Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It will always belong to Kishi. No matter how many times I sit around and sulk about how much I wish that I owned it…

This fic is based on some time after Pain's invasion. Sasuke invaded Konaha and Naruto managed to drive him off, but not without losing control of the Kyuubi in the process. The village elders began to fear that Naruto would be a danger to their village if he didn't get himself under control and they sent him away to a training camp. When Naruto returns, Sakura and the rest of Naruto's friends realize that he's acting strange. How can they find out what went on in the mysterious camp? And, more importantly, how can they bring Naruto back to his old self?

Please note that Sasuke won't really have a part in this fic (other than a few brief mentions). I just used his invasion as a reason for Naruto to turn Kyuubi…lol.

This is my first story, so I'm sorry if it's rushed or too slow or something like that. I just really wanted to try this story out. Thanks for readin'!

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This is just the intro. The next chapter will probably be longer. Although, I can't really make any guarantees…

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Back To Me

It was another beautiful morning in Konoha as Sakura awoke to see the sun kiss the mountain peaks that surrounded her village. The birds sang and a gentle morning breeze floated in from her small window.

She didn't know when or why she had started to wake up so early in the morning. After all, her shift at the hospital didn't start until eight. 'Maybe it's because I like getting things done early,' she told herself. But she knew that wasn't the truth. Sleep just didn't come to her like it used to. If she ever got a wink of sleep at night it was because she had taken some sleeping pills. She usually stared at the ceiling thinking about how many failed surgeries that she had participated in and what she could've have done differently that would've made them a success.

How many times had Tsunadae told her that it wasn't her fault? How many times had Ino reassured her that the patient wasn't healthy to begin with? How many times had Lee taken her out to eat in a feeble attempt to cheer her up? How many times had she picked up the picture of her Team 7 and absently watched her tears caress the dusty frame?

She'd lost count.

It wasn't like she didn't want to be cheered up. Really, she did. But, something inside her stopped her from feeling truly happy every time.

So the realquestion was: What was bothering her?

Was it the loss of Sasuke? Was it the failed surgeries? Was it the lack of sleep? Or, dare she think it, Naruto…?

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since she'd seen him last. Maybe two or three years. The years during his absence just…blended together. She could remember vividly the day that he left…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura didn't like the way that Shikamaru sounded when he told her that the council needed to speak with Naruto. She really didn't like the way he sounded when he told her that they wanted her at the meeting also. But she reluctantly obeyed. Something about his voice tone told her that he wasn't in the mood to be tampered with.

Naruto smiled widely as she approached. "SAKURA-CHAN!"

He probably thinks I'm joining him for a date or something, she thought to herself.

"The council needs to speak with you," Sakura told Naruto, who was busily eating a bowl of ramen at Ichirakus.

"Eh. Sakura-chan, I thought the council was having a meeting," Naruto groaned.

"They are. They need you and me to attend."

"WHAT?! NO! You know I hate meetings," Naruto protested, standing up in front of her. "All the members of the council blame me for the Kyuubi's attack and they all claim that I don't know enough about the village to participate. Stupid council..." Her reply was far more somber than he expected.

"This meeting's different."

So Naruto followed Sakura to the Hokage's tower without a reply. He realized the moment that he walked in that Sakura was right - this meeting was infinitely different. Naruto quietly took a seat next to Shikamaru. Naruto never spoke much around the council; he knew they hated him because he was a Jinchuuriki. It was a fact that was impossible to avoid. He hoped that this meeting wouldn't last long.

Once Naruto and Sakura were seated, there was a pregnant pause. Everyone seemed to think that someone else was preparing to speak. But Danzou, being the new Hokage, took the matter into his own hands.

"Alright, Naruto, I'm just going to be frank here. I think you need to leave the village for a while to get yourself straightened out." he stated calmly, almost sure of what he thought Naruto's reaction would be. However, Naruto stayed seated; he was shocked. To everyone's surprise, Shikamaru snapped.

"Just what exactly are you planning to do with him, Danzou?" he asked angrily.

"I'm going to send him away for a while. There's a nice training camp for...troubled ninja in Tori, the hidden bird village (A/N: I know NOTHING about this place. I just found it on a list of villages on Naruto and thought it sounded cool ^_^). It may be kind of remote, but he obviously needs some time away. We can't risk him losing control again," Danzou replied calmly, unaffected by the glares he was receiving from Sakura, Shikamaru, and Shikaku.

"WHAT? What have I done to bring this on myself?" Naruto yelled. Danzou chuckled coldly to himself.

