I figured out how to end it! I figured out how to end it! O YEA!!

Vacation has done me wonders! I was able to get this chapter finished! FINALLY!! As always,

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To all those people who said the last few chapters didn't make sense! HA! If you don't read them this chapter doesn't make as much sense as it should! XP Anyways,

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 9

The small girl looked up at him, her storm grey eyes glistening with laughter. He watched as the light slowly drained from them being replaced by a dull sorrow. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

He wanted to correct her, to wipe the soon to fall tears from her cheeks, reassuring him of his presence but his body was already moving away, her small sad eyes watching him go. "You promised…" A single tear fell from the cloud of her eyes, slipping down her cheek and falling from her chin, hitting the dried dirt with the hundreds of other. The two storms mourning his departure, both chilling him as thoroughly has one could be.

Naruto woke up, barely opening his eyes. The same dream that had been bouncing around his thoughts for the past 2 weeks. The only thought that had disturbed him so much that he could barely keep his face straight after the sleepless night. He felt dizzy, the mere remembrance of the small girl's eyes made him feel far more useless and hopeless than any snide comment ever had. It hurt him to realize just how much he had hurt that small girl.

He would never hurt someone like that ever again. He closed his eyes again shifting slightly on the couch, readying his body for more sleep when he heard a stuttered sigh as someone tried to stop themselves from breathing. He opened his eyes and looked out of the corner of his eye despite not being able to see anything over the back of the couch.

He nearly fell off the couch when he saw red, yellow, white, green and blue streamers waving at him as the small rotation of the ceiling fan brushed wind passed them. He sat up to his elbows, bringing his head over the back of the couch, his mouth falling open as the Rookie 12, minus Sasuke and himself, had stopped mid-action as they saw he'd woken up.

Choji, Lee and Neji were holding several boxes of what appeared to be balloons and games, each one halted in mid-step. Sakura, Ino, Kiba and Shino were hanging up a banner in his minuscule kitchen the words "Happy 18th Birthday, Naruto!", scrawled across it in assorted handwriting styles, colors and designs. He briefly noted they might drop the banner as their mouths hung open in the "We've been caught" fashion. Shikamaru, Hinata and Ten Ten were looming over the counter, their eyes on Naruto but formerly on the cake and ice cream they had been preparing for the fridge and freezer. Akamaru was sitting at the door, patiently, obviously ordered to as not to ruin Naruto's already worn apartment.

The silence stretched on, floorboards creaking underneath the party maker's feet. Naruto was just looking at them, his mind slightly fuzzed from sleep and confusion. His mouth was slightly open as he tried to form a coherent thought. He read the banner again. It's the 10th of October?

The Kyuubi chuckled. "Forgot your birthday again, kit? Tsk. Tsk. They've been at it for almost an hour and you just woke up. Tsk. Tsk." Naruto chose to ignore the voice echoing around his head in the sickly sweet teasing manner that he had always hated.

"Uhh… Hi?"

"I can't believe you forgot your birthday, Naruto!" Kiba snickered handing Naruto a lavender wrapped present. "We knew you were an idiot but we didn't think you would actually forget your own birthday!"

Kiba was silenced by a swift hit up the side of the head from Ino. She smiled and handed Naruto a present wrapped in red. "Ignore him. He's soar because we woke him up. This is from Shikamaru, Choji and I. That one is from Shino, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru."

Naruto smiled taking the presents and setting them in his lap. "Thanks."

Lee, Neji and Ten Ten walked up, Lee nearly bounding into Naruto. "Here is our most youthful present to you to make your most youthful 18th birthday! Happy Youthful Birthday, my friend!"

Naruto smiled and nodded. Everyone else shook their heads. Too many people asked how they could deal with Lee's overbearing nature about youth. Lots and Lots of practice had been Ten Ten's answer. "Thanks guys."

Sakura smiled as she watched them hand their gifts to Naruto. Each present was handed to him like he was going to break. Each hug or kiss on the cheek was given as if it would hurt him. The looks they gave him were as if they would never see him again. Each moment was like the last they would spend with him. And as she watched her friends talk with him, their interaction with him, she found herself frowning. Something was wrong and she had been left out of the loop.

She spent the entire evening, thru singing, thru cake and ice cream, thru games and dares, taking a page from Naruto's book. She wore a mask, just as he was that night. Over the years she had learned to see thru the mask. And as the night grew darker and the hours grew later, the more their friends left until it was just her and Naruto.

He closed the door and looked back at Sakura, who had situated herself on the couch. She had been oddly silent the whole night, her hands no fiddling aimlessly with a seam on the couch. "Sakura?"

"Come 'ere, Naruto," She patted the couch right next to her as she stared off into space. "Come on. Right here next to me." He walked over to the couch and sat down. Sakura didn't react at first, her gaze still far off. Naruto gulped slightly afraid of the actions that he was sure she had been relieved of.

"Sakura, wha-"

"What's wrong?" She said softly. "What's wrong with me is… is you all know something and…and I'm being left out of the loop!" She stood up and glared around the room. She took a deep breath and wrung her hands over and over. "I just…I just want to know what the big secret is. What is wrong?"

