Love Postponed on Account of War

by Cmartin-Panda Productions

Over 400 years had passed since Naruto had become Hokage. The world had advanced greatly during that time span, but the peace Naruto drove so hard to achieve had collapsed. With the Pitter Patter Axis threatening to take over what was once the Shinobi Nations, the descendants of the Konoha 11 struggle to live a normal life while a war rages on. (Takes place during World War 2.)

1. Chapter 1

Author's Note from Panda: Hey everybody, Panda here. For those of you waiting patiently for more instalments of our other stories, here is a brand new Historical Fiction NaruSaku story.

This was original just supposed to be an extra long one shot Valentine's Day special. But me and Cmartin can't help ourselves and it ballooned into this sucker you see before you.

To give you some perspective, this story takes place 500 years after the canon ending of Naruto, and now takes place a year into something remarkably similar to the real world's 2nd World War. So, turn your brain off for this one. This is an idea that I have been toying with for over a year now. Where Naruto is the hero soldier coming home to Sakura, his love. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the 10th story by Cmartin-Panda Productions.

---

It was January, 1941. The 4th World War had been raging for over 1 year. The minor nations had all banded together to oppose the Five Elemental Nations surrounding them. Aided by traitors from each of the Great Nations, the Pitter Patter Axis had drove deep into all of the Elemental Allies' territory.

With Lightning on the verge of collapse, and the Earth, Wind, and Water countries all protected by natural barriers and the wrath of winter, all of the Axis attention is focused on the Country of Fire and their bountiful forests. If the Fire military forces cannot hold the line throughout the war's second winter, all will be lost.

Which brings us to the northern forest of Fire Country, a never-ending field of every kind of tree, stretching from East to West along the northern border of Fire. There, dug in like ticks, was the newly trained and eager 11th Army Division of Fire, Fox Company, sent to hold the lines while the main forces can recuperate over the winter. These jokesters were just a bunch of gung ho kids unknowingly preparing themselves for the greatest wakeup call of their lives.

A hundred yards behind the front-line trenches, a couple of rookie soldiers could be found sitting atop of the "General's precious tanks," As their Division Commander once so elegantly screamed at them. The boys were all told to stay away from the tanks as that would just be asking the enemy to shell that particular tank and wipe out a platoon. So the boys opted to take turns warming their butts on the heavy metal plates the tank engines kept heated at all times. At that moment, it was Kiba, Shikamaru, and Naruto's turn to warm their buns. While his two buddies were smoking, and leaning against the gun barrel of the tank, Naruto was seated near the hatch with a spare ammo box full of snow he had melted into water the previous night. Only now it had frozen again into a block of ice. A block of ice that Naruto was furiously chipping at with his combat knife.

"Son." Naruto grunted as he stabbed the unyielding frozen water.

"Of." he grunted as he stabbed again.

"A." He stabbed the same spot he had been going at for a good five minutes and heard the sloshing of water.

"Bitch." He cried, piercing the frozen top of the container and beheld the fruits of his labor. A secret compartment of unfrozen water.

"Whatever happened to our old ways?" Shikamaru asked no one in general.

"What old ways?" Kiba asked as he flicked away his cigarette butt into the trod upon floor of snow and pulled out a fresh one.

"Guys, look! I got it! I cracked the bastard." Naruto declared as he held out his frozen ammo box.

"When we all got along...when our ancestors were all ninja." Shikamaru said.

"Well that kind of went away after our 7th Hokage retired and passed away." Kiba said.

"Hmmm...wasn't he your ancestor or something, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ah who knows. My Dad is always telling me stories about my ancestors and it's all just blah." Naruto said as realized no one was going to sarcastically compliment him for his good work and put his ammo box down. Then he pulled out his shaving kit.

"Well, your dad is the 25th Hokage and it even says in the history books that Lord 7th was named Naruto Uzumaki...sound familiar?" Shikamaru smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard all the comparisons before. Why are we even talking about this?" Naruto asked, annoyed that Shikamaru had to bring up his legacy like that. He always hated being compared to someone he wasn't. He wanted to prove himself to everyone that he was his own man. Which was why as soon as the war broke out, he and all his childhood friends volunteered for the Army.

"I just find it fascinating is all." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Come to think about it...we're all named after our ancestors." Kiba realized.

"Well, except for Sakura. Ever since her ancestor married Sasuke's, the Haruno line faded away and merged into the Uchiha clan." Shikamaru stated.

"What the Hell is the Haruno line?" Naruto asked, only interested in the fact that Shikamaru brought up Sakura.

"She was related to the long since gone Haruno clan. Her ancestor was named Sakura Haruno. They were known for their vibrant pink hair in the women and a dull and dark shade of pink in the men...and...what are you doing?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ignoring you and your boring ass clan history." Naruto said as he dipped his badger tipped brush into the water and rubbed it against his little container of shaving powder. "Also, I'm shaving." Naruto said as he brushed his cheeks.

"Shaving what?" Kiba snickered.

"My beard." Naruto said, indignantly.

"What beard? All I see is-"

"Ouch!" Naruto cried as he nicked himself.

"-peach fuzz...now blood." Shikamaru teased.

"Shut up. We've been out here a week without seeing any action so I figured I'd get comfortable." Naruto said as he wiped the blood away.

That's when Kiba noticed their friend Lee running towards them "Looks like we might." He said as he reached for his M1 Grand.

"Guys, get off the tank. Things about to get busy." Lee warned without breaking his stride as he ran past them to find the Company Commander. "Where is Commander Kakashi?" He asked.

"Jesus, Lee. Where's the fire?" Naruto asked, not taking his buddy seriously.

"Guys, seriously. A runner from Dog company just reported that the enemy is headed our way with Tigers, Shermans, and KV-2's." Lee exclaimed.

Everyone immediately froze. Their tanks had the firepower to knockout several Sherman's. But Tigers were heavily armored and their guns could pierce just about anything. the KV-2's were the worst. They were slow and moderately armored, but their 152mm guns were enough to put a crater in place of a decent sized building, especially if they were using high-explosive shells.

"Fuck." Shikamaru said as he scrambled to put his partially burned cigarette out and back in its box. Naruto frantically tried to scrape the rest of his peach fuzz away. From far away they could already hear the sounds of battle. Guns and cannons echoing off in the distance. Dog Company was already engaging the enemy. For Fox company, their moment was upon them.

"Kiba! Get a hold of the tank corps! Tell them to bring the Chi-he's and Chi-nu's! Also..." He paused before looking at the massive tank they had back at the barracks. "Tell them we might need the O-I." Shikamaru ordered. He was the highest ranking there when Commander Kakashi wasn't around.

"On it!" Kiba rolled off the tank and landed in the snow.

"Naruto, save it for later!" Shikamaru ordered as Naruto still had half his face covered in shaving cream.

"Ah, damn it!" Naruto said as he threw his shaving kit back into his rough sack. He leapt off the tank with his Thompson sub-machine gun in hand. He was going into his first battle with right cheek covered in white cream.

The ground in front of the trenches exploded from artillery fire.

Naruto and Shikamaru ran up to the line while Kiba ran to find a radio and Lee ran off to find the Corporal. Their boots pounding the frozen earth as more shells burst, making the ground rumble. The two privates ran past a handful of trenches where their fellow soldiers were scrambling to get ready. As the came closer to another full trench, a shell found its mark. The hole exploded with 20 pounds of TNT, kicking up brown dirt and chunky black meat.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. There were men in that hole. He saw them. And now the hole was empty. It didn't make sense. Did he know those guys?

"Naruto, move your ass!" Shikamaru shouted from their fox hole.

Naruto shook his head and listened to his friend. He ran towards Shikamaru and slid into their fox hole, unknowingly dodging a stray bullet that would have hit him if he had hung around a half second longer. He threw himself against the wall of the trench and aimed his Thompson down range. All he could see were flashes coming from the shadows behind the tree line opposite the open field. This was it.

Kiba meanwhile was a hundred yards behind the line, his hands twisting the dials on the radio.

"Scouts report a line of SU-26's shelling us from several clicks away." Kiba reported from the radio.

"Platoon of M5 Stuart tanks breaching the outer line." Someone on the radio reported.

"Chi-nu platoon mobilizing with the O-I. Inner lines separate and make room." They heard a Commander say.

"Mustang fighters flying in!" Someone reported.

"INCOMING!" Someone shouted as enemy fighters strafed the line. Naruto ducked low, swearing on his life that a thousand bees just flew past him.

---

One month later, on the morning of February 7th, all was peaceful in the capital of the Country of Fire. The Village Hidden in the Leaves rested peacefully being over 500 kilometers south of the front. Still, everywhere you could walk in the city you found people talking about the war. News poured in everyday about the battles being fought and the young men dying. Everyone knew someone who had lost a brother, a son, a husband, or a father. And at the city's main hospital, Sakura Uchiha, was at the floodgates of that tragedy.

"Another casualty..." Sakura sighed before covering back up the soldier she was working on. "Hinata...mark time of death to be 13:36."

"Y-yes, doctor." Hinata squeaked as she jotted down the time on her clipboard.

"Stop being so nervous. Seriously, it's hard to believe you're Naruto's cousin as timid as you are." Sakura said.

"Dr. Uchiha...the clans have been dissolved for centuries..." Hinata said meekly.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Our blood relations are so thin that it doesn't even matter. I mean, yes. We are distantly related, but that was so long ago."

"So then why does everyone refer to you as cousins?"

"Probably because his sister looks so much like a Hyuuga." Hinata said, referring to Naruto's younger sister, Karin.

"Fine, whatever." Sakura sighed.

Just then, their friend Ino burst into the room with a newspaper in her hand.

"Ino!" Hinata jumped in surprise.

"Pig, what did I tell you about bursting in when I have a patient?" Sakura growled.

"Forget the patient, this is more important." Ino said as she showed them the headline.

Sakura's green eyes scanned the paper and she gasped. There, in big bold letters, was the news she and all her friends had dreamed of.

OUR BOYS BEAT THEM BACK:

Konoha's 11th Army Division holds the line against the joint Rain and Sound armies. In what the men on the front are calling the Battle of Bloody January, the rookie troops from Dog, Fox, and Easy Company held the overwhelming enemy forces. Outnumbered 10 to 1, our battered boys fought on for 29 straight days without the possibility of resupply of reinforcements. Out gunned and out manned, they fought on until the 9th and 10th Army Divisions could break through to them and relieve them. The heroes of the Leaf are expected to return to the Hidden Leaf village by February 7th, a week before Valentine's Day, for some much-needed R and R at the hands of their various sweethearts.

"Guys, do you know what this means?!" Ino shrieked.

"DUH! Our friends are coming home!" Sakura squealed

"This is fantastic. We haven't had the whole group together in ages." Hinata stated. Referring to the male half of their close knit circle of friends that had all left home for Army Training over a year ago.

"And you get to be with Naruto..." Ino teased Sakura.

"Yeah, and Kiba, and Shikamaru, Lee, all the guys." Sakura replied.

"I mean...some quality time." Ino smirked. Hinata caught on and immediately blushed, but Sakura still didn't understand.

