A/N: I'm baaaaack! That's right... the long wait is over... cryogenesis has returned and he's got yet another chapter for you all! To all of you who decided to ride it out and see this chapter, thank you! It means a lot to me that anyone would value my writing that much. So I was only gone a week -shrugs- better for the readers of this story though, hm?

PuckReathof - Yes... yes I am... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

madnarutofan - I made no notion of making 3-4 more chapters... so I have one thing to say: WHO RATTED ME OUT, HM! Heh, just kidding. Perceptive of you to notice that by the length of my chapters and all the questions and crap that's going on... I wouldn't be able to finish in even 10 more chapters... nope, this fic is gonna be a doozy of a story!

Amanda-san - The cliffhangers are just too fun to give up! They keep the readers hooked, after all:p

Shorn-Hair - You know... even though you don't question why you read it... I constantly question why I write it oo;.

Everyone Else - Thanks for your fantastic and supportive reviews! I hope that I can hold all of your interests for however long this fic will be going on!


Promise of a Lifetime
Chapter 7: Hand in Hand

"Dammit..." thought the blonde haired kid as he walked down the streets of Konoha, arms tucked behind his head, "I wanted to tell her about the trip over lunch... where is she?"

The young shinobi frowned, he had been putting it off for some time. He didn't want her to face the prospect of being completely alone until she had calmed down over Sasuke's betrayal. In fact, he had planned to leave earlier, but Sasuke's attack on Konoha to try and assassinate Sakura didn't necessarily help her come to terms about Sasuke. However, he couldn't stay with Sakura and keep his promise at the same time... he would have to train, and judging by the way Sakura had been acting lately... he was pretty sure that he could leave her alone for two and a half years.

"Yo... Naruto..." came a familiar, lazy voice that broke him out of his thoughts.

The shinobi in question turned to face the mellow jounin who, as usual, was leaning back, flipping casually through a copy of Come Come Paradise. The blonde boy grinned, it had been a while since he had seen his would-be instructor.

"Kakashi-sensei!" greeted Naruto, "I haven't seen you in a long time! What were you doing?"

"Hokage-sama's been keeping me occupied..." he explained casually as he flipped his book closed, shoving both his hands into his pockets, "I wanted to talk to you, Naruto... but not here, come, I'll buy you some ramen..."


"Another bowl!" yelled Naruto, holding up his 10th empty bowl. Kakashi himself was only working on his second... starting to regret that he suggested ramen, of all things. It wasn't like he didn't have the money to afford it... but it would cut into his Come Come Paradise funds at this rate.

"Naruto..." began Kakashi as Naruto continued to eat at a rapid pace, "I heard from Jiraiya about your training trip... you're supposed to be leaving this Saturday, however... I have recently recieved a mission that calls for your abilities... namely, this new Hiden Aiton you've been working on..."

Naruto choked on some ramen he was swallowing. The old, wisened ramen chef seemed quite used to this and brought him a large glass of water, which Naruto immediately chugged down as fast as he could, flooding out the obstruction in his throat. After gasping for air for a few seconds, he turned his attention back to Kakashi.

"Y-you know about the Hiden Aiton?" asked Naruto incredulously, "b-but how! I was training in secret in the last place someone would look!"

"Naruto, really... with the amount of dangerous creatures in the Death Forest... do you really think that Konoha would just set up a fence around it and call it quits? There are a number of ninjas, and sometimes even ANBU that patrol the borders of the forest to make sure nothing gets out... you're lucky only one person managed to stumble onto you..." explained Kakashi, "and even more lucky that that person was me."

"You...?" asked Naruto, slightly confused, "What were you doing there? I thought that old hag was giving you S-Rank missions..."

"She was... but there are only so many S-Rank missions... every once in a while I have to go on guard duty... and it just so happened that I found you training." said the silver-haired jounin as Naruto continued eating, "I used my Sharingan to analyze the Hiden Aiton... and unfortunately I can't copy those abilities... you're the only one capable of doing any of those techniques beyond the taijutsu of the style... which is why I'm asking for your help before you leave... on an S-Class mission..."

