Chapter 9

He couldn't remember the last time his apartment looked so... clean.

The dishes didn't have a single hint of leftover ramen, the toilet was far from a public one and the floor was so shiny that he could almost see his own reflection. The smell of cleaning products that hung in the air was quite unfamiliar, but it was not the worse thing ever. Panting from all the effort, the blond looked at the group of Narutos in front of him.

"Thanks for the help you guys." He said with a grin as he got ready to release his jutsu.

"No problem!" All of the clones replied in unison before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Naruto made his way to his bedroom with his arms behind his head. He let out an exhausted moan, his chores were not over yet. The boy grabbed his travelling backpack and started stuffing his clothes inside, making an annoyed face when the last outfit didn't want to fit. It had nothing to do at all with the fact that he didn't fold the other pieces. Sheer strength seemed to be a good substitute for simple care however, as he proceeded to forcefully cram his clothing in. The Uzumaki sighed in relief when the outfit fitted inside at last, giving the poor backpack an almost comical bulging look.

The shinobi laid back on his bed and decided to rest a bit, his mind starting to reflect. Today was going to be it, his last day on Konoha before he went out training with ero-sennin. Although he was determined, the aspect of being away for two and a half years seemed daunting. A part of him wished to reconsider the offer and stay. But he knew he had no other choice if he wanted to bring his friend back. He needed to get stronger, and this would be his best shot.

Stretching himself, Naruto grabbed the portrait he kept on top of his drawer. His blue eyes studied the picture. In the photo, he kept staring at an annoyed-looking Sasuke who barely seemed to notice him. Kakashi-sensei looked to be nervous under his mask. Only Sakura-chan seemed happy to be there. Goddamn, not that horrible ache in his heart again.

"Ever again." His lips repeated baa-chan's words as he remembered them. Just why? Why did this world have to be so cruel?

In his eyes, it wasn't as much as Sasuke's fault as it was his. How could he become Hokage when he couldn't even protect the girl he loved?

His expression turned into a frown. What he knew for a fact was that he wasn't going to make anything better by running away like a loser. Filled with determination to be a better and stronger man, Naruto looked at the pinkette in the picture.

"I promise that I'll get stronger and bring Sasuke back Sakura-chan!" He started. "And don't worry; cuz' when I get him, he's gonna have a lot to answer for, believe it!"

Reinvigorated, the shinobi grabbed his things and made his way to the door out of his appartment. Taking one last glance at the place he called home, Naruto locked the door and leapt onto the nearest rooftop. Damn, all that cleaning made him hungry. Maybe he should go grab some ramen at Ichiraku's after he reported to the Hokage that he was going to leave.

A grin appeared on his face. He was sure. Things were going to work out, believe it!

***IX***

She hadn't delayed this time. Today was a new day, and a new Ino hapilly strolled through the village. It had been a bit awkward yesterday, sure. But she was determined to not give up on her promise to Sakura. She even let herself feel some excitement for what she thought of doing. Much better than the guilt of not having visited her earlier.

Her friend had her (many) flaws, but, deep inside, she was a sweet person. And, again although a bit awkward, it felt nice spending time with her.

As she took the path straight ahead instead of turning left like she had done the day before, she remembered the fact that Ms Haruno wouldn't be there to make them company. Poor woman must had been trying so hard to sort out the mess that this tragedy had caused. At least there should be some purin from yesterday, she thought, smiling to herself.

Soon enough she found herself in front of their household. Ino knocked but quickly realized that it wouldn't serve any other purpose than to just announce her arrival. The girl opened the door and let herself inside.

"Sakuraaaaa..." She chanted into the quietude of the simple house. No response. The curious kunoichi glanced around and noticed the same mess from before in the living room.

Hmph, no Sakura there.

"Hey, forehead?" Ino called once more as she entered the guest room that her friend had claimed for herself.

Nope, no Sakura there either.

