I'm happy. I love you all. Thanks for the reviews. I hope this chapter turns out well. I really do. Then the next chapter will as well.

Disclaimer: Ah…next!


We have a couple of questions!

Will I be pairing Jiraiya and Tsunade?

Personally I absolutely love this pairing. I might do the pairing. Tell me if you want some Jiraiya/Tsunade!

What was the "thing" Jiraiya was talking about.

Not saying ;p

Did Sasuke go after Itachi?

Refer back to chapter 1 for those of you who still think Itachi is alive. --'

Is Sasuke going to kill someone?

Ah…yes. But I won't say who. Read, read!

When will he return?

It won't take too long.

Is Sakura going to fall in love with someone else?

She's a bit too devoted to fall in love with another person. I personally think that you can't fall in and out of love fast. But it's my opinion, not yours.

Is Sakura still going to be in her "state" until Sasuke comes back.

-nods- Unfortunately, yes.

Is Sakura wearing the ring on her finger?

Of course, I don't think she would easily take it off. People do notice, but she doesn't wear it on her ring finger, so they don't say much.

Breakdown

The water was steamy, and the mirror was already fogged up from the hot temperature. The towel fell from her body and she took the first step into the hot water.

She held in the hiss of pain when she felt the burning sensation. But she needed this. The water would only be right at this temp. She fully stepped into the tub of water and began to sink down, feeling the burn run along her bare flesh. Despite the burn it felt good. It was perfect.

The first call into the bathroom came right then. "Everything alright Sakura-chan?"

Of course it was Naruto to be the first one to check in on her. And she had only been in the bathroom for just over five minutes.

"Fine." She called back, wanting him to leave her be. She knew it wouldn't be the only time someone would call in for her.

The first thing she went for was the small body scrubber. She drenched it in water and doused it with soap that would surely make her smell like a man. Kakashi and Genma never kept anything fruity to wash with.

With rash movements, she began to scrub along her left arm. The impetuous movements along with the high water temperature easily caused her arm to turn a bright red. She moved the scrubber along her arm, to her chest and continued her attack on her skin. Her teeth were clenched and she was glaring at herself.

She felt incredibly dirty. Like there was grime beneath her skin that she couldn't see. But she could feel it. Like there was something crawling, and she was now trying her hardest to cleanse herself. She had been used, she had been defiled. She was half blind, knowing that his intentions weren't what she wanted, but she never stepped away. So she ended up hurt. It was her fault. She was horrible.

She was rubbing herself raw now, trying her hardest to get clean. Her efforts were in vain, she knew it but she wasn't going to stop. Not until she was satisfied, at least for tonight.

"Do you need anything Sakura?"

This time it was Genma. He was the other person she had expected to hear from, and she quickly replied with the same answer she gave Naruto.

"Fine."

She could tell he was hesitating, but then she heard his retreating footsteps. She didn't know if she liked, or disliked the boys' over protectiveness.

Frustration washed over her and she suddenly threw the scrubber down into the water. She wanted to cry out, but reframed from doing so, not wanting to catch the guys' attention. Slowly she sank down into the water, just wanting to drown her pain and fears.

------------

Naruto flat out refused to leave. Persistently he insisted that he stay at Kakashi's for the night. It was obvious that he was worried, obvious that he wanted to watch over Sakura. It was hard to refuse and in the end Kakashi agreed, telling the boy that he was to sleep on the couch. Naruto nodded, glad that his team leader wasn't going to kick him out.

After her bath, Sakura had applied plenty of lotion to try and help the horrid condition of her skin, but the redness wouldn't go away. The bath hadn't fully satisfied her, but it was good enough. There was nothing that could be done.

She had insisted on making dinner, which no one argued against her. The more she was occupied, the better. No one had bothered her, and not much in the form of words was exchanged. It was a silent evening until she couldn't take it.

Silently she stood up and wandered to Kakashi's room. N questions asked, just three pairs of eyes watching her as she walked away.

She wasn't asleep when Kakashi did come in, first gathering things to make up the couch for Naruto. When he was finished and climbing into bed, the man knew that Sakura wasn't asleep. It couldn't be helped, and it was something that was familiar from long ago. He never had a way to deal with it then, and he didn't have one now.

Last time when he first had to take care of Sakura he was so lost in what to do that he had called Kurenai in hopes that she would know something. She of course had just given birth to her little boy and was growling into the phone that she had no experience with girls since Hinata never presented many problems that needed to be dealt with and she had never had any drastic teenage problems of her own. She tried to help him the best she could with a crying baby in her arms and a complaining husband by her side. Kakashi appreciated the help more than she would ever know.

But insomnia was something he didn't know how to deal with. He couldn't get inside of her mind and wasn't one to privy into someone's private thoughts. If she wanted to talk, she would. So instead he just tried to get his own sleep.

