A/N So I'm going to stop making promises because I can't keep them. Completing a chapter is not an easy thing to schedule at least for me.

But enjoy this chapter, God only knows when another will come out. ;)

Rika drew her husband's katana off the mantelpiece. As long as this remained in their home it guaranteed his eventual return. He would drift in from the shadows in the hour of the dog, plant a kiss upon her and settle down for dinner. Yes, as long as the sword remained he would return, unlike before when he taken it down, choosing a war over her. Stoically he had gone overseas in pursuit of glory, as if she hadn't mattered to him at all. Leaving her alone to stare up at the empty mantelpiece with only her tears to soothe her.

Clutching the sword tightly, she drew it to her chest. The bastard, she remembered when she had first seen him with this very sword, practicing diligently beneath the shade of an oak tree. Her first love, he was an immaculate sight. Right then and there she felt it to the bottom of her heart it would be the proudest victory, to have won his love. In the end she did win him, she believed she had. She got him to confide in her and she secured these secrets close to her heart. Carried them with her to marvel over when they were separated, she had earned access to his heart and his deepest confessions bound them tight to each other.

"You are a cruel woman."

Rika's eyes drifted from the sword to Sano. Leaning against the bedroom wall, he gently plucked the stings of a shamisen. She knew all along he had been watching her intently, perched like a cat on the window sill.

"Every time there's a moment's silence your thoughts go back to your husband."

"A wise man once said the true magic of first love is the ignorance that it can never end" Rika stated.

"Your cruelty knows no bounds, yet still I love you. I must be a fool."

She turned away from him. "Tis fate that is cruel. I find myself being judged by someone who lusts after the wife of a man he pledged his life to."

The plucked notes of the shamisen came to an abrupt end. The room fell into a deep silence that would be broken seconds later by Rika's gasp when Sano embraced her from behind, covering her small breasts with his hands.

"Are you looking down on my feelings? I love you, I enjoy you, and I need you."

"If you enjoy me so much," she asked, "Why are you leaving?"

"Should I stay?" Sano snorted. "Here with you and your husband? Shall he adopt me into his family? Besides I have a duty to uphold, to my lord and to myself"

Rika turned in Sano's arms, this safe place, and let out a sigh. "Spare me the chivalry. I suppose I knew this day would come. Why would you stay? Why would you return? There is nothing here for you but the arms of a married woman."

Sano circled her waist with his muscular arms, pulling her close. "I'll be back, I swear it."

"Maybe you will, maybe you won't, makes no difference. My tears dry on their own."

He placed his arms around her, squeezing a kiss offered, a kiss taken.

Suddenly the heavy steps of the house's rotund maid could be heard outside the door. The maid rapped lightly on the door before calling out for Rika.

"Lady Rika, are you OK?"

"Yes," Rika said, with strands of her own hair in her mouth. She spat it out. "Yes I am alright."

"May I come in?"

Sano nuzzled into Rika's neck, his mouth suctioned on her collarbone.

"I am sleeping," Rika yelled. "I am very tired, but I am fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Please leave me alone, I am trying to rest."

"But…"

"Go!" Rika said, and luckily the maid did. Just as Rika's kimono slid to the floor.

It occurred to me that perhaps it was too early in the morning to dip my toes into this kind of reading material. I left a bookmark on the page and slammed the book shut. My copy had been destroyed in the attempted assassination, so perhaps I should have simply forgotten about it instead of snatching Ino's copy when she wasn't looking. It wasn't like I didn't have better things to concentrate on. Heaven knows, I could have been reading something… well something less cheesy. Besides the pacing was slower than I was used to, and the author was a uncompromising tease who was obviously pandering to his large female audience.

Well maybe just one more chapter.

I was in the process of flipping back to where I had left off when there came a knock on the door to my office. Shoving the book into my desk I shot up to my feet just as Shizune walked through the door.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine."

"Hmm. Well, Hisato Ito is awake and he is about as lucid as he's been for a while. So if you have a minute, you may want to…"

"Yes, of course," I interrupted. "I am looking forward to talking to him."

I followed Shizune out the door and together we made our way to the Southern Ward. Personally meeting with Hisato Ito wasn't mandatory. Up until now, Ito was being treated by either Tsunade or Shizune and he couldn't have been in more capable hands. In theory Ito did not need to meet me until the day of his procedure, and I was aware that anyone would be much more comfortable having the world's greatest medical nin' by their side explaining what would come next.

Still, a part of me wanted to claim this procedure as my own, and meeting Ito would (in my mind) officially cement my role in this operation. Also, if this man's life was soon to be in my hands, the least I could do was speak to him face to face and show him that I was someone he could depend on when the time was right. It was hard for me to discern if my motivations for seeing Ito were selfish or good natured. Perhaps like everything in life it was combination of both. Either way I felt it was a necessary move.

"So how is he?" I asked.

"He's in really bad shape," Shizune replied. With a smile on her face she turned towards me. "However this is likely a temporary situation. I've read the report you handed in this morning, it has made me optimistic about the situation."

"Ah, well, I didn't really bring a whole lot of new things to the table. Most of it was based off Master's previous research."

"Hmm, that is true. Basing a new procedure off somebody else's prior research does show a distinct lack of ingenuity."

Her sarcasm was potent, yet uplifting. "I suppose I can just call Tsunade's work my inspiration. But…don't you think that it's rather-drastic? Maybe I should spend a few more days looking for alternatives."

"I'm not sure we have the time to look for alternatives. In matters of life and death sometimes drastic actions are exactly what is needed."

"I suppose." I said as we strolled past a few of the hospital's treatment bays.

"Oh and Sakura, it's good to be modest but there's nothing wrong with taking a compliment every now and then."

I laughed. "I'll try and keep that in mind."

Once in the southern ward we met Tsunade beside the door to Ito's room. She and I exchanged quick but pleasant greetings before she handed me Ito's medical chart. I briefly entertained the idea that Master handing me the chart symbolized a passing of the torch. The realization of a dream. The succession of the world's greatest medical shinobi; becoming the medical chief of the hospital, discrediting the doubt I'd seen in a few eyes, including my own. It was a fleeting thought; I was a hundred years too early to begin comparing myself to Tsunade. However another step had appeared before me, one that promised to bring me just a bit closer to the where I wanted to be.

"He's not allowed to talk to anyone but ANBU about what happened to him."

"I understand."

"I hear a certain someone gave a speech yesterday."

"Yes, I was surprised you weren't there master?"

"Why would I be? The Hokage cancelled mass assemblies."

"Yes, well" I cleared my throat. "He…Uh…he did great with the speech."

Her lips quirked into a smile. "I expected as much. Next time you see Naruto, remind him to read those texts I suggested."

I scanned the chart as I entered the room. Ito was a twenty nine year old chunin. He'd never had a bad cold let alone a major illness. His first and only major injury had occurred during the war at the hands of a Zetsu clone. Ito spent a few months in recovery before returning to the front from lines and serving valiantly. Now according to Tsunade's observations, Ito's health worsened with each passing day. However when his anger wasn't triggered he had apparently kept a positive outlook. His body was failing him but Ito still had the courage to live.

I glanced up from the chart at Ito who sat on the edge of his hospital bed with his back turned to me. Fidgeting in his hospital gown he scribbled furiously into a tiny notebook.

I rounded the bed. "Ito-san, I am Haruno Sakura and I will be treating you from now on. How're you doing?"

He glanced up briefly at me. "How am I doing? I'm dying."

"Ah… well… " I found myself at a sudden loss for words.

In the meantime he returned to his writing. My eyes shot towards the door and for a moment a part of me hoped either Tsunade or Shizune would come through the door and tell me how to proceed.

I closed my eyes.

I'd had men dying on the battlefield. I'd seen the light fading from shinobi's face and I had used my abilities to see that light return. No, now was not the time to retreat. Retreating was out of the question as this was not beyond the realm of my ability.

