Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto-sama owns the Manga and Anime. Kishimoto-sama! you rock! (flashes the Naruto nice guy pose)

Summary: Sakura just broke up with Naruto after Sasuke returns from Sound Village and killing Itachi. Sasuke proposes and Sakura accepts. Leaving Naruto heart-broken and suicidal. But someone comes to his rescue...and lifts him from the oblivion he sought to escape his pain.

WARNING: SAKURA, SASUKE and SASUxSAKU BASHING UP AHEAD!

DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!

Pairings: NaruSaku which comes to be SasuSaku, eventual NaruHina.

How's it going to be.

Naruto's dash to the Hokage tower left the grass and road beneath him burning, he just can't believe that his girlfriend of two years and apprentice medic to the Fifth Hokage, Haruno Sakura dumped him just this morning...the reason?

one person...Uchiha Sasuke

He non-chalantly just strided to the north gate and surrendered to the guards. After a month of interrogation with Sakura treating his wounds, he confessed that he had apparently killed Uchiha Itachi, and left the Sound to return "home". Of course they (A/N: The Konoha council of elders and about half of the Shinobi who still haven't forgotten what Kyuubi did and knew who Naruto was. And majority of the adults as well btw.) welcomed him with open arms. They never cared of the opinion of the retrieval team which "almost died" because of him, let alone Naruto, the "fox-boy". (A/N: Naruto revealed his "secret" to the rookie seven, as well as Gai's team.) Shikamaru, Neji, Chouji, Kiba, Lee, Gaara and his siblings had fought Sound-nins higher than their level. They were just lucky to return home battered and bruised. And now, the elders and the majority of the shinobi were just accepting him. And they even had the nerve to bring him to Jounin rank. Whereas some of them had worked hard for years for the same rank, even Naruto.

"That traitor...What nerve..."

Naruto said to himself as he reminisced on the month's past events . He now reached the missions department where Shikamaru worked as a desk-job Chuunin. Ever since they were injured he had taken easy-to-do missions as a squad leader. Mostly working in an office if there were enough Chuunin to spare. "Any missions near Sound, Shika?" The lazy-Chuunin eyed his friend with a worried stare, he knew his friend was ballistic right now and his emotions are about to explode, he was just as mad as Naruto. Kiba, Neji, Lee, and Chouji had taken out-of-country missions today or just claimed a vacation leave just to escape encountering Sasuke, Ino and Tenten went with them. "We have a couple of surveiilance missions...but Naruto...i'm not sure it's heal-" He was interrupted by his growl-ridden answer "I'll take it..." Shikamaru sighed as he took some forms "Okay...sign here Naruto...this is S-rank as you'll be on surveillance for Oro-" Scribbling on the forms Naruto handed them back to Shikamaru. "Wait, there's an acceptance fee on this mission Naruto, like a bonus since you're accepting a mission where you can be killed 80 percent of the time...who would you like to receive this money?" The lazy Chuunin asked his friend with a mental smile. Aside from the pink-haired medical nin, another kunoichi had been a close friend of Naruto's during these two years.