The bed moved beside him and he felt her eyes on him. He rolled over and faced her, meeting her look. Her eyes were dull and held no light. Even as the moonbeams reflected off of them, there was nothing there. No shine or anything. The glow of the moon allowed him to fully noticed to scruff marks on her neck from her scrubbing furiously away at her skin. He couldn't think of what pushed her to do anything of the sort to herself and felt a horrible feeling within him.

"Do you think…" she spoke in a blunt whisper. "that Naruto will be good as the next Hokage?" She turned onto her back and stared blankly at the ceiling.

He was curious by her strange question. The question itself wasn't strange, just the fact that she was acting was strange. Surely she should already know the answer to this. "I have no doubt." He whispered back, wondering where she was taking this conversation.

"It just makes me think." she continued on. "Naruto has always had a goal. Since he was young, he had always wanted to be the Hokage. And now, finally he has achieved his goal. So…what do we do after we achieve our goals?"

He had a feeling that this conversation was not about Naruto but instead about a raven haired avenger. He knew that she wanted answers more than he did. "It's hard to say." He said. "I guess it really depends on the person."

The girl nodded robotically. "I guess you're right. It's just strange. Naruto, he had a goal and he achieved it. And…and he had a goal, and he achieved it. But I've never had a true life's goal. And now I'm starting to wonder, what am I doing in this world?"

Though Kakashi could hear the words and she was speaking to him, he felt that she wasn't speaking directly to him. More, she was expressing her thoughts and he happened to be there to hear them. He simply kept him mouth closed and listened to what she was saying.

"And now, I think I'm getting a clearer picture. I save people, all the time, whenever I work. That's what I want to do. I want to continue saving people and be the best kunoichi I can be. I can't let anything hold me back. These emotions that I feel, they're just restraints. I know I have to toughen up. And I have to…let go of the past."

Her eyes were dry, her spirit was broken, and her will to move on was strong. She would do everything she could just to set her life straight. She had to get back on track, move on and go with the flow that seemed to have turned into a raging tidal wave. She picked up the pieces and now she just had to reassemble them. That was her next challenge.

"Thank you…for everything." She said, now turning over to face Kakashi. The man smiled warmly.

"I'm always here for you Sakura. No matter what happens."

--------------

One week later

--------------

"Preparations are already being prepared."

Sigh. "Right, when will the ceremony take place?"

"It will be in two weeks. On August first. The only thing that you need to worry about is showing up. And also, you will be asked about the guest list. By that we mean, the family will of course attend, but if you wish to have anyone else attend to make note of it to the staff. They will need to know how many."

He nodded. "I understand."

"…"

"…"

"Will you be making your announcement that evening?"

"…yes. She just doesn't know it yet."

The other laughed lightly. "I believe it's best if you inform her on your decision."

"…"

"…"

"…Yes Uncle."

------------

Tsunade and Shizune watched from a distance as Sakura made her way into her patient's room. They had been keeping a very close eye on the girl, making sure she was able to handle everything and didn't break down or anything. But she seemed to be fine, and to them that wasn't right. It wasn't the behavior they were expecting.

For the past week, Sakura had been working harder than ever before. She was always the first one to arrive at the hospital, and always stayed later than she should, working twelve hour shifts only to rest for about an hour and get up to work some more. She was a working machine and it was worrisome to those around her.

"We really should send her home." Shizune checked the clock. It was almost nine at night. "She's been here since seven in the morning. Yesterday morning."

"Don't you think I've tried?" Tsunade hissed out of the corner of her mouth. The pair was for once, lazing around for a bit. Thanks to Sakura, the girl had sucked up most of the work from everyone else. There wasn't much for them to do now. "I'm tired of seeing her moping between rooms with a snack bar hanging from her mouth. It's unbelievable. I expected to find her crying in a closet somewhere."

Shizune nodded in agreement. "It is weird. Sakura really has changed." She said astonished. She watched the girl emerge from the room, check something off of her clipboard and move down to the next room. Faintly you could see the dark shadows under here eyes from lack of sleep, but the girl was persistent, find her work a good distraction from the horrible things on her mind. It helped her propel forward and forget about other things.

Tsunade nodded. "Mhm. And I don't know if this change is for the better or worse."

-------------

Shikamaru didn't have many options. He had to leave very soon so he could meet Temari, but he found it hard to pull himself away from Ino. Ever since her incident last week, he'd been worried about leaving her side for too long. Normally he would escort her to the academy or to the flower shop if she was going to help her mother out. But instead, today had to be one of her 'sick' days. One of those occasional days were she got sick and felt like crap.

So what was he to do? Ino was in no condition to work for the day, so what was she to do? He was afraid to leave her home alone. He couldn't bare the thought of coming home to find her like he did before.

Thinking as quickly as he could, he knew he had two options. And hopefully neither of them had any missions today. Picking up the phone he hurriedly dialed a phone number that he had never called before.

Ring.

Ring.

Ri…

"Hello?"

