To those confused about how the chapters changed: I looked at the original chapters 2 and 3 and thought that they went better together than apart.

A few comments on the upcoming chapters: they are going to get longer, therefore my update rate is going to be much slower; I am going to try to update twice to three times a week.

Finally, thank you to those who've reviewed! I really appreciate it and am stoked that people like what I write!

I do not own the Naruto franchise; I merely play with the universe Masashi Kishimoto created. This non-cannon story, however, is all mine.

Her neighbors had always thought her mother was a tad irresponsible with allowing Sakura the freedom to move about the town on her own. Sakura had always thought that they were idiots. In her mind, if they couldn't trust their own children to get to the grocers on their own, even in their young age, then they hadn't raised them correctly.

Yet, a little part of Sakura conceded to her neighbors that walking alone might not have been the best idea, especially if you were searching for a friend in the shady parts of town and had no clue as to where he might live.

But Sakura didn't want Naruto to be upset. She knew that her talent would be found out, and it wasn't fair to make him keep quiet about something so big.

She wanted to apologize, but more importantly, she wanted to make sure that they were still friends.

So, she persisted.

She kept walking despite the feeling that she was being followed. She kept walking through grimy alleyways, kept knocking on doors asking and about Naruto, and kept on keeping on despite the slamming of doors and negative answers.

She was bound to find him at some point.

But she was beginning tire. The sun was drooping low in the sky and the village seemed as if it had caught aflame with the colors of the sunset staining everything it could touch.

How long would – could – she keep going?

She got to the point where she began to stumble on her feet and bump into strangers on the busy street and knew that she needed a break-through soon, or she would have to start heading back home.

It turned out that her break-through found her before she found it.

She had turned into another alleyway towards another apartment complex when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise.

Someone was following her!

Before she could even comprehend what was happening, a man in a dog mask had dropped down from the ceiling next to her and she threw a punch on instinct.

Her tiny fist barely made contact with the man's chest armor and he flew into the wall.

She might've pumped her arms full of chakra in anticipation of conflict before the man startled her, oops.

At least she had no reason to hide her abilities anymore.

High on adrenaline, she channeled chakra into her legs, scaled the wall, and began to run over the roofs of houses and stores.

Sakura used to daydream about running on the roofs as the shinobi did; she used to imagine that it felt like flying, but she found that she couldn't properly appreciate it as she ran in panic.

She heard chuckling and looked behind her; the man with the mask and his newly dented armor chased her at a speed that she could only hope to match one day.

And then she was plummeting towards the ground.

On hindsight, she really shouldn't have taken her eyes off what was in front of her.

With her chakra-improved strength, she landed on her hands and knees with an oomph and rolled to the side. Even with chakra cushioning her fall, it was far too tall of a height for a four-year-old to safely land.

She heard the man touch down in the alleyway next to her and she crawled backwards. With her back pressing against the alley wall, Sakura tried to smooth out her trembling voice.

"What do you want."

The man looked down at her.

"What do you want with Naruto."

Absentmindedly, she realized that she was shaking. Was it because of exhaustion, was it because of fear? Perhaps, both.

"I want to find him. I think he might be upset because of me."

The man nodded, and for the first time, she noticed that his hair was a shock of grey.

Grey. Hadn't she seen a young man with grey hair before?

"Well, I know where he lives if you need to find him."

Well, Sakura thought, this took an odd turn.

"Uhm, I think I'm okay."

The man looked down at her and Sakura couldn't even begin to guess what situation she had gotten herself into.

"Sorry, uh, Mr. Dog-Mask, about your armor. You surprised me…"

The man chuckled and crouched down to that they were eye to eye, and she found that she was too exhausted to control the flinch that ran through her small body.

"It's okay, I should have just called to you instead of sneaking up on you."

Sakura had the distinct feeling that the man in the mask had seen her flinch, because his tone was painfully nice.

"Uhm, yeah. I'm just going to…"

Sakura gingerly brought herself to her feet and leaned against the wall in support. The man in the mask watched her every move.

"I'm just going to, uhm, get going home."

She blamed her exhaustion for what she said next.

"– and, uh, sorry again about punching you and all. If you want, you can come over for dinner as a better apology, my mom makes the best tempura you'll ever try."

Although she couldn't see his face, she could practically feel him raising his eyebrows in shock.

She scuffed her toe and felt like a fool.

Who was she, inviting strangers home?!

"Well, I am very busy, but I'll see."

He stood up and suddenly looked to the side. She took this as her cue to leave and began inching away from the tense man.

"It's nice meeting you, Mr. Dog-Mask, but I better be – "

Too quickly for her to protest, Mr. Dog-Mask picked her up and sprinted up the wall.

