AN: This was all one big chapter but I broke it down because as I said earlier, I personally don't like huge chapters. Hope you like it. More coming soon.

Disclaimers: Still apply. Don't own it and don't profit from it.

Chapter 8

It was like deja vu. She woke, her bottom was cold and she squirmed until it found a warm spot. This time, it wasn't hands that shoved her back to reality, but a set of narrow hips grinding powerfully into hers. The hands that had woken her last time, were wrapped strongly around her body and holding her in place against his chest. She found herself embarrassingly naked, the exposed flesh of her thighs rubbing against his own. Only wearing her undershirt and panties, Sakura looked around for the rest of her clothing and found it folded and sitting near the fire, resting atop Kakashi's flak vest.

She pushed the blankets aside with every intention of getting out and putting on her clothes but the arms resisted. They tensed as she tried to push them off. Turning her head to gaze into his face, she was shocked to see that he had pushed away his mask, it now hung limply around his neck. She remembered the touch of those lips against her in the dead of wintry night. She remembered how he lovingly caressed her with that mouth. And painfully, she realized that he truly thought he had been kissing someone else and not her. So maybe that kiss hadn't been hers? It had been Naoru's and she had no right to claim it.

Feeling guilty for having deceived her sensei, Sakura stilled her struggles and laid in his arms. He murmured something soft in his sleep, nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck. She turned in his arms and pressed her face against his naked chest, inhaling his scent. Then, she listened to the steady rhythm of his heart, the sound of its beating reassuring her.

Belatedly, it dawned on her that he should have been up and moving. She glanced up into his face and realized that he was so far gone in his exhaustion that nothing short of a bomb going off beside his head would have woken him. How had they escaped the water-nin that were hunting them? When had the left the caverns?

When finally her curiosity would no longer allow her to sit still, she squirmed out of his grasp and pulled on her clothes. Peeking out the dirty window on the other side of the room, she realized that they weren't far from Konoha and that it was snowing– again. He had travelled over 300 miles in a matter of a day? No wonder he was tired.

With every intention of cooking him a good, fresh breakfast instead of another dried ration of meat and bread, Sakura went in search of the necessities. The terrain was now somewhat familiar to her, and she knew there was a farmstead close by. She bought eggs, bacon and some rice from the farm, paying much more than was necessary out of gratefulness. When back at the hut, she quietly went about cleaning out a place for her to cook the food. With a flat stone over the fire, she cooked the bacon and the eggs after she had managed to find a pot to boil her rice in. When finally she was done, she turned to Kakashi, who had slept the entire time and gently nudged him awake.

"Kakashi-sensei." She said softly, her lips by his ear.

He woke slowly, his belly growling as the smell of bacon tantalized him. "You cooked, Sakura-chan?"

"Of course." The young woman said, flashing him a triumphant smile. "I let you sleep as I gathered some food from a nearby farm."

"Thank you." He said, accepting the bounty of food.

She moved off to get her own, leaving him to eat his fill in peace. "It's snowing out but I don't think it's bad enough to keep us from finishing our travels. Once you're done, we'll start back, right?"

"You are eager to get home?" He asked between bites of egg, rice and bacon.

"Mom and dad were leaving again to go visit my grandmother in Bird country."

"Is that where Naoru is from?"

Kakashi chose not to acknowledge the pained look on the young woman's face, instead he bowed his head and concentrated on his meal. If she didn't answer him, then he'd wonder but maybe what he was unwittingly doing was digging up some family rivalry or past pain? Shrugging it off as mere speculation, he waited patiently for her answer.

"Y-yeah. In Bird Country. Where her... fiancee is."

"She's getting married?"

"Soon." She nodded, unable to meet his eye.

"Who is he?"

"What does it matter?" Sakura asked angrily, "Why do you care? You only knew her for a little bit! Not like you've known—" She stopped abruptly and turned her head away, no longer hungry.

"Like what? You? "

"Yes... me."

He had wondered that himself, numerous times. Why had Naoru, a virtual stranger, had such an affect on him? He shouldn't have cared that she had left— but he had. He couldn't get her out of his head. "I'm sorry, Sakura but you're just..."

"What? Too young?" Tears glittered in her eyes.

"Don't cry, Sakura. I'm sorry but, yes, you are too young."

She laughed, "Do you think I'm crying because I'm sad? No... I'm crying because I'm angry! I'm angry that you had to go and fall for someone as stupid as Naoru! I honestly thought better than you, Kakashi!" In her anger, she had forgotten the customary prefix. Sakura trundled along, gathering momentum as she went. "And it would please you to know that she doesn't exist!"

"What do you mean, she doesn't exist?" He asked, genuinely confused.

Sakura clamped her mouth shut. "Nothing!" She squeaked.

It was too late, Kakashi's curiosity had been aroused. Rearing its ugly head, it smelled intrigue and an admission that the girl only half-spilled. His inky gaze narrowed and he set the plate aside. "Sakura, what is it that you're not telling me."

"I'm not allowed to say! Tsunade-sama swore me to secrecy."

"Spill it, Sakura." He snapped, exhaustion and the girl's uncharacteristic insolence was fraying at his almost non-existent nerves.