"Tenten? It's Shikamaru." He said, hoping that he didn't seem weird for calling her.

"Oh, Shikamaru. Do you need something?" He obviously wouldn't call just to chat.

"Yeah, are you free from missions today?" he questioned, his words almost mixing by his rushed speech.

"Uh, if you need me for something, then I'm free. What is it?" The girl questioned.

It felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulder when she said those words. "Yeah, if it's not too much trouble could you spend the day with Ino? She's not feeling too well and…"

"And you're worried." Tenten finished for him, giggling.

Shikamaru couldn't help but let out a chuckle, having been found out so easily. "Heh, yeah I guess."

"It's alright. I'll come right over, I'm not doing anything." She said.

"Thanks Tenten." Shikamaru sighed. The phone went dead and he hung up. Down the hall the bathroom door opened and Ino walked out into the living room, holding her stomach miserably.

"Who were you talking to?" she questioned tiredly while plopping down onto the couch.

"Tenten, she's coming to spend the day with you." Shikamaru said. He started to pull his vest over his shirt. Then he moved over to the doorway and grabbed his sandals, sitting on the couch besides Ino and pulled them on.

Ino glowered slightly, pouting in his direction. "I'm fine on my own Shika-kun." Despite what she said the thought of having Tenten come over was nice. She hadn't spent a lot of time together with the girl and the two needed to talk. She wanted to know everything about her and Neji. And the fact that Shikamaru was requesting people to stay with her meant that he was worried and cared for her. She felt loved.

"You'll be working all day again?" she questioned, hugging the couch pillow. She pulled on a loose thread and began to toy with it childishly.

"Yes." He answered shortly, knowing she wouldn't be happy. Not to mention he would be working with Temari all day, that wouldn't make her happy at all.

She never responded and instead reached for the TV remote that sat on the table before her. Shikamaru knew she wouldn't like the thought of being 'babysat' but he didn't care. He felt better knowing that someone was with her.

"I have to go." He spoke after noticing what time it was. His arm slipped naturally around her waist and he drew the girl into a loving kiss. He pulled away and stood up. "I love you and I'll see you later."

"I love you too." The girl finally said when he was at the door. He smiled back at her over his shoulder.

And then he was gone.

-------------------------

There it stood before his eyes. A place he knew well, yet never wanted to know. He had gone there for one thing and one thing only. Power. Now he was going to use that against it.

Sasuke had been traveling for days, stopping only to find something to eat or to take a quick break. Now he was close to what he had to do. It was just the process of doing what had to be done that was left.

He was angry still, and that anger hadn't left him. This place, what could they want with him? Why had they gone after Sakura to find him? What could the Sound village still want with him?

He would be lying if he said Sakura had no reason as to why he was here. It was getting harder and harder, the closer he came to this village to deny the fact that she had caught him. Entangled him in a confusing thread of emotions that he had never experienced before. She was definitely something, but what was she to him exactly? What were his true feelings for her?

For one thing, they were above anything of a normal teammate. The way she made him feel, the way she made his head spin was frustrating and downright annoying. No one made him feel the things he felt now, so why her? What could it possibly be?

Love.

As much as he wanted to deny it as a possibility it was hard to ignore. He had never been in love before; he didn't know what it felt like. The way Sakura made him feel, they could quiet possibly be the feelings of love. But what if it wasn't? Then what? A stupid infatuation that meant nothing. How could he know for sure?

Show her your true feelings.

His mind was going crazy with these outrageous thoughts. His fist slammed into the tree he had been leaning against. Letting out a low growl, he proceeded through the forest, the moon guiding him along his path.

He would find out what the Sound village wanted for him. And then he would destroy them all.

Kill them all.

For her sake.

So he knew she was safe. And so he could return to her with a less burdened heart.

--------------

"So how has everything been for you?" Ino asked with a sly smile. She held her tea cup tightly as she waited for the blushing girl to answer. Tenten seemed to hide behind her cup.

"Fine. I mean, what is there to say?" she answered quietly.

"Oh come on!" Ino said in exasperation. She set her cup down on a coaster on the table. She was sure that if she didn't put it down it might be spilled with her rash arm movements. "You are with Hyuuga Neji! Neji of all people! You're engaged to him. There has to be plenty to say."

Tenten shrugged. "Ino, really there isn't much to say. I mean, of course we're closer now and we spend more time together. But there isn't much to tell."

"Oh yeah." Ino said with a devious smirk. "Tell me, what kind of lover is Neji?" she asked. Screw manners, Ino had never possessed them in the first place. She was rude and she knew it.

Tenten's blush intensified. She took a long gulp of tea then realized that the cup was empty. Damn. "Uh…he's nice….a-and sweet." She said.

"Cute." Ino said with a roll of her eyes. "But how is he in the bedroom? Is he feisty?" Ino wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. She was feeling a hell of a lot better than she was this morning and it showed.