She was so shocked and exhausted that she didn't even make a sound, she simply screwed her eyes shut and started reciting her final words.

I'm sorry mother. I'm sorry Kami, for lying to my mother. I hope you don't feel too bad, Naruto…

When they finally stopped moving, she could hardly peel her eyes open.

When had reciting her final words turned into taking a nap?

"I'm sorry, I felt someone watching us."

He set her feet down and her knees immediately buckled. Mr. Dog-Mask picked her up by her armpits and tried to set her on her feet, but she fell to her knees again. He went to try for a third time when she raised a hand and slowly shook her head.

"It's okay, Mr. Dog-Mask. I might just take a nap here."

Where was here? She looked around, and with tired eyes, found that she was in front of a rather small and dingy apartment complex.

"You can't just take a nap in the middle of a street, Sakura."

She groaned when she tried to get to her feet by herself. She stood for a few moments on trembling knees and then fell back onto the floor.

"How'd you know my name, Mr. Dog-Mask?"

"Is Sakura really your name? I was just making a joke on your hair color."

"Ha ha, Mr. Dog-Mask, very funny."

Mr. Dog-Mask walked into her field of vision and knelt in front of her.

"Would you like me to carry you to Naruto's apartment?"

Well, she had no chance of escape. She was far too tired to move and had the sneaking suspicion that she was suffering from chakra-exhaustion.

"You're not going to murder me once we get inside, are you? Because I said sorry about the armor and I was telling the truth about inviting you over for dinner and – "

Mr. Dog-Mask turned his head towards her and rolled his eye. Eye, he had only one eye!

"If I was going to murder you, I would have done it before."

Sakura nodded calmly, as if she weren't standing in front of a man who could kill her in twenty-seven different ways, and reached for his shoulders. Once she had a good grip, he hooked his arms through her knees and stood.

"You good back there, Sakura?"

"Yes, Mr. Dog-Mask."

Mr. Dog-Mask walked towards the apartment complex and Sakura struggled to stay awake.

"Mr. Dog-Mask?"

"Yes?"

"Did you know you smell like dogs, too?"

She felt Mr. Dog-Mask laugh more than heard.

"Well, I do have dogs."

"Really? Can I meet them?"

"Maybe later, Sakura."

Sakura laid her forehead on his shoulder and grumbled about mean men chasing her and not showing her their dogs and felt Mr. Dog-Mask laugh again.

Then, she felt one of his arms reach up to knock at a door.

No one opened the door.

"Is he not home, Mr. Dog-Mask?"

"No. I can sense him in there."

"What do you mean by 'sense him'?"

"I'll tell you more about it later."

After a few more moments of silence, Mr. Dog-Mask himself called out to Naruto.

"Naruto, you have a tired guest here, be polite and open the door."

"I'm not tired! I just – "

"Sakura, you can't even stand."

"Psh, I just used too much chakra earlier."

"That means you're tired!"

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

Their bickering must have convinced Naruto to finally open his door.

"What do you want – "

Naruto stared wide-eyed at Mr. Dog-Mask giving Sakura a piggy-back ride. Sakura took this as her chance to finally talk to him.

"Naruto, I've been looking for you all over! I – "

Naruto slammed the door shut before she got another word out.

Sakura stared at the door and Mr. Dog-Mask began to fidget.

"Listen, maybe you could try to talk to him tomo – "

"Please let me down."

"Sakura – "

Her voice came out hoarser than she wanted it to.

"Please?"

Mr. Dog-Mask set her down, and she fell to her knees again.

"Sakura, it might be a better idea to get you home so – "

"I'll be alright, thank you."

She crawled, as elegantly as she could, over so she was next to Naruto's door and settled down.

"I'll wait until he comes out."

Mr. Dog-Mask looked tense.

"I don't think Naruto is going to – "

"It's okay, we're friends, he'll eventually come out."

Mr. Dog-Mask tapped his foot and looked off at something.

"Will you be able to make it home?"

Sakura sincerely doubted that she even knew where she was let alone get home safely. But Mr. Dog-Mask looked like he had somewhere to be and she felt embarrassed that he had to carry her all over.

"I'll be fine! I'll go home if he doesn't answer in an hour."

Mr. Dog-Mask looked down at her, and she decided that she had to try a different method.

"Maybe he'll talk to me if we're alone…?"

Mr. Dog-Mask's eye crinkled, and she was sure that he knew she was embarrassed about being carried.

"Alright, but make sure to stay safe."

Sakura's eye twitched.

"Yes, I promise that I won't follow strange men in masks."

Mr. Dog-Mask bent down and ruffled her hair.

"Make sure to save me a plate of tempura."

She nodded and waved him off.

"Go, go. You look like you have somewhere to be."

The man nodded, and with hardly a noise, jumped onto a wall and sprinted away.