"Well yeah. We haven't been to the dance hall with the guys since they left for training. It'll be nice to catch up with them." Sakura said. "We should grab Tenten and Temari. They'd both love to see Shikamaru and Neji again."

"Wow you're thick, Forehead...but yea, we should." Ino agreed.

"But Sakura, we are in the middle of working." Hinata reminded her.

"And our shift is about done. They won't care if we cut out early."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ino cheered as she dragged both women away by their collars.

They ran outside into the streets where crowds were already starting to gather. From the talks circulating all around them, the 11th Division had been spotted outside of the city walls.

The girls made two quick stops, one to the city's metal shop where Tenten worked, and then to the Sand ambassador's house to pick up his daughter Temari.

With the girls all together, they pushed their way through the endless crowd of on lookers to get the first look at the return of the conquering heroes.

"Ouch! Watch it, creep!" Ino shouted after one guy accidently stepped on her foot.

"Ah, please move." Hinata begged as she was pushed from all sides.

"Move it!" Sakura shouted, her legendary temper spilling out.

The massive city gates opened and the girls still hadn't made it to the front of the crowd. Somewhere off in the distance, a marching band started to play and the crowd roared in approval. Sakura and Ino continued to push forward while the other girls gave up and decided to just cheer. That too was cut short when the crowd pushed against them to make way for the incoming Division.

The girls tried in vain to peek over the heads of the adults in front of him. They could see men marching down the street, but they couldn't make out if any of them were their childhood friends.

"I said, MOVE!" Sakura shouted as she kicked the man in front of her and sent him sailing flat on his face in front of the troops. The whole crowd went silent. All eyes turned on Sakura who felt extremely embarrassed for going off the rails like that, again.

"Seriously, Forehead..." Ino groaned as she facepalmed.

"Wait, Sakura-chan?" One of the soldiers asked.

Sakura and the others looked up to finally get a good look at the heroic saviors of the Leaf. They were all nothing like what the girls were expecting. They all looked they had been thrown in a muddy blender. They saw men shuffling like zombies, their eyes sunken, vacant expressions. Yet the one who addressed Sakura was even more distinguished. He was a head taller than Sakura, his helmet hung loosely on his head. His jaw was covered in preach fuzz. And his cheeks had what looked like six very recent scars running horizontal across his face like whisker marks. To everyone, he looked completely unrecognizable.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?" Sakura asked, flabbergasted that such a rugged, yet hansom man knew her name.

"Of course you know me...We've known each other since we were kids." The man chuckled.

"Wait a minute...Naruto?" Ino gasped. "Is that...Really you?"

"Naruto!?" Sakura gasped, now seeing his blue eyes and his spikey blond hair sticking out from his helmet.

"Who else would I be?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto?" Hinata asked, astonished.

"Is that my cousin?" Naruto smiled, delighted to see part of his family again.

"I don't believe it..." Tenten breathed out.

"Tenten?" Another gruff voice spoke. The girls looked over to see Neji being carried on a stretcher in between Lee and Choji, not that either of them looked any better off.

"Oh my god! Neji!" Tenten shrieked when she saw the state of him.

Neji coughed while keeping his cigarette in his mouth. "Hey, Babe."

"What happened to you?" Tenten cried as she ran right to his side.

"Took a few round to the abdomen. Doctors patched him up. He'll be fine with some bedrest." Choji said with a cigar in between his teeth.

"We all dished out more than we took." Naruto said listlessly.

"Hoorah." Kiba said emotionlessly as he came into the picture with huge bandage over his shoulder and a bottle of Vodka in the other hand he didn't have when he walked into the village.

"Where is Shikamaru?" Temari asked.

"Right here." Shikamaru said from the other side of a Chi-nu tank. He walked around the back of it and Temari could finally see her boyfriend.

"Shikamaru!" Temari shouted as she ran up to the poor boy and tackled him with a hug. The crowd renewed their cheers when the young couple was reunited. The girls too were also overjoyed to see the both of them reunited, but then it dawned on Sakura. They were missing someone.

"Wait, where's Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"And Shino. Where is he?" Hinata asked.

All the men looked at the girls with hard faces.

"Shino got badly hit in the face. He's in an army hospital somewhere between here and the front." Choji said sadly. "But..."

Naruto took a few steps closet to Sakura. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled-up letter. "He wanted you and Itachi to have this." He said as he handed Sakura a letter that was written on the outside in Sasuke's hand; To my siblings.

"You mean...Naruto. please tell me my brother is okay..." Sakura demanded, her heart feeling heavy like lead weights.

Naruto just looked at her with a serious face, like he was carved out of wood. "Sakura-chan... I'm sorry."

"When the enemy artillery started firing on us...One shell landed in the foxhole where both Sasuke and Shino were...only Shino made it out." Kiba informed.

"No...oh my God..." Sakura choked as she clutched the letter in her hands. She fell to her knees right into Naruto's chest and she wailed.

"I'm so sorry..." Naruto said softly.

All the girls held their hands to their mouths. The men all kept quiet, they had long since grieved. But to the girls, it was fresh and terrible. To think it would happen to Sasuke. He was always so kind.

"Sakura." Ino whispered as she hugged her best friend from behind, trying to pull her away from Naruto.

"How...How am I...going to tell...Itachi..." Sakura sobbed.

"I'll tell him." Naruto said out of the blue.

Sakura looked up in awe, her face stained with tears. "What?"

"I want to tell him. If you'll let me. Sasuke was my best friend." Naruto reasoned. His voice was strange to Sakura. The awkward uncertainty was gone, replaced with a commanding tone that Sakura wasn't sure she could bring herself to say no to.

"Uh...O-okay...Mind walking me...Home?"

"Yeah sure. Guys, are we still on for Asuma's Bar later?" Naruto turned back to face all of his buddies.

"I'm gonna pass, guys. I have some...Catching up to do." Shikamaru said before smiling at Temari.

"Yeah, be sure to get some for your old pal Kiba." Kiba smirked as he took another swig of his drink.

"We'll see." Temari said before she was led away by her love.

"Well we need to get this lucky bastard to the hospital." Choji said as he hoisted Neji's stretcher back up. Lee kept quiet but just nodded. "We'll definitely meet you at Asuma's though." Choji added.

"I'll be in the hospital. Keeping the nurses company." Neji smirked.

"The Hell you will." Tenten snapped as she walked closely beside his stretcher.

"Alright." Naruto said as he helped Sakura to her feet and led her by her shoulders out of the crowd.

"Why Sasuke...Why him...He was one of the nicest people you would ever meet..." Sakura sniffed.

"He was in the wrong fox hole at the wrong time." Naruto whispered bluntly.

That made something inside Sakura make her do a double take. That was not something Naruto would say, especially not at a time like this. He never was so callous. Not even when her mom was killed by some street thug. He was never so callous in general. He was such a happy go lucky guy. Almost to the point of annoyance. Yet he couldn't help but rub off on you. That's what happened to Sasuke anyway. He was such a moody little twerp before he started hanging out with Naruto.

The two of them walked along the street without saying another word. Sakura walking beside a battered and bruised army man turned more than a few heads and made more than handful of housewives whisper risqué things to themselves, but Naruto either ignored them or just plain didn't care.

Finally, they arrived at the Uchiha house, home to the three Uchiha siblings. Or the two, now.

Naruto stood behind Sakura as she unlocked the door.

"Hey Sakura, you're home early." Itachi's voice called out to her from the kitchen.

"Itachi...You need to come here..." Sakura chocked out.

Naruto and Sakura heard a pot being placed down and Itachi poked his head out down the hall wearing a pink apron. "Sakura?"

"Itachi..." Sakura cried before hugging her older brother. "It's Sasuke...He...He..."

"Shhh, I know." Itachi hugged Sakura tightly and kissed the crown of Sakura's head. Her eyes went wide.

"You knew? But how?" Sakura asked.

Itachi reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter from the Army. "It arrived just this morning. After you left for work. I wanted to tell you this evening." Itachi looked over at Naruto. "But it seems I was beaten to the punch."

"He wanted me to give you this." Naruto said as he handed him the letter.

Itachi carefully took the letter that bore his younger brother's signature. "Thank you, Naruto. Truly."

Naruto nodded and turned to leave.

"Naruto, wait." Itachi spoke, regaining the blonde's attention. "Would you like to come in? Rest your feet in the living room?"

Naruto turned back, looking genuinely uncomfortable. "Oh, I don't know. I should probably check in with my parents. You know how worried my mom gets."

"Please, Naruto..." Sakura begged, which tugged at Naruto's heart strings.

"Well, maybe for just a little bit." Naruto shrugged.

"Thank you...It means a lot to me." Sakura said softly.

Then a thought occurred to Naruto. "I'm sorry but... could I use your shower?"

"By all means. Upstairs and down the hall. First door on the left." Itachi said.

"Thanks." Naruto said. He got three steps up the stairs before he had another thought. "Oh and... could I use your..." He motioned to this face. "Shaving kit?"

"Yes, there is a straight razor on the sink." Itachi said.

"Thanks." Naruto said as he finished his journey up the stairs.

Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes. 'What happened to Naruto?' She thought. He used to run up those stairs to meet up with Sasuke. Now there was no spring in his step. He just walked up them.

"He's changed a lot." Itachi commented.

"Yeah, why? He hasn't been gone that long?" Sakura asked. She had treated men returning from the front lines before. They were broken more often than not, sure. But they usually bounced back. And this was Naruto they were talking about. He was the epitome of a sunny disposition.

"War can do that to people, Sakura. Just look at our ancestors." Itachi said as he pointed to an old photograph on the wall.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sakura asked.

"Well, you see your ancestor there? According to our families records, she fought in the 4th Shinobi world war. As did your other ancestor there and Naruto's." Itachi continued.

"Yes, they fought the Akatsuki, the 10 Tails and Kaguya. We've all heard the legends. But what does that have to do with anything?" Sakura pressed.

Itachi just sighed. "Well, you love to read history, so I would suggest you check out the old family record house in the old district." Itachi said before handing her a key.

"I am not going to do that." Sakura said.

"I think you should...anyway, the choice is yours and our old compound still belongs to us." Itachi said simply before heading back into the kitchen.

Sakura paused before looking at the old picture on the wall. It was old for sure, but she saw what looked like herself, Sasuke and Naruto back when they were kids. Some of it was hard to make out due to its age, but there was a man standing behind them. They wore the old Leaf Shinobi headbands and they seemed to be smiling.

'Maybe someday I'll look more into our family's past.' she thought before looking upstairs. 'But I have my own knucklehead to save.'

"Sakura, why don't you go relax in the living room? I've got your favorite dinner cooking. Should be done in an hour." Itachi said.

Sakura sighed. "Kinda hard to do with everything that's been going on..."

"Well I thought it might cheer you up when I told you the news." Itachi admitted.

"I know...it's just...I wish he hadn't gone off to fight. What exactly did he have to prove?"

"I don't know." Itachi admitted. "I like to think he didn't want to let Naruto go alone. Maybe it was just loyalty to his country. Who really knows?" Itachi said.

