Though her goal wasn't to impress Kakashi or his crew of dogs, it would have been nice to know she had made some positive or even noteworthy impact, since expectations were likely low or nonexistent due to not knowing one another very well. The silver haired teacher addressed his crew and then they all vanished except for Pakkun who seemed rather thoughtful, something she'd never have associated with a dog before. Though he was unlike any other dog she had ever encountered. He then claimed to be her rival which caused her to smile. **"Alright, I'll see you later then."** Sakura told him before he vanished like the others had. Now they were able to get moving. Sakura walked with Kakashi though her stride wasn't as long or as brisk so she was about a step behind him. The pace was slow and leisurely though which she was pretty sure was done on purpose. Her legs were still functioning but they felt a little bit like miso jelly.

The silence between them was a little weird though she hadn't a clue what to say to him but soon Kakashi spoke up, saving her the trouble of finding a topic they could both be engaged in. He began to mention that she didn't have to answer if she didn't want to but Sakura wasn't really interested in keeping secrets anymore. That seemed childish and with so much to do, there was little time for polite conversation. **"It's alright."** She just told him, though since she didn't know what he was getting at, she could only assume it had to do with Naruto or Sasuke. Sakura was deathly quiet as Kakashi spoke about the beginning of their team's formation and how her focus had been on Sasuke and not much else. He went on to talk about where she now stood. It was something to chew on but by the time they arrived at Ichiraku, she hadn't said anything in regards to his question.

It wasn't that it was too personal, and as her teacher he did have a right to know what was going on inside her head. She knew if she was focused on something else, training would be useless. **"Oh, me too, please."** She added to Kakashi's order and sat down beside him. Sakura was still rather pensive as Kakashi asked again about how she felt. Under everything, she still prided herself on her intelligence and right now, words mattered more than anything else. Turning to Kakashi, she rested an arm on the wooden bar in front of them, her other arm resting on her lap causally. **"I wanted to become a ninja because I wanted to be strong."** She told him. **"In the beginning I wanted to be strong for myself but then as the years passed and graduation approached, I knew I could be strong others as well, that I could someday mean the difference between someone living and someone dying."** Sakura continued.

**"In my eyes, Sasuke wasn't too different and I know I...I know I romanticized him and in doing so, lost myself and forgot that he had his own hardships that I knew very little about."** She knew she had been star-struck and deep down, she still admired Sasuke but knew he wasn't the answer anymore. That she had people like Naruto and Ino to rely upon and that her focus on Sasuke had been determintal to her own growth. **"I lost a friendship because of my feelings for Sasuke, they were unjust and I was being silly."** She admitted heavily. **"I see myself helping people in the years to come, possibly teaching at the Academy or helping at the hospital."** She told Kakashi, her tone changing from cool and quiet to more fiery and upbeat. Sakura had gotten to know Naruto and Sasuke as they spent more time together as Team 7, and yet she still felt like an outsider, someone who could only look at the surface but not the contents under it. The pink haired kunnoichi wanted to get back to her roots and in doing so, might help Sasuke if ever possible.

Just then their two bowls of ramen were set down in front of them. Sakura turned to the steaming bowl of noodled and grabbed herself a pair of wooden chopsticks and broke them apart. Before she dug in though, she glanced back to her teacher. **"Since I answered your question, I'd like you answer one of mine.**" She said to him, not feeling the need to ask if it was okay. **"Your focus was mostly on Naruto and Sasuke when we first came together a team but then it shifted to just Sasuke. I can understand the events of the Chunin Exam playing a part in that and that you probably knew his history better than me and Naruto but...did you ever think it was unfair for you to neglect Naruto and me? We had to fend for ourselves while everything began to unravel."** She reminded him. **"Or did you think what you were doing was completely justified? Your answer won't matter much to me because what's done is done...but I'm just curious about your perception of the situation."** She said as she began to eat slowly, not wanting to seem disrespectful to the man beside her since she had just asked him a sensitive question. 

If the Jounin defended his actions, she'd understand. If he showed some regret, she'd also understand.

Sakura just wanted to know what he thought about the deterioration of their once happy team. 

It was hard to remember that they were happy once, before everyone went so wrong.

**"We were all a team at one point but looking back, it's hard to tell...I don't know we really knew each other the way Ino's team knows each other. I guess i'm being a little silly."** She considered as she took a drink of tea.