A Couple of Notes:

1. Forget what I said about Saeko looking up to Temari.

2. Forget about the chapter where Sasuke doesn't seem to know ANYTHING about Saeko

3. As for Mamoru and Hajime... Ok, let's see... I definitely need to go back and edit this story, but I'm too lazy to write it, and you people can obviously just take my word for it. For now, until I straighten things out, let's just pretend that Grace was lecturing Kankurou over something else. Uh... And pretend that both of the babies were in the building and, uh... Gaara saved them both.

4. Wow... this is so unprofessional.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I own my OCs.

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NOTE: I'm really bad at measurements, so the Kilometers/Miles thing… probably not so accurate when applied to the amount of time it takes to get to the designated location.

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Thoughts of a Broken Family, Chapter 20

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Ino + Shikamaru: Toshi, now 13 (almost 14). Satoru, now 6 and a half years old.

Sakura + Sasuke: Saeko, now 14 and a half

Kiba + Temari: Kiyoshi, 15.

Hinata + Naruto: Kohana (F), and Atsuhiro (M), 11 and a half. Twins.

Tenten + Neji: Hikari, 17. Hiroshi, almost 12 years old.

Kakashi + Kurenai: Ayami, now 17 and a half.

Gaara and Crazy Lady (Grace/GaaraCutie): Hajime (M) and Mamoru (M), 8 months old. Twins.

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"It's Suzume," Saeko replied, without looking back at them. "Her leg was crushed, and I can't heal it, and she can't walk. We have to get her" –she coughed- "out of here!"

The rumbling started again. Looking around, Sasuke made his way over to his daughter, picker up Suzume, and they all started running as the rumbling began to grow louder.

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Ayami

We'd been in the building for so long that the fresh air felt strange to my lungs. All around me the crowds were gathered, staring expectantly at the building, parents from all lands eager to find out if their children were in there, hoping they weren't, praying that if they were, they would make it out safely. As soon as I had come out, my mother's face had lit up with relief. Toshi and Satoru ran over to Ino, who looked like she had been crying for days on end. Hikari walked over to her mom indifferently, as if this sort of thing happened to her every day.

Most of the children were back now; some where being walked away by their parents, others being carried away towards the nearest hospital. Basically, the crowd had narrowed down to the shinobi of Konoha.

When I asked mom where my father was, she told me that he was in the building and would be back soon. Sure enough, he appeared in the entrance, an unconscious little boy in his arms. Behind him, Kiba, Neji and the others appeared, all carrying at least one person who had been in the building. When at last, they stopped appearing, my heart jumped to my throat. I hadn't seen her anywhere. Had she come out before me? I looked around at the crowd.

No. Saeko, as I feared, wasn't there. Neither was her father, or that other boy. They were still in there.

Saeko, Sasuke, Kiyoshi

With every step they took, it felt like the walls were closing in on them. Saeko was already beginning to feel weak, and, more than once, Kiyoshi had to reach over and stop her from stumbling and falling. Suzume was unconscious, still held in Sasuke's arms. It was cold and dark and dusty, not to mention noisy. Basically, it was torture.

But luckily, just as her stomach have a violent lurch, Saeko caught sight of the entrance.

"There," she said. Of course, the opening to the outside world could only be reached by climbing a huge pile of rubble, which, with Sasuke carrying Suzume, was going to take a few minutes to penetrate. With Kiyoshi's help, Saeko reached the top and reached down to help him.

It happened in the blink of an eye. The building began rumbling louder than ever, and in her shock, Saeko had jumped, her foot sliding on the rubble.

"Sae!"

She didn't even have time to figure out which one of them had yelled first before she fell backwards.

Sakura

She had been staring at the entrance expectantly for so long that it might have been an illusion. Despite herself, though, Sakura's heart gave a leap in her ribcage at the head of raven hair. She waited for a moment, thrilled. But her excitement melted away as quickly as it had come when she saw Saeko falling, tumbling down the hill of rubble.

She and a couple of others started running, and luckily, Naruto managed to catch the girl before she hit the ground. Blood, crimson, poured from the girl's arms and knees, her scalp and forehead. Wide-eyed, Sakura reached down to grab her daughter's wrist, only to find that her pulse was growing weak.

The clacking of rocks falling as someone else slid down the rubble wall; judging by Temari's sigh of relief, it was Kiyoshi.

Tears in her eyes, Sakura stared down at her daughter, and then Sasuke (after putting Suzume down as gently as he could in his haste) was on his knees beside her.

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After multiple failed attempts to heal her daughter (all she had managed to do was slightly reduce the pain), Sakura realized that Sae needed to be taken to the nearest to the nearest hospital. Kiba picked up Suzume (all of the guys were carrying those unable to walk), and the group started back to the hospital they had just come from. It wasn't the nearest one, but at least that way, Sae would be treated immediately.

The whole way there, Saeko rode on Sasuke's back, her cheek resting against his shoulder. He kept his eyes straight ahead of him, moving faster than anyone would have thought possible. Occasionally, though, he'd look down at her, see the thin gash over her right eye, and start moving that much faster, until the others were struggling to keep up.

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Saeko

Everything was black, as if someone had placed a blindfold over her eyes and turned off all the lights. She felt herself lying still , like she was floating amidst the clouds in a perfect blackness. But the darkness only highlighted the voices. They didn't sound like they were coming from around her. They sounded close, yet so far away and distant. And then she realized: they were coming from her own mind.

"No!" someone screamed. It was her mother's voice.

"Put her down!" Her father.

A moment of silence, and then, "Why would I do that?"

The voices died away, but they were quickly replaced by a series of images; her mother crying, her father glaring, and Itachi staring coldly back, holding an unconscious little girl in his arms.

