Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 5 - Acceptance

The second group seemed to be more troublesome than the first. They had started the training at 9.00AM, earlier than the first with Sakura and Natsume thinking they too would be well skilled and were secretly hoping they would be finished earlier. Unfortunatley for them, it had now gone past 1PM and the trainees were struggling to identify the wounds on the patients and administrating the correct procedure to heal them.

She paced up and down the medical ward, keeping an even closer eye on the trainees, with Natsume currently busy with a group in the left corner. She didnt need this. Not today. She had got home and in bed at around 2AM last night, she guessed, and had overslept. Rushing to get in on time, she had left out eating breakfast and because of the more needy trainees, she had to work on an empty stomach. It growled repeatedly as she examined and helped the medics, glancing at the clock every so often, desperate to finish up quickly.

She was standing by the large window looking around at the trainees hard at work, her aching stomach causing her to bite her lip. Her pained expression didnt go unnoticed by her assistant, who walked over to her.

"Sakura-san, are you ok?" Natsume asked, concerned.

"Ahh, Natsume I'm fine!" Sakura replied smiling at the brunette.

"It's just that you look as if you're in pain..."

"No no, dont worry. I didnt have time to get some breakfast this morning that's all." Sakura replied appreciating the girls concern.

"You didnt?! Go, go now! I will look after them here!" Natsume pleaded.

Sakura smiled widely at the girl and thanked her, "It doesn't matter, I think they'll be done soon!" She said, walking over to a medic asking for assistance.

Geez I hope they're done soon. She thought making her way to examine the trainees' patient. When she had finished she walked back over to Natsume, giving her an assuring smile, despite her aching stomach.

"Ironic how we thought this group would be the same as yesterdays huh?" Sakura said, laughing lightly.

Natsume returned a light chuckle, "Yeah, they seem to be having a lot more trouble." She replied looking around at the trainees worryingly.

Sakura noticed the girls concern, "Ahh dont worry Natsume! We'll get them all trained and ready to handle the worst injuries possible! You'll see! It's just going to take a lot more time..." She said muttering the latter.

Natsume turned to face Sakura and nodded, smiling widely.

"I think their forms are going to be quite troubling too..." Sakura said, rubbing her head.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for having to leave it all to you." Natsume replied, her head dipping down slightly.

"What?!" Sakura jerked around, looking at the girl in shock.

"Huh? You forgot?"

"Forgot? Forgot what?" Sakura asked, confused.

"I told you this morning I needed to leave straight after training, you do remember Sakura-san?" An hopeful Natsume questioned.

Sakura's eyes softened, remembering her chat with the girl before the training, "Ahh, yes yes, I do. Sorry, my mind's all over the place today!" She joked, reassuring the girl.

She was supervising some trainees when she saw Tsunade and Gaara enter the ward. Quickly applying some hand sanitizer, she made her way over to the two Kage's.

"Tsunade-sama! Gaara-san! Is everything ok?!" She asked, worry etched on her face.

"Hmm? Yes of course, everything is fine." Tsunade replied looking around the room, "We just came by to see how everything is progressing." She continued.

"Oh right. Things are good here. Well, this groups seems to be having some difficulty at the moment, but it's nothing serious." Sakura replied, standing beside Gaara and joining the two in watching the trainees.

"I'm sure with your guidance they'll be trained in no time." Gaara said, Tsunade nodding in agreement.

Sakura smiled faintly, "Thank you." She said, blushing slightly. "Ahh, I didnt see you both last night?" She continued, turning her head to them.

"Oh yes, we were going through some things regarding building plans and ran late. We just managed to get there before it finished." Tsunade replied.

"I see, I must have left by then." Sakura said, turning her head back around.

"Didnt know you were going." Gaara said, his eyes remained inspecting the ward.

"Yeah, well the noise kept annoying me, so I decided to go out, plus there was free food." She replied, smirking evilly at the latter.

"Free food," Gaara echoed, chuckling lightly, "Shouldn't you have gone with the notion of congratulating Naruto on his engagement to Hyuga Hinata?" Gaara questioned, slowly looking sideways at the girl.

Sakura returned his look, slowly looking up to him, noting the ambiguity in his voice. "Yes. Of course I did. But, it's quite difficult for one to ignore the smell of delicious food, especially when its wafting in all over your house." Sakura replied as-a-matter-of-fact like, narrowing her eyes at the Kazekage and crossing her arms.