"What does the letter say?" Sakura asked.

Itachi turned the letter over in his hands. "Why don't you read it while I cook. Or would you like to help me?"

"You know I suck at cooking..." Sakura deadpanned.

"You do. I just thought you might like to keep your hands busy. I know how you relax more when you're working." Itachi admitted.

"I think I'm gonna go to my room...let me see the letter."

"Of course." Itachi said. He gave Sakura the letter and one last hug before letting his sister head up the stairs.

Sakura made her way down the hallway and saw Naruto had left the door open and way shaving in the hallway. She had never actually seen him shaving. She didn't know why, but she found it fascinating. The way his hands delicately scraped the blade across his jaw. The look of concentration on his face. He reminded her of her father, back when Sakura was a little girl.

"Ah, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked without breaking his concentration.

"Uh...y-yes. I was just going to my room to-" She paused and gasped when she noticed that Naruto was just standing there in his boxers.

"Well you were staring at me- Oh shit." Naruto said as soon as he noticed that he was showing off his shit stained army underpants. Sakura however had only noticed how sculpted Naruto's torso had become. Not a shred of baby fat remained, all that was left was a man.

'Army Training agrees with him.' Sakura absentmindedly thought.

"Ah shit. Sorry, Sakura-chan. I'm used to not being...well there is a lot less modesty in the army." Naruto said before closing the door.

'Holy hell he got hot...' Sakura thought before feeling something wet come down her nose.

'What in the?' She thought as she wiped her nose and saw the blood on her fingers. 'No, absolutely not. I cannot be having these thoughts when I just learned my fucking brother was killed and now my friends are back and... it's fucking Naruto!'

Then she thought back to Naruto's new depressive state. Since he came back today, he just wasn't the same. It was almost like...

'Oh my god...does he blame himself for Sasuke's death?' She thought. They were the closest of friends. Almost like they were brothers from the start. If there was a reason for his sudden change in attitude, that would be it.

"Naruto...what happened to you..." Sakura whispered before continuing to her room.

Her bedroom was of standard affair. White walls with pink bed sheets and a desk stacked high with medical text books. She had a bulletin board covered head to toe in photos of all her friends and family hanging out when they were younger. Sakura's gaze lingered on one photo in particular that showed her, Naruto, and Sasuke all in their bathing suits at Naruto's family's summer home. Naruto had originally only invited Sasuke, but Sakura had nagged her brother to let her come along too. Needless to say, they all had a great time together. But now they never would again.

She held out the letter, wanting to open it then and there, but something held her back. She placed the letter down on her bed, figuring that she should get comfortable before reading it. Except she then spent the next 20 minutes just staring at the unopened letter.

That was when she heard a knocking on her door.

"Come in." Sakura said.

The door opened to reveal Naruto, this time he was fully clothed in his raggedy uniform, but he was certainly more presentable than he had been when he arrived. Now clean, Sakura could see more clearly the extent of his wounds. His eyes were baggy. He had cuts all along his face, chest, and arms. Wounds that had not been given the chance to heal properly and had left scars. Most noticeably the six whisker scars on his cheeks. They looked angry. Red, inflamed, and slightly frost bitten.

"I ah, finished my shower." Naruto declared.

"Jesus, Naruto...what happened out there?" Sakura asked in shock.

"Out where?"

"Where do you think? During the battle."

"Oh right, sorry." Naruto apologized.

"Naruto..." Sakura said softly. "What happened out there? You've changed since before you joined the army..."

Naruto didn't hear her as his thoughts had returned to that battle. A month of nonstop fighting. Shells bursting overhead. Bullets zipping over trenches. Friends screaming and crying next to you as tanks rolled past from either side. All while fighting off the blistering cold shoving needles into any part of you uncover by fabric.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked before seeing a twisted and horrified expression on Naruto's face.

Naruto began to visibly shake and then grabbed his arm. He took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. Did you say something?"

Sakura knew those symptoms all too well, but seeing as she wasn't cleared to make a proper diagnosis, she came up with another idea. "Come sit here." She said, patting the spot next to her on her bed.

"Okay..." Naruto said, making his way over and sitting down right next to Sakura. The bed was softer than he was used to. Surprisingly so.

"Now tell me..." She said before taking his hand into hers and started messaging it. "What happened out there?"

Naruto looked at Sakura with the most serious look she had ever seen on his face. "I'd rather not." He said, tightening his grip on Sakura's hand. "Not yet. Please."

'He has PTSD...I'm certain of it.' Sakura thought. "You know, you can always confide in me...You always have..." She spoke softly.

"Um, no, I don't believe I ever have." Naruto said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes you did. Remember about six years ago, you told me that one secret you never wanted me to mention to anyone?"

"Sakura, that was a stupid prank." Naruto said, his voice growing lower, annoyed at her insistence.

Now Sakura was really thrown for a loop. He always thought his pranks were hilarious and genius. "W-what...?" She breathed out. "You never call your pranks stupid... You're...Worrying me Naruto."

Naruto was surprised at Sakura's reaction, or perhaps he just realized how he had spoken to her. He relented. "I'm sorry."

"Naruto...I'm worried about you...You haven't been yourself since before you left..." Sakura said with concern.

"Well I can't help that. I just got back and the last thing I want to do is talk about the war." Naruto stated.

"Alright..." Sakura said in dejection. "Well...Dinner should be ready and... Well, whenever you wanna talk...I'm here for you."

Sakura stood up to head downstairs but is stopped by a hand reaching out to hers. She looks back at Naruto, whose stone-cold face finally shows signs of cracking.

"Thank you, Sakura. I appreciate that. I really do."

"You know I'd do anything to help you. We've been friends since we were 8 years old." Sakura said softly.

Naruto gripped Sakura's hand tighter. "Thank you." He repeated.

Sakura could see that he was struggling with his emotions. This was all entirely new to her. Something was bothering him so she did what she had always done for Ino when she got dumped by some sleazy guy. She wrapped him up in a warm hug.

Naruto was shocked when he felt Sakura pressed against him. It was nice, but something was different.

"Hey Sakura?"

"Shh...Don't talk..." She said, hoping that this would help him. Damn did she wish she was one of the ninjas of old.

"I was just going to ask. When did you grow breasts?"

Sakura's face immediately turned red. She pulled away and slugged him hard in the gut. "Pervert!" She snapped.

"Ooh, right in my one unhurt spot." Naruto groaned as he fell to the floor. Sakura huffed and head back downstairs where Itachi was putting the finishing touches on dinner.

"What's got your feathers ruffled?" Itachi joked.

"You boys are all perverts." Sakura growled as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"And some of you women ain't much better. What's your point?"

"Women aren't perverts." Sakura stated.

"You wanna bet? Or should I bring up that moment with Ino at the gym."

Sakura blushed. "Please no."

"Like I said. You're a doctor, you should know that it is the most basic of human desires. I'm sure you've had some of your own a time or two and don't tell me you haven't. You may be 20 Years old, but I still know my little sister well enough to know when she's lying." Itachi preached.

"Just shut up. I take it we've invited Naruto to dinner?"

"Well of course. That is if he's willing."

"Oh I doubt Naruto will ever turn down your home cooking. If only you were a girl, Itachi. You'd make an excellent wife." Sakura said.

"Ha ha...Very funny...Besides, I think he'd want you over me."

"Wha- what makes you say that?" Sakura cried.

"You mean besides the fact that he has had a crush on you since before he met Sasuke? I don't know, maybe he likes pink hair on girls." Itachi teased.

"He...H-he what…?" Sakura gasped.

"You didn't know? It was obvious to everyone, Sakura. You never questioned why he invited you and Sasuke to come to his family's summer home every summer?"

"Well...No, not really. I didn't think he was serious…"

Sakura then realized something. "Wait, I was the one who begged Sasuke to let me come with him!"

"All a part of our elaborate ruse I'm afraid. Naruto didn't want to ask you directly. So I told you he only invited Sasuke and you begged to go." Itachi said.

"Wait a minute. You two were trying to set us up!? This whole fucking time!?" Sakura shouted.

"No. Just help him out the one time. Then nothing ever came of it and I assumed he moved on." Itachi shrugged.

"Ahem..." They heard Naruto say from the bottom of the stairs. They never even heard him come down.

"Hey Naruto. How much did you hear?" Itachi asked for a beet red Sakura.

"All of it." Naruto stated.

'Oh my God.' Sakura thought. 'Is he...?'

"Is dinner ready?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"Just about. Uh...You don't wanna talk about what you walked in on?"

"Not particularly. I've been dying to taste some real food for months now. It's not ramen, but it'll have to do." Naruto said as he pulled up a chair.

"Well it's not ramen like you'd get at Ichiraku's, but it's still good if I do say so myself." Itachi declared as he served up a bowl to Naruto.

"Well hey. Far be it for me to turn down ramen." Naruto said before accepting the bowl.

"There is the old Naruto." Itachi smiled.

'So he is still in there...but...what does he think of me...?' Sakura wondered to herself before she saw a big grin on his face for the first time since he came home.

"Oh man! That's good!" Naruto praised.

"Glad you approve, Naruto." Itachi said as he served himself and Sakura a bowl as well.

"Well, it's not as good as Ichiraku's, but it's a damn close second in my book."

"That's still very high praise."

"Well, he does love ramen." Sakura said simply.

"Yeah. If only you were a girl. I'd have to make you my wife." Naruto joked.

Just then the phone started ringing.

"You're not the first man to tell me that." Itachi joked back as he stood up to answer the phone.

"Uchiha residence."

'Okay...that was odd but alright.' Sakura shrugged before going back to eat her meal.

"It's Kushina. Is my Naruto there by chance?"

"He is, Mrs. Uzumaki. Safe and sound." Itachi stated.

"Oh good..." Kushina sighed in relief. "Hanging out with Sakura and Sasuke I imagine?"

Itachi took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, no ma'am. Your son delivered us Sasuke's letter."

Itachi heard Kushina gasped and then went silent. "Oh no... I'm so sorry..."

"It is alright. Thank you, Lady Kushina, for your sympathies."

"Sympathies, nothing. How is Sakura holding up? How are you?"

"We are both pretty devastated. But we will both pull through this." Itachi said.

"Not alone you won't. Minato and I will be over in twenty minutes. Tell my son not to go anywhere." Kushina ordered.

"Um...well okay. You don't have to but-"

"But nothing. We're coming over and that's final." Kushina stated.

Itachi just chuckled. "Alright. I'll make a fresh batch of Ramen then."

"You absolute angel. If you weren't a man I would want you as a daughter-in-law." Kushina said before hanging up the phone.

'78 times...jeez.' Itachi thought before putting the phone down.

"Hey guys, am I too girly?" Itachi asked.

Sakura just laughed. "Well, you do come off as that sometimes."

"Oh you're just jealous because I'm prettier than you." Itachi said.

"Ooooooooooooohhhh!" Naruto cheered.

"Oh like hell you are. I got guys flirting with me every day at the hospital." Sakura smirked.

"Oh is that right? Well then maybe I should head over there and break some more of their arms." Itachi teased.

