Authors Note: Okay, of course I don't own Naruto or anything so now that that's out of the way I can talk about the story and the great person that has been so willing to help me out. SilverDeathAngel is my Beta reader and she's amazing! I don't know her well but I'm excited to get our friendship started. Thank you so much for doing this for me! :D So this story just came to me while i was looking at some pictures of Sasuke and Sakura that people have drawn, so that helped me decide if i was going to go through with writing this. Enough of my chatting now, please read and review! Thanks so much! hope you like it. Tatta till next time!

Shadow

Sakura lay on her stomach on her bed as she slowly turned the pages of her newest novel. The curtains to her window rustled and she wasn't surprised when she caught sight of Naruto leaning against the side of the window.

"Sakura why are you reading when it's so nice outside? You can always read when it's raining."

She dog-eared the page as she spoke, "Why don't you go bother Kakashi Sensei?"

Naruto's face fell.

"Because he's reading Make Out Paradise and you know how he gets when he is interrupted, especially on his day off."

Sakura shrugged as Naruto leaned his head against the wall.

"Sakura, why do you still have that picture?"

Sakura glanced up from her book to look at the picture he was pointing at. It was the picture of Team 7 back when Sasuke Uchiha was still with them.

"I haven't given up on him yet. I know I should and Kakashi keeps telling me that I should but..."

"I don't think you should. I haven't given up on him either." Naruto interrupted.

Sakura looked at him and smiled.

"I made you a promise Sakura and I intend on keeping it."

Her face fell slightly.

"Naruto....the last time you went after him he almost killed you. I told you that I would be the one going after him and bringing him back for the both of us."

Naruto shook his head, his black headband tails swishing as he did.

"If he almost killed me imagine what he could do to you. No offense at all but he would kill you and I wouldn't be happy if that happened."

Sakura shut her novel and placed it back on her nightstand.

"What do you want to do Naruto?"

Naruto looked up from his thoughts.

"You mean you want to hang out?"

Sakura smiled which caused his heart to skip a beat.

"Of course, would you like to go eat or do something else?"

Naruto couldn't help the happiness that escaped him. He flew from his spot and landed on her bed next to her.

"Sakura you've made me so happy!"

He flung his arms around her, catching her off guard. After a few seconds she held him back.

"I have an idea!" He proclaimed as he let her go, "Why don't we go train together? It'd be fun, don't you think?"

Sakura put her index finger to her lips.

"Hmm....kicking your butt would be fun..."

"Hey now!! There is no way you'll be able to kick my butt."

Naruto complained, giving Sakura the reaction she was looking for.

"Well you'll have to prove me wrong."

Naruto beamed.

"I will, just you wait."

Naruto had his hands behind his head as they made their way to the training grounds.

"Have you ever wondered what Sasuke is doing at the very moment you are thinking about him?"

Darkness engulfed Sakura as his name was mentioned. She and Naruto would usually talk about him but lately they hadn't and she was glad. But now....it seemed like she had to get used to opening up those wounds.

"I think about it all the time. At night I find myself walking to the road leading out of town, hoping that I'll see him walking back." Sakura stated sadly.

Naruto looked at her face. Her green eyes were filled with pain and longing.

'She really does still love him. Even after all these years of not seeing him and not knowing what he's done...she still loves him.'

He clenched his hands into fists. '
I'm going to bring you back Sasuke. Nothing is going to change my mind...and I will bring you back alive.'

"I do the same thing, only I go out of the village and start to look."

Sakura's eyes flashed up as Naruto continued.

"Sometimes I think I can feel him nearby...like he's never fully away. It's almost like he can't bear to stay away either. Of course that's nonsense Sasuke wouldn't come back here when he's worried about killing Itachi."

"At times I wonder if it would be smart to go look for Itachi. He could find Sasuke in a blink of an eye. It's almost worth the risk to just be able to see him again."

Naruto glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Itachi would kill us if we showed our faces to him."

Sakura shrugged.

"Ever wonder if death would be better then feeling empty and hollow inside?"