"Right, well I better go, I told Naruto to meet me in my office, and oh look, I'm running late." Tsunade spoke, waving good bye to the two and walking out of the ward.

Sakura watched her leave the room, then turned around, "Wonder what they're talking about." She muttered.

"Hmm?" Gaara asked.

"Nothing. It's just Tsunade-sama doesn't really invite you to her office in the afternoon. Mainly because she's so tired and has so much work to catch up on, so it must be pretty important what she's got to talk to him about." Sakura answered, looking at the trainees nearest to her on her left.

"Yeah well, she has named him as her successor so they have plenty to talk about." Gaara replied.

"What?!" Sakura screeched, causing some of the trainees to lose their concentration. She quickly gained her composure and spoke again, now in a more hushed tone, "What did you just say?!"

"Naruto has been named as Tsunade-sama's successor and so the future Sixth Hokage." He answered nonchalantly.

Sakura's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. No words left her mouth and her eyes slowly made their way to the floor, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Gaara looked down at the confused expression on the girl, "You didnt know?"

"No. I didnt." She stated through gritted teeth, anger building within her. She was suddenly called over by a trainee before Gaara could speak. As she marched over to the students, he turned to leave, but didnt fail to notice her clenched jaw and stiff body, taking all of her effort to contain her anger and tend to the students.

The days training finally finished at around 5pm. Natsume and the trainees had gone home and Sakura was now in her office, tending to the forms the medics filled out earlier. Fortunately for her she managed to get some food in her and was now feeling more lively and determined to finish the work before nightfall.

She had left her office to retrieve some work from the front desk when a familiar voice bellowed at her, "Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled leaping towards the desk. The receptionists and doctors around looked over at said boy and smiled at his antics. Sakura however, looked up at him, giving him a hard glare and turned away, walking back to her office.

Confusion enveloped Naruto and he ran after her, "W-wait! Sakura-chan!" He yelled, following her into her office. She threw the papers on her desk and sat down, immediately turning to her papers and ignoring the blond.

Naruto shut the door and remained by it. Silence fell in the room, with Sakura not bothering to make any effort to acknowledge him.

He cleared his throat and spoke hesitantly, noting the girls anger, "Erm, I came to say thank you for attending yesterday." He spoke quietly, nerves keeping him against the door.

She got up and threw some papers into the cabinet behind her, slamming it shut, causing Naruto to jump. She turned to face him and smiled, "Of course. I wouldn't want you to get angry at me again. You know for not attending your special night, or not specifically telling you about my false engagement rumours, because you've been so honest with me, haven't you, Naruto?" She said, sarcasm and bitterness evident in her voice.

"Err, ye-" He began, but a relentless Sakura continued.

"You know it's kind of funny how you came over and started shouting at me for not telling you something so small, which wasn't even true and making me feel bad for not telling you considering how long we've known each other, when all along you've had your own little news that you never mentioned."

Naruto looked away, confused at the girl's choice of words.

"I mean, I know your an idiot and you've got the memory of a fish, literally." She stated with a sarcastic smile, "But things like this, a person never forgets. They tell everyone, everywhere, all the time." She finished, her face now straight.

"Erm, Sakura-chan, you're not making any sen-"

"I'm talking about your HOKAGE SUCCESSION!" She yelled, letting her anger out.

Naruto's eyes widened and he was filled with shock and fear.

"Ahh tha-" He began, stopped by an angry Sakura lunging at him. He quickly moved to the right, dodging her deadly strike.

"Sa-Sakura-chan!" He yelped, looking back at the girl, anger seeping through her.

"What?! You're going to make excuses now?!" She shouted, leaping at him again. Naruto moved quickly over to the side of the bed, making sure to keep the bed between them. She began walking around it, trying to contain her anger.

"You come marching over to my house, almost slamming the door in my face, angry because poor you was never told that the rumours were false. You make me feel like I'd done something wrong and apologise, when you've had this huge news all along!" She yelled following Naruto around the bed.

"I-I-I was going to tell you! I swear! I just-" He said, trying to defend himself, whilst quickening his pace around the bed.

"What? You just want? You just couldn't find the right time? Huh? Is that it? Well guess what!? That doesn't matter! In your own words, I had enough time to tell you about the false rumour, I mean I had been back four days! Four days! Imagine that! God knows how you'd feel if I hadn't told you for, I dunno, a WHOLE WEEK!" She shouted, directly referring to his anger in their previous fight.