The noisy ninja had just set down his bowl... and he froze. Kakashi... the legendary "Copy Ninja" wanted him of all people... to assist him on an S-Class mission. He stared into the empty white bowl... thinking hard as Kakashi awaited a reply. It was a chance to prove himself... if he could accomplish an S-Class mission as a Genin, it would prove his worth. His dream of one day being Hokage suddenly didn't seem very far off. Finally, the orange-clad boy turned in his seat to face Kakashi. Gone was the childish innocence that he was so well-known for, instead a serious look on the boy's face.

"Give me the details..."


"The one that Naruto-kun loves... more than anyone in the world... the one who he constantly puts his life on the line for... the one who he has acknowledged he has absolutely no hope with...is you."

Those two words struck her heart like lightning. No.. maybe she was hearing wrong, maybe there was a girl named Yuu somewhere Konoha... maybe... but no matter how much she tried to deny it, it suddenly dawned on her that Hinata was right. All those times he kept trying to cheer her up... all those times that he looked out for her... all the times he had bothered her about her love life. Yes... Naruto loved her.

"No..." she thought, all the pent up shock from her close encounter setting in as she realized that it was true.

The kunoichi fell to her knees, as if struck by a thrown shuriken. Her eyes wide... she had made heated promises to herself that she would bring back Naruto's girl, the pink-haired girl had promised herself to smack the girl. The fact that it was her completely blew her away... but she knew it to be true. The pink-haired kunoichi stared at the ground hard... as if it could give her all the answers. Her heart hurt... she thought that Naruto deserved to be happy... much more than Sasuke did, she believed that... but what about her? Sasuke... well, she wasn't quite ready to let the boy go... she wasn't ready to fully accept that he was a traitor... besides.. Naruto had promised her that he would bring the boy back... and she knew that he would never go back on a promise like that.

"Leave it to stay attatched to a guy who wants to kill me!" Inner Sakura chimed, slightly annoyed, "I'm really an idiot, aren't I!"

"Sakura-san... Naruto-kun has always loved you from the start... he says he wants to be Hokage... to look after everyone in Konoha and that's true... but he cares for you the most" explained Hinata, a slightly sad look in her eyes, "He may not always act like it... he may even irritate you at times... but truly... he'd do anything for you. He'd kill himself if he thought it would make you truly happy... and worse... he'd even give up his dream of being Hokage... if it would give you happiness."

"No..." said Sakura shakily, trying to deny what she had already seen as a fact... "You don't know that! He'd never give up his dreams for me! He wouldn't give up his dreams for anyone! Naruto cares about me, I know that much... but I don't think that--"

"Sakura-san... I've been watching Naruto-kun almost since he entered the academy..." said Hinata, a slightly irritated look that didn't really fit her kind and shy nature dominating her features. She lifted a hand from her side and pointed at one of her milky white, pupil-less eyes, "These eyes... know Naruto... I've looked deeper into Naruto than anyone has ever bothered too... I know what he feels inside... I can see the way he looks at you...! the way he's always between you and danger in one way or another..! the way that he irritates you so you have a vent for your angers and frustrations! He's done so much more for you than you know, and I've seen it all with these eyes! Even if you never love him back, even if you go and get married to that traitor Sasuke, he'll never stop loving you! He'll NEVER STOP CARING FOR YOU! HE LOVES YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING!"

Sakura was taken aback... she had never seen Hinata let out so much anger before... she had never even heard the girl raise her voice. Yet here she was, yelling loud enough to put Ino and herself to shame, with enough rage in her eyes to make Kakashi wet his pants. Hinata had just called Sasuke a traitor as well... but for once, just this once... she let it go. She closed her eyes to escape the image of the usually timid girl who was now furious. Instead she imagined Naruto, remembering the things he had done for her. One memory in particular stuck out in her mind... that day...

"You... really love him, huh?" ... "I can understand... very well the pain that you're going through right now..."

