For the Sun by Tsubasa Namikaze

I suck at writing this kind of stuff, but it just wouldn't go away and I had to get it out. Please try to enjoy...

As soon as she received word that Jaraiya had been killed by Akatsuki fom Tsunade, Sakura immediately set out to find Naruto. She had no doubt that her friend and teammate would be devastated by the news. Granted, she hadn't known Jaraiya very well, and could only base his personality on what Tsunade and Shizune had told her about him (sometimes with very conflicting views), but she saw how he and Naruto would interact. She knew how Naruto looked up to Jaraiya as an old, perverted but kind and powerful grandfather and how Jaraiya treated Naruto like his own grandson. She saw how they loved each other.

And now another member of Naruto's family had been taken away from him.

As a result, she'd taken the day off from the hospital and cancelled her training with the Hokage; Naruto's well-being was her priority now. The only problem was that he'd disappeared. She couldn't find him anywhere in the village: not on the Hokage mountain, not in the marketplace, and not in the training grounds, so she began to ask around.

"Naruto? Why would I have seen him? Did something -happen- between you two?" Ino asked slyly, winking. Sakura wrestled down the urge to punch something at her friend's insinuation. How dare she suggest something like that when she didn't know what just happened to him!

"No, nothing like that, Ino," Sakura forced out between gritted teeth. "Do you know who else might have seen him?"

"Why don't you ask that Sai guy? He's on your team now, right? He might know. Are you sure you guys didn't have a night together or anything? It'd be about time- Oof!" Ino felt pain explode in her forehead as Sakura flicked her and sent her backwards. A red-faced Sakura was already stalking away from her by the time she looked up from the ground. "Tch, stupid forehead."

Sakura forced down the blush that had risen when Ino suggested she and Naruto spent the night together. What did she mean 'it was about time'? Ugh, that stupid pig… she said she should ask Sai. That was a fair guess; after all he was on their team now. Where could she find Sai?

Well, if he was at Root HQ she doubted she'd be able to make contact with him. Where else could the pale boy possibly be? Maybe reading one of his books on friendship somewhere… oh, books! The library! Sakura set off with renewed determination towards the biggest civilian library in Konoha. Ninja libraries were highly unlikely to contain any books or scrolls on emotions.

Unfortunately, he wasn't there. She searched the numerous floors and seating areas but couldn't find hide nor hair of her ink-wielding teammate. With a tsk she stormed out of the library, then sighed in relief as she saw Sai in the window of a close tea shop with his nose in a book. She hustled into the shop and sat next to him, taking no time to interrogate him.

"Sai, have you seen Naruto at all today?"

The boy in question looked up from his book, 'How to Form Bonds For the Emotionally Inadequate' and Sakura wondered idly why anyone would give a book that kind of title.

"Hello, Ugly," he said with his customary creepy fake smile, "why are you looking for Dickless? Did you have an affair or someth- urk!"

Sakura had leapt across the table and grabbed his throat so he couldn't breathe. Once again red-faced and with a dangerous look in her eye, Sakura hissed, "Not. Another. Word. Answer yes or no. Have. You. Seen. Naruto?" She had leered uncomfortably close to him and Sai was quick to shake his head no. "Do you know someone who might have?" She relaxed her grip on his neck to allow him to talk, but tight enough that it hurt.

"Kakashi-sensei?" He rasped hopefully. Sakura blinked. She hadn't thought of that. She cursed and let him go, vanishing before Sai could say anything else. "I wonder what that was really about?" Sai queried aloud, unaware that the rest of the shop had been watching the spectacle.

Meanwhile, Sakura wondered why everyone thought that she and Naruto had hooked up or something. 'We've been friends for so long, and we're teammates, but so what? I remember back when Team 7 started and he was just annoying, but now that he's a little more mature, nothing has really changed, right? It's not as if I like him, right?'

It frustrated her that she couldn't come up with an answer. But she couldn't spend too much time dawdling, the sun was starting to descend in the sky. After getting directions from a flustered Jounin, she arrived at Kakashi's apartment. She knocked on his door impatiently, and he opened it.

Of course, Kakashi was reading his new book, Make-Out Tactics, and dressed in his blue ninja uniform without the vest. "Yes, Sakura?" He sounded vaguely annoyed and surprised. Annoyed that she interrupted his reading time, and surprised that she found his house.

"Kakashi-sensei, I need to find Naruto. Have you seen him?"

He flipped a page in his book. "No, I can't say I have. Why, did something happen between you two?"

Again Sakura blushed and before she could protest, Kakashi immediately snapped his book shut and left. After a few seconds he reappeared with a familiar orange book (Make-Out Paradise) and thrust it into her hands. Sakura was too surprised to even be insulted by this turn of events, but her rage was quickly invoked when Kakashi looked her in the eye and said perfectly seriously, "It's time that I thoroughly teach you and Naruto about safe sex."

His orange book, thrown by Sakura, nearly decapitated him for his troubles. As it was, he would have a nasty bruise on his face and an imprint of the book's cover as a facial tattoo for a while. The Hokage was sure to pummel him for that… oh well. Back to reading. He closed the door and once again buried his face in his smut.

Sakura was fuming and quickly becoming desperate. Who knew what state Naruto was in by this time? She'd wasted several hours searching for him and was running out of places to look and people to ask. Her eyes widened and she yelled out a loud profanity as she realized she never checked Ichiraku Ramen.

