Disclaimer: Naruto and its associated works do not belong to me. I'm just playing in the sandbox created by Masashi Kishimoto

A/N:Slight edits to this chapter, particularly Narumi's eye colour.

Konoha, a month until the beginning of the Fourth Great Shinobi war.

From the beginning of her Academy days, Haruno Sakura loved Uchiha Sasuke with all her heart, mind, and soul. If asked now, she would say she was shallow – she loved him because he was broody, and mysterious; that she loved him for his onyx eyes and jet-black hair. In fact, every girl in the Academy had been obsessed with him to the point where everything he did was swoon worthy.

"SASUKE-KUUUUUN!" they would scream; some would even faint.

Of course, he didn't return the 'affections' of any of the Kunoichi in training; but that endeared him even more to the girls. But Sakura saw herself in the lead for his love… she even broke off her friendship with her best friend, Yamanaka Ino. If anyone asked Sakura about that later in her life, she'd say that she was a bitch to Ino – she would speak in a voice etched with regret and sorrow at having cut off her friendship with teh Yamanaka clan heiress for such petty reasons.

But Sakura loved Sasuke so much that she was even willing to leave Konoha with him; an admittedly foolish thing she would admit to in later years. She loved him so much that she begged the boy she would grow to care for and love just as intensely later on in her life to bring him back to Konoha during the Sasuke Retrieval Mission.

"Please bring Sasuke-kun back, Naruto," Sakura sobbed as tears cascaded down her face. Sakura would cringe years later when she remembered how she acted when she was a child.

But the child Sakura still loved Sasuke so much that her heart broke when she heard he had really defected after a vicious battle against Naruto at the Valley of the End.

She loved Sasuke so much, at the same time thinking of herself as weak and far removed from Naruto who had to protect her, that she trained under the Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade, to get stronger – physically, emotionally, and mentally. Eventually she would be known as a medic ninja on par with Tsunade herself, and just as strong, and just as beautiful - eventually she would prove to herself that she hadn't changed as much as she hoped. Her everlasting regret would be her inability to kill Sasuke when she had the chance at the Samurai Bridge in the Land of Iron. It was an act that would have repercussions on her and Naruto months later. But it was Sakura's love for the Uchiha traitor that stayed her hand - it would be something that she would overcome, but it would be too late.

Over time, following Sasuke's defection to Orochimaru, and Naruto's return from training with the Toad Hermit, Jiraiya, Sakura began growing closer to the orange clad blonde. The very person she used to think as the dead last, the prank prince of Konoha, the moron, and the reckless ninja - Uzumaki Naruto.

Uzumaki Naruto. He was a man that Sakura never thought she would ever grow to love. Years ago, she once told Sasuke that Naruto was responsible for interfering in her love for the former. When Naruto would always ask for dates, she would say no… sometimes so loudly that it would cause nearby birds to flee. But Naruto never stopped asking. Eventually, especially after Sasuke's defection, Sakura found herself growing closer to the blonde. Over time, they became more than simple teammates… they became best friends. And then before realizing it, the two of them became more than best friends but not lovers. They cared deeply for one another – Naruto swore to bring Sasuke back, and Sakura swore to fight alongside Naruto; especially upon discovering that Akatsuki was collecting the Tailed Beasts, and Naruto was the container of the Kyuubi. But that didn't matter to Sakura, Naruto was her special person, and she would do everything she could to keep him safe.

Sakura began caring for Naruto, more than she knew she should; and she didn't care. The loud and rambunctious blonde haired Ninja, over time, started to take over parts of her heart that she had once reserved for Sasuke alone. The parts of her heart that belonged to Naruto started to grow; and before she realized it, Sakura found out she loved two people in her life.

One was Sasuke – the last Uchiha and current traitor. And then there was Naruto – the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, the Hero of Konoha, the son of the Yondaime Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.

And then, years after Sasuke defected, war had come. The Fourth Great Ninja War led to the combined strength of all five major nations against the forces of the Akatsuki, the latter led by an Edo Tensei Uchiha Madara, and Uchiha Obito.

It would be a month before the war officially began, a week before Sakura and her medical team were due to head out to the rear of the main battles, that Naruto was supposed to be sent to Turtle Island where he would train with the Eight Tails Jinchuuriki, Killer Bee. It was supposed to be a S-Ranked mission with the sole purpose to keep Naruto and Killer Bee out of the war since they were Akatsuki's targets.

