Edited: 7/25/2006 (Removed ramen clock. Figuring the author of the other story published her story first with the clock, I'll just go and remove it to avoid any future problems)

Title: A Reason To Love You

Summary: Sakura's in denial over her feelings for her ex-sensei, and when he leaves on a mission, she's left to ponder quietly on her problems. But when Kakashi comes back with a surprise, Sakura may just have a chance….

Kaka/Saku

(PS: I messed up on the ages for the first chapter. Please Ignore The Ages at the First Chapter)

Ages:

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura: 18

Kakashi: 32

Chapter 2: Catching Up

One Week Later-

Tuesday---

" DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! " A mussed up pink haired kunoichi bashed her hand onto the shuriken, affectively silencing it, a gift Naruto had gotten her on her sixteenth birthday. She had always wondered why the alarm screamed 'die.'.

" Grrr, stupid alarm clock….." Sakura got up, and groggily looked at the time.

8:30 am. On a note that was taped to the side of the black shuriken shaped clock, written on it with neat cursive words were, " Exams begin at 9:30"

" Heh, an hour to get ready." Sakura grinned and fell back onto her bed.

She shot up a few moments later, after the information had registered into her sleepy brain, " AN HOUR!" She scurried out of her cozy bed and rushed to the bathroom for a quick shower.

I will NOT be late! Urgh, I shouldn't hang around with Kakashi, his lateness is rubbing off me.

" Then again, I wouldn't able to stay away from him…" Raising a pink eyebrow and pondered on what she just said, " Hmm.. that didn't sound very right…urgh, never mind…"

She started to lather up the shampoo she had rubbed on her head.

" Rules: You will be pitted against a fellow chuunin, and if you win, you will be pitted against a jounin."

" There's eight chuunins participating this time, Sakura, are you alright? You look tired," Ino remarked as she accompanied her fellow pink haired shinobi to the battlegrounds behind the jounin HQ.

" Eh, I'm alright. I'm against Koichi Sumita in the first round in Group A, and if I win…."

" You'll win, I'm sure of it!" Ino said happily.

Sakura laughed weakly, and they reached the HQ. On a wooden bulletin board, was the Jounin Exam Notice?

Jounin Exam

Group A:

Battle One- Hirai Astara VS Hayashi Katana (Victor: Hirai Astara)

Battle Two- Haruno Sakura VS Koichi Sumita

Group B:

Battle One- Kitano Hiroshi VS Shirakawa Ryuu (Victor: Shirakawa Ryuu)

Battle Two- Kotani Tsukiko VS Suzuki Ryo (Victor: Suzuki Ryo)

Chuunin VS Jounin:

Hirai Astara VS Tanaka Kazuki

(Victor: Tanaka Kazuki)

Shirakawa Ryuu VS Takeda Yuriko

(Victor: Shirakawa Ryuu)

Suzuki Ryo VS Hatsutori Kai

(Hatsutori Kai)

" Look, there are only two girls! You and Kotani Tsukiko. Hm, she lost against Suzuki," Ino pointed out, Sakura nodded, " Yeah."

They conversed as they entered the battlegrounds.

" Sakura, I'll go find Shika! Good luck!" Ino called and sprinted off.

Sakura sighed; the jitterbugs in her stomach weren't helping. She had been studying and training with Ino and Shikamaru (Who was forced to help her because of Ino), and tuned up her tai-jutsu with Rock Lee, who had been more than happy to help.

She shuddered at the memory when Lee-san had attempted to try and hug her when she improved.

Sakura looked over to the stands, and saw that more and more people were filling up the seats. She saw Shikamaru and Ino sitting together along with Naruto and Hinata. She waved to them.

" SAKURA-SAN! GOOD LUCK!" The blond screamed from the stands, earning himself some glares. Hinata laughed weakly and blushed.

Sakura grinned and waved back to her loud friend. As she made her way to the resting rooms in the back, Sakura thought of the roster she saw earlier at the HQ.

Only one made it, that Shirakawa guy…

She clenched her fist, " I will win, and I won't let the training I've gone through go to waste."

A chuckle was heard behind her, " Big words, Haruno-san, have you got the skills to beat me?" Sakura turned around and found herself face to face with a dark blue haired man. His steel-gray eyes were twinkling with amusement.

" Koichi Sumita?" It was more like a statement.

He smiled, " Pleasure to meet you, Haruno-san,"

Sakura twitched inwardly, the politeness was getting to her, and it reminded her of Hyuuga Neji.

" Same here,"

" Haruno Sakura and Koichi Sumita, please report to the waiting room, your battle will commence in three minutes," The speaker announced. Koichi Sumita grinned, " See you, Haruno-san" and with that, he poofed off.

The pink haired kunoichi stared at the spot Koichi had been at, " Ehh, show off," She walked briskly to the waiting room.