Alright, now she was a bit worried. Using her ninja speed, Ino checked every part of the house. The kitchen, the bathroom, even the rooms upstairs. Not a single sign of her friend. Nervous, the Yamanaka had no choice left but to wonder.

Where the hell could Sakura have gone?

***IX***

She'd relaxed a bit after getting inside the building. Her hands opened and then closed into a fist to aliviate some of the pain on her sore palms. Menaging to arrive there by herself was already a small victory, but her mission wasn't over just yet. Rolling the wheels of her chair up to the counter (which was higher than she'd anticipated and made her feel like she was a toddler again), Sakura greeted the attendant and asked if he could help her with requesting a mission.

"Of course." The bookish-looking ninja replied with a smile, gathering some forms. "Just fill in the spaces with the required informations and your mission specifications and we can have a genin help you out in no time."

"Uhm, I don't think this can be classified as a D-rank mission." She said, returning the pen and the sheet of paper handed to her. "In fact, I believe this would be an A-rank."

"A-rank?" The shinobi replied incredulously. He leaned forward from his booth to take a better look at her and then sat back in silence for some reason. It was on that moment that Sakura noticed that he was trying very hard not to laugh at her.

Furrowing her eyebrows, the girl asked impatiently. "What is it?"

"I am not sure that you understand how mission rankings work, little lady." What the-

The pinkette failed to contain her annoyance. Who did this guy think he was to insult her? Did he really think that he had a right to mock her just because she couldn't move her legs? If only she could get up and hit him in the head, perhaps he would have some better sense. With indignation in her voice, she explained. "For your information, I was a ninja too. Trust me, I know how mission rankings work."

"Sorry, little lady. But even then, A-rank missions can only be requisitioned by asking the Hokage directly."

"Fine, then I'll go to the Hokage." She growled, promptly maneuvering herself towards the Godaime's office. The man got up from his seat and tried to call her back.

"Little lady, wait ther-"

"And I am NOT your little lady!" She shouted back before choosing not to give that guy another second of her day.

Fuming as she went down the corridor, the young cripple almost ran over some of the other Leaf ninjas that worked there. The nerve on these people. How dare they belittle her like that? Couldn't they see she had something very important to do? Why should she care anyway? She didn't need ANY of them. All she needed was to get to the Hokage and request the mission. But, unfortunately for the self-assured Haruno, her inflated spirit would have to be checked once she'd progressed far enough. Her hands curled into fists when she saw it. Sakura exhaled, deeply irritated by the obstacle. Now she realized why the guy had asked her to wait.

How the hell was she going up the stairs?

***IX***

Once more, the front wheels tried to get on top of the first step, once more, they failed miserably.

"Crap!" She cursed under her breath.

Given that her limitation made everything more difficult, it was a good thing to be persistent. But, even then, could that really be said when she was trying the same things for some ten minutes now?

What other option did she have, though? Going back and admitting she needed help?

Yeah, right...

Sakura dismissed that thought as quickly as it came. Leaning back, the girl let out a long sigh. Her jade eyes observed the set of stairs whilst she studied her other alternatives inside her head. Perhaps she could crawl up the steps and somehow bring her wheelchair along. But something told her that wouldn't be much better either. There was the fact that she wasn't going to give up though. So, the young lady found herself in a bit of an impasse; her stubborness proving itself as much of a disadvantage as her handicap.

But out of the desperation, a thought ocurred to her. If she recalled correctly, that was not just the only way to the Kage's office, but the only way from the Kage's office as well. Sooner or later, Lady Tsunade would have to pass through there. If not to go and grab some lunch, surely to go sleep in her own home. Sakura felt some comfort. Her plan was going to work out, she only needed to be patient.

Parking herself next to the set of stairs, the girl resigned herself to waiting; and then waiting and waiting. She blew a strand of her pink hair out of her face and remained there watching the wall in front of her.

Seconds turned into minutes. Had she been there for an hour? Sure felt like it.

