Naruto and Sakura were lying on the ground, exhausted. They had just finished a rigorous training exercise from Kakashi-sensei. Even the number one, hyperactive, knucklehead ninja didn't have that much energy left and that was saying something. It didn't help that it was eighty-five degrees and sunny either. Naruto peeled off his sweaty orange and black jacket.

"Why does it have to be so hot?!" he yelled at the sun as if that would change the temperature.

Sakura closed her eyes and smiled. Some things would never change.

"Good job today, you two," Kakashi said as he walked towards them. "Go home and get some rest now."

"Yay! Air conditioning!!" Naruto shouted. Sakura giggled and Kakashi smiled. "I bet Sasuke doesn't have air conditioning." He clamped a hand over his mouth. 'Oops. I said that out loud didn't I?' he thought.

Sakura stopped smiling and looked at her feet like she always did when Sasuke was mentioned. Naruto looked at Sakura sadly.

"I'm sorry Sakura, I didn't mean to say that out loud. I'll see you later," he said apologetically.

"It's okay Naruto," she gave him a small smile. Naruto ran off. She stood there for a moment, forgetting that her sensei was still behind her.

'I better have a talk with her,' Kakashi thought. 'This is getting bad.'

He put a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him questioningly.

"Meet me at the memorial stone in two hours," he said and without another word turned and dashed away presumably to his apartment.

'I wonder what that was all about. None-the-less I'd better go and see what he wants.' She thought. She started to head towards her house. When she got home she changed into some clean clothes and pondered what she would have for dinner.

"I think I'll have ramen. That sounds good," she stopped a minute and chuckled to herself. "I must be hanging around Naruto too much. I bet he's eating the exact same thing right now."

After eating her nutritious dinner, she started to head towards the memorial stone.

'I wonder how long I'll have to wait for him to show up,' she thought absent-mindedly.

Sakura almost gasped out loud. When she was about to come into the clearing where the memorial was she stopped. She wouldn't have to wait for Kakashi-sensei because he was already there. She had never ever known him to be early or even on time. He was crouched down next to the memorial stone. One hand was touching his left eye, the eye with the sharingan, the other was tracing a name engraved on the stone. His hitai-ate lie on the ground next to him. All she could see of the name was the word "Uchiha". She made a mental note of where it was and walked up to Kakashi.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

'Why did you have to die?' Kakashi thought as he traced the name of his friend. He didn't notice Sakura coming up behind him. He was too deep in thought to notice anything. She put a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

"Um, sensei?" she said. "What did you want to see me about?" He snapped out of his spaced-out state and put on his hitai-ate before standing up and facing her.

"Hi Sakura," he said cheerfully. "Come sit down." He sat down and motioned for her to sit down next to him. She did as she was told. They sat there for a minute each lost in their own thoughts.

"So…" Sakura finally broke the silence. "What's up?" She thought he was going to tell her about a mission they were going on or something like that. She definitely didn't expect what he had to say. He sighed.

"I didn't want to have to tell you this, Sakura, but I guess I have no choice." His voice sounded sad.

"W-What," she said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"You have to let him go," he said simply.

"What-What do you mean?" she replied quietly.

"Sakura, you know what I mean. Sasuke." He paused for a minute. Her eyes widened. He had never said anything like this to her before. "He's clouding your judgment. You always look down at your feet when he's mentioned. You know that he probably will never come back, and if he does, what then? I'm sure you could find someone else to care for you. You can't hold out for him forever." He looked at her with a truly concerned look, at least from what she could see of his face that was what it looked like. "Sasuke chose his own path. You should too." He stopped and took a breath. There was another awkward silence.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you have any idea what you just asked me to do?" He was about to answer, but she continued. "I can't just let him go and act like he was never there." Her voice was rising now. "How can you ask me to do that?!"

"Sakura, calm down," Kakashi said, but she kept going.

"He will come back! I won't let him go! How can you ask me to do that?!" Tears leaked from her eyes despite her efforts to hold them back.

"Sakura!" She stopped yelling and looked at him. "I can ask you to do that because I've tried to do what you're going through already. I know exactly what I'm asking you to do," he told her sternly. His eyes turned towards the ground just like she did when she was thinking about Sasuke. "I tried already." He repeated. She stared at him for what felt like an eternity with thoughts whirling in her mind, tears still flowing from her eyes.

"I'm sorry I-," she started to apologize, but he cut her off.

"Don't be sorry," he said as he got to his feet and prepared to leave. "Just think about what I said. Goodnight." He was back to his normal self. He walked away leaving her staring after him.

It occurred to her then that she didn't know all that much about him. She wiped away the tears from her face and was about to leave when she remembered the name that he had been looking at before. She walked a few paces over to the memorial and searched for the name. She found it near the bottom.

"Uchiha Obito," she whispered. "I wonder who that is." Then she turned around and started walking back towards her house.