A/N: Hi. For those of you who didn't re-read the edited Chapter 1, this is no longer a Bleach crossover. Sorry to those of you who wanted it to be…

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Thoughts

Sakura's POV

Kakashi's POV

Regular POV

Chapter 2: A New Set of Rules

Sometimes, I wonder what it would have been like to tell someone that I loved Kakashi. Who would I tell? Ino? What would she say? Would she laugh? Probably. Do I even have the strength to make my feelings known?

Konoha was always peaceful in the mornings. Yellow sunlight streamed in through the blinds, flooding Sakura's room with warm light. The twittering of birds was oddly comforting as Sakura pulled on her standard uniform: a red top with the Haruno crest, short pink skirt covered with a brown medic's apron and tight black shorts beneath. She fastened her leg guards onto her tall leather shoes and stuffed her leather gloves into her kunai holster.

There was to be an all-shinobi gathering outside the Jounin HQ. It was obviously something important if every ninja in Konoha was to attend. Sakura's nerves were on full alert, and she felt oddly jumpy as she made her way through the crush of people in the streets. Something about that meeting didn't seem completely innocent to Sakura.

The courtyard was in chaos. The sound of voices was thundering and overwhelming, chunin and jounin and genin all standing in tightly knit groups, glancing furtively at those above them in rank. The ANBU, outranked only by those in their ranks and the Hokage, stood suavely here and there in their teams, masks lowered over their faces. It is said that looking at an ANBU the wrong way was enough to get you killed. If so, many, many of the shinobi gathered were dead men.

Sakura instantly recognized her boys among the crowd. Team Snake, Sasuke's team, Team Fox, Naruto's team, and Team Wolf, Kakashi's team, all stood together. They were on the receiving end of the brunt of the wary stares, for they were widely considered the most deadly and efficient teams in ANBU.

Sakura's heart sputtered in her chest at the sight of Kakashi in his uniform. ANBU uniforms are one of the strongest aphrodisiacs known to shinobi, and saying Kakashi wore his well was a gross understatement. Even though Sakura herself was not in ANBU, she wandered over to them, standing a safe distance from Kakashi. If she stood too close, she was certain her heart would give out.

Suddenly, a hush fell across the gathered shinobi and they all looked up expectantly as Tsunade appeared, standing at the railing, the same place she had been at her inauguration. She stared down at the gathered shinobi, eyes roving their faces, some plain for all to see, others hidden behind porcelain masks. Her eyes came to rest on the bright, beautiful face of her apprentice, and her insides twisted in indecision. She knew Sakura would not take it well, and she didn't want to subject anyone to this new law, but, for Konoha, she had to.

"As you all know, Konoha has the fewest shinobi it has ever had in the past few decades. After the war with sound, we have suffered heavy losses. But, we have a reputation to keep up. Many of you are pulling triple shifts and are taking missions far above you in rank and for that, I apologize. To solve this problem, no one will be taking a mission in the next month." There were mumurs of surprise. How would barring missions help Konoha's appearance to the outside world? Tsunade plowed forward. "From this day forward, for a full, thirty day period, all kunoichi over the age of sixteen are to get married. If a kunoichi is unable to find a man they wish to marry by the end of this time period, they shall be paired up with any shinobi in our village over the age of sixteen. That is all. You are dismissed." Thought her voice was steady, her hands were not. They were shaking from where they rested on the railing. All the shinobi had disappeared into thin air, all but a certain pink-haired kunoichi who stood, staring at the ground in disbelief, her brilliant green eyes numb. Tsunade's heart constricted.

Sakura, I'm so sorry…

My parent's neighbors were civilians, like my parents. They were people who enjoyed being the best. Our neighborhood had been quiet and peaceful before they moved in. Every other week, they had landscapers come and trim every stalk of grass that peeked over the carefully drawn margins of their land. The landscapers where there to make sure that the lawn was mowed to perfection, that every branch in every tree was where it was meant to be, that not one stray leaf clung to the perfectly green grass, that every ladybug and every butterfly was in place, that every bird sat in

their trees and sang only for them… They were the type of people who threw parties every week to flaunt their wealth. They were the kind of human beings that compared their home to ours, obsessing over how much better their back yard looked than ours, with their winding, white-paved paths, wicker arches, trimmed grass, neat, tidy rows of trees and bushes, single fountain, and beds of bright flowers. They had benches and we had patches of dirt. They had matching, gold-gilded patio furniture and we had a rickety wicker swing clinging to the porch by rusted chains. They had precisely cut crystal glasses and we had plastic cups and ceramic mugs. They had a place for everything with everything in its place while we had a place for nothing and nothing in its place. The only thing about us the neighbors liked besides the fact that they were 'superior' to us was me.