The brown haired girl began to question what sanity she had let go of when she agreed to stay with Ino. She wanted to die right now. "I-I don't know. We haven't…"

"You haven't? How long has it been? Three weeks right? Or longer?" Ino asked.

"Two weeks." Tenten said, hiding her bright red face. If Ino wasn't pregnant, she honestly didn't know what she would have done to the girl. Screamed at her? Tackled her to the ground? Slapped her? Who knows.

Suddenly a muffled ring tone set off and Tenten reached for her cell phone. It was such a handy device for all ninja's to have. "Hello?"

"Tenten, it's me. Where are you?"

"Oh, Neji. I'm at Ino's." she said, wondering what he could want. Ino slid closer to her, putting her ear right next to the phone so she could listen in.

"You don't mind if I stop by do you? I have something to give you." He said.

"Of course not."

"Good. I'll be over in a little bit. Bye." He hung up the phone and Tenten shut the phone with a curious look.

"I wonder what he's going to give me." She said out loud. Ino practically squealed in delight.

"That's so sweet. He's buying you things and hand delivering them! Now that's a lover boy! Who knew that stone cold Hyuuga could be so romantic. You scored yourself one hell of a winner. He's sweet, caring, and nice eye candy."

"Ino!"

"Just saying." Ino said. Suddenly her stomach growled. It was later in the afternoon and she knew that she wanted lunch. "Shush. I'll feed you." She told her stomach and pet it delicately. She looked up at Tenten who was giggling at Ino's ministrations. "Lunch?" the blonde asked.

"Mm." Tenten nodded and stood up. "I'll help." She said. Both girls entered the kitchen in search of food.

------------

He knew he would easily be seen since he was walking right down the streets of the Sound village. It was the dead of night, and no one seemed to be awake. And his plan was, if someone were to come after him he would simply kill them. It was as easy as that.

"What did I tell you?" came a voice from above. The voice was familiar, he knew it well. It wasn't all too long ago that he had heard it either. He looked up, his eyes crimson as they focused on the redheaded girl who was sitting on the edge of one of the buildings. She smirked down at Sasuke, her eyes flashing behind her glasses. "I said that our paths would cross again some day. I'm never wrong." She said smugly before jumping down before him.

Sasuke couldn't help but glare at the girl. "I didn't think you guys would actually return here." He said to her.

"We weren't staying in the village. They don't want us here. We were staying off in the woods when I felt your chakra. Suigetsu and Juugo should be catching up soon." She said and moved closer to him. "Though, I'm curious. Why are you here?" she asked. "Don't you have someone with your child to take care of?"

His face was hard and his eyes were cold. He didn't like the casual tone of her voice, the way she was moving towards him, or the satisfied smirk on her face.

"It wasn't to see you." Sasuke growled He could feel Juugo and Suigetsu's chakra approaching and knew that they couldn't get there fast enough for his satisfaction. "I came here to destroy someone." He spoke.

"Oh. On your path of revenge again huh? What did this person do now? Did they threaten you Sasuke-kun? I'll help you destroy them! Did they hurt someone? What?" she asked in a tone that Sasuke loathed.

He was trying to hold back from grabbing his chokuto and hurting the girl badly. Killing her even. Man she just bothered him to no end and his tolerance for her was running out. Luckily, for Karin anyways, Suigetsu and Juugo had arrived and both jumped down from the rooftops and stood with the other two.

"I knew you'd miss us!" Suigetsu said with a wide smirk, his pointy teeth glistening in the moonlight. His hand clamped down onto Sasuke's shoulder.

"Don't waste your breath. He's not here for us." Karin seethed and crossed her arms over her chest.

The shark man's face fell only slightly. "Oh. Then what could you possibly want here?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. It just didn't make sense that he would come here for anything but a mission when he had so much back in his home village.

Sighing, Sasuke began to walk down the road again. He could see the large central towel in the distance, the place that he wanted to go. "They killed my child." He breathed out darkly, murderous intent evident in his voice. "They hurt her. And all of it was done because they wanted to know where I was. So…here I am."

His stride grew as well as his anger towards this place. He would find the one person, the one person who initiated everything. He would have his revenge. He would…he would make sure she would stay safe.

"Man, that's rough. We'll help you, just like we helped you before." Suigetsu said. Juugo nodded in his agreement. Karin didn't say anything. She was fully willing and wanting to help Sasuke, but the fact that he was fighting for another woman was heartbreaking. She would fight, but only on a sour note.

"Right. But this is my revenge." Sasuke said, his eyes smoldering with bloodlust. "So don't get in my way. I don't care about anyone else; kill anyone who comes after you. But," he said and stopped. Slowly he looked over his shoulder, eyes glowing.

"Kabuto is mine to kill."

-----------------

The knock on the door caused both girls to turn and peek out of the kitchen.

"It's obviously for you." Ino said and pushed Tenten. "I'll finish this up." She said, motioning at the pot on the stove. The chocolate eyed girl nodded and went to answer the door.

