A/N: Hello, hello. I've been having a hard time writing new updates for all of my stories and I have been getting busier and busier. It's frustrating, but I will try my best to keep up with all of this. I hope you will be able to bear with me and my lousy schedule.

Disclaimer- Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Tales of Love

Chapter Three: In Denial - Part Two (AU)

Rated: T

It was so very hard for Sakura to breathe.

She sprinted through the forest, holding her arms in front of her face to protect herself from the incoming branches and leaves. She had somehow steered away from the dirt path during her journey and lost herself within the dense woods. However, she was sure that if she continued running straight, an opening would eventually come into view. All that mattered at the moment was hurrying to see if her sensei was alright and unharmed.

A small shriek escaped her mouth as the tip of a branch scraped against her cheek. It stung, but her concentration did not waver. The trip felt incessant, but once she emerged out from between the large trees, relief immediately washed over her. Breathing heavily, she jogged to the middle of the tiny sector where the cliff side was visible. Looking from side to side, she tried to see whether her classmates were here.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Her ears quirked and she cocked her head in the direction the name had been called. Her body began to move on its own and she eventually found herself standing within a large group of teacher supervisors and students. Sakura's gaze moved to the sitting figure by the barbecue grill. She glared for a long time, feeling relieved, worried, and hurt all at the same time.

"Kakashi-sensei!" exclaimed Kiba. "You shouldn't leave those wounds unattended. At least let Kurenai-sensei put some medicine ointment on you!"

"But I already put the bandages on. I should be fine," he drawled, rubbing the band-aid on his chin.

"Sensei…" The dark-haired boy sighed, bringing his hand to his forehead. He turned on his heel and stared at the slightly bedraggled pinkette. "Oh, Sakura-chan. I thought you were sick."

Sakura gave no response and stepped closer to the resting man, her heart beating painfully fast against her chest. A mixture of foreign emotions began to swim inside of her, making her shudder with discomfort. A portion of it was disbelief, but she was certain that most of it was joy that Kakashi was not gone and badly injured like she had first thought. The reasons for these emotions were truly horrible. It was humiliating that she looked up to this person, but the worst component of it all was that she finally realized that she had fallen for him. Hard.

"Oh, Sakura-chan. We got cut off earlier when I called you!" recalled Kiba, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I was going to tell you that Kakashi-sensei fell off a tree after accepting Naruto's challenge to climb to the very top. I must have worried you. You came all the way out here when you weren't feeling good!"

Her lips parted and she chuckled uneasily. "Baka."

The boy looked at her strangely as she brushed past him. "Sakura-chan?"

"Baka," she repeated silently, her eyes clasping closed.

Kakashi stared up at her oddly as she held to a halt in front of him. He remained silent, but the concern was obvious on his face. Suddenly, she dropped to her knees, her hands planting firmly onto the dirt ground. His mismatched eyes eventually widened once he saw the narrow cut on her cheek and he reached out to wipe away the nearly dried blood that had seeped out. Tears abruptly began to rain down and it caught him by surprise as a few dropped onto his knuckles.

"Baka," she whispered for only him to hear, "You got me worked up over nothing."

Sakura continued to cry and Kakashi wrapped her in a gentle embrace, knowing that it was the only good comfort he had to offer.

~ X x . . . x X ~

As she flipped through the paperwork sitting on her desk, she attempted to recall how many days had passed since she came back from her class trip. Those days became months, and then those months became years. At the age of eighteen, Sakura received an invitation from one of Konoha's most excelling universities. A majority of the tuition was paid off by the university and she paid for the rest. She purchased and moved into her own apartment complex in the richer part of the city, which was quite large and spacious. Sakura studied hard, hoping that one day she would be able to become a successful doctor.

Once she hit the ripe age of twenty, Sakura began to work part-time at the hospital. Part-timers often were restricted from participating with the ill, but the head medic Tsunade was impressed with her medical skills and Sakura was therefore frequently needed. The following year she was hired and she continued her studies at the same time. Sakura was somewhat of a hermit and was usually socially deprived, but from time to time she managed to reunite with her old friends from her high school academy.