Sighing, she decided to read the corridor's sign again. Surely, there was no better literature than the direction to the building's restrooms. One or two ninja would pass through from time to time. They would barely give her a glance and continue with whatever it was that they were doing. Sakura also didn't say anything other than the occasional 'good morning' as they went by. She hadn't gone back for help then, why would she ask them now?

But the more the time passed the more she began to question herself. Would it hurt to simply go back and ask for help?

Her mind steeled itself as it fought to remain resolute. It wasn't as much pride as it was bitterness that made her reject (what she thought was going to be) humiliating herself even further. She was NOT just another pretty face. She was going to make sure that Sasuke regretted betraying her. She was going to make sure he-

"Sakura-chan?" A familiar voice broke her line of thought.

"Naruto?" Sakura looked up and, surely enough, there he was, carrying a bulging backpack on his back.

"I didn't know that you'd be here, so you caught me by surprise a little bit." He began with one of his usual toothy grins.

"I guess I can say the same." The girl simply replied.

"Haha, yeah..." Naruto let out a nervous laugh while scratching the back of his head. "Uhm, sorry for butting in but, uhm..." There was a brief and awkward pause between them before he continued. "What are you doing here?"

Sakura hadn't failed to notice the way Naruto was behaving. She couldn't recall a single time where he acted like that towards her. The way he talked and stood there, it was almost as if he was... scared of her. Was it because of...?

The pink-haired girl closed her eyes and frowned. She decided to do a favor for both of them and finish their conversation. Trying to not give him the option of entertaining another exchange, she replied. "I need to do something very important."

"Oooh, really? What is it?" The boy asked with the curiosity of an eight year old. It took Sakura a lot of strength to resist slapping her forehead in frustration. Why did that guy always fail to get the fricking clue?

"I need to request a mission from Tsunade-sama." She tried again, sharing as little as she could about her intentions.

"Mission? What kind of mission, Sakura-chan? Is it anything that I can help you with?" God's. Sake.

"No." She said with as much assertiveness as she could, to the point that a bit of venom came out as well. The bitterness she felt was so strong, she could almost taste it on her mouth.

Naruto was taken aback a little by the way she had replied. The genin had never seemed so hurt before. Avoiding her look, he bashfully tried to apologize. "Oh, right. Yeah, uhm, sorry..."

A second after she watched his reaction, there was some guilt in the back of her mind that normally wouldn't be there. After all, she had rejected him countless times before, so why care? And yet, this time felt a lot more different, more... personal. As she watched him dejectedly go up the stairs, she decided that it was perhaps not the nicest thing to push him away like that. Besides, she still needed to see the Hokage anyway.

"Naruto?" She called.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?" The blond stopped, apprehension in his voice.

She sighed, sure that she was going to regret asking him. "Could you help me up the stairs?"

A smile made its way onto his lips, his enthusiasm flaring right back up as if there hadn't been any reason to feel down. Responding her with an energetic 'of course!', the shinobi made a cross with his fingers and concentrated his chakra. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

A second Naruto puffed into existence right next to him. Both of them went to work as Sakura felt herself being lifted by them. The boy was clumsy and she had to hold herself tight on her chair. The heavy backpack that each one of them carried did not seem to help much with their endeavor either, and after the fourth step he looked like he was having difficulty trying to maneuver her.

"Maybe if we went like this..." He suggested. But the only thing he managed to accomplish was to make her almost fall off her seat with the sudden change in balance. Thankfully, she managed not only to hold herself onto it, but to resist saying some very profane things too.

"Just carry me up first and then bring the wheelchair, you idiot." The girl told him.

"Oh yeah, good idea." He said nervously.

The two Narutos placed her back at the start of the staircase. Sakura held her arms up and hugged him around his neck as his own enveloped themselves around her back and her legs, carrying her bridal style. Sakura noticed how he managed her weight without much trouble as he walked up each step. She hadn't realized how strong he was before. The girl was not sure if it was because of the surprising ease with which he carried her or the huge grin plastered on his face; she couldn't help but suspect that that was what he had intended from the start.