I've so got to learn how to do that as smooth as he did.

Shaking her head, she turned so her shoulder leaned against the door and knocked.

"Naruto, are you still there."

She would later swear that she heard sniffling noises from behind the door.

"Well, if you are, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you."

Sakura leaned her head against the door frame and closed her eyes.

She really was exhausted.

"And, I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but I used too much chakra while I was being chased by strange men and I really can't stand – so, I might just take a nap out here."

There was no reply.

Sakura chuckled sadly to herself and shifted back so both her shoulders were against the wall.

It wasn't the most comfortable position, but she figured that she'd be nn worse when she was a kunoichi, so she didn't do any more than huff and leaned her head back.

She'd stay for an hour, or until her legs worked again. Whichever came first, she decided.

She didn't know when she had closed her eyes or when she had moved onto a bed, but she heard deep snoring to her left and hoped that she was in Naruto's house rather than a stranger who decided to kidnap her.

Sakura peeled open her eyes and found herself staring at a cracked, wooden ceiling. Her head felt like it was full of cotton and she could barely move her head her body aching.

"Na-Naruto?"

She shoved herself into a sitting position and cursed herself for being so foolish. She knew the signs of chakra and physical exhaustion. She should have known better than to not go home in her state and – did she really invite a stranger over for dinner?!

The snoring next to her skipped a few beats and then continued.

Moving as fast as her body would allow her, which wasn't very fast, she turned over on her side and inspected where she was.

It was a dingy apartment bedroom, and she could see the sunrise barely filter in through the partially covered blinds onto a small wooden bedside table.

Sakura groaned and tried to roll onto her other side without moving too fast and abruptly relaxed.

In a chair, obviously pulled from his kitchen, Naruto was snored - in a position that just had to be uncomfortable - next to her bed.

She let out a watery laugh in disbelief. Sakura had been certain that Naruto would never forgive her for attempting to make him keep her secret. She thought that she had lost him.

With her eyes a bit teary, she sniffed and shifted onto her forearms, and then reached out towards him.

She didn't even get the chance to poke him in the forehead before he woke and sprung up into a sitting position.

"Sorry I didn't let you in sooner, you shocked me that's all – ow!"

Naruto rubbed at his neck and grinned sheepishly.

Sakura brought her arm back to hold her upper body up and seized her chance to talk, "you shouldn't be the one apologizing, I should. I was the one who fell asleep on your door.

"Don't worry about it, by the – "

"I'm also sorry that I made you try to keep my secret. It wasn't fair to you and I know that, and I really hope you don't hate me for it."

Naruto looked dumbfounded for a moment.

"- uhm, I just, if you want me to go and all – I can, and its okay if you feel angry still, I can come back when you feel not as angry and – "

"Shouldn't I be the one apologizing?"

Sakura stilled, Naruto's expression looked strange. As if he was confused.

"No! Nono. My secret was going to come out eventually, its not your fault it came out sooner than I wanted it to –"

"No, I meant about the shinobi knowing."

"The shinobi know everything, I'm sure they probably knew about my secret before I even met you and – "

Naruto suddenly rose from his seat.

"N-no, I was told to tell them."

Sakura looked at him, and for the first time, noticed his faced warped with regret.

"Then you only did what you were told. Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"

He fell back into his seat, his face a mixture of regret and confusion.

"You're not upset with me?"

Sakura shook her head and Naruto continued to look confused.

"But – I told your secret, and I promised I wouldn't."

Sakura smiled at him and his eyes began to look watery.

"You couldn't help it. I'm not mad at you."

He leaned back into his seat as if this was all too much, and murmured in a rough voice, "so we're still friends?"

"Best friends."

He lifted his forearm over his eyes and began to shake.

It was too much for her.

"Naruto, can I get a hug?"

She leaned back so that her arms were open to him, despite her body groaning in protest, and let out a slight oomph when Naruto barreled into them.

She wrapped her arms around him and felt her shoulder grow wet.

She hadn't lost him – she smiled widely and wrapped her arms tighter around him – he is still my friend.

He was still crying when Sakura gently prodded at him.

"Did you know that I get to go to the academy with you?"

He sniffled and leaned back, his eyes glittering with tears and relief.

"Yeah?"

Sakura smiled so widely her eyes shut.

"Yeah, that means we can eat lunch together and that you get to come over because you're a class mate and my mom really wants to meet you and – oh! Do you wanna start training with me?"

It might have been too much in too little time and Naruto stared at her without comprehension.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, if you want to..."

"Yeah- Yeah! Of course, dattebayo!"

They both grinned at each other until Sakura heard knocking at the door.

"I looked and you hadn't gone home yet, Sakura."

The man in the dog mask had come to check up on her.

And he didn't sound too happy.