"Sa-" Naruto re-started.

"You know, fine. Fine I didnt specifically tell you. But at least you were told by someone whose close to you! Me? I was told by Gaara-san! Gaara-san! He doesn't even live in the village, he hasn't even spoken to you properly because of all his work and he knew before me! I just met you last night and still you say nothing!" She yelled, getting frustrated by their continuous circling of the bed.

Her anger getting the better of her, she grabbed a hold of the bed and slide in violently to the left, leaving the space between her and Naruto opened. Before he could react she had leapt at him and tackled him to ground. She had a hold of his collar, and with no speech from the boy her right hand formed a fist. Before she could make any contact, smoke suddenly blurred her vision. Shaking her head she quickly looked through it and noticed Naruto gone from her clutches.

"Sakura-chan, please calm down!" Naruto pleaded from behind her.

She jerked her head around quickly, seeing him standing by her desk.

Kage bunshin? When did he do that? She thought confused.

"Just let me talk!" He said, begging for her to contain her anger.

She stood up and dusted herself off, turning to look at him, anger still visible on her face. She remained silent and glared at him.

Taking that as his chance to speak, he gulped, "I was told quite recently, couple months ago, 2-3 months actually. I wasn't really expecting it, I was feeling quite down at the time..." He began, averting his eyes away from her.

"Then suddenly, baa-chan calls me in and tells me she's stepping down soon and wants me to be her successor." He continued, a light smile appearing. "I was so happy, I couldn't believe it. The news lifted me so much and I completely forgot about being sad. At first I thought she only made the announcement to make me happy but she told me I deserved it and that my dad became Hokage at this age too." He finished, the smile now more evident on his face.

Sakura remained by the window, her arms crossed, but her eyes softening at the happiness radiating from him. She looked to the floor, her anger at the situation still embedded within her, but now more contained.

"Something so amazing and such a huge achievement like this, and you were able to keep it in? Never even thought about mentioning it?" She questioned looking up at the boy.

"No! I did want to tell you! In fact I planned to tell you that time we were in that small cafe! But then we got talking about your engagement and then Hiashi-san came..." He said, muttering the latter.

"That wasn't the only time we spoke. Well first we met in the street and you moved as far away from me as possible, then, oh yeah, how could I forget, you barged into my house and shouted at me for no reason really!" She started, counting on her fingers and her voice raising.

"Then when we made up in the training grounds, oh, and of course last night, during your engagement party. Now compared to the ONE time I had seen you, I'd say you had plenty more chances to tell me something so important as this, wouldn't you?" She finished, looking at the boy questioningly.

"Yeah. Your right." He answered quietly.

Seeing the change in his demeanour and the lack of defence from him, Sakura softened her glare and sighed.

"Was it really the false engagement you were angry at?" She asked quietly, her eyes moving towards him.

"Yes. And no." He finally answered after much silence. "I was angry at not knowing, three months this was going around for. It did come as a shock to know that that idiot Sai got it wrong. But that wasn't just it. You left without saying goodbye. You told me you'd leave on the weekend, then I wake up and you're gone. Sasuke told me. He was there to say good bye and that hurt even more." He continued, moving over to the sink, his back towards her. A tinge of pain hit her and she looked to the floor, upset at his hurt.

"I guess all the emotions just came flooding back to me and I lashed out. I shouldn't have done that, it was wrong of me and I am sorry." He finished, his eyes still on the sink.

"As for this, the Hokage news, to tell you the truth, I was angry before about everything, then when we began talking again, I was just happy."

Sakura's eyes jolted up at his back, confused at his words. "Happy?"

"Yeah! I was happy you were back! Back in your village, where you belong! I was happy we were talking again! Now I had my team back, all in the same village again! I guess I just completely forgot about it." He answered, smiling widely.

She sighed, "I guess we're both in the wrong then." Shaking her head. She looked up at him and smiled, "Your such an idiot. Only you would forget something big as that, over a little change." She said making her way to her desk.

"Plus I had the party to think about too." He said, turning around, nodding.

Sakura froze at her cabinet, her back towards him. "Right." She said, her thoughts flashing back to the previous night and the picture of him and Hinata on stage, her having witnessed his affection towards her. "About that." She said turning around, smiling widely.

"I wanted to say, that I really enjoyed myself."

"You did?" He asked in amazement.

"Mm!" She nodded, "Of course I did! The stalls, the food, the lights, everything was amazing!" She exclaimed, looking down at the desk.

