When Sakura arrived at her home, it was still early in the evening. But she felt exhausted from the rollercoaster day that she had. She opened the door and walked inside. She saw her mother cooking on the stove while her father read a book at the kitchen table.

"Hi, Sakura dear. How was your day?" Mebuki asked without turning away from what she was doing.

"Work was fine... I'm going to go up to my room and take a nap," Sakura replied tiredly.

Mebuki turned her head to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Sure, dear. Dinner will be ready in a half hour or so."

The younger pinkette nodded and went up the stairs. Kizashi looked up at his wife.

"I'm worried about her. Something is definitely going on," he said.

Mebuki sighed.

"Fine, ask her about it if you want. Just remember what I said. Don't give her a hard time about Naruto-kun."

Kizashi nodded reluctantly.

Upstairs, Sakura was lying in her bed. That interaction with Kiba had bothered her more than she wanted to admit to herself. It was none of his business what she did with Naruto, and yet because of his bloodline, he was made aware of it. And he had used that knowledge to try to hurt her. This frustrated the pinkette, especially after her blunder with Kakashi. She knew that Kiba disliked her because of his feelings for Hinata. But she couldn't understand how making an enemy of her could possibly help him. The dog ninja had never really been a friend, but she prided herself on being able to get along with everyone. That was clearly not going to be possible anymore now that she was with Naruto. She was being judged based on that, and not her own merits.

Then Hinata had made her feel unworthy of Naruto all over again. Sakura had never truly resolved her feelings about the scar on his chest, and speaking with Hinata had brought those feelings back to the surface. If Naruto had chosen to stay with Hinata, the blue-haired girl wouldn't have experienced anything like this. She could love him with a clear conscience. But since he had stood by his love for Sakura, the pinkette was being savaged by her own heart. And the only one who could make her feel better about it was Naruto.

She felt like she should resent Naruto for putting her into this situation. But she knew she could never feel that way. It wasn't his fault. He had always tried to make her happy. And she hadn't always done the same for him. She could never blame him for something like this. It was a miracle that he still loved her after everything that had happened. After she made him make that promise. So she would never turn her back on him. She would always choose Naruto even if it meant alienating everyone else in Konoha.

She rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes.

/

Kiba slowly trudged through the dimly lit street with his head down. He was very depressed after talking to Hinata. He wondered how long she would be angry with him. He was curious as to what it was that she had to go do. It seemed to be rather important.

He understood why the knowledge would have hurt her. He expected it to. But he thought Hinata would have wanted to know the truth no matter how painful it was. He hadn't expected her to get angry. He hadn't expected her to look at him like that. She would never have looked at Naruto that way. It was clearly impossible for her to get angry at the blonde idiot no matter what he did to her. It was beyond frustrating to contemplate. The Inuzuka growled thinking about how many things had turned out in the worst possible way for him.

Kiba felt like he needed to talk to someone about this and get it off his chest. He decided to go find Shino. The Aburame wasn't much of a conversationalist, but he was at the very least a good listener. He headed towards the Aburame compound.

He arrived after walking for a few minutes. It was a large, nondescript building with only a single floor. Kiba knocked on the door. After a moment, a voice came from the other side.

"State your purpose," it said.

"I'm looking for Shino. Is he available?" Kiba asked.

"Wait."

Kiba played with Akamaru as he waited. About a minute later, the voice spoke again.

"He will be outside shortly," it stated matter-of-factly.

"Okay."

There was no response. Kiba took a step away from the door. Another minute passed. The door opened and Shino emerged, quickly shutting the door behind him.

"Kiba. Hello. What is it that you need?" he greeted.

Kiba frowned.

"I needed to talk to someone, and you're the only one that I trust enough."

The Aburame raised an eyebrow.

"Could you not have talked to Hinata?"

Kiba gave him a frustrated look.

"It's about Hinata."

Shino nodded.

"Oh. Of course it is. Well, let us go for a walk, then."

The bug ninja began to walk down the dark street. Kiba followed him after a moment and walked alongside him with Akamaru. There was an awkward silence for a while. Shino looked over at Kiba.