"Nah I got that covered." Sakura waved off. "So who was on the phone?"

"Mrs. Uzumaki. Your parents are coming over, Naruto."

"Really? How come?" Naruto asked.

"Because you are here."

"Hmmm, any chance I can meet them without them freaking out about this?" He pointed at his whisker scars.

"Probably not." Sakura said.

"I know Minato well enough to know that he would expect you to come back scared up. But your mom on the other hand..." Itachi said.

"Yea, don't remind me." Naruto sighed.

"She means well. Just try and cut her some slack." Itachi said as he got to cooking again.

Naruto sighed. "I hear ya..."

"Anyway. Who do you think is prettier?" Itachi joked.

"Shit, that's easy. Sakura-chan is." Naruto said simply without even giving it a second thought.

"Ha! See? Even he...wait, what...?" Sakura gasped. Did he really call her...pretty?

"Oh Naruto, you wound me." Itachi says dramatically.

"Sorry bro, I call them like I see them." Naruto said as he kept eating.

"You...really think I'm..." Sakura breathed out, gaining Naruto's attention.

"Huh? Of course I do. I'd have to be blind not to think that. Hell, a blind man would think you're beautiful." Naruto said casually.

Sakura looked like a dear caught in the headlights as a small blush adorned her face.

'My work here is done.' Itachi thought with a smile before continuing to cook.

That's when everything Naruto said caught up to him and looked at Sakura's expression. He quickly looked away and focused back on his meal.

"Well, thank you for the compliment Naruto. That was really sweet of you." Sakura smiled.

"No problem." Naruto said in between slurps of his noodles.

The trio ate in silence for almost a minute before there was a knock at the door.

"I got it." Sakura said before getting up to answer the door.

She opens the front door found a splendidly dressed noble man and woman. The man holding his Hokage hat against his chest as a sign of respect. And the red headed woman looks to be on the verge of tears.

"Oh Sakura, honey..." Kushina said before wrapping the pinkette in a hug. "I'm so sorry for your loss..."

Sakura gratefully returned the hug. "Thank you, Mrs. Uzumaki." Sakura sniffed.

"It's alright dear...just let it out..."

"No, no, you two should come in first. My apologies, Lord Hokage." Sakura said to Minato.

"Think nothing of it, Sakura...how is Naruto? I hope he's not blaming himself." Minato said.

Sakura looked back at the table to see Naruto talking to Itachi before looking back at Minato. "I think he does...he hasn't been the same since before he left..." Sakura whispered.

"Oh dear." Kushina said, knowing how close her son was with Sasuke.

"He won't even look at me the same either..." Sakura added.

"Oh boy...well, let's head inside. I wanna see how he's doing." Minato said.

As Sakura led them into the kitchen, Minato and Kushina lingered behind her to speak in private. "Since when does she care if our son looks at her?" He whispered to his wife.

"Maybe she's finally returning his feelings for her." Kushina hoped.

"Maybe. But Naruto was always iffy about dating Sakura because she was his best friend's sister. How is he supposed to treat her now that he's dead?" The couple hushed up as they entered the kitchen and saw their son for the first time in months. Kushina gasped when she finally saw Naruto. Even after a good shower and shave, he still had an air about him, like the weight of the world stood on his shoulders. Minato knew that look well. He saw it every time he looked in the mirror.

"Hey mom, dad." Naruto greeted emotionlessly.

"Son." Minato nodded.

"My baby. Oh my God, your face!" Kushina exclaimed as she ran behind the table and grabbed his cheeks.

"It's nothing mom. It's just a scratch." Naruto waved off.

"A scratch? It looks like someone cut into your cheeks with a jagged knife. Oh Sage, we're you tortured?!" She exclaimed.

"Mom, I wasn't. Seriously. Some shrapnel came a little close to my face. It hurt, but a medic patched me up. I'm fine." Naruto said, annoyed.

"Don't you take that tone with me, mister. You worry me to death for a year and you come home all cut up and with a shitty attitude." Kushina scolded.

"I was in training for 10 months and then was sent to war. Excuse me!" Naruto snapped.

smack

"You watch your tone!" Kushina snapped.

"I was watching my tone! You're the one who freaked out like you always do!" Naruto stood up from his chair.

"EXCUSE YOU?!" Kushina yelled.

"I don't need your excuse. I just spent a fucking month out fighting in the freezing ass cold, watched my buddies die, and then marched AAALLL the way back down here just to get nagged at by you!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto stop it!" Sakura cried. "What the hell happened to you?! You would NEVER raise your voice at your mother!"

"I WENT TO WAR!" Naruto shouted. "WHY IS THAT SO HARD FOR YOU ALL TO UNDERSTAND?!" He screamed, losing all his restraint. "I JUST WANTED TO COME HOME AND GET SOME GOD DAMN REST! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?" He stormed out of the kitchen and out the door.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. She wanted to chase after him, but felt Itachi's hand planted firmly on her shoulder.

"Just leave him be, Sakura." Itachi said.

"But he-"

"Is going through a lot right now. My guess is that he needs his space." Itachi said.

"But why won't he just talk to me?" Sakura asked.

"I can't say for certain, Sakura. It's not easy for men to show weakness like that."

"No it isn't." Minato sighed.

"But that's ridiculous." Sakura said.

"Try to look at it from his perspective. He's had to he's had to be strong in order to fight. That meant bottling up his emotions or else he couldn't function on the battlefield. If he couldn't function then he would let down his teammates. He's just been strong for so long that he has forgotten how to turn it off." Minato said.

"How do you know?" Sakura asked.

"I fought in the Third World War, remember?"

"Oh...then...how did you cope with it?" Sakura asked.

Minato sighed. "Time. Time and having my friends beside me."

"And me of course." Kushina said as she hugged his arm.

"Yeah." Minato smiled. "Give him time, Sakura. And most importantly, keep being his friend."

"I don't...I don't think he wants me around him..." Sakura said sadly.

"I know, but trust me when I say that he needs you now more than ever. Not just him, but all your friends."

"Why are you worried about that all of a sudden?" Itachi asked what was on everyone's minds.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"I mean...why are you worried that he wouldn't want to be around you? You never really minded before." Itachi clarified.

"He's still my friend isn't he?" Sakura said.

"Well yes. But you're acting like he's something more."

"No I'm not." Sakura snapped. Itachi raised up his hands in defense.

"Alright, fine, you're right."

'She totally is.' The others all thought.

"Urgh, now I'm ticked off. I need some air." Sakura said as she made her way out the door.

Once she left, the adults just stood there.

"Do you think we came off to strong?" Itachi asked.

"I did. How could I yell at my baby? What kind of mother am I? He just came back from war after months and I argued with him." Kushina cried.

"Hey, it's alright..." Minato soothed as he wrapped her up in a hug.

Itachi stepped away from the couple, over to the window over the sink. He looked out at the city horizon peaking just over the walls of the tiny Uchiha compound. He had never been to war, but he had seen its effect on people at a young age. Back when the 3rd World War was raging. He couldn't help but imagine that right now, hundreds, maybe thousands of families were all going through similar trials as their loved ones returned home. There would be no innocent civilians in this war. All would feel it's wrath. What could anyone do but hold on?

---

Meanwhile, with Naruto, he had stormed off in a hurry and found himself headed towards Asuma's bar.

"Damn parents giving me shit...I killed more people than I care to remember...Sasuke lost his fucking life because of me. And Sakura...what gives her the right to interfere with my business." He said to himself.

He stomped his way down the street. Passing by fellow soldiers partying it up while they were home on leave and couples shamelessly making out in alleyways or parks or where you could squeeze two or three people into a spot. They all just annoyed him, so Naruto trudged past them and ducked into the Leaf's oldest serving pub. Asuma's bar. Established in 1492, during the reign of Naruto's ancestor, the 7th Hokage.

Naruto of course didn't care about any of that and walked straight into the bar and sat down at the front counter were every other seat besides one was taken.

"What'll ya have?" The bartender asked.

"Whatever is strong." Naruto said as he cracked his knuckles to get the aches and pains out.

"Gotcha. Scotch on the rocks it is." The bartender said.

Naruto nodded as he reached for his wallet. Only to remember that he didn't have a wallet. Not since basic training.

"I ah, don't have any money on me right now." Naruto admitted.

"I got him covered." A female voice said as a figure sat down next to him.

Both men looked over to see a certain Pink Haired Young Lady holding out her wallet.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" Naruto growled.

"Getting away from my brother." Sakura said simply before placing money on the counter. "Double shot of whiskey."

"And since when do you drink?" Naruto asked, remembering Sakura always lecturing him and Sasuke for sneaking sips of beer when their parents weren't looking. Right up to them being legally allowed to drink at age 20.

"About two months after you left...when the wounded soldiers started pouring into the hospital."

"Heh, looks like I'm not the only one who changed." Naruto smirked as the bartender passed him his scotch.

"Yes...I've changed quite a bit. Countless nights of no sleep...praying that I wouldn't see you, any of our friends...or Sasuke...come off the countless ambulances that came."

Naruto sighed. He took his drink in his hand and swished it around like he had seen all those movie stars do it. "Did you get any guys from Argon Forest? I kept hearing that we could never get them more south than the nearby village."

"Probably...the days seemed to blend together that I didn't really notice." Sakura said before she received her drink and downed it immediately. "Keep them coming." She told the bartender.

Naruto looked at her like she just unveiled her second head. "Did you just down that thing in one go?"

"Yea, your point?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing. I've just never seen you do that." Naruto said as he held up his hands.

"Hm..." She said before going after her second drink. "You know...this war didn't just affect you and our friends...it affected everyone here. Including me."

"I suppose." Naruto said as he took a sip of his scotch. "It's just hard to believe that when you're out there. Hard to think of anything else besides living through the next few seconds. And then when you get time to reflect, you can't help but be bitter of the guys who get to sleep in beds that very night. Eat some warm food. Who never see the things you do."

"You don't think I had to go through something similar?"

"I don't know what you had to go through. I wasn't thinking of you every second of the day." Naruto said more harshly than he intended.

Sakura was hurt, but kept her temper in check. "Well the way you put it, I feel similar, being a doctor." She downed her next shot, feeling the liquid fire run down her throat. "I see misery every day. And then I walk home past people who take their good health so casually. And I just want to throttle them for laughing while a boy their age sits in a hospital bed, dying of cancer." She said.

Naruto sighed. Sakura received her next drink and looked at the brown liquid in the tiny shot glass like she would a basin containing the unsatisfying secrets of the universe.

Sakura heard the ice cubes in Naruto's drink clink and saw him holding his glass up to her. "Here's to life then."

"Yea...to life." She said listlessly as she clinked her glass with Naruto's.

The two childhood friends then just sat there, sipping their drinks and enjoying each other's silent company for God knows how many hours.

---

Meanwhile, in one of the Leaf village's fanciest hotel rooms, the curtains were drawn and the bed was squeaking as the Nara heir was currently balls deep in the daughter of the Ambassador of the Sand. Since his arrival back in his home town, Shikamaru had been dragged by his girlfriend to the first hotel room she would approved of and was eagerly shown her newest purchase of undergarments. Black, flowery designed bra and panty set with matching garter belt and stockings. The young G.I. had showed his approval of Temari's taste in underwear by ripping her bra off with his tongue and caressing every inch of her he could wrap his fingers around. Or inside.