Let it be known that reality slit apart into untold number of roads because of what happened before Naruto left – in every reality, Naruto should have simply said goodbye to his best friend and crush, an action that would have led to various different future. Instead, in this current reality, Naruto admitted his feelings to the pink haired medic following a particularly vivid and violent nightmare that chilled him to the bone.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said that fateful day, his feet shuffling on the hallway floor outside her open door as the two faced each other, "I… I mean do you remember in the Land of Iron, under the Samurai Bridge… I told you..." He wanted to ask Sakura if she remembered what he told Sasuke that day - that when the two of them met next, either one... or the both of them would die. But Sakura interrupted him before he could finish.

"Uh huh," Sakura said as she stepped aside and motioned for Naruto to come into her apartment. As Naruto stepped into her apartment, she continued to speak, "Naruto, I can't forget about how much I hurt you that day, and I apologized to everyone… but you know how much I regretted what I did to you, and…" But Naruto shook his head and stopped Sakura from speaking by what he said next.

"I… I don't think I'm coming back from this…" Sakura remembered seeing the look of sorrow in his eyes as she slammed the door closed and strode towards the blonde. She placed her hands on his shoulders and shook him.

"Don't you dare say that," Sakura then gently pushed him back before pointing a finger at him, "don't you dare ever say anything like that. You are coming back… we are going to get Sasuke-kun back and…" Sakura closed her eyes and shook her head before opening to find Naruto looking down at the floor, his arms hanging limply by his sides, his fingers pointed downwards, "you are coming back, Naruto. You will be our Hokage, you will have everyone…"

"I just need you to acknowledge me, Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered looking back at her, "my dream is to become Hokage, but… but if I can't… if I can't… have that, then having you acknowledge me…"

"What happened to the kid sitting in the Academy who used to shout he was going to be the Hokage?" Sakura asked gently as she formed a small smile on her face before taking a step forward and placing her hands on his shoulders, "Naru…"

"I… I had a weird dream last night and…"

"A dream?" Sakura asked wondering if that was what seemed to have Naruto slightly trembling.

"It was so vivid," Naruto whispered, looking away from Sakura whose hands were still on his shoulders, "I… I don't know if we win the war or anything but… but I dreamt that Sasuke and I fought. The fighting was so bad that… that it changed the landscape around us and.."

"It was a dream, Naruto," Sakura assured him. The boy looked back into her eyes, and she could see from the look in his eyes and the pained expression on his face, that he was telling the truth – that whatever dream he had was really vivid, "dreams don't just…"

"I saw you," Naruto whispered before Sakura could finish. He raised his arm and placed his hand gently on her left cheek while his vision started to blur thanks to welling tears. He recalled the end of his dream as he spoke, "you were crying… I don't know why…"

"Naruto."

Sakura felt his thumb gently rubbing her cheek, and she liked the warmth from his hand. But Naruto continued.

"I think I was lying down, I think you hand one arm under my back, and you were crying… I saw blood on your face and… and there was blood on your hands…"

"Naruto, stop." Sakura's eyes started to well up with tears as she saw the seriousness in his eyes.

"You were telling me not to die, that you were going to…"

"I said stop!" Sakura exclaimed as she grabbed the hand on her cheek, and then pulled it away while a tear fell down from the edges of her eyes. But she didn't let go of his hand; instead, she held onto it tightly as she said, "you are coming home to Konoha. You, me, and Sasuke-kun are coming back to Konoha and…"

"Promise me one thing," Naruto interrupted her in a voice that was laced with so much sorrow that her heart ached, "if I don't…"

"Damn it, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed. She was getting pissed off now. This wasn't the Naruto she knew… the one she knew would never give up. The one she knew would fight against all the odds and come out on top – but the Naruto in front of her sounded as if he knew he was fated to die. That everything he told Neji during their fight in the Chuunin Exams years ago was a lie. And that is exactly what Sakura told Naruto before continuing to say, "I want my Naruto back. I don't recognise the Naruto standing in front of me… talking about something so ridiculous that…"

"If you ever cared about me… if you were ever my friend," Naruto said stepping forward and placing his hands on the sides of her head, his fingers sweeping into her silky pink hair. All Sakura could so was look in his eyes as he stepped closer, "promise me something. Sakura-chan, if you ever saw me as something more than a simple teammate…."