She grabbed her cloak and dashed out the door in a swirl of wind and snow. She pushed herself hard and within a few hours, found herself standing in front of Tsunade's desk, dutifully reporting the events that had taken place.

"And where is Kakashi?"

"I'm right here."

Both women turned and regarded the silver-haired jounin with identical expressions of scrutiny. If he hadn't been in such a bad mood, he would have found this funny but Sakura's presence only managed to further agitate.

"How are you feeling, Kakashi-san?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm fine."

"Sakura tells me that you had a bit of a problem with some water-nin, back at the valley of end?"

"Not really." He shrugged, his characteristic boredom masking his turbulent thoughts.

"Fine. Go home and get some rest, I'll hear your report tomorrow." The Hokage said, already submersed in her reading.

The two left, walking down the hall side by side. Neither spoke and the tension between them was almost so thick that they could have cut it with a knife. They parted ways at the door without saying goodbye.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaan!" A familiar voice yelled down the street.

Sakura turned and watched Naruto dash towards her, waving his arms frantically. "Hey, Naruto. How's it been?"

"Haven't seen you in a while!" He said happily, "I'm going for ramen, wanna come?"

"Sure, I'll come." Having only ate a partial meal that morning and travelling heavily, it left her stomach growling angrily. "You're buying, though."

His smile didn't falter, he agreed enthusiastically, "It's a date then!"

In Ichiraku's they sat at their customary seats, slurping down bowls of noodle. "So, Naruto what have you been up to? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Training with Ero-sennin!" He said between gulps. "He's been teaching me some cool jutsu and I can't wait to show Sasuke-teme!"

"Where is he, by the way?"

"He's on a mission with Shino and Neji, they went to water country." Naruto grumbled, looking slightly green with jealousy.

"Three of our best shinobi, in Water country?"

Naruto shrugged, "Who cares what stupid Sasuke does?" He downed the rest of his ramen and ordered two more. "So, how are things with you?"

"I just got back from my first mission as a medic-nin!" She said proudly, pushing away thoughts of Kakashi. "I got to work with the ANBU!"

"Luckyyyy!" Naruto whined. "I never get to do anything cool."

"What do you mean? You are training with the legendary frog sennin! You should be honoured!"

"You're training with baa-san! She's sennin too."

"It's more like, I'm living at the hospital. My studying is pretty much over, it's all training and applying the knowledge." Sakura mumbled and took up a fresh bowl of ramen. "Besides, Tsunade-sama is too busy being Hokage to worry about me."

"Are you going to take the Jounin exams?"

"Of course. They are coming up next month, aren't they?"

"Yep! I'm getting ready for them." Naruto said happily.

Polishing off a third bowl of ramen, she suddenly felt sleepy and sated. "Well, I'm going home to shower and go to bed. I'm exhausted."

"Okay, I'll see you later Sakura-chan!" He said, ordering a fourth bowl of ramen for himself.

"Take care, Naruto!" She said and was off, bundling herself up in the ANBU cloak.

When she got home, she was shocked to find that her parents had already left. Shrugging of the hurt at being left behind, she threw off her clothes and took a hot shower. When she got out, she opted for a hot cup of tea before finding her way to bed. Dressed in her bathrobe and a towel wrapped like a turban around her head, she went downstairs to turn the kettle on only to find Kakashi sitting at the kitchen table with a big mug of tea in front of him. She scowled at him and took the mug, it was half full. She sipped at it and sat in the chair that had been pushed out for her. "What do you want, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I want to know what is going on, Sakura."

"Why do you care?" Her words were muffled in her cup as she drank.

"I care because you are my student, Sakura."

"Former student, Kakashi-sensei. Remember? I am now under Tsunade's tutelage."

"It doesn't matter. You are still mine." His words made her heart race, "And I have a right to be concerned."

"You don't know what you are saying, Kakashi-sensei."

"I'll ask this only once more, Sakura; what is going on?"

Pulling the damp towel off of her head, Sakura threw it on a vacant chair. She ran her hands through her hair, picking at the knots. She fiddled with the damp mass of pink hair as she contemplated telling him the entire truth. "What if someone you knew became someone else... what would you do?"

He blinked, "What?"

"I mean, what if someone you knew changed so much that you didn't recognize them. Then, you based all of your feelings around that person, who you thought was a stranger... but really wasn't."

"Sakura, just spit it out."

Unable to really put into words what she was trying to say, she sighed. "I'm going to be in so much trouble for this." Sakura grumbled, picturing the look on Tsunade's face once she found out what she had done. With a deep, gusty sigh, Sakura clenched her eyes shut and sliced off the constant feed of Chakra to her body. It was like pulling the plug and feeling the power bleed out. She rerouted the energy into the spot on the back of her neck. Her body began to vibrate as the cells in her body sped up, maturing and filling out her gangly form. Her fingernails and hair grew at an obscenely fast rate, as did everything else on her body. When finally the shimmering stopped, she opened her eyes and stared at Kakashi. "I'm Naoru!"

TBC

Talk about a cliffhanger! Sorry guys!