Naruto thought for a minute and said a name whom he had helped and had also been with him all this time, "Hinata Hyuuga shall receive the money if something goes wrong." (A/N: Switched name? you'll find out in a while -) Said Naruto as he lifted his hefty backpack and opened the door, bumping on a smaller person as he went out of the office."Hinata? sorry, i was..." Hinata Hyuuga then lifted her bangs and revealed her eyes, which were full of tears. "I-I've heard everything Naruto-kun...why are you taking this mission? you might get killed..." Naruto now felt sad, Hinata was always helping him out. His getting close to Sakura had been in behalf of Hinata's actions. In turn he had helped her to build her confidence and taught her jutsus and techniques. Giving her more confidence in herself and her abilities. And when it came time that she was disowned by the Hyuuga Clan, he was there for her, and helped her to move in an apartment which was close by to his. They had grown closer as friends during the two years Hinata had moved in an apartment near him. He thought about her and the other people who would be sad when he died. Naruto then embraced the smaller girl. Holding her face and wiping her tears, he then planted a kiss in her forehead. "I'm not gonna promise that i'm not gonna die Hinata...but now that i think of it, i have many reasons not to...i have many reasons to go back. Maybe i can date you when this is all over?" He said in a smile as she nodded and blushed pink "Whoa, never saw that coming...kawaii." He then let her go and turned for the direction of the North Gate. "Ja ne, Hinata-chan..." A rustle of fallen leaves and a gust of wind signalled his departure. Hinata then looked at the direction of the North Gate as she sent a quick prayer, clasping her hands as fresh tears trickled down her eyes. "Oh please Kami-Sama...please protect my precious person...Onegai..." Shikamaru was reciting a similar prayer, but it was directed at the faces on the Hokage Mountain. " Please protect him...for all our sakes..."

It was then totally chaotic during the last few days of the week. There were news that Kyuubi had re-emerged, and was now attacking a patch of forest far off into the north country. The Leaf sent a few ANBU after learning of Naruto's "surveillance" mission, but never did find anything except a burning patch of forest where some charred houses and bodies were. The blonde ninja re-appeared after a week with a box the size of a small ice-chest. Just in time for Sakura and Sasuke's engagement party in a club, which was on a weekend. Naruto knew the club's owner and the in-house band, as he had come to practice with them when he was not dating Sakura, and had an extra day-off after missions. The owner agreed as Naruto had always promoted the local club to the shinobi he went out with in his missions. It had now become pretty popular, as well as the bishounen band the girls frequently listened to, the SEEDs.

Naruto now prepared for the party, even though he was not invited. Getting a larger copy of his former orange jumpsuit at the tailors. (A/N: He resolved to wear dark-blue and black on his own when he was 14, and it wasn't a jumpsuit) and ran to the club, using the backdoor entrance. The stage was set up and the SEEDs were already performing. Kira was on lead guitar, Asuran was on bass. Yzzak was on drums, and Dearka was on vocals tonight. Nicol was always on keyboards and Shinn was on back-up guitar. They always switched places during the week, he knew because Naruto was the one who discovered them. As he peeked into the side curtain he saw his friends with Sakura and Sasuke amidst them, he knew that the others were just being civil since Sakura was their friend, Sasuke was ignored amidst the conversations. And Sakura was getting nervous as the conversations were grinding to a halt or it did not include his fiancee. The band then stopped playing and asked for a five minute break with the audience. Naruto was greeted by Yzzak, his mid-neck length hair barely moving as he shook Naruto's hand "Ah Naruto, hisashiburi. You gonna sing tonight? i heard you got dumped by that Haruno bitch. She's with that traitor you were talking about, i couldn't miss that raven hair if i closed my eyes." Naruto grinned at Yzzak's smirk, he was among his close friends, he encountered the burning remains of their mobile suits and got them all out. They were all very grateful when they were appointed as shinobi-in-training in Naruto's behalf. They were now living as a band on gigs in the club. Yzzak always gave sound advice, being the most mature of them all. "Hai, Hisashiburi-desu Yzzak, i'm just gonna vent my frustrations today...if i don't i'm gonna die-" green hair then poked out behind Yzzak's back "Eh? don't die yet Naruto-kun...Hi-Ow!" Nicol (A/N: He's close to Hinata himself, as he was included in her genin squad a few times) got smacked by Asuran's guitar case "Don't mind him Naruto, Nicol gets over-excited sometimes...he said that we will all be sad if you die, you saved our lives when we landed here, you are a close friend of ours...All of us..." Asuran said with a soft voice. "Yeah Naruto, you all have our gratitude, and we still need you as our manager you know!" Dearka said with a half-serious, half-joking voice. "He's right Naruto-kun, Shinn and I also feel the same, right Shinn?" Kira said as he practiced with his drumsticks, hitting Shinn's head "Oww! cut it out Kira! anyway Naruto-sempai, Kira-sempai is right...we still need you, you're the closest friend we have, we're even family you know..." Shinn said with a sad expression. Naruto was surprised at the outbursts of his friends. He knew they all loved him as a brother. He wiped his tears and thanked them all, just then the girl crowds chanted for the return of the band. "WE WANT the SEEDs, WE WANT the SEEDs!" The band and Naruto turned to look at the stage. "Give those no-goods a mental beating Naruto, we're here to back you up...besides we want to sleep!" The SEEDs all laughed as Naruto smirked. "Ok guys, i'll be singing now...Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Henge!"

