A/N: Well, I guess this isn't a stupid little one-shot anymore… This chapter switches POVs, so hang in there. It can get really confusing. And, I'm sorry that I couldn't fulfill some of you're requests, because if I did, this chapter would be far too depressing. I promise that I'll get to it in the next chapter. Also, this story might be rising in rating to K or T some time in the future, so if you can't find it, look for it there.
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
From a Distance
Kakashi's POV
Team 7 had become very important to me over the years. Yes, each and every one of my students had left me (they left me for the Sannin, which took a bit of the sting out of it) and, yes, they though I was just some porn-reading idiot (which I resent, because Icha Icha is not porn. It was a liberating romance novel that is admittedly a bit graphic) and, yes, I got absolutely no respect from them and, yes, they made me feel incredibly old, but they were my cute little team of happy-go-lucky munchkins (with the exception of Sasuke. The day he smiles is the day Hell freezes over) turned fearless shinobi (though still mostly on the short side). They were my team of bouncy teenagers (or were they in their twenties?) and I loved each of them dearly.
Although, by feelings for a certain pink-haired kunoichi exceeded the limitations of a teacher-student turned friend-friend relationship.
Just a smidge.
Sakura's POV
Kakashi had attracted even more admirers. It was all I could do to keep from marching over there and breaking that pretty little blonde's too-perfect nose. She was giggling and batting her eyes at him, clinging to him with all her other too-pretty friends. It was sickening, really.
Kakashi's POV
Okay, a lot.
She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman with a killer right hook and the softest of smiles. She was bubbly and sweet, but, if you ticked her off, you were sure to be subjected to her infamous Fists of Fury (as Naruto had learned countless times). But, if you stayed on her good side, Sakura was really quite amazing.
Sakura's POV
Oh, the things wanted to do to that red-head draped across Kakashi. I would take those extensions of hers and make her eat them. These thoughts were not healthy, but I couldn't help it. Kakashi wasn't some bauble to be claimed and tossed away. He was worth so much more. He was my (adorably) awkward, drop-dead-gorgeous, freakishly strong sensei who also happened to be one of my best friends. He deserved someone who would stand by him and love him and stay true to him, someone like…
…you? Inner Sakura chuckled cynically.
Surprisingly, I did not explode. I felt pain and sadness squeeze my heart. It isn't my place.
Honey, that has got to be the worst excuse ever.
I know…but it's the only one I have.
Kakashi's POV
Now, normally, I'm not a coward, although I do enjoy hanging back and watching things unfold before joining the fray. But, with Sakura, I couldn't bring myself to tell her how I felt. Sure, I dropped the occasional hint, giving myself excuses to take her out to dinner because she had "done well in training" or had "taken good care of Mr. Ukki". Surprisingly, she indulged her teacher. And, after I walked her home and 'poofed' away, Genma would begin one of his favorite activities, dramatically dubbed "Annoying the Cyclops". He would question me and pester me until I cracked, but I never did. The man was far too perceptive for his own good.
Sakura's POV
I could tell that they were giving him offers normal men didn't refuse, but he was. They just pressed harder. They simpered and giggled and clung, hanging on his every word, which were few and far in-between. He didn't bask in the attention like Naruto would. He didn't smirk like Sasuke. He just stood and endured it, politely refusing everything they offered and excusing himself occasionally, only to come back to be pounced on once more. My hands tightened around my glass, thin spiraling cracks spreading across the glass. Those…
Kakashi's POV
Of course, being separated hit our team's worth ethic. Hard. I rejoined Anbu (flattery goes a long way, especially when it's coming from Ibiki) and so did Wonder Perv and Mini Me (though if I called Naruto and Sasuke this to their face, I would have no face at all. It would have been neatly done away with by a combination of Ransegan and Chidori – funny how things come back to bite you in the butt-) Not only did the two wonderful –coughstalkerscough- boys join Anbu, but they also joined my division. I got to see their faces everyday (and, unfortunately, every night as they haunted my dreams). Yay for me.