After hours of fun, Temari now found herself pushed face down into lacy pillows with her stockings still on and her panties being torn off and discarded some time ago. Shikamaru meanwhile was kneading her ass so hard he thought his fingers would get lost, all while his hips continued to piston in and out of Temari like they too would be sucked inside of her and be blissfully lost forever.

After several minutes of this, Temari suddenly reached back her hand to grab Shikamaru's right hand. He knew that she wanted to feel him be with her as she came and Shikamaru was in no position to refuse her. He squeezed her tiny hand into his callas hand and the two of them let loose a mighty roar.

Temari clamped down on Shikamaru, squeezing him for every last drop he had while Shikamaru gave and gave and gave.

They both collapsed on top of the bed. Temari panting heavily and Shikamaru breathing in deeply to her hair that covered his face. They were both sweaty, sticky, and for the first time in over a year, completely satisfied.

"Fuck...I needed that." Shikamaru gasped out, not turning away but instead rubbing his nose into Temari's neck.

Temari turned her head unable to trust the strength of her legs at the present time. "You needed that?" She blew some hair out of her face. "What happened to the lazy smartass that I had to beg to get him to go twice in a row?"

"He had to go a year without you, so he saved up." Shikamaru said as he sat up and grabbed one of the cigarettes laying on the night stand.

"Jeez, if only if I could have like, 12 of you. Each of them I refrain from having sex with for a year at a time. Then I might have a decent sex life." Temari smirked as she propped herself up on her elbows to accept one of her lover's precious cigarettes that he was offering her.

"No such luck. You're stuck with the one." Shikamaru said as he lit his Lucky Strikes cigarette, relishing that familiar ashy taste in his mouth bringing him back down.

Temari smirked as took a drag of her own cigarette, only to feel Shikamaru's hand caressing her bottom.

"Getting frisky again, are we?" Temari smirked.

"I just really missed you." Shikamaru said as he took another drag, both from his Lucky Strikes and along Temari's ass.

He then took a good look around himself at the lavish décor provided for the Honeymoon Suite. Hand carved wooden chairs with padding on shiny oak desks, decked out with golden lampshades in the corner. A queen sized bed with gold painted headboards designed to look befitting to royalty. And even an honest to god fireplace like you would see in some Daimyo's smaller mansion. "We really shouldn't have come here."

"Why?"

"This room. It's way too expensive."

"What? Did you think I was going to sleep with you in some crummy motel? Your dick isn't that good." Temari joked.

"Your father will notice once he gets his credit card bill. How long until he puts two and two together?" Shikamaru said seriously.

"Well then we'll have to come clean with our relationship finally. Won't that be scary?" She mocked before blowing smoke against the back of Shikamaru's head.

"I'm serious. You remember how he nearly sent you back home when he caught you going out with Sasuke. What happens if he catches wind of me and actually send you home to the Sand?" Shikamaru stated seriously.

"Then you shall gallantly swoop in and propose to me. And I, as a legally recognized woman, will accept your offer and live here with my new green card." Temari stated.

"I am not proposing to you while I'm still in service. Definitely not before I have to go off and fight again." Shikamaru stated, his voice growing heavy with every word uttered.

"What are you so scared of? Leaving me a widow? It's not like it would be some tragically uncommon thing." Temari said.

"It's not a JOKE!" Shikamaru snapped, startling Temari.

The room was filled with silence. The only thing that could be heard was the burning of tobacco and the sound of a headboard hitting the wall in the next room over.

Shikamaru immediately regretted yelling, but before he could say anything he felt his girlfriend's delicate touch rubbing up and down his shoulder blades.

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I would want to be your widow over being your grieving lover?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru was stunned. "Wait...are...are you...proposing to me...?"

"No, I'm just saying. Maybe I'd want to raise up your son too. Or your daughter. You've just never asked." Temari took another long drag of her Lucky Strike, right up to the butt.

The lover in Shikamaru was over the roof, but the cynic in him couldn't help but get a word in edgewise. "Yeah, or maybe you just want the first pickings on my 100,000 Ryo Life Insurance policy. OW!" He cried as Temari put her cigarette out on his shoulder blade she had been massaging.

"I would tear up that damn policy right now and burn away the ashes if you were to propose to me afterwards. Don't you ever forget it." She said.

"Right...sorry, I didn't know what I was saying." Shikamaru said.

"Good." Temari said as she leaned forward to grab two Lucky Strikes. She stuck them both in between her luscious ruby red lips and lit them both. Then when she had wet the end of one of them enough, she plucked it out and stuck it in Shikamaru's mouth to replace his last cigarette that he had let go out. "Because whether or not you die as my husband, my fuck buddy, or the father of my child, I am still left grieving the same amount for you. Don't think you're doing me any favors keeping our relationship casual."

Shikamaru took a long drag of what he considered to be the best tasting cigarette he had ever had in his life. "So should I be running off to the nearest jewelry store or are you one of those rare non-materialistic sort of girls?"

"Sage of Six Paths you're bad at this. Do I look like one of those materialistic sort of girls?" Temari asked as she sat in her peacock feather hotel bed with actual golden thread stitched into the fabric of the comforter. "And don't go proposing to me just cause I force you to. Do it when you want to and when I least expect it." Temari ordered.

"I know. But maybe I want to?" Shikamaru smirked.

"Maybe you piss me off with you jumping around on decisions. If I wanted someone who thought with their heart I would fuck Naruto." Temari said as she blew smoke in Shikamaru's face.

"Naruto..." Shikamaru said before he stared off at the ceiling.

"What?" Temari asked.

"The toll of this war has taken a toll on all of us...but its hit him the hardest..." Shikamaru said.

"Why? Because of Sasuke?" Temari asked, her hard dominating voice turned soft at the mention of Shikamaru's month long battle.

"No. That's a big part of it, sure, but we didn't know about Sasuke until a week into the fighting. We got Shino out of that hole and back to an aid station after an hour or so, but in all the confusion, nobody remembered Sasuke was sharing a hole with Shino until that poor bastard woke up. We thought Sasuke was just missing in action for a whole month." Shikamaru said.

"My God..." Temari breathed out.

"Yeah. And do you know the really messed up part? Naruto swears to this day that he fought side by side with Sasuke throughout the whole month."

"You're kidding."

"I believed him too. Right up to us meeting up with Shino again on our way here." Shikamaru said as he took a puff.

"You don't think he...cracked...do you?" Temari asked, wondering if Naruto was a danger to anyone.

"I'd be more surprised if he didn't. Him and his bottomless supply of stamina kept fighting long after the rest of us had to just give up and sleep through an ongoing attack. But he's been alert and responsive ever since the fighting started. The doctors and shrinks cleared him to come home like the rest of us." Shikamaru paused to let the taste linger on his tongue. "Maybe he just saw some guys who looked like Sasuke in the firefights. God knows we aren't short of spiky black haired men in this army."

Temari then sat up, letting the blanket fall off her. "Or maybe it's something else."

"Such as?" Shikamaru asked.

"If the legends told by our ancestors are anything to go by, it's possible that what he saw could have been Sasuke's spirit. Guiding him through the battles."

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow. "Do you really believe in that crap?"

"Yes I do actually. Because most of that isn't just some fairytale. It actually happened." Temari huffed.

"Yes I know. We've all read the history books. But having Sasuke's spirit guide him? That seems a little farfetched."

"So you say..." Temari sighed.

Shikamaru exhaled and felt himself being pulled back to rest his head on Temari's lap. She stroked her fingers through his hair, relaxing the man into submission.

"So, you ready to try anal?" Temari asked, making Shikamaru's eyes spring wide open.

---

Back at the bar, Naruto and Sakura had switched to beers to taper off until the rest of their friends arrived. Because they had so many shots, they were already well in the bag.

"And that's when I told him...I'm a doctor, not a Chevy Mechanic!" Sakura howled in laughter, followed by Naruto.

"Ah shi-he-it." Naruto laughed. "What did he say?"

"He said he doesn't drive a Chevy! He said he drives a Dodge and I said well you got more problems than I can fix!" Sakura laughed.

"Ha! What an asshole." Naruto laughed so hard he nearly spilled his beer.

"Hahhh...Oh my, you've missed a lot..." Sakura slurred before laying her head on his shoulder. "It hasn't been the same here without you."

"Yeah..." Naruto said as he looked over Sakura's pink locks and saw a man sitting next to her with spiky black hair. "We all missed you girls every day during basic training." Naruto said as he gently pushed Sakura off of his shoulder.

The man with the black spiky hair looked at what Naruto was doing and just shook his head in disapproval.

Naruto ignored him and returned to his drink. "So what else has been going on since we left? Ino got a bunch of new former boyfriends I'll bet."

"Yea its...not something she cares to talk about. And I promised her I wouldn't tell." Sakura said.

"Aw come on. There's gotta be one funny one in the bunch. A guy who lied about enlisting to get into her skirt. A guy who pretended to be dead and then when he got caught claimed to be his own twin. Stuff like that." Naruto asked.

"I don't know...you know how much of a slut she can be."

"I heard that, Forehead!" A voice shouted from behind the two tipsy friends.

"Heeyy! How ya doin Miss Piggy!" Sakura slurred.

"Oh my God. Are you drunk?" Ino exclaimed.

"No way! I'm just a little...Naruto, what am I?"

"I don't know. I'm not the doctor." Naruto slurred.

"Oh yea! I forgot!" Sakura laughed as she became unstable on her barstool.

Ino snickered. "Sakura, you're completely smashed."

"Well I had to keep this mopey sad sack company until the rest of you arrived..." Sakura slurred. "That and Itachi said he was prettier than me. I needed a drink." Sakura slumped against the bar counter.

"I think you've had more than a drink." Ino giggled before taking a seat next to her.

"I don't need to take that from you. It's been a rough day." Sakura said sadly.

"Yes it has." Ino said softly. Remembering the half dozen new patients she had to help admit to her father's psych hospital. All boys from the 11th Division. Her father said it was a miracle that it was only those six. "But I've got some good news. Your wait is over. Because guess who I came in with?"

"Who?" Sakura asked.

"Us." Another voice said. Sakura looked behind herself to see Kiba, Choji, and Lee all standing behind her looking ready for a fucking drink.

"Hey...how ya guys doing?" Naruto slurred.

"We're fucking great. Been getting free drinks and pats on the back all day." Kiba smirked as he leaned forward to talk to Naruto privately. "Plus we convinced some really cute skirts to meet us here for some drinks. I think one or two of them said they'd bring a friend for you." He slapped Naruto on the back.

'Oh god no...' Sakura thought.

"Nah I'm good. Thanks though." Naruto waved off.

Sakura quietly let out a sigh of relief, one that Ino picked up on almost immediately.

"Something on your mind, Forehead?" Ino asked.

"No, why?" Sakura asked, her mind starting to clear up.