It was the only day that she had heard true pain and sadness in the boy's voice... the only day she could see true sorrow in the very way he moved. She realized now what she had made him do that day... it was her that had caused that pain. It wasn't what she thought... he never lost the girl that he loved. He had done much worse... the very thought tearing what remained of Sakura to pieces. For the first time since Sasuke had left them... Sakura broke down into tears. She cried hard... it was too much. Sasuke's betrayal and her questionable love with him... Naruto's harsh childhood... his love for her... and now this. Naruto had made a grave sacrifice... that day he didn't just make a promise to her... he made a promise to himself. He had promised himself to stay out of the way when it came between her and Sasuke... he had given up chasing her for her sake.

The sight of one of the strongest girls she had ever seen breaking down into tears shook Hinata from her warpath... the anger left her eyes, replaced with worry, regret, as well as the natural timidness she was so well known for. She frowned and place dher arms around her fellow kunoichi.

"I-I'm sorry... I sh-shouldn't have b-blown up like t-that..." she stuttered frantically as she attempted to comfort the girl.

Sakura didn't say anything. She just continued to cry into Hinata's shoulder. How could he bare it...? How could he stand to live at all...? How could he possibly so much as smile with all that had happened to him, all that he was going through? Most of all... she wondered how she could have made him make that despicable promise... that damned promise that made Naruto's smile, that perfectly happy smile so bittersweet.

"I can understand... very well the pain that you're going through right now..."

"No Naruto... the pain that you went through... that you're going through..." thought the kunoichi at the memory of those words, "Is much worse..."


"So you took the assignment..."

"Yeah, I figured I could use a little excersize after all that down-time!" came Naruto's reply, "besides, I can barely keep myself alive on half pay, I could use the cash boost from an S---"

"This isn't a light matter Naruto!" Tsunade snapped, staring at the boy in front of her desk, "This is a real S-Class mission... it's intended to be S-Class and can only get far worse."

"She's right, Naruto... you can't take this lightly. I may go out on these kind of missions alone a lot of the time, but you're still inexperienced in the matter... I can't guarantee your survival on this one, so you can't afford to take this lightly..." added in Kakashi, who was leaning on the wall, arms crossed, next to the door, "You have to be alert, your reactions have to be sharp, and you can't pick a fight with everyone that gets in your way... you have to remember that this is an extraction mission... it's not your job to beat every bad guy, it's to get everyone out."

Naruto looked to the ground, thinking over Tsunade and Kakashi's words. He had gotten into S-Class situations before, once with Jiraiya and Sakura to go find Sasuke... and once with all of Team 7 on their first mission. Tsunade was right... their original mission for his first S-Class was C-Class, and because one of the legendary Sannin was on the second S-Class, the threat was reduced to about the level of a B-Class, which Naruto could handle fairly well at his level. This, however... was a planned S-Class mission, and this time he would only have Kakashi for backup, and from what he had head, the legendary Copy Ninja wouldn't be able to assist him through over half the mission.

"I understand..." said the boy after a long while, with a much calmer attitude than his usual perky self, "I'll carry out the extraction mission to the best of my ability... no fooling around."

Tsunade's eyes pierced into Naruto's... as if sizing the boy up. As hard as she looked, she couldn't find any hint of childishness in those steely blue orbs. There was no naivete in them at all.

"Yes..." thought the lady of the Sannin, "You're ready for this... there's no doubt... just come back alive Naruto."

"There will be one more person coming with you on this mission, her abilities will blend perfectly with yours. Kakashi has told me about this Hiden Aiton of yours-- no details of course -- but I understand that the taijutsu of the Hiden Aiton requires... a lot of self-sacrifice... you'll need a medi-nin to compensate for this."

"So who are you sending with us, Tsuande-baachan?"

"Haruno Sakura..." came the reply from Kakashi, who had pushed off the wall and stood by the opened door, "We should go tell her now, it's getting dark and I want to set out tomorrow..."