Most of the time, she remained in her complex and would only emerge to attend her classes or to go grocery shopping. She found it unnecessary to eat out in restaurants or small cafés. The pinkette considered herself a well-rounded cook. Her mother had taught her many family and gourmet recipes and even gave her a few pointers. Her mother's food was undeniably delicious and Sakura always tried her best to make her meals just as amazing.

She was an independent, young adult and preferred to be so. She rarely relied on anyone, nor trusted them. Sakura vowed to never grow too close to people. Having close bonds hurt; they were painful and hearts were always broken.

It was a difficult lifestyle, but it suited her well.

Pressing her lips together, she stared at the remaining of her paperwork, trying to remember where she had last left off.

"Sakura?"

Her head instantly snapped up at the address of her name. At the doorway stood Shizune, one of her hospital coworkers. Her arms were folded in front of her chest and a concerned frown was beginning to spread across her face. "It's getting a bit late. You should head on home and take a little break. I'm assuming you have studies to take care of as well?" she said quietly.

Sakura sunk further back into her chair. "I do, but it's only nine. I can still work for another hour."

"Please go home, Sakura," insisted Shizune. "It's not good for college students such as yourself to be overworking."

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to persuade her, Sakura gathered her belongings and pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder. She slowly made her exit, waving a blunt goodbye to the woman. "Alright, alright," she sighed. "I'll take it easy. I'll see you on Monday, Shizune-san."

The air was cold as Sakura stepped out of the hospital and she cursed herself for not bringing a jacket or sweater of some sort. Scrunching her nose, she pushed her way through the large crowds. Every corner, every turn, she only met another wall of people and with every step she took, she only wished more that she had heeded's Shizune's advice from the very start. Perhaps if she had left before dark, it would have been less crowded and less difficult to see where she was going.

It was only a matter of time before things worsened. The dark clouds had started to roll in and droplets of water began to rain down upon her. She was an idiot for not bringing a jacket and an umbrella, and the many men and women around her who had what she didn't angered her even further.

Teeth chattering, the pinkette rushed into a narrow alleyway, hoping that the two buildings surrounding her would help shield her from the pouring rain. It provided very little protection, but it was enough to keep the water from streaming down her face. Sighing, she fell back against the cold concrete wall behind her and ran her hand through her damp pink locks. Sakura officially hated the rain. She was freezing, soaking wet, and she was almost certain that she would be feeling unwell the following day.

Sakura sank to the ground and hugged her legs, burying her chin between her knees. She tried to think of a time where things rarely went wrong, a time when she was often happy with life. How did it all change, she wondered? Perhaps she had become too solitary and focused on her career to mind her friends and family. Truthfully, she missed all of that. She missed hearing the obnoxiously loud yapping of Naruto and Ino, the idle remarks of the lazy Shikamaru, and the crazed barking of Kiba and his dog. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen them. Perhaps it had been two months since she reunited with them. Did they hate her now that she refused to leave her studies and work unattended? Did they think lowly of her because all she ever thought about was herself?

She shook her head violently. There was no possible way that her friends would think such things. They were too kind.

Sakura released an inward groan and pulled herself to her feet. She was unsure about how long it had been since she escaped to this narrow path, but she assumed it was quite long, for the streets were nearly desolate. Fortunately for her, it made traveling much more easier. She was sure that now she would be able to make it home and have enough time to study before flopping onto her bed for a good night's sleep.

The rain wasn't letting up, however. Her skin was beginning to grow icy numb and it was difficult moving her limbs. She wouldn't be surprised if she got a frostbite.

Chewing the inside of her cheek, she hurried to the stoplight and rapidly pressed the pedestrian button, muttering a string of curses beneath her breath. When the light signaled that it was safe for pedestrians to cross, she nearly jumped with joy and prepared to take off. Suddenly, before she could even take a step, the rain pounding on her head held to a halt and a dark shadow loomed over her figure.

"Isn't it a bit late for a young lady to be wandering the streets?"

