-
Sakura sighed contently as she stared at the brooding Uchiha. She admired the strength those arms held, the genius in that brilliant, dark-haired head of his. She giggled.
"Sakura-chan!" Iruka-sensei's voice intruded.
The girl started and looked at her Academy sensei.
"Uh, yes, sensei?"
Iruka crossed his arms, a disappointed look portrayed on his face. Sakura frowned, embarrassed. Had she not been paying attention again?
"I asked you what the statistics of a kunai hitting an enemy on the other side of a battlefield, in the dark, is," Iruka-sensei repeated.
Sakura's cheeks flushed.
"Oh, right. The statistics of that are two thousand to one if one is a normal chuunin. It's a hundred to one if one is a normal jonin. It's three million to one if one is a normal genin, and it's probability is zero for Academy students like us."
Iruka frowned a little.
"That's correct."
The teacher turned back to the board and continued his mathematical portion of today's lesson involving battle plans.
-
"Sakura-chan, I'd like you to see me after class," Iruka-sensei said as the bell rang.
The pink-haired girl tilted her head to the side, confused. Why did he need to see her? Ino walked past her and stuck her tongue out at her. Sakura glowered at the blonde. Then, Sasuke walked past her.
"Ah, bye Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called after him. He didn't bother to look at her. She frowned.
"Bye, Sakura-chan!" shouted Naruto. Sakura ignored him. She walked up to Iruka-sensei's desk after everyone else left.
Iruka-sensei sat in his chair. He set his elbows on the desk and intertwined his fingers together. He looked tired and disappointed.
"Sakura-chan, I'm concerned about the lack of attention you show in my class," Iruka-sensei began. Sakura's face contorted into a look of disbelief. No way! She got better grades than everyone else, except for Sasuke! "If you were caught in life-threatening danger, and you were still staring at Sasuke, watching him fight, an enemy ninja could easily come up behind you and . . . . well, the point is, it's not a desirable flaw." Sakura frowned and looked down at her feet. Was she drooling of Sasuke that much? "I just want you to concentrate more on your studies than on Sasuke-kun, alright? I'm glad you're able to have such good grades even while not paying attention, but think about what they would be if you paid attention. You might even out-perform Sasuke-kun in class!"
Iruka-sensei laughed good-naturedly, making Sakura giggle. Though she highly doubted she could out-match Sasuke, it was nice to hear praise from Iruka-sensei.
"You're allowed to leave now, Sakura-chan. Oh, and by the way," he said, handing her a piece of paper, "here's your test back."
Sakura gave a high-pitched squeal, leaned over the desk, and hugged Iruka-sensei.
"Thank you!" she cried and she ran out of the classroom to tell her parents about the 100 she just got.
-
"Hey, this is fun!" twelve-year-old Sakura said, climbing up the tree.
She felt Sasuke's, Naruto's, and Kakashi-sensei's eyes on her. She reached a top branch in no time.
"Looks like the female on the team has the best chakra control," Kakashi-sensei commented.
Sakura stuck her tongue out playfully. I followed your advice, Iruka-sensei, she thought, I haven't been staring at Sasuke as much, and look! I made it! Now Sasuke-kun will pay more attention to me!
She frowned as Kakashi-sensei started saying things that would make Sasuke not like her. She could care less about what Naruto thought about her . . . but he didn't have to step on his dream of becoming Hokage so readily. Sasuke and Naruto attempted to run up their respective trees. Sakura sighed and began to climb up some more.
-
Sakura knocked on the front door. The door opened and Iruka-sensei stood on the other side.
"Sakura-chan! Good evening! I didn't expect to see you at this hour," he said.
"Hi, Iruka-sensei. Mind if I come in?" Sakura asked.
"No, of course not. Come in, come in. Would you like some tea?"
Sakura nodded. She looked around the room. She hadn't actually been in Iruka-sensei's apartment before. For some reason, she thought it would've been bigger. It held a comforting aura, just like the aura Iruka-sensei seemed to give off all the time. The Academy teacher came back into the room with a tea pot and some cups.
"It's nice to see you again," Iruka-sensei said, setting the tray down.
"Yeah. Nice to see you, too," Sakura said distractedly.
Iruka-sensei sat next to her and poured the tea into her cup.
"Is there a specific reason you came, or did you just feel like it?"
Sakura tried to figure out exactly how to phrase what she wanted to say.