But, unfortunately, more of Naruto and Sasuke meant less Sakura. She pulled double shifts at the hospital and I rarely saw her. It really wasn't a fair trade, even if it was two-for-one.
I could see her in my mind's eye, smiling that soft smile that shimmered beautifully in her emerald eyes, her hair gently floating about her shoulders to frame her face…
"Kashi-kun!"
Sakura's POV
Kakashi's an amazing guy. But, he's probably the stupidest genius I know (and I know a lot of idiotic geniuses). He'd do something unbelievably cool, then ruin it by pulling out Icha Icha and bursting into giggles; he'd say something so incredibly deep that you would be taken aback and you'd just stare at him in amazement and awe and then – wham! – he would walk into a door; he'd do something so sweet and caring that you wanted to cry, and then he would tell you that you're new jeans made you look fat. Kakashi was the master of screwing up the most perfect things.
Example 1: My eighteenth birthday. He bought me the most beautiful crystal rose. It was wrapped in pink tissue paper nestled snuggly in a long, thin red velvet box secured with a white bow. It was made with the utmost craftsmanship, every detail carefully brought into being through the glass, the crystals throwing rainbows across the walls. Hidden within the folds of pink paper was a simple card: "This rose can never compare to your beauty."
Kakashi's POV
Now, I enjoy attention as much as the next man, but I would have preferred Sakura's gentle, warm voice to the high-pitched squeal of none other than the Raikage's daughter, Kira. Or was it Mira? I hadn't been paying attention. My mind had been occupied with thoughts of pink-haired girls that were strictly off limits.
Sakura's POV
It would have been perfect and staggeringly romantic (if not corny) if he hadn't scrawled "Just kidding!" across the thick, luxuriant (and very expensive) paper in red Sharpie.
Example 2: Our "date".
The Date
Sakura had a feeling her day was going to get bad and fast. For one, Ino had left her a little note saying "Meet me at the Café on Fifth Avenue." The girls only ever went to the cozy little café nestled between a loud grocers and a quaint little animal shelter when Ino wanted to discuss Sakura's love life (or lack thereof). By the time Sakura's lunch break rolled around, she had decided to face her friend and whatever the girl had cooked up for her.
Sakura pulled off her white lab coat and wandered off in a pink top and a matching skirt. Both were gifts from the sadly fashion-sense-deprived Naruto, but it was the thought that counted, right? Sakura had her plain black purse slung over her shoulder, her hair tied back in a no-nonsense ponytail. If she had known she was on her way to a blind date, she would have turned and ran. She hated blind dates with a passion that almost rivaled Naruto's obsession with ramen.
Ino was waiting for her outside, dressed in her usual uniform. "Hey, Forehead!" She called out, waving enthusiastically. Sakura heaved a tired side and weaved her way through the lunch crowd to her friend's side.
"Hey, Pig." She said wearily.
"You won't believe it! Genma and I were talking last night," Ino began enthusiastically, "and he said that there was this guy he knew who has the same, er, problem… as you do, so… guess what!" She finally burst, and before Sakura could voice her opinion, Ino went right out and said the accursed words. "I set you up on a blind date!"
Sakura went rigid, her eye widening before narrowing drastically, the look she was slanting her blond friend promising pain. "You did what?" She asked dangerously.
"I set you up on a blind date!" Ino chimed happily, completely oblivious to her friends barely controlled anger.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Sakura exploded, grabbing her friend's thin shoulders and shaking her. She didn't care anymore if she was making a scene.
"Well, you wouldn't come if I did…" Ino said innocently, pulling the cute act.
"But… you should know… and…" Sakura floundered a bit before finding her voice once more. "I'm leaving." She said firmly, pulling away and turning.
"Wait!" Ino called, grabbing her wrist and tugging her back. "Your date's with Kakashi!"
Sakura stared, wide-eyed.
She was going to be sick.
A/N: Sorry, but I had to end it there. Hopefully, the next chapter will make up for the lameness of this one… Leave a happy little review :)