Chapter 4:

Disclaimer Yeah… you know the drill...

"Mmm," Sakura slurped up her Ramen noodles. She hadn't had them in awhile, and had forgotten how good they tasted. She was on her second bowl, and Kakashi was on his third. The coupon Tsunade had given Sakura had gone unused, Sakura had decided to wait and use it with Naruto when he returned from his tests.

"So, what have you and Naruto been doing since I've been gone?" Kakashi spoke, only after taking a long sip of sake.

Sakura's eyes went from her ramen to Kakashi, nearly forgetting he was there. She slurped up the noodle she had been chewing on for awhile, then answered, "Oh, well. I've told you most of it. We've been training with each other for the ANBU tests, though, Naruto knew he needed to pass the Chuunin exam first, so, I've been helping him out with that." She smiled. Even she had to admit, the training was tiresome, but fun.

She had gotten used to Naruto, and since he now had Hinata, she didn't have to worry about him chasing her. Sakura chuckled, though, the thought of Naruto, of all people, having a girlfriend, but not her, made her a little upset. But she wouldn't let something like that ruin this night.

Kakashi nodded, "I've noticed you've been training hard. You are so much stronger then when I last saw you." Kakashi's hand covered his face as he took another sip of sake, he was now completely finished with his food.

Sakura smiled, "You bet I am." She laughed brightly, "Tsunade-sama has been training me extremely hard. But, I'm an official medic nin, and I hope to soon be in ANBU." Her smile grew brighter, "A ninja's work is never done."

Kakashi laughed, he had to agree. There was so much he should be doing right now, but he'd rather be here. Why? He was oddly enjoying the time he had with Sakura. He hadn't seen her in what seemed like years, and it was strange how they talked to each other like old friends, rather then teacher and student. Had they finally passed this barrier? She was what, 18, 19? He smiled, she was definitely growing up.

Sakura cocked and eyebrow at her former sensei. His face was full of odd expressions. "Erm… are you all right?"

Kakashi shook his head, realizing he must have looked quite odd. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Just thinking."

"Hmph. That's just like you, always thinking." Sakura laughed, "Same perverted old man. You haven't changed a bit Kakashi-sensei."

I guess not. Kakashi thought. Hearing himself being called sensei again felt odd. When he was on his mission, even his team mates didn't call him that. He shook his head, "Can we ditch the sensei part? I told you, I am no longer your sensei, so you don't need to call me by that title."

Sakura smirked, knowing she probably poked a nerve and felt like prodding it further, "What? What's wrong with calling you sensei?" She leaned closer to him, "Don't want to think of me as a student anymore?" Sakura said jokingly, having no idea that that's what they both wanted. They just didn't know it yet.

Kakashi looked at her, another odd expression. Is it what he wanted? But even if she was no longer his student, and they both acknowledged that fact, nothing would change, right? Kakashi physically and mentally sighed. What was he thinking? He needed some rest. There was no way in hell he thought of Sakura that way, nor vise versa.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at her confused sensei. "Well, if we're done here, maybe we should both be getting some rest." Sakura put some coins on the table to pay for both Kakashi's sake and the ramen for them both. "And maybe, since we're both off tomorrow, we can train together? I'm eager to see how you can help in my ANBU training."

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, it might be wise to get some sleep. My report for the mission's still not complete. Tsunade will kill me if I don't get it done tonight." He stood up too and bowed, "I would be honored to train you."

Sakura blushed slightly, What was this? She took this opportunity to slap him hard on the back of his head, "Are you mocking me?" She growled angrily.

Kakashi raised his head back up, his hand caressing the back of his head. "No! I would never think of it." He laughed. "You go on ahead, I think I'll have a few more drinks."

Sakura shook her head, "Whatever. Just don't get too drunk. I don't want to have too much of an advantage over you tomorrow." She grinned.

Kakashi looked at her, "Me, drunk?" He laughed, "Don't worry about it. Besides, I recover from hangovers well."

Sakura rolled her eyes and waved a goodbye then left the restaurant. He is too weird. You think you know him, and then a completely different personality comes out. Maybe it's just because he doesn't know how to treat me. She started walking towards her house, and decided to start thinking out loud.

"Doesn't know how to treat me?" She sighed, her hands now resting behind her head. "Maybe he doesn't know how to treat a girl who's been a student for so long, that's no longer a student." She started to confuse herself. "God I'm tired. I guess I should get some sleep tonight so I can train with him tomorrow. Maybe then I'll get some answers… if he isn't too hungover…" She sighed, knowing fully well that he would most likely have a hangover.

She got to her house and took of her hitai-ate and yawned. Her ninja sandals slipped off with ease as well as the rest of her clothes as she walked into her bathroom. She turned the shower on and while waiting for the water to warm, she started brushing her hair. Then of course, she started thinking again.

"Hmmm… I wonder when Naruto will get back." She put the brush down and started to step into the bathtub, "Let's see, the first test barely takes an entire day. The second test takes five days, and the third test can take months. Tomorrow will be the third day, meaning he'll be in the second test. The forest of death." The memories that went along with that name started to flood into her mind.

An image of when they first encountered Orochimaru and the day Sasuke would change forever floated in her mind. If she had refused to take that test, Sasuke wouldn't be gone. She would probably still love him the way she did then. She knew that Sasuke nor Naruto would back down. She knew It was up to her. If only she knew what would happen that day. She sighed, beginning to think it was all her fault.

She had never thought of that before. She shook her head, "No… it would have happened eventually. The hokage would have died, and Sasuke would still be out looking for power no matter what I did. I can't be blamed for anything." She sunk lover into the bathtub, nothing she said was making her feel better.

She closed her eyes and just soaked in the tub for awhile, and started thinking of other things, like training tomorrow. She was extremely excited. The last time she had actually trained with Kakashi was years ago. Though the thought of becoming student and teacher again haunted her. She liked the relationship they had now. Friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

Sakura finally stepped out of the bath and grabbed a soft pink towel and wrapped it around her body. She walked to her bedroom and moved the sheets down the bed as she slipped under the covers, taking off the towel as soon as she was fully concealed.

With the thoughts of training with Kakashi, Naruto becoming a Chuunin, and all the missions she and Naruto would go on as ANBU floating in her head, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Friends… just… friends…

Author's Note:

Oh geez… sorry for such a crappy and short chapter. I promise to get a few long one's up this week… where things actually happened… 0.o; I just haven't had much time. I know this isn't the best chapter, nor is it by far my favorite, but I felt so eager to get one up. So, here you go. And thanks for all the kind reviews. Again, I apologize for such a horrible chapter, better, longer one's coming soon!