"Wait, wait, wait, so you're telling me that the brat here could drink me under the table?" Tsunade busted it out laughing, hitting her desk with each laugh. Sakura rolled her eyes while Naruto laughed nervously.
"I'm not joking Lady Tsunade, Naruto here is a heavier drinker than you are. The only reason I'm even saying anything to show you what type of sake he was drinking while he was suffering." Sakura replied, making her case again.
"I don't care about that right now, there is no way in hell that you could make me believe Naruto could out drink me." Tsunade ceased her laughter and wiped her eyes. Sakura sighed and pulled the bottle she had kept with some of the Sake in it out of her bag.
"If you don't believe me, take a swig of this and check the proof number on it. I'm sure you'll believe me then." Sakura instructed her sensei to do.
"Alright, I'll humor you before we get to the matter at hand." Tsunade smirked as she opened the bottle. Sakura wasn't amused though, and very surprised her sensei wasn't taking this seriously.
"You shouldn't have made that remark about me drinking her under the table." Naruto whispered in her ear.
"I thought it might get her attention, but I guess she's too involved in her paperwork to see it right now." Sakura whispered back as she watched Tsunade put the bottle to her lips and take a gulp.
"What the hell?" Tsunade spit the sake back out.
"Told you so." Sakura smirked at her master.
"You really weren't kidding. Let me see the proof on this." Tsunade turned the bottle over and immediately fell out of her chair.
"Now do you believe me?" Sakura said in a coy tone, proud to upstage her master.
"I do, I do, but really? You were able to down twenty of these bottles in one day? What the hell were you thinking Naruto?" Tsunade slammed the bottle on her desk.
"Well, um….you see…" Naruto tried to stammer out. Sakura put a hand over his mouth to silence him.
"Lady Tsunade, I told you, he's been depressed since the war ended. I don't like saying it blunt, but you or anyone else didn't see it. Only I did, but it took so long for me to actually help him and I regret it myself deeply. I just want Naruto to have an extra week off to help him get back to normal." Sakura requested.
"Alright, I get it. I should have done something myself, but Naruto, you know that we can't help you if you don't open up. I thought you would have realized that by now." Tsunade replied slightly upset with him.
"Well, you know me. Not the type of person to open up." Naruto laughed nervously.
"That doesn't matter, if Sakura hadn't done something about this, who knows what would have happened? What if Kurama hadn't been able to help you? This type of Sake kills a lesser man, much less a man with a demon contained in him." Tsunade reminded him.
"Don't call him a demon!" Naruto shouted, pointing his finger at her. Sakura's eyes widen slightly at the sudden outburst. She was surprised that Tsunade hadn't already punched his lights out for talking back.
"Don't you DARE call him a demon! Kurama is a living being that deserves respect just as much as I do!" Naruto seethed in anger. Tsunade studied the man in front of her, beginning to grasp just how much trouble he really was in.
"I see you care for him deeply. I apologize for that Naruto, just calm down ok?" Tsunade smiled as walked over to him and grasped his shoulders. Naruto slowed his breathing and closed his eyes to relax.
"Good, now since you've have some lingering issues since the war, I want Sakura to stay with you and help you as she is clearly the best person for the job." Tsunade instructed as she went back to her desk.
"You have an extra two weeks off to mend yourself and begin progress. Sakura, I've trained you well and you know how to help him. Stay with him night and day and help him, in any way possible. Dismissed." Tsunade instructed. Naruto and Sakura nodded in response and led themselves out of the door and out of the Hokage Tower. The two remained silent for a good while as they trudged themselves down a quiet dirt road.
'I want to ask him so many things, but Tsunade trained me for this and I know he needs to understand what exactly she wants him to do.' Sakura thought to herself before grasping his hand gently. Naruto turned to see the contact and looked up at her. Sakura smiled back at him before she leaned into him. Naruto smiled in return focusing back on his own thoughts.
'The slightest touch, the slightest feeling of warmth can always begin the healing process.' Sakura spoke Tsunade's teachings. Sakura waited a little longer, walking back into the village and seeing Ichiraku in the distance. Here was a good chance to help him along.
