Naruto chased after Sakura as the pair laughed almost the entire way to her apartment. He was determined to catch her to get his kiss, but she was putting enough effort into keeping him at bay. The sweet feeling of triumph flooded his body as Naruto hopped onto the roof she was standing on and wrapped his arms around her torso, grinning before he kissed her cheek.

"Haha! I caught you!" He said happily, closing his eyes and kissing her cheek again.

Sakura didn't move or make a sound as she as seemed preoccupied. He opened his eyes and turned his gaze towards the direction she was looking before his mouth dropped open. Smoke was billowing high into the sky from the direction of her apartment.

He stood up straight, letting her go. "Sakura,"

She turned to him, and he quickly saw fear in her expression. He nodded, encouraging her silently, took her hand, and they raced toward where the fire was coming from. As the fire raged on, Sakura's worst fears were confirmed as she saw multiple neighbors standing far from the building when they arrived. Multiple Shinobi, dressed in the standard green garb of the village vest, used water ninjutsu on the building in hopes of putting out the flames. Residents and neighbors watched in horror, eyes wide as the sound of a large bang came from the apartment building as the fire spread.

"Sakura and Naruto! Thank goodness you're okay!" An older female voice said, approaching them.

Naruto and Sakura turned to see Sakura's landlady, an older woman in her seventies. Minako Takahashi, the apartment complex's owner, was dressed in her usual light blue gown, white apron, brown wooden sandals, and cane she used to walk. Her silver-white hair was pulled back in a tight bun, with glasses resting at the end of her nose on her wrinkled face. Sakura would often assist her with getting her groceries and checking in on her. This made Sakura one of her favorite tenants, and she was relieved to see them both okay.

"Ms. Takahashi! Are you okay?" Sakura asked, walking over to the older woman so she wouldn't have to walk too far.

"Yes, I'm okay, dear." She said before coughing into her elbow. "I was worried you might have been asleep after a long day at work when the alarms went off. I was so scared when I didn't see you out here. But one of your neighbors said your boyfriend picked you up for a date."

Naruto walked up beside Sakura, keeping his eyes trained on the fire. "Do you happen to know what started the fire by chance?"

Minako shook her head, frowning. "It started on the third floor. Your floor, deary, which is why I was so worried."

Sakura's heart sank; she didn't remember turning anything on except the shower when she'd gotten home from the hospital. She shook her head, realizing she needed to act in case anyone was injured.

"Ms. Takahashi, do we have an area where there are any injured people?" Sakura asked. "I'd like to assist them if anyone is seriously injured."

Minako frowned but pointed her cane towards a tent set up a distance from the fire. "They're right over there. But you've worked a long day, dear. You should let the people on duty do the heavy lifting."

Sakura smiled and shook her head. "I'll be okay, I promise. Naruto, do me a favor and help Ms. Takahashi with anything she needs. I don't want her getting anywhere near that fire."

Naruto began to reach out to Sakura to stop her, especially knowing how tired she was after a day at work. But Sakura had already hurried over to the tent. Minako sighed as Naruto turned to look at her.

"That girl over-extends herself too much. Do keep an eye on her for me, son, and if you don't mind, can you help the other injured over to the tent? I'll be right here. I've done more than enough walking for one day."

Naruto nodded and silently did the shadow clone technique keeping one by Minako anyways. The clones found the injured people, and the villagers were immediately elated to see him. He assured them the firefighters would have everything under control and began assisting the wounded to the healing tent. When he first arrived at the tent, he saw many of the residents burned and in pain, to his horror. Sakura was already busy at work with a child who was crying, and her parents stood behind Sakura, holding on to one another, with tears in their eyes. When she'd finished, she consoled the girl, who was glad she was no longer burned and motioned for the nurse to bring the next patient.

A female nurse walked up to Naruto as he turned toward her. "More injured villagers?" She asked nervously.

Naruto nodded. "Yes, the fighters are saving more people from the building, and they're more injured than the ones being treated here, y'know."

