A/N: Hey there! It's AverageApple with my first multi-chapter fic!

I've had this idea in my head for a little while now, but have finally managed to upload it.

This story goes up to chapter 393 in the manga. After that point in the story-line, I took complete liberty with the facts and changed a lot of things. So if something seems dreadfully wrong, that's how I wanted it to be.

It's a SasuSaku fic, but that's not all this story is going to be about. That is all I'm going to say for now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden or the characters in it. However, the plot I have come up with is original, and is meant for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 1: Prologue

It was a beautiful day in the village of Konohagakure. The sky was a brilliant blue and there wasn't a cloud in sight. Everyone seemed happy and content. Well, everyone but a certain pink haired kunoichi.

This kunoichi was on her way to the hospital, ready to begin another long day of work. Usually, she was very sprightly in the morning. However, she had not had a very good morning thus far, and the annoyance that she was feeling showed quite clearly on her face.

As she was walking towards her destination, she heard her name being called. The voice was extremely recognizable and she knew who it was before she even turned around to look.

"Sakura-chan! Hey, Sakura-chan, turn around!" The voice called, causing several civilians to turn around and stare.

Sighing inwardly, the woman known as Sakura turned around, masking her displeasure with a smile. She watched as he ran up to her, a goofy grin plastered on his face. Finally, he was standing right in front of her.

"Good morning, Naruto."

"Morning, Sakura-chan! How're you doing?"

The question he asked caused several profane words to pop up in Sakura's mind. She wanted to answer honestly, but doing so might reveal the secret that she had been trying to keep from Naruto for two years now. So she opted to answer with a lie.

"Wonderful, thanks for asking. How are you?"

"Great!" The fox-faced man answered, his eyes shining.

There was a minute of silence, and Sakura was beginning to feel awkward. Just as she was about to break the silence, Naruto decided to instead.

"Aren't you going to ask me why it's great?" He asked.

A small flash of irritation flickered across Sakura's face before she answered, "Why is it great?"

"Because Hinata and I are getting married!" He explained, throwing his hands up in the air excitedly.

This surprised Sakura, and she was suddenly in a much better mood. The smile that she pointed towards Naruto was a genuine one. Despite the fact that she hadn't been having a good morning, she couldn't help feeling happy for her best friend. He had been dating Hinata for only a year now, but he still loved her dearly.

"That's great, Naruto! I hope you both have a wonderful life together."

Naruto's grin grew wider. "We will! And once I become Hokage, I'll be the happiest person in the entire village of Konoha!"

Chuckling, Sakura shook her head. "I'm sure you will," She paused and looked down at her watch, eyes widening. "Sorry, I gotta go! I don't want to be late for work. Tsunade is very strict when it comes to truancy."

"Oh, okay. Well, maybe later we could go out for ramen? Hinata will be there of course."

"I'd like that. But you're treating!" With that last statement, she turned around and sprinted off in the direction of the hospital.

He sat there, his chin resting on his hands. Anger coursed through his body and a deadly aura surrounded him. If anyone had been in the room with him, they would have the right to be frightened.

So far, his morning had not been going well. Quite the opposite actually. He couldn't believe that his wife would dare defy him! She had no right, she was only a woman. A baby-maker!

He took a deep breath, shutting his eyes and rubbing the temples on his forehead.

All he had asked her to do was make him breakfast. That's what a good wife is supposed to do. Cook and clean and make sure that their husband is happy. But she had said no. She hadn't even thought it over!

After that, he smacked her. This had caused her to punch him in the stomach and kick him in the groin. Once that happened, an all out brawl ensued. In the end, nobody won, and she had left.

"No one should even think of defying Uchiha Sasuke! That woman is going to pay when she gets home." The man growled, slamming his fists on the table.

Ever since Sasuke had returned to Konoha four years ago, he had had anger problems. Instead of the stoic boy that he had once been, he was now a cruel man, not feeling any form of affection for his former teammates or sensei. Those bonds had been crushed during the time he had trained with Orochimaru.

Sasuke's thoughts drifted to the snake Sannin.

When he murdered Orochimaru, he knew that he was strong enough to kill his older brother and avenge his clan. The fight with Itachi had been extremely difficult, more difficult than he had anticipated. In the end however, it was Sasuke that emerged victorious.

He had been bloodied and beaten, unable to do anything for himself for a week. It was during that time that Naruto had found him and literally dragged him back to Konoha.

The memories of that time only filled Sasuke with more anger. He hadn't even planned on returning to Konoha, and being brought back to it by a loud-mouthed idiot had been a real blow to his ego.