"I've never seen a dying man work a pencil that hard before. Do you mind if I ask what you're working on?" I said courteously.

He coughed harshly and I could hear as well as see the fast-growing frailty of his body.

"Jutsu," he said. "Something I've been working on for the better part of five years. I've had it mostly worked out in my head, so I thought I'd get it down in my journal for prosperity. You know, just in case."

I attempted to sneak a peek at his notebook. "Jutsu huh? That sounds very intriguing. I wouldn't mind learning something new, y'know as long as it's not bloodline ability or requires a specific elemental-"

Ito quickly pulled back before taking a long, hard look at me.

"Can't do that, it would defiantly spoil the rematch" he said.

"Rematch?" I asked. "Ah, so you did remember-"

"You kicking my ass?" he interjected. "Yeah, I remember you kicking my ass, Haruno Sakura, Tsunade-sama's successor, teammate to Uzumaki-san. You should know I was not in the right state of mind. I'm not all about brawn on the battlefield, I'm more of an analytical type. Did some studying with the Nara Shikaku, I'm all about perceiving and visualizing, deception and illusions. So when I was in that rage I was actually handicapped."

"I don't doubt that," I said with a smile. "But it would only fair for me to tell you that I've got a lot more in me then what I showed you."

"Is that right?" he grinned.

Even with that smile on his face, one thing was certain, Ito had seen much better days. He had lost twenty pounds in a matter of a few days and it left him looking thin and extremely tired. I was sure that he probably couldn't stand without some sort of support. Still, though his sunken eyes were milky with mucus they peered out at me with a challenging amusement.

"So, if you're asking for a rematch I suppose you're feeling optimistic?" I asked him.

His eyes dimmed and he instantly lost his grin.

"Before we set a date," he said somberly, "Let's get to the elephant in the room. I look and feel like shit. And I don't mind Tsunade-sama checking my pulse every now and then, but I've got to get out of this room eventually. Alive, or dead. "

I looked at him critically. "We both want the same thing then," I said. "You, walking out of this room."

He looked disbelieving. "How?" he asked

I caught Ito's gaze and held it. "What do you know about Tsunade-sama's Creation Rebirth Technique?"

"It makes her hard as hell to kill, but that's as far as my knowledge on it goes." he said. "It's all anyone really knows."

I leaned my back against the wall and got comfortable. "Tsunade-sama has for decades concentrated her chakra to a spot on her forehead. You've seen the seal before I'm sure, it appears to take the form of a diamond. Now, when she releases the seal, the chakra disperses, flooding her system, stimulating the cells within her body, and dramatically increases the speed of which the cells divide, shed, and repair themselves, for as long as the seal has enough chakra."

"Uh-huh," Ito muttered.

"This allows her to recreate entire organs and missing tissues, instantly healing any wounds. It's really the absolute pinnacle of medical ninjutsu." I crowed.

Ito stared at me blankly.

"And what we think, is that we can use a variation of it to-"

"Even if it's just a variation," he interjected. "I can't hope to even gather the chakra needed perform it. Not to mention how am I supposed to learn it before I croak?"

"Yes, it would take much individual practice in addition to years of chakra storage to perfect that technique on oneself but I can create a seal on your body that takes your participation out of the equation for the most part. In fact you will be asleep within a ritual circle throughout the procedure. It'll draw upon your chakra but you'll be supplemented by the chakra of five other medics who will be in the room. I'll personally activate the jutsu and release the seal. The main distinction between this and Creation Rebirth is that instead of cells dividing, your body will be stimulated to vastly increase the number of antibodies and antioxidants already naturally occurring in your body. These proteins will aggressively seek out, identify and neutralize any foreign objects in your body. This includes the enzyme that was injected into you. And even if the antibodies can't outright destroy the enzyme they will bind themselves directly to the pathogen cutting off it's ties with all the other cells in your body. This will make it immensely easier for us to extract it from your body."

Ito looked intensely at me. "I see you're excited about this."

I drew a sharp breath and tucked a stray hair back into place. "I'm sorry."

"No, I like it. It means you really believe in this. It makes me optimistic. So tell me, not as a doctor to a patient, but as a fellow shinobi, what are my odds?"

And there it was, the question that regulated life and death into a matter of winning and losing. Put it all under the umbrella of game of chance. One of first lessons Tsunade's had taught me was that death didn't listen to odds, a perfectly healthy shinobi could have his insides turned upside down by a simple poison and weaker man could easily be spared. The reality was that medical odds were practically unknowable. So many things can go right, and so many things could go wrong.

"Well, while there is no proper way to truly estimate somebody's chances…"

He held up his hand. "As a fellow shinobi and your senpai."

"I think it's safe to tell you there is a fifty percent chance of it being successful." I paused as he bit down on his lip. "But, honestly, I'm really thinking twenty percent. And even then the chances of it succeeding are shrinking by the day."

"Are you going to let me see my wife beforehand?" he asked, his voice was barely above a whisper.

I hesitated. My response needed to have the delicacy of surgery.

"That's not a good idea," I said carefully. "While most of your fits of rage are random, we do know that if something directly triggers a memory, in you, about your wife, things get a little testy. So for now for your own well being, I'd like to avoid any further provocations if possible."

Ito rubbed his forehead. "I can count the number of times I've lost my temper at her on one hand."

"That might be true however she's not a kunoichi. And I might be able to say I could protect her from you if an episode were to manifest but would you even want her to see you in that state?"

Ito shook his head his head. "She and I we talked about this. We fixed it. It was in the past. I shouldn't still be mad at her."

"It's possible you might have repressed your anger."

Ito suddenly sprang to his feet. "Repressed? What are you a counselor too?"

I inwardly berated myself for letting my thoughts slip.

"No, I dealt with my anger" he said.

I calmly backed away from him, giving him some space. His eyes were wide and hazed. "Oh it had me constipated and itchy sometimes, I even walked in my sleep once or twice.

He started fervently packing back and forth along the wide of his bed.

"I would argue with her in my sleep, cry and beg with her in my sleep, all over all this. But I dealt with it! It was in the past! I am not supposed to be angry about it anymore!"

Seeing an opening I moved forward and placed one hand gently but firmly on his shoulder, and set one of my feet behind his. I was ready to subdue him if it became necessary.

"You can't reason yourself back into happiness-" I said as gently and as calmly as I could. "-Any more than you can reason yourself into having an extra arm. But its ok, I know you've got a good head on your shoulders, you are a good man. These things just take time."

He looked at me with his light blue eyes bulging outwards. Then the energy in body seemed to sag and as he lightly pressed one of his hands over mine, he gasped, and broke into a long shuddering sob. I helped lead him back towards the bed where he laid down, pressing his hands against his face looking like a man who couldn't bear the weight the world had put on him anymore.

Between shuttering breaths I could just make out him reciting to himself, "I will hold on, I will hold on, I will hold, I will hold on."

"I'm going to help you." I promised him.

"Please… " he begged.

"I will help you so you can go back to her." I told him.

"I can't die without seeing her again," he cried.

"I promise."

He wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his garb, and laughed suddenly. "Look at me, a noble warrior, bawling like a baby. The Hokage should pass an edict banning shinobi like me from falling in love. "

Feeling the tension leave the room, I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Wouldn't matter it's easier to become Hokage than to keep yourself from falling in love." I told him. "At best you can keep yourself from acting on it, maybe, but feeling it is…"

I stopped when I noticed Ito's bloodshot, red eyes scrutinizing me.

"I'm sorry," I said regaining my composure. "That was inappropriate of me to say."

"No, that was interesting." He said somberly. "Don't stop there, obviously you want to try and spark a patient-doctor emotional connection," he said as he coughed.

"Well… yes… there was that." I admitted somewhat appalled my previously well-meant intentions were exposed so easily. "But any decent medic respects the patient to have and to hold any view, to make any choice, and to take any action they deem amicable to their own set of personal beliefs and values." I recited to him perfectly the first creed I had taken whilst under my shishou's tutorage.

