Aneko: Hi again…I think I don't have a life outside of anime and cheesy romance stuffs…I think I may have a serious problem…

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Heartache-Chapter one

One hyperactive ninja, Naruto Uzumaki, ran down the streets of Konoha, searching for a pink-haired girl.

"Naruto!"

He screeched to a halt as he was passing Ichiraku ramen. Hinata had called to him from behind the curtains. She blushed as his eyes fell upon her.

"Oh, hey Hinata!" A grin lit up his foxy face. "How's it going?"

"Oh! U-um, I'm fine. D-do you want to…have some ramen…with me?" She almost couldn't get the request out from between trembling lips, feeling faint.

"Hey, that sounds—No, wait!" Naruto shook his head, trying to look serious and clear his head of the thought of ramen, which was impossible. "I've gotta find Sakura! Have you seen her anywhere Hinata? It's really important!"

"N-no, I haven't, b-but she might be at Ino's flower shop."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Naruto raced off again. Hinata sighed, her shoulders slumping a bit in defeat. Shino adjusted his glasses as Kiba patted her shoulder.

"It's okay, Hinata. Better luck next time."

"Y-yeah."

"So I was talking to Shikamaru about it, and he just goes, 'Troublesome woman!' Can you believe him? Ugh, I swear, he is the laziest—"

Sakura smiled as she kept half-listening to Ino's rant. She picked up another vase, filling it with water and putting in a new colorful bouquet.

"—And then he fell asleep. Can you believe it, Sakura?" Ino asked, throwing her hands in the air. "Ugh, men!" She finished her little rant with a dramatic sigh, flopping down over the sales counter.

Sakura just laughed and carried the flowers back over to the counter. She was about to set them down when someone loud came running down the street, yelling her name.

"Bet you that's one of two people, and they're both annoying," Ino said into the counter bellow her head.

"SAKURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Naruto ran up, his arms pin-wheeling.

"Hi Naruto," Sakura said, smiling at the energetic blonde.

"Yup," Ino said, "it just had to be the more annoying one. What do you want?"

"No, listen, it's important! Guys, Sasuke's back!"

WHAT?"

Sakura froze, saying nothing, but Ino was up in an instant, pestering Naruto for details.

"What? When? How? Where is he? Is the Hokage giving him a huge punishment?"

Naruto raised his hands in defense, backing away a bit from Ino's onslaught. "Whoa, easy. He was brought back by yours truly, naturally. We brought him in about an hour ago. Old lady Tsunade's probably giving him the lecture of a lifetime right about now." Naruto put his hands behind his head, looking smug.

"No way— you brought him back? How'd an idiot like you manage to beat Sasuke?"

"HEY!" They glared at each other.

Clunk!

The two paused to look in surprise at Sakura. She had set down the vase a little too hard on the counter, the water inside sloshing out a bit.

"That's great, Naruto!" She said, the false cheeriness obvious in her voice and the fake smile wide nearly to breaking, "Tell him I said hi!"

"Uh, wait, you're not going to visit him?" Naruto asked in confusion, watching her as she headed for the door.

"Maybe tomorrow," Sakura said, before exiting, the store bell clanging harshly behind her.

"I don't get it," Naruto said, dumbfounded, "I thought she'd be really happy. She said she loves him, doesn't she want to go visit him?"

"You idiot!" Ino said, conking him over the head.

"OW! Hey!"

Ino ignored his complaint, turning back to watch her friend's retreating back. "It's not that she doesn't love him. It's just that she's trying to keep her heart from hurting."

Sakura held it together well on the way home, making her fake smile look a little less fake. But when she got home, and retreated to the safety of her room, she took a deep breath and let the sobs come hard. Sobs she had been holding in since the day Sasuke left. Her face was muffled by her pillow, letting her tears get soaked into the comforting fabric.

When she had cried all the tears her body could give, she felt exhaustion setting in, and she welcomed a sweet sleep.

"Sakura."

Sakura turned, looking for the source of the voice which haunted her dreams. It was so achingly familiar. Yet when he appeared before her, holding out a hand to her, his onyx eyes boring into hers, she turned and ran.

Why am I running away? She asked herself, but she didn't dare stop. Something compelled her to keep going, to get away from him.

