A/N: It was brought to my attention that it might be interesting to hear Sakura's side of the story, as my last story certainly didn't view her very charitably. Of course, it wasn't really supposed to. I was just examining how I think Gai would feel about the situation, and I think he's really more of an extreme type when it comes to…well, anything. Therefore, he is absolutely loyal to Kakashi and hates Sakura. I don't particularly like Sakura, and I think she's very shallow, but despite how Gai in my first oneshot sees her, I don't think she'd really be cruel enough to treat Kakashi like that intentionally. For the record, I also don't think that would occur to Gai. Nor do I think it would occur to Gai that he knows Kakashi well enough to see the warning signs, and she probably doesn't.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A Lack of Criminality

Haruno Sakura was glad to find her calling. She'd spent so much time training to fight, training for a power she'd never had. Kakashi-sensei had been a good teacher, but Sakura thought her talents didn't really match his. Haruno Sakura was glad to find her calling, and she was glad to find a teacher who suited her.

And if, sometimes, Sakura misses her companions, she's learned to push that feeling of loss away.

If sometimes, while talking to Ino, Sasuke comes to mind, Sakura has learned to forget that she wasn't enough to keep him in Konoha.

If Naruto pops into her head when she passes the Ichiraku ramen stand, Sakura has learned to push back those treacherous thoughts of broken promises and endless cheer.

If, every once in a while, someone asks if she's heard from either, Sakura manages to reply with a simple, "Naruto is doing well. He says he's learning a lot," and she manages to forget that she's heard no word of Sasuke.

And sometimes, if she sees the other teams together with their teachers, laughing and teasing each other and going on missions, Sakura thinks that maybe she feels a little regret that things have so changed. That she has no team, that her new teacher doesn't really have the time for the fun and games and pointless missions, and that, when the upcoming Chuunin exams arrive, she won't be sitting in that room, wondering if Naruto will be able to answer any questions, and with unwavering faith that Sasuke will.

Invariably, though, Sakura is able to push those thoughts away.

It is only when she sees Hatake Kakashi that she fails to be able to let those feelings go. The pain of rejection from Sasuke, the lack of the cheer Naruto always brought, the memories of learning of teamwork and strength and maturity that, in the end, simply weren't enough…

No, Haruno Sakura does not like to see Hatake Kakashi, with his bored, apathetic expression that can be seen even through the mask and hitae-ate. Occasionally, Sakura even wants to scream at him, to shout. She wants to know why their team failed, after all that effort to build a bond. She wants to know why Sasuke didn't stay, and why Naruto was allowed to leave. She wants to know why her team fell apart when no one else's did.

But Hatake Kakashi is no longer her teacher, and Haruno Sakura, apprentice of the Fifth, feels that she no longer has the right to demand such answers, and so, when she sees him now and again, and he asks how her training is going, instead of telling him how much she misses Team 7, and how lonely she sometimes feels, and how she enjoys learning to heal, but it's just not the same, she just tells him that her training is going well.

After all, Haruno Sakura knows that no one can act as apathetic as Hatake Kakashi does if they truly felt the loss of the team.