"Hey, remember the ramen I promised you?" Sakura asked him.
"Well, I remember something but it wasn't ramen." Naruto smirked back at her, earning a jab in the wrist.
"Baka, don't mention that in public, that's private." Sakura whispered, or rather growled.
"Ok, ok I'm sorry." Naruto apologized, chuckling nervously.
"Good, now how about we get some ramen to settle that stomach of yours, not to mention I don't like all the people staring at us." Sakura suggested, pulling him along to the flaps.
"But I thought you would like people staring at us, I thought you would want that." Naruto replied inquisitively.
"Yes, yes, but I'm still a shy person too you know. I don't always want us to be looked at constantly." Sakura replied.
"Well, give it time. The fame I earned was a little much at first, but it died down eventually and it became a more mutual respect. Now it's only the kids that demand autographs and give praise. Soon this will die down and it'll be nothing but respect." Naruto explained.
"Ok, either you've already made a full recovery, or you've switched into a happy mood for the day." Sakura smiled and shook her head.
"I wouldn't say that." Naruto replied.
"Come on; let's get you some beef ramen." Sakura pulled him inside the tent. The pair took a seat in the center beside each other, as Ayame appeared from out of the back.
"Oh hey Naruto! I see you've brought Sakura with you." She greeted happily.
"Yeah, well, I think we're more than that now." Naruto smiled in response.
"You think, after last night?" Sakura questioned him in a threatening tone.
"You're right, we are more than friends now." Naruto corrected himself.
"Well, I'll be, so you finally made a move on her." Ayame crossed her arms and smiled at the couple.
"It was more her making a move on me." Naruto explained to her.
"Oh really? I'm surprised that Sakura here made that move. About time too, I'm not sure how much longer Naruto was going to be a single man with all the women going after him." Ayame joked with the two.
"And would you be one of these women?" Sakura growled quietly.
"Calm down, jeez. Yes, I was. It's not the strangest thing to see an older woman and a younger man. But you have to admit Sakura, he's quite the looker and of course being the savior of the world doesn't hurt either. But at least you finally made the move on him, he wasn't going to be single for much longer." Ayame laughed in response.
"Not exactly Ayame, I wasn't actively looking for any girl to be with. I had other…issues." Naruto subjected.
"Besides, I wouldn't have let it happen on my watch. No one takes my man, no one." Sakura gave an evil smile to Ayame, covering her own emotional outburst thinking about what Naruto had just said.
"Yeah, Sakura, that doesn't work on me. Besides, I knew you'd do something and get him eventually. So no need to threaten me now. Anyway, the usual for you Naruto?" Ayame turned back to face the pots and pans.
"Yeah and…wait, what do you want Sakura?" Naruto asked her.
"Just give me what he's having, I don't mind." Sakura replied in return.
"Are you Sakura? I know you like to watch your figure." Naruto reminded her.
"Usually yes, but this is about you for now. Besides, you don't mind if I gain a few pounds do you?" Sakura asked him in response. Naruto was dumbfounded.
"Ok, are you the real Sakura or an imposter?" Naruto asked with a glare. Sakura only laughed in response.
"Just get me the same thing Ayame." Sakura spoke over the counter.
"You got it." Ayame called back as she stirred the pot around. Naruto continued to look over at Sakura, still seeped in deception.
"Are you sure you're Sakura?" Naruto asked her again.
"Baka, shut up before I make you remember it's me." Sakura warned him. Naruto looked at her closely one more time before nodding and then grasping her hand. Sakura smiled back at him, thanking him silently as she ran her thumb gently over his hand.
"Hey Ayame, I'm guessing you dad isn't in today?" Naruto asked her, changing the subject.
"Yeah he's a little sick right now so I'm running the shop." Ayame replied.
"I'm sorry to hear that. When you see him, tell him I hope he gets better." Naruto answered back.
"I will and thanks for your concern Naruto." Ayame smiled back before placing two bowls of steaming ramen in front of the pair.
"Eat up you two." She added.
"Thank you." The couple replied in unison before digging in. Ayame giggled at the pair.