"I was wondering if you wanted to head home or stay behind. Knowing you, an hour of sobriety and you'll be back swinging back shots with the best of them." Ino said.

"Umm..." She mumbled before looking back at Naruto, who was still downing beers. This time with Lee and Kiba. He seemed to be okay but she hated to leave him so suddenly.

"Oh come on, Sakura. You gotta stay." Choji begged. "Tenten is at the hospital, Temari is with Shikamaru at some hotel somewhere, and Hinata went off to see Shino back at the Army Hospital."

"Well...I guess I can stay." Sakura shrugged.

"Atta girl!" Choji cheered. "Hey bartender! Something non-alcoholic for my friend here!"

"Oh no. Bartender, give me a Smirnoff if you would. I'm not driving."

"Forehead, no. You keep drinking like that, your kidney is gonna is gonna pop." Ino warned.

"It's my last one so stop worrying." Sakura waved off.

"I'd better. I ain't driving either." Ino said before signaling to the bartender. "Martini, salt around the rim."

"Well I am driving so just pop for me." Lee said.

"Nah, fuck that. Give me your keys." Kiba demanded.

"You know I can't have alcohol, Kiba." Lee deadpanned.

"I don't care. We've been planning this night for months and I won't have it ruined by your fucking teetotalism. You're having a god damn drink with us if I've gotta force it down your throat. Now keys!" Kiba demanded.

"Kiba, the last time he had a drink here, he damn near wrecked the entire bar, remember?" Sakura reminded. "Besides, you live completely on the other side of town and you know how the local police are about public intoxication."

"To Hell with the police and to Hell with my house. KEYS!" Kiba shoved his open palm into Lee's chest. Lee looked at him reluctantly and then threw the car keys into his hand.

"One drink. Just to shut you up." Lee said.

"That's all I ever wanted." Kiba said as he tossed the keys at the bartender. "Give that back to whichever man is sober. Or lady." Kiba smirked.

"Just tell them that the clutch is a little squirrely. Haven't had the time to fix it." Lee cautioned.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to mention that." The bartender said as he threw the keys into a big glass communal pot.

"Just had mine fixed the other day." Sakura said.

"Wait, you own a car?" Naruto asked.

"Yea. I got a 39 Studebaker while you were gone. Rarely use it around town, but I make trips to Land of Waves once in a while." Sakura shrugged.

"You're shitting me. I haven't been up to the Land of Waves in years. Not since my parents sold the summer house." Naruto said.

"I make runs for fresh seafood and medical supplies."

"What? No way our supply line is that bad that you have to do all that yourself." Choji exclaimed.

"It's not. I just do it for personal projects." Sakura said.

"Oh..." Naruto said.

"My dad is selling his Jeep if you want it." Ino offered.

"Tempting. But I won't have much use for it. We get redeployed on the 15th." Naruto said.

"W-what...?" Sakura breathed out. She hadn't heard about that.

"Yeah. We got sent home for a one week vacation. Then it's back in the field to await our next orders." Lee said while Kiba was busy ordering drinks.

"Oh...I see..." Sakura said sadly. She hoped she had more time.

"That fucking sucks. I thought you guys were home for good." Ino pouted.

"No. The reports we've been hearing said that this war could carry out for another 4 years." Kiba informed.

"4 years? We heard the Axis was finished. You guys broke their back." Sakura said.

"We won the battle, but not the war." Naruto said grimly. "We are supposed to be present at the next Kage Summit. They are talking about reviving the Ninja program."

"What would that mean for you guys?" Sakura asked.

"Us? Probably nothing. That'd be training for newer recruits. And they would probably just be an elite few." Naruto said as he took a swig of beer.

"That's not what I heard." Choji said. "I heard that us field boys are gonna be training on the fly. Something about the Axis trying to revive an ancient monster or something."

"Yeah." Kiba snorted. "And I heard that Mist was developing some kind of super weapon to wipe an entire city off the face of the Earth in a single blow. It's all bullshit propaganda each side throws at each other." He said as the bartender returned with five mugs of beer, only one of them was filled, and an absolute mess of shots looking like they contained four of every drink imaginable. "Now line up you sons a bitches, we've gotta have our Blockbusters."

The guys all shrugged and sat down at the bar next to Kiba, each of them in front of one of the empty mugs while the fifth actually filled mug was left alone.

"What the Hell is a Blockbuster?" Ino asked, leaning over Kiba's shoulder.

"A drink this one old Sargent taught me. Said he would always get it with his buddies after a battle. Well he lost all his buddies so I thought I'd carry on the tradition." Kiba said as he took the lead by pouring all the shots into his mug. "Whiskey." He said as he poured one shot in and the rest of the guys did the same. "Gin, Rum, Vodka, Rye, Brandy, Bourbon, and Vermouth." Kiba said, filling up his mug with all the shots into one grand concoction.

"That...looks like a liver killer." Sakura shuddered.

"Well he did recommend to start off with this one. But I forgot until now." Kiba admitted. "You might appreciate this next part though."

"Okay, I'm listening." Sakura said.

Kiba lifted up his drink as did the rest of the guys. All their eyes then fell on the lone beer sitting on the counter in between them all. "Here's to you, Sasuke." Kiba said, clinking his drink against the ownerless beer.

"To Sasuke." Choji and Lee muttered before they tapped their glasses against Sasuke's beer too.

Sakura felt her eyes well up before she clinked her bottle against the glass. "To you...Sasuke..." She whimpered.

"Rest in peace, Sasuke." Ino said as she tapped her martini glass against the beer mug.

All eyes then turned on Naruto, who hadn't made a move yet. No one dared say a word though. Finally, he raised his mug and clinked it against his best friend's mug. "To you, buddy." Naruto said right before he knocked back the entire drink. Kiba, Choji, and Lee all followed suit and the two girls plus a couple of onlookers went wide eyed when the four of them kept chugging it down. Only when their mugs were empty did each man slam their drink down and took a breath.

Sakura couldn't hold back the grief of losing her brother anymore and started crying on Ino's shoulder.

"Hey now. Come on, Sakura." Ino said, teary eyed. If Sakura started seriously crying then Ino was going to cry.

"He was my brother...I can't help it...He was always so nice to me..." Sakura cried.

"Wow, didn't think you'd down that one, buddy." An unfamiliar voice said, interrupting Sakura's tender moment. The group looked back and saw a fellow Leaf soldier looking very crisp and dapper in his dress uniform. "You're a bunch of those guys from 11, right?"

"Yea. Who are you?" Kiba asked.

"Name's Tomonori. I'm with the 14th Division, Able Company." Tomonori said, rather smugly.

"Yeah, good for you. Aren't you supposed to be in the Land of Wind fighting the Stone army?" Naruto said, not liking the guy's tone.

"Oh I was. Took some desert fort a hundred miles north of the Wind capital. Arrived back here around the same time you 11's did. Ah, but no one seems to care about that, not when the famous heroes of Bloody January have arrived." Tomonori sneered.

"Yea...We don't. So how about you get lost." Naruto said before returning to his drinks.

"Ah come on, were all soldiers here. Plenty of drinks and girls to go around." Tomonori swaggered when he spotted Ino and Sakura.

"Hey, what's all this then?" Another man's voice called out. From the crowd, another man stepped in, wearing the same uniform as his buddy Tom. "Hey, come on man. Leave these guys be. Come on." He said, trying to drag his friend back by the arm. Only to be shaken off.

"Sorry about him. We get back about a week ago and the reception wasn't nearly as big. He's just a little miffed that this is our going away party." Tom's buddy said, trying to laugh the whole thing off.

"It's funny though. Things were crazy before, then you guys come home and everyone's out partying. You'd have to fuck the Hokage himself to get a taxi."

"Yeah, funny. I could have sworn there was going to be less of you 11's. How many would you say are left? A hundred? A few dozen?" Tom asked.

"Enough for a baseball team." Lee said, trying to defuse the situation.

The two men laughed, one more good-naturedly than the other.

"How about you two just fuck off." Ino spat.

"How about you shut your trap and let the men talk?" Tom spat. "You 11's are like roaches, you know that? Everywhere we step and there's another one under our boot." Tom then spied the unattended mug sitting on the counter. "I'm guessing this is one 11 we don't have to worry about." He said as he reached for the beer mug.

Just then, Sakura's hand shot out and locked itself around his wrist in a death grip.

"Touch it...And I'll rip you to pieces..." Sakura growled.

Tom looked back at Sakura and tried to backhand her in the face. His arm was immediately caught by Naruto and the enraged men all stood up as one. Tomonori threw a punch right on Naruto's nose, who took the hit and then made a clean right hook into the bastard's jaw. Tom fell backwards like a sack of potatoes.

"Motherfucker, we froze our asses off for a month while you played hide and seek in the sand." Choji spat.

"You best stay down..." Sakura growled before picking up the barstool she was sitting on. She had gripped it so hard that the metal started to bend.

"Hey, hey, hey! Hold on!" The man's friend said frantically as he got in between Sakura and the man Naruto had just knocked flat on his ass.

"Oh ho, getting your girlfriend to fight your battles for you? Oh that's rich. You fucking 11." Tom spat as the crowd behind him tried to pull him away to keep the fight from escalating.

"Sorry about that." His friend apologized. "You know how it goes, guy has one too many beers and a bit of training. Turns into another dumb drunk who thinks he can fight."

"That...is my brother's memorial...if I see him so much as come near this bar again..." Sakura growled before she took the stool in both hands and bent the metal bar completely in half. "No doctor in the world will fix what I do to him..."

"Right, right." The man sweat dropped. "Allow us to buy you the next round. As a welcome back present from a fellow soldier."

"I think you should just leave." Lee said.

"Right. I'll just grab my friends and we'll find another bar. Hey, barkeep! Another round for the 11's and their two girlfriends!" The man ordered as he headed to the opposite end of the bar to pay his tab.

Sakura dropped the barstool on the floor before facing the bar again. Only this time, she was greeted by the stunned looks on her friends faces.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura-chan...?" Naruto said in awe.

"What?" Sakura asked again.

"Damn girl. Someone's tapping into their inner chakra." Ino said.

"My what? Chakra? What do you mean?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Sakura, don't play dumb. You know just as well as I do what chakra is."

"I know what Chakra is, But-"

"Just look at the barstool you turned into a pretzel." Ino pointed out.

Sakura looked down and finally noticed her handiwork. She gasped. Buried deep within every living relative of the great ninja clans were the shallowest pools of chakra, diluted over many generations of breeding with regular civilians. Coupled with the 7th Hokage's policies of peace, the need for ninjas had faded away, as had ninjutsu and the need for chakra. That wasn't to say that no one had chakra anymore. just that it was so uncommon and so sporadic, that it was no longer a viable option in the armed forces. On the flip side, that meant that every now and again, you would catch a predecessor of ninjas accidentally performing some incredible feat of strength and stamina.

"I...Did that...?" Sakura breathed out in shock.

"You did." Kiba agreed. "Christ, Sakura. Where were you when we needed to bust open that tank and were short of TNT? You could have just pried the metal hinge open and saved us 6 hours of grenades and beating on it with the butt of our guns."