"You should be the one to speak first. Why, you ask? Because you are the one who requested this conversation."

Kiba sighed languidly. Shino was always like this.

"Okay, well... I told Hinata something that she didn't want to hear, and she got angry at me."

Shino looked down and away from Kiba in a somewhat thoughtful pose.

"I see."

Kiba narrowed his eyes at him after a moment.

"I see? That's all you're going to say?"

"You have not asked me anything."

He looked down in deep thought as well.

"Well, was I wrong to do that?"

Shino frowned invisibly.

"I cannot answer that. Why, you ask? Because you provided very little information."

The Inuzuka sighed again.

"Okay, I'll tell you. Basically, what happened was that Sakura slept with Naruto. Don't ask me how I know that for sure, but I do. And that's what I told Hinata."

Shino's eyes widened slightly behind his glasses.

"I see. Give me a moment to think about this."

Kiba only stared at him blankly. A few moments passed.

"Alright. I have finished deliberating. I have a question that I must ask you. Why, you ask? Because there is something I must know before I can determine whether or not you were wrong in this case," Shino finally said.

Kiba cocked his head at the Aburame.

"Okay, shoot."

Shino looked over at him.

"Why did you tell her?"

Kiba looked down with a frown as he thought about it. The pair turned a corner as Kiba finally spoke.

"I guess... I told her because I thought she had a right to know."

Shino's gaze stayed locked on Kiba.

"Why did she have a 'right to know'?"

He spoke the phrase with the same unconvincing intonation that Kiba had used. The dog ninja frowned more deeply.

"Because it would be unfair to her if she kept loving Naruto while he's having sex with Sakura."

Shino tilted his head to the side quizzically.

"I do not understand. Why would that be unfair to her?"

Kiba sighed in annoyance.

"Don't you have feelings, man? It feels really bad if you love someone who is with someone else. Obviously if they're sleeping together, it's much worse."

The bug ninja raised an eyebrow.

"But you stated that it would be unfair, not unpleasant. I still fail to see how the situation is unfair to Hinata. What would need to change for it to be fair for her?"

Kiba grimaced after he formulated a reply.

"I guess... It would be fair if Naruto felt the same way about her."

Shino frowned invisibly.

"Are you not saying that Hinata is entitled to Naruto's interest? Would that not be unfair to Naruto?"

Kiba shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess. I just really hate how she still loves him after everything that happened."

Shino nodded.

"I see. I believe you were not being honest with me. Clearly, you told her not because you find the situation unfair to Hinata, but because you find it unfair to you. Why, you ask? Because it is not mandatory for love to be returned."

Kiba frowned deeply.

"Well, yeah, it's unfair to me. Because I have spent so much more time with Hinata than that idiot has. I care about her more than he does. And he left her. Because he wanted to be with Sakura. And now he's fucking Sakura. But Hinata still loves him. She still cares about him more than she cares about me. If he ever got tired of Sakura, I'm sure she would still be with him if he asked her to. Hell, if he asked her to, she would probably even fu-"

The Inuzuka froze as he realized he had said too much. He gazed miserably at Shino. Shino only stared back at him. After a few moments, the bug ninja finally spoke.

"I have reached a conclusion. The answer to your question is that you were indeed wrong. Why, you ask? Because you told Hinata not out of concern for her feelings, but your own. Your motivation was in your own best interest, not that of Hinata. You saw upsetting her as a satisfactory price to pay for a chance of altering how she feels about Naruto. You acted selfishly. Why, you ask? Because whether or not Hinata should continue to love Naruto is not your determination to make."

Kiba's eyes widened. He slouched and looked away.

"Maybe... But... I really do love her."

"If you love her, then do not act in this manner. It is none of your business what Hinata would do for Naruto or if he is worthy of it or not. If you love her, you should let her make her own choices. To be in love is to put the happiness of another before your own. You failed to do so."

Kiba sighed, not knowing what to say to that. The pair walked silently for a while. They turned another corner, heading back in the direction of the Aburame compound.

/

"Sakura dear! Dinner's ready!" a female voice called.