Her lips parted slightly and almost instantly all of the air escaped her lungs. Shuddering at the blunt, husky tone, she turned around only to meet a pair of onyx and crimson eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared at her former teacher, trying to decipher the look behind his fathomless gaze. It had been many years since she had last seen him. She nearly didn't recognize him.

Sakura looked elsewhere. "I'm not wandering," she murmured. "I'm on my way home."

"Ah." He adjusted the position of the umbrella so that it would be covering the both of them from the rain. Scratching the back of his head, he remarked, "You look cold and wet."

"I didn't think it would rain so hard," she confessed shamefully. Sakura glanced across the street and saw that she was no longer able to cross. Sighing, she pressed the button once again. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"As did I. I suppose this is just pure luck."

Pink eyebrows furrowed at that response. It was lucky for him, but unlucky for her. He was one of the many people she really didn't want to encounter at the moment.

"I can accompany you home, if you'd like?" he asked silently. "You seem a bit lonely, not to mention the fact that you neither have an umbrella or jacket."

As much as she wanted for him to leave her alone, she just couldn't refuse the offer. She was indeed lacking these things and staying any longer in this condition would worsen her health. Not only that, but even if she did refuse, she was almost positive that he would still insist on tagging along. Accepting his offer would save her the trouble of handling his persistence.

"That'd be nice," she answered subtly. "Thank you."

He didn't say anything in return. The lights began to blink and the two of them started to cross the street. Their tread to her apartment building was awfully silent, not that it mattered to her. She noticed that he glanced in her direction every once in a while, but dismissed it and resumed ignoring him. He was only concerned and she was grateful that he cared, but she really didn't want him to be here. This was the man that sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach, made her short of breath, and turned her knees into jello. Four years had passed and even now those feelings still remained unchanged.

"I ran into Naruto the other day," he began reluctantly, shoving his unoccupied hand into the pocket of his trousers. "He told me how you were accepted into Kenkyū University. Congratulations."

"Thanks," she spoke through gritted teeth. How much more did Naruto tell him? She surely didn't want him being aware of her current lifestyle.

"I graduated from there as well," he continued. "It was a bit difficult, but I somehow managed. How is it for you?"

"Somewhat the same. The professors there have taken a liking to me so I don't exactly have much to worry about."

"That's good." He smiled at her slightly, the corner of his eyes creasing into that familiar way. He twirled the umbrella above them and she watched as the droplets shot down from it. "You are a pretty likable person, so I'm not surprised."

Sakura felt her cheeks grow hot and she bit her lip so hard that she was sure that she punctured it. She nearly forgot about his habits of complimenting her. They were such simple compliments with such simple words, yet it still always managed to affect her. Sakura wasn't sure how much more she could take with his presence. Certainly, she wouldn't make out of this alive.

Perhaps she should have fled the first second she saw him. Then again, he had the advantage of longer legs so he probably would have caught up to her anyways.

The pinkette clenched her jaw as an effort to hold herself back from screaming out of frustration.

"You alright?"

She gazed up at him to see that he was staring straight at her, an eyebrow raised and a puzzled frown spreading across his face.

"I'm fine," she lied flatly, redirecting her attention to the path in front of them.

"Sakura…"

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm an adult now. I'm no longer a foolish teenager, or child, as you often referred us to."

There was a short pause.

Kakashi eyed her momentarily and sighed heavily. "I find the honorific quite unnecessary," he hummed rhythmically. "Don't you?"

Sakura tossed her head in the other direction, eyebrows furrowing. "Sensei—"

"Ah, ah," he interrupted, waggling his index finger from side to side. "From this point on, you will only address me by Kakashi."

"Can I at least use a different honorific other than 'sensei'? Like 'sempai'?"

"Nope."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"You were, after all, the one who said that you were no longer a teenager, but an adult. Therefore, that makes us equals. Am I not correct?"

Sakura was ready to launch her fist at him. It took all her might to restrain herself from doing so.

"Fine, Kakashi! Better?" she snapped, her rosy face practically fuming with anger.

"Better."

