Part 2- Confronting the matter

Sakura awoke earlier the next morning, even though she knew how unnecessary it was. Her teacher always showed up late on the days they had a meet or a mission, and she could talk to him then, but she didn't want to risk bringing it up and have the others find out. So, in the early morning, she got away from her apartment and now stood in front of her sensei's office.

'I wonder if he's even here…'

She considered walking away right then, but something willed her hand to raise and knock softly on the door. She heard rustling from inside and a moment later, Kakashi-sensei opened the door and greeted her.

"K-Kakashi-sensei…"

"Good morning, Sakura. Please, come in."

She followed him inside and closed the door behind her. The man's office was remarkably clean and everything there was related to Ninja. Headbands, awards, plaques, photographs. All was normal, except the row of comic-like books on the top shelf in the corner. As Sakura looked around the spacious office, Kakashi once again sat down at his desk writing a report. Sakura was then broken out of her thoughts on the man's office as he spoke to her in a calm tone, not once looking up from his paperwork.

"You're up very early this morning, Sakura. Did you eat breakfast yet?"

The girl's stomach growled loudly at the mention of food and she blushed, shaking her head. Kakashi softly set his pen down and reached out to grab a cup of ramen strait out of the microwave. It was as if he had been expecting her the entire time. After he saw that it was cool, he handed it and a pair of chop sticks to Sakura. The young girl took them gratefully and started eating.

"Like I said, it's very strange that you're up and about this early in the morning."

"I could say the same for you, sensei."

"What do you mean? I'm always up this early."

"Then why does it take so long for you to get to the meeting point!"

Kakashi looked at her in his calm, cool way and she finally calmed down and went back to her soup. After a moment, Kakashi sighed and looked away.

"Patience."

"What?"

"If you really want to be a ninja, you must learn to be patient, both with your comrades and with your enemies. I would have though that would have gone through by now…"

"However…"

"Hm?"

"If you didn't make up excuses everyday, we wouldn't get the wrong idea."

"Very true. I'm glad one of you is learning something. Now, what is it you wanted to speak to me about?"
"Well… there has been something on my mind recently."

"And?"
"And, it has been bothering me a lot."

"Who is it? A member of your team?"

"Huh? Um, well, sort of?"
"I see. It's Naruto, then. He's finally driving you over the edge?"

"What? No, I-"

"He's gotten so under your skin that you can no longer stand to be around him…"

"NO!"

Sakura rose from her seat in a rage, of sorts. Her breath came in shallow gasps and her face was glowing a light shade of pink. Kakashi smiled and motioned for her to sit again.

"That was just a test; no reason to get bent out of shape. Now, explain what it is that bothers you, exactly."

Sakura paused a moment, trying to find the right words. When none came to her, she just started spouting out words.

"I get this feeling deep inside of me, sometimes."

"What kind of feeling?"

"Well, it's hard to-"

"Just describe the feeling."
"I feel all tense and my head spins. My face grows really hot and I feel like I am going to pass out. But then,"

"Then?"
"Then I get all mad for some reason and I feel like hitting him."

Kakashi's questions came faster, and Sakura tried to keep up with her answers. Though it didn't seem as such, Kakashi was hearing and analyzing each and every response he got, in order to figure out the problem. Finally, he made his last question quick.

"Do you love Naruto?"

"Yes-"

Kakashi's eyes went almost wide. Maybe the question was a bit too fast for her. As soon as she realized what she had spoken out, she slapped her hands over her mouth and hid her glowing face from her sensei. She was mumbling her apologies through her hand, but then, the man started to laugh. Confused, Sakura lifted her head.

"What's so funny?"

"You, acting like there is a problem here!"

"But, there IS a problem! I love Sasuke, not that loudmouth Naruto!"

"Sakura…"

Kakashi leaned foreward in his chair and set his hand on top of Sakura's shoulder.

"Listen, the only problem here is that you don't want to admit what is true in your heart."

"But… I love Sasuke… I love him…"

Tears started to well up behind her eyes, and they fell down her cheeks in rivers. Kakashi wiped them away with his thumb as she sniffled.

"Just admit it. You don't love Sasuke. You love Naruto Uzumaki… Go on. You can say it."

"I…"

Sakura tried, she really did, but the more she thought about it, the more the tears came down. Kakashi finally smiled at her and released her face. He patted her on the head and led her to the door. She was wiping her eyes and Kakashi was still smiling.

"Just think about what I said, okay? Don't try to push yourself too quickly, but don't give up quite yet."

"Alright…"

"Mm? Oh, it's Sakura!"

Both at the door looked over and saw Sasuke and Naruto walking up. Naruto was waving his hand around happily, as always, and this only made the ache in Sakura's heart worse. She wasn't ready to face it all yet. She turned on her heel and ran the other way. Both boys were alarmed and worried, and Sasuke ran after his female companion, calling her name. Naruto started off that way, too, but was caught by the shirt collar by Kakashi.

"Naruto?"

At first, the look on his face was serious, but then turned to a serious kind of happy.

"I have some ramen I don't intend to eat. Would you mind taking care of it for me?"

"WOULD I! Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!"

Meanwhile, Sakura was running, and Sasuke, too. He left the building and didn't see her right away. Sasuke wandered around a bit, until he saw her sitting on a bench. She was crying her eyes out. He slowly approached her, making no sound as he came to stand, then kneel right in front of her. She still hadn't noticed her until he softly called her name. She jumped slightly and then looked at him. He was kneeling right in front of her, the boy she thought she… no, convinced herself that she was in love with. And yet, as he was so close, she could not feel anything. She just sat there, staring at him and crying. Sasuke reached out and held her hand tightly. Still, she felt nothing like what she had imagined. Then, as she looked into his worried face, she saw someone else. Naruto, smiling at her. This, she could not handle, and she broke out into tears again. Sasuke then leaned closer and hugged her gently, having gotten used to such things as hugs with prolonged exposure to the girl- and every other girl in the ninja academy. She returned the hug, but kept crying.

'The man I love is here hugging me, holding me in his arms, but it just isn't enough…!'