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That got Sakura to lift her face out of her hands, and she could finally see that he had tears in his eyes. Something she hardly ever saw, and it brought tears to her own. "I'm sorry I left you."

"I'm sorry that I put you in a place where you felt like you had to leave," Sasuke replied, finally reaching forward and to his relief, Sakura accepted him wrapping his arms around her. "I love you Sakura."

"I love you too Sasuke." Sakura said, pulling back a little to kiss him, then she rested her chin on his shoulder. Tears going down her face, but for the first time in a while, she felt happy. Truly happy.


The next morning, September 12th

The sound of her alarm hitting her ears had her bolt right up to reach over and turn it off quickly. Despite being jolted away, Sakura laid back on her pillows and smiled. For the first time in a while, I feel… completely happy. These last few months were spent with me finding my happiness again, and it worked. However, there was always that incomplete happy feeling in the back of my mind. I finally figured out what it was. The thought of Sasuke had her smile turning into a grin, and she had to push herself to get out of bed to keep her happiness from exploding out of her in what would likely be a loud happy yell or laughter.

Walking into her closet, she shed her pajamas to change into running clothes, and found herself pausing as she was putting on her shoes. Her happy mood pausing at the realizing at just how comfortable she had got at the idea of being around the others and with Sasuke. It's going to be so hard when they leave…

Shaking it off, she finished with her shoes and left her room to go downstairs. She pulled her hair up as she went, and paused once she was downstairs in the living room. The whole house was dark except for what seemed like the light above the stove in the kitchen, and she heard the sound of movement. Taking slow steps around to look over the bar top into the kitchen, Sakura's shoulders relaxed. "I thought you were an intruder or something. It's five in the morning."

"Good morning to you too." Naruto shot back, as he was pouring smoothies into two glasses.

"Good morning," Sakura said, smiling at Naruto's grin. "I just didn't think you would get up to run with me this morning. I thought you were still up in your room."

"Well, I tried to be quiet since the others are in the house," Naruto replied, with a laugh, as he handed her a smoothie. "I even brought the actual blender out on the patio, and plugged it in there to blend all this together."

Sakura chuckled, after taking a sip of the smoothie. "I was wondering why I didn't hear it. Thank you for the smoothie."

"You're welcome." Naruto said, before they fell into silence to drink down their smoothies.

By the time they finished up the smoothies and went outside, the sky was starting to lighten up slightly in the distance. As they started walking along the beach, Sakura felt an awkward air between them, and she tried to change it up. "Well, it's going to be a nice run at least. It's not raining, but it's a little windy. So it'll help us stay cool."

"Yeah, that's true," Naruto agreed, his eyes swept over to study her. "Did you and Sasuke make up?"

Smiling at how quick Naruto was to come to that conclusion, Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "We did. How did you know?"

"You just seem a lot happier," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck, as he laughed. "I don't need any of the details though."

"We just talked Naruto, that's all," Sakura replied with a laugh. "I have to say though, I am probably the happiest that I've been in the past few months. It feels good."

After Sakura stopped talking, they focused back forward. "You know they are supposed to be leaving today, right?"

"Yeah..."

"I mean it was good to see them for a few days."

Despite Naruto's attempt to make it positive, Sakura felt a sinking feeling inside of her. I don't need to think about it yet. It's going to ruin my happy mood, and I need to keep this for as long as I can. "Let's get going. I want to be back by six."

After breakfast

Settling on a chair on the back patio, Sakura was sipping on her second cup of coffee. After breakfast, she wanted to go out and enjoy the view, as it was one of the nicer mornings out on the beach. There were enough clouds shade her from the sun every once in a while, and a little bit of wind. My inner hasn't bothered me since everyone showed up. The sound of the back door opening got her attention, and she looked back to see Sasuke walking outside. When their eyes met, he had smiled, and it made her smile grow.

At her positive response to him being there, Sasuke walked over and kissed her, before he sat down on the chair next to her. It was quiet for a minute, as they both were taking in the beauty of being on the beach. Sasuke could tell Sakura had something on her mind. "What are you thinking about?"