"You're someone I care about, you dumbass!" Sakura exclaimed as she placed her hands on his upper arms, "why do you think I'm so mad right now? The Naruto I know would never give up, would never give into so-called fate. The Naruto I know inspires people to be better, to become more than they could ever be. Where is that Naruto?"

Sakura saw Naruto take a deep breath before he gave her one of his one million ryo smiles, "I'm right here, Sakura-chan." She knew it was fake, the smile never reached his eyes before she shook her head.

"Naruto," she whispered.

Naruto slowly lost the smile in his face and whispered, with a crack in his voice, "I'll never break that promise I made you, Sakura-chan. I'll get the Teme home to you… I know our fight… I know our fight will see us using our ultimate jutsu's, and…" he then took in a deep breath, "you know right? You know that when our fists connect with each other, we will know what's in our hearts. He may kill me, but I know our fight will change him, Sakura-chan."

"Naruto…"

"But I have this bad feeling I won't be coming back, and…" Naruto shook his head and asked her to listen when the pink haired medic was about to interrupt him. When she nodded her head, Naruto took that as a signal for him to continue, "and I… I swear to you that I will do everything possible for him to come home. But the dream I had was so… so real that…" Naruto then took in a deep breath and steadied his breathing while looking back at Sakura with a serious look on his face. Naruto recalled the dream, or nightmare, he didn't know what to call it. He clearly remembered Sakura sobbing her eyes out. Naruto stared in her jade orbs now, and whispered, "you will have him back, Sakura-chan."

"Naruto." Sakura stared at the blonde with a stunned look on her face, "swear to me that you will come back alive. No matter what happens, you will come back alive."

Naruto pressed his lips together as he stared into her jade coloured eyes and whispered, "I feel as if... I feel it in my bones that I'm going to die."

"You're not going to die, you…"

"Will you forgive me if I break that promise?" Naruto asked again, his voice cracking, "Sakura-chan…"

"I will not say anything!" Sakura yelled shaking her head, as she pulled away from Naruto, tears streaming down her face as the blonde looked away and wiped his eyes "why are you… Damn it, Naruto, you're scaring me." And he was… Sakura's heart was racing as she glanced around her living room before settling her eyes back to Naruto, and then she shook her head, "you baka! Stop scaring me and…." Sakura was panting now as she stopped moving backwards while Naruto remained where he was standing – she couldn't imagine the blonde not being in her life. When she was a child, she wished he would go away; but now, she couldn't take it if he left her alone in the world. She needed Naruto in her life… she needed Sasuke in her life… she needed the two of them to be in her life.

"If…" Naruto said, breaking Sakura out of her thoughts before she wiped her eyes, "if I don't come back alive, then… then I want you to make a promise to me."

"Don't talk like that!" Sakura said striding forward again, her feet 'thudding' against the floor tiles in her living room, "I will make no promise to you because you are coming back. Do you understand me, Uzumaki Naruto? YOU ARE COMING BACK!"

Sakura panted as she lowered her arms by her side while Naruto wiped his eyes again.

"You are coming back home. Sasuke-kun is…"

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said taking a step forward, and then another one, and then another one. All the while Sakura felt herself trembling with a mixture of anger and sorrow as she stared at Naruto. Naruto got closer before he wrapped his arms around Sakura's back and pulled her in for a hug. She then raised her arms and cried as she placed her arms around his back and held him tight. The two of them had tears flowing down their cheeks as Naruto gently whispered, "if anything happens to me…" Sakura tightened her grip around his back but Naruto continued, "even if you end up marrying Sasuke…"

"Please stop," she whispered into his ear as tears travelled down her cheeks and onto his shoulder.

"I want you to become the best medic Konoha has ever seen, Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered as his heart raced. He recalled the ending to his dream again, this time in greater detail – Sakura was screaming in anguish as she tried to heal the gaping wound in his chest; the tears going down her face causing the blood spatters on her cheeks to streak downwards, and he remembered her hands covered in blood when she went to wipe her eyes before trying to heal him. And then there was darkness, and then Naruto woke up gasping for air in his room an hour ago while feeling for a hole in his chest.

