AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger! Lol... I can hear the screams of frustration. :D I hope there wasn't too much damage! Anyways, I figure there's one more chapter after this. You'll probably see that on Monday. Seeing how tomorrow I get to go to Toronto to see the big Car Show and I won't be back until Friday. And then my weekends are reserved for my hunny! But don't fret. After this rejuvenating week, I'll have a really, really good last chapter for you all AND the beginning to my next series called 'Baneflower' Which is a SakuraXKakashi, SakuraXNarutoXSasuke fic. Until then, love you all and keep reviewing:D I likes it!

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Obviously.

Chapter 9

He found himself sitting at the bar again, drowning his sorrows. He had picked a different bar this time, hoping that she wouldn't appear. She being Naoru who was really Sakura. That thought depressed him.

He had forgotten that this place was somewhere that Iruka liked to frequent. The buoyant teacher had taken to sitting by Kakashi after making his presence known. Kakashi didn't really care, he had enough problems that he had to sort out that it distracted him from Iruka's banter. His main issue was Sakura. Unwittingly, he had surpassed the boundaries of comfortable mentor-student status and no matter how hard he thought of a solution to get himself back to that status, all of them ended up breaking Sakura's heart.

He wondered why he was so vehemently opposed to dating his former student. He liked her, that was certain. He enjoyed her company. He admired her courage and her strength. It didn't help much that she was stunning, even for someone who was fourteen years younger than him.

Iruka sensed that his companion was in deep thought. He sat quietly, waiting for Kakashi to say something that would hint at what was bothering him. It took a while but Iruka was patient. Finally, Kakashi muttered, "I can't believe I fell for it."

"Fell for what?"

Kakashi glanced at his friend, for the first time that night, acknowledging his presence. "Naoru. She's not what she seems." Just as Rin hadn't been what she had seemed, either. But that was an unfair comparison, he thought defensively. Sakura's circumstance had been entirely innocent and she hadn't betrayed anyone willingly. She had been sworn to secrecy.

"Oh?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Kakashi murmured and stood to leave. "See you later, Iruka." He waved and left the bar, stepping out into the bitter cold.

It had been two days since she had confessed to him and he hadn't taken it well, at all. He remembered her pleas to come back and talk to her, something that she wanted to explain but he hadn't cared at that time. He felt selfish. He wanted to be alone to cope with what she had shoved in his face and expected him to deal with so suddenly. Despite what people thought of Kakashi, he didn't really like to think. Human emotions were too unpredictable and he thought the world would be a better place without them.

It was too cold for him to wander far, so he went back to his house and peeled off his clothes. A long, hot shower chased away the chill that had slipped deep within his extremities, but it did nothing to ease the numbness in his soul.

Why couldn't he have Sakura? She's a child, the logical voice in his head answered. But it was perfectly fine when she was masquerading as an older woman? It was fine when she had the body and the face of someone closer to his age? Or was it that he didn't want people to think less of him for dating such a young woman, and his ex-pupil no less?

He flopped on his couch and laid there, staring at the ceiling. Wearing nothing more than a towel draped around his waist and one over his head, conspicuously hiding his left eye, he thought about his little predicament. A predicament with pink hair and a lithe, strong body. Green eyes that made even the finest emeralds fade in comparison. Kakashi shook his head to banish the thoughts, vowing to put a stop to the icha icha paradise because it was obviously rotting his brain as well as his morals. Preying after young girls was inexcusable; poetic metaphors, well that was just sick.

Something glittered pink in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and caught sight of the small hairpin underneath his coffee table. Grabbing hold of it, he twirled it in his fingers and watched the light catch off of the crystal petals. "To forehead girl" It said, etched into the long steely stem.

"Forehead girl..." Kakashi muttered. That was Ino's nickname for Sakura. The answer had been here all along, but he had been too caught up to even see it.

In the morning he wandered through the hospital, just trying to get a glimpse of pink hair. Unfortunately, she had taken the day off, as a young nurse by the name of Tami explained.

He went by Tsunade's office. She was hunched over her desk, writing something furiously.

"Kakashi-san!" She called out.

Standing by the door, he waited until she beckoned further. He settled in his chair and watched her finish her notary before asking what she wanted.

"Is there something bothering you, Kakashi-san?" She asked, folding her hands in front of her.

"Why?"

"Because Sakura came to me a while ago, distressed. She talked a bit about telling you of her breakthrough jutsu."

"And why do you think that it bothers me?"

"You brought her home the first night she performed the jutsu."

That's right, Shizune had been in the crowd that night, Kakashi remembered. He sighed, "She has confessed feelings for me and I told her its inappropriate. She's too young and she's my student."