'Even their replies are in synch with each other.' She thought before turning back to clean some dishes.
Naruto surprisingly didn't eat his ramen at such a high rate as he used to, something that concerned Sakura. Yes, they hadn't eaten ramen together in a long time, but even she knew this was an unusual behavior for him.
"Naruto…um, why are you eating yours so slowly? That isn't exactly you." Sakura questioned him. Naruto slurped up a noodle quickly before answering.
'Ok, he still has some habits.' Sakura thought.
"Well, I just began to realize that eating so much of the stuff wasn't the best thing for me. The last time I had a checkup, it was by a different medic than you, but she didn't give me the usual results. She said that my sodium intake was too high." Naruto explained.
"You, high sodium? No…" Sakura mocked.
"Very funny, anyways, when I told her my diet, she almost fainted then and there. After about five minutes of lecturing, she told me that it was better to enjoy the taste of it, and not the volume of it. So I gave it a try and wouldn't you know it, she was right." Naruto smiled back.
"That's what I've been telling you for years!" Sakura shouted back at him.
"I know, but the reason I even went to the doctor in the first place was because of a lack of energy and I knew that wasn't right, knowing how much I have." Naruto explained.
"You, lack of energy? I can't even put those words in a sentence without almost fainting. So because of this medic, a female medic, like me, you finally listened?" Sakura replied in disbelief.
"Uh….yeah?" Naruto answered nervously. Sakura's head instantly hit the counter.
"Ayame, is this true?" Sakura asked.
"Yep, I was shocked too. But hey, he sometimes breaks habit and does it again. Otherwise, he's been good about it." Ayame smiled as she washed another pot.
"I should beat you into a pulp right now." She mumbled out hitting her against the counter and sighed in annoyance.
"Sorry?" Naruto apologized with a weak smile.
"It's fine. I supposed if she helped you get off eating so much of the stuff, then it's a good thing. But only if she didn't try to pull anything else!" Sakura shouted pointing a finger at him.
"I swear! She didn't!" Naruto waved his hands in self-defense.
"Good, now then, let's finish this up and enjoy the rest of our day, ok?" Sakura smiled sweetly, returning to her meal. Naruto nervously nodded, well reminded and reassured this was the real Sakura sitting next to him. The pair finished in about half an hour, taking their time and talking about various things that they had done in recent months before leaving the stand.
"Alright you two, don't be afraid to come back soon." She waved them off with a smile, the couple waving back as the exited the stand.
"Yo." A quiet voice came from beside them, scaring them half to death.
"Damn it Kakashi sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, clutching her chest.
"What's the matter Sakura? I thought you were supposed to be a shinobi." Kakashi remarked flipping a page in his Icha Icha Tactics.
"I am, but even I get scared when my old teacher decides to eavesdrop on our conversations." Sakura reprimanded him.
"But you two were so delved into each other that I didn't want to interrupt." Kakashi chuckled closing his book.
"Still…anyway, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked him.
"Well, the Hokage told me about you two and your current predicament. So I took it upon myself to help out in any way possible." Kakashi explained as the trio began to walk along the road in the market.
"Great, just what I need." Sakura sighed quietly.
"Sakura, I'm hurt. I thought you would like to have some time back as Team Seven again." Kakashi remarked. Sakura almost flinched at the comment, she quickly turned to Naruto.
"Team Seven died a long time ago." Naruto quietly replied looking down at the ground. Kakashi mentally cursed himself for that.
"I'm sorry Naruto, I didn't mean…" Kakashi tried to apologize.
"It's fine, just don't mention it again." Naruto replied quietly as the three of them walked onto a more open area of the village that led to the forests.
"You know that living in the past is something that can be harmful." Kakashi reminded him.
"Says the man that has an eye from the past." Naruto turned back to him. Sakura was about to beat Kakashi into a bloody pulp.
'Just when he was doing good, Kakashi has to fuck it up.' Sakura bitterly thought.
"Ok, both of you stop it. No more talk about any lectures on pasts and no more back talking to our sensei." Sakura instructed to Kakashi and then Naruto.