The nurse nodded and motioned for Naruto to hand over the man he was helping to walk. "We'll have to call for backup. With Sakura here, we could handle this better than before. But with more injuries, I don't want to overdo it. She's already done a big surgery today."

"What!?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Yes, the only other person who could've done that surgery besides Sakura is Lady Tsunade herself. I assisted her in the surgery, but that isn't as much as performing it." The woman turned around with the patient facing the tent at large. "Alright, everyone, we've got more injured villagers rescued by the firefighters. If you're doing major healing, please hand the work to the students. All experienced nurses follow Naruto to the injured, as those injuries are sure to be more severe."

Suddenly another loud bang was heard from the direction of the building. The roof of the apartment building began to cave in, and now the building was collapsing in on itself. The villagers who weren't injured began to run away further from the building as the firefighters urged them to move back. One of Naruto's clones holding Ms. Takahashi on his back came running past the tent along with the others.

Sakura finished working on her current patient and stood up then. "This isn't going to work; we're getting overrun as it is." She said before distancing herself away from the tent. Biting her thumb, drawing blood, and doing several hand signs. "Summoning jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke appeared, and the villagers watched in amazement as a smaller portion of Lady Katsuyu appeared standing above the rooftops of the nearby buildings. But more minor than the portion Sakura used during the war. Naruto looked up to see Sakura standing on Lady Katsuyu's head. He frowned, realizing what she was about to do.

"Sakura, dear, how can I assist you?" Katsuyu asked.

"Lady Katsuyu, we have many villagers who were burned by the fire. Please separate and see to those who need healing as I transfer my chakra into you."

"Yes, of course, dear."

Lady Katsuyu began to separate into many smaller versions of herself. Naruto sent his clones to tell the people that Katsuyu was there to help and remain calm as she began healing those injured. After another thirty minutes, the fire had finally died out. The wounded were healed, and Sakura dismissed Lady Katsuyu. More firefighters and first aides arrived at the scene along with the police. It was decided the displaced residents would be moved to a shelter to spend the night. As it would be converted into a living area for residents, construction would need to begin after cleaning the area.

While they were giving out the directions, Naruto focused more on Sakura. He walked over to her, facing the remains of the apartment building. He noticed the saddened expression on her face and hands clasped together in front of her chest. Like everyone else who lived in the apartment, she'd lost everything. He reached over, putting his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, and he smiled, hoping to reassure her. Blinking away the tears that tried to form in her eyes, she stepped closer to Naruto, leaning into his neck. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her securely as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I guess I need to get a hotel tonight or go to Ino's house. That is if she's up." Sakura said, turning her head to the side.

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't have to go to Ino's place or a hotel Sakura. You can stay the night at my place, y'know."

Sakura pulled back a little and frowned. "I don't want to put you out, Naruto. Besides, I could always suck it up and return to my parent's house. I'm fortunate to be able to have that as an option. My neighbors don't, unfortunately."

He shook his head, frowning. "No, you're not putting me out. And I've slept over here plenty of times. Even before we started dating when I'd crash on your couch."

"Naruto, I," Sakura said before their stomachs started to growl.

Naruto laughed while Sakura blushed. They didn't get a chance to eat much before leaving the Haruno house. Naruto pulled Sakura along in the direction of his apartment.

"Come on; we'll stop and get something before returning to my place. I've got some ramen there, but I know you don't like the instant stuff unless you have to eat it. So we'll stop and pick up something good, y'know."

Sakura nodded as she followed beside him. "Okay, only if you don't mind. I'll find someplace else to stay after tomorrow."

"Sakura!" He said as he stopped walking and turned to look at her frowning.

"Okay, I know I can stay as long as I like," Sakura grumbled.

Naruto frowned and started walking again. "Good, and I see we'll need another conversation about over-extending yourself again."

Sakura groaned as her shoulders fell. "Can't we do the you're overdoing it conversation tomorrow?"