Naruto then pulled away enough for them to see eye to eye, their noses inches away from each other, "surpass Granny. Become the strongest Kunoichi in the world." Sakura closed her eyes as Naruto placed a hand on her cheek again and wiped her tears away while taking a deep breath. His heart ached at the sight of her tears and red, wet eyes before he continued, "no matter what. Whether you marry the Teme or not, I want you to be the one to protect the village."

"Naruto?" a surprised Sakura asked.

"You are Granny's apprentice," Naruto whispered as he took in the stunned look on Sakura's face, "if I don't make it, then you're the one who has to step-up and become the Hokage."

"You're talking like a mad man now, Naruto," Sakura said.

"Is it as mad as saying that I still love you?" Naruto whispered as Sakura looked away, "and no, I didn't come up with this whole dream nightmare story… since I really did have one heck of a vivid dream… no, I really mean it."

Sakura looked into his eyes and knew he meant it. He loved her. He had meant it ever since they first met in the playground years ago; he was the blonde who chased bullies making fun of her forehead. Thoughts went through her mind about Naruto and what he meant to her – about the journey the both of them had gone through, and the journey they still yet had to take. The truth was, Sakura didn't know what her future was going to be… when she was a child, all she knew back then was that Sasuke was in her future.

Sasuke was Sakura's dream when she was a child – she dreamt of a large wedding with Ino seething in anger and Sakura gloating that she was able to marry the Uchiha. She dreamt of having Sasuke's children, helping him rebuild his clan. She would be the Uchiha matriarch… a position of prestige and power.

Years later, she found herself thinking about two men. Two weddings. Two different families – one with Sasuke, and another one with Naruto. Sakura didn't know what the future would bring for her. But she knew in her heart that Naruto was the one who had never quit on her… that he was the one who always pushed her even though he didn't realize it.

And Naruto was standing in front of her, holding on to her while talking about a dream he had where he died.

'He's talking about some dream he had where he's fight Sasuke-kun… a dream where he's dying in my arms,' Sakura thought.

Sakura then sighed and whispered, "you just have a crush on me, Naruto."

"It wasn't just a crush," Naruto said looking into her eyes, "I loved you then, and I love you now."

"Naruto."

"I'm leaving tomorrow for Lightning country," Naruto said, "and.. and I know you love Sasuke, and that…"

"Naruto, a lot of time has passed since that blubbering girl made you promise her to bring Sasuke back," Sakura said, "and I was wrong in the Land of Iron. I should have realized that you wanted to bring him back to Konoha because he was your best friend and that you cared for him. I shouldn't have manipulated you by saying that I loved you and… and you shouldn't do the same to me."

"If this is the last time that we're alone like this…"

"Stop it, Naruto."

"If..." he continued, "if this really is the last time I see you before… before we meet again when I fight Sasuke," Naruto could see that Sakura was about to interrupt him again, so he powered through, "can I kiss you?" And he just stared at Sakura's stunned face. He was expecting her eyes to literally transform into pools of fire, steam to come out of her ears, and for her arm to be pulled back for a punch that would most likely send him flying through the wall behind him.

But the two of them stared each other for several seconds. Eventually it was Naruto, who felt it in his heart that, by the end of the fight with Sasuke, he wouldn't be coming home to Konoha alive, took the final forwards and pressed his lips against Sakura's. He felt his heart beating rapidly as Sakura placed her hand on the side of his head – he thought she was going to push him away. Instead, her hand slid through his hair and she kissed him back in return.

Uzumaki Residence, fourteen years later.

"And that, my dear girl, is how your papa and I had our first kiss," the pink haired woman with a purple diamond on her forehead said as she sat on a chair while brushing the bright red hair of a thirteen year old girl with bright green eyes, a large forehead, and two whisker marks on each cheek, "and it's a story I've told you so many times before. You really like it huh?." Sakura, of course, never revealed to Narumi that the events that occurred after that kiss was what eventually led to her being conceived – she didn't want to mentally scar her daughter for life by telling her that was the day she lost her virginity to a man she grew to love. And she definitely did not want to tell Narumi about what happened after their first bout of love making. The two Ninja, even before catching their breath, simply threw all caution to the wind and let their instincts take over - primal instincts as the two of them let go of any self-control. As a result, after breaking Sakura's bed in her bedroom, the couple went at it like animals as they moved to the living room where her couch, and then her coffee table were promptly destroyed.

