AUTHOR'S NOTE: WE DON'T KNOW OWN NARUTO... BUT WE WISH WE DO. (we are two authors, just so you know.) :)
It was almost dark when Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and their substitute instructor Yamato came back to Konoha. Their mission to retrieve their former teammate Uchiha Sasuke was in total failure considering that Sai suddenly betrayed and turned his back on them within a blink of an eye. It was just too much to take so they came back Konoha in deep frustration – especially Naruto and Sakura. They headed to the present Hokage's office to report what had happened in the mission. After the reports on the mission, Tsunade, the present Hokage, bade Naruto and Yamato to get some rest.
"Where's your usual fierceness?" she asked. Sakura remained silent. She didn't even have the courage to look at her teacher's eyes. "Sakura." She stated firmly, her voice commanding.
"I'm sorry, Master Tsunade. It's just that…" she managed to say it, her voice trailing off. Tsunade sighed. She somehow understood what her student's feeling towards what happened to her former teammate and friend Sasuke. Sakura didn't even intend to break the silence between them.
"Come on, Sakura. You know you can trust me." Tsunade said with her concerned and comforting voice while patting Sakura's head gently.
Sakura started to sob but still said nothing. Instead, she moved forward to hug her teacher and started crying. Tsunade embraced her back "You're my most fickle student." She whispered as she slowly stroked Sakura's hair in a motherly way. "I cannot understand your moods in the way a teacher should understand her student." Tsunade remembered three days before the retrieval mission. Sakura was always making sure of what will happen and almost gave up in getting Sasuke back because she's sure that Sasuke won't give in to their wishes.
"Don't hold your feelings, Sakura. Cry it out if it really hurts." She said. Sakura began to cry harder on Tsunade's shoulders.
Haruno Sakuno was impatiently waiting for her older sister's arrival. She's so excited that she even baked her cake. Everything went fine except for the time of Sakura's arrival. Sakura found her sister lying in the sofa. "Sakuno." She said in a flat tone. Sakuno didn't move. "Sakuno." She repeated, this time with a shove. Sakuno immediately got up to her feet and embraced Sakura.
"Sakura, you're back! I've been waiting for you. You know, I've baked a cake for you, older sister. Do you want to try it now?" she said followed her older sister around until the entrance of Sakura's bedroom.
"Sakuno." Sakura said cutting her sister's stories. "Master Tsunade needs you. Your training is about to start." She patted Sakuno's head then planted a kiss on her forehead before heading to lock herself up inside her room.
No one could imagine the pain Sakura was feeling after that horrible, damn mission. It was a mixture of hatred, anger and agony. Thinking about their failed attempt on bringing Sasuke back was nerve breaking, and to think Sai, one of her closest friends—but not anymore, suddenly betrayed them and secretly joined Orochimaru and asked for his help for his unknown desire to kill someone. Everybody was turning their backs against them, who's next? Naruto? Sakura couldn't even bear the thought of it.
"So that's what happened." Kakashi said, as he shook his head in disappointment. "That must've been hard for Naruto and Sakura."
"It is. I bet they're sulking all about it now by themselves." Tsunade sighed, imagining them in a dark, quiet corner, crying like hell, especially Sakura, her precious student. She shuddered at the thought of it.
Kakashi nodded. "That's possible. They've badly wanted for Sasuke to come back with them and hopefully, regain the Team seven back."
"I agree. It will take days for their emotional wounds to heal. Let's just wait." Tsunade said, her frown still visible as Kakashi came out of the office.
Tap, tap. "Sakura!" It was Naruto. His shrilly, high pitched voice surprised Sakura as he called out to her and tapped her bedroom window.
Sakura slowly opened the window, her eyes still swollen from crying so much.
"Sakura." Naruto uttered, his face looking sullen and miserable, just like her. "I want to talk to you." She let Naruto in her bedroom. He sat quietly on her bed.
"What is it?" Sakura asked in a tiny, squeaky voice.
"Did we make a mistake?" he asked. The question let Sakura open the windows of her heart to share her pains with one of her best friends.
"Mistake." She repeated silently. They were silent for the next few minutes until Sakura rose up and went to her window to get a good look of the Hidden Leaf Village. "We're not making any mistakes here, Naruto." She began angrily. "We are trying to get him back here… like a family doing their best to bring back their prodigal member!" she explained angrily. Naruto looked at her sadly and was fighting with the urge of hugging her. "He is totally blind now!" Sakura blurted out. "He wants to become so powerful that he isn't in favor of you overpowering him before that's why he left Konoha! He doesn't have a single hint on what power really is!" she continued letting Naruto feel her frustration and rage.
"B – But Sakura, he is just lonely." Naruto muttered. His words weren't making sense. It looks as if he was just trying to calm Sakura down. "We can always try bringing him back again…"
Unfortunately, it only made her a lot angrier. "Lonely?! He isn't lonely. He has us! Damn it!" She howled in fury. "Sasuke was greedy! Don't you get it? He doesn't need us. He only needs himself. We are just wasting our time!" She buried her head on her palms and cried angrily. "He never needed us in the first place. We're just a nuisance to him. That's why… We shouldn't be in his way."