The pinkette opened her eyes. She was surprised that she had actually fallen asleep. She got out of bed and slowly made her way downstairs. She hoped that her parents wouldn't press her about anything related to Naruto. She had had enough of that for one day.

Sakura sat down at the table with her mother across from her and her father to her left. She started eating without speaking. Kizashi looked meaningfully at Mebuki, who raised an eyebrow at him. After a moment, the older pink-haired woman spoke.

"So did you have a good time on your mission with Naruto-kun, Sakura dear?" she asked.

Sakura looked up from her food at her mother. She smiled weakly.

"Yeah... It was great getting to spend so much time with him. We've gotten really close," Sakura explained.

Kizashi frowned almost imperceptibly. He decided it would be alright if he asked a question without mentioning Naruto by name.

"Weren't you supposed to come back from your mission last night? What happened?" asked Sakura's father.

Mebuki was looking at him warningly, but he was still looking at Sakura. The younger pinkette glanced at him with slightly surprised eyes.

"Oh... We came back so late that we were really tired. I decided to just sleep at his apartment."

Kizashi looked down in thought. He wasn't really sure how to get the information he wanted without mentioning Naruto, but there was one thing he really wanted to know. His wife was looking at him with more intensity, which he was unfortunately completely unaware of.

"Oh, I see... I know you've spent the night there a few times. Do you sleep on the couch, or...?"

Mebuki's gaze was rather incendiary now. Kizashi was a bit worried about what he would see if he looked over at his wife. Sakura frowned lightly and exhaled. She was not in the proper state of mind to deal with this right now.

"No... I actually sleep in his bed with him."

Kizashi's eyes widened in shock. He looked over at his wife for support, only to be met by a glare that was barely sub-nuclear. He gulped and looked at her apologetically. He decided to try to salvage the situation. He looked back at Sakura.

"Sakura, we're just worried about you. It just seems like you two are moving pretty fast, that's all."

He looked back at his wife and got the distinct impression that he should not have included her in that statement. Sakura sighed.

"Look, I really love him... I've known him for so long and he means everything to me. I don't see anything wrong with it."

Kizashi frowned. His wife had finally looked away from him and was giving Sakura a soft look of understanding.

"It sounds beautiful, Sakura dear. I'm really happy for you," Mebuki said.

Sakura smiled weakly again.

"Thanks, mom."

Kizashi glanced at his wife and back at Sakura before speaking again.

"It sounds fine to me too... I just don't want you to be hurt," he said.

Sakura's eyes widened in dread. She gazed blankly at him.

"You're worried about me getting hurt? But... Naruto would never hurt me."

Kizashi smiled apologetically. Neither him nor his wife noticed the unease building in Sakura.

"I just can't help but worry about you. You're still my little girl."

Mebuki was glaring at her husband once more. Sakura's eyes widened again. Her chest hurt at the implication.

"So you don't trust Naruto...?"

Kizashi's smile became more apologetic in its desperation. This effort on his part was the only thing that saved him from his wife.

"No, I do... I know how long the two of you have been teammates. I just worry about you, that's all."

Sakura frowned sadly.

"Dad, I'm sorry. But I won't protect my heart from him. If he wants to destroy it, I'm going to let him. It would only be fair."

Her father stared at her for a moment as Mebuki gave Sakura a sympathetic look.

Kizashi could tell when something was serious for his daughter, and this was one of those times. He knew he shouldn't say anything more about this. But for the life of him, he couldn't help himself. He had never had very high aspirations for his family name. Even if they were teammates, Naruto was still a man. Kizashi simply couldn't conceive of the most famous hero of the ninja world really wanting to spend the rest of his entire life with Sakura. As much as he had loved Mebuki, he didn't think he would have been so devoted if he had the options that Naruto did. So he just couldn't let the matter drop.

"Can't you at least be a little careful, Sakura? He's really popular. Everyone talks about him. There are a lot of women who want to be with him. I just don't want to see you hurt if he changes his mind about being with you."

Sakura suddenly stood up, looking quite distraught. Her wide, green eyes were slightly watery.