"I'm really pleased for you and Hinata." She paused, "And I really want us to be friends. Now that we've talked about things properly. Yeah?" She asked, looking at him.

He looked down at her green eyes and smiled widely, "Yeah that sounds great!"

"Good. Now get out, I've got to tidy things up and get on with my work that you interrupted." She said, frowning and settling in her chair.

"So does this mean I won't be assaulted if I see you again?" He asked making his way to the door.

"Sorry, I can't promise you that." She replied, smirking.

"What? Why?"

"Because it's you. And you're bound to do something stupid pretty soon." She answered shaking her head.

He let out a light chuckle, looking to the floor, "I've changed." He said looking up at her.

"Right, and I'm a bad cook!" She joked.

"Well-" He began, ready to agree with her before she shot him a deathly stare.

"Get out now." She growled, leading him to leap out the door and shutting it behind him. Smiling faintly at his antics, Sakura returned to the work in front of her.

He was walking down the streets with a huge grin plastered on his face. Greeting the passers-by happily, he radiated contentment.

The sun beat down less heavily today on the village. It was hot nonetheless, but there was a cool breeze passing through, blowing his blond hair lightly, his bangs brushing on his forehead. He was aware of his not telling Sakura that he would become Hokage soon, it had only added to the guilt he felt after shouting at her in her apartment. The hurt and anger he felt from two years ago had built within him long enough, and he unwillingly unleashed it on the smallest of whim.

He hadn't mentioned it to Hinata when she returned from dinner with her sister that night. He went to bed early, her believing he was asleep sensed nothing wrong. The reality was he had hardly slept. The events of a few hours ago replayed over and over again, throughout the night. Anger, at himself, at her and at Sai kept him up most of the night. Despite his lack of sleep, he had still left the house early, trying to throw himself into the final preparations of the engagement party planned for that night. His exhaustion had led him to the old training grounds, where he rested, his mind returning to the unfinished business.

When she arrived he didnt know how to feel. Relieved she'd come to see him despite their fight, indicating her want to make amends, but the memories of the past and the hurt he'd endured creeping in adding to his anger. He thought he could stay mad at her, until he felt her rage. She was right after all, he didnt try to stop her from leaving the village in the first place. Her pleading struck the guilt that was building within him. With his momentary lapse of judgment getting the better of him previously, he knew he couldn't stay mad at the pink kunoichi. He was always one to forgive quickly, especially when it came to her. Although they had made up briefly, he knew there was still unfinished business between them.

And so having had everything cleared and out in the open now between himself and Sakura brought great relief to Naruto. A heavy weight had been lifted off of him, evident through his light stroll around the village, the wide smile unmoved.

"You seem happy Naruto." Neji commented.

He was lost in his blissfulness that he hadn't noticed the Hyuga walking towards him, "Neji! I am happy, why wouldn't I be?!" He replied, bringing his arms down from behind his head.

The Hyuga had accepted the engagement instantly, out of his deep respect for both his clan and Naruto. As a result he remained friendly towards Naruto, despite his conflicted feelings.

"Right, of course, Hinata's been the same all day too." Neji spoke, solemnly.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Err, wh- Oh yeah yeah! Of course she would be happy! The party was great last night!" Naruto quickly replied.

"Yeah...wait what else are you so happy about then?" Neji inquired, noting the boys forgetfulness.

"Hmm? Nothing!" Naruto smirked, earning a glare form Neji.

"I just met with Sakura-chan and we got a few things cleared up that's all!" Naruto replied, sighing at his defeat.

"Sakura? I see..." Neji said, nodding knowingly.

"Well yeah, we weren't really on great terms before, but I just saw her now and we patched things up!" A chirpy Naruto explained, walking past Neji.

"Patched things up? Does Hinata know about this?" Neji asked, following him.

Naruto turned to face Neji slowly, slight confusion and suspicion present in his eyes as to what the Hyuga was implying, "No, she doesn't. It's not like I planned this, I went to say thank you for attending last night and we got talking." Naruto stated, fully facing Neji, staring into his eyes.

"If there's something you want to say Neji, then say it." He continued, confused at his change in demeanour.

As per his gentlemen like demeanour, Neji had been fully supportive of Naruto and Hinata's relationship, lending help whenever needed, enjoying meals and outings with them. Even now that they were engaged he had gone so far as to nominate himself as the pairs close personal aide, something Naruto took as him just being overprotective of Hinata due to the fact that Neji had hardly assisted Naruto with anything and seemed to be more concerned for the girl instead.