"So you're here to make sure my choices are respected?" he asked me.

"Yes." I nodded.

A sly smile crawled along Ito's strained face. "So there's nothing to stop me from demanding Tsunade-sama perform this procedure instead of you?" he asked.

"You're right." I admitted to him. "If you wanted you could request just that."

"But you want to do the procedure. I can tell by how excited about it you are."

"Perhaps."

He seemed to ponder this. "This procedure that's supposed save my life, you came up with it right?"

"Yes, I did."

Ito snatched his journal off the bed and held it up. "I believe in every technique in this book. I created them, I understand them, I trust my jutsu."

I thought I knew where he was going with this. "I created this procedure," I said to him. "I believe in this procedure, I understand this procedure, and I trust this procedure."

"I admire that," he said. " I really do. If I trust you, I trust in your own trust of your skills. And I only trust people I like."

"You went a long way there just to convince me to reveal something personal about myself," I replied wearily.

"Did it work?" he asked, smiling.

I sighed.

"Love…" I started. "It is a beautiful thing."

His eyes rolled up to the ceiling.

"Alright, I guess you want something a little more substantial" I sighed. "Well a philosopher once said that we fall in love when our imagination projects perfection upon another person. And when the day comes that that fantasy evaporates, love dies."

"That's insightful but it's not your own words" he said. "What do you think about love?"

I ran my hands together. "Any notions we grasp upon love are moral abstractions imposed from outside ourselves. Any specific instance of being in love is a glimpse at something wholly incomprehensible, it is irrational because it is something imperceptible, imposing itself on our perceptions; the intangible dictating the material. So how could it, it being love, subordinate itself to either causes or consequence?" he asked me. "And yet no matter how many interpretations one can gleam through a lifetime of experiences there is only one absolute truth. There is no justice in love. There are mercies but no justice. Just because you give love does not mean you will receive it. Though you may feel it is your right, your privilege, because of all the labor you have exerted."

He stared at me with glazed over eyes.

"Let me guess," he said. "That's another quote from another philosopher?"

"I've done a lot of reading on the subject over the years."

"You can recite well enough, but what do the quotes mean to you. What are your personal thoughts?"

Drawing a deep breath I exhaled loudly. "I don't have an opinion really, I've only come up with questions so far. For example keeping love at bay or surrendering blindly to it - which of these two attitudes is the least destructive?"

Ito kept his curious eyes on me. "What's the answer?"

I shrugged. "You tell me."

"What if I tell you tell you something cliché like love is about following your heart one way or another?"

I shrugged. "I would agree. Ideally love with all your heart no half measures, either love completely or let it go..."

Ito smiled and I made note of his trembling hands. "Forget about philosophy I'm going to give you the truth about love. I've had relationships in my younger days, I'm a married man so this is an experienced perspective you could say. Love can make you feel awesome in one moment and shitty in the next. It's exactly like life itself."

"That's um very profound" I said.

"You bet is" he met my gaze and pointed at me. "You've been bit by the betrayal bug, just like me, this is fairly obvious."

"No, not like you" I said with a shake of my head. "I was a little girl. Besides you have to have an intimate connection to be betrayed."

"Logic really doesn't play into it does it? My wife apologized, I haven't slept in the same room as her in weeks. My teammate once I would have given my life for him, I'm not so sure anymore. They both genuinely apologized, I should be alright." Ito spread his arms out wide. "Yet here I am dying…"

The desperation he was feeling had crept into his voice. The color was returning to his face and I saw beads of sweat forming on forehead.

"I'll do everything I can to help you, Ito-san, just like I promised" I said in a calming voice.

"I like you, I trust you, more than I do my wife and teammate at the moment. He was always, always an ass, but she should have known. I love her so much….I thought she knew me."

Teeth gritting, clenched jaws, there was a fire in his eyes now replacing the dim light that I had been staring into for most of our conversation. If you didn't know better you would think he was miraculously recovering right before your eyes.

"You are not alone in this Ito-san-"

He breathed in and out several times before he could speak. He was attempting to restrain himself.

"I will die alone and betrayed! Where was it my fault hmm? Was it in giving you my whole heart?"

Literally blinded with anger, he spoke to me as if I was his wife. I glanced at the door to see Shizune enter the room, I cut my eyes for her back to Ito.

"Ito-san I said I'd help you remember, I promised I'd get you better."

Rage flashed on his face, darkening his features. "I cannot find the truth in your lies!"

It was like a slap to the face, I took a half step back just as he sprang forward. Luckily I recovered quickly, I caught him with a light jab in the midsection, as he was breathing in and his diaphragm was moving downwards. The strike literally knocked the wind out of him.

Ito was stunned, Shizune appeared behind him and jabbed a needle full of sedatives into his arm.

"I'm sorry Ito-san, but we can't have your body weakening itself anymore. You might wake up with a slight headache, but that's better than the alternative" she said.

Seconds later Ito's body went slack. With Shizuen's help I placed him back in bed.

"I'm going to strap him down just in case" Shizune told me.

"We'll probably have to keep him sedated until we're ready. We've got a hard time ahead of us already without him getting any weaker" I told her.

"I'll take care of it" Shizune replied.

I nodded a 'thank you' to her before stepping out of the room. I immediately made my way up to Tsunade's office. I barged in just as she was bringing a cup of tea to her lips.

"Master, I promised Ito I would save him."

She peered over the cup at me. "His odds of survival are very low."

"I am aware of that. Still I do not believe I was giving him false hope. I am feel very optimistic about this."

"Any promise you've made to is irrelevant. If someone doesn't save him he will die. Essentially you've made a promise to yourself. "

I stood at the door considering what I had just heard. Tsunade had a penchant for being right even if I had yet to understand why.

I thanked her, and walked out as quickly as I had come in. There was a thin line between arrogance and confidence, but I didn't have the desire to self-examine. If vanity was part of my motivation it wasn't the driving force. I felt above all things that I wanted to reunite this man with his wife, so they could talk together and cry, work things out, and then live happily ever after.

Apparently I was not as cynical as I liked to believe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I do not like the Rurousha clan," Sai muttered.

He and I stood on a footbridge overlooking the Nakano River. On the river bank to the left a few members of the Rurousha clan had been performing a puppet show for most of the afternoon. A large number of children sat on the grass surrounding a surprisingly well-crafted stage, built especially for outdoor theater. The children were completely enraptured with the antics of the life sized puppets on the stage. They sat perfectly still with their small eyes brimming with excitement. Their parents, or any one who had been pressured into buying tickets, stood to the side watching with a mix of authoritative suspicion and mild curiosity

"They are not my enemy, nor have they affected my life personally. Yet I am holding unreasonable, preconceived judgments about them. I find myself pre-judging them. I am prejudice." Sai said.

"Well they do have a dubious history. And shinobi clans with no loyalty to any village or daimyo in this day and age are seen as unwanted guests in many places. However as you've said yourself, they haven't given you any reason to doubt them. They are also visitors to the village Sai, so it's only fair that you treat them as you would want to be treated."

"That would be practical advice in most cases. But I'm not exactly sure where my prejudice ends and my survival instinct begins." Sai admitted.

I leaned against the railing spanning the bridge "The only way to free yourself of all prejudices is to dislike everyone equally. Until you have the energy to master that, I suggest the path of least resistance, being polite."

Back at the miniature amphitheater, concealed chakra strings pulled the main character of the play along the stage. The mythical hero bearing flamboyant armor dropped to his knees and glanced up at the heavens. The voice of the show's hidden narrator boomed loud and clear from somewhere below the stage.

"He was torn between the meaning of his existence, and the true love of his life. He prayed for both, but the great hero was denied."

"By the way Sai, how did Naruto get them all free so quickly?"

"He asked." Sai said simply.