Once, they had even had the audacity to approach me on my way home with and offer to adopt me away from "those wretched beasts with no sense of style whatsoever". They said that I "would have every luxury available to me" and that 'it was such a waste that a beautiful child like me was living with such pigs". I responded by kneeing Mr. Takahashi in the balls and, while his wife was attempting to help him, running like the Devil himself was on my heels. But, not even that put them off.

When I moved out, I would visit my parents whenever I could. But, every time I went, they seemed to know I would be there. They came and visited, saying, "Oh, what a coincidence! Who would've thought! Oh, it's wonderful to see you again, Sakura-chan! How've you been, dear? Here, have some of our homemade cookies." So, this time, I was coming unannounced.

My parents lived in the civilian part of town. It was a long walk from my apartment, and I could've cut that time in half by running, and cut the time it took to run in half by traveling across the rooftops in true shinobi fashion, but I didn't. I walked slowly, unable to quite believe what Tsunade had requested that I and other kunoichi do. I was supposed to get married in thirty days. I had thirty days to find someone else I loved as much as Kakashi.

I'd always known that, at some point in my life, I would settle down and raise pink-haired shinobi-to-be. But, I wasn't ready to get married and I definitely wasn't ready to have kids. Those child birth movies we watched in the Academy had been enough to make sure I considered having unprotected sex very carefully. Don't get me wrong, kids are cute, but the screaming and obvious pain that woman had been in was enough to put anyone off having children anytime soon. And now, I had thirty days to start becoming a one-woman baby factory.

My parents would not take it well. They adored Tsunade. She was practically part of the family. But, that wouldn't stop them from marching over to the Jounin HQ and whipping some sense into the single most politically powerful woman in the world or trying to throttle some sense into possible suitors to get the heck away from their precious daughter. Either way, the result would be highly embarrassing.

But, they did neither. They were overjoyed. They said that it was about time that I settled down and got over Sasuke. But, in truth, it hadn't been Sasuke that I had been pining over the past few years. It had been Kakashi.

There were very few times in Sakura's life that she had ever felt the need to drag herself out of bed. Usually, she just hopped out, eager to begin a new day. Ninja believed in starting each new day with a clean slate. Sakura believed the same. But today, it felt as if five-ton lead weights were fastened to her feet. She limped pathetically forward, locking her door behind her. She felt their eyes on her, boring into her back. They were looking at her like hungry, starving dogs, knowing very well that she couldn't run from them any longer. Not with the new law in place. Oh, Sakura's fanboys were overjoyed.

Sakura quickened her pace, trying to get away from them as quickly as possible. None of them approached her, because both Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke were in sight. They knew very well that she would sick her boys on them without a second thought.

"Kakashi! Naruto! Sasuke!" Sakura sang out, waving to them. She could at least pretend that everything was the same.

"Yo." Kakashi said, raising his hand in a two-fingered salute, a smile creasing his eye.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called enthusiastically, bouncing forward to envelope her in a warm hug. It wasn't the first time that Sakura had been thankful that Hinata wasn't a jealous girlfriend.

"Hn." Sasuke said in leeway of the common "hello" that most people received. But, Sakura knew that she was a very fortunate girl to even get a monosyllabic reply from the Uchiha heir.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, you wanna get some ramen?" Naruto asked excitedly, already tugging her towards Ichiraku. "Teme's paying."

"I never said that, dobe." Sasuke growled, his arms crossed.

"It doesn't matter to me who's paying, as long as it isn't me." Kakashi said with a shrug. "Cheap bastard." His former students muttered darkly.

"Well, Sasuke, you're the one with the most money. C'mon, take one for the team." Naruto whined, sidling up to Sasuke and tugging on his arm.

"No, Kakashi is. He takes so many A, S, and un-classed missions and he always brushes the bill off onto other people, I bet he's got a hoard of money lying around his apartment." Sasuke said, stealing a glance at the Copy nin.

There was a cough that sounded oddly like "it's in the bank".

"Soooo, who's paying?" Sakura cut in. As much as she enjoyed watching her boys try to push the bill off on each other, she drew the line when it came time to slander Kakashi.

"Teme is!"

"No, dobe is."

"Not me."

This resulted in another twenty minutes of fruitless arguing and, in the end, as they ended up at Ichiraku, Ayame gave them twenty percent off of their purchase if they would just shut the hell up. Since she had a soft spot for Kakashi, he ate for free. And, of course, the result was another bout of arguing as Naruto and Sasuke ganged up on Kakashi (though Sakura had to admit, seeing the two idiots agree on something was worth the noise). Sakura took it as an opportunity to discreetly disappear to go and consult Ino, who's days pf being a bachelorette were well on their way to ending.

Like Sakura, Ino was not at all happy about the new arrangements. Although they gave her an excuse to actively pursue Shikimaru and steal him away from Temari, who was also attempting to steal the heart of the Nara genius, Ino would obviously miss her days of freely going from one man's bed to another. And, she made this fact apparent to Sakura, who really didn't want to listen, but she didn't have much of a choice.