"There's noth-"

"This isn't nothing, Naruto! This is something big!" Naruto looked away then back at her.

"Well what about you? You've had this secret bouncing around? Everyone has hinted at it! I'm out of the loop on that one! So what's up with you Sakura? I can't give you anything with out you giving me something in return!"

"Giving you something in return…. I… I love you, Naruto!" She felt a solitary tear streak down her cheek. "That's the big secret! I love you! I was an idiot thinking that I still loved Sasuke! It was a stupid childhood fantasy! And I… I realized… that without you I'm only half here. I'm not really there. Without you I'd just fade into the background." Sakura fell onto the couch, cradling her head in her hands. Her voice settled into a whisper. "I'd become a ghost."

Naruto sat on the couch gaping at Sakura before standing up. His body protested but his mind was racing to fast to pay attention to it. "No. You love Sasuke. You've always loved him. You… can't…"

Sakura looked up at him. "Naruto… I love-"

"Sasuke," He cut her off shaking his head, a headache prickling behind his eyes. "You love Sasuke. That was the whole point of getting him back! So you could love him and be happy! Not so you could love me! You can't! You can't Sakura! You can't love me!"

Sakura shook her head, watching the man who had carried everyone on his shoulders, carried the world around without so much as a single complaint, break down under the smallest thing. "Why not?! Why can't I love?! Answer me, Naruto! Why can't I love you?! Is it because you don't love me? Is it?! Answer me!"

"No… Kami-sama no, Sakura. I do love you… but you can't… love me… because…. because…" She watched him sink to his knees, his breath coming in sharp gasps, tears streaking down his cheeks. "I'm dying, Sakura. I'm dying and… not you, or Ba-chan, or Kyuubi or anyone can do anything about it. You can't love someone who is going to leave you alone. You can't… love me."

Sakura seemed to freeze, her actions stopping as she processed the information. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to laugh so hard her sides hurt and she couldn't breath and tears were streaming down her face but the look on his face. The way his eyes had lost their glimmer brought back the memories that she had worked so hard to get past, for them to stop ruling her life. They were dancing in front of her, a parade of the truth she desperately wanted to be false. She slid to the floor, her skirt splaying out around her knees.

"No… Naruto," She reached out, cupping his cheeks with her hands. She brought his forehead to hers. "No. No. No. Don't you dare say that to me. Don't you dare say that I can't love you. Please, Kami-sama, no. Don't say that."

"Please, Sakura. Let go. Go back to-" Naruto huffed.

"No. I'm staying here," Sakura snapped bringing Naruto's head away from hers so she could look him in the eyes. Somewhere during her pleading, she had begun to sob, tears spilling down her face. "Please. Stop being brave. Just stop. For once let me take care of you. Please. I don't care what happens just let me be here. Let me in on the secret. Let me carry you. Please. Let me…"

Two calloused hands engulfed her silk hands, holding them to Naruto's cheeks and pulling her closer. Naruto took several deep breaths. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I should have told… I was just…I was just… scared of leaving you. I didn't want you to know because… because…"

Sakura laughed despite their tears, dripping from their chins onto the wooden floor. "I'm not that fragile, Naruto. I'm not a porcelain doll everyone looks at but can't touch. I can handle things to an extent."

Naruto chuckled softly. "Excuse me for trying to keep you from some emotional stuff that I thought you couldn't handle. You've had a rough few months, Ms. I-can-handle-anything. I was just trying to help."

"Fine but you are Mr. I-can-handle-anything," She smiled slightly. "Which I guess proves that neither of us can handle anything anymore."

They both burst out laughing, their hands falling to their sides in pain. Time seemed to slow again for them as green trees met the wide blue sky. Sakura leaned forward, pressing her lips to Naruto's, his hand coming up to cup her cheek again, her hand lying over the top of it. Naruto broke away in hacking coughs as air filled his lungs again.

Sakura rubbed her hand over his back. "I'm not leaving you. I'll be with you till the end." She whispered. She helped back up onto the couch, his head in her lap as she stroked his furry yellow hair. "Let's go somewhere, Naruto. Just for a few months. Just the two of us. It would do you some good, you know?"

Naruto cracked his eyes open. "Is that your professional opinion, Dr. Sakura Haruno?"

"Of course," She smiled kissing his forehead. "So, I'm allowed to love you right?" He nodded, a tear slipping down his cheek. "And you love me right?" Another nod, a tear slipping down her cheek. "Then let's go. Live our lives now. What do you say?" She closed her eyes, feeling tears streak down her cheek and drip off her chin.

"I like the sound of that, Sakura-chan,"

A/N: FEEDBACK!! Thanks for reading... FEEDBACK!! WARNING! WARNING! THIS IS ALMOST OVER I WILL SAY THREE CHAPTERS IS THE MOST LIKELY!! FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED THANK YOU FOR READING!! I almost cry reading this... sheesh. wipes away tear

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