Naruto was alert as he spun around so he was facing Sakura.

"No! And I hope you never think such a thing. Sakura, the only way we can bring Sasuke back is if we're both are alive."

"You could do it without me, Naruto. I'm not that big of an asset. I never was."

Naruto grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

"Sakura, I will not let you talk like this. You are an asset and without you I don't think Sasuke will ever come back."

The little light that was in her eyes faded.

"He always hated me Naruto; I was only a bother and annoying."

Naruto let go of her and crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's not true. He worried about you and if he didn't care about you he wouldn't worry."

Sakura eyes fell downwards.

"He never did worry Naruto. Think about it, when does a time come up when he really worried for me? I can recall times when he worried about you."

Naruto closed his eyes and opened them.

"When you guys were in the forest of death, he was so worried that he wouldn't be able to protect you and that's when he stabbed himself."

"He did that to make it so he wouldn't be caught in the illusion." Sakura shot back.

A small smile came over Naruto.

"Sure that's what he said he did but do you honestly think he was thinking of himself when he did that? I can remember the time with Haku and how he threw himself in front of all those needles so I wouldn't get hurt. He didn't think of himself when he did that. I believe that while you guys were in the forest of Death he was only thinking of getting you back safely."

A small spark of light lit her in ultra green eyes.

'I hope you're right Naruto...I hope with every fiber in my being.'

As they entered the training grounds Naruto spun on her with his kunai in his hands. Before he was able to throw them Sakura had thrown a punch at the ground, causing it to become uneven and therefore, causing Naruto to lose his balance.

"Waaaa!" He yelled in surprise.

Sakura smirked up at him from under her pink bangs.

"Need to pay attention to your surroundings."

Naruto grinned at her and that's when she felt a small poke at her back. She looked at sure enough a Naruto was standing behind her with a Kunai pointed in the middle of her back. Sakura did a back flip high in the air, using her Chakra control at her feet.

As she descended towards the ground she threw three Kunai that lodged themselves into Naruto's thighs and right arm. He cringed in pain as they hit him. He could feel the nine-tailed fox trying to break through his resolve.

'Cool it already! It's just me and Sakura sparring-- that's all.'

Sakura was by his side before he could blink.

"Oh Naruto I'm so sorry." She said frantically as she pulled the Kunai out of his body one by one. Once they were all out she placed her hands over the wounds and her hands had a light green tint around them.

"You don't need to do that you know." Naruto pointed out.

"I know I don't but his will make it so you heal faster. I don't know what I was thinking when I threw those! It won't happen again..."

"Sakura it's okay really. You got me this time, which is a big improvement." Naruto cut her off.

Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he complimented her. They both fell silent as they looked at each other.

"Do you feel that? Or am I just imagining things?" Naruto asked softly.

"I feel it too...but why?"

They both shot to their feet and looked towards the forest of death. Sakura's heart was pounding so hard she thought she was on the verge of having a heart attack. Naruto walked to the chain link fence and put his hand on it.

"Why would we feel him? If it's true why would he be in there?"

Sakura's eyes scanned the area that they could see from where they were standing.

'Why would he want to go back in there with all the memories that haunt it? Doesn't he know that's where he first got the curse seal? Why...why would you be there?'

"I'm going after him."

Sakura gasped as Naruto started to ascend the fence. She reached up and grabbed his ankle.

"Naruto you can't! Let's go back to the village to tell Kakashi Sensei then we can figure out what to do from there. You can't go in there alone."

Naruto looked at the trees from over the fence.

'Sasuke...'

He pushed away from the fence and did a back flip and landed on his feet behind her.

"Kakashi Sensei will know what to do."

Sakura was relieved as they walked back to the center of the village.

Why had he come back here after 3 years of being away? He jumped lightly from tree branch to tree branch. The forest of death as they all called it was a place he had to test himself≈to see if he really was ready to leave Orochimaru. He halted in his flight and gazed at the fence that surrounded the forest.

"You two won't find me...I can't let you distract me from my mission."

Red flashed in his eyes through the darkness.

"I won't let you stop me."