Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 8- Kakashi-sensei?

'I should be careful not to get noticed by these ANBU teams. I didn't know Tsunade will send 3 ANBU teams to search for me,' Kakashi thought as he sped through the forest. 'A lot of people might think I'm crazy to go looking for someone who's considered dead. It might sound preposterous but I'm still going to look for her.'

Kakashi has been traveling for a week now. The ANBU teams still have no sign of him anywhere. "Heh! I must be really good in keeping myself hidden," Kakashi muttered to himself. 'I need to find a place to stay in, the storm is nearing and I have to hurry,' he thought.

He jumped on branches of trees for hours until he found a small village. 'I didn't know there is a village around here. From what I know, this part of the forest is uninhabited,' he thought while looking around. He was too lost in thought to notice a lady in front of him. He then bumped into her which caused her to drop some of her grocery bags.

"I am so sorry," Kakashi told the lady as he helped her to get her grocery bags from the ground.

"It's nothing. I wasn't looking to where I was going so I bumped into you by accident," she said with a reassuring smile.

"It was also my fault. I'll help you carry your grocery bags as a sign of apology," Kakashi said while carrying some of her grocery bags.

"Thank you. I'm Sasaki Chisato by the way." Chisato told him.

"Hatake Kakashi," Kakashi told her as they walked.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" she asked.

"No, I'm not. Do you know the nearest place where I can stay in for awhile? A storm is coming and I don't want to get caught in it," he told her.

"Hahaha! You're in luck, Kakashi-san, I happen to own an inn. I'll let you stay there for free since you helped me carry these heavy bags," she said cheerfully. 'For the first time I let two strangers help me and let them stay in my inn for free. Anyway Sakura is like family to me now although I don't know much about her.'

"Thank you, Chisato-san," Kakashi said.

They reached an inn and went in…

"Here you go," she told him while handing Kakashi the key to his room. "Dinner will be served at 6pm."

"You don't have to…" he was cut off by Chisato's cheery voice.

"You don't have to be shy! I treat all the people who help me as guests." She told him.

"Thank you," Kakashi said

"No problem!" Chisato told him. 'Sakura will be happy to know that there is a person from the same village as hers, will be staying with us!" she thought happily. 'I wonder how oniichan will react when he finds out that I have another guest staying.'

Sakura didn't train because she decided to play around and have a break.

'Hey! What happened to that 'I need to be stronger' attitude?' inner Sakura asked irritated.

'Relax! I've been training almost everyday. I deserve to have a break once in awhile.' Sakura thought.

'Whatever!'inner Sakura exclaimed not being able to find the right words to say at the moment.

She lied down and looked at the beautiful flowers surrounding her. All of them seem to get lovelier as the days go by. This is her spot where she relaxes after training. It is beautiful. Different kinds of flowers planted here and there, green grass at their feet with a clear stream nearby. It is the perfect place to relax.

She stayed like that for sometime. 'What time is it?' she thought while taking a look on her watch. It read 5:30 pm. 'I guess I should head back by now.' She stood up and headed to the inn.

"Akira-niichan, I have something to tell you," Chisato said to her big brother.

"What is it?" Akira asked when Kakashi went in the dining area with them.

"Who in fucking hell are you?" he asked Kakashi furiously.

"Ano…that was what I was going to tell you," Chisato said. "He helped carry my grocery bags so in return I'm letting him stay here."

"Oh…I see. Anyway is dinner ready? I'm hungry!" Akira said his mood suddenly changing.

Kakashi just sweat dropped and then sat down on a chair.

"It's almost done! Anyway we're still waiting for someone," she called from the kitchen.

"Who are we waiting for?" Kakashi asked Akira.

He was about to answer him when some one slammed the door shut.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to slam it shut. The wind is just too strong!" a girl's voice said.

"It's okay! Come in here. We're about to eat." Akira called amused.

Sakura opened the door leading to the dining area. When she went in she saw another figure sitting down on a chair, with its back facing her. She examined the man closely, silver hair, jounin jacket and the familiar chakra emitting from him.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Sakura exclaimed very loudly.

Kakashi turned to look at the voice who called him. When he did he was caught by a very tight bear hug that made both of them lose their balance.

