused to herself. It wasn't surprising, she would often forget to eat while out on missions, her mind too consumed by tracking whatever missing-nin she was currently after.

The kunoichi dressed her right leg with wrappings and attached her kunai holster. She grabbed some of her shuriken and her katana, deciding to train her projectile and sword skills today during her forced "resting" period. She then pulled her hair back into a quick braid and adjusted her forehead protector before slipping out the door to head to the training grounds.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Kakashi knocked lightly on the door to the Hokage's office and then waited for her answer before stepping inside. He could barely see the top of her blonde head over a stack of papers and folders. He didn't envy the Sannin for her position. He hated doing paperwork. She stood up at his presence and waved him over to the chair in front of her desk. As he sat down, she removed a stack of papers allowing them a view of each other.

"Report."

"The Sand is indeed planning something, and I do not believe it to be in the best interests of Konoha. I managed to pick up some very useful information about the Kazekge contacting the Hidden Mist."

"The Hidden Mist?"

Kakashi nodded. "He has had representatives from their village staying at the palace of the Kazekage for nearly a year. He has a few more that come and go from the Sand Country."

"I suspected as much, but I didn't think he would join with Hidden Mist. This will complicate matters indeed. It seems the new Kazekage does not want peace for his country, like Gaara, but power. Any other highlights?"

"Hai. He has also started executions of citizens that speak against him. If he's not careful he will start a civil war with his people."

"Hmm..perhaps a civil war to overthrow the Kazekage would work to our advantage. You are free to go Kakashi, but I'd like your written report tomorrow, with all your contact information within the Sand." Tsunade flicked her wrist in dismissal at the Jounin.

"Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade looked up to see that Kakashi was still standing in the room. "Hai?"

"I saw Sakura last night. How is she? She seemed…different."

"Different is a good word. One could also say cold or inhuman. Killing Sasuke was hard enough on her, but the death of her parents completely changed her into what you saw last night."

"I noticed the ANBU uniform. Not something I would have expected from her."

"Hai, she just came in last night from a mission. She made ANBU about a month after her parents' death. She's currently a Hunter-nin. Ironic isn't it?"

He nodded mutely before turning to leave the office.

"Take some time off Kakashi, but I'd like for you to be at ANBU headquarters in 3 days. We'll need you to help plan what to do with the Kazekage. And try to go talk to Sakura. No one else has gotten more than a nod or a bow out of her for months."

He paused for a moment, turning back to raise an eyebrow at the Hokage.

"She's somewhat of a loner and takes any unranked mission she hears of. She's not even in the village for more than a few days at a time, and only when I make her or refuse to allow her to do missions. She's currently on a 3 day break."

"I'll try to go see her. Will she be at her apartment?"

"No, she'll be at the training ground near the cherry trees."

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Sakura stood at the same training grounds where Kakashi-sensei had first tested them fresh out of the Ninja Academy. The post on the left still had a cluster of shuriken in the wood, the post on the right had a cluster of kunai, and she currently stood in front of the middle post, practicing some taijutsu. She had thought to train with her katana for a little while, but had decided her hand to hand combat needed to be trained a little more. She could not always depend on having the blade.

She counted her punches as she struck the post over and over again, only barely aware that her knuckles were bleeding from the strikes against the hard wooden surface. The pain was minimal, so her mind didn't register it at all. Sakura had long ago learned to ignore small pains, such as cuts, bruises or aching muscles. She closed her eyes momentarily and paused as she registered the presence of chakra in her vicinity. It wasn't a threatening presence, so she returned to her taijutsu training.

"341…342…343…344…"

Suddenly the chakra moved from being around a hundred yards off to being right behind her. She sun around quickly, sending chakra to her right foot as she kicked out at the presence behind her, only to have her it blocked by a masked ninja with a look of surprise on his face.

"Kakashi."

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

His mind took notice of the sensei dropped from his name. "That would've hurt you know."

"You should not sneak up on people when they're training."