"I think you know perfectly well what you've done," he replied matter-of-factly, "and the whole village is afraid of what you might do next time." Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it. He couldn't collect his thoughts.

"This is unreasonable, Danzou," Shikaku retorted. "The boy saved our village from one of it's biggest threats and all you can do is send him away because of oneflaw." Danzou immediately stood up.

"-A FLAW THAT ALMOST COST US OUR ENTIRE VILLAGE," he screamed. Naruto inwardly recoiled. He had told himself the same thing thousands of times, but it stung so much more to hear someone else say it.

"But we need him to...help protect our village," Sakura said, her voice cracking from emotion.

"We'll be fine without him for a while," an ANBU member stated emotionlessly.

"A while?" Naruto was worried about how long he would have to be away from home.

"A few years maybe," Danzou seemed unsure himself. "They have specialists in Tori; they'll know when he's ready to return."

** ~~~~~~~~~~Next Week~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

The council had allowed Naruto one week to get his things together and prepare to leave. But he would've been better off to leave the day of the meeting. He hated the way that the villagers treated him. 'Even after all that I did for them,' he thought.

Naruto was putting the last of his things together when the rest of Rookie Nine showed up to escort him out of the village. It seemed like no one trusted him anymore. He began to think that maybe Danzou was right about sending him away, but he wouldn't allow himself to believe that.

"Need any help?" Kiba asked, looking all around the room to avoid eye contact.

"No. I'm fine, thanks." It wasn't like they weren't trying to help him. Several of them had offered to take Naruto out for ramen in the past week; he had gladly accepted. But it just wasn't the same. He knew they wished that they could object to Danzou's wishes, but they were powerless. Danzou was theHokage. So, even when his best friends joined him at his very favorite restaurant, he couldn't really say that he had a 'good' time. And he couldn't help but feel that it was his fault. After all, if he wouldn't have lost control of the Kyuubi, this wouldn't be happening.

"Well, I guess I'll be going now," Naruto said, forcing a smile, "It's gonna be a long journey."

"Are you sure that you don't want one of us to accompany you?" Shikamaru asked. His eyes almost begged for Naruto to say 'Come with me!'. But Naruto had already objected to the idea. He hated goodbyes. He didn't want to say goodbye to the villagers (the ones that liked him, that is) and say goodbye to his friends after the journey too. It was best to get it all over with now.

He shook his head, "No, I think I'll do fine alone. Thanks, though." Shikamaru nodded and gave him a pat on the back. They had become close friends since Jiraya's death. Shikamaru had frequently come to visit Naruto to make sure that he was handling things okay. Naruto was thankful to have such a good friend. But, then again, that made it so much harder to leave.

Sakura tried to smile, but her bottom lip trembled. This was harder than last time he had left. They'd helped each other through a lot of things since then. They were on the same team, after all. She inwardly cursed herself for not trying hard enough to protest against Danzou. "H-have a g-good time," she said, finally meeting his eyes, "We'll miss you." 'I'll miss you…'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~END FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that was it. She didn't hug him; she didn't cry in his arms and hold his hand until he left; she just watched him leave. And then she went in her room and cried. It wasn't like when Sasuke left. Then she had lost the fairytale ending that she'd always dreamed of.

No. This time she went home and cried all night long. The years to come brought no relief. It was more difficult for her to hold herself together when she didn't have a shoulder to lean on.

It didn't make sense for her to be that way. She knew that he was coming back in a few years. Maybe it was the villagers comments about how horrible Naruto was that bothered her. Or maybe it was just the loneliness of losing both of her team members. Or maybe that strange feeling in the pit of her stomach was the problem, but what exactly did the feeling mean?

Then, as she glanced at her calendar, she realized that relief might finally come. Because there, on this exact Monday, she had written, 'Naruto comes back'. She couldn't believe it! Today, he was coming back! Naruto Uzumaki was coming back. Her best friend was going to be there for her again. And, though she'd been strong while he was gone, she was ready for him to come home.

'Naruto...you have no idea how much I've missed you.'

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I know! I know!! It's SO cliché, right? Plus, the end kinda concludes too quickly, but whatever. I just had to get the flashback part of the story out of the way. Sakura will cheer up when Naruto gets back, okay? I mean, she missed her best friend. You can't blame her! Sorry if my writing is kinda somber. I'll try to get some humor in here and there, okay? But this fic will be kindof emotional. And the rest of Rookie 9 are gonna play a big part in it too… just cuz I love 'em.

Thanks for reading. Please review and what not…XD

~Smiley~