Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
"Who knew." Kakashi mused to himself, running fingers through his unruly mane of hair. He turned the water off, stripping his usual attire off in pieces. Despite his usual practicality, he did not sleep in full gear as some of his comrades did. The only thing he left in place was his trademark mask.
The silver-haired shinobi's thoughts began drifting toward a more perplexing person. His evening had begun simply enough, meeting up with Asuma, Kurenai, and Genma at the bar. Their chatter had been interrupted by Genma's low whistle at the entrance of two kunoichi.
"Would you look at those two? I bet if you had known how they would have turned out, you would have been much more in-depth with your... Teaching." Genma murmured, leering at the blonde and pink-haired women.
Kurenai rolled her crimson eyes while Asuma smacked the other man. Kakashi didn't take his eye off of the small, vividly orange-covered book he had open. "I'm not interested in pedophilia, thank you." He stated, turning a page.
"I'm just saying, you could have broken them in early, taught them all kinds of things." The notorious pervert grinned, his hands shaping luscious curves in the air. "What I wouldn't like to do to both of them at the same time, especially with that - " This time it was Kurenai smacking their lecherous friend.
Asuma sighed, replacing his cigarette with a new one. "I really don't know why we even hang out with you."
"It's simple, really. Now that you two have hooked up," Genma gestured at Kurenai and Asuma with his senbon, "I need to get this old pervert laid."
Kakashi finally looked up from his book. He sighed, and regretfully shut it. "What makes you think that I would want to do anything with a former student?"
Genma put his senbon back into place, looking at the masked man like he was an idiot. "Do you see her? Have you seen her?" He asked increduously. "This generation of kunoichi is not like the others - no offense Kurenai," Genma dodged a slap while continuing, "She's the only single one of the lot, I'd get a move on if I were you."
The masked man made no reply, as his eye flickered across the bar to the woman in question. Even though her head was thrown back in laughter, he caught the emotions being supressed in the depths of her eyes. Kakashi watched as she parted ways from Ino, noting how intoxicated she was. His observant gaze couldn't help notice the small purse left behind.
Their earlier meeting had left the copy-nin with an unnerving realization. His former student, so immature and needy had blossomed without him noticing. Even now, as Kakashi tossed and turned in bed, Genma's words echoed in his ears.
Quiet morning light filled the small room. Groaning wearily, a sleepy Sakura dragged herself out of bed and into her apartment's tiny living room. Turning her eyes towards the kitchen, a familiar spiky blond-haired ninja was bustling about. Not having the energy to screech at him about personal space, Sakura fell back into a worn arm chair.
"Good morning Sakura!" The loud-mouth blond grinned. "Had a little too much fun last night?" He rounded the corner edge of her counter top, his large hands carrying a steaming cup. Settling down across from his bedraggled companion, Naruto set the tea on a small table. He made a show about blowing on his hands, before adopting a more serious tone. "Hinata had me brew that for you, it'll take care of your hangover. Don't worry, I added liberal doses of milk and honey."
Silently thanking Ino for shoving Hinata into Naruto that fateful day, Sakura took the tea. The shy Hyuuga and loud Naruto had dated for three years until the former Team 7 member proposed. The happy couple now had a bouncy baby boy by the name of Kichirou.
Sakura sipped at the tea, her eyes fixed on a string unraveling from her sweats. These days, it seemed everyone had their life together but her. It seemed like no matter what, she was always left behind. The kunoichi was feeling adrift in her own life, just coasting by and doing nothing to improve it. The last time this had happened, Tsunade had taken her under tutelage. Sakura would always be eternally grateful for the incredible knowledge and power she had learned to unlock in herself, but even that didn't seem like enough to save her now. 'You have got to get it together!' Inner Sakura punched at the air.
Naruto had remained silent, giving his closest friend some space and time to deal with whatever was eating at her. The highly emotional girl he had loved so much while growing up had grown into a very controlled woman. He loved her with the same ferocity, but as a friend. Their bond was extremely close and Naruto knew something was wrong.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" He asked quietly.