She pulled her legs to her chest, huddled in the corner of her room. After affirming Hinata that she would be all right... Sakura had returned to her home. She had told her mother that she felt ill and was going to rest in her room until it passed. It was getting dark, and everywhere in Konoha people were turning out their lights and blowing out their candles. It vaguely amused the kunoichi as to how everyone could go one living such peaceful lives after Sasuke had attacked. Sasuke... the very thought of him was enough to make her blood boil. Not because he had tried to kill her, but because it reminded her of the promise she had made Naruto make.

"Naruto's life is so hard... a lot of people hate him... for something he can't control. He was always alone... kind of like Sasuke..." thought Sakura... but her fury rose at that, "No... it's different... Sasuke lost all of his family, but everyone loved him and praised him... he chose to be alone... Sasuke... Sasuke's a jerk!"

She sat bolt upright as she realized that she was angry with Sasuke too. She was so angry with him that she couldn't even force herself to add the usual -kun to the end of his name... even in her thoughts. How dare he! How dare he treat Naruto like dirt when he was never really alone, when everyone cared for him?

"Like you're one to talk!" threw in Inner Sakura, "You didn't treat him any better, dammit!"

Sakura closed her eyes as she fought back the tears. She was tired of crying... she didn't want to cry anymore, but her inner self had hit a nerve. She was right... Sakura hadn't started treating Naruto with any respect at all until he had made that promise. She had hated him, despised his very presence. What Hinata said came rushing back to her.

"...he irritates you so you have a vent for your angers and frustrations!..."

The timid shinobi was right. Whenever she was feeling generally upset, or after something serious happened and she got lost in thought. He was always there... he was always smiling and laughing and goading her into irritation so that she could vent... another sacrifice for her.

"...He's done so much more for you than you know!..."

Again she was right. Until now she had no idea the amount of sacrifices beyond physical damage that Naruto made for her, had always made for her. She could feel thoughts of Sasuke fleeing from her mind... replaced by thoughts of Naruto. The would-be Hokage wasn't perfect... not by a long shot. He could be slow sometimes and maybe a little irritating, not to mention noisy, but he was strong, with a will of diamond. He was funny too, half the time she was laughing inside when he did something. These days she often wondered how much of his incompetence was intentional... none of it existed when it mattered most.

She realized just how much she had become attatched to the blue-eyed boy. Sasuke left... and she had broken down into tears. If Naruto left in his place... she wouldn't be able to face it. The very thought of Naruto leaving her at all frightened the pink-haired shinobi. What would she do if she lost Naruto too? She wouldn't be able to go on living. Losing Sasuke she could deal with... he had never been kind to her... always been cold towards everyone. Naruto, though... Naruto was different. Naruto had always been kind to her, had always been there for her, protected her, sacrificed for her, loved her.

The girl was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a soft rapping on her window. Quickly the girl dried her tears on her arm and stood. She was sitting half behind her dresser so that only her feet could be seen from the window. She smiled as she saw who it was. It was the very boy who had penetrated her thoughts so deeply... along with her lazy jounin instructor. The kunoichi opened the window.

"Yo..."

"Hey Sakura-chan!"

Sakura gave a small nod, "Hello, what are you two doing here at this time?"

The sun had just barely set... casting the sky in a purplish orange haze. It was only around 6:30 PM, but it was unusual for people to be visiting so unexpectedly at this hour. Usually one would just wait until the next day. It could only mean that a mission had been assigned.

"We've been assigned a mission..." replied Kakashi, confirming Sakura's suspicions, "We'll meet tomorrow on the bridge at 7:00 AM sharp... I'll explain the details then."

Without another moment to spare, Kakashi hopped off across the rooftops at warp speed. Sakura's eyes followed the silver-haired jounin for a little while as he shrank into the distance, wondering what kind of mission they would be going on and even more so what rank it was, before lowering her eyes to a familiar set of deep blue. The orange-clad shinobi gave a smile as their eyes met... that same fake, bittersweet smile that annoyed the pink-haired kunoichi to no end.

"Dammit Naruto!" her inner voice screamed as she remembered that she was the one who made that smile, "quit doing that!"