'What the? Who is this person?' Kakashi thought while looking at the person hugging him. She has pink hair reaching her shoulders and a hitae-ate used as a head band. 'wait a minute. Pink hair?'

"Sakura?" Kakashi said unsurely.

Sakura released Kakashi from her bear hug then looked at him with a wide smile. "Yo! It's been a while, ne?" Sakura answered him while grinning.

"Wait! You guys know each other?" Akira asked confusion clear in his voice. Chisato came in and heard all the commotion that happened.

"Dinner is ready! Let's talk about this after we eat, okay?" she said to all of them.

"Okay" they answered at the same time.

In Konoha all the jounins and the Hokage herself is confused by Kakashi's sudden disappearance.

"As for now Hatake Kakashi is considered missing in action. We won't consider him dead because there are no signs or proof that he is. The search teams will be pulled back and will stop searching for him. We can't do anything but wait until he decides to show up." Tsunade stated to the jounins in their meeting. "Is everything clear?"

"Hai"

"Shizune, do Naruto and Sasuke know that their sensei wasn't found?" Tsunade asked her.

"They are being informed right now," Shizune answered her.

"I see. I hope that they will be able to accept the situation."

In a small village across the border or Fire Country, a lot of explanations are being done.

"Sakura, I'm taking you back to Konoha right now," Kakashi stated after they all finished eating.

"I'm not going, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said softly.

"What? Why?" Kakashi asked her outraged by her answer.

"Sakura, why don't you want to go back?" Chisato asked her.

"I think she has a reason and we should let her explain first." Akira told them.

"Sakura, what's the reason?" Kakashi asked her calmly.

"I don't want to go back because I want to become stronger. I know I can train in Konoha but there are a lot of distractions there. I also don't want my efforts to go to waste," she explained to them.

"Do you know that they think that you're dead? I'm probably considered MIA or dead by now," Kakashi sighed.

"I know that they think I'm dead. I planned it while I was in the forest. I don't want anyone to stop my training. I must admit that I miss all of my loved ones back home but I already made up my mind. I won't go back until I become stronger," she stated stubbornly. "Kakashi-sensei, pls. don't tell anyone about our encounter when you go back."

Kakashi remained silent for awhile. He's really deep in thought. "Who said anything about going back? I won't go back until you're with me. That's the reason why I left anyway. If I go back without you my efforts will just go to waste," he said while smiling under his mask. "Since I am your teacher, I'll be training you. I also want to see what you have been working on while you were gone."

"Yay! Kakashi-sensei will train me! I had hard times training alone. At least someone will be able to tell me what I'm doing wrong."

Kakashi, Chisato and Akira just smiled in amusement on how Sakura reacted. The three of them are wondering when she'll be stronger and be able to go back home.

The rain started to fall and so the storm came.

"Aww…It's raining today! We won't be able to train." Sakura complained.

"We won't be able to train until the storm subsides," Kakashi told her while taking a sip from his tea.

"There's a storm!" Sakura exclaimed. "How come I didn't know about it?"

"Because you didn't listen to the news," Akira answered.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Akira-niichan," Chisato said.

"Whatever!" he said while rolling his eyes. "I'm going back to sleep," he added as he stood up.

"Gee… some people sleep a lot!" Sakura stated.

"Oh! There are customers. I bet they got caught in the storm," Chisato said while standing up.

"Kakashi-sensei how did Naruto and Sasuke react when they found out I was 'dead'? Why aren't they with you? " Sakura asked, her curiosity getting better of her.

"Both of them almost went crazy. They weren't allowed to go out of Konoha because of probation. That is why they aren't with me. I didn't tell them of my departure because they would surely come with me which will cause a lot of trouble in Konoha. They'll think Akatsuki got Naruto or Orochimaru got Sasuke." Kakashi answered her.

Sakura remained quiet after that. She thought about her life back in Konoha. "I wonder what their reactions will be when I come back." She said, thinking about the looks on their faces made her smile. Kakashi chuckled when he pictured the shocked faces of everyone in Konoha when she comes back.

tbc...

Hello! Thank you so much for those who reviewed!

I'm sorry, I won't be putting Itachi in this fic... it'll be complicated to write. My simple mind won't be able to take it. Wahahaha! Anyway... I'll update soon!