This is a one-shot! This is to hold people off because I didn't update a chapter for L.A.J.
It was late in the afternoon when she found Naruto in the training field where for so many years team seven had practiced, bonded, trained, played and where for a countless amounts of time she had watched Sasuke kiss Naruto sweetly when he thought that no one would see. She herself had been wandering the training grounds; tears falling down her own cheeks as the memories came crashing back to her with such clarity and force she had begun to sob helplessly. Earlier that day Team Seven had just gotten back from another failed attempt to bring Sasuke back. She had walked through a small forest of trees and come into the clearing where the three wood posts were and found Naruto, shirtless and ruthlessly beating the posts with no protective coverings on his hands and her eyes widened as she looked at the blood soaked post and then Naruto's bloody body.
She rushed forward, "Naruto!"
Naruto froze and turned towards her and she gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as her heart ached in dismay. Naruto's beautiful blue eyes were red and narrowed to the point of almost being closed, his face was bloody and scratched up and there was a serious laceration on his cheek. Blood ran from his mouth and other varies cuts on his face but his injuries weren't what was stopping her, it was his expression. She could now see very clearly that he was close to crying; breaking down might be a more appropriate word for it, his eyes brimming with heart break and dismay, his jaw clenched as if he was holding it all back. It was heart breaking to see him this way and for a moment she forgot everything and ran across the field towards him and cried out his name sorrowfully.
Naruto's eyes widened but he opened his arms wide, preparing for the impact and she ran faster, sobbing for breathe and focusing only on getting to her best friend. Sakura reached out her hand and once again cried out his name and Naruto's face began to crumple as he grabbed it and pulled her into a tight hug, she wrapped her arms around his neck quickly and forced him into a crouch and she could feel his enormous muscular figure underneath her arms tremble and her eyes softened and she brushed hair away from his ear maternally and whispered,
"Even ninjas have to cry, Naruto."
Naruto buried his face into her chest and began to sob helplessly, his shoulders shook so tremendously that Sakura's arms bounced with the movement but she didn't move from him but instead moved closer, allowing him to plant his face more firmly in between her breasts and she leaned down and rested her head on the back of his,
"We'll get him next time Naruto." She murmured and he shook his head wildly back and forth and her frown deepened as she grew concerned.
"Why do you think we won't get him?" Her hands sought the sides of his face and titled his head back and looked at him softly. Naruto closed his eyes and took in a sobbing breathe,
"Because I'm not strong enough!" and with this he planted his head once again between her breasts and sobbed, the muffled sounds filling the training grounds and she ran her hands through his hair, massaging his scalp. She heard him mumble something and she leaned closer to him,
"What was that?" His shoulders shook harder and she bit her lip, not used to seeing her happy-go-lucky friend this way.
"I'm a failure because….because…" He turned his head down suddenly and punched the ground close to their entwined legs and created a crater in the hard ground, with his golden locks covering his face he screamed,
"Because I failed to fulfill my promise, I can't bring Sasuke back….for...you..." He brought his hands to his face and Sakura leaned back and looked at him sadly, after all these years he still wouldn't tell her. She leaned forward and once again grasped his face in her hands and whispered feverishly.
"You don't need to worry about bringing him back for me but for you." He looked up at her sharply and the surprise on his face made her chuckle and she leaned forward and kissed him chastely on the lips and noticed sadly the way that he jerked back and she grabbed his bloody hands and held them to her chest,
"I love you Naruto." She said softly relieved that she had told him but sad because he wouldn't return it. Naruto gaped at her and she smiled sadly and gripped his hand tighter as her own eyes filled again with tears,
"But I know you love Sasuke. I've known about you two ever since we were kids." Naruto stared at her and then took his hands out of hers and brusher her hair away from her face and she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch,
"Sakura…I'm sorry bu-" She shushed at him again and he guiltily saw that she was smiling, despite that tears that fell down her cheeks. Her right hand's pointer finger touched his lips and she grinned painfully at him and cocked her head to the left,
"I know how much you guys love each other and you've been such a great friend to me despite that fact that I continually hit you and hit on your boyfriend so…" She inhaled shakily, aware that what she was going to say was going to forever make her hate and love herself at the same time, "So this is my promise to you. We'll bring Sasuke back together." Naruto observed her for a few minutes and furrowed his eyebrows and leaned his head against her collarbone and they sat like that for what seemed like an hour and finally Naruto whispered brokenly,
"How do you know…t-that he w-wants to?" Sakura sighed, this hurt her heart terribly but for the one she loved, she would endure it.
"I know because of the way he looked at you when you screamed his name, I know by the way that he looked agonized when he told you he had no connection to you, I know by the way that he purposely left himself open so that Sai could stop the sword and I know by the way that he glared when Sai touched you." She heard him chuckle quietly and she smiled though it hurt and she rubbed his back.
"He'll come back Naruto. Then we'll be happy again." Naruto sat up and looked at her and then a smile slowly spread across his face and she reluctantly felt herself smile back though she told herself not to get caught up in him more than she already was. She looked at him miserably yet terribly happy and he stood up and stretched his hand out to her and she took it and he pulled her up, her cheeks turning red.
"You really think so Sakura?" He asked her then turned around and began to walk in front, his arms behind his head and his eyes closed and she shivered as she thought, he's good at pretending he wasn't just crying his eyes out. But she didn't want to think of all the times that she might not have noticed his red and swollen eyes or his tear stained face. They walked across the training grounds together in silence and as they neared the river where they had practiced walking on water she looked down at the reflection and smiled faintly. Instead of two there were four; Kakashi was walking ahead of them all, his faithful book in his hands and Sasuke walked ahead of her between her and Naruto, looking at Naruto with that oh so familiar faint smile on his lips. She reached up and wiped a tear hastily away from her cheek and sped up and grabbed Naruto's hand with hers and leaned against him and said so quietly that had there been any sort of wind, Naruto would have not heard it,
"Yeah…I really do think so."