His closeness to Hinata was now more evident, something that hadn't gone unnoticed by many people, unlike the ever oblivious Naruto. His developing feelings for the Hyuga princess had caused her great discomfort, for reasons he did not know.

The thought of Hinata refrained him from expressing his true thoughts. "No. There's nothing." He finally breathed an answer.

"You sure?" Naruto asked, quirking his eyebrows at him.

"Yes I am sure Naruto." Neji stated, turning away from him and walking along the street.

Naruto remained there, staring at his back for a few seconds.

Wonder what that was all about. He thought, making his way home.

When he reached his door he could smell the sweet aroma of red bean soup wafting through it. His eyes lit up immediately at the smell and swiftly entered his apartment.

"Naruto-kun? Is that you?" Hinata yelled from the kitchen.

"Yeah it's me Hinata!" He yelled back, taking his shoes off. He walked over to the kitchen and saw Hinata standing over the hot stove, a violet apron tied around her and her dark hair tied up.

He walked over to the stove and breathed in deeply, taking in the tantalizing smell radiating from the pot.

"What do you think?" Hinata asked, smiling expectantly.

"It smells great!" He answered, giving her his infamous wide smile. "That means it must taste great too!" He finished.

Hinata smiled, a slight blush appearing on her face, turning it quickly to the stove to hide it. "Well its almost done, so why dont you get dressed and I'll call you when we can eat?" She said, walking over to get some dishes.

Naruto agreed and turned around, making his way to the bedroom. He stopped by the dining table, Neji's words ringing in his ear, "Does Hinata know about this?"

He thought for a moment then turned to look at her again, "Hinata." He spoke, her looking up at him quickly, startled he was still in the room.

"Yes?" She asked, noting the seriousness in his voice.

"I saw Sakura-chan today." He answered, looking into her milky white eyes.

Her brows raised and her gaze went down to the dishes on the counter. "Oh right." She said.

"Yeah, I was saying our thank you's to everyone and I went to her too. But we kinda ended up fighting..." He said, lightly scratching his cheek.

She chuckled lightly at this. He looked at her confused, "What's so funny?" He asked.

"Nothing, just you and Sakura-san, you always end up fighting somehow." She replied, shaking her head.

Upon seeing the confused look remaining on his face she quickly spoke, "No not in a bad way! In a funny way!" She cleared, earning a smile and a nod from him.

"Yeah, well we talked about baa-chan making me Hokage soon..." He began, scratching his head. "But the thing is, we cleared up some stuff so things aren't awkward anymore." He continued, smiling happily.

Hinata looked at the boy sideways and returned his smile, "That's wonderful! I'm so pleased!" She said, clapping her hands together.

He nodded at her and walked back to the bedroom, she returning to the food.

Once he had a quick shower and changed into more comfortable clothes, he sat on his bed going through some of the work Tsunade had told him to read and understand. The bedroom was large, by anyone's standards, with an en-suite to the left of the room upon entering. A huge king-size bed draped in black took centre stage against a monochrome wall. The wall to its right had light brown cupboards built in, extending along the length of it. A white dressing table with white lights adorning the mirror-frame sat opposite the large bed, primed in position near the large windows to the left of the room.

Naruto sat on the side of the bed, facing towards the large windows with the sun shining brightly through, illuminating the room. He looked down at the paperwork in confusion, struggling to understand some of the more complicated, and unnecessary words in the document. To his right, next to the bed, sat a small side table with three drawers.

A similar drawer sat outside in the dining room, but much larger. On it, it had a number of photographs, all individually framed. They included all of his memories, his team 7 photograph on the right and a photo of him, Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon on the left. The one taking centre stage was of him and Hinata, taken on their first date, his hand draped around her shoulder pulling her close while her cheeks blushed a dark shade of red. The rest of the table overflowed with pictures of himself and sometimes Hinata too, with members of the Hyuga clan. Someone with a keen, observant eye, would notice the last picture, tucked in behind the forest of Hyuga's. It was framed in a rich red colour, with swirls linking the corners elegantly. Dust was evident on the frame, indicating the ignorance towards it.