It took nearly half of their journey to her apartment building for her boiling frustration to settle. Thankfully, Kakashi chose not to converse anymore. It was likely that he knew that if he made one more comment he would be digging his own grave, but whether he was aware of the consequences or not, she was still extremely thankful. Sakura, however, did feel a tad bit guilty.

She was well aware that Kakashi hadn't done anything to deserve any of her resentment. He was a warmhearted, caring man and his behavior was always like so due to his concern about his friends. He was undeserving of the indignation she was bringing him, but she couldn't help acting so rudely toward him. Her mind frequently automatically registered it as the only escape from his kind, loving care. Her body always acted on its own, moving away from him and giving him the cold shoulder.

But it was the only way to avoid those cursed feelings.

"Sakura, I didn't mean to make you mad earlier," Kakashi spoke at last. There was an obvious regret behind his dry tone.

Her emerald eyes softened. "I know you didn't."

"I just wanted to see that part of you again. I'm still shocked at how mature you've become."

"Well, there's no helping growing up."

"I know…" Kakashi's voice trailed off into an inaudible murmur. "You've really changed, Sakura."

The said girl rose a petal-colored brow. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Well on my part, perhaps," he grinned foolishly at her. "Frankly, I can't stand the idea of you kids eventually becoming equals. It's fun being admired as the 'totally cool and intelligent' teacher."

She nearly snorted at his response. The statement was true, however. Before, she could recall how all of his classes looked up to him and considered him an astounding, perfect role model. Unfortunately for him, now that they were grownups they no longer saw him as such a figure. He was now only a simple kind man who had once been their mentor in the academy. That was that.

Sakura shook her head and smiled slightly. Hugging her arms and attempting to ignore the chilling breeze moving against her moist skin, she tried to remember the times when she was still in the academy. When she had first met Kakashi, all she saw was a completely odd and elusive man. Many of her female classmates squealed over him, chatting about how gorgeous he looked, while her male classmates talked about how relaxed and popular he was. Kakashi was a popular teacher in the academy and both students and teachers admired him greatly. She was most likely the only person who looked at him normally as if he was just any other human being.

How did she come to fall for him, she wondered? Sakura started to notice the little things about him halfway through the school year. He often kept solitary and refused to join large gatherings. When he was surrounded by friends, she realized that he never took part in what they were doing. He would always remain toward the back where he was safely hidden from the attention. Kakashi also usually read books that weren't very appropriate in particular. He read smut, to be exact, but every now and then he'd bother reading actual literature.

He was truly a mysterious man, but very warmhearted and passionate. Before their summer class trip, she became aware of how kind he was. Sakura had never paid much attention to him and it amazed her once she saw how good of a person he was. Still, she found it annoying how she began looking up to him. Perhaps it was fact that she was adopting the rest of her classmates' childish behaviors that bothered her. Or maybe it was how he treated her, being more mindful of her. He was always concerned about all of his students, but she always got this feeling that he was watching her more than the others. She assumed it was merely her mind's trickery, but way in the back of her head she knew that it wasn't.

Sakura shuddered and closed her eyes momentarily to forcefully wash away all of the thoughts.

"Sakura, are you alright?" she heard Kakashi ask.

"Of course I am," Sakura replied nonchalantly.

The wind picked up and it was then when she remembered that she was still in a stormy setting. Goosebumps began to appear all over her paling skin and her former mentor glared at her quizically.

He pointed out, "You're shivering."

"I most certainly am not. You must be imagining things. Did you have a drink before you headed out, sensei?"

Silence.

"Kakashi," corrected the silver-haired man. "And no, I did not. I don't drink during the weekdays."

She rolled her eyes. Did he just admit to drinking on a regular basis during the weekends?

"I'm not shivering, Kakashi," muttered Sakura.

"Yes, you are."

"Am I really?"

"It couldn't be more obvious."

Before Sakura could think of another retort to shoot right back at him, Kakashi was already shrugging out of his jacket and placing it around her shoulders. Cheeks reddening, she held to an abrupt halt and watched him with big beryl eyes as he finished wrapping her with the clothing article. The warmth was welcoming and it certainly soothed her nerves, but looking at the man and seeing that he now had nothing but a thin long sleeved shirt on made her gut twist with a strong, painful culpability.