"A lot actually."

"We're leaving today."

"I know..."

Sasuke reached over and took Sakura's free hand. "It's okay if you want to stay here you know? You don't need to feel pressured to come with us. Stay if you need more time. I would just appreciate if you'd write to me every once in a while."

"I can do that," Sakura said, taking another sip of coffee before resting her head back on the chair. "It's a big decision."

"You don't have to decide anything today. You have time. Tsunade said that you didn't have a set time to come home."

Home… Sakura thought, nodding, as she looked out to the beach. Her mind spinning.

Inner Sakura: Is it really that difficult of a decision Sakura?

Sakura: I literally just said a few minutes ago that you haven't been around.

Inner: I was giving you space!

Sakura: Can you continue to do that?

Inner: No, because if I leave you on your own, then we are going to be stuck on this island for another seven months.

Sakura: It's not your decision.

Inner: It should be.

Sakura: It's my body and my decision. You are just like a little parasite in my mind.

Inner: Stop being annoying!

Sakura: Well stop being bossy-

"You've got that look on your face."

Sasuke's voice interrupted her argument with her inner, and Sakura met his eyes. "What?"

"The look," Sasuke replied, a smirk on his face. "You're fighting with your inner."

Sakura shrugged, her eyes leaving his to look out at the ocean. "She's got a lot to fight with me about today apparently."

"What about?"

"She wants me to go home."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She's wanted me to go home for months. We've been having this argument a lot."

Sasuke was quiet for a moment. "So you've been basically had a headache the entire time you're gone?"

That brought a smile to Sakura's face. "Well, I usually block her out, and she leaves me alone for a week or two. It's gotten a lot easier to do that too. I've found that the more in-tune I get with being a priestess, the quieter Inner becomes."

"Interesting." Sasuke said, noticing that made Sakura laugh.

"More like annoying," Sakura mumbled, making them both laugh. When their laughter settled, Sakura sighed. "I don't know what I'm doing at this point. Something's keeping me here, but I don't know what exactly that is yet."

Sasuke studied her for a moment in silence. "You'll figure it out."

"Regardless, I'm going to miss you," Sakura said, frowning at the thought. "I've missed you for months, and having you here for the past few days has felt like I'm getting spoiled."

"Well, I'd take the last few days. After not being around you for months, a few days has been like winning the lottery."

"I like thinking of it that way." Sakura said with a laugh. They relaxed into silence, as she rested her head on his shoulder. This is really nice.

Out on the beach

"I'm going to miss you." Hinata said, kissing Naruto's cheek, before she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Me too," Naruto said, smiling at how close she was. "Maybe we can visit each other soon."

Hinata smiled. "I'd like that. Maybe I can come here again, or we can meet halfway."

"There is a little hot springs about halfway between the Leaf and this island actually," Naruto said, gently rubbing his hand up and down her arm soothingly. "It's quiet, and we'd be able to spend as much time as we want together."

"If it's so quiet, how did you manage to stay there?" Hinata asked jokingly, smiling again when that made him laugh.

"I'm better with my indoor voice. Not much better, but enough to not get kicked out of quiet places. Right away at least."

"You've changed so much."

Naruto smiled at the chuckle that came from Hinata, however, he frowned again, as he rested a hand on her knee. "I'm sorry."

Hearing a hint of emotion in his voice, Hinata moved her head so she could look at him. "Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry that I'm not going with you."

"But you want to stay here… Don't you?"

"I do… But I want to be with you too," Naruto sighed, as he rubbed his forehead. "But I have to be here for Sakura. She told me that I can leave whenever I want to, and that I don't need to stay with her. But I don't want to leave her alone, and I want to be here if she needs me to be."

"That's okay, Naruto."

"I don't want you to feel like I'm not there for you-"

"Naruto," Hinata interrupted, reaching over to rest a hand on his face. "I understand. As much as I have missed you the past few months and as much as I will miss you when I leave… It makes me happy knowing that you are here for Sakura and that she is here for you. Besides, you won't be gone forever, and now that I know where you are, I can come visit you."