"Ex student, Kakashi." Tsunade chirped.

"Regardless, it goes against the rules. A shinobi shouldn't mix business with pleasure."

"Kakashi, stop being such a stiff-ass and go get the girl."

He blinked at her choice of words. "Stiff ass?"

"That's right." She huffed, "I understand that you have followed the rules all your life but sometimes, there comes a time where one must make their own rules. You don't become a great shinobi by following rules, you become a great shinobi by making your own but maintaining your humility." What she had said came painfully close to a memory that made the scar over his eye itch.

The silence between the two legendary shinobi was heavy. "That's deep." He grunted.

"That's all you have to say?" Tsunade snapped, her temper peeking through her congenial mask.

"Maa! Maa! Calm down, Tsunade-sama!"

"Get out, fool!" She barked, feeling embarrassed and completely exasperated with the silver haired jounin. Men were just so clueless sometimes.

----------KluvsS---------

Nothing felt better than training until you were so exhausted you could barely stand, Sakura thought happily as she collapsed against the trunk of a tree. She grinned at her sparring partner, Ino. Ino looked just as exhausted as Sakura felt, which meant she had given as good as she had received.

"Sakura-chan, I'm tired. Lets call it a day." Ino said between gasps.

Sakura nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Whatever, forehead girl."

"Tomorrow then, Miss Piggy!" Sakura called after Ino as the blond walked down the path that led to the village.

Sakura sat with her back against the tree trunk. She thought about her current situation– mainly, she thought about Kakashi. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry about it. She was stronger than that. So far, so good. She leaned her head back, feeling the rough bark dig into her scalp.

"Stupid Kakashi!" She thought, picturing herself punching said offender in the mouth for all the aggravation he caused her. With another burst of energy, she stood up and rammed her foot into the tree. It shook from the force of her hit, sending snow and icicles dropping from branches. She squealed as a particularly wet, cold glob of snow dropped on her head and into the back of her coat.

"Cold! Cold!" She hopped around, trying to dig the snow out from her collar.

A snowball smacked her in the head, sending more snow down her shirt. She turned around, seeking the offender and stopped mid curse when she spied Kakashi. "You should always pay attention to your surroundings, Sakura." He said. "That could have been something worse, like a kunai or a shuriken."

Sakura stared. She stared because she couldn't think of anything else to do. She wondered what he was doing here. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to give you this." Kakashi tossed the hairpin at her, she caught it in midair. "I found it under my coffee table."

After tucking the pin safely in her coat pocket, she looked up and half expected him to be gone. He wasn't. He leaned against a tree and watched her as she walked towards him. "Is that all?"

"No."

"What else then?" Sakura asked, stopping just out of arms' reach.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" She asked guardedly.

"Sorry for not realizing who you really were, sooner."

"And who am I, Kakashi?"

"A talented, smart and beautiful Kunoichi."

"And also your ex student AND too young to go to a bar. So what are you playing at, Kakashi?" She asked angrily.

"It's against the rules for a teacher to love a student."

"It's against a Kunoichi's rules to show love. Period. Does that bother you?" She blurted and then blushed furiously as she realized her admission of love for the impossible teacher.

"I think its alright to break the rules, sometimes." He said, watching her intently.

Sakura stared at Kakashi, wondering what she was supposed to feel. She felt the icy cold water sliding down her spine, soaking the back of her shirt. She stepped closer to him, letting him draw her into his arms. He wrapped tightly around her and held her against his chest.

He rested his face against her hair, smelling strawberries. They were sweet and intoxicating, just as she was. Just as her secrets were. "Sakura, it'll be hard for me to admit my feelings but know that you will always be my precious person."

"Don't worry, Kakashi. I think I knew that for a long time, now." She said, looking up at him. Her hands reached up and pulled away the mask. On tiptoes, she planted her slightly blue lips on his, drawing in his warmth. Their kiss deepened, chasing away all threat of the cold from their bodies. He claimed her mouth with his own, tongues clashed and melded like quicksilver. Teeth clacked together as their kiss grew frantic, their breaths grew short. He pushed her away and stared down at her, finding himself being drawn into the liquid depths of her eyes.

The feelings that she revived in him– the hope that there might be room for something warm and vibrant in his life, left him feeling giddy inside. He wanted to find out all the little secrets about her, everything that made her smile and laugh and cry. He knew that he had a head start, but that wasn't enough. He wanted more. How could one person make him feel so... Complete?

"What are you thinking, Kakashi?"

"About you."

She grinned, "Good." Hooking a finger in the mask that was tied loosely around his neck, Sakura pulled him down and kissed him again, "I'm cold."

"Then let me warm you up." He grinned, pulling her closer.

TBC