"Kakashi, I can't take this," she declined.

She attempted to remove his jacket, but his hand firmly held onto her petite one that reached over to pull it off her shoulders. Feeling her body flush a deep shade of red, she looked back and glared at Kakashi's face. It was stern, his mismatched eyes slowly growing undecipherable. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to convince him that she didn't need it, she turned to stare at the wet sidewalk stretched in front of them.

The grip on her hand tightened. "You need it more than I do."

Biting on her bottom lip, Sakura squirmed out of his grasp. They lapsed into a short period of silence before they resumed their walk. She couldn't stop stealing glances of him. Truthfully, she was a tad bit worried about him. He wasn't equipped with nothing more than the umbrella to protect himself from the cold winds and rain. He did awfully too much for her, she realized, and she didn't like how he was willing to put herself first before anything else.

It wasn't fair. Why was he always like this?

"Now you're shivering," noted Sakura quietly.

He shrugged bluntly. "As long as you're warm and protected from this storm, then I'm perfectly okay."

Finding no appropriate response to his statement, she remained silent. Kakashi was far too kind toward her. Why did he treat her differently than the others. How did he always manage to make her insides churn uncomfortably? Most importantly, why was she fond of him?

Sakura gritted her teeth as his sturdy shoulder bumped into hers.

With every little touch.

"Sakura."

With every little word.

"I have to be completely honest with you."

She continued to crumble into tiny, broken pieces.

"I missed you so much."

She was completely vulnerable.

Finally being unable to take the madness any longer, she stopped in her tracks, Kakashi seizing to a halt a few steps in front of her. He stared at her, his eyes growing slightly wide, mouth agape. Sakura simply glared in return, feeling a mixture of anger, frustration, want, and need bubbling in her chest. The emotions were overwhelming and she despised them with all her heart.

"You're crying," he sputtered.

Sakura found his utterance true. Tears were rapidly streaming down the sides of her cheeks, but with the pouring rain it was almost hard to tell. Her eyebrows knitted and her lips pressed together as an effort to restrain herself from wailing. His hand reached out to comfort her, but she instantly swatted it away.

"I hate it when you do this to me!" she choked out.

"Sakura," he attempted to reach out once more, only to be rejected like he had been before.

"I hate how you're always being so nice to me! You're always smiling at me, you're always concerned about me…" Her fists balled at her side and her eyelids crashed closed, her tears continuing to fall in sync with the raindrops. "No one else but you had managed to get through me! I just hate how you make me feel! Why, of all people in the entire world, did it have to be you? Why…of all of people…did I fall in love with you?"

The words left her lips unbidden. Her puffy eyes cracked open and she stared at the silver-haired man in front of her, a million thoughts reeling in her mind. She waited for a reply of some sort; anything would suffice. Seconds grew into minutes, and she began to feel even more pain rise in her chest. Tearing her gaze away from his, she scolded herself for allowing her distraught to overcome herself.

Suddenly, Kakashi laughed humorlessly.

"You know, I always thought you hated me."

Almost immediately her attention returned to him. He reached out for the last time and she permitted it. His thumb gently wiped away her sorrowful tears and he smiled reassuringly, his hand softly caressing her cheek. Kakashi leaned forward so close that Sakura could practically feel his dense breaths bounce off the tip of her rosy nose.

"I'm really glad you don't."

And as he closed the distance between them, his warm lips descended upon hers, the umbrella above them shielding them from sight.

Sakura then came to a conclusion that there was no more denying the fact that she had fallen so hard for this man, and that there was no denying that he fell just as hard.

In Denial - Fin

Reviews Are Appreciated!

Some things you should know:

1) When I say "Fin", I mean it's the end of the drabble, not the entire drabble series. Just wanted to clarify that!

2) I know it took so very long for me to write the continuation of the previous part. I was caught up with school and I had difficulties plotting this out. Let's just say that I rewrote this about ten times.