'Yea, lets keep all that away from her,' Sakura thought as she remembered herself and Naruto panting heavily as they lay on the kitchen floor looking up at the ceiling. Naruto turned his head towards her as sunlight from the clear blue sky streamed in through the openings in the curtain blocking the kitchen window.

"I think our friendship's pretty much over, huh?" Sakura deadpanned as she looked over at a panting Naruto. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before it was Sakura who started laughing, followed by Naruto, as they lay on the slick floor. After their laughter stopped, Sakura, covered in sweat, continued to stare at Naruto, "promise me that you will come back. Promise me, and we'll go for ramen right now. It'll be a date... which means that you have to pay."

Sakura chuckled at the memory of Naruto rubbing the left side of his head while chuckling. Forcing her mind back to the present, Sakura focusing on the blushing face of the girl reflected on the mirror before saying, "so, is it Hinata and Kiba's boy? Is it Sora? He tried to kiss you? Are you interested in him?"

"Mama!" the girl blushed even more as her eyes looked away from the mirror on the dresser while Sakura was seated behind her, a brush running through the girl's silken locks of red hair.

"Ummmm," Sakura smirked as she scratched her chin with her free hand, and looked away into the distance, "or could it be Ichi? Oh, or it is Metal? Oh… oh… or are you thinking about… Shikadai? Or maybe Inojin?"

"Mama!" the blushing girl yelled out while Sakura laughed.

The laughter faded away as Sakura leaned forward, using her right arm over Narumi's right shoulder to place the brush on the dressing table in front of them. Before placing the brush down, she glanced at Narumi's neck while releasing gentle healing chakra from her left hand that was resting on Narumi's left shoulder. Sakura saw the seal on the side of Narumi's neck glow for a second, 'it's still intact, good. Tonight, kiddo, tonight you'll have to learn about that seal and why you need to master what's been locked away.' Sakura then spun Narumi around on the swivel seat, and smiled at the girl who looked so much like her Uzumaki grandmother. Sakura leaned forward and kissed Narumi's forehead before saying, "Naruto's going to be watching you, you know?"

"I wish he was there, 'ttebasa," Narumi said, her voice trailing off at the end as she looked away from Sakura, "mama, you wish he was… you know… I mean… here too, right?"

"I wish he was here with us every single day," Sakura whispered as she brought a finger up under her daughter's chin, and then gently swung her head until they were looking eye to eye, "Naruto was a baka, but he was a brave baka… a good man, the hero who stopped the war and saved the world from darkness. He was Konoha's light, never giving in to the hate that came from the life he experienced. It actually made him stronger. And he gave everything he had so that we could live on."

"Iruka-sensei, Grandpa Kakashi, Granny Tsunade, Uncle Shikamaru, Aunt Ino…" Narumi shifted her eyes towards the old photo of Team Seven on the small table beside the bed with a scowling Naruto glaring at Sasuke, "all of them told me that Papa would have been proud of me… proud of you… and…"

"But that's not enough," Sakura whispered as clear blue skies and a cloudless day allowed warm sunlight to filter into Sakura's bedroom through her window, "I wish he was here with us everyday, you know."

"I know, 'ttebasa," Narumi took in a deep breath as Sakura mentally groaned , 'yeah, the 'ttebasa's definitely genetic' before her daughter said, "but todays graduation day and… and I wish he was there to see me."

Sakura smiled before pulling her daughter in for a hug. A few seconds later, Sakura pulled away with a grin on her face before she gently poked Narumi's chest, where her heart was located, and said, "a part of him is right there." Sakura then placed her hand on her own chest, "and a part of him lies in my heart. While I wish he was here with the both of us physically, a part of his spirit is here with the both of us."

"I know," the girl whispered nodding her head on Sakura's shoulder, "but you've made him proud too, 'ttebasa."

"And you made him proud too," Sakura said before pulling away, a look of melancholy forming on her face as she recalled Naruto's graduation day. He failed to create three proper clones, and so he failed. Sakura remembered walking away from the Academy with her parents by her side when she caught sight of a dejected Naruto sitting on a swing in the Academy playground. To her, back then, he was a dead-end and she was glad he didn't graduate. 'And I was a fool then, he became the ninja every single boy and girl strives to reach for today.'

Sakura smiled at Narumi, "what's your nindo? What's your ninja way going to be? Have you thought about it?"

"Same as papa's," Narumi eyerolled at Sakura who chuckled before saying, "never give up, and always keep my word."