Not to her surprise Neji was there with a questioning look. She understood what he wanted to know. "Shikamaru is concerned about Ino," she explained in a hushed whisper. "so he asked if I would stay here with her for the day."

Neji nodded now understanding why she was with Ino. He understood that the two were friends, but he didn't know the extent of their friendship.

Tenten observed Neji carefully. It didn't look like he had anything in hand. He did say he wanted to give her something, so what could he have to give her. "You want to come in, we're having lunch."

"Yes." He answered and moved inside with her.

"We're making ramen, if you want some. It should be nearly done." Tenten spoke and was about to walk into the kitchen when she felt a hand grasp her wrist. She looked down at her wrist then up at Neji. He quickly let her go and stood back.

"Sorry." He spoke quietly. Then he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small black box. "I…got you something." The way he spoke made it seem that he was embarrassed. He was just glad that Ino wasn't presently in the room.

Tenten's eyes widened at the box, knowing what must be inside. "You didn't." she gasped.

Nodding Neji opened the box. He had wanted to get her a ring, and he decided better late than never. It was only right that she have one. And he was eager to give it to her that he had to find her and he didn't want to wait.

Tenten gasped again looking at the ring. It was perfect for her. Nice and simple on a silver band. A small square emerald dazzled up at her, twinkling in her eyes. It was small and it was perfect, nothing too fancy or big. Despite its size it just screamed out at her.

"Here." Neji picked up the ring and took her left hand, slipping the ring onto the girl's ring finger. It was a perfect fit.

Tenten forced her gaze away from the ring and to her fiancé. "Neji…thank you. Really." she breathed. She couldn't stop herself from hugging the boy and feeling immensely happy.

"My God you two are so cute!" Ino chanted from the kitchen archway. "But Neji, really haven't you learned to propose properly to a girl. You have to get down on your knee and ask her to marry you before you even think of putting the ring on her finger!" the pregnant woman instructed, a wet wooden spoon being flung around with her crazy arm movements. "Honestly." She rolled her eyes and disappeared into the kitchen once more.

Tenten shook her head and noticed Neji's glare in the blonde's direction. "Ignore her. Pregnancies can really mess up a woman's mind." she said. Neji knew she was correct.

"Tenten, I also have something to tell you." He said and took a seat on the couch. He patted the space beside him and the girl sat down. She faced him, waiting to hear what he had to say. "My orientation is in two weeks. Of course you will be there, and anyone else I choose to invite. But also," he said. "it is there that we will be announcing our engagement."

She didn't know what she felt at first. Nervous, excited, scared? She didn't know. But the day was going to come sooner or later and she knew it was for the best. She was just still nervous around his family. The last impression they got of her wasn't great and she wasn't sure if they liked her.

Smiling, she assented. "Of course."

Neji nodded back a very small smile on his lips. So it was settled. He was suddenly drawn to her, his body seemed to work on it's own as he caught her lips in a gentle kiss. He wasn't used to kissing, but honestly he liked it. He felt more and more compelled to kiss the girl.

"You two better get your asses in here and get your own lunches before I eat it all!"

-------------------------

She was grumpy. Grumpy as can be. And despite not getting a good amount of sleep, she found that it didn't affect her in anyway. She wanted to keep working, despite her lack of chakra. She didn't need chakra for everything. But Tsunade had forced her to go home. Physically forced her by pushing her out the hospital and shouting at her through the closed door. Sakura looked at her teacher yelling through the glass window, her eyes half closed. She was mentally exhausted, but not tired.

"Sakura!" Mm, people. Just what she didn't want.

She didn't turn around, intentionally she kept walking. She wasn't in the mood to mind her manners.

"Sakura!" they called again. She knew the voice, and no she didn't want to spend time with Ino. She would just tell him she was on her way home to sleep if he asked such a request.

"Haruno, it'd be best if you turned around." Oh, that was a new voice. It was familiar but she hadn't heard it in such a long time. But it was true; she could never forget that voice. So did she ignore him, or turn around?

Though she didn't want to, she turned around. She was right in recognizing both of their voices. First was Shikamaru walking towards her, taking his sweet old time, hands in his pocket and he looked thoroughly disgruntled. Then, not too far behind him was someone she hadn't expected to see for a very long time. And she had never expecting to see him walking right up to her on the street. Especially here in Konoha.

"Shikamaru." She greeted. She then turned to the other person and bowed her head slightly. "Gaara-sama."

The pastel green eyes looked right through her. He looked taller than she remembered, and his hair seemed to have grown. It was still kept short, but it was longer than normal. His gourd was strapped to his back as though he were prepared for an attack at any moment.

Gaara nodded back.

Shikamaru spoke. "Do you know where Naruto is? We can't seem to find him." He said, sounding annoyed. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"No I haven't." she replied dully. "I haven't seen him since yesterday. Why do you need him?" she asked.