I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Maybe you should elaborate a little?"

Sai looked back at the performance going onstage. "Luckily we had enough information to rule out the Rurousha anyway, so any further confrontation was simply avoided."

"Why do you say that was lucky?"

"Because that interrogators confirmed that about an hour or so after the Rurousha had been released."

"How did that happen?"

"It happened because Naruto asked like I said. And because one of the lead interrogators has a civilian lover who apparently still wakes up screaming in the middle of the night from nightmares of her roof caving in and killing her, as they had during Pain's invasion. The interrogator-san is very grateful for her survival."

"I suppose it all worked out then."

"Worked out very well" Sai agreed.

Immediately another random thought occurred to me. "Hey, did you happen to notice that neither Tsunade nor Shizune were at the spar yesterday?"

"Neither was Kurenai Yūhi, Might Guy, Anko Mitarashi, Ebisu, Shino-san's, Ino-San, Shikamaru-san's, Chouji-san's, and Kiba-san's parents. Also Ibiki Mo—"

"I get it, Sai," I interrupted, with a wave of my hands. "Most of the older shinobi were not there."

"As they wouldn't. They were following orders."

"And we weren't?" I tagged.

"No" Sai paused for moment. "However it was for a good reason, disobedience for positive gains I…..like that."

"Unfortunately it's easy to rationalize that after the fact."

"What happened yesterday was good for the village" Sai stated.

I nodded in agreement. "Speaking of Naruto, was he alright last night?"

"Why wouldn't he be?"

I let out a heavy sigh. "It doesn't matter why he wouldn't be OK, I'm just wondering if he was."

"Naruto watched over me after I-lost myself for most of the night. Overall everyone had a good time, you should have come."

"I spent all night collecting my notes and finishing a report, so I couldn't make it. Still I'm glad to hear everyone had fun."

"Although..." Sai started. "There were brief moments when Naruto was uncharacteristically lost in thought. Then at the end of the night he….."

I waited for as long as I could for Sai to complete his thought.

"He what?"

Sai tilted his head as a look of confusion came to his face. "Naruto may have wanted me to keep it a secret but that wasn't implied….or maybe it was, but I do not recall the atmosphere of the conversation. Still it is common knowledge that private talks between friends are meant to be kept confidential. But you and I are good friends as well and secrets being kept between friends are not conducive to a healthy relationship. If I tell you I may be betraying Naruto's confidence if I don't tell you I may be…..."

"Sai it'll be OK just tell me what happened" I said soothingly, pouring on the bedside manner.

"Naruto asked if you were involved with anyone after the war."

It would be hard to chart all the firing synapses in my brain. Anger oh yes, but anger defused by the subtle discomfort behind Sai's eyes. And irritation, yes there was that as well, though alleviated by curiosity.

"And what did you say?"

"I told him the truth that you….dated causally since he last saw you."

"And how did he react?"

"Unexpectedly."

"And that means?" I groaned.

"He appeared OK with it."

Any anger I had simmering because of Naruto inquiring about my personal life behind my back was overrun by confusion. I couldn't help but agree with Sai. It was an unexpected reaction. Or was it? I thought about it for a moment before turning away from Sai and returning to the railing.

"Why wouldn't he be OK? He is my friend isn't he? "

"Yes but considering… " Sai stopped, as if pondering.

"Considering what?" I asked.

Sai looked at me with a rather blank face.

"I suppose if you both consider it a friendship then there's nothing more to consider."

We were interrupted by the narrator's voice carried over to the bridge once again.

"His desire to control things, that are ultimately outside his control, in defiance of the natural order of the universe, was to be the beginning of his ultimate downfall."

I sighed and turned back to Sai. I felt like our conversation was going nowhere fast, so I decided to drop it… for now.

"So let's get down to the business at hand, Sai. Why did you invite me here again?"

"I like this spot. It's very tranquil." He said, glancing over the water. "There's always a cool breeze coming from the river."

"Why am I here?" I butted in. I'd had almost all I could stand of his aloofness at the moment.

"I wanted to tell you give you some important information before you're big meeting." he said seriously.

I turned to him. "Meeting?"

"You are going to be called into a "spontaneous" meeting today."

It was the first time I was hearing of any such meeting.

"How do you know of this?" I asked him.

"ANBU." he smirked smugly. "We're supposed to know things."

"I hate being out of the loop." I muttered. "I should be privy to important information like this."

"Keeping secrets is what ANBU does." he said, turning back towards the river. "It was even worse in ROOT."

"I can imagine."

"No. Actually I doubt you can." Sai replied with a shake of his head.

"Fair enough," I sighed. "What's this meeting about?"

"It will likely concern Hisato Ito. The Hokage has been in communication with the daimyo about this situation."

"The Fire Lord knows about Ito?"

"Yes because of bandits." Sai declared suddenly.

"Bandits?"

Sai smiled, for some reason the prospect of revealing information to me seemed to appeal greatly to him.

"Since the war's end roving bands of bandits have been growing in strength in the Fire Nation, leaving some of the aristocracy justifiably concerned. Of the dozens of nameless outlaw bands operating near the borders of the Fire and Grass country, one of the more ambitious ones managed to kidnap the mistress of one of a nobleman and was attempting to extort money from him. Not wanting to risk scandal by utilizing his own guards the nobleman contacted the village. "

So far it seemed like a common story, scandalous affairs amongst the nobles, shinobi cleaning up the mess, standard procedure.

"So Ito and his group were tasked to retrieve her" Sai continued. "They infiltrated the bandits' headquarters and after coming to contact with the young woman they proceeded to handle the matter with extreme prejudice, as suggested by the nobleman"

Surprise must have shown on my face because Sai cut me off before I could speak out.

"In the Hokage's defense, these were not a romantic roving band of mischievous misled and disenfranchised outcasts. These were the murdering, woman assaulting type of bandits."

"I'm not about to hold a memorial for them Sai, I was just surprised."

Having said that I suddenly felt very naïve.

"Don't think I am judging you. It's actually the opposite. After being in ROOT for years, sensitivity to life is a trait I find quite admirable."

"Thanks I suppose."

"Besides your surprise is a reasonable reaction. Things have changed some in the world since the war ended. However big changes are gradual, they seem to take time to sink in."

"As interesting as this discussion is Sai."

He nodded, "yes so, Ito and his team made their way through the headquarters, and in the process they discovered that the nobleman's mistress wasn't the only one the bandits had captured. Dozens of people from various villages in the area or from rival gangs were being held against their will. Now at this point Ito and his team had split up. So moving alone he found himself in a large room where he discovered a few of the captives fast asleep on hospital beds, standing over them was a man whom Ito noted to be dressed in doctor's garb, with a half mask that covered most of his face but didn't conceal the man's milky white left glass eye. So Ito took a step into the room when suddenly things went dark, he catches fleeting glimpses of his wife and then he passed out."

"Genjutsu?"

"Possibly, maybe even similar to the one used against you."

"I've given that some thought. Kakashi once used a genjutsu against me, a D ranked technique called the Narakumi no Jutsu. I'm thinking its an advanced form of that was used against me.

"I'll look into it. Anyway Ito's team found him mumbling on the ground moments later. They grabbed him and made a hasty retreat. Ito-san had a minor wound on his arm that featured a bit of swelling. He was treated on the spot with antitoxins. When Ito recovered they returned to the hideout. The doctor was gone, and so were the remaining bandits well-the few that were still alive by the time Ito-san had discovered the mysterious doctor. The prisoners were still there, and fortunately so was the mistress. They released the prisoners, returned the mistress to her home and then they hurried back to the village to get Ito double checked."

"Did Ito-san's team question the prisoners?"

"Every one of them thought they were being kidnapped for a ransom, even those who had shacks for homes. According to Ito's teammates excluding some bumps, bruises, and hunger pangs none of them seemed worse for wear. They were all able enough to walk home. Everything seemed fine."