And Sakura laughed out loud as Narumi gave her a thumbs-up sign after she jumped up onto her chair – the pose similar to Lee's infamous 'good guy' pose. Sakura laughed until her face turned red while Narumi hopped off the chair and onto the carpeted floor of the home that once belonged to Naruto's parents; it was something that Tsunade had wanted to keep secret from Naruto – to surprise him when he became a Chuunin after he was supposed to be promoted by her. Instead, it was a secret that was revealed much earlier, before the house was finished. All of them believed that Naruto would play a large part in defeating Madara and Obito – and he did. Naruto and Sasuke had crucial roles to play in their defeat while Sakura used her Strength of a Hundred Seal and Katsuyu to keep everyone in top fighting shape by sharing her healing chakra.

The foundations and the frame of the house was completed by the end of the war; the builders didn't even know who the house was for. But the home stood empty for two months after the war – both Naruto and Sasuke returned home, but they returned home being carried in her and Kakashi's arms; Sasuke barely recognizable as he lay in Kakashi's arms, and Naruto with a hole in his chest where the heart should have been as he lay on the arms of a devastated Sakura. Eventually the order was given to finish the home before Tsunade and Kakashi entered the home a month later and placed security seals all around it. There were even weapons seals in strategic parts of the home. This was all done in preparation for the latest members of the Uzumaki clan – Uzumaki Narumi and Uzumaki Sakura - to move into the home.

"I sometimes feel him here, you know?" Sakura said after calming down from her laughter, however the image of Narumi doing the 'good guy' pose was forever burned into her mind… and she still chuckled in bursts while speaking, "like he's all around the house."

"This was where Grandpa Minato and Granny Kushina's home used to be, right?" Narumi asked. And Sakura nodded her head before she exclaimed, "yosh!" as she got up. Narumi chuckled as her mother brought her hands over her head and stretched before yawning.

Sakura then looked down towards Narumi, "lets go, kiddo."

Narumi nodded her head as Sakura walked towards her closet and picked up the white cloak before wrapping it around her shoulders and securing the cloak by tying the orange string around the collar; the edge of the cloak covering just under the elbows. There was only one seamstress in all of Konoha who was responsible for making the Hokage cloak, and Sakura made a personal request that the edges be adorned with orange flames in honour of the man she loved and the father of her daughter; Uzumaki Naruto. Sakura wore it over her cream coloured blouse which ended just below her knees, with a black skirt underneath that ended just above her knees, and open topped shinobi boots that ended just below her knee. She then reached and put on her dark blue forearm warmers. At the back of the robe was written 'Seventh Hokage', something that Narumi was proud of as she watched Sakura reach for the Hokage hat, it was a piece of the regalia that Sakura wasn't fond of wearing. However, she did so for formal occasions, such as the Academy graduation ceremony later that day.

"Ready?" Sakura asked turning around, her cloak swishing as she she moved. Narumi nodded her head, and then reached for and grabbed the pink haired Hokage's hand. As the two of them left Sakura's room, the both of them passed by the open door to Narumi's room. The little girl glanced back at the topmost drawer of her bedside table, and a small smile formed on her face. It had been nearly a month since she discovered a scroll in the public section of the Konoha library, something that she suspected was placed there by accident after having opened it. It was old, very old – old enough for dust to have gathered as it lay at the bottom of a box full of other scrolls that she needed for refreshing herself on basic sealing techniques. She was just surprised that no one discovered it.

Her whole life, she had heard so many things about Naruto, but Narumi knew that hearing about her father was one thing. But actually talking to him, meeting him, hugging him, even getting a kiss from him, was enough to do what was described in the scroll laying in her drawer.

'Tonight, papa,' she thought to herself as she and Sakura walked down the stairs to the main foyer, 'I calculated everything… I'll pull you out of the timeline after you and mama…' Narumi shuddered at the thought of her parents having sex, '… did the deed. We'll talk, you'll see mama again and… and I'll be happy. Mama will be happy too… I know she still cries at night for you, papa. It will be for a few hours, and… and the instructions say that you won't remember anything after you get sent back. Ummm… maybe that can be changed?'

Walking out the door, surrounded by Anbu, Sakura nodded her head before the five of them leapt away towards the Academy. All the while, Narumi nervously counting down the hours until she would meet her father, and Naruto would meet Sakura once again.

TBC