"She's right, let's not talk about that. Let's talk about the future." Kakashi suggested with a smile.
"I guess." Naruto replied looking up at the sky. Sakura shook her head again.
"Alright, you, talk to your sensei. You, talk to your student. I do not need anyone being depressed here right now. My job is make sure he gets better and that starts off with you two speaking." Sakura instructed the pair. Both nodded quietly before looking at each other.
"Good, I'll be over there readjusting my sandals." Sakura pointed over to the trees in the distance and storming off, leaving the two alone in awkward silence.
"I'm sorry." Naruto answered breaking it.
"Me too." Kakashi replied back.
"You know I don't mean to be like this." Naruto turned back and sat down next to a tree.
"I know Naruto, but you needed the help. War is a difficult thing, and it affects people in different ways. You used to be so mentally strong, able to withstand anything. But seeing what we saw, the living dead before our eyes, losing comrades left and right, those are the realities we face every day. It's just we saw a grand scale of that." Kakashi reminded him.
"I know that, but it isn't exactly the easiest thing to forget." Naruto replied.
"I'm not talking about forgetting Naruto. If I could forget the things that happened to me, I probably would, but I can't. So I use those memories to push myself forward. You taught me that with your ever unbreakable spirit." Kakashi replied. Naruto laughed quietly at the comment.
"I appreciate it that. I guess that it's going to take some time for me to understand everything." Naruto replied back.
"All in due time Naruto. But having Sakura along with you will go a long way. Especially since you two are a couple now." Kakashi remarked opening his book back open.
"So Tsunade told you about that as well?" Naruto chuckled.
"Yep and that brings up a personal question of my own. Did you two do anything last night by chance?" Kakashi smirked.
"That's no business of yours!" Naruto shot up and raised his fist in the air ready to strike him.
"Your reaction says it all. Well hey, at least now you get to see her that way anytime you want." Kakashi smiled poking fun at him.
"Oh really?" A voice appeared behind them, with the sound of knuckles being cracked in the air. Kakashi quickly turned around, his one visible eye widening in horror.
"If Naruto's reaction says it all, I wonder what my reaction will be like." Sakura growled with a vein throbbing in her forehead.
"Um Naruto, a little help if you don't mind?" Kakashi asked him, sweating bullets.
"You think I'm going to help you? HA! Serves you right, so if I were you, I'd run." Naruto suggested with a sly smile. Kakashi didn't hesitate as he quickly vanished in a swirl a leaves before Sakura could even land a punch.
"That son of a…I don't like people talking about that!" Sakura huffed crossing her arms.
"I'm sure you'll talk to Ino about it at some point. Don't let it get to you." Naruto replied standing up and gently rubbing her shoulders.
"Ino will not hear of this, no matter how hard she tries to get me to speak." Sakura replied turning around to face him.
"You will, but I won't say a thing." Naruto replied smiling back at her. Sakura couldn't help but smile back.
"Aren't you the one that's supposed to need help?" She asked him grabbing his hand and leading him back down the path.
"Well, you being here has already done that I think. I'm happier than I've been in a long time." Naruto commented.
"I'm glad to hear that, but you know that there's more to be done before I say you're one hundred percent back to normal." Sakura reminded him.
"I feel fine though." Naruto tried to convince her.
"Not unless I say so. Now how about we go back to your place and enjoy ourselves? Dinner time isn't for another four hours, at least for me." Sakura replied.
"Four hours, it's almost four in the afternoon. I thought you ate earlier than that?" Naruto questioned her.
"We can't eat at eight? I thought we'd spend the day just relaxing, talking, you know, just to get you a little relaxed." Sakura explained.
"Well what exactly did you have in mind?" Naruto asked her as they entered back into the village.
"You could tell me about some of the adventures you had while you were away, wait, maybe not." Sakura lamented on her decision.
"Why not?" Naruto replied.
"I don't want to remind you of Jiraiya." Sakura bluntly stated.
"I see." Naruto turned back and looked to see his home just a few blocks away.
"We could just stay in bed and sleep for the day." Sakura suggested.