"Ito-san wasn't fine."

"And neither was the mistress. Apparently when the nobleman tried to break off the relationship a few days ago, she snapped his neck in a fit of rage."

Dozens of thoughts swirled in my head as I considered the problematic nature of the obvious. "If the rest of those prisoners were ejected with the enzyme then there might be a problem."

"Not if you or Tsunade have figured out a way to safely remove the enzyme from the body. If you haven't then yes there may be a serious problem out there."

"I came up with a procedure that should work in theory…but in theory…What about our prisoner? Did the interrogation squad get any information from him?"

"Not yet but soon. The prisoner has been barely conscious since Naruto took him down. But the interesting thing about the prisoner is that they found two seals on him, one of which if activated had the potential to turn his body into a deadly bomb."

"So then I guess he wasn't bluffing when he said something to take out the crowd" I said.

"It seems not. Luckily he got greedy, you could see it in his eyes how badly he wanted to win. To live and savor the victory."

"What about the other seal?" I asked.

Sai shrugged, "oddly enough no one in ANBU has ever seen it before….."

Before Sai could finish I caught sight of a diminutive figure walking across the bridge and heading in our direction. It was an elderly woman. She wore an orange colored tunic with a long helm, long fitted sleeves and a round key hole neck facing. Strangely a young snow monkey sat comfortably upon her left shoulder, nibbling on some type of fruit. After a moment's reflection I pegged the old woman as an elder of the Rurousha clan. She stopped walking and began deliberately sizing us up.

"Hello?" I said.

"This is why I'm not fond off them, they sneak up on you" Sai muttered.

"Good afternoon children, I am Shotaro Tameyo. You two are close friends of Uzumaki Naruto are you not?"

Children?

"This is Shotaro Baian's mother" Sai whispered to me as if reading my mind.

"Oh you know who I am boy?"

"I am supposed to know things."

She smiled. "I admire a person who understands the importance of information."

"Ah yes" I blurted out. "Now I remember, Naruto mentioned that you were the one gave him the good luck charm."

She sniffed haughtily and the snow monkey hissed before returning to its fruit.

"Calling it a good luck charm, belittles its very nature."

"Well, alright I can say for sure he does appreciate the gift."

She shook her head. "Gift? No, it was not a gift. Gift implies it was mine too give. The chain was his from birth; it belongs to those who are destined for greatness."

I always felt a jolt of pride when someone within the village referred to Naruto's "greatness." But there was always something extra going on whenever someone from the outside remarked on Naruto's achievements. It was like a marker on how much things had changed, mostly for the better, and how much we'd survived since childhood's end. Of course Naruto didn't need his ego inflated or his vanity fed. But after everything that has happened he deserved the applause.

"That's quite a wide smile you have their girl."

Girl?

"Alright, perhaps introductions are in order. I am Haruno Sakura, this is Sai and to answer your previous question yes we are close friends of Naruto. But how did you know that?"

"When I first met him, he spoke very highly of his village. He spoke in detail about those he was close too, I have an excellent memory."

"Naruto spoke highly of us?" I asked.

"Yes, yes has. Its good that he has close friends. Great ambitious men need friends, not just followers, and do you know why?"

"I-"

She interjected before I could get a word in.

"A man with too much ambition cannot sleep in peace. For Peace will not and cannot come easy to men such as Uzumaki Naruto. Without key people in their lives they will not survive the burdens they place on themselves. This is one of life's great truths" she said solemnly.

"I do not recall either of us asking for her insight on anything" Sai whispered to me.

"Be nice Sai" I whispered back.

As if on cue the narrator's voice once again washed over us.

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world!"

The children burst into applause. I briefly glanced at the delighted audience.

"Well your clan puts on quite a spectacular show" I told Tameyo.

"I disagree." Sai said, knocking me off balance with his abruptness.

"Your people's rendition of the trials of the hero Kamei Akiaki's is incompatible with the mythology that has been passed down by shinobi for generations."

Tameyo spat on the floor, and the snow monkey did the same before hissing at Sai.

"What makes you think the mythology you heard as a child is any more accurate then tales that have been with the Rurousha clan for centuries?" The old woman snarled.

"Your version dismisses Kamei Akiaki's heroic qualities. If I recall correctly he was universally known as an admirable man who paid deep respect to his ancestors. The mythology was created for a reason; you are ignoring its thematic significance."

Tameyo stepped past me and made her way towards Sai. "Kamei Akiaki's was an indecisive fool who fell in love with the first woman he lay with! That is what history not myths tell us! Besides his heroic qualities have actually been emphasized by our play, the hero's will is not that of his ancestors or of his society, but his own. This will to be oneself is heroism."

I stepped in between them, leaving the snow monkey hissing in my ear.

"Alright there's no rule stating a story has to be told in one way. I'm sure both versions have their highlights."

I faced Sai, "Everyone calm down, Sai perhaps you should apologize to the village's guest."

"I've done nothing wrong. I believe it was the Rurousha who debased a timeless myth."

Oh boy

"Sakura-san!"

A familiar voice broke through the tension in the air. I looked over to see a medical nin I knew from the hospital running up to us. He came to a sliding halt before me.

"Sakura-san, Tsunade-sama has requested that I immediately escort you to an important meeting."

The meeting!

"Thank you for coming all this way for me Narinobu-san."

I turned to Sai but he was still exchanging silent but angry stares with Tameyo and her shoulder monkey. I tried to catch Sai's eyes but his focus was locked on his adversaries. No matter what the meeting brought, at least I'd be able to avoid having to salvage this upcoming wreck.

I bid them both hasty farewells before skipping after Narinobu-san towards the Hokage residence."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Under the last two Hokage Kohona's council had consisted of Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Village elders who had once been close friends with the Third Hokage, even though they may have disagreed with him on a number of key issues over the decades. Master had kept them as councilors during her term, not out of need for their wealth of experience in village affairs, but they were elders you see, and you can't just fire them. Kakashi had run into the same problem, however much to Homura and Koharu's chagrin, he had appointed Shikaku Nara and Kurenai Yūhi to council seats. An infusion of youth to balance things out Kakashi argued.

So I found myself standing beside Tsunade, or perhaps more specifically standing slightly behind her, as we faced the seated council members. Kakashi-sensei however was not yet present

"We can start the meeting as soon as the Hokage arrives" Kurenai said.

Mitokado Homura scoffed. "Hmmph I find it in bad form for Uzumaki Naruto to arrive late to such an important meeting."

"Now Homura, to my knowledge Uzumaki Naruto is not the Hokage " Koharu replied whimsically.

"Oh, I could have sworn after last night…"

It took all I had to suppress my cringe.

"It's good to see that time hasn't diminished your sense of humor. Mitokado Homura's infamous biting wit is always welcome to any meeting I am a part of." Kakashi coolly strolled across the room, past Tsunade and I, and made his way towards the Hokage seat at the head of the council table. Beside him were the seats of the councilors two on each side.

Before he sat down he drew in a deep breath. "Believe it or not, I knew about last night before the festivities took place. The banning wasn't enforced because Naruto did the right thing for the village once again, as of now I am removing the edict banning the mass assemblies. This holiday week will proceed as usual."

Kakashi glanced around the room but he was met with silence. He took a seat, "I was just finishing a discussion with Chief Chamberlain Yoshirou."

"The Chief Chamberlain? You did not speak directly to the Daimyo?" Utatane Koharu asked.

Kakashi sighed. "As you know the daimyo and his family have expanded the private government of the Fire nation since the end of the war. Well the result of this is that certain noblemen have gained more administrative duties in the government as honored officials or magistrates. Considering that and the fact that the daimyo no longer seems as interested in political affairs, it means I talk to Chamberlain Yoshirou."

"Though he is from a relatively lower class as far as the nobles are concerned he is a well-respected member of the government, and he has been very cooperative and generous as far as the village is concerned" Shikaku added.