" Kunais, check. Shurikens, check, smoke bombs, check…"

" Haruno Sakura, Koichi Sumita, please enter the battlegrounds,"

Sakura looked up, and Inner Sakura cheered,

" LET'S GET THIS GOING!" She roared, making Sakura sweatdrop.

When she walked out of the tunnel that connected the waiting room and grounds, Sakura was met by cheering, and Naruto's voice, which successfully covered almost all the noise.

Sakura and her opponent walked to the center, where the judge was standing.

" Begin," The moment the words left the judge's mouth, Koichi ran forward, flinging kunais at her direction. Sakura got out her kunai and deflected it all. The man suddenly disappeared, and reappeared by Sakura, she ducked the punch that was thrown at her, and grasped Koichi's leg, sending chakra into it. The blue haired man stumbled back, the feeling in his left leg gone, and Sakura sent a punch at his stomach, hurling him back.

Both of them went into hand-to-hand combat mode, sending kicks and punches at each other, and Sakura did a few jutsus, punching Koichi into the ground was one of them.

Better end this soon, I still need my energy to fight the jounin, if I win….

Koichi climbed out of the crater he made, and charged towards the pink haired chuunin, and sent a roundhouse kick at her, Sakura back flipped over her opponent, she did a few hand seals and thrust her open palm at the back of his neck, channeling her chakra into Koichi's nervous system. From behind him, Sakura saw his body stiffen, and collapsed onto the ground.

Sakura blinked twice, the whole stadium was silent.

For a person who thinks he's all that, that was kinda sad..

A soft swish was heard beside Sakura, and she turned around, only to meet a fist, she was hurled back and crashed onto the ground.

Groaning, Sakura got up and rubbed her cheek.

" Your opponent is me, Sakura-san, and stop staring at me, I know I'm too handsome for my own good!" It was Genma. Her Jounin opponent was Genma. He twirled the senbon needle in his mouth with his tongue, grinning.

Sakura wiped the blood seeping out of the corners of her mouth, and grinned.

Both of them parried for a while, getting more and more cuts, bruises, and then Sakura was hurled onto the ground when she winced from a slash to the abdomen; Genma took this chance to finish her off.

Sakura furiously did a line of hand seals and thrust her palms onto the ground. A dozen or more claws sprouted out of the ground, reaching towards Genma.

Genma managed to dodge most of the claws, before one grasped his left ankle, the claws digging into the skin. Genma growled, and slashed off the claw with his kunai, he got up and prepared to charge, but his left leg suddenly gave way.

" Wha-" Genma started to notice his vision becoming blurry. " What jutsu is this?"

Sakura grinned, despite the pain and blood loss, " It's a jutsu Tsunade-sensei taught me, there's numbing poison on the tips of every claws,"

Genma gave a wry grin, " Urgh, figures….." And collapsed.

Sakura smiled triumphantly, she could vaguely hear the judge announcing the chuunins earning the jounin rank, before she too, fell unconscious.

Meanwhile…

Ino, Shikamaru, Naruto and Hinata were heading out of the grounds.

" That slash on Sakura's back didn't look very good," Ino remarked, Naruto grinned, " Sakura-san's tough! She can handle a slash, besides, she's a medic-nin,"

Hinata blushed and stuttered out, " Y-yes. A-and medic-nins s-supposedly can heal f-f-aster,"

Naruto smiled at Hinata, and her face turned into the color of tomatoes, " Hinata-san, are you alright? You look you have the fever…"

Ino groaned, " He can't possibly be more denser!" Shikamaru shrugged, " What a troublesome person…"

" Hey, do you want to go visit Sakura-san at the hospital?" Naruto asked Ino and Shikamaru, after he had checked Hinata's forehead for any signs of fever. The action alone made her feel dizzy enough to faint right there.

" She needs her rest, besides, Hokage-sama probably would chase us out. You're always too loud there, Naruto," Ino grumbled, and dragged her boyfriend towards the plaza.

" Loud and noisy my ass…" Naruto pouted and turned to Hinata, " Come on, Hinata-san! Let's go eat some ramen!"

Blushing and nodding, both of them headed off to Ichiraku's…

Two days later…

Emerald eyes slowly opened, and winced at the bright lights.

" Urgh….where am I?"

" You're at the hospital, Haruno-san." A familiar voice spoke; Sakura sat up and saw Koichi Sumita. He had bandages wrapped around his head and shoulders.

" Oh, just call me Sakura.." That arrogant, polite jerk..

" Alright, Sakura-san."

Sakura decided to ignore Koichi for now, the politeness aura around him was getting on her nerves. She noticed the few boxes of chocolates on the small table beside her hospital bed.

" Those are for you, your friends told me to tell you that they'll be holding a party for you and Naruto-san at the Hidden Spirits on Friday night."

Sakura blinked, " Naruto?"

" Hm. He passed the ANBU test when you were unconscious. You were unconscious for two days." Koichi supplied.