"No, no, I like your idea. I've never really told anyone about those times. You'll be the first one to hear them." Naruto smiled back at her. Sakura could only return the gesture.
'I hope it doesn't hurt him to talk about it. But it's what Tsunade taught.' Sakura thought as the pair arrived at his home.
Naruto led them inside where they began to talk for hours or rather Naruto did as Sakura simply listened to his tales. He conveniently left out some the instances where the old pervert tried to get him with a young woman. Sakura would kill him if he mentioned that. But the other stories he had amazed her, all the days of training, working, taking out other enemy shinobi. The kunoichi was admiring him greatly as he weaved a web of words.
"Sakura?" Naruto said.
"Yes?" she replied instantly.
"What do you plan to say when you tell your mom?" Naruto asked her nervously.
"I plan to say that I'm together with you and she has to let me go." Sakura stated bluntly.
"Is it really that simple?" Naruto asked her in disbelief.
"For me it is. Besides, Lady Tsunade said I had to stay with you anyways. This just makes it easier for me to move in with you." Sakura stated calmly.
"Wow, you sure are quick with her decisions. I hope I have some room to argue at some point." Naruto chuckled quietly.
"What, so you don't want me to move in?" Sakura replied with a smirk.
"No, no, I'm just surprised you wanted to move so fast." Naruto replied running a hand through his hair.
"You should know me by now Naruto. Besides, I've thought about this for a very long time and if I had said something sooner, I would have done the same thing. So there's no point in arguing about it." Sakura smiled back leaning into his chest from their place on the couch. Sakura felt content here on his chest. But when she felt a yawn come from his chest and his mouth, she decided that they needed, or he needed a more comfortable place to sleep. She grasped his hand and led him to the bedroom where he fell asleep almost instantly, but not before Sakura placed herself next to him.
'I guess he really needed this. At least he's sleeping peacefully for the moment.'
She wondered how well he had actually slept for the last four years. Sakura could only imagine that he had countless nightmares, probably much worse than what she had witnessed last night. The thoughts of him thrashing about and screaming awake at night haunted her. The way that he rested against the top of her bosom, how he nuzzled into her, almost looking for someone to hold showed what he needed. He clung to her like a lost child, something that saddened her deeply.
'It isn't fair the way he lived. He deserved the love a mother and father. He deserves to have something in his life like that, but I can only give him my love.'
Sakura soon found herself begin to fall asleep herself as she relaxed to his breathing. More time passed by as the sun completely set upon the village. The bed though creaked quietly as the blond awoke from his slumber, another bad dream haunting his mind. Naruto gently removed himself from Sakura's hold on him and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He looked down at the floor with his hands hung in his lap, taking a deep sigh with him.
'You should go back to sleep.'
'I can't, you know what my dreams are like Kurama.'
'Yes, but this is the best sleep you've had in years. Sakura seems to really understand you and it's working.'
'That doesn't mean that I still don't have the nightmares.'
'You've had to eventually get past it like Kakashi said.'
'I'm trying, but it isn't exactly easy to forget about the loved ones I've lost.'
'I wish I could guide you to that answer Naruto, but I can't say any more than what I've told you.'
'Moving on, trying to think of the good that came of it. I know, you've told me, but I can't. I just can't get past it.'
'You can Naruto, it'll just take some time.'
'I hope that time is soon.'
'I'm sure it will be. And Naruto?'
'Yeah Kurama?'
'I appreciate what you said to Tsunade. You didn't need to defend me.' Kurama grumbled quietly.
'Yeah I did, you're a misunderstood creature. If people would just understand then they wouldn't call you a demon.'
'I'm still a demon, no matter what. That's something that will never change.'
'At least you're a nice one.' Naruto laughed quietly.
'Get some sleep you baka.' Kurama chuckled.
Naruto sighed quietly, running a scared hand through his unruly hair. He wasn't sure what to make of his mind right now. It was playing tricks on him half the time. He wasn't sure what was real at times, but he attributed that to the lack of sleep he had suffered. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the pair of soft hands wrap around him.