They finally managed to get to the Kage's floor and waited for the second Naruto to bring the wheelchair for them.

"Here." He said, gently placing her.

"Thanks." The pinkette expressed her gratitude while adjusting her legs and the skirt of her red dress. After she was done, with the same curiosity that the shinobi displayed earlier, she asked. "By the way, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I am, uhm..." He started, nervously scratching the back of his head as they both made their way to the end of the corridor. "I guess you didn't hear it but, uhm..." The kid seemed to have a hard time with his words. "I'm gonna leave for a couple years with ero-sennin."

Sakura instantly stopped and stared at him in disbelief. "You are going to leave?"

"Yeah, but it's just for training." He explained quickly. "I'm gonna get strong enough to be a Hokage Sakura-chan, believe it!"

Hearing it felt unreal for some reason; yet it shouldn't have come as a surprise.

Unsure of what to say, the paraplegic girl replied with a mere."Oh."

***IX***

Tsunade's calm morning of approving paperwork was abruptly cut short by the young blond loudmouth barging in her office.

"Good morning baa-chaaaan!"

A vein popped on her forehead. It was not enough that she couldn't drink sake and go out gambling on a friday morning, now she had to listen to some infuriating kid calling her a hag. Her reply came in a tone that matched her mood. "I swear if you keep calling me that, kid-"

"Hey Naruto!" Her assistant greeted, preventing the Hokage from making some pretty nasty threats.

"Hey Shizune-san!" Naruto greeted her back. Tsunade quickly noticed that the boy hadn't come alone. Behind him, a pink-haired girl in a wheelchair silently watched them.

The woman turned her attention back to the genin and inquired. "What the hell are you doing in my office?"

"Geez, you say like it's my fault that I have to come here and tell you that I'm leaving." He responded, crossing his arms.

"Hmph, so you're going to train with Jiraiya after all." She quickly recalled that that was the day.

"Yeah, you better watch out for the title of Hokage when I come back." The Uzumaki replied with a grin.

A smile made its way onto her lips. Perhaps this morning could be somewhat bearable. "Keep dreaming kid." Tsunade turned to the petite short-haired woman on her right and then asked to grab the paperwork kept in the second drawer. Shizune responded to her with a 'hai!' and obediently handed her said paperwork. As she filled the spaces with the required information, a small concern appeared on the back of her mind which she voiced. "Just promise me that you're not going to turn into a pervert like Jiraiya."

"Ha! The day I end up like ero-sennin it's the day his books aren't so damn boring." Naruto exclaimed while grabbing the document.

She looked at him for a brief moment and wondered. If things had been just slightly different, if she could've found someone after Dan, maybe someone like Jiraiya even. If the blond in front of her was a glimpse of what could've been, then her life was definitely full of regrets.

"Be careful... Naruto." She said, her motherly side showing.

The boy nodded with a confident smile and turned to his pink-haired companion. "I'll wait for you outside Sakura-chan."

The young girl quietly nodded and waited him to leave the office. A small silence started settling between them. Sakura rolled the wheels of her chair until she was right in front of the desk.

"So anything you need help with Sakura?" Tsunade asked. Her trained eyes couldn't help but notice the many signs of lack of sleep that the girl displayed.

"Y-yes... I..." The pinkette began shyly, her expression set with resolve before she continued. "I wanted to request a mission."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "You know you could've done so without having to come all the way to me, right?" She voiced her confusion.

"Yeah, I do." Sakura replied. "But the attendant said that A-rank missions must be requisitioned directly to the Hokage."

"A-rank mission?" The woman repeated with a bewildered expression that started turning into one of annoyance. She turned to look at her assistant to check if this was some sort of prank, but Shizune seemed just as lost as she was. Snorting, Tsunade made herself more comfortable on her seat. "Alright, what is this mission you're trying to request?"

"I would like you to send someone to assassinate... Sasuke Uchiha."