"He's arguably the most powerful man in the nation" Kurenai tagged.

"Now that we are well acquainted with the Chamberlain" Kakashi started. "We can move on to the fact that he and apparently the Daimyo have become increasingly concerned with a recent development in the nation."

Kakashi went on to explain what Sai had let me in on earlier that day. The general consensus was that your typical bandit or even tattooed Yakuza member wouldn't have been able to get access to Orochimaru's research and jutsu let alone put any of it to use. Although a few of the other hidden villages had not recovered as quickly as Konoha had after the war, the Shinobi alliance was still intact and there had been no indication of animosity between any of the Kages. In fact, aside from Kumogakure most of the other villages had been receiving aid in some form from Konoha. Still no one was putting betrayal out of consideration. Either a foreign village was causing trouble in the Fire Nation or another terrorist organization had emerged in Akatsuki's wake. Neither scenario had anyone feeling optimistic, about things.

Kakashi turned to Tsunade. "If the people of the nation are being injected with this enzyme can they be treated?"

Tsunade elbowed me in the ribs and I stepped forward. I explained the procedure as I had to Ito, but with a few more medical terms thrown in for professionalism sake. They stared at me attentively as I gave them a step by step overview. There were moments where I may have felt a little flustered but my nerves held, there were no questions they could ask that I wouldn't have an answer to. I had done my research; I had come up with the procedure, it was my promise to Hisato Ito.

"Sounds like a radical procedure" Utatane Koharu muttered.

"It's the only alternative we have if we want to save the patient" I replied.

"It will be difficult to subject the nation's citizens to that kind of treatment" Kakashi remarked.

"Having a treatment is enough to open doors for us" Tsunade stated.

"Fair enough, his treatment begins when?"

"Tomorrow afternoon" Tsunade answered.

I was a little caught off guard, but when I turned to master she simply nodded.

"Yes, tomorrow afternoon is fine" I agreed.

"As long as it is in your capable hands Tsunade-hime, I'm sure it will turn out for the best" Homura said.

And just as matter-of-factly Tsunade stated, "Sakura will be performing this procedure."

Concern appeared on Homura and Koharu's face. Shikakau and Kurenai 's features offered only mild surprise. Kakashi-sensei simply stared blankly at me.

"Is she experienced enough to handle this complex procedure? " Koharu muttered.

"It was her research, it's her procedure, and she should be allowed to take the lead in this" Tsuande said.

"That's good enough for me. I think this meeting is adjourned" Kakashi said quickly before anyone could say anything else.

I was turning away when the Hokage suddenly called out to me.

"Hold on Sakura. I want to talk to you about something."

I stood by as the rest of the room filed out slowly. When we were the last two remaining Kakashi approached me.

"Are you up for this?"

"Yes" I said emphatically. "I am ready to own this."

I could see the smile beneath his mask. "Good, that's what I needed to hear."

Figuring this was as an appropriate time as any other I gather up the courage and asked, "Sensei, will Naruto be punished for what happened yesterday?"

"Should he be?" He said with a hushed voice.

Not knowing what to say exactly, I simply shook my head.

Kakashi shrugged. "I already said he was right, why would I punish him after the fact? It seems senseless to punish Naruto for being Naruto, especially when it was in the best interest of the village. That's all that matters really, the village. However he can come and talk to me about these things, let him know that I'll hear him out."

"I'll be sure to do that."

I had taken a step away from him when he called out to me "I want to say good luck tomorrow but I'm sure you won't need it. I am looking forward to the good news."

I smiled and bowed courteously "thank you sensei, I appreciate it."

After that I could have done the procedure right there in the council room. With nothing more than a Popsicle stick and a bag of ice. Charged and excited I left the room feeling happier than I had been in the longest time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I wandered out of the Hokage residence feeling like a kid let loose at a festival. Initially I had aimed myself in the general direction of Ino's house, but still I ended up walking around in circles. I did not become aware of that fact until I passed the market place for the fourth time. I realized I was in a good mood and I had the urge to share it, Ino usually celebrated the days of the Bon festival with her family so going back to an empty house would not satisfy my craving for gaiety. So where could I go?

It was a question I apparently did not even need to ask. Before I had even firmly set my mind on what to do next I was already walking towards the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. It was just around dusk, supper time really and I knew what to expect. Approaching the bar I heard Teuchi's hoarse laughter, it seemed that the atmosphere already matched my mood.

"So then I asked the old wanderer to teach me the jutsu since it might be useful y'know" Naruto chuckled with his eyes down in his ramen. "But he says to me 'listen kid this jutsu is like making love, easy to get into impossible to master.'"

Teuchi laughed out loud.

"So then I said, I said old man you don't know how things work with me. I'm the type who learns by experience. If I get a feel for things, I'll get it down. So if it means practicing something time and time again to get it right. I'll do it, even if I'm exhausted or on the brink of death. Now this applies to learning jutsu and especially to—"

At this point Naruto had glanced up from his bowl and noticed that I hid slid into the seat beside.

"Especially to..?" I asked, presenting him with an eager face.

"To...to….nothing really, the story ends there" he sputtered with a tinge of red on both cheeks.

"Didn't sound like that to me. It sounded like you were just about to brag about something, Dontcha think so Teuchi-san?"

Teuchi shook his head happily. "Nah I don't think so. It was a dull story anyway, I'm actually glad it's done."

"It was pretty boring" Naruto tagged on.

"Almost put me to sleep" Teuchi concluded.

"That's a complete lie; the both of you were laughing it up a moment ago" I declared.

"I was just being polite" Teuchi told me.

"I was just following along with his politeness" Naruto said.

I painted a mock frown on my face, "Teuch-san this has been my fav lunch spot for three years! How can you repay my loyalty like this?"

He put his hands together and bowed slightly "Sakura please do not make me choose between a great friend and a beautiful young woman. It's an impossible decision, I can't decide."

"What the hell Teuchi?" Naruto said after slurpful of noodles. "I'm your best customer…"

I tapped Naruto's arm with my elbow. "If you didn't notice knucklehead, he already chose. He went with the boys club."

Teuchi once again bowed to me apologetically.

"Still I will be able to forgive since you called me beautiful young woman. Oh and for some shoyu ramen."

"Of course!"

Teuchi started on the meal while Naruto tipped the ramen bowl to his lips. That's when I finally noticed what he was wearing. The basic jonin uniform, green flak jacket, scroll patches on the right and left breast, zipper up the middle, the back bearing the red swirl insignia. If I hadn't been caught up in the moment, it would have been something I would have immediately noticed.

"What happened to the orange? Were you and Konohamaru blowing up mud clones with the rasengan again?"

"It's called training Sakura-chan."

"Some people might call it playing in the mud. I told you years ago that elite ninja do not walk around the village with mud on their clothing" I lectured.

He smiled "Ok, I did spend some time in the mud with Konohamaru. But that's not the reason I'm wearing this. "

"The reason is?"

He gazed down at his bowl and sighed. "This is what I'm going to wear now."

It had the surprising effect of a slap to the face. "Really?" I asked.

"Yeah" he said suddenly enthusiastic. "Anyway you seem really happy today."

I take no pride in saying that over the years I had honed my craft when it comes to evasive tactics. I was ever improving my skills at avoiding personal issues; hence I knew a thing or two about deflections. Many wouldn't expect Naruto to be the evasive type, since he usually wore his heart on his sleeve. But truthfully he could deflect with the best with them. It was clear that this topic of conversation was over but I made a mental note to dip my toes in again when the time was right.

"Yes, I am very happy."

"Because?" Naruto asked as Teuchi slid my order under my nose.

"Because….." I replied, drawing steam into my nose and taking in the light, wet, but sweet scent of the broth.

"Because Tsunade and Kakashi believe in me."

"And you didn't know this before? After all the stuff you've done?" Naruto said skeptically.