Sakura turned the cup in her hands a few times before setting on the table. She settled back, wrapping lightly-muscled arms around her knees. It was a familiar position to Naruto, that generally meant Sakura was trying to hold herself together. Concerned, his cerulean eyes sought hers.
Her voice trembled slightly as she asked him, "Have you ever felt lost? Just completely out of place, left behind and alone.." Sakura trailed off, knowing that he had felt that way and how idiotic she sounded. Who was she to come to Naruto with this when he had endured so much worse?
To Sakura's surprise, Naruto burst out into laughter. Immediately Inner Sakura was screeching to pound him to the ground, and privately Sakura wanted to. Sensing her anger, he stopped and wiped his eyes. Immediately he came over to the armchair and enveloped her into a hug.
"Look Sakura, you're one of the most beloved people in our village." He told her, letting go of the kunoichi's slight form. "Your an elite jounin, one of the respected Rookie 9, an incredible healer.." Naruto trailed off, looking down at her. "If this is because you don't have someone boning you, I'm going to give you a swift kick in the ass."
"Ugh Naruto!" Sakura smacked the blond, pushing him off the armchair. "You better not speak to Hinata that way! So crude!"
Grinning like a madman, Naruto bounded to his feet and moved out of her reach. "Made you feel better though, didn't I?"
Folding her arms over her chest, Sakura glared daggers at him. The idiot had made her feel better.
"I think you're closing yourself off Sakura." Naruto said seriously, ruffling her messy hair. "All you ever do is work at the hospital nowadays. I know for a fact Friday night is the only time you go anywhere."
She hated to admit it, but the infuriating man had a point. Most of her peers had moved onto ANBU, or into prominent teaching positions at the Academy. Some had progressed even further. With that in mind, Sakura asked her friend, "Isn't there some work in the village you need to preside over, oh honorable Hokage?"
Naruto waved his hand in a dismissive motion. "Bah! That's not the point Sakura! You don't train, you don't go on missions, the only person you see is Ino. I mean, when is the last time you even talked to Kakashi?"
At the mention of their former sensei's name, Sakura turned an interesting shade of pink. "Your face matches your hair." Naruto stated, the wheels of his mind churning to figure that out.
"It's nothing," Sakura told him firmly, getting up from her seat. "Just the same old odd Kakashi-sensei."
"You really should just call him Kakashi. He's our former sensei." Naruto watched as she washed the cup, dried it and put it away. His eyes picked out the time on the clock. "AH! Is it really ten already?!"
"Obviously, why?" Sakura asked, leaning on the countertop.
"Hinata's going to give me that look. I hate that look," Naruto muttered, heading towards the door. "I'm late for our family portraits."
Sakura giggled and patted the Hokage on the back. "Cheer up. I'm sure you can always hide behind your mountains of paperwork."
"Remind me why I came here in the first place." Were Naruto's fading words as he headed out the door in a black and orange blur.
Laughing softly to herself, Sakura moved into her bedroom. Her former teammate never failed to make everyone around him happy. Humming quietly, the pink-haired kunoichi began her morning routine. As she stepped into the steaming shower, her thoughts began to focus on her former sensei.
She hadn't seen him in awhile. Kakashi had moved up the ranks to join ANBU, and as such was frequently gone. Sakura knew the white-haired shinboi usually frequented The Hideout, but she had never bumped into him there. Wondering if he ever dressed down from the usual uniform, Sakura felt another blush heat up her cheeks. She was turning into a daydreaming lunatic again, just like her twelve year old self! This was silly. Kakashi hadn't even thought her worth training, how could the copy-nin ever see her as a woman?
Cleansed, Sakura shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. Feeling determination flow through her, the kunoichi decided that it was time. She was going to take control of her life, starting with her training. It was time to meet with Lee.
Author's Note: I wanted to give a huge thank you to those that have reviewed, favorited and followed this story. It is you that keeps me writing.