"No! You don't understand anything about me and Naruto! I could never be careful... Not with him... By all rights, he should want to hurt me. He should want to take everything from me and leave me to feel worthless. But he would never do that. He's too good. He's too sweet and kind. He would never take advantage of me. Knowing that makes me feel like the worst kind of trash, because I've hurt him so much... I broke his heart and then he almost died because of me... So he should've told me to get lost! He should've told me that he only ever wanted one thing from me! He should've told me that he could never love someone like me! Then he should've LAUGHED at me!"

Sakura blinked and a tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke more softly.

"But he didn't... He was so scared when he thought that he had hurt me... He told me that I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen... He said he loved me... He always says he loves me... And he does... He really loves me... But he shouldn't... It's wrong... I don't deserve it... It's not fair... None of it is fair..."

Her parents both gaped at her in shock as they struggled to process her words. Sakura's eyes widened when she realized what she had carelessly blurted out. She started to panic.

"... I'm sorry. I can't stay here," the pinkette mumbled.

She ran up to her room and quickly packed her bag before exiting through a window, making her way over the rooftops at high speed.

After quite some time, Sakura's parents recovered from their shock. Mebuki glanced over at Kizashi, looking exasperated.

"What did I tell you? I hope you're happy. Maybe you'll listen to me next time," she said.

The Haruno man sighed deeply.

/

Sakura knew that this was irrational. But she had to see Naruto. She needed to see that everything was okay. That he still loved her, that he hadn't come to his senses and realized that he had just been curious, that he really didn't want to stay with someone like her. Someone who had been willing to risk his life so selfishly.

She landed several feet away from the door to his apartment. She really hoped he was home. She felt like she was probably going to start crying if he wasn't.

She knocked on the door in her usual way, though it was a little more hurried than usual. A few seconds passed. Just as her heart began to sink, the door swung open. Naruto looked surprised to see her. He was still dressed in his normal clothes, minus his jacket.

"Sakura-chan? What's-" he started to say before being interrupted by the pinkette hurriedly embracing him.

"Naruto... I'm sorry, but I had to see you... Would it be okay if I stayed here tonight? I remembered to bring my pajamas this time," Sakura replied emotionally.

After recovering from his surprise, the blonde smiled softly.

"Of course... I always want to spend time with you, Sakura-chan. There's no reason I would ever say no."

Sakura pulled back and looked at him tenderly.

"Thanks, Naruto..."

Naruto grinned lightly.

"Don't mention it. I was going to make some ramen. I hope you don't mind."

Sakura grinned back.

"I'm not that hungry, but I'll eat some with you."

They walked inside. They made the ramen together, effortless as it was. When they sat down to eat it, Sakura took a few bites before looking up at Naruto. He wasn't eating that fast, instead studying her face closely.

"So... Is everything okay, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura sighed.

"Work was fine... But I feel so much better when you're around, Naruto. Everything feels so much more stressful without you."

Naruto looked at her with concern.

"Did something happen?"

She frowned.

"Well, Kiba gave me a hard time about Hinata again. Apparently, his nose is almost omniscient. So he went to tell Hinata, and I ended up talking to her as well. Then I talked to my parents. It was just too much, Naruto."

The blonde looked very troubled. He stopped eating his soup.

"Kiba... That bastard. He has no right to mess with you like that. I should kick his ass. I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan. It's my fault."

Sakura looked at him imploringly.

"It's not your fault, Naruto. You didn't do anything wrong. And Kiba isn't worth it. Don't worry about him."

Naruto sighed.

"But I need to do something about this. It's affecting you."

Her expression softened.

"Just let me stay with you for a while. And take care of me like you always have. That's all I want, Naruto."

He gave her a surprised look before smiling.

"But... I would do that anyway."

The pinkette smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I know..."

They eventually finished eating. As Naruto cleared away the dishes, Sakura went to change into her pajamas, which were pink. It was colder tonight than it had been recently, so she was glad that she brought them.

They decided to study some of Naruto's Hokage materials that he brought home. After they had been doing that for a few hours, they both yawned at the same time.

Naruto glanced over at her.

"We should go to bed, Sakura-chan."