After the panic attack Sakura had on the moon during the Toneri mission. Naruto made a point to keep after Sakura regarding stress. He never wanted to see her have another panic attack or meltdown if he could help, as it worried him more than she'd ever know. No matter how much Sakura tried to reassure him she was okay, he wouldn't give it a rest.

"Nope, you've earned it!" He continued in a slightly stern tone. "Your landlady told me earlier today that she was worried about you. Along with some of the nurses in the tent tonight, y'know."

Sakura groaned, throwing her head back like a child. As he started up, another of his Uzumaki scoldings began.

After some shopping for food at a convince store, the pair arrived at Naruto's apartment. He opened the door, led her inside, and immediately turned on the lights. The apartment was a studio design with his bed alongside the wall opposite the entrance. His kitchen system and refrigerator were on the same wall as the door they'd entered. A table and two chairs are next to the end of the bed with closed closet doors.

Sakura was relieved that the apartment was surprisingly clean by Naruto standards. There were no dirty bowls or underwear on the floor. In fact, she could see the wooden floor. And the pathway to the bathroom wasn't cluttered with other trash that hadn't been thrown away. She smiled and put her hands on her hips as she looked at Naruto.

"Who are you, and what have you done to my boyfriend?" She asked curiously.

He frowned, blushing a little. "I'm doing much better than I used to, y'know."

She giggled, smiling as she reached to her ears to take out her earrings. Her smile disappeared as she thought about something. The birthday gift Naruto had given her this year was now gone in the fire too. It was a pair of pink colored earrings in the shape of cherry blossoms. She wished she would've worn them now instead of the ones she had on after everything had happened. Sighing, she looked over to the bed and immediately blushed. Her conversation with Ino earlier was now playing in her mind.

"Girl! I thought you were about to tell me you and Naruto finally did it! I was ready to hear how freaky he is in the sheets!" Ino's voice rang in her mind.

The thought of Naruto towering over her while on the bed came to mind. He looked at her as he did on the bridge during the Toneri mission, full of desire, hunger, and possessiveness. She found herself suddenly breathless as her heart began to pick up in speed. She bit her lip, turned away from the bed, and started taking her earrings off again before putting them on the table.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Naruto asked behind her. Sakura jumped and turned around to face him. His eyes widened, and he put a hand to her forehead.

"Wh, what do you mean?" She asked.

"Don't tell me you're getting sick. This is why you need to take it a bit easier. Or, wait a minute, are you hiding something from me again?" He asked, frowning.

She shook her head vigorously, her eyes going wider than before. "I'm fine, promise! May I use your restroom?"

He tilted his head to the side, still frowning slightly. "Yeah, you don't have to ask for permission. Remember you'll be with me until we find a bigger apartment to move into?"

If Sakura could blush further, she would as her eyes widened. "What?"

He took a step forward then. "We planned on going apartment shopping when you get back from Suna? Cause both of our rents were going up, remember?"

Sakura laughed nervously as she turned around, holding her hands together in front of her chest. "Yes, that's right. I'm sorry it slipped my mind."

"Are you sure you're okay? You're worrying me, Sakura. You can talk to me about anything, right?" Naruto asked, still frowning.

She nodded, smiling a little as she willed her body to relax. "I'm just in shock, is all. I'll be okay, honey." Sakura said before stepping around him and going to the bathroom, closing the door behind herself. Leaning against the door, she focused on breathing.

'I've got to pull it together. Naruto's starting to think I'm five seconds from having a meltdown. That damn pig, her no-good gossiping will be my death.' She thought to herself.

She walked forward, turned on the faucet, and washed her face. After turning the water off, she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a mixture of exhaustion and sadness, exactly how she felt, and the soot in her hair and clothes didn't help either. She was thankful she had Naruto and could stay in his apartment with him. She decided to wet her hair, running her fingers through the pink tendrils, trying to get rid of the soot. When she finished, she took a deep breath, returned to the door, and opened it to see Naruto sitting at the table. The water kettle began to whistle, and he was about to stand up when Sakura held her hand up to stop him.