"Well, since I'm usually Temari's escort and she brought Gaara-sama along, I'm his escort around here as well. And he wanted to train with Naruto." Shikamaru said lazily.

Sakura nodded understanding. "He may be at Kakashi's. I'm going there if you want to walk with me." She knew that Naruto was practically living at Kakashi's now since she was there. He was at her side whenever he had the chance. Though it was slightly annoying she was comforted by his concern. She just wished that he didn't feel like he had to be connected to her at the hip.

Shikamaru turned around to Gaara. "You wouldn't be insulted if I left you to go with Sakura would you? I'm running a little late." he said, hoping the Kazekage wouldn't mind. Gaara shook his head no and stepped forward so he was standing by Sakura. "Alright. Then I'll see you both later." He said and turned around, appearing to be in no hurry to get back to work.

Sakura led the rest of the way to Kakashi's. It was silent, naturally because Gaara wasn't much of a speaker and she had nothing to say to him. Sure she was curious as to why he was here, but maybe it wasn't her business. She didn't feel like talking anyways. She felt the urge to work. Work, work, work. That's what her mind was saying. Maybe if Gaara and Naruto do go to train she'd tag along and wander off to do her own training.

When they reached the row of apartment buildings, Sakura's feet took her straight to her 'home.' That's what she declared the small cozy apartment. It was her second home. "He should be here." She spoke. "Was he at his home?" she then questioned, forgetting to ask.

"He wasn't. Nara thought it would be best to look a bit, or to find someone who might know. You happened to appear." He explained. It made sense to Sakura.

She gripped the doorknob to find it locked. That was strange, they usually only locked the door when no one was home. And of course she didn't have her key to the place on her. Fricken wonderful.

Sakura moved over to the small mailbox that hung on the side of the building next to door. There was always a spare key behind there. She reached her slim hand behind the box and found the object she wanted. She extracted the key and unlocked the door. After placing the key back she opened the door and stepped in, motioning for Gaara to follow her.

She knew the minute she set foot in the apartment that it was empty. No one was home and she had no idea where they could all be. "Uh, it appears that he's not here." she said. She had expected someone to be here, but then again the fact that no one was here didn't surprise her either. But normally they would leave her some kind of note or something. And when they did they usually left it…

Sakura walked into the kitchen and found on a pad of paper on the counter and note written in large, rushed handwriting. She identified the writing as Naruto's. There was no doubt. She walked over and scanned over the words, lucky that it was readable.

Sakura-chan,

Ironically (Sakura had no idea he even knew such a word) the four of us, (me, Kakashi, Genma and Sai) were all assigned missions. Me, Kakashi, and Sai are going on a mission together and Genma went along with his own team on a separate one. We'll be home sometime late tonight. Take care.

Love,

Naruto, Kakashi, Genma, and Sai.

She couldn't believe that Tsunade had assigned all of them missions in the same day. What was she going to do with by herself. It was such a lonely thought and she didn't like it.

"Ahem." Clearing his throat behind her, Gaara appearing in the kitchen opening, waiting for her. "Is he here, or don't you know?" he asked.

Sakura had a blank stare on her face for a moment before shaking her head and setting the note back down on the counter. "No, he went on a mission. He won't be back until later tonight." She said.

"Wonderful." Gaara muttered almost mutely. "I guess I'll leave you then. The training grounds are to the south of here are they not?" The redhead asked as he began to walk back towards the front door.

Taking a moment to answer Sakura spoke, "Yeah. Ano…do you mind if I join you? Gaara-sama?" she didn't want to stay here by herself. And training would be a nice way to keep her mind clear. And training with the Kazekage was just as good as it was with Tsunade. Hokage Kazekage. They were near equal in strength. Maybe he could teach her something new?

"I don't mind." Gaara said.

"Thank you. If you don't mind, I would like to change first. A nurse's uniform is nothing to train in." she said and walked past him to Kakashi's room where her things were stored. She was grateful for Naruto and Sai who had gone to the manor and retrieved some of her belongings (including her kitten) for her. She wasn't ready to go back herself.

"Please don't take too long."

---------

"Tell me, just how long had you been working for before you came here with me?"

"A long time."

"That's not sufficient information. When you asked to join me with training I didn't expect for you to pass out from chakra depletion."

"Sorry Gaara-sama."

"…Do you mind being a bit less formal. It's not like we do not know each other."

"Sorry, is it uncomfortable?"

"Not really, I'm just so used to hearing people add the –sama to the end that it becomes a droning sound."

"Gaara-san. Is that better?"

"It will do."

"…Do you not like the respectable title?"

"It just makes me think that people suddenly think that I am better than them, which I am not. Just because I have a high title doesn't mean I am any better than the next person."

"I see."

"…"

"…"

"…are you feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you." 'He's so kind…'

"You must work hard if you passed out so easily."

'Alright, he's mostly kind.' "Working in a hospital can be quiet hectic."

