Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Once Upon a Time

Being happy was simple, easy…

.

Afternoon.

Ramen Stand.

Naruto.

.

"So Sakura are you done for the day? Do you wanna train with me and Kakashi? We can team up on him. Or we can do a three way. Or we can both verse you. Or-" He was bouncing up and down in his seat, he knew that, but he couldn't stop. He was so excited, Sakura almost never trained or even ate ramen with them anymore. Usually she was really busy at the hospital.

Sakura laughed at his over-enthusiasm, "Sure, of course Naruto." For a second, though, he caught a glint of something in her eyes, he didn't know what it was but it wasn't a happy emotion. Maybe sorrow? Disappointment? Maybe she felt guilty?

But then he saw her eyes flick to the chair beside her before quickly shifting back to him and he understood. She was remembering… remembering about how there would be another teammate sitting there. A man with onyx eyes and hair. A man with a pale face.

A man who was once his best friend, his brother. A man who, no matter how much he denied it, still was (and always would be) his best friend, his brother.

"Hey, you guys got ramen without me? I feel unloved."

"That's because you are unloved Sai. Right Sakura?"

"I thought you didn't want our love?" Sakura had her hands on her hips again and she was looking at Sai through narrow eyes.

"So why are you here Sai? You hate ramen."

"I don't hate ramen. I just don't think it's good for you."

"Get to the point Sai." Sakura's tapping her foot and giving him an evil look, although all of us can tell it's not real.

Sai shoves his hair out of his face and grins.

He looks a lot like Sasuke… he looks like a washed out cheap copy, though. Like someone tried to clone him but failed to do so properly.

"Well ugly, to 'get to the point,' I was wondering if you guys wanted to train? I'm bored and Yamato has things to do."

"Alright, let's go do this." Kakashi interrupts before Sakura and Sai can get into another fight, "Sakura, you fight with Naruto. I've got Sai. Let's head to the field."

"Fine." They both huff and cross their arms.

Naruto just sighs and puts his hands behind his head and continues to walk behind them, staring up at the sky. It's nice out, not a cloud in the sky. Shikamaru won't be happy about that, he muses absentmindedly as he follows, uncharacteristically silent, glancing back once at the seat that Sakura had also been looking at.

Things changed way too fast.

.

Sakura.

.

"Hurry up Naruto! I'm waiting." The girl shoves her hair back and pulls on her gloves as Naruto jogs up the last few feet.

"I'm here Sakura! What's the rush?"

"I wanna be done before sunset." She looks around her and rubs her arms as if it's already dark. She could do missions at night, but Konoha just had a creepy feeling to it at night. She couldn't explain what she meant by this. When she was little she loved wandering the streets at night. Konoha was a totally different place at night, but what once comforted her now worried her.

Perhaps because she'd seen so much bloodshed.

Perhaps because he left in the night… but no, she didn't think about that. She tried not to think about him at all. It only caused her, and everyone around her, pain.

"Alright," Naruto grinned, "but I'm not gonna go easy on you Sakura. Just because you're a girl doesn't mean you deserve special treatment."

"ARE YOU SAYING I CAN'T BEAT YOU OTHERWISE? Be prepared for a world of hurt Naruto!" She could tell he wasn't worried, but he would be soon.

"Let's do this."

.

Two hours later.

.

"Do you know where Kakashi and Sai are?" Sakura asked.

They were both panting, leaning against one of the huge trees bordering the field.

"Probably in the forest. For some reason they like fighting in there."

"More places to hide and strategize. Unlike in an open field where you know where your opponent is at all times."

"Unless they hide in the ground."

"That's different."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not and I won so there."

"Is too and you lost! I won."

"Nu-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Nu-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Why is it that whenever I walk up to you two, you're always in some foolish fight?"

Both look up to see Kakashi standing upside down on a branch in the tree they were both leaning against. Sai was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Sai?"

"Buried somewhere in the forest, why?"

"Kakashi! You can't just leave him there."

"He'll get out eventually."

Naruto was rolling around on the floor, trying to get his breath. He was laughing so hard his face was the color of Sakura's hair.

"Come on Naruto, we're going in there to rescue him."

"Why?"

"Because I said so, that's why."

"Because you said so why?"

