Title: The Comeback

Author: acromatic princess

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, duh.

Summary: Sakura is normal. Well, she's trying to be. Of course, it's not working out too well, what with the old best friend and the hot, infuriating new boy constantly dragging her into danger…worst of all, she's kind of enjoying it. "I guess this is my comeback."

Setting: Modern world, kind of.

Notes: …So it's been, like, five years since I started writing stories for Naruto, and I'm still obsessed with Sasuke and Sakura as a couple. ...It will happen. So yeah. Hope you like it! (P.S. This is definitely a little eccentric, especially in the beginning. Sorry about that!)

Sirens. If they hadn't been an hourly occurrence, Sakura might almost be nervous—but they were, and so she wasn't. On this side of the city, crime was high, and morality was…well, low. Kindness was almost nonexistent. In this broken, godforsaken part of Konoha—here Sakura was stuck. One could almost lose themselves here.

The sirens grew louder until finally, a police car came swerving around the corner. Sakura jumped up onto the sidewalk, watching the car fade into the distance until it was only a blur of blue and red. The streetlamps flickered, and she shivered. She wondered, absently, who the cops had been after. A wayward teen? A drunk driver? Or better yet, a criminal? As terrible as it sounded, crime interested Sakura. Not the actual act of committing a crime, of course, but more of the reasons why a criminal was a criminal. What was his story? She couldn't help but wonder who he (or she, she reminded herself. Stop being sexist, Sakura) had been, you know. Before.

She heard a bottle rolling behind her, and Sakura turned around. There was nobody there, but a Coca Cola bottle was rolling to the curb of the sidewalk. She watched as it rolled off and fell into the street. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she thought, Huh, that's weird. A little wary now, she turned around slowly and continued walking down the sidewalk. Her apartment was only three blocks away, so she just had to make it there. She hated this place at night.

It was a pretty night, too, and Sakura wished she could enjoy it. She used to love nighttime, back home. She would gaze at the stars with her parents—or, they would gaze at the stars, and she would listen to music. Heavy metal music, if she remembered correctly. She was going through her hardcore stage back then. Still. She had liked nighttime all the least.

And now all the night held for her was a lonely walk home from her job in a sketchy neighborhood. Dilapidated buildings loomed around her—some more run down then others, but none of them new. The streets were dirty, and the smell was terrible. And don't even get her started about the pollution—

Even lost in her thoughts, Sakura had good senses. Taste, touch, see, smell, hear—she was above average in all of these areas. And that's how she heard someone following her.

The footsteps were faint, at least a block away from her, and Sakura had assumed that they were from a random person on their way home. But she had been hearing that same pair of footsteps for awhile now, and Sakura didn't believe in coincidences. She was too smart for that.

She picked up her pace, just slightly, listening for the other person. They picked up their pace, just slightly, also. She started walking faster. They did too. That was enough for Sakura. She started to run.

Now, a little known fact about Sakura—she was fast. And not just I-win-in-track-meets fast. No, Sakura was at the I-beat-everyone-by-a-couple-minutes-during-marathons level of fast. She didn't run; she flew.

And she was flying as she weaved through the streets of east-side Konoha. A left turn here, a right turn there, a shortcut down this alley—Sakura was hoping to lose her pursuers by taking a crazy route. It wasn't working as well as she hoped. She could still hear their running footsteps. As fast as she was, she should have lost them long ago. She gulped. These were special people.

Somehow, she picked up her pace even more, running and running and flying—until she stopped in front of her apartment building. Snatching the key (which was conveniently located in her bra), she placed it in the lock, opened the door, and sprinted through the lobby and up the stairs. She barely paused to open the door to her apartment and go inside. Shutting the door behind her, she leaned back against it, breathing heavily. She slid down slowly until her knees were drawn up against her chest. She drew a sigh of relief. Thank God she had been just a little bit faster than them. Whoever they were.

There was a knock at her door. Sakura froze. No. No, no, no, no, no. She could hear her heartbeat clearly, as if it were blasting through a speaker in her head. She stood up slowly, turning around and backing away from the door. Her eyes stayed glued upon it, though.