"I...Didn't even realize..." Sakura said shakily as she looked at her hands. Her eyes went wide when she could see a glowing green light slowly fading away.

"Sage of Six Paths, Sakura-chan."

Sakura looked over at Naruto who was in the same amount of shock she was in. "Is...This normal..?" She asked in general.

"Sakura, you know it is. Although I've never heard of people's hands glowing green. Usually they just get their feet stuck on the sides of walls." Ino said.

"Well, her ancestor is the great Sakura Haruno who was trained by one of the legendary Sannin." Lee said.

"Well...That hasn't been proven..." Sakura tried to deny.

"What more proof do you need? Your hand just glowed like the medical ninjas of old." Choji pointed out.

"This calls for a celebration." Kiba declared as he took up that one guy's offer for a free round.

"Wait a minute..." Ino said. "That would mean...You have the potential to unlock the Uchiha clans bloodline technique."

"Wait, you mean the Sharingan? Ino, please...There hasn't been a case of the Sharingan since the 12th Hokage." Sakura shrugged off.

"That Mirror Wheel thing?" Choji asked. "Good luck putting it to use. Our modern armies don't enlist women."

"That could easily change." Naruto said.

"No, it couldn't." Kiba said.

"Well, whatever. I don't want to fight in the war anyway." Sakura said seriously.

"That makes two of us." All four boys said at once.

"Well now that that's out of the way..." Ino said before heading over to the jukebox.

The music started playing loudly and Ino skipped back to the bar.

"Now let's party!" She shouted gleefully.

---

All the way up to 3 AM, the group had done the impossible. They had completely partied out. There was singing, drinking, darts, pool, drinking, a couple of guys made out with Ino but nobody could remember who, drinking, stealing Lee's car keys back, crashing Lee's car into a pond, an apology round of drinks from Kiba, getting Choji a tattoo, Ino making out with Sakura (which everyone would remember), and finally...well no one was clear on the specifics, everyone clearly remembered them being in a dark and smokey gambling hall playing high stakes poker with card sharks. All Sakura knew for certain is that Naruto had to stab one of the card sharks' hand into the table while the rest of the group fled out the back door. Finally they found themselves in one last bar at 3 AM.

"CLOSING TIME!" The boys all sang. "ONE LAS SHOT FER AL-CO-HOL and we're WASTIN' TIIIME!"

They all downed one last shot together to end the night on a high note before paying their tabs.

"Thank Christ our parents are rich." Kiba said as he threw down his mother's credit card. His army payment didn't amount to shit.

"I LIKE PIE!" Sakura shouted as she wobbled around. She was so in the bag that she was leaning on both Naruto and Ino.

"Oh man, she's regressed back to her five-year-old self." Ino groaned, being the soberest one of the bunch.

"I'll give you a hand." Naruto offered.

"No, no, I got it. You ought to get back home. Your parents are probably worried sick." Ino said, trusting Naruto, but knowing full well what two blasted 20 somethings would do if they went to bed together. And as hypocritical as it may sound, she knew Sakura would want to be sober for her first time.

"Come on. I can't let two drunk girls walk home alone. Something might happen." Naruto said while trying in vain to balance on his own two feet.

"Fine, but you are taking the couch." Ino said.

"Ggggguuuyyyys, guys, guys, guys..." Sakura hissed.

"What's up?" Ino asked.

"You two should dooooo it..." Sakura giggled.

"Uh...well...I don't think so." Ino said, Naruto agreeing.

"No, no, shut up, now listen..." Sakura held up her finger to Ino's lips. "You're both blond, right?"

"And? I'm not into Naruto like that. No offence." Ino said.

"None taken. Neither am I honestly." Naruto slurred.

"No, shut up, you could do it, and then have babies, and they'd all be blond, and then, and then you could have a master race of blinds, I mean blonds." Sakura deduced.

Ino and Naruto blushed hard.

"S-shut up, forehead. You're drunk." Ino said.

"And you're a slut. Go sleep with a man whose worth it." Sakura slurred, gesturing over to Naruto.

"Oh yea? Then how about you sleep with Naruto? Miss virgin." Ino shot back.

"Well maybe I will...UURRRP!" Sakura belched.

"Now wait a minute...don't I get a say in this?" Naruto asked.

"You're a guy. Be happy that you're even included in sex." Ino snapped.

"Well, I mean..."

"Come on Na-ru-tooo...are you scared of meeee?" Sakura slurred while swaying around a little.

"I'm not scared." Naruto said.

"Nah, you're so scared of talking to me. That you won't even talk to me." Sakura slurred.

That hit a tender nerve with Naruto. "Sakura...there is a reason for that." Naruto said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, you went to war. Everybody went to war. What do ya want, a freaking medal?" Sakura slurred.

"Sakura...stop it." Ino scolded.

Sakura pouted, but it was clear she didn't know what was going on.

"I think I actually am getting a medal." Naruto said to try and change the subject.

"Well that's cool. Seriously, congrats." Ino smiled.

"Yeah thanks. Doesn't seem like that big of a deal. I just did what everyone did." Naruto said.

"Knowing you, you probably did far more."

Naruto blew air out of his cheeks. "Please, you didn't see Choji holding off an advancing Pitter Patter line with only a machine gun while the rest of us ran back to camp to scrounge for ammo. Or Shikamaru leading a fire team around the enemies to capture their own food rations and bring it back to us. Or Neji picking off those three snipers that kept us pinned for two days. Or Lee running back and forth from the line to base camp through artillery fire, grabbing us boots, scissors, fresh bandages, whatever we needed to keep fighting." Naruto said.

"Damn..." Ino breathed out as the cool early morning air hit them.

She kicked up some snow that was still remaining from the last blizzard. Winter always hit hard in the Land of Fire, especially in the north, and always seemed to vanish just as quickly. Some old wives tales said it was because when the God of Fire gave the Fire Daimyo's sovereignty over this vast territory, the Fire God chased winter away so that the peasants could grow more crops to offer to the Gods.

Finally the trio arrived in front of the Uchiha residence.

"Ino...do you think you can handle it from here? I wanna go sleep in my own bed for once." Naruto said.

"Oh yeah, no problem. You sure you can make it home on your own?"

"I'm fine. I have a high tolerance for alcohol as you know."

"Yeah, you certainly haven't lost your touch." Ino giggled.

"Yea...anyway, make sure Sakura-chan gets to bed." Naruto said before he started to walk away. "And...tell her when she wakes up that...I'm sorry...sorry for being so distant. I just have a lot on my mind."

"I will. Don't worry about it. Just get to bed. I've got a feeling that you're about to face the mother of all hangovers." Ino predicted.

"I don't really have hangovers." Naruto called out. "But I know Sakura-chan will."

"Yeah, that'll be fun to wake up to. Good night, Naruto!" Ino waved.

"See ya later." Naruto waved back.

"I-I'm...gonna puke..." Sakura slurred.

"Not on me, you're not. Come on, Forehead." Ino said as she dragged her friend to the front porch.

The girls stumbled inside the house and as soon as the door was safely closed behind them did Naruto feel comfortable heading home himself.

The walk to the Hokage mansion was long and sobering. The freezing winter air keeping the soldier from slipping into deep thoughts. Every time he tried the cool wind would nip his cheeks. It felt so refreshing to not have to think. Just to focus on remembering the directions to his house. Just put one foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. One foot...

'In front of the other! One foot in front of the other!' Naruto thought frantically to himself as he double timed it through the woods. All around him he could hear the sounds of gun fire and cannons going off all around him. Dog Company had reported heavy losses on their left flank. A tank had broken through and was wreaking havoc on the boys. They had run out of bazooka rounds and we're playing a deadly game of whack-a-mole with an enemy tank. The structure of command had long ago broke down and all anyone could do was send men where needed along the front. Naruto had to sprint a mile west of his unit's position and send a rocket launcher right up the enemy tank's ass.

The cold air felt like needles in his lungs, his muscles screamed, every single part of him hurt. The higher part of his brain wanted to stop and rest, but that part was no longer in control. He was no longer a man, he was a tool, a weapon of the Leaf Military Force to be used against their enemies.

There, he saw it, a Panzer Tank, gleefully dancing inside the middle of Dog Company's trenches. Naruto didn't know it, but the men of that Panzer in particular had gone mad with battle frenzy too. A week of constant fighting left them craving blood, the blood of those bastards on the other side of the open plains who had harassed them day and night with mortars and machine gun fire.

Now they were taking revenge. Who cared about breaking through the line and taking the primary objectives? This was war and they were there to kill their enemies.

Naruto fell to his knees and readied the bazooka. He hastily shoved the anti-tank round down the shaft. Machine gun fire raped another poor soul trying to run from one trench to another with better cover.

Naruto aimed his bazooka, he pulled the trigger, and it misfired. Frantically, Naruto worked on removing the dud round from the chamber just as the tank pilot noticed one blond haired G.I. with a rocket launcher. He turned his tank around, the treads ripping up the froze dirt trapped beneath the January snow. Naruto carefully slid the dud round out of the bazooka chamber and reached behind himself for his ammo pack with the spare round. The Panzer took aim with the main gun, wanting to have fun with the foolish little Ranger. He fired and the tree next to Naruto exploded, knocking the man forward on his hands and knees.

Naruto winced as his palms hit the snow like pavement. He blinked. His heart racing. He looked up and the tank was gone. All the trees were gone too. As was Dog Company. Instead, all there was were decorative iron gates keeping any passerby from entering. Looking beyond the gates Naruto could see a resplendently designed mansion sitting atop a pristine hill. He was home.

He could see on the stairs was his father carving a stick. What he was doing out so late was anyone's guess.

Naruto carefully picked himself up and pushed open the gates. Their loud creaking sound made his father look up from his work and see his son walking the long walkway up to the house.

"Naruto? Everything okay, son?" Minato asked.

"I'm..." Naruto said as he began to regain control of his breathing. "I'm okay... I'm home."

Minato was skeptical of his sons claim. Especially when he saw him trying to shoot at nothing with nothing in his hands.

"I think you should come inside. Your mother will want to see you." Minato said, offering his hand to his son.

"I just wanna go to bed if it's all the same..." Naruto said.

"I actually think it would be good if you spoke to her beforehand. She has something she wants to tell you." Minato insisted.

Naruto just sighed. "Alright, fine..."

"She's in the living room. Resting on the couch. Your stuff should be in your room." Minato said.

"Okay. Thanks."

Minato unlocked the front door and let his son enter the house. A dazzling chandelier hanging above him greeted him upon arrival. He took his ratty old boots off and let his bare feet touch the wooden floor. The soles of his feet were covered in aches and scars where blisters kept reforming. Yet the cool wooden panels felt so nice beneath his toes he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"Man does that feel good..." Naruto sighed in content.

"Glad to be home?" Minato asked as he lay his hand upon his son's shoulder. Naruto jumped at the sudden touch and withdrew his trench knife. He spun around and aimed it at his father who just caught his wrist, the blade mere centimeters from his neck.