"Well, since we can't do anything about it, we might as well snag someone hot." Ino said with a smirk, holding an almost non-existent top to her ample chest. Ino was comfortable flaunting her body. Sakura was not. Sakura usually dressed demurely, and the naughtiest her wardrobe ever got were those skin-tight spandex shorts that she never wore without her skirt. "Mm… I was thinking of maybe going for Kakashi. I mean, the guy is hot, and, they say that you haven't lived till you've slept with Hatake Kakashi. And, if he takes you to bed more than once, you are a very, very lucky girl." Sakura's hands clenched into fists and her breath came hissing out through clenched teeth. Ino continued, oblivious. "And, I mean, if I have to get married, it might as well be with someone hot who's great in bed. Like, last week, I was talking to Anko and Kurenai, and they were talking about how great Kakashi was. He does this thing with his eye…" Sakura's vision was going red. How dare Ino talk about Kakashi like he was some toy? "… and I wonder if Sasuke can do it too. He did it once to Kurenai, and she said it was the most amazing thing ever… Hey, Sakura? Are you listening?"

"Of course." Sakura said tensely, all but tearing her itty bitty skirt into pieces.

"Do you think it's weird that I want a guy who's, like, older?" Ino asked, sitting down and applying mascara to her long lashes.

You aren't the only one… "No. Age is just a number."

"Well, who are you considering?" This was the part Sakura had dreaded the most. In truth, she couldn't think of being with anyone other than Kakashi. And, it would be stupid to tell Ino now, because Ino would take it as a competition, and when it came to seduction, Sakura didn't stand a chance to Ino. "I guess… well, I don't know, but I always have Lee to fall back on."

"Erm, well, your kids would be cute… sort of." Green jumpsuits and pink bowl-cuts really weren't the best combo.

"Yeah, if I have kids, I am so making sure that Gai and his 'stream-line, state-of-the-art jumpsuits' don't get within a two-mile radius of my kids." Sakura said, squashing down the horrid mental image (A/N: Sorry, LeeSaku fans, but this is a KakaSaku fanfic). Sakura and Ino shared a shiver.

"Ah, my esteemed eternal rival!" Gai called, giving Kakashi his trademark thumbs up and blinding smile.

"Yo." Kakashi said, nonplussed.

"Have you gotten any offers yet, my friend? I have found myself on the receiving end of many gazes. The ladies cannot resist my youthfulness!" Though, the bright, inescapable green that surrounded Gai was hard not to notice.

Kakashi sighed heavily. He had received far too many offers and had lost count at around sixty that day. The kunoichi got crazier and crazier every year.

"Yeah man, how many have you gotten? I've got twelve." Genma smirked, leaning back in his chair. The jounin were, as usual, gathered at the Dull Kunai, there favorite hang out. They sat at their customary table in the back. Even though it was barely seven, the table was already littered with sake bottles.

Kakashi groaned again. "Pakkun, you tell them." The pug appeared with a giant tally sheet, listing the date, the time, and the female who had proposed. The total came up to seventy-four offers in the past twelve hours.

If Genma's jaw could've unhinged, it would have. "Damn, Kakashi. Since when were you so popular?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Kakashi said sulkily, taking out Icha Icha and hiding behind the brilliant orange book.

And that was the end of it.

Sakura sighed, tugging uncomfortably at the skin-tight fabric. "Is this really necessary, Ino?" She asked with a sigh, glancing down at the daringly cut sheath of black fabric that clung to her modest figure. The dress's back dipped nearly to her panty line and just barely kept her covered. It showed far too much cleavage for Sakura's comfort.

"Of course. Don't worry about it. You look gorgeous. They won't know what hit them." Ino assured her friend, steering her through the doors and into the smoky bar. It went oddly quiet as everyone turned to stare. Sakura wanted to die.

The Dull Kunai is an all-shinobi bar. People come here to unwind. Sometimes, you see ANBU and Jounin staggering in, covered in blood and grime, and downing incredible amounts of alcohol after a hard mission. You see regulars like me, sitting in the back, trying to relax and forget about all the terrible things we did the past week, all the people we had to kill for out mission. But, one thing you don't normally see is Sakura in the smallest, tightest dress I'd ever seen.

The way the soft, dim lights lit up her face and her hair… she glowed. Her long, shapely legs seemed nearly endless in those black stilettos. I definitely couldn't pretend that she's a little girl any more.

Somehow, I'm sure that that realization would be the end of me.

I couldn't hide anymore. I loved her.

And, soon, she would be married, and she would be gone, forever.

She wouldn't be my Sakura anymore.

A/N: I bet you weren't expecting that, now where you? This story had gotten strange... Review, if you please.