"Why do you want to know? Did you break his heart again?" Accused Ayame as Sakura inquired about the whereabouts of her blond friend. "I swear, if you have, I'll have no qualms about dumping a pot of hot water over you!"

Her brain processed what the ramen chef said, and she asked, "Huh? What do you mean, 'break his heart again'?" Today was certainly uncovering a lot of things she didn't realize.

"Don't pretend you don't know!" Ayame snapped. "After you made him make that stupid promise about bringing back that Uchiha kid, he was depressed for days that he was all you cared about even after he poured his heart for you! And he's still trying so hard to make you happy, regardless of himself… if you ask me, he should just give up and find someone who wouldn't selfishly hurt him that way."

"Why would I do that to someone I love!"The words were out before Sakura could stop them. Silence descended between the two, and as soon and her brain caught up with her mouth, Sakura blushed madly and ran out of the stall.

'Why would I say something like that?' She thought desperately. It was so confusing to her mind, but her heart truly understood what she felt, what she already knew but wouldn't admit. Long ago Naruto had been just a pest; nothing more or less. Then, after they'd been placed on a team, he slowly wormed his way into her heart until she began to truly care for him. They formed a friendship, and eventually for Sakura that bond had become something… more. Naruto was the reason she'd become so strong. At first it was simply because she couldn't stand to be weaker than a dropout. Then it so that she could support him when he needed it. Then it was so that he wouldn't have to bear the burden of her selfish request by himself. And now, it was so that she could be strong enough to be with him. So that she could feel worthy enough… for him. It was all for him, as a result of him.

And now that she knew what she needed to tell him, he was nowhere to be found. Sakura began to hyperventilate. What if he'd left the village? Gone off to avenge his beloved mentor by himself? Straight into the arms of Akatsuki? As she began to descend into hysterics, she spotted Shikamaru walking by. Night had fallen, and he was her only hope for the day. She ran up to him and desperately said, "Naruto!"

"Uh, that's not me, Sakura. Oh, you mean… You heard what happened?"

"Yes. Where is he? I… I have something… I need to be there for him."

Shikamaru nodded to an alley. A familiar blond-haired figure was hunched over on a bench, illuminated by a streetlamp. "I was going to go and talk to him myself, but… you'd be a better choice."

Sakura felt relief flood her body, and her knees threatened to buckle. "Thanks, Shikamaru. I really need to do this." She ran off towards Naruto.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Shikamaru sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "It's about time, troublesome woman."

Her first thought was that Naruto looked terrible. His hair was dirty and unkempt, more than usual, his eyes were dull and red, and he faintly smelled of ramen, his comfort food. She watched as a solitary tear wound its way from his eye to his chin and her heart broke for him. Quietly she took a seat beside him. Naruto barely nodded his head in acknowledgement of her presence, but it seemed to sink him further into depression. Another tear followed the first, then another, before they began dropping off his face and onto the ground with an audible sound. He was holding onto halves of a popsicle, which were melting in synchronization with his tears. He sniffed once.

'Oh, Naruto…' Sakura thought, as she pulled him close to her in a hug. On her shoulder he began to cry in earnest, sobbing quietly with tears cascading down his face and onto her shoulder. She patted his back, murmuring quietly to him words of comfort while he emptied his emotions onto her, and she struggled to cope with the magnitude of his sadness. 'He was always alone,' she knew, 'And now one of the few people that truly acknowledged and loved him are gone.' "I'm here for you, Naruto," she whispered to him. "Don't carry the hurt all by yourself… let me share it with you, and we'll carry it together. I… I want to help you, Naruto. I hate to see you like this… I know that you loved him. Even though he's gone from this world, I'm sure he still loves you all the same. And we also love you… Kakashi-sensei, Hokage-sama, Shizune… the Ichiraku's… I-I love you too… Naruto."

He dropped the popsicle sticks and pushed her away, wiping the tears from his face and he looked at her tiredly. "You need to be strong, Naruto," Sakura continued, "Jaraiya-sama would want you to keep moving forward, and there are other people who need you right now. As the future Hokage, you need to be able to help them too, right?"

Naruto snorted.

"I-… I need you, Naruto. You're my sun," she finished. For the first time Naruto's expression changed, to one of confusion. "Oh, Naruto," she said out loud this time, and she brought her hands to cup his face and bring it in for a kiss. It was simple and sweet, and she could feel the life flow back into the young man as their lips touched. Slowly she pulled away and watched him. A blinding smile began to stretch its way across his face, and when it was in place her world instantly brightened. The rain that was pouring in her soul was instantly cleared and replaced by the warm, innocent sun. He swayed and his head fell onto her lap as he started to snore blissfully. Sakura smiled softly as she wiped the tears from his face and brushed the golden hair from his brow. She leaned over and kissed his forehead.

Yes, he was her sun. And for the sun, she would give everything she was to hold back the rain and keep it shining for everyone to feel. "Let's get you home, Naruto," She yawned and patted his arm, intent on carrying him back to his apartment.

She never noticed when she fell asleep, the sun wrapped in her arms.

And there you have it, folks!

Seriously, I suck at writing this kind of stuff...

But in any case, I hope you enjoyed it!

"Kakashi, what's that on your face?" Tsunade asked in a dangerous tone. That glint was in her eyes… one that spelled broken ribs and bruised ego. "You came here to hand in a mission report, and this is what you give me instead? How… sweet of you."

The Copy-nin in question broke out into a cold sweat. He'd forgotten about his new 'tattoo'…