The engagement party Sakura planned now turned to be the worst idea she had ever did. Ino was cleaning her nails, making conversation with her for a second, then stopping. Shikamaru was dozing off, Chouji was surprising everyone that he hadn't even touched the food when the party started. Neji was talking to TenTen who was polishing her newlybought brass knuckles, enjoying a glass of water. (Who ever heard of someone drinking water in a party with wine? XD) Hinata was talking with Kiba and Akamaru was just sleeping underfoot, not minding the spilled food between his partner's boot. Shino was quiet in his seat, but was giving Sakura and Sasuke a deathglare behind his sun-glasses (A/N: For Naruto, Hinata, and the retrieval team's sake) Lee was just adjusting and re-adjusting his Jounin vest and weights, surprising because Sakura was there and he never even addressed her personally. For the past two hours the engaged couple were being ignored in their own party. Sasuke was brooding that he wasn't accepted yet by the other former rookies. But he took it in stride because he hasn't seen Naruto yet. He was happy that he ordered Sakura to not invite him, Naruto was after all, her so-called Ex-Boyfriend. She had even invited the Jounin sensei's, Tsunade, Shizune and Anko. But they all turned her down with some excuse, even Kakashi had an excuse himself which was believable "I'm helping Jiraiya with a mission to track down the rest of Akatsuki." She frowned as the party stagnated to a point where everyone avoided her and her fiancee. Just then the younger Chuunins chanted and banged their glasses off on the table where they sat. "WE WANT the SEEDs, WE WANT the SEEDs!" The engagement party group turned to the stage as the curtains gave way and the band strolled on the stage and picked their instruments up. Suddenly Dearka turned to look in the corner of his eye at the assembled people on Sakura's table. "Thank you, our most-loyal fans for your patience...now, we would like to sing a song for a personal friend of ours who had just had a major heartbreak as he was just dumped by his girlfriend...Oh, by the way...I'm congratulating Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura for their engagement party, it's being held here in the Archangel!" Sakura and Sasuke waved to the people in the bar, some nodding with a smile, some commenting that they looked good together. Never noticing that the sand siblings were in a dark corner of the club, sipping sake. "The nerve of that bitch...dumping our brother for that...that traitor..." Temari said in a ruthless voice as she gripped her twin mini-fans. Kankuro was in a much calmer state, sipping his sake. "Don't do anything Temari...Shikamaru-kun will feel your chakra if you continue..." This statement made the sandy-haired blonde ninja relent and fold her fans. "Just relax nee-chan...Naruto will have his revenge..." Gaara said as he swirled his sake in his glass, heating it for a moment in his hands as he drunk it in one gulp, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. The three nodded and resumed to drinking their sake in silence. It was then that Dearka silenced the crowd "Ok then...now for the song, this ones for you, those broken-hearted among you ..that's it's hard to swallow and go on..." Dearka flicked his wrist as Shinn clicked the drumsticks to count. And the song started to play. Holding on to the microphone, "Dearka" fought back a few tears.

How's it going to be - Third Eye Blind

I'm only pretty sure that I can't take anymore
Why'd you leave me?

Before you take a swing
Or before i take one...at him...
That teme you replaced me with...

I wonder...
What are we fighting for?
What were we fighting for?
What did i fight for?

When I say out loud
I want to scream it...