Grabbing the kettle's handle along with two plates Naruto had set on the counter and walked to the table. She put the plates down first, poured the water into his noodle bowl and the two cups he set aside for tea and returned the kettle to the stove that was now off. She noticed Naruto was observing her with a careful eye, so she put on a small smile to reassure him that she was okay. Sakura sat down across from him and began undoing the packaging of the food they had purchased from the store.

"I'm going to take tomorrow off," Sakura said as she placed the different flavored onigiri on one of the plates before taking the Hanami Dango out of the packaging.

Naruto nodded as he grabbed one of the onigiris. "Good, you need the break after everything happened today."

Sakura nodded, grabbed one of the onigiris, took a bite, and began chewing. She looked down at the rice ball and began to think about what she should do for the day. The spare set of her ninja gear was in her hospital locker. So she could go in and grab those and bring them back to the apartment. There would be a lot of shopping she would need to do. But she didn't want to take over Naruto's apartment completely.

"Sakura," Naruto said, frowning. He could see her forming some plan to do something tomorrow. He wanted her to rest and take it easy.

Sakura looked him in the eyes. "I was thinking about shopping. So I can have some clothes and other things here. But not too much to crowd you out here until we're ready to move."

Naruto nodded and finished the onigiri in his hand before lifting the top from his noodle cup and stirring them around with his chopsticks. "I want you to feel comfortable here until we move out. So if you need me to move something or make space say the word."

"I will; thank you, honey," Sakura smiled.

"Now, will you tell me what you thought of earlier?" Naruto asked. "I know when you're trying to hide stuff, me y'know."

"What do you mean?" She asked, surprised.

"You start acting weird and distant like when you were avoiding me." He said before shuttering at the memory.

Sakura sighed as she tucked her hair behind her ear. She decided to go with a little of the truth and not about what Ino was saying. "I was thinking about the birthday gift you gave me, the cherry blossom earrings. You were so happy when you saw me open the box; I loved them so much. But now…."

Her eyes begin tearing up at the thought and the other items she lost in the fire. The realization of not having any of her possessions was starting to hit her hard. The shock of all of it began to tumble down all at once like someone had dropped a bag of bricks on her shoulders and wouldn't remove it.

Naruto reached over to her and grabbed her hand. "I can buy you some new ones, Sakura!"

She wiped away the tears before sniffling a little. "Thank you, Naruto."

He grinned. "I'll be here for you, Sakura. Always y'know! So you don't have to worry about being strong in front of me, okay."

She smiled genuinely as his grin started to lift his spirits. "And I'll do the same for you."

They finished their meal, and Sakura volunteered to clean up. While she did the dishes, Naruto hopped into the shower giving Sakura some time alone. She looked at the clock to see that it was midnight. After cleaning the dishes, she grabbed the phone and called the hospital, letting them know she wouldn't be in the following day and that if they needed to call her for an emergency, call this number.

When Naruto finished in the shower, he was already dressed in pajamas. A white tank top and blue pajama shorts. Sakura smiled a little as she noticed the blue shorts matched his eyes. She'd liked to see him in more blue clothing, but she knew orange was his preferred color. He went to the closet, pulled the doors back, and grabbed an orange t-shirt that was more than big enough for her.

"Here, you can use it to sleep in, y'know!" He said, grinning.

Sakura smiled, took the t-shirt, and thanked him. She went into the shower and enjoyed the hot water melting away some of the day's stress. When she finished, she ran her clothes through the wash and dry cycle in his all-in-one unit in the bathroom. And then slipped her undergarments back on with the t-shirt he'd given her. It was large enough to cover her as it fits somewhat loosely on Naruto himself.

When she exited the bathroom, she saw Naruto lying on the bed with the sheet and blanket over himself. He turned to look at her, pulled back the blanket, and scooted over enough so that she could get in next to him. She laid down, nestling in on his shoulder and neck as his arm wrapped around her, pulling the blanket down. She kissed the base of his neck, and he turned to kiss her forehead. Uncertain about what would happen next, Sakura knew she'd be fine if she had Naruto.