This is a shorter filler-ish chapter, but I hope y'all enjoy it.

Chapter 7

"Sasuke, do you think any of our safehouses are empty at this point in time?" Naruto asked his second-in-command.

Sasuke rubbed his chin as he thought about Naruto's question. "I think..." he said slowly. "I think one of Danzo's ROOT bases in Mizu no Kuni should be abandoned at this point... But I doubt we can get there. You don't have any Hiraishin markers there, and I doubt your father did either," he answered, providing a logical explanation with it as well.

"Shit, you're right," Naruto replied as he sat on his sofa.

"Um... Naruto?" Sakura said, confused at what was happening.

"Hm?" Naruto hummed nonchalantly.

"What... What happened?" she asked, looking at her teammates.

"Eh?" Naruto said, confused at her question. "Well... We just ran away from Kakashi and we're one more suspicious act away from committing high treason," he answered.

Sakura widened her eyes in surprise for a moment before she sighed. "No... I mean..." she said as she facepalmed. "I mean why are you and Sasuke acting so differently? How did you two become so strong? How do you know about all the things and stuff?" she asked.

Naruto and Sasuke gazed at Sakura for a second. Suddenly, Sasuke touched his nose and said, "Not it. I'll leave you to deal with this," as he stood up and sauntered off to the washroom while ignoring Naruto whining.

"Asshole!" Naruto swore as he heard the washroom door close. The blond sighed as he looked at his pink-haired teammate. "Why don't you take a seat, Sakura?" he said, gesturing towards the chairs.

"Alright!" Sakura answered as she giggled and plopped herself down on the sofa right beside Naruto, completely ignoring his gesture towards the chairs.

Naruto sweatdropped as he tried to get used to Sakura's new personality. She had done a complete 180 from how she had been. Gone was the irritable and annoying little banshee fangirl. Now all that was left was a cheerful ball of sunshine that didn't hesitate in the slightest to show her affection to the one she loved – as was evident from how she leaned against Naruto and rested her head on his shoulder.

Naruto fought off the blush rising to his face as the scent of lilies invaded his senses. His mind was that of an adult, but his body was still that of a thirteen-year-olds. However, he just couldn't fight off the warm feeling that spread through his body.

"Sakura?" Naruto said.

"Hmm?"

"What if I told you that I needed your absolute blind trust?" Naruto asked in a serious tone.

Instantly, without missing a beat, Sakura answered. "I'd say you don't need to tell me that. Because you already have it, Naruto," she said, lifting her head to look at the boy she loved.

Naruto stared back into Sakura's eyes and all he saw was unflinching loyalty. However, he still wasn't satisfied. He knew that this wasn't because she trusted his ability, but because she had accepted the idea of her death. He didn't want that. He wanted her to trust his skill, his power. But... There was no way to make that happen at the moment. So, Naruto decided to do something he had once sworn to never do ever again.

"Sakura," he said, caressing her face and bringing it close to his own. "I will never let anyone or anything hurt you. That's a promise of a lifetime," Naruto said.

Sakura's lips quivered as she registered Naruto's words. She didn't know whether this was reality or a dream, but she hoped it would never end. With her being at a loss for words, Sakura did the only thing that would make this moment better.

She moved forward and gently pushed her own lips onto Naruto's. In that kiss was the sweetness of passion, a million loving thoughts condensed into a moment. Naruto reciprocated her emotions as he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her in closer. Sakura's lithe form conformed to his own sturdily built one.

"MN!" she moaned slightly as euphoria prevailed in her brain. YES! This was heaven.

However, as the need for oxygen grew, the two genins slowly pulled back. Sakura just barely held back her tears as she held on tightly to Naruto and buried her face into his chest. "I love you! I love you so much!" she said, realizing what terrible tools words were. They were the shittiest things to use when trying to convey emotions, she mused.

Naruto raked his fingers through Sakura's long tresses as kissed the top of her head. He now knew it. Going back in time was the best decision he had ever made in his life. There was no better example for the phrase "dream come true" than the moment he was experiencing right now.

"When Sasuke comes out, we'll have to move. I don't know where to, but we'll have to lay low for a while now," Naruto said, laying out the plan for the immediate future and felt Sakura nod.

...

It was after a long while that the two separated.

Sakura went to the kitchen to cook up a little something for her teammates while Naruto used Kurama's chakra to place a subtle genjutsu over their apartment building. This would allow them to safely stay here, at least for a few more hours.

Coincidentally, Sasuke exited the washroom right as Sakura finished cooking up some ramen (since that was all there was in Naruto's cupboards).

"You okay?" Naruto asked. Sasuke had taken an unusually long time.

"Yeah," the Uchiha replied as he grimaced in pain slightly. "Orochimaru's curse seal was a bitch to get rid of," he said, rubbing his neck and shoulder. "So? What's the plan?"

Naruto gestured to the chair and the three genins took their seats around the dinner table. "First order of business, we're safe here for now. My genjutsu should hold for a few more hours. Although we need a place to lay low, quick," he said. "Any of our houses are out of the question since they'll check there first."

"I can hide us in the Naka Shrine's secret room," Sasuke offered before slurping his ramen.

"Doesn't the Hokage already know about it?" Naruto questioned.

"No. I don't think I told anyone about that place," Sasuke said, tapping the table with his finger thoughtfully.