Sakura looked at him with surprise.

"Really...? You really want to?"

He looked at her somewhat confusedly before nodding.

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's pretty late. Don't you want to?"

She gulped.

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Okay, I'll see you there."

He grinned lightly at her and walked off.

Sakura wasn't sure what to think. She did say she was happy to do that with him, but after the day she'd had, she really didn't feel like it. But the idea of denying him felt so much worse. She never wanted him to feel like she didn't love him. She couldn't let that happen, no matter what.

Naruto lay shirtless on top of the covers. He always felt a lot more eager to go to bed when he could sleep next to Sakura. It was wonderful to know that he would wake up next to her. It felt more warm and reassuring than any blanket. He wondered why she hadn't come in the room yet. After a minute, she finally entered.

Sakura went to stand uncomfortably next to the bed. She looked over at Naruto, who smiled at her softly. Now she was certain. She couldn't possibly say no. That smile would be replaced by a hurt look if she did. Things would become awkward between them. She couldn't bear that. It would be much easier to just do this for him.

Naruto marveled at how cute she looked in her pink pajamas. They were almost the exact same color as her hair. He was so glad that she had decided to come over. He wished it could always be like this. His life was so much brighter with her in it.

As he wondered why she was just standing there, he noticed her arms were moving. He looked down to see that the first two buttons of her pajama top had come unbuttoned. She was in the process of unbuttoning the third. His eyes widened at the triangle of pale flesh. He quickly sprung out of bed and grabbed hold of both her hands.

Sakura turned her head and gave him a blank look. Naruto was staring at her in horror.

"Sakura-chan... Why were you doing that...?" he asked slowly.

The pinkette blinked a few times in confusion.

"I... I thought..."

Naruto watched her with pain in his eyes as she spoke.

"I thought you..." she continued haltingly. She didn't know how to explain her thought process.

His eyes widened.

"Sakura-chan..."

Naruto wrapped his arms around her, pulling her down with him as he sat on the bed. Sakura stared over his shoulder in confusion, her arms hanging limply at her sides.

"You thought that I wanted to..." he said, trailing off.

He didn't want to actually put it into words. He wished he was wrong, but he knew he wasn't.

Sakura only nodded.

"And... You didn't want to?" Naruto asked.

She nodded again, more hesitantly this time. He sighed deeply.

"Sakura-chan... Why?"

Something snapped inside of her to hear that single soft-spoken word from him. She saw that he really couldn't understand the turmoil she felt. To him, she had no reason to act like this. In his eyes, she was always proud and beautiful. She didn't understand how he could possibly think like that. She started to sob.

"Because... I never want you to have any reason to think that I don't love you... I never want you to think that I wouldn't do anything for you... Because I would, Naruto... I would..." Sakura said tearfully.

Naruto held her a little more tightly, cradling her head against his shoulder. He felt the drops of warm liquid impact his bare skin.

"Sakura-chan, I know you do. And I know you would. But I never want you to do anything that you don't want to do. Don't you understand that?"

The pinkette sniffed loudly.

"But, Naruto... I don't deserve that... I don't deserve that kind of consideration... You deserve the care that I have for you... I don't deserve yours... That's the difference..."

Naruto frowned.

"I don't care whether or not you deserve it. You have it. I never want you to force yourself to do something just to make me happy, Sakura-chan. Okay?"

She nodded reluctantly.

"Okay..."

He repositioned himself so that they were sitting adjacent to each other on the bed. Then he reached over and started carefully buttoning her pajama top back up. Sakura wiped her eyes on her sleeve as he did.

"What's got you thinking like this, Sakura-chan? I can't believe that Kiba could do this to you. There's no way. He's too much of an idiot."

Sakura chuckled softly, though she was still upset.

"Haha... No, it wasn't him... When I talked to Hinata, she said that hearing my name hurt you. She talked about how many times she had seen you hurt over me. Then when I talked to my parents, my dad said that he wanted me to be more careful. He was worried that we were moving too fast. He thought you might not want to stay with me after I gave you everything... And that really upset me. Because when I learned that you almost died trying to keep your promise, all I could think about was that there was no way that I could ever make it up to you. It felt terrible knowing we would never be even. But if you left me, I would feel so worthless. I wouldn't even be able to go on. It would destroy me. It would make us even, Naruto."