They were seated at a bench, having a well deserved rest after having had completed a successful mission with Sai. They were sitting so comfortably close to each other, their arms rubbing. With a toothy smile, Naruto's head leaned in towards Sakura's, who mirrored the gesture, her sincere smile accompanying her relaxed pose. It was different from the rest of the photos in that it was hand drawn, courtesy of Sai by request of Naruto. Sai's drawing technique had improved greatly so that the picture looked eerily like a real photograph. It took a while to perfect it and once he did he gave it to Naruto who had always kept it in his living room.

Now he kept it hidden and pushed away from sight, far in the back, much like the thoughts he had desperately fought to forget. Memories he had banished from his mind in an attempt to move on. His attempts and convincing words to himself only added to the deception that he had finally moved on. The memories and feelings he thought he had forced out had, just like the picture frame, only been gathering dust.

When she finally finished the sun had begun setting, orange light bathing her office. She walked out towards the front desk, saying good bye to the staff when she noticed a familiar figure in the waiting area.

"Ino?" Sakura said walking over to the girl.

"Geez, finally!" Ino replied, getting up from the beige chair. "They said you asked not to be disturbed so I waited out here." She continued, smiling at her confused friend.

"R-right." Sakura spoke, remembering her instructions to the staff after Naruto's intrusion and the lack of work she had got done. "Sorry about that, I had lots to do." She finished, smiling sheepishly.

"Well you can make it up to me by going out for dinner." Ino replied, walking towards the front door.

"Please, I'm not that sorry." Sakura smirked following her friend.

"Mmm, either way, we're going." Ino stated.

"So that's why you came over?" Sakura inquired confused at her sudden appearance.

"Of course! Thought it'd be nice to see you, plus I doubt you've got anything made at home that's barely edible." Ino answered, matter-of-fact like.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the girl, "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked as they made their way into a restaurant.

The restaurant was new, one of many built recently. It had a theme of white, black and silver and exuded elegance. The front of the building was made entirely of glass. The big door in the centre was also glassed and had intricately designed silver door handles. The tables were in all different shapes and sizes. They had small squared tabled upon the entrance on either side. Moving down further in the restaurant, booths with black leather seats were fitted in along the sides, against the wall. The lighting was also different from the front, where it was brighter, here it was darker and more dimly lt.

A series of small circular tables were placed in the middle. They were draped in a while cloth, with a single white candle in the middle of it and small bouquet of black flowers next to it.

Bit romantic isn't it? Sakura thought to herself as she made her way behind Ino, annoyed at the girl.

Ino followed one of the waiters to their designated table and sat down at the small, circular table. "It means you can't cook right." She answered, opening up the menu.

"What? Yes I can!" Sakura snapped, refusing to sit down with her hands on her hips, staring down at the blonde.

"Please, Sakura your cooking is sh-" She began, quickly noting the girls building anger, she changed her words, "Its...unique." She finished smiling at her then looking back at the menu.

Sakura sighed loudly, shaking her head slightly, noting the quick cover up by her purple clothed friend. "First Naruto, now you." She muttered, pulling out the chair and taking a seat.

"Naruto?" Ino asked quickly, her eyes shooting up at Sakura, receiving a nod from her.

Ino put the menu down, her attention now fixed on her friend, "I-he-What?" She stammered, not knowing how to go about it.

"What, what?" Sakura asked, confused at her friends stammering.

"I mean, why did, how did," She tried, sighing loudly, "Dont say things like that and not elaborate!" She yelled annoyed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sakura snapped back, noting Ino's sudden frustration.

"Naruto. You said something about him." Ino replied, trying to calm down.

"Naruto...? Oh, you idiot I just meant he tried to make a comment about me being a bad cook like you did too." Sakura cleared looking down at the menu.

"Oh right," Ino relaxed, leaning back in her chair, her eyes remaining at Sakura, "So you've seen him today then?"

"Yeah, he came round to the hospital." Sakura answered, reading the wide variety of dishes.

"What did he want?"

"He came to say thank you for coming to the party yesterday." Sakura said nonchalantly.

"Hmm. I never got that." Ino said, meeting green eyes, smiling faintly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing. Just, he probably went out of his way to come and see you, specifically." The blonde replied, smirking down at the menu.

"Mmm, you'd be right if weren't for the rest of the staff who he'd thanked prior to me." Sakura said, the smiling wiping off Ino.

"Pfft, how do you know th-" Ino began.

"They told me." Sakura cut in, proudly, " I think I was the last to know..."

"Oh. That's annoying." Ino muttered.