I want to get out of this
You'll never know how much i want to, Sakura...

I wonder...
Is there anything I'm going to miss?
A million things i'm gonna be missing, that's for sure...

I wonder How it's going to be
When you don't know me
And i don't know you...

How's it going to be
When you're sure I'm not there
And he's there...you made your choice...

How's it going to be
When there's no one there to talk to?
Like when you and i openly talked about our dreams...
Your hopes...
When i told you about Kyuubi
But, he's there with you now...
Would he talk with you?
About these things?

between you and me...
I still love you...

Cause I don't care
I still care now...
How's it going to be
When tomorrow comes...what would i be?

How's it going to be
How will i live for now...for forever?
Answer me...

Where we used to laugh
I made you laugh for two years...made you happy...
There's a shouting match
You angrily shouted at me when he arrived...
breaking up with me...
Breaking my heart into pieces...
Like shattering glass...

Sharp as a thumbnail scratch
You even slapped me when i said he was a traitor...
Your nail nicked my cheek...
I said "Don't heal it" to that bastard fox...
A badge of hurt i will carry in my memory...

A silence I can't ignore
A deafening one...which signalled that you left me...
I guess i was at fault, ne? i didn't make you happy enough...

Like...The hammocks by the doorway we spent time in
I still remember those times we cuddled there...and you slept like an angel...
Swings empty,
Now i won't see you there...with your infectious laughs...
Your silly smiles...
Your warm embrace...

I don't see lightning like last fall. when it was
I'd like to see a lightning storm right just now...

always
I hope it will this time...

about to hit me
About? i want it to hit dead on...
Just to kill my heart that's hurting...

I wonder how's it going to be
when it goes down
When you realize that he's just using you to restore his clan...
That he doesn't truly love you...

Hows it going to be
When your not around
When i wake up at nights and did not find you beside my bed...
Sleeping soundly...a comforting body...
that i had never even thought of doing "it" with you...
Until i had you by the altar...
I was planning for that you know?

Hows it going to be
When you found out there was nothing
I was nothing to you i guess...
Where had i gone wrong?
Can you please just tell me...
Why...?

Between you and me
'Cause I don't care
How's it going to be

It was then that Naruto dropped his Henge, along with the shadow clones' henge and voice...
They were all in tears...singing as loudly as they can with their broken hearts with the chorus...

Hows it going to be
When you don't know me any more
You sure don't know me now...right?
But..you know him...
And how's it going to be

Sasuke and Sakura were speechlessly dumbstruck.

Ino was shocked. Tenten was in a similar state. "Naruto..." They both said mentally, amidst their own tears.
They had admired Naruto's strength during these past years.
Kiba began to whistle softly, Akamaru howling with him.
Chouji looked at Naruto and gave him a thumbs up.
Lee did the same as well, with his nice guy pose.
Shikamaru woke up and sang with his bestfriend in sync, albeit in a lower volume.
Shino followed suit, this was one of his favorite songs as well.
Neji nodded in approval at Naruto's behavior...for once...a broken man needs to be heard some point in the time of his pain. Smiling at his friend's courage.
Hinata clasped her hands as tears flowed in torrents on her lavender eyes.
Her crush had Naruto blossomed into love over time.
"Naruto-kun...i feel your pain. Why do you have to hide your sadness...it's good for you to let it out like this...
go on...empty your grief...i'm here for you... if you ever need me, after this..."
The group now glared at the couple. Their eyes were full of hatred and coldness...
"Sasuke..." Sakura clung on to her fiancee like a drowning person.
Thinking about the person on the stage whose heart, mind and soul she had broken.
"...Gomen Naruto...i never thought i'd hurt you this much...gomen..."
"Sakura..." Sasuke now felt the killing intent among the males of the group.
"Kuso...this is the looks Naruto always gets among the villagers...that dobe...why is he always doing this? like the whole world turned it's back on me...again..." Sasuke brooded as he looked down onto his boots in guilt.
Never meeting the gazes of those around him. Lifting his eyes only when Sakura nudged him...
His only comfort was the soft gaze in her emerald eyes.

