Here's the continuation of the last chapter…hope you guys liked the previous ones so far…thanks for all the reviews…

7 years after…

" Sakura dear, you're growing up! Sooner or later, you'll have to marry!" Sakura's mother shocked her with these words.

"I know mom! I guess I'll have to! I'll have to move on!" Sakura had no choice but to agree. Her whole life, she dreamed of marrying Uchiha Sasuke. She dreamed of being called 'Mrs. Uchiha', but 7 years ago, these dreams vanished like bubbles. 'Sasuke is gone…gone forever. I still can't dream of him like a little girl with a crush.' She thought as she was looking at the picture of team 7, their picture when they were still young…and complete. So, she went out and walked. Where? She was heading to the Ichiraku Ramen stand.

"Naruto-kun, can we talk?" Sakura seriously asked Naruto. She led him to a place where they can be alone.

"What is it Sakura-chan? Is there something wrong?" Naruto doesn't know what surprise Sakura has in store for him.

"Do you love me?" Sakura frankly asked.

"Well…I-I-I…" Naruto was silent.

"Naruto, tell me! Do you love me?" Sakura forced him to answer, but, he stayed silent. Suddenly, Sakura kissed Naruto. "Answer me! Do you love me?" Naruto had no choice but to confess. "I-I do! I love you Sakura-chan! I've loved you more than anything else in my life!" he finally let out the words he kept bottled up for 10 years.

"Then…marry me…" Sakura bluntly said.

"What? " Naruto was stupefied. He didn't expect that Sakura would say such things.

"My mom wants me to get married, and I think you're yhe most suited person that I can marry! Please, do it for me! You love me right? I guess… I've loved you too…" Sakura blurted out in tears.

Naruto knew that she wasn't telling the truth. He knew that Sakura still loves Sasuke even though that she thinks he's dead.

"I can't!" it was his chance, but he blew it off.

"Why? I thought you love me?" Sakura ws confused.

"I do! But, I can't marry you! You won't be happy with me! I won't be happy with a forced relationship!"

"But no one is forcing me! I did this of my own free will!"

"Desperation is! Desperation is forcing you! I can't marry you unless you really love me!"

"But, I do love you, Naruto!"

"You don't! I can tell with your eyes! You still love Sasuke!" Naruto was holding back his tears. She loved Sakura, but he didn't want to marry her when he knows that she only loves him as a friend.

"You're right! I still love? Sasuke-kun, but he's gone, forever! I can't bring him back! If you really love me, then you'll grant me this favor! Please, even as a friend, marry me! I can learn to love you as much as I love Sasuke-kun!" Sakura was crying already.

"You can't love me as much as Sasuke, as much as I can't love anyone else but you!" Naruto was shouting.

"But besides him, the only one I can marry is you! Besides him, the only one who can make me happy is you!"

"Alright, I can't take anymore of this. I'll marry you, but only if you promise that you'll try to be happy!" Naruto can't help it. He can't stand to see Sakura crying in front of him.

" I promise that I'll try to forget Sasuke and be happy!"

"No! I don't care if you still love him, as long as you're happy, it's okay!"

"Why are you forcing me to a person who's already dead?"

"Because… I'm stupid! He's the one you really love! I'm a very foolish guy who still loves a person who can never love me!"

"I don't care! Stop it! It's settled! The wedding will be in two weeks!" Sakura was getting stubborn and hasty. She didn't know what she was saying.

Sakura brought Naruto to her house and told her mother about the marriage. She was happy because she thought that Sakura has finally moved on.

"Oh Sakura, you are so lucky to find such an honorable ninja such as Uzumaki Naruto." Her mother was very happy, but Naruto wasn't. He just forced out a fake smile just to please her.

2 days after…

"Hey Uchiha! What are you doing here behind the bushes? I thought that you were already dead." A deep voice startled Sasuke as he was eavesdropping in Konoha.

"I'll ask you the same question. What are you doing here? And, obviously, I'm still alive! It shouldn't get out though…" he turned to the shinobi hanging upside down a tree.

"Sand is an ally of Konoha, and there's no harm in lokking around!"

"Well, if you must know, Kazekage Gaara, if I must, I'm just trying to find out how Sakura is doing!"

"Please, somehow, we're not strangers… stick to Gaara. I'd tell you she's doing just fine! Well, nit to mention that she's getting married next week!"

"What? To whom?" he was shocked at the information Gaara had.

"To Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Naruto? I guess there's no harm in that! After all, I trusted her to him."

'You don't know how wrong you are Uchiha!' the red haired shinobi thought. Naruto became his close friend and he confided in Gaara about Sakura. He knew that it was only a forced marriage. "Uchiha, you're making a big mistake! You shouldn't be sacrificing people to gain what you want!"

"Power is what I want! I don't just want it, I need it! I need it to kill my wretched brother! My stupid brother!" After 10 years, he still hasn't forgotten about his thirst for revenge.

"You're not as smart as you think you are by making these stupid choices!"

"What do you know?"

"You're doing the opposite way of getting power, of becoming strong!"

"How can you say that!"

"When Naruto defeated me, I asked him how he became strong. He told me that his strength was coming from those who mattered, from Sakura, from YOU! His strength was coming from his determination to protect those who are important to him! I realized that training and killing doesn't make anyone strong! Neither does anger and hatred! Uchiha, I'll acknowledge you as strong when you realize this." Then Gaara disappeared.

It wasn't like Gaara to say such things, but he thought that it was necessary. Naruto once saved him from the darkness, and in order to repay him, he had to do the same. He once made foolish decisions himself, and Naruto helped to change him. Naruto has helped many people realize what strength really means. It was not meant to be used to kill, but to protect those you love.

Sasuke was even more confused. He was thinking of what Gaara told him. After all, his words made sense, and he still does love Sakura-chan.

10 days passed…

Sasuke was having a dream again…

I'm gonna have to cut it here…thanks for reading…please review…I appreciate the effort very much!

Note: Regarding the fic "My Dreams"… I don't think that I'll be able to continue it, but I do have and idea on how to share my dreams to you guys…

Thanks

Kayra