"Do you always aim to kill people who disrupt you?"

"Depends on what kind of chakra I sense. If I'd sensed someone weaker I might have just broken a knee or something."

He nodded. So she had sensed him back in the trees.

"Congratulations on ANBU, I only just found out about your accomplishment as a Hunter-nin. And I wanted to say…I'm sorry…for not being here…"

"Not being here for what?"

"Itachi's attempted kidnapping. I heard about your parents."

The kunoichi didn't answer him in any way and instead turned around and went back to hitting the post. He took the opportunity to look over the changes in her. She was thin, too thin. He could tell the clothes she wore had been bought when she was at a healthier size. Her hair had grown out even longer than the last time he had seen her and was put back away from her face in a single braid. He noticed several new scars on her bare arms, some of them looking much fresher than others. But the biggest change was her eyes. When she had turned to kick him her eyes had remained cold and indifferent, not even anger or annoyance in them. And they had stayed that way the entire way through their short conversation.

He watched her as she continued her training. Her Taijutsu had always been below average as she had always lacked stamina and strength. It seemed she no longer struggled with hand to hand combat. The kick she had delivered could have knocked him back several hundred feet had he not been able to block it. He watched her fist drive into the wood over and over when he noticed something.

"You're bleeding." He stated, looking pointedly at her knuckles.

She paused and turned around to face the copy ninja again. She stood tall and crossed her arms over her chest, not saying anything, just staring at him. He finally decided to say something else, since she obviously was waiting for him to leave. He racked his mind for something he might get her to talk about.

"I heard you're on a forced vacation as well."

She raised an eyebrow at the Jounin. "Hai, Hokage-sama thought I needed to rest. Has she assumed the same thing of you?"

He nodded. "Though I must admit, it's nice to be home for a little while after being gone for so long. I've been in sand for nearly—"

"Two years." She finished for him, staring off into the forest.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Sakura was screaming inside her mind, barely able to keep her exterior cool and calm. Seeing Kakashi was like stepping back 8 years ago. He looked exactly as she remembered him, still tall and thin, slouching with his hands in his pockets. She had pushed her past away. There were too many regrets in the past, too much pain and suffering. And now her former Sensei had walked back in and thrown her severely off balance, making her fight to stay collected and cold in front of him.

"You're too thin." He stated, his eye sliding down her body.

"Sometimes I forget to eat. What's your excuse?"

"Eh, I mean to eat but then I get lost, on the road of life…"

She couldn't help it, that small piece of happiness that she remembered from her childhood came back to her all of a sudden, and before she could stop herself, she smiled a little bit. It was more of a smirk than anything, but the feeling growing inside her caused her to pause before speaking. This was Kakashi, her sensei, her mentor. She had sworn to cut off all ties with her past, all the people she had been close to. And yet here she was carrying on a conversation with the Copy Ninja himself. Suddenly, her mask was back across her face, her eyes once again indifferent.

"I'm training. If I'm made to stay here, I will at least work to better myself during my imprisonment. Perhaps you should do the same."

"Perhaps I should." He responded vaguely as he turned and walked away.

She watched him slowly walk away till he was about 50 feet from her. He stopped and called back to her.

"Fight me."

Sakura tried to keep the surprise out of her voice.

"Are you sure? You don't know me that well anymore. I've picked up new…tricks."

He slowly turned around to face her once more and nodded. "But if you lose you have to have lunch with me."

She considered the offer carefully. She knew Kakashi was good, being a master of ninjutsu. He was also incredibly fast and possessed the Sharingan. But she was not the same Sakura he taught, she was not the same Sakura he watched in the Jounin exam 3 years before. She knew why he was here anyway. He had obviously been sent by Tsunade-sama. She could end the fight quickly and then maybe he could report back to the Hokage what everyone else already knew, that she was unreachable.

"Alright."

Author's Note: Thank you to my reviewers thus far, I hope to pick up more. This is my first Naruto Fanfic, and I would indeed enjoy some constructive critisism.