"A little of both. You see, I've been concentrating on my studies a little more than I used to, but no matter what I do, I don't seem to be able to get Sasuke-kun to like me. And . . . I don't mean to sound like I don't appreciate Kakashi-sensei teaching us, I do appreciate it – he probably has other things he'd rather do that teach – but I can't help but feel like . . . like you'd make a better jonin sensei. Sometimes I don't get Kakashi-sensei's teaching methods at all, and sometimes I feel like he spends more time with Naruto and Sasuke than with me. He has been teaching me a few new genjustu, but it's nothing that you haven't told us about in class. Nothing that could really do much against an enemy. And, I can't help but feel that I'm falling behind. What do you think I should do? You seem like you would be able to tell me what to do."
Iruka-sensei sipped his tea, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Well, maybe you should do a little training on your own. Refine what you do know and work on what you have trouble with. As long as you keep working and are confident in yourself, I really don't think you can do anything wrong. As for Sasuke, if he doesn't realize how good and sweet and brilliant you are, then that's his problem. You shouldn't let that be all you care about, or what makes you special, because it's not. What makes you you isn't what Sasuke thinks. It's what you think about yourself and what you are capable of, which is quite a lot if you allow yourself to do it. Does that help you?"
Sakura looked up at her former teacher. A smile and kind gaze greeted her. She smiled back and finished her tea.
"Yeah, that helps a lot. Thanks, Iruka-sensei."
-
"Sasuke! Please! Don't leave! If you do, I'll scream!" Sakura cried, tears running down her cheeks. That'll make him stay, Sakura thought.
Sasuke disappeared from view. A thwack on the back was all Sakura remembered after that.
"Saskue-kun," she whispered as she fell.
She woke to the sound of a chuunin telling her to wake up. She realized where she was.
"SASUKE-KUN!"
-
Her face radiated heat. Tears burned her cheeks. She couldn't stop crying. Naruto-kun . . . . she hoped he'd be alright. Sasuke-kun . . . . . she hoped he'd come back, safe and sound. Lee-san . . . . . she hoped he'd be alright, too. She also hoped for Choji, Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba. And Kakashi-sensei. She didn't want to think that they were in danger and she was trapped back in Konoha, alone. She also didn't want to be part of the reason they'd be hurt. She'd begged Naruto-kun to go and bring back Sasuke-kun. Like Sasuke-kun was all that mattered to her. Sobs escaped her like spontaneous, annoying hiccups. How could she be so selfish? Naruto-kun cared about him, too. He already had the pressure and pain of loosing his best friend. She didn't need to make him promise. He'd never give up, now that he'd promised. Oh, what did she do to him? Could she ever make it up?
"Sakura-chan?"
She gasped and looked up. Iruka-sensei, an arm filled with books and papers, stood in front of her with a concerned expression on her face. The look made her want to cry more. He shouldn't be worrying about her! He should be worrying for Naruto-kun and the others! She was just the worthless teammate who let her friend go and get himself killed, who couldn't save her crush before it was an emergency! No one should bother caring for her! No one . . . . . .
Iruka-sensei knelt down.
"Would you like to come with me to my apartment? I need some assistance with grading these papers. I can make some herbal tea to help your nerves, too," Iruka-sensei said.
Sakura leaned into him and sobbed on his shoulder. Iruka-sensei held her. She let him take her back to his apartment.
"I'm worried about them, too," Iruka-sensei confided in her, "but we must believe that they'll make it alive because if we don't, Naruto's going to have a hissy fit that we didn't believe in him."
Sakura choked on a giggle.
-
Iruka-sensei stood next to her in the hospital, waiting to see Naruto. Iruka had arrived a little while after she did. He held something in the crook of his arm. It looked oddly like a go board. She didn't ask why he had it; she figured it must've been to comfort Shikamaru.
"Do you want to see him first?" Iruka-sensei asked after a small silence.
Sakura looked up at Iruka-sensei, surprised. He smiled at her.
"You can if you want to. I can come back later."
Sakura shook her head and bowed.
"No, you can see him first. I know he'd like it," she said.
Iruka-sensei's smile twitched downward. His face held a pensive look for a moment.
"No, you go ahead. Just keep this in mind." Sakura looked up. "None of this is your fault. Sasuke-kun is just having a hard time figuring out who he is and what he wants to do. It takes a few mistakes to figure these things out. He . . . he's had thoughts about searching for more power for a while now. Ever since his family died. It's a miracle this hasn't happened before now. And Naruto . . . he would've ended up like this even if you hadn't talked to him before they left." Iruka-sensei smiled at her again. "I don't have to tell you why that is."
Sakura stood up straight and watched him as he left. Her heart began to beat faster and her cheeks heated slightly. She gulped. What – what was happening? She had only felt this way around Sasuke-kun before now . . . . . .