The blonde looked at her seriously.

"But, Sakura-chan... You know that I could never leave you."

She looked down sadly.

"I do know that... And it makes me feel awful. I'm getting away with it because of your good nature. You should've just taken advantage of me, Naruto. You should've tricked me into thinking that you still loved me. You should've just said that you did so that I would give you everything. You should've had your way with me until you were satisfied and then left me to suffer. That's what I deserve for risking your precious life. It was the only way to make us even, Naruto. It's just not fair."

Naruto gaped at her for a few moments until his features settled into a puzzled expression.

"Sakura-chan, there's something that doesn't make sense to me."

Sakura looked up at him curiously.

"What do you mean?"

His blue eyes shifted to the side pensively before fixing on her again.

"I don't understand why you're saying that you gave me everything. Why do you keep saying that?"

She blinked. Then she gave him an irritated look. Maybe he really was making fun of her this time. There was no way that he could be that dense.

"Naruto, I slept with you. I gave you my-"

Naruto spoke over her quickly.

"I know that, Sakura-chan. I'm not that naive. I loved doing that with you, but I don't get it. How is that everything? I always dreamed of so much more. I wanted us to live together. So that I could always wake up next to you. And I was hoping we could eventually get married. Then I was thinking we could have a kid. I always thought that we could be the parents that my mom and dad never got to be. Since you're so much like my mom."

Sakura was staring at him with wide eyes.

"But maybe we'd have more than one kid. And-" Naruto continued.

Her eyes had started to water again, but they were happy tears.

"Oh, Naruto...!"

She embraced him with an energy she hadn't thought she had.

"Why...? Why are you so wonderful? Why are you so devoted to me, Naruto? Why are you so sweet just for me? Why me...? I didn't do anything to deserve it..." Sakura said tearfully.

The blonde smiled softly as he put his arms around her.

"You did do something to deserve it, Sakura-chan."

She was smiling in relief as she chuckled.

"Haha... I can't imagine what it was... I didn't do anything that special, Naruto."

He smiled more widely.

"But you did. And it's something that means the world to me. You're Sakura-chan. And for Sakura-chan... To see her smiling face... I would do anything."

Sakura held him a little more tightly.

"Thank you... Thank you so much for being you, Naruto... I don't want to think about what my life would have been like if you weren't in it."

Naruto kissed the top of her pink head.

"I feel the same way. So let's not think about it. We don't have to worry about any of this stuff anymore, Sakura-chan. We can just be happy. Because I love you."

The pinkette sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"I love you too, Naruto."

She finally pulled back, keeping a hand on his shoulder. Her lip was quivering as she smiled at him. He smiled softly back.

"So do you want to finally go to sleep, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura nodded quickly.

"Yeah, I'm really tired..."

They laid down side by side with some space between them and pulled the covers over themselves. After a few moments, Sakura spoke up again.

"Naruto... Is it okay if I move your pillow?" she asked shyly.

The blonde looked at her confusedly but obeyed, lifting his head off of the soft white fabric. Sakura reached over and moved it a few inches closer to the center of the bed. Then she nodded at him with a small smile on her face. He lowered his head again, still looking a bit puzzled.

She scooted over so that her head was resting next to his on the pillow as she lay on her side with an arm draped over him. Then she began running her fingers through his blonde hair idly with her other hand while she spoke in a soft voice.

"Ino said that I need you... She said you're like my teddy bear... You're my whole world, Naruto... I want to always stay with you... I get anxious when I can't show you how much I love you... And even though the way I feel is unconditional... Please don't ever change... I know it's selfish, but I want you to stay just the way you are..."

Sakura finally kissed him on the cheek. Naruto had long since surrendered to her ministrations, only blushing lightly as he stared at the ceiling.

"She was right, Naruto... I need you here with me..." the pinkette finished drowsily.

She quickly drifted off to sleep. Naruto followed shortly after, a content smile on his face.