"Mm."

"…"

"…"

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here in Konoha?"

"I was forced to. Temari and Kankuro both informed me plenty of times that I was working to hard for a man my age. Temari insisted that I come here with her for a few days and relax in the hot springs. I refused at first, but they were persistent. So…here I am."

"It must be nice to have family who cares for you so much."

"I can guarantee that your family cares for you deeply."

"I don't have family. Both my mother and father have been killed."

"What is your point?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Your teammates are your family as well aren't they? I have been in contact with Naruto for a while now, and quiet often he talks of you. He loves you like any brother would."

"…I have always thought of them as my family but…"

"…?"

"They're not my family. I mean, not my blood family who raised me."

"…"

"…"

"I have always thought that family means someone who shares the same blood as you. But over the years I have learned new things. Family came be defined by someone who shares the same ancestors. Or they can be people who are not your blood relatives, but people who have always cared for you."

'He's right.' "Then…I have the best family I could ask for."

"Want to trade?"

She laughed. 'Did he just make a joke? Gaara?' "You've changed."

"I have learned to open up and express more emotions. You as well have changed."

"How so?"

"I can not pinpoint it exactly, but I can see a change. Although it doesn't seem positive. You're missing something aren't you?"

'When did he become so insightful?' "Uh…yeah."

"Ah, I see. Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up anything bad. If you're feeling better shall we continue training or would you like to rest?"

"…I'm feeling better. We just won't go too hard and I'll be ok."

He nodded.

She stood up after him. "Thank's Gaara-san."

--------------

"Before I kill you, why did you send your pathetic henchmen to get me?"

Black eyes looked back into crimson ones with an amused look. "It's simple really Sasuke-kun. I thought it would be obvious to you." A hand roughly grabbed his silver hair and yanked hard. "I wanted to make you suffer. I wanted to bring you back here and torture you. You killed my master, so I kill you."

"You really are pathetic. I always thought so." Sasuke shoved the man's head onto the hard, bloodstained floor bellow. "You're a freak you little bastard. I should have killed you a long time ago. I never knew you would turn out just as pathetic as Orochimaru had."

Kabuto was literally sitting in a pool of his own blood. He should have known this day would come. He had always expected to see the Uchiha again for one reason or another. Sure he was cut up with broken limbs and ruptured organs, he couldn't move to stand or fight any longer, and he had no chakra left to heal himself, but he still felt good. For some odd reason, he wasn't miserable that he was about to die.

Sasuke glared murderously into the snake like eyes. The pale white skin, the purple markings around his eyes, and those damn yellow snake eyes. They were the former appearances of Orochimaru, but now. Kabuto with his freakish mind had to infuse part of Orochimaru in himself. It disgusted Sasuke to no end and he was going to enjoy watching the life die from this eyes.

"Oh come on Sasuke-kun. You had to have had a better reason for killing me than for my devotion to Lord Orochimaru. Tell me, why did you come here?"

He wouldn't answer. This bastard didn't need to know anything about him.

"Could it be that you are trying to destroy your past? I heard that you killed Itachi…at least, you might have." Kabuto's smirk couldn't grown any further. He began to cough slightly, blood spilling from him mouth.

Sasuke's head whipped around and he suddenly picked Kabuto up by the collar of the shirt. "What the fuck do you mean?" he asked threateningly. He held the edge of his blade to Kabuto's throat, ready to slice at any moment.

"Oh, nothing at all. I'm still interested in why you came to kill me. It couldn't be pent up revenge instincts, they should have run out with Itachi. So what could it be? Perhaps it was the little girl I had ordered my men to capture. Did they hurt her Sasuke? You don't…care for her do you? No, that's impossible." Kabuto was smug alright. He was asking for the blade to be driven into his wind pipe.

"You don't know a fucking thing. All I think now is that you need to die." Sasuke hissed and pressed his chokuto into the man's neck further, drawing blood.

"I never thought I'd see the day where cold, emotionless Uchiha fell in love. Heh, you think I'm pathetic." Kabuto said, his eyes narrowing. He could feel his body grow weary with the blood loss.

"Shut it. Shut the fuck up!" Sasuke growled. He couldn't let this affect him. His words were nothing, absolutely nothing. He knew nothing. And he wasn't pathetic. There was no way. He was doing this for a good reason. Who cares how he feels. Who cares about anything. So what if he…if he..

"Sasuke!" Suigetsu, Juugo, and Karin had grouped together and ran into the room, watching as Sasuke very harshly threw Kabuto to the ground. With quick actions the blade of the chokuto was thrust into Kabuto's chest, causing him to gasp and more blood to spill from his mouth. Slowly his eyes began to close, the life fading away from them.

"Pathetic." Kabuto said at last, and promptly his body fell limp.

"So what if I love her?" Were Sasuke's last words to the man. He pulled his bloodied blade from the dead body and glared. Finally, he had done it. The man was dead, many of the sound ninja that he despised were dead.