Silence, and then more knocking, this time more demanding. Sakura wanted to cry. This couldn't be happening. The roaring in her ears—she wasn't sure if it was her heartbeat anymore, or just herself going insane from fear—grew louder and louder, and she was sure she was about to faint, until—

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan, please open up! It's me! Can you open the door?"

The roaring stopped. No. It couldn't be. Sakura took a step forward. She refused to believe it. Another step. But his voice. Almost there. It was deeper, but—no, surely, it couldn't be—

She opened the door. Standing there was a shivering, blonde teenaged boy, carrying something on his back. He was grinning. She couldn't believe it.

"Naruto?"

"Sakura-chan, I can explain everything," Naruto said in a pleading tone. The cup of tea she had made for him sat untouched on the table beside the sofa. Apparently, whatever he had to say was too important to even take a moment to drink the tea. Even though his teeth were chattering, and his clothes were wet. Her maternal instincts kicked in.

"Naruto, drink the damn tea," she said in a scolding tone. "You're gonna catch a cold if you don't."

Naruto picked up the cup sheepishly. "You sound like a mother."

A mother. Not my mother, a mother. Sakura instantly felt sorry for him. "Just drink your tea. Now, you had something to tell me?"

He took a long sip of tea, contemplating. "Where should I start…"

"How about with the unconscious guy on my floor?" She pointed to the offending person, who, even when Naruto had dumped him from his back onto the floor, hadn't moved a muscle. Sakura was growing apprehensive. Was he dead?

"Oh, good point," Naruto said. "Well, his name is—"

"Oh my god, is that blood?" Sakura was at the stranger's side, examining a spot on his black clothing. "Shit, it is. Jesus Naruto, you don't think that the first thing you should have told me was that your friend was dying?"

"He's not my friend!" Naruto said indignantly. Then he paused. "Wait, you don't think he's actually dying, is he?"

"Well, he might very well be." Sakura leaned in to get a better look at the wound. "It's not looking good. We have to get him to a hospital immediately." She grabbed the guy's arm, about to lift him.

"No!" Naruto made a move to stop her. Sakura looked at him, startled. "I mean—" He cleared his throat. "Obviously, he didn't get that wound under the best…circumstances, and nobody can know that he's hurt, and nobody can know where we are. We're in some big shit, Sakura."

"Well, do you just want to let him die, then?" Sakura exclaimed. "Because I won't let you do that!"

"No, of course not! I mean," He looked down. "That's why I came to you. I was kind of hoping…"

She thought she knew where this was going. Her heart sunk. "What?"

"…That you could heal him."

"No," Sakura said forcefully. "Absolutely not."

"Please, Sakura! You said it yourself. He'll die if you don't."

"You don't understand, Naruto! I can't do it. I won't. I—" She ran her fingers through her pink hair, frustrated. "I gave up all that stuff a long time ago. I won't go back. I won't."

"I know. I know the decision you made, but—" His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. He knew that he was asking her for a lot. He knew. And yet… "I need you. I need him. I can't let him die. He's my best friend, Sakura. Please. And also…" He paused. "You can't change who you are. You should know that better than anyone."

…And yet she would do it. For him. Not for the boy she didn't know, who's life she would be saving, but for him. For Naruto. She would give everything up for him.

"Okay."

Naruto looked up at her, surprised, but Sakura didn't meet his eyes. She was looking at her hands, which had started to glow a bright green…

Sasuke Uchiha woke up with an aching side and a pounding headache. He sat up, wincing. He was in so much pain. Honestly, he had been sure he was going to die. Come to think of it… He lifted his shirt up, feeling the new scar across his side. It was definitely not as bad as it should have been. In fact, it had already healed a good amount. How had that happened? His eyebrows furrowing, he twisted his head to get a better view…

…And realized that he was not alone. There was a stranger sleeping in a chair beside his bed. A female stranger with pink hair. He looked at her for a moment, then glanced around the room. His eyes settled on the sword leaning against the other side of the bed. His sword. Quietly, he reached for the sword, unsheathing it as he brought it onto the bed. He looked at the girl again. Who was she?

Directing the sword in her direction, he slowly brought it towards her…

"NARUTO!"

Review, dahlin's!