Quickly shifting his mind back to his wife, Sasuke grimaced.

She had never been pleasant to be around. As a child, she was simply a fan-girl, a liability. But now that she was a woman, she had become much more independent. She did not have the feelings that she used to have for him, and that made Sasuke feel surprisingly frustrated. If she were still attracted to him, she wouldn't be so disagreeable.

Looking around the room, Sasuke saw broken glass littering the floor, courtesy of the fight that had occurred earlier that morning. Slowly getting up from the table, he walked over to the area that had the most glass and bent down. As he picked up a shattered piece, he muttered a name under his breath.

"Sakura..."

The moment Sakura stepped through the hospital doors, she knew it was going to be a busy day.

Nurses were scurrying about, talking in rushed voices. She could hear several doors being opened and shut. The hospital's receptionist, Fuuka, was typing furiously at the computer in front of her.

Feeling somewhat confused, Sakura decided to ask Fuuka what was going on.

"Fuuka-san, what's happening? The hospital is never this busy in the morning!"

The woman glanced up from the computer, her forehead wrinkling.

"There was an accident during a mission. A group of Jōnin were seriously injured."

"Who were the Jōnin in the group?"

"Hatake Kakashi, Yūhi Kurenai, and Hyūga Neji." Was Fuuka's blunt reply.

Sakura nodded her head in thanks and quickly made her way to the nearest elevator. All of the Jōnin in that group were very capable shinobi, so it was troubling to hear that they were all severely injured. She was especially worried for her former sensei, Kakashi.

When Sakura made it to the elevators, she quickly pressed the button on the wall and waited impatiently for the elevator doors to open. When they did, she hurried inside.

She figured that the group of Jōnin were on the third floor, which is where all the badly injured patients went. If they were there, she wanted to do all she could to help.

As the elevator 'dinged', signaling that she was on the third floor, Sakura fast-walked out of the elevator. A wave of strong smelling medication washed over her, and she wrinkled her nose. Orders could be heard from Tsunade, who sounded frustrated.

"No, Shizune! Go help Kurenai, we already have enough nurses working on Neji!"

Sakura watched as Shizune nodded her head and walked into a room that Sakura assumed was Kurenai's.

"Sakura, come here!"

Looking over at Tsunade, Sakura nodded her head and quickly made her way towards the blonde woman. She did not look pleased.

"You're late."

"I apologize, Tsunade-sama."

"Bah! Forget the apologies and make yourself useful! Kakashi is in that room over there." Tsunade said as she pointed a finger to the door that said 'Room 167'.

"Right!"

Worry flowed through Sakura's body. However, years of working in the hospital allowed her to stay calm and collected, keeping a clear mind. If you tried to heal someone when flustered, you could mess something up. Sakura had learned that early on in her training.

Putting her hand on the door-knob of Room 167, she twisted it, opening the door and stepping inside.

Three medical ninja surrounded Kakashi's body, all of their hands glowing a light blue color. From what Sakura could see, Kakashi was very battered up.

One of the med-nins looked at her.

"Hey, Sakura-san, don't just stand there! Come help us!"

Walking over to the hospital bed, Sakura examined Kakashi's injuries. They were pretty bad. Jagged cuts ran up and down his arms and legs. She could see bags under his eyes, which led her to believe he had probably used the sharingan. She also noticed a strange mark on his neck. It almost looked like he'd been branded...

Deciding to study the mark later, she set her hands on his chest, making them glow with healing chakra. She could already feel some of his injuries mending themselves back together.

The once white bed-sheets were now stained with blood. At one point in her life, the sight of blood would have made her feel nauseous, but she had become quite accustomed to seeing it. in her opinion, she was too accustomed to seeing it.

Shifting her mind back to the task at hand, she noticed that the mark on Kakashi's neck was glowing. One of the other women in the room seemed to have noticed it too, because she was staring at it with a curious look on her face.

Just as Sakura was beginning to feel concerned, the mark stopped glowing.

'That was strange...' Sakura thought, quietly looking back down at the wound she was healing.

Only later would she realize that the mark on his neck was in the shape of the moon.

That's all for the first chapter! I'm aware that it's small, but it was just the prologue. I promise the chapters will get longer as I move along with the story.

And if any of you were wondering how old the members of team seven are, look below!

Sakura: 21

Sasuke: 20

Naruto: 20

Please review if you can! Tell me what you liked and what you didn't like! :)

-AverageApple