-
It used to be that the mere mention of Sasuke made her heart beat faster and she found the urge to squeal. It used to be Sasuke that made her argue with Ino. It used to be Sasuke that made her stay up late at night, worrying. Sasuke used to do a lot of things to her. But now, it seemed to be that whenever Iruka-sensei was mentioned or around, her cheeks flushed and her heart became a humming bird. Her dreams became haunted by the guardian who had rescued her from her self-loathing – twice. She didn't worry about Sasuke-kun as much, about what was happening to him. She worried more about Naruto, but her thoughts were infected with Iruka-sensei through and through. It was . . . . a wonderful feeling, with the knowledge that he cared about her. When she thought back on her feelings for Sasuke, she felt that the loner was intoxicating, addicting. With Iruka-sensei, she felt a need for him, but he wasn't like a drug. She could live without him, yet she'd want to be with him. She didn't feel the need to follow him around and worship him. She felt like she was someone around him. It was like being around Naruto, but much better. Naruto was just her friend, if not best friend. But Iruka-sensei was something more. He must've been. Why else would she feel this way?
Iruka-sensei sputtered and stuttered when she confessed. She knew he was trying to find the words to say "I'm too old for you." She knew he'd play the you're-a-minor card, so she said that she'd wait for him as long as he felt the same way and was willing to wait for her. Iruka-sensei sat quietly for a moment.
"I – I shouldn't feel this way for you, Sakura-chan. But . . . I do, and I will wait for you. On one condition."
"What condition?"
"I won't do anything if it means hurting Naruto."
Sakura nodded, understanding.
"I don't want to hurt Naruto either."
-
Sakura knocked on Naruto's apartment door. She waited for Naruto to open the door. She knew he was in there. She could hear sounds on the other side of the door, though they sounded like they were coming from the living area. Sakura took out her key and unlocked the door.
"Naruto! It's me, Sakura!"
The sounds of something falling to the floor clattered through the hall. Naruto's cursing followed. He ran into the hallway and grinned at Sakura.
"Hi, Sakura-chan. Uh, you kinda came at a bad time."
Sakura looked him up and down. Naruto wore only his pants. She heard a grunt from the living room (which she couldn't see from her current position). Naruto looked worried. Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"Who's in the other room?" she asked.
Naruto blushed.
"Does that really matter?" he asked.
Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but the sight of Kakashi-sensei cut her off.
"Yo," was all Kakashi-sensei said. Sakura looked Kakashi-sensei up and down. He did wear all of his clothing, except they looked oddly wrinkled. She took another look at Naruto. There were two red spots on his neck. Her eyes widened slightly.
"You're . . . . dating Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, just for clarification.
Naruto turned the brightest red in the history of red. Kakashi-sensei seemed to be waiting for Naruto to say something. When it became evident that the blond was too embarrassed to say, Kakashi-sensei sighed.
"Yes, we are. You're not bothered by this fact, are you?" the teacher asked.
Sakura shook her head. At least she knew Naruto wouldn't be hurt.
-
"Iruka-sensei, you won't believe what I found out today," Sakura said.
"What?"
"Naruto's dating Kakashi-sensei."
The Academy sensei became eerily quite. Sakura couldn't see his face very well because he was bent over grading papers.
"Oh really?" he said, not looking up.
She nodded. Iruka-sensei set the paper he was grading aside and stood up.
"Sakura-chan, do you happen to know where Kakashi-san is at the present moment?"
"Either in a bar with Asuma-sensei or still at Naruto's."
"Thank you."
Later that day, Sakura heard the yelling of a man who just now discovered how terrifying Academy teachers could be.
-
In the days that followed, after Sakura's seventeenth birthday, Tsunade-sama noticed that Iruka-sensei and Sakura tended to hold hands when they were together. Shizune commented that it was cute. Tsunade-sama wasn't sure what to think. But her new student seemed happy, and she supposed that in the life of a ninja, that was all that truly mattered.
-
Red Roses2: Amazing! I actually wrote it! Please review. Flames will be torn apart by nin-dogs. And, my God! It's eight pages! O-O Please tell me if I wrote a good Sakura. I'm not used to writing her. Then again, I'm not used to writing in Sasuke's, Ino's, or Shikamaru's POVs either. If anyone has a request for what pairing I should do next, just tell me. Your choices for the moment are: IruNaru, IruShino, IruChou, IruHina, and IruLee. There seems to be no evidence that I can find that I can pair Iruka up with Neji, Tenten, or any of the Sand kids, so after those I will go on to pairing Iruka with the adults, such as Anko, Shizune, Kakashi, Ibiki, Hayate, ect.