The boy turned away from Sakura and tensed his legs to jump away as well. It was getting dark, and if there was going to be a mission tomorrow he would need his rest in order to be in good shape. He lowered himself, his legs compressing like a spring, and he was about ready to kick off of her roof when he felt a small, light hand on his shoulder, restraining him. He turned, tracing that small girlish hand up to it's owner with a confused look.

"Sakura-chan...?" he asked uncertainly.

Inside, he was frightened. Chances were that she wanted to talk about Sasuke again, and he didn't know if he could handle the strain this time. Naruto accepted that he would never have a chance with Sakura... she was in love with Sasuke... and that was that. Still, his heart needed time to heal... he needed time to rest and pick up the pieces of his shattered heart.

"Hey... Naruto..." started Sakura tentatively, looking more at the ground than at him.

The said boy steeled himself for more abuse to his battered heart and soul... he was tired and wanted to rest... but Sakura, now more than ever... needed somebody to be there for her, a pillar of support that she could lean on until this whole mess blew over. So he braced himself for the inevitable.

"Umm... I haven't eaten since breakfast... and I'm kind of hungry so I was wondering if we could go and get something to eat together?" she asked a little uncertainly before adding a quick, "just as friends of course!"

"He... does deserve a chance but... I don't think I can let go of Sasuke yet... not just yet..." she thought to herself, "so this is the best I can do for now..."

She made a pact with herself that she wouldn't talk about Sasuke or the new mission or anything depressing at all. Even if she had to force herself to, she would have fun with Naruto. She would make sure that she enjoyed her time with him.

Naruto froze completely. He could have sworn his heart stopped beating and his lungs quit pumping for a few seconds. He always wanted, more than anything, just to go out with Sakura... it didn't matter if it was just as friends, Naruto could pretend it was real at the very least. He frowned on the inside... this wasn't a good time... their conversations would ultimately end up being about Sasuke and this new mission that Kakashi assigned them.

"It will hurt later..." thought the boy, "but I... just once want to know..."

After another minute or so, Naruto's muscles relaxed and he turned around to face the pink-haired kunoichi. He smiled, much to Sakura's suprise and pleasure, a real smile, one of his genuine grins as he held out his hand for her to take.

"I know a great sushi place not too far form here..." he said casually, bearing no hint of the sorrow that was once there "but they close in about 20 minutes so we'd better hurry."

The pink-haired girl smiled and took Naruto's hand. His touch electrified her... sent shivers down her spine and almost made her jump. Then, as she was pulled out of her own bedroom window, an odd feeling washed over her. This felt... right, like it was supposed to be this way. The two of them jumped from her rooftop and began to walk casually down the path, completely unaware that they were still holding hands. They were talking now, happy little nothings that had nothing to do with the upcoming mission from Kakashi or even the dark Uchiha boy. Sakura no longer felt that she might have to force herself have fun with Naruto... it was an incredible thing... she couldn't be depressed right now if she tried.

Naruto made a joke, an impression of Jiraiya getting caught peeping at Tsunade. Sakura laughed... the first real laugh she had had in a long time... and Naruto laughed with her. Everything felt right... gone were their worries, their fears, their depressions. There was no looming threat over the horizon for them, it was just another day for them to enjoy... just another time to cherish. The two of them were in their own little world where everything was alright and nothing wrong ever happened as they walked down the streets of Konoha... hand-in-hand.


A/N: Gah! This didn't come out how I wanted it too, and it feels short and kind of rushed. I got all the points I wanted to cover covered... and the message that 'this isn't over' is hanging in the air due to the S-Class extraction mission posed by Kakashi. It's just... well, I had another version of the ending of this chapter typed up and I liked it very much but my electricity cut out as I was saving it... so those beautiful words are now forever gone... replaced with what you see here. Anyway, helpful reviews are appreciated. Also, I'd like to thank you all about the lack of comments about spelling and typos... I have no spell-check on my computer and what you see is completely unedited and straight from my mind... so the lack of comments about that is much appreciated... I'd like to keep it that way.