"Why is it?" Sakura said quietly, not expecting an answer.

"You should've been one of the first dont you think?" Ino answered her, startling Sakura.

"Not really."

"Why not?"

"Why should I have been?" Sakura counteracted.

"Because you're-you're friends!" Ino said, her voice raising slightly.

"So? Just because you're friends with someone doesn't mean you necessarily know everything about them!" Sakura replied, sighing loudly.

Ino mimicked her sigh and called over the waiter, the pair placing their orders. After much silence between them, Sakura finally spoke.

"We argued. Well, to be honest I argued, he spoke." She said looking at the people around her.

"As expected." Ino remarked.

"What?" Sakura jerked her head to the girl.

"You arguing and him speaking. Its normal." She clarified.

"Really? That weren't the case before." Sakura muttered, loudly.

"Before? You argued before too? When?" A perked up Ino questioned.

"You know when I said he'd found out about the fake engagement? He came round and asked me about it and he was fuming." Sakura began, her eyes locking on the while napkin, unblinking, as if she was entranced. Ino remained silent, allowing her to continue.

"He's never been that angry at me before. Ever. At one point I was actually scared." Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes went to her lap.

"I mean he was right, I hadn't told him about it so I kind of understood his anger. That's what made me go find him the next day and luckily we made up-ish." She said, looking up, her eyes meeting Ino's.

"And then today I find out from Gaara-san that Tsunade-sama announced him as the next Hokage!" Sakura's mood changing to anger caused Ino eyes to widen and she began leaning away from the table upon seeing her clenched fist.

"And when he came round today, I was so angry and annoyed and insulted that I was made to feel so guilty about something I had no control over and I couldn't contain it." Sakura continued her voice was now raised, causing the people around her to shush her and give the pair annoying glares.

Sakura apologised, embarrassingly and regained her composure. Her voice now calm and at a quieter level, "You know the funny thing is, after all of this, I still feel in the wrong."

"What?! Why?!" Ino asked, baffled by her admission.

"I left without saying good bye to him. Instead of telling him when I was leaving, I lied to him and told Sasuke-kun. I hurt him and didnt even know that." She said solemnly, her head dropping slightly.

"Yeah, but you had good reason too! You didnt want to make saying good bye harder. That's what you told me that night." Ino stated, referring to her meeting with Sakura the night before she left.

"Yeah that's right. But in doing so I still hurt him, indirectly." Sakura replied. Ino had no words for Sakura and gave her a small smile. They were interrupted by the waiter bringing over their food. The girls tucked in, forgetting about the conversation for a bit, relishing in the warm, savoury dish.

"You never told me what happened after the war." Ino spoke finally when taking a sip from her water.

"Hmm?" Sakura asked, wiping her mouth with the napkin.

"The war. You and Naruto, you never told me if you spoke about things, like you know your confession?" Ino explained, returning to her food.

"Oh that, no, no we didnt speak about it at all." Sakura replied.

"You didnt?" Ino asked, receiving a shake of the head from Sakura.

"Not even a little?" Ino continued, followed by another shake from Sakura. Ino narrowed her eyes at Sakura, confused.

"What?" Sakura asked, annoyed at her piercing blue eyes.

"I find that hard to believe." She said.

"Well believe it. We never spoke about it, actually, we never really got much time to speak for a while. We were so busy with everything. He was dead set on helping to rebuild the village and I was working in the hospital more while helping Sasuke-kun and Karin settle back into the village too. So we never had time to relax you know?" Sakura explained, drinking her water.

"And then when things finally started to calm down and become more normal, I guess we were just so happy and distracted at having Sasuke-kun back on the team that it never came up." Sakura finished looking over at Ino.

"That's a shame." Ino said. The pair had finished eating and were drinking their drinks slowly, "Its a bigger shame he's engaged now." Ino muttered to her drink.

Sakura looked up at her quickly, surprised at her remark, "What?" She asked, confused.

Ino looked up at her and saw her confusion, "No, no I dont mean their engagement is a shame! Not that! I just meant, that now he's engaged and you know where his feelings lie now." Ino quickly explained.

Sakura nodded, understanding her friend, "Yeah..." Sakura replied quietly, her eyes on her drink.

"You never know though?!" Ino joked, winking at Sakura, attempting to lift her.