" EH!" Sakura's eyes bugged out.

Sumita's smile never left his face. Sakura wondered if that smile was super glued.

" Uhh, Koichi-san?"

" Just call me Sumita."

" Oh, err…….Sumita-san, can you go get Tsunade-sama? Knowing her, she'll probably force me to at least get a check-up from her before leaving."

" Sure, Sakura-san!" Koichi left the room, leaving Sakura to ponder silently.

" FINALLY! That boy is making me go nuts!" Inner Sakura groaned. Sakura chuckled softly.

" Sakura, you're awake," It was Tsunade-sensei. Sakura grinned, " Yeah, I feel so much better, but I still feel like I've been ran over one too many times…"

" Heh, Genma gave you a great workout," Sakura nodded as her sensei checked the wounds, which most of them are healed.

" Say, where's Koichi-san?"

" Oh, he had an errand to run,"

Silence….Tsunade checked the slash on Sakura's back. Moments later she patted Sakura's head.

" Well, I suppose you can leave now. Most of your wounds are healed, except for the slash on your back; so don't do any aggressive exercises these days. You can take the a few days off to heal properly," Tsunade said as she rose from her seat. Sakura nodded, and hopped off the bed.

" Urm, sensei?" Sakura meekly asked when Tsunade prepared to leave Sakura to let her change clothes.

" Hm?"

Sakura blushed lightly, and tugged slightly on her sleeves, " When will Kakashi-sensei get back?"

Tsunade smiled, " Soon, probably this week."

" Alright," Sakura smiled as her sensei left the room.

Why am I blushing at the very thought of Kakashi-sensei? It's not like I haven't seen him for a long time………well, maybe a few weeks…..

" You miss him!" Inner Sakura snickered deviously.

All right I miss him, but why am I blushing? I feel like there's butterflies in my stomach every time I think of him…….and….oh no.

Sakura had already put on her usual black shirt and was going to slip on her white pants when a thought hit her.

" It can't be…."

" OH yess.." Inner Sakura laughed at her alter ego.

He's my teacher! He's an old pervert! Its TABOOOOOOOO………Sakura wailed melodrama-like in her mind.

" So? He's only thirty-two." Inner Sakura shrugged.

Sakura buckled up her boots and snorted.

Only? PFFT!

" And besides, he's hot. And has a damned pinch able ass." Inner Sakura cackled evilly, as Sakura stiffen. " Have you ever seen his face?"

Err…never…. Naruto and I did try and get his mask off when we were younger……….

" He must have got something to hide. Whaddya think? When he gets back, let's try and rip that mask off his face!" Inner Sakura prodded some of Sakura's brain cells.

Grr. Curiosity got the better of me………..damn you.

" You'll thank me later."

You wish.

Sakura finished by tying her head-protector over her forehead; she had decided a few months ago that it didn't make her forehead look so big.

" All done, got to go find Ino-pig!"

---

Ino sat at the café, sipping at her coffee, and staring out the window. She saw Sakura pass by. " SAKURA!" Ino shrieked, earning a handful of glares from the customers. Her shriek was heard by Sakura, who turned to the café window, she smiled.

Sakura entered the café and plopped onto the opposite seat from Ino's.

" Sakura, we're celebrating yours and Naruto's party!"

Sakura smiled, " I know, Sumita-san told me,"

Ino raised her eyebrow, " Since when do you call him by first name basis?"

" He forced me."

" Oh, the politeness crap was getting to you, right?"

" You know me too well."

" Don't worry, Shika got pissed off too,"

Both of them stopped talking, and shuddered before laughing.

" Anyways, we're going shopping today, Sakura!"

Sakura quirked her pink eyebrow at her friend, " Shopping?"

" YEAH! For new clothes!"

" Ehh..Ino, I think I'll skip out this time.." Ino pouted, " No way, Sakura, you need the clothes more than I do, so let's GO!" Ino pulled Sakura off the comfy seat and out the café.

Sakura sighed, trying to get away from stubborn Ino is considered mission impossible.

A/N: This chapter was supposed to end with…ermm…..Hmm. I think I won't let off any spoilers. Anyways, this might be one of the longest chapters I've written in a long time. Humor, hangovers, strip poker awaits us in the next chapter!

I know the battle scene sucked like hell, but to me, I think it's an improvement. (sweatdrops) I should be studying. But I'm not. I'm soo gonna die…….

Criticism is HIGHLY appreciated, and flames will be used to heat my pot of tea.

As for the beta reader, hmm….if you want to help me, just email me or if you have msn messenger or yim, you can add me if you want.

Emails: Hotmail: kiwichi81722 Yahoo. Tw: tingyu81722

for Sakura's ramen-screaming alarm clock, I happen to have one. I bought it at the local bookstore xD It gets annoying, but it's fun. Throw it outside and it can wake up the whole neighborhood. That's why I'm never late for school XDDDD