But he didn't feel satisfied. He felt like something had gone unaccomplished.

"Karin?" Juugo had turned to watch the redhead turn and head for the exit.

"Don't wait up for me." She ground out. "And don't bother to look for me. This is where we say goodbye." She took one last look at each of them, her eyes lingering on Sasuke's the longest.

"Where are you going?" Suigetsu called after her but it was pointless. She was gone. "What the hell? Why did she just up and leave like that?" He wondered. It was strange that she would willingly leave them, and so suddenly. He was confused now and didn't know what to do. Who was going to cook for him now?

"Have you ever noticed that, whether her emotions for me were true or not, that she did possess feelings for me?" Sasuke asked. He began to walk away, still on his toes in case there was someone still around. He looked down at the long, deep gash that went across his right side. Kabuto had gotten one good hit on him at least.

Tearing off a portion of his shirt, Sasuke pressed it against his wound and applied pressure, ignoring the stinging pain. "And I have just admitted love for another woman. I never understood woman very well, but it obvious enough that she wishes not to be around me now."

"Doesn't mean she has to leave us. She helped take care of me and Juugo. What do we do with her gone?" Suigetsu said, throwing his tired arms in the air. He walked beside Sasuke and Juugo was just behind them.

Sasuke didn't have many solutions, but there was one he could think of. He was sure to be in huge trouble when he got back to his village, but they were accepting people. Or most of them were. And even if they were locked up in a jail cell, they had a place to stay. He just wouldn't tell them that.

"Would you be willing to come back to my village?" he asked. It was a strange request, especially since it was coming from Sasuke. It was expected of him to blow them off like he had last time (even if the last time wasn't entirely his fault. He never tried to go back and find them). And even if he didn't feel horrible about the thought of abandoning them, he felt obligated to repay them somehow. He could help them by establishing new lives in his village.

"You mean publicly?" Suigetsu asked. Sasuke nodded. The pale aqua haired man thought for a moment. No matter how tempting it sounded (the village hadn't been all that bad) the fact that people would know he was there was unsettling. He had lived as a rouge his whole life. And there would be consequences he didn't want to deal with if he went there.

"Thanks for the offer, but nah. It's tempting but I like living as a free man. I think I'm going to have a go at searching for the other members of the seven swordsmen." Suigetsu flashed a smile, showing off his teeth.

Sasuke turned to Juugo. The man looked between them both, unsure of where he should go. He hadn't ever thought of the group splitting up and suddenly, he didn't know what he should do. "Thank you for the offer Sasuke," he said. "but I think I will have to decline."

Sasuke nodded once more. "It's not like we wouldn't want to come." Suigetsu continued on. "But…you have a life man. One that we were never supposed to be a part of. You have a clan to rebuild right? And you have someone to do that with. We can't have you worrying about us. Juugo can come with me. It's lonely traveling by yourself. And don't worry about Karin."

"I'm not worried."

"She can take care of herself. So, you go back to your village. If they still want you." The man said smirking. He began to walk away with Juugo at his side. Before long they both disappeared and Sasuke couldn't feel their chakra anymore. They were gone.

Making the appropriate hand signs, Sasuke performed the teleportation jutsu and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Moments later he was standing just outside of the woods that overlooked the sound village. He could rest a bit easier now. Knowing that one person that was after him was gone.

But he couldn't sleep fully at peace. What Kabuto said now plagued his mind. "I heard that you killed Itachi…at least, you might have." What did he mean by that? There was no way that Itachi was still alive. He had killed him. By his own hands, his brother was dead. Kabuto had to have been playing with him? Last minute trickery to ruin his life even more. There was no possible way. He wouldn't believe it. His problems were gone. The dead bastard was just a liar.

Sasuke only had one thing left to do. Now since he had finally confessed it to himself, he was sure of his feelings. He loved Sakura. It was a strange thing that he was admitting, but he couldn't deny that the confession made him feel better. Just setting everything straight and finally knowing the truth. But he had a lot to fix now. He could only imagine how Sakura was feeling now. How broken she was, how destroyed and un-fixable she was. He had to get back to the village, he had to set everything right.

He had left her those two items. Hopefully she would still accept him. Though he had high doubts about that.

Slowly, the sun began to sink down over the horizon in a flash of pinks, golds, oranges, and reds. Nighttime was already approaching. It had only seemed like a few minutes ago that he was meeting with his old team in the dark streets. But that had been almost a whole day ago. This day had been tiring, and he needed to find a safe place to heal his wounds.

For now he would rest and heal. Then as soon as he could, he would return back to the village.

Back to his newfound love.

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-Takes in a deep breath- Well this chapter came out better than the last one. I go back to school tomorrow, but I will try my hardest to update as fast as I can.

And review! I loved the large amount I got last time. And see how soon you got your chapter! Your reviews work! Thanks for the inspiration.