"No, I do. Last night, when you all left I stayed for a while longer and everyone was gathered at the huge stage. I saw them come up, Hiashi-san was talking at the front and the two of them were there behind him. I was looking at Naruto and thinking how much things had changed and I thought I'd saw him looking at me, but then I saw him turn to Hinata. He was so soft and affectionate with her." She explained, her eyes dimming.

"It was the first time I'd seen them together, like that. I dont know what happened to me, but I began moving forward, drawn closer to them as if I wanted to see them more clearly. If it weren't for Mitsuo-san I probably would've gone barging into someone and looking like a right idiot." She joked smiling faintly.

Ino returned her faint smile but remained quiet.

She sighed loudly, brushing a hand through her hair, "If anything I guess you're right. Last night showed me where his feelings lie, and they lie with her. I can't say I'm not upset, but I can't say I'm not happy either." She continued, the latter confusing Ino slightly.

"What I'm trying to say is, I'm happy that he's happy." She stated smiling.

"Even if you're not?" Ino asked.

"I never said that. The last thing I said to him was to promise me he'd find happiness and someone to share it with. And that's what he's done. He listened to my promise and I'm glad he did." Sakura cleared.

"So what are you going to do now then?" Ino asked, referring to her own feelings.

"Nothing." Sakura answered.

"Nothing?" Ino repeated.

"Yep, nothing." Sakura said smiling at her.

"What? Sakura you-"

"I can't just come back to Konoha after two years and say, 'Oh hey Naruto! Sorry for being out of your life for two years, no matter what's changed or who you might be engaged to, but here hold my hand and lets run away together!'" Sakura hissed, whispering the latter so no one except Ino would hear.

"Run away together?!" Ino repeated, smirking slyly.

"Argh shut up!" Sakura shouted at her friend, trying to compress a smile. "My point is, I've been away for a while. People have changed and moved on. I can't just expect everything to be the way it was when I left." She finished, getting her belongings.

They paid the bill and left the restaurant. The sun had now settled and the night sky made its presence, along with the numerous stars scattered across it. A colder breeze was now present as Sakura and Ino walked down the road.

Sakura's exhaustion was more evident now, she was yawning more often and rubbing her eyes.

"You look half dead!" Ino remarked, laughing at the girls tired appearance.

"Yeah well if it weren't for someone, I would've been in bed a long time ago." Sakura replied, giving Ino an annoyed glare.

They had reached Ino's house when she turned to face Sakura, "I'm really glad we got to talk Sakura." She said smiling at her.

"Yeah me too. I've missed it!" Sakura replied earnestly.

"Same here. We've got to do this more." Ino said, earning a nod from Sakura.

"And listen, everything you said today, I promise I'll keep it to myself yeah. I won't tell no one, not even Shikamaru, especially because of his big mouth before." She said rolling her eyes.

Sakura chuckled lightly and nodded, "Thank you Ino!" She hugged her good bye and made her way to her house.

The full moon present in the sky, shone down on the village, lighting up the streets. The cold breeze against her skin caused her to shudder slightly, but her exhaustion prevented her from picking up her pace.

She looked up at the Hokage mountain, at the faces on it. She smiled at the thought of seeing his face up there, next to Tsunade. He isn't one to pose, not seriously anyways, and the thought of seeing a serious, mature Naruto on the mountain made her chuckle lightly to herself.

She didnt want to not say good bye to him before she left for Suna. She had wanted him there the most, but she knew how difficult it would've been for him and herself to say goodbye. She often wondered if she would even be able to leave had he been there. She'd also wonder what he would've said to her had he been there, would he tell her to stay? Would she stay? Would she tell him how she felt? And what would've been his response?

Questions like these would play havoc with her mind when she arrived at Suna. It took her a while to adjust to living away from him, from everyone. Her attention had always been somewhere else that she hadn't noticed how dangerous it really was, until she almost made a fatal mistake on a patient during a class. The experience shook her and she knew she had to forget and move on. Accept that this was her life now, without Konoha, without him.

And that was what she was doing now. Accepting that he'd moved on too. He was happy now, settled and content with a bright future. She accepted he was engaged and he was in love. She herself had accepted her own feelings for him, which helped her make her decision to gloss over them. Leave them alone to not complicate things for him or herself. After all this is what she wanted, she wanted him to find happiness and find someone who brought him happiness.

What also had helped her make this decision was the fact that she was only in Konoha for a short while, as a mission even. Soon she'd be back in Suna and all of this would be behind her.

This chapter was harder to write and I dont know if it turned out well, so please review!

Thank you :)