"I knew, I just didn't know…but I knew" I uttered.

He stared at me without speaking. Silently he tipped the bowl back to his lips. He slurped, placed the bowl down, and I watched a tremor run down his throat. But still, he didn't say anything.

"Shut up" I said punching him in the arm.

He rubbed his arm down. "Sakura-chan, I didn't say anything!"

"The silence said it all." I used the chopsticks to stir the noodles around with the vegetables. "Anyway, you're the one who has done stuff."

"Saving lives is not stuff?"

"Yes, yes it is very important stuff" I nodded. "But I meant legendary "stuff," the historical "stuff" that makes people want your autograph. I'm sure you got mobbed last night."

Naruto made a face at that. "Well…..This one guy tried to kiss my hand. It was too weird."

I laughed, it was the biggest laugh that I had had for quite some time. "Teuchi-san Naruto doesn't understand that people want to see him, to look upon him."

"Naruto, you've told me you have run into people who admired you outside the village. How did you not expect to be a big deal in your own home?" Teuchi exclaimed.

"I'm just saying sometimes this was a weird moment, can't I think that something is weird!"

"Naruto" I leaned in close to him. "You are no longer Naruto, you've become "Naruto." "

His face scrunched up in confusion. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

I gave Teuchi a look of exasperation, he sighed and said "Naruto it is your achievement and your will that people see now, not you. It is the will that defeated Uchiha Madara that some have attached their hope to. It happens to all great heroes."

"Teuchi-san tells the truth" I said chomping on a bean sprout.

Naruto leaned backwards with his hands entwined behind his head. "So it's just like The Third."

"You're getting there" I said in between gulps. If you're not there already.

I dug back into the delicious ramen. And with each mouthful of curly noodle came a warm jolt. Excitement, exuberance and satisfaction were all stirring and colliding within me. I couldn't help but feel very grateful for having gotten this far, to have survived to this point in time. Heaven knows there had been plenty of brushes with death over the years. More than a civilian would have in five lifetimes. Tears spilled, blood spilled, but I had gotten to tonight and tomorrow I'd get a chance to really show my worth.

With that said, I still had some hours to go before proving my worth. I had all this pent up energy with nothing to pass the time.

"Sakura-chan, since you're in good mood, why don't we go do something?"

A sudden maneuver bold in its abruptness.

If the situation last night had upset Naruto he had overcome the negativity very quickly. At the very least he was no longer deterred from his objective.

"You're asking me out on date?"

"I just thought we could do something together. If you want to call it a date that's ok too" he replied.

"Uh-huh"

I wasn't sure if it was conscious effort or not but a roguish type grin materialized on his face as he said, "We can do whatever you want tonight Sakura-chan."

"I see" I said.

After the sudden intimate interaction that had occurred between us while he was recovering from Kabuto's poisoning. There were moments in time, where I knew that Naruto would have been physically available to me if I had made a move. I had often been caught off guard by the suddenness of it; the "adultness" of it left me feeling a bit vulnerable back then. Yes, at first even I questioned my own arrogance when I reflected on a moment passed. But it happened more frequently than one would expect and in mostly random points in time.

For example Tsunade had knowledge of a Fuinjutsu that Naruto wanted added to his repertoire, she taught him the fundamentals but he couldn't get it exactly right. Eventually he came to me for some advice on how to adapt it into his fighting style and, after an entire night of practice, he leaned into me warily to thank me and then… a moment. No it wasn't my arrogance, or my imagination, the moment was not the result of either my or Naruto's doing. I had not designed it, nor had I expected it. Perhaps I should have? I'd wonder looking back. But it usually came in like divine inspiration, since nothing flirtatious had happened between us. I thought about it, when I had the free time, and I had no explanation for what appeared to be a purely sexual connection that had been communicated without the basic conventional acts of seduction. At the very least it had been communicated to me, intensely so. There was always a chance I was wrong about what Naruto had felt on his side of the fence, but in those brief moments I was suddenly, painfully aware that if I simply reached out…"something" would probably happen. I never did reach out and instead of "something" happening we typically ended up just talking or playing a game like "Go" under a tree, or in a tent, or in any kind of empty room that was available at the time.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

I struggled to regain my wandering thoughts.

"I want to play Go?" I said, though the question seemed posed to me than to Naruto.

Naruto's face fell. "Go? No way…."

"Why not? "I said, surprised at his refusal. "Come on let's play a round like we used to I'm feeling-nostalgic."

"You always win when we play Go! I never get to win" he said childishly.

"Naruto, a gentleman never refuses a ladies request" Teuchi scolded. "What does it matter if you lose once or twice?"

"I would be fine if I lost once or twice. But ten times in a row? That's what's happened the last time I played her."

"Come on, Ino has a board back home, and she also has green tea ice cream and Mochi."

"Nope, it's embarrassing" Naruto fumed.

Embarrassing eh?

"You know what's kind of embarrassing? Hearing from Sai, that somebody has been interrogating him on my personal life."

Sweat drops appeared on Naruto's head. "I wasn't interrogating him I just….I didn't think you'd want me ask you that anyway."

"It probably would have been awkward, but…I'd rather you ask me then someone else.

"I'm sorry." Naruto ran his hands through his hair "but it wasn't really something I needed to know, at least I didn't think I cared until I was in the middle of asking Sai about it."

Before I could ask a follow-up question Teuchi cleared his throat.

"Um would anyone care for seconds, free of charge?" he said.

"Not tonight Teuchi-san." Naruto turned to me, "do you still want to play?"

I did, even if the mood had shifted slightly.

"Yeah."

"Alright" he said clenching his fist as if bracing for a fight. "We're going to have fun; I'm going to have fun, even if I lose."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He won.

I wasn't sure exactly how it had happened. I had beaten him six straight times previously. The seventh time well…..I suppose having imagined that I was in complete control off the board I must have left my guard down. Anyway I found myself staring down at my defeated pieces while Naruto lapped the couch for a third time with his victory dance.

"Rematch?" I managed to blurt out.

He pumped his fist in the air tree times before turning to me. "Nope"

"Best two out of three?"

He shook his head, "nope, we both agreed this would be the last match and we had a bet."

Why had I agreed to that damn bet! What the hell, why hadn't I been more cautious!

Naruto had proposed the bet as I was trying to convince him to play one more round. Riding such a hot streak, I didn't imagine any harm would be done. Yet now I was forced to watch Naruto pelvic thrust the air with unbridled joy.

"Stop doing that!" I said throwing a couch cushion at him.

With a wide grin on his face he snatched the cushion out of the air. "You have to agree to whatever I say until tomorrow night."

"This is childish, we're adults there is no reason to hold each other to this…juvenile bet."

He pointed to me, "You gave your word, if you can't trust the word of a fellow Leaf nin…"

"Fine" I grumbled. "But I'm not going to eat anything weird, I'm laying that down right now….."

He shrugged happily. "Let's get the obvious out of the way; I think it would be we good idea if we went out on a date sometime in the future."

"Fine I promise" I said. "But only one date."

"Ten dates."

"One date."

"Six dates."

"One date."

"Fifteen dates."

I glared at him.

"Two dates" he grinned.

"Fine" I conceded.

He clapped his hands together. "OK the easy stuff is out of the way. What's next?"

Naruto began pacing back and forth across the room, and all I could do was watch.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm thinking!" he said.

"While you're thinking, do you mind telling me why you ditched the orange for the green? What happened to Konoha's Orange Hokage? Did Tsunade really wear you down?"

Naruto stopped walking and glanced over at me. "Granny made some good points but I didn't make a decision until this morning"

He lifted his arm and let his gaze fell onto his sleeves. "After yesterday with the speech and the spar-well this will help keep me focused that's all. I can still go back to orange jumpsuit when I'm Hokage. But right now this is who I am."

"I never thought I'd see the day…."

"Nothing stays the same forever, not even me" he declared offhandedly.