"What's wrong?" Sakura quietly asked him, kissing his neck.
"I just can't sleep bad dreams again." Naruto simply replied.
"I'm sorry." Sakura whispered.
"You don't have to be. I've been dealing with them for a long time." Naruto answered.
"That doesn't mean that you didn't have to face them alone." Sakura reminded.
"It wasn't exactly like I knew you loved me though. I still thought you loved Sasuke." Naruto grasped her hand gently.
"I know you did, and I still regret not saying anything. But I want to show you and make it up to you. The bottle isn't how you deal with this pain, I've seen it firsthand." Sakura kissed his cheek.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked her closing his eyes.
"I've seen Tsunade drink once or twice quite heavily, drowning her sorrows over her own losses. I've seen her cry over them, especially Jiraiya. I don't want you making that same mistake. I don't want you going down that road." Sakura nuzzled her cheek against his.
"Sakura…" Naruto whispered.
"I'm just glad that I said something before it was too late. I don't want to lose you." Sakura whispered back, a few strand tears running down her eyes. Naruto grasped her hand tighter and leaned into her as he felt the tears.
"Don't cry Sakura." Naruto whispered.
"I can't help it." She answered back wiping them away.
"Why?" he asked her.
"I can't stand to see you hurt." Sakura answered him pulling back down onto the bed.
"You think that I like seeing you hurt?" Naruto asked her back. Sakura shook her head.
"No, I know you don't like it." Sakura responded.
"Then let's stop crying about it for a moment and enjoy this." Naruto suggested as he grasped her hand gently.
Sakura wondered just how much he was impacted by the sudden nature of their relationship. But was it the fact that she initiation it that made him more happy right now? She could only assume so as she felt her heart race slightly.
'What if I had done something sooner? Could I have prevented this?' Sakura thought with a sadden heart.
"Don't doubt yourself Sakura." Naruto blurted out, catching her off guard.
"What? How did you?" Sakura sputtered.
"I can tell by the way your body is reacting right now. You doubt either something, or you doubt yourself." Naruto explained.
"But…but…" she sputtered.
"You think that my training was just for strength? Sakura, my training had me learn how to sense problems or troubles in other people. Now tell me what's wrong." Naruto instructed.
"It's nothing, just a little thought about the past. I don't want to think about the past anymore, or at least not what could have been." Sakura replied kissing his cheek.
"I believe you, but don't doubt yourself or think about things like that." Naruto leaned onto her shoulder.
'I thought he was the one that needed help. Yet I'm the one crying.' Sakura thought as she nuzzled closer to him. She placed a gentle kiss on his shoulder, and another on his neck.
She felt the need to keep pressing his lips to his skin, moving up to his cheek. The years of self-isolation, the pain that they both had endured from being apart, the nights of loneliness between them were slowly beginning to vanish and a new part of their lives were just starting. The attraction, the tension all of it built up yesterday and unleashed in a loved fuel night of wild sex. Now though, she felt the need to slow things down, take their time with this and make this second time more memorable than the first.
"Sakura?" Naruto whispered.
"Shh." Sakura whispered as she moved herself on top of him and lifted his shirt off of him. He didn't object as she threw it across the room and watched as she leaned down to kiss his chest, just over his heart. She leaned back up and gently kissed his lips, pulling back and smiled at him looking deep into his eyes.
"I need you Naruto." She whispered gently.
"I need you too Sakura." He whispered back gently, brushing a lock of her hair back before lowering his hands down. He ignored the ever presenting problem in his pants and grasped the hem of her loose shirt, or rather his shirt and lifted it off of her, revealing her bra covered breast. He leaned up and kissed just over her heart as well to return her gesture.
"I love you." He smiled pulling her down to him.
"I love you too. Now show me." She smiled back and the two began another passion filled night.
A/N: Since the demand for another chapter was high, I went ahead and decided to make it into three parts since that's what I prefer to do. I may make it last longer, not sure on that yet seeing as this was intended as a one shot. But my finals are done, so now I have time to work on this and try to release some more chapters. I'm also working on something for Inuyasha that I hope to release soon.