"Sakura."

No! Why do I dream of him? He'll never love me. Never. Never. Never.

Sakura woke up with puffy red eyes and a runny nose. It always felt good to cry, but the aftereffects were devastating…

She took a shower, doing the best she could to make herself look presentable. After all, she couldn't go out with a fake smile if it wasn't convincing. And being a ninja, she was skilled in the art of deception.

She had hardly set foot out of the house when Naruto appeared.

"Sakura, Old Lady Tsunade wants to see you."

"Okay. I was on my way there anyways. Thanks, Naruto."

Naruto watched her make her way to the Hokage's Tower.

"It's just that she's trying to keep her heart from hurting."

His face grew sad. "Whatever you do, Sasuke, don't break her heart again." He murmured.

"You wanted to see me?" Sakura asked as she stood before the Hokage.

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork. "Sakura. Thanks for coming." She didn't look too happy, in all actuality. "Sakura, I need you to do something for me…"

"W-what is it?" A terrible feeling settled deep in the pit of her stomach. She could tell this was going to be something she wasn't going to like.

"Sakura…" Tsunade sighed. "Here's the thing…You know Naruto brought Sasuke back, right?" Sakura nodded. "I guess he didn't tell you that Sasuke's been in the hospital since then."

"What?" Sakura bit her lip. "That stupid…he could have told me that first."

"Yes."

"How bad is it?"

"Intensive care unit."

Sakura drew in a sharp breath. She had only been to the intensive care unit a couple times, delivering messages to other medics. It still gave her nightmares sometimes. Sasuke was there? And she thought she had been prepared.

"Sakura…Naruto told me you don't want to see him, but he's in a lot of danger currently, and I need you to go take care of him."

"Lady Tsunade, please, I…" Sakura whispered, her knees weak.

"Sakura, I know you don't want to. Believe me, I wish I didn't have to. But I've already got Shizune working on him with a team of the best. But you've been working with me for quite some time. I won't lie, you're one of the best now."

Sakura felt a thrill go through her at the compliment, but the prospect of the task Tsunade had given was still weighing her down.

"Sakura, It's just until he's out of the danger zone. Please. I'm not about to let him die. He probably won't even wake up while you're there."

Sakura walked with heavy steps down the hall. Each sound her shoe made on the polished tiles made her chest feel heavier.

She knew the room he would be in. It was the largest room in the intensive care unit. The hallway was eerily quiet, and Sakura found herself creeping down it on tiptoe.

She hardly recognized the man who lay on the bed. He was hooked up to tubes and machines of all sorts, beeps from various monitors echoing around. A cloth covered in medical seals was placed over his face, hiding his eyes. More seals were written on his bare chest, which, though there was no physical wound on it, probably had some internal bleeding. Several medics were watching the monitors, including Shizune.

"Sakura, I'm so glad you're here!" She gasped. She was holding some sort of jutsu by the edge of Sasuke's bed with another medic. "Please, take this one's place, he's been here too long. If he doesn't move soon he'll collapse."

Despite her hesitation over seeing Sasuke, Sakura's training kicked in, and she took her place at the end of the bed, dismissing the grateful man. She knew the jutsu Shizune was using; Tsunade had made her memorize many over and over again until they were ingrained in her head like her ABC's.

They stood there holding the jutsu for longer than Sakura could imagine. Shizune was forced to switch out, too tired to continue, but Sakura kept going, her chakra reserves still fresh.

When it was finally over, the massive amount of chakra she had expended left her drowsy and weak, her normally sure hands shaking from exhaustion. She made her way to a chair and collapsed into it. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

Back up in the Hokage's office, Tsunade sat in her chair, observing the village. A knock sounded on her door, and she summoned them in. It was Shizune.

"So? How did it go?"

Shizune bowed her head a bit. "Lady Tsunade, Sasuke Uchiha has been pulled out of the biggest danger…"

Tsunade let out a loud, pent-up sigh. "Good. I swear, these kids take years off my life." She began hunting around for some sake in celebration.

"But Lady Tsunade, there's something else."

Aneko: A dead fic being re-done, re-mastered, getting a facelift, whatever you want to say. I'm fixing it because it's old. Not too much, though. Because it's not as old as others. I was just in the mood for this one.