A thought occurred. "You know technically you're still a genin. You're not allowed to wear that."

"Details, no one's complained yet" Naruto shrugged.

Before I could think of a way to keep the conversation going, Naruto abruptly resumed his brisk pacing. Watching him walk, I wondered how long it would take to get used to seeing him in green. Truth be told while the orange jumpsuit had its charm, fashionably, switching to the traditional uniform of Konohakagure was an improvement. It was a very dashing look for Naruto. Compared to the "look at me" attitude of the jumpsuit the Jounin attire seemed to speak of his solidness and reliability. To add to that I noticed there was an interesting juxtaposition between the steadfast uniform and Naruto's usually mussed hair.

The uniform screams good character, the unruly hair whispers mischief, the combination is actually quite sex—

I stopped myself from finishing the thought. This was definitely not what I needed. It would complicate an already complicated issue if my mind officially filed Naruto under the category of "sexy," along with its root word sex and the up and downs that carried.

Easy now Sakura, you're turning into some cliché sexually frustrated middle-aged-

"Sakura-chan" Naruto's voice pulled me out of my own head. I glanced up at to see him standing before Ino's bookcase.

"I've got it."

Naruto, after declaring that he knew how much I enjoyed a good book, had decided that I would read to him.

Number one unpredictable ninja indeed.

Dumbfounded, I agreed to the odd request. Not that I had a choice according to the bet.

He pulled a book from the shelf and tossed it my direction. I grabbed the book and glanced at the cover, it featured a buxom nurse about ready to pop out of her uniform clutching a shirtless brawny man. I quickly scanned the title of the book "Nightshift nurses" right before tossing it at Naruto's head. He was laughing when the book's spine struck him in the forehead.

I'm going have to ask Ino why the hell she would even have that out in her bookshelf

"Let's give one more try. Whatever I pick will be my real choice" Naruto closed his eyes and randomly snatched a book from the shelf before throwing it in my direction.

I caught the book in my hands, and scanned the cover. The title of the book was called "Madly"

"What's the matter? Have you read it already?"

He must have noted the surprise on my face.

"I have" I said turning to the back cover. "Ino let me borrow this once."

"Is it good?"

"I really enjoyed it, but you might not like it."

"Why would you think that?"

"Well for one thing this doesn't really have a happy ending. It's about the inflected eroticism and disruption of a doomed love affair. Two people who start a relationship that blossoms, then unfortunately they must watch it suffocate beneath the weight of its own obsessiveness, and then it dies…...like a withered flower that was foolish enough to believe it could grow in the parched wastelands of a windswept desert."

A frown came to Naruto's face. "Sakura you're giving the story away!"

"Sorry….I just…I really don't think this story is your kind of thing."

Naruto sighed "would you I don't know, recommend this book to someone else. Someone who liked to read."

I nodded.

"That's good enough for me. We're reading this" he said while walking towards the couch.

I started flipping through the book. I had given my word so I was honor bound to read him the story. "Alright I'll read it to you, even though this is all a little weird."

"The whole book, you gotta promise now that you'll finish the book."

He's become devious since he's been away.

Unfortunately the gleaming of extra time from the bet wasn't the extent of his deviousness. Standing before me Naruto asked that I scoot over to the end of the couch. Not knowing what was to come next I did exactly that. Then I watched him, in slow motion, take the couch pillow I had thrown at him, place it upon my lap, and then he lay his head on the pillow.

"Are you insane?" I figured I'd ask for an explanation before I clobbered him.

"Nothing in the bet said I couldn't do this," he said looking up at me innocently.

"You are so lucky you won that round" I grumbled.

"You know what? The bet was win-win for me from the start" he grinned.

I glanced down at him, "Has it occurred to you that this is all dangerous ground? What about our friendship? Are you willing to risk that?"

With his gaze fixed upon me he remained silent for a considerable amount of time. Eventually he said, "Yeah."

Yeah? Just like that.

I really shouldn't have been so surprised. It really was the least surprising moment of the night. But in life, it's quite a journey from suspecting something and having it confirmed.

"For everything lost, you have gained something; and for everything earned, you've sacrificed something. You told me that Sakura."

Yes I had told him that.

While we were in Kumogakure sometime in the weeks after the war, a courier nin approached Naruto with a package from a boy in the Land of Iron. The package was an amber stone, Naruto's reward for avenging his father, a samurai who had died from the injuries he had suffered at the hands of Sasuke during the Kage Summit.

Though Naruto didn't say a word as he clutched the stone in his hand, it was obvious the boy's gesture had rocked him.

He couldn't feel bitter towards the little boy or anyone else really. No one could understand how he felt and it might have been wrong for him to ask anyone too. Suddenly Naruto found himself mourning the loss of a brother alone. I had to a certain degree accepted Sasuke's death before it had become a reality and anything I said about the situation rang hollow to me. At a loss for the words to soothe, I attempted to make Naruto look at the bright side. So I quoted my father.

I was surprised he remembered it. For years I assumed nothing I had said during that time had reached Naruto's ears. I didn't think I had helped him at all, especially since he had decided to walk away.

"I'm willing to sacrifice the friendship to earn something."

"T-that's" I sighed. "You can't apply that saying, to this context."

"Why can't I?"

"I don't know, you just can't" I answered honestly. "And you should consider my feelings."

"I actually think I am."

There was no point in continuing, he was going to be hard headed about this. So I started reading.

"For all intents and purposes, my highest professional and moral obligation was to concentrate solely on preventing assassins from killing my lord. Crouched in the shadows of the castle, or lost in the crevices of a crowd, I remained ever vigilant, keeping a watchful eye over my master. However in all honesty, no one really had any interest in killing him. For all my years of guarding from the shadows, no one had ever found master worth investing the time to scheme and plot for. So there were times when I shirked my duty and allowed my eyes to wander. Which is how my usually dedicated gaze, first fell upon Fukida Shimura during a parade one hot summer afternoon nearly ten years ago."

"Hold on Sakura. The main character...the narrator is a girl right?"

Ignoring Naruto's inquiry I continued reading. He chose the book so I was going to read it.

"He stood under a blanket of sunshine, tall and stunning with tousled dark hair."

"It's a girl, right Sakura-chan?"

He repeated the question three more times during the first paragraph of the story, and a few more times sporadically afterwards. I kept reading since the answer became increasingly obvious as the story went on. Especially when the narrator's father addressed him as Ichigo three pages into the story.

Whether the narrative was intriguing enough to overcome Naruto's reluctance or he kept it together to look mature in front of me, I don't know. But by the end of the first chapter he had quieted down and was genuinely listening to what I was saying. It kept his attention for another five chapters before his eyes started to droop. However not out of boredom, he was tuned in to the previous chapters enough for me to assume he must have simply been tired from a long day. He fought sleep for another two chapters before it overcame him and I stopped reading. With his eyes closed, I could finally see the exhaustion on Naruto's face. The slight puffiness under his eyes indicated that he definitely was not been getting enough sleep.

Very gently I put my hand on his face, to feel the warmth and softness of his cheek. He didn't move I imagined he felt perfectly comfortably with my hand being there. There was now denying this moment, it didn't have an erotic tinge to but this was definitely two people sharing a moment for what it's worth.

With his eyes still closed Naruto smiled, slipped his hand over mine and slid it down to his chest so I could feel his heartbeat through his clothes. Then he stopped moving, apparently returning to sleep.

Truly devious

I was too tired to get angry, so I leaned back into the couch and made myself comfortable. I had an early morning ahead of me and it was about time for me to get to sleep anyway.

A/N ALERT!: If anyone knows how to translate "The Will To Fight" into Japanese please drop my a line. The online translations I've used have not satisfied me at all. An while we're at it, I want to throw "wolves" out there to be translated.

Tell me what you think folks, critiques, criticism, anything that comes to mind. It might not feel like it but this chapter is fairly important, the next one eve moreso.