Squinting her eyes open, Saeko sat up, heart pounding in her chest. Though she had been knocked out during the ending of the previous fight, she knew good and well that the images she had just seen were from a long time ago, years ago, even. Ignoring the sharp pain that coursed through her body, she struggled to her feet.

"Without showing any concern of her location, she stormed out of the room. But as she made her way through the hallway, she couldn't help but wonder where she was and how and why she had ended up there. Her questions were answered as she made her way further down the hall. The people in the identical uniforms told her that she was in a hospital. Her fragile reflection in a mirror's reflection telling her that she'd been out of it for some time.

"Oh, Sae, you're awake!"

Saeko turned around to find her mother stepping out of one of the rooms, followed by Ino.

"Are you ok?"

Keeping a serious expression on her face, Saeko ignored the question. "He wasn't gone, was he?" she asked, a note of anger hinted in her voice.

Sakura blinked. "What are you... oh." She looked away, an uncertain expression on her face. When she showed no signs of answering, Sae scoffed and turned away.

"Fine. If you won't tell me, then I'll go and ask him!" She stormed away.

"Sae, wait!" Sakura started, but Ino held her back.

"Let her go. This just might be exactly what they both need."

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She found him standing outside the hospital with Naruto, who turned to look at her and grinned.

Her father turned to look at her, his face lighting up with relief.

Saeko smiled, and an awkward silence filled the air.

Naruto, sensing that Sae wanted to talk to her father, turned and left without a word.

Leaning against the stucco wall, she allowed her smile to fade away as she turned to look at him again. "Can I ask you something?"

He blinked. "Yeah?"

"How long were you actually gone? And don't try to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about, because I know that you were her at one point."

He looked away, unsure how to respond.

Tears came to her eyes, and, not wanting him to see them, she bowed her head, bangs hiding her eyes. "Why? Why did you leave? Why won't you tell me?"

Hearing all those 'why's' made him think back to a cloudy night, so many years ago. By not answering those questions, that night, he had hurt someone. And he had the feeling that it was about to happen again, unless... He sighed. "I was there for six years. I didn't want to leave, and I wasn't going to, until..."

She looked up at him through bleary eyes.

"It was your sixth birthday. No one had heard anything about or from the Akatsuki in ages, so we figured that it was safe. Everyone in the village was at your party, Sae. And so were the Akatsuki."

She frowned, and her father continued.

"The first thing I though about was keeping you safe, but when I looked around, I couldn't find you anywhere..." he paused.

"So, they tried to take me, right?"

He nodded. "I chased him halfway through the forest. Your mom was panicking back in the village. I finally managed to get you away from him, and he left. I took you back to the house, and all the Akatsuki were gone. And after that night, I just..."

She blinked.

"I thought you'd all be safer if I left."

"Why don't I remember any of this?" she asked, her voice a shaky whisper.

He sighed. "We found a woman who knew a jutsu that altered your memory. It was all for your own safety."

She closed her eyes, sinking against the wall, continuing to fight back tears. "It's not fair," she said. "They screw everything up."

Sasuke nodded. "That's just what they do."

"Well, I am sick of it!" she screamed. "They have to be stopped."

"Hold it," he said, growing serious at the speed of light.

Confused, she blinked up at him. "What is it?" she asked.

"Don't go getting any crazy ideas. I don't want you even thinking of messing around with the Akatsuki. Got it?"

She frowned. "But I-"

"No," he siad. "End of discussion."

She looked away, angry tears forming in her eyes.

Sasuke sighed. "Look, I know you're upset, but you don't understand how dangerous they are!"

She growled. Great, another person who didn't know how well she understand. Well then, she said, I'll just have to show him... "I understand well enough to know that, should the Akatsuki continue on, more and more people are gonna get hurt!"

"You're right, there. But I'm not taking the chance of you being one of them."

She let out an exasperated sigh and looked away sadly.

He sighed again. "Look, I promise... They will be defeated soon."

She looked back at him and smiled halfheartedly, wanting more than anything to believe it. "Ok... and I won't even think about messing with the Akatsuki."

He nodded. "Good."

Behind her back, she laced her index and middle fingers together, before uncrossing them and pushing off of the wall. "Well, I'm gonna go check up on everyone else," she said, and he nodded again.

Surprising herself (and him), she hugged him, and then she was gone, leaving him to stare after her wide-eyed as she disappeared into the hospital again.

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As Saeko walked through the hall, she thought about everything that had just been said and done. Remembering how she had crossed her fingers, she looked down at her hand lankly, angrily curling it into a fist.

Despite her father's promise, she wasn't quite convinced that the Akatsuki were going to be stopped. Unless someone did something. Unless someone fought back.

"Hey, you're awake!"

She turned around to find Kiyoshi walking towards her, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Wow. Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Do you have any idea how long you've been out of it?"

She shook her head.

"You wanna know?"

Aggravated, she nodded.

"Two whole weeks," he said.

Saeko gasped. "No way!" she said. "Stop exaggerating."

He looked away, shrugging. "I'm not kidding," he said. "It's been two whole weeks."

She turned to look at the ground, a deep frown set upon her face. Two whole weeks had passed... The Akatsuki could be anywhere by now.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"...Nothing..."

Kiyoshi started to ask another question, but was cut off when his mom came around the corner. "Oh, you're awake! How are you feeling?"

Sae nodded. "Good, I guess."

Temari smiled at her. "Well, anyway, are you two ready to go?"

Kiyoshi and Saeko exchanged glances. "Go?" they asked, in unison. "Go where?"

"Back to Konoha, of course."