"DO YOU WANT TO END UP BACK IN THE HOSPITAL?"

"No?"

"Then come on." She pulled him up and they both headed into the forest.

Kakashi was chuckling on the tree branch, and he called out behind them, "You know, Naruto, they should have a limit as to how many times you're admitted."

"Or I should just move in there." He muttered under his breath, following Sakura. The woman was crazy, in his opinion.

"What was that Naruto?"

"Nothing."

"Hey Sai! You in here?" She called over and over as Naruto poked branches and bushes (and occasionally animals that would then attack him) with the huge stick he found.

"Hey Ugly, Di-"

"Don't even start with that." Naruto growled and poked Sai with the stick.

"Ow!"

Naruto smirked with success as he looked down at Sai.

Sakura giggled.

All that was visible of Sai was his head. He was buried from the neck down.

"What did he do to you?" Naruto asked, nudging Sai's head with his foot, rather than the stick, which he'd thrown into the forest.

Sai aimed a bite at the foot nudging his head.

"Hey!" Naruto cried, outraged.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. That foot has been in the mud and it's sweaty. And it's Naruto's foot. Why would you want to put that in your mouth?"

"Good point. Help me out?"

"HEY! My foot is wonderful. A lot of people would give a lot of money to kiss it."

"Name one person." Sakura grunted as she pulled Sai out of the ground by his ears.

"Ow."

"Um…"

"Didn't think so."

The trio started walking back, Sai on one side, Naruto on the other, with Sakura in the middle.

Sai's hands swung back and forth.

Sakura's were clasped behind her back.

Naruto's were clasped behind his head.

"You know," she said, breaking the silence between the three, "Kakashi did that to Sasuke when we had our first training session with him, you remember Naruto? The bell test?"

"Yeah, I remember the bell test." There was a fond look on his face.

"Well I found Sasuke like that, froze, thought his head got chopped off, and I fainted. Right there."

The three laughed at the way Sakura reacted.

"I was stupid back then."

"You're stupid now, Ugly."

Sakura punched him in the arm before continuing, "You know, he never left my side, after he got out. He stayed there until I woke up. I remember feeling so special. Stupid right? I can't believe I used to worship the ground he walked on."

"Aw, Sakura, don't worry we won't tell anyone that you used to act like a fangirl," he tugged on a strand of her short pink hair and said, "they all already know anyway." And then he ran for his life.

"UZUMAKI!" The pink haired woman ran behind him, leaving Sai in the dust, promising to herself if, when, she caught up to Naruto, she'd hit him so hard he'd end up back in the hospital for the next week.

.

Sai.

.

He watched them go and shook his head. He didn't fit in with this team. He never belonged here. Putting him in with this team was like trying to finish a puzzle with a piece that looked like it would fit, but didn't.

He sighed and watched them running before turning around and heading back into the forest, content to find a nice branch and sit on it while painting something new.

He wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, and he wasn't going to try to be.

He wasn't even what they knew him as. He wasn't Sai. But that, that he could try to be.

For them, because although he didn't fit into their picture of perfection, they were his friends and he would care for them like they cared for him.

.

Kakashi.

.

He was sitting on a nice rooftop when he heard screams and chaos below him, and looking down (and away from his precious book) he saw Naruto being chased by Sakura, while she was screaming that he'd be in the hospital for at least a week after she was done with him.

He sighed and shook his head, going back to his book.

Some things never changed.

Some things would always stay the same.

Change soon left his mind, as he was pulled into his book.

But now they had to try their hardest to remember what it's like.

Another chapter for this too!

I think I have some serious problems. Instead of steadily updating, I update everything at around the same time and then I virtually disappear off of the face of the world for, like, a month before reemerging.

But school's almost over! Maybe I'll have more time to update. Maybe.

My excuses will be something along the lines of:

On vacation with my family with little to no access to a computer.

Hanging out with friends.

My friends won't leave unless I threaten them (or run out of food).

Busy doing summer stuff.

LIKE FLOATING IN MY POOL! (Which still hasn't been opened due to the fact that it gets warm then gets really cold then gets warm again-BUT IT WILL OPEN SOON. I WILL MAKE SURE OF IT!)

Cherries now has to go do homework, study for her test, and finish a project all before tomorrow morning.

Anyway, review!