That finally brought Naruto's smile back, as he caressed her cheek. "I love you Hinata."

"I love you too." Hinata replied, leaning over to kiss him.

"Oh, looks like I'm ruining a moment."

Sakura's voice broke Hinata and Naruto apart, and Hinata sighed as she stood up and dusted off some of the sand. "Yes, but it is okay. I've got to get the rest of my stuff together anyway."

Hinata smiled at Naruto again before she walked away back towards the house. Naruto smiled right back, before his eyes went to Sakura who sat down. After a moment of silence, he took that as her not planning on starting the conversation. "So it's finally happening. They are leaving."

"We knew it would be happening."

"I just think this morning flew by quicker than we thought it would."

"Yeah, I guess..." Sakura trailed off, her uncertainty turning quickly into an almost nauseating feeling.

Naruto's feelings reflected Sakura's, as he was reminded of how happy it made him being around Hinata. Who knows when Hinata and I will be together again?

The Nine Tails: You have your duty to Sakura. But don't forget about your duty to your village. You still plan on being the next Hokage correct?

Naruto: I will be the next Hokage… I just have other priorities in my life that I can't just forget about.

The Nine Tails: Yes, the priestess is a priority, but it is also your job to help her make the right decisions.

As the Nine Tails disappeared from his mind, Naruto sighed, and glanced over to Sakura. I guess that's true… I just don't know if either of us are in a good mindset to make any decisions that won't be clouded by our emotions.

Half an hour passed, and Sakura and Naruto were alerted to the fact that they weren't alone anymore. Sasuke and Sai appeared nearby, Sai being the first to motion towards himself and Sasuke. "We're getting ready to leave."

"Oh, I didn't realize it was already time." Naruto said, standing up and dusting the sand off of himself. This feels so all of a sudden…

Sasuke's eyes were focused on Sakura, as he held out a hand for her to take. "The boat probably won't be leaving for another half hour, but we want to go ahead and go to the dock. We want to make sure that we'll actually be able to get onto a boat to take us home."

"That's smart to get their early," Sakura said, accepting Sasuke's hand to stand up. "Of course if you guys missed the boat, you always have a place to stay here."

"So have you two enjoyed having such a long break from going on missions?" Sai asked, taking off his shoes to keep sand from getting in them. "Sasuke and I have been assigned to way too many escort missions lately."

"Or the Hokage pawns us off to whatever team needs extra bodies." Sasuke added.

"I mean we miss missions," Sakura said, sharing a look with Naruto to confirm. "When we were still in the village, we weren't being assigned to that many missions in the first place, because of our training. It really feels like forever since we got to go on a really good mission together."

Naruto laughed. "I'm sure we'll be able to pester Tsunade into giving us a mission soon after we go back… Or she'll get tired of us being together again, and she'll send us on a mission on her own."

They all laughed at that, Sasuke settling with a smirk. "That sounds more accurate."

"I have missed you guys." Sakura said, after it took her a moment to get past occasional laughter.

"We've missed you two as well." Sasuke replied, his smirk turning to a smile when his eyes met Sakura's.

"Even Kakashi and Yamato missed you," Sai added, then he shrugged. "Probably."

That made them all laugh again, as they finally got back to Sakura and Naruto's house. Neji being the first to turn to them when they came in. "It's time to go."

"It'll take us about a week to get back to the village." Shikamaru added.

"Well, it only takes five and a half if you don't sleep for a couple of nights." Naruto pointed out, his hands clasped behind his back.

Ino rolled her eyes, as she motioned to the others. "We're not doing that."

"Maybe we'll get to see each other again soon." Tenten said, once everyone had their stuff.

"Let's hope so." Sakura said, before stepping forward to hug her friends one-by-one.

Naruto was busy hugging Hinata, his chin comfortably resting on the top of her head. "I'll see you around I guess."

Hinata smiled. "I'll be sure to write to you soon."

"I'm looking forward to it." Naruto said, setting a grin on his face, even though he had a growing sickening feeling in his stomach, as they said their goodbyes.