Naruto now screamed the full refrain, his lungs belting out the pain through shouts.

Want to get myself back in again
How? how to get back in my old self?
Answer me how Sakura...

The soft dive of oblivion
If it was this simple...I'd dive head-first...
Damn...

I wanna taste the soul of your skin
I want to be with you again...
But your soul...your body...and heart...
Are not mine anymore...
It's was his...all along...
You belong to each other now...
And i respect that...

The soft dive of oblivion
If it was that simple...
Oblivion
I'd be there in my sorrow...

How's it going to be
When you don't know me any more?
I guess i didn't know you either...
I guess i was just a stranger to you?
Aren't i? someone to temporarily replace...Him...
Until he came back...

How's it going to be
How's it going to be

-End Song-

"Arigatou Gozaimashta, Minna-san..."
"Sasuke...Sakura...Omedetou...Sayounara..."

Naruto dispatched his clones with a poof as they put their instruments down, the crowd giving him a standing ovation. Dearka tossed him the box as he climbed down the stage. A "Nicely done" was mouthed in silence by the SEEDs, amidst the comments of the Bishoujo Chuunins that he sang well. He now wiped his tears as he approached the party. Eyeing the couple with a warm smile in his face. He then shook Sasuke's hand and embraced Sakura for a second. He then put the box on the table. "Congratulations to both of you...i hope you'll be happy. This...is my engagement gift...I already gave Sakura her gift of freedom. This...is for both of you..." Sasuke then opened the box as Sakura watched behind his shoulder.

He walked away from the table, never looking back at the two people who were once an important part of his life...Suddenly Gaara shouted from his spot at the club as he threw a jug of Sake at the blonde ninja. "What's in the box, Naruto?" Naruto caught the jug without looking and opened the door to the bar. "Sasuke's freedom of course...Notice that the Curse Seal isn't there TEME? Hinata...Minna...let's go..." He now signalled his friends to leave the couple alone. Some of his friends smirked as they noticed the prankster's grin hidden beneath Naruto's sad smile. He then resumed his speech, never looking back at the club itself, waving back to the staff of the Club and the SEEDs.

"Oh by the way everyone...Orochimaru is dead...The Sound village is no more..." Sakura's scream pierced the air as the Snake-Sennin's head was revealed on the ice box. Earning a smirk on Naruto's face. The "Serious" prank worked, big time. "But don't thank me...Thank my precious people..." He now looked at his assembled friends with a warm smile, especially at Hinata. "They were with me when i fought...except for the engaged couple here...You must thank them all okay? Ja Ne!" He now looked behind him as team 8, 10, Gai's team and the Sand siblings followed him out of the club. He then took Hinata's hand outside the doors of the club, planting a chaste kiss on her lips. "So...Hinata-chan...how about that date i promised?" Naruto said in a warm smile at the fomer Hyuuga Heiress, who blushed pink in embarassment. "Sure Naruto-kun...it's a date! But...let's go slow ok?" Hinata smirked as her cheeks tinted anew. Naruto nodded as he flashed his foxy grin. "Gyokai! we'll go slow, promise of a lifetime...anyway, we have to celebrate! To Ichiraku's!" "HAI!" His friends screamed enthusiastically as they chatted and laughed all the way to the ramen place.

Naruto looked back at Club Archangel while the group walked away. A thought coming across his mind as he held Hinata's hand. He completely walked away a few seconds later, as he formulated his last thoughts about the couple he once knew inside of it.

"How's it gonna be? well, it's gonna be hard for a while...but with my true friends beside me...well, we'll cross the bridge when we get there...Goodbye Sakura...Sasuke...I may be able to forgive both of you...but not soon...Maybe someday..."

-Owari-

Please Review. Constructive Criticisms are always helpful. I would be grateful. Thank you for reading this semi-songfic (bows)