"Glad to see you remember your basic training. Although I could have sworn you were supposed to turn in all your weapons to the armory before entering the city." Minato smiled, trying to laugh off the whole situation.

The look of fury on Naruto's face was replaced with terrifying fear when he realized what he had almost done. The next sound they heard was the metal blade hitting the floor. Minato then noticed that it was the knife he had given Naruto that had been in their family for generations.

"Ah, of course you wouldn't give that one up." Minato said as he carefully picked up the three-pronged kunai with the inscription written on the side meant to be ninjutsu seal of some kind. Historians claimed that this kunai was once used by the 4th Hokage to teleport, the man Minato happened to be named after. It had been passed down from father to son, from one clan to the next. More often than not falling into the hands of the man or woman who would become Hokage. Such as the 7th Hokage, who was the son of the 4th; and then to the 9th Hokage, the 7th's daughter-in-law and the first Uchiha to be granted the title of Hokage. From the 14th Hokage onward, the kunai seemed to lose its power, or more accurately, those who could wield it fell out of favor to those who could lead through diplomacy and trade. Yet the kunai still retained its almost mystical charm of falling into the hands of those who would one day lead the Leaf and lead it well.

In the present day, it had fallen into the hands of Kushina's revitalized Uzumaki clan and she had gifted it to Minato on their wedding day. Sure enough, that very month the 24th Hokage of the Leaf made the surprise announcement that he was retiring and named Minato as his successor. Then nine months to the day of Minato's inauguration, the Leaf welcomed its newest First Son; Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki.

Naruto started visibly shaking and hyperventilating. He had almost killed his own father with their family heirloom.

"Calm down, son. It's alright..." Minato said softly.

Naruto reached out his hands and tried to hug his father.

"Breath son, just breath." Minato ordered. It took a few moments, but Naruto finally regained control of himself, but not without making a fuss in the hallway.

"Is that Naruto?" He heard a soft voice call out. He turned to see his mother rushing down the stairs to greet him. Her mid length and vibrant red hair flowing as she ran.

"Naruto?" She called out again, like she couldn't believe what was right in front of her. She looked terribly distraught like she had spent all night waiting for her son to return, which of course she had.

Naruto gulped back his fears and stood up straight. "Mother..." He said softly, praying that this wouldn't turn into another big scene.

Kushina looked hurt for being so formally called mother instead of mom or mama. The earlier outburst the two of them had shared back in the Uchiha household didn't help matters either.

"Mother, listen..." Naruto tried to speak, but Kushina cut him off.

"Before you say anything I need to say something first. I am so sorry for shouting at you earlier. I just...I hadn't seen you in months. I don't know what came over me. Seeing you in those clothes, all banged up, you looked like a completely different person. I don't know what I was thinking, I just wanted to see my baby again and to know that your safe. I don't want to finally see you again and have us both be angry so can we please just forget about earlier and I can hug you and tuck you into bed and then make you ramen for breakfast in the morning?" Kushina begged with mom level puppy dog eyes, the most resolve shattering gaze known to man.

"Mom..." Naruto said, acting embarrassed.

"Please, Naruto, please..." She begged, wanting nothing more than to be forgiven. "You were right, I overreacted. I just want to know my baby boy is safe." She cried.

"Alright mom...It's okay..." Naruto said before hugging his mother.

"Is that Naruto?" He heard another soft voice call out. He turned to see his 14-year-old sister Karin rushing down the stairs to greet him. Her mid length and vibrant red hair flowing as she ran.

"Hey sis." Naruto greeted by untangling his arm from his mother to wave at his sister.

She looked at him and immediately joined in the hug by glomping both Naruto and Kushina, nearly knocking them over.

"Idiot! You had mom worried sick and therefore made me be worried sick!" Karin cried out.

"Easy there, Karin. Naruto has been through a lot this past year." Minato chuckled.

"You think I haven't? Mom spends all day listening to the news, Dad's always at work, and Konohamaru keeps nagging at me to write you letters on his behalf! Nobody cares how I feel!" Karin whined, making Naruto chuckle.

"I missed you too, sis." Naruto said as he messed up her hair. Karin just pouted instead of slapping away her brother's hand like she always would.

"Did you ask Sakura out yet?" Karin asked, catching Naruto completely off guard.

"Wha- When have I ever asked Sakura-chan out?" Naruto cried, turning back into the annoyed older brother.

"I don't know. How many times have you been rejected?" Karin asked, making every burn doctor in the Leaf sit up awake in their beds.

"Okay, as much as I would love this family bonding time, I would much rather go to bed and catch up tomorrow morning." Naruto said as he tried to slip out of his loving family's grip. "Or afternoon. Whenever it is that I wake up."

"Did you want something to eat first?" Kushina asked.

"No thank you. I'm... pretty sure I had something solid to eat since Itachi's ramen." Naruto said.

"Well...Okay then. What would you like for breakfast?"

"Anything made by you in great quantities would be amazing." Naruto said.

"Then I'll cook us up a breakfast feast. All of us." Kushina declared.

"That would be awesome." Naruto yawned.

"What about me? Don't I have to go to school tomorrow?" Karin asked.

"Of course not. We're taking a family day off tomorrow. So that means no school." Kushina declared.

"Sweet! Thanks mom!" Karin squealed with joy.

Kushina smiled and then looked at Naruto, whom she had just made plans for. Naruto looked at her and realized she needed this just as bad as he did.

"A family day off sounds great." Naruto stated. God knows he could let his liver rest.

"Good. Now all of you get to bed." Kushina ordered.

"Yes mom." Naruto and Karin said in sync. The two marched upstairs while Kushina and Minato remained.

"I'm gonna have to order another psych eval for our boy..." Minato said softly.

"What are you talking about? Our son isn't crazy." Kushina hissed, offended by the very notion.

"No...But he's showing strong signs of PTSD. Outside I saw him trying to shoot things that weren't there with nothing in his hands and just a few moments ago when I put my hand on his shoulder he almost slit my throat. I thought that was just a reflex, but the look of fury and hatred on his face and then the look of horror afterwards told me otherwise..."

Kushina covered her mouth to try and hide the look of horror on her own face. Her eyes snapped up the stairs where her first born son was getting ready for bed. "It can't be. It just can't. He's tired. That's all he is. Some good night's sleep and several real meals and he will be back to normal. You'll see." Kushina declared.

"I hope you're right...I really do..." Minato sighed with a heavy heart. In reality, he had seen many a man with the same symptoms and it never really mended in those men. He hoped that his own flesh and blood wouldn't have to go through the same pain.

After brushing his teeth and finally changing out of his nasty skivvies into a fresh pair of his own civilian boxers, Naruto went to bed. He turned on the light to his room and by God, everything was exactly the same as when he'd left it. Posters from all the baseball players Naruto liked, a few movie posters he had seen, a desk for schoolwork, some books, his catcher's mitt and baseball bat, some knick knacks from the rare family vacations or gifts from foreign diplomats to appease Naruto's father through him, and there in the middle of it all was Naruto's queen sized bed. He pulled back the covers and sure enough the maid had put on fresh winter sheets. Naruto gave a soft smile knowing that he would finally be sleeping in his own bed. Warm and safe.

Naruto crawled underneath the covers and fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.

---

Back at the Uchiha residence, Ino was currently holding Sakura's hair back while the latter was vomiting her guts out in the toilet.

"Sigh...I told you to take it easy, Forehead..." Ino sighed as Sakura hocked one last was of bile into the toilet.

"Okay, you're right, you did, I'm sorry." Sakura begged, praying that confessing her sins would placate the god of alcohol poisoning.

"You done ralphing or do I need to prepare for round 2?" Ino asked sarcastically.

"I think so. I have no more food left in my body. I have nothing left to give." Sakura whined as she hugged her porcelain friend.

"Good to hear. Now, let's get you cleaned up." Ino said as she helped Sakura to sit on her butt.

"Ino...Do you think...Naruto and I have a chance...Together?" Sakura asked as Ino was wetting a wash cloth, who suddenly stopped upon hearing that.

"Well that was out of the blue. What made you say or even think that all of a sudden?" Ino asked in mild shock.

"I don't know. You know how I always used to reject his offers for dates, right?"

"Yea it was a normal thing." Ino said before bringing out the cloth.

"Maybe...I should take him up on his offer."

"Really? Just like that?" Ino asked as she handed Sakura the wet cloth.

"Well no. Not just like that. It's just...when I saw Naruto for the first time...he looked, I don't know, handsome?" Sakura said, not know the right way to put this.

"True...He has gotten that air about him recently." Ino agreed.

"Right? And the way he talks. He's so serious now, but I can feel so much pain coming off of him. I just want to take away that pain for him. Get back to the old Naruto." Sakura said.

"Wait, I thought you didn't like the old Naruto. Hence all the rejected dates." Ino pointed out.

"Well Naruto was always sweet. And awkward. Almost to the point of being dorky. I think I want him to be somewhere in the middle ground." Sakura admitted with a blush. "Is that selfish of me?"

Ino just smiled. "Not at all." She said before sighing. "But I agree. Something about this war messed with his melon...Honestly, I don't like seeing him like this."

"Neither do I. He's Naruto. He's supposed to be cracking lame jokes, pulling pranks, eating junk food, smiling that big stupid grin of his..." Sakura said as she imagined the last time she saw it. One year ago when Naruto and Sasuke were about to leave for training and Naruto promised her that he would keep Sasuke safe and win the entire war so that they could all come home. The memory of that ear to ear grin made her smile too.

"I guess you really don't know what you have until you lose it." Ino said.

Then the realization hit Sakura like a ton of bricks. "Wait a minute. That's it!"

"What's it?"

"A year ago, Naruto made me a promise that he would keep Sasuke safe. But when he was killed, he feels like he broke that promise. That's why he won't even look at me!"

"Um, are you sure about that?" Ino asked.

"100% sure. If I know Naruto, he is blaming himself that Sasuke is dead and that he feels like he broke that promise to me. That's why he's in such a funk."

"Sweet Sage you sobered up quick." Ino pointed out.

"Heh, sober or not, I'm still the smartest person you know." Sakura smirked.

"Excluding Shikamaru, and I hate to burst your bubble, but I think you're simplifying this too much." Ino stated.

"Well it's either that or he's got PTSD. Which I kinda picked up on that almost immediately. But I'm sure this has a lot to do with it."

"Sakura, you might be the physical health genius, but don't forget, I am the mental health genius." Ino reminded her. "It's never just one thing."

"Trust me on this...You know my gut feelings are usually right and my gut is screaming to me that this is what's causing his funk."

"Either that, or your gut is screaming at you because you drank too much." Ino snickered.

"Eat me." Sakura said as she was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea.

"Uh oh...HAIR!" Sakura yelled before she reached for the toilet.

Ino grabbed her friend's hair and watched her dry heave into the toilet some more.

---

Author's Note from Panda: And just like that, we're done with chapter 1 of our Valentine's Day Special. As previously stated, these chapters are raw and written back to back. So, expect a few mistakes as well as super fast updates. Like, one per day. Please review to tell us what you think. Point out any inconsistencies we may have written.