Sakura hugged Sasuke for a long moment, barely breaking away to look him in the eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," Sasuke said, kissing her one last time. "Goodbye."

Forcing a smile onto her face, Sakura finally had to let Sasuke go, and she watched him walk with the others out of the house. She barely made it until the door was closed, before she turned away and ran upstairs.

She found herself ending up in her closet near the special area that held all of her priestess stuff. Her clothes, weapons, and special jewelry.

A knock on the closet door was heard, and Naruto stepped inside. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know honestly… Are you okay?" Sakura asked, her eyes leaving her priestess stuff briefly to look back at him.

"I'm feeling the same. I don't really know."

"I still don't know what is keeping me from going home," Sakura said, her eyes focused upon the ceiling of her closet. "Everything is screaming that I'm ready to go. My inner especially, but still, something hasn't quite clicked… You can go if you want to. I already told you that-"

"I already told you that I am here as long as you are," Naruto interrupted her quickly. "End of story."

Sakura sighed heavily. "I know..."

Naruto moved to sit down in the doorway of her closet. He watched her in silence, knowing that she'll talk when she is ready.

"I think I'm just afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"I'm afraid of what's going to happen once I'm home. Will everything go back to how it was before? Me unhappy all the time. Stressing and worrying over things that I have no control over."

"I'm sure there will be stressful moments. But I mean it wouldn't be you without them, right?"

"I guess that's true," Sakura moved back to her priestess gear again. The traditional priestess outfit she had only worn a handful of times. "You know my birthday last year was the first day I wore this. It didn't mean much to me then, but now that I look at it, that day was a big day."

Naruto chuckled. "It was also the day that you found out you were going to be a priestess in the first place. After what seemed like a never-ending amount of time where we didn't know what the hell was going on."

"It was also the day that I met my birth parents. Even though I didn't know it at the time."

"And I got to see my parents too." Naruto added, watching Sakura closely, as he started to get a fluttering feeling of excitement building up inside of him.

"I've changed so much," Sakura said, reaching over to grab the priestess necklace off its hook. She held it in her hand for a moment, before she put it on alongside the necklace with her parents rings on it. She also grabbed the angels arm cuff that used to be in necklace form. Finally, her emeralds met ocean blue. "Naruto."

"We can't stay here anymore." Naruto said finally. He could read it all over her face that they were ready.

Sakura clapped her hands together, a big smile on her face. "It's time Naruto."

"I'm going to send some shadow clones to go to our training house in the forest, and get all of the stuff we left there."

"I'm going to pack everything here as quick as I can. I'm sealing everything into scrolls, so we'll be able to take it all back."

"Okay," Naruto said, making several shadow clones. "Their boat leaves in a half hour, we can do this."

Sakura nodded in agreement, and high-five the real Naruto. "We can. We're ready to go home."

A half hour later

"Wait!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed, seeing the boat with their friends on it just about to leave the dock. Jumping up onto the boat, Naruto and Sakura had to take some deep breaths.

Neji was the first to speak up. "What are you two doing here?"

"We changed our minds," Naruto replied, catching his breath first, and motioning between himself and Sakura. "After you all left, Sakura and I got to talking."

"We decided that our time here on this island was enough for us," Sakura said, her smile growing on her face. "We're ready to come home."

Barely a second later, Sasuke was pulling Sakura into his arms, as he kissed her deeply. When their kiss broke, he held a smile on his face. "Finally."

"I'm glad to hear it." Hinata added, as she had similarly hugged and kissed Naruto.

"I remember you two." The older man who was steering the boat sent them a toothy grin.

"Old man Yoshio." Naruto said, shaking the man's hand, with a grin on his face.

"I didn't think you'd be gone this long kid." The old man said, his eyes going from Naruto to Sakura, then back to Naruto.

Naruto's eyes moved to meet Sakura's. "I didn't know how long I'd be here. The only thing I did know was that I was here for someone who's important to me. And now we're ready to go home."

Sakura reached over for Naruto's hand, and she smiled back at him. "We are."


A/N: Sakura and Naruto are going home! What do you think will happen when they acclimate back into living back in the Leaf Village?

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