"Alright, that sounds like a good plan," Naruto said. "If that doesn't work, we'll either have to escape the village, or we might need to clear out and hide in one of the ROOT bunkers in the village."

"Um," Sakura interjected nervously. She didn't follow the conversation completely, but she knew they were talking about running from the village and hiding from Konoha shinobi. However, she still had some questions and Sakura hoped that they wouldn't mind her asking. "How can we escape the village? Aren't there ANBU always patrolling?"

Naruto shook his head. "We know their patrol routes. And in the off chance that we encounter a squad or two, Sasuke and I can easily neutralize them."

Sakura's jaw fell. She knew Naruto was strong. After seeing everything since the Chunin Exams started, she didn't doubt his or Sasuke's strength at all... But the sheer confidence that he exuded when he casually stated that he'd be able to take down two whole squads of ANBU only cemented her trust in him.

"A-Also," she continued, remembering her other question. "What is the Naka Shrine, or the ROOT bunkers?" she asked.

"The Naka Shrine has a secret room that extends underneath the Uchiha compound. Its existence is only known to four people," Sasuke explained. "Me, Naruto, Itachi, and now, you."

He had seen Naruto's eyes when they all sat to eat. To the naked eye, it would've been impossible to spot. But Sasuke's title as one of the strongest men to have ever existed wasn't for naught. He didn't miss the nearly imperceptible dilation of Naruto's pupils every time the blond looked at Sakura. Sasuke knew something had happened between them and he knew Naruto trusted Sakura now. As such, he too would put his trust in her.

Sakura nodded as she absorbed the information. She was quite surprised that Sasuke talked to her so casually, without a hint of malice, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. It seemed like Sasuke couldn't care less about her lying about liking him, and she was more than happy to let things continue this way.

"ROOT," Naruto started answering her other question, "Is a type of Konoha force that doesn't even exist officially. They're like the ANBU except much more... Illegal," he said.

"And you said we can hide in one of its bunkers!?" Sakura asked incredulously, forgetting about her nervousness for a second.

"It's a long story, but trust me, if we were to hide there, it'd take months before someone figured out we were there," Naruto replied, waving away her concerns.

"As soon as we finish eating, let's move to the Naka Shrine," Sasuke said and looked at Naruto.

The blond nodded, approving of the plan. "Yeah, I was thinking that same."

The dinner continued in silence as Naruto planned for the future, and Sakura was too nervous to start a conversation with Sasuke and didn't want to disturb Naruto's line of thought.

Finally, it was Sasuke that broke the silence. "How much did you tell her?" he asked.

Naruto looked up, confused about what Sasuke was talking about for a split second before he realized it. "Nothing yet. Let's make sure to get away from the old coot first before we do anything of the sort," he replied, and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

Sakura felt awkward being the one that they were talking about when she was right there but didn't mind it. She knew Naruto would tell her everything when he trusted her fully.

...

After the dinner, Sasuke and Sakura packed up everything in the apartment while Naruto found some paper and ink and started making some storage seals. One by one, everything that Naruto owned, save for the walls and the apartment itself was stored in the seals

"Ready?" Naruto said as they all stood near the door. They had all used the transformation jutsu to look like just normal civilians while Naruto and Sasuke also masked their Chakra signature. Since Sakura didn't know how to do that, Sasuke merely used his Sharingan to place a subtle genjutsu over her.

With a nod from the two, Naruto once again put one of his arms around Sasuke's shoulders and the other around Sakura's waist, pulling her in a little closer than before. He reached out to one of his father's Hiraishin markers and once more teleported to a random tree inside the Uchiha Clan compound.

"That's so cool!" Sakura said, still holding on to Naruto, and the blond couldn't help but feel a sliver of pride as his childhood crush complimented him.

"Thanks," he replied with a small smile as Sakura let go with a wide grin. He turned to Sasuke and prompted him to lead the way.

"Hn," the Uchiha grunted and led his teammates through the winding alleys of the Uchiha district until they finally ascended some stairs and reached the large shrine. The trio stepped inside, and Sasuke held up his hands, motioning for them to halt.

Naruto and Sakura paused in the doorway as they watched Sasuke count the tatami mats. He then moved to one of them and lifted it by sticking it to his hand using chakra. "Here it is. Let's go," he said. Naruto and Sakura followed at once, descending down the stairs and into the basement as Naruto placed the mat back in its place from underneath.

...

Inside the secret room under the shrine, the trio quickly unpacked the stuff and started organizing it.

"How long do we have to stay hidden for?" Sakura asked as curiosity got the best of her.

"Hmm," Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "Probably until the Chunin Exams final matches. I have a plan to do something then," he replied.

"Oh... I see," Sakura said but neither Sasuke nor Naruto missed the hint of sadness in her voice.

"Are you worried for your parents?" Naruto asked.

"Eh!?" Sakura looked up, only to find both of her teammates staring at her. "N-No! I just... I don't have any other clothes," she said meekly, not wanting to burden the two with her problems.

"You can use the clothes in the closets of some of these houses for now, if you want," Sasuke said right away.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "Tomorrow, or the day after, I'll go and get some of your clothes from your house," he offered.

"Oh. T-Thank you," Sakura replied with a light blush as they all went back to their tasks.

I'm most likely going to make a small change to the structure of the Naka Shrine's secret room because plot and shit.