As always thanks for the wonderful reviews and hope you all enjoy the latest chapter.

Chapter 5

Naruto was sprawled on the floor of the hospital room, clutching his sides. Every few seconds, he drew a deep, wheezing breath, stuttered, then lost himself again in waves of laughter.

Kakashi stood over him and watched him repeat the ridiculous sequence several times before nudging him with the toe of his boot. "Would you stop it," he said although he too was smiling.

The blonde-haired shinobi gasped, thumping his chest with his fists, then collapsed again into guffaws. "S-Sasuke's a—ah-hahaha—he's a-a . . . h-he's a G-Genin!" he roared, clutching his stomach. "Genin!"

Kakashi's lips twitched and he bit his bottom lip as he moved to hold back the growling Sasuke. "I think that's enough, Naruto," the silver-haired Jounin said.

"Y-you should h-have s-seen your face!" Naruto hollered, almost choking on his own laughter. "G-G-Genin!"

"Naruto," the black-haired young man said in disgust, "a half amount of chakra or not, I can still breathe fire through my mouth. Want to see me try?"

Instead of taking the threat seriously, Naruto continued to howl with laughter, kicking his legs up the air, his face streaked with tears of mirth. "D-d-don't worry, S-S-Sasuke, I'm s-sure if you a-ask nicely, Kono-Konoha-hamaru can give you a few p-pointers! He's a—ah-hahaha—C-Chuunin now. He's helping Iruka-sensei out with t-teaching at the A-Academy—ah-hahaha!" He burst into another torrent of laughter that promptly turned into a fit of coughing, clutching his neck as he attempted to breathe in air into his lungs, which was difficult to do in his current position.

Standing near the doorway, her back supported by the wall, Sakura watched as Naruto's face become even redder. Neji stood next to her as he too watched the scene in front of him. Tsunade had left a while ago, after making sure that both Sakura and Sasuke were all right, taking the advisors as well as the ANBU nin along with her.

"Naruto likes to live his life dangerously, ne?" Neji said quietly to Sakura.

She nodded, chewing her bottom lip as she watched Sasuke being physically restrained by their former sensei. "The baka has always been blind to hazardous situations."

Neji chuckled. "I should go now. Will you be all right walking home?" he asked politely.

She flashed him a reassuring smile. "Hai. Kakashi-sensei and Naruto will probably accompany me—if the crazy one currently rolling on the floor doesn't pass out from laughing, that is."

"Some of the others and I are gathering at the bar tonight," the Hyuuga prodigy told her. "If you've recovered, come and join us."

"I'll try my best to be there. Tsunade-sama took me off my duties for two days, so I'll probably come."

Neji nodded and then gestured at the Uchiha with his chin. "I was actually surprised when Hokage-sama told me there won't be any formal trial for him, but considering his circumstances, I guess I shouldn't have been."

"Hmm. He's fortunate, I guess, that Tsunade-sama is so compassionate."

"He's fortunate to have good friends like you, too."

Sakura lightly blushed. "Ah, a compliment from the genius, how am I supposed to survive it?"

Neji snorted and then grew serious. "That seal you performed—that was a sight to see, Sakura."

She glanced at him, surprised. "Thank you, Neji-san." She'd been worried that he would be offended, considering his own juin was similar to the one she'd performed on Sasuke.

He shrugged. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Maybe. Walk home carefully, Neji-san, and be on the lookout for wild boars," she couldn't resist adding and then laughed when he flashed her a rude finger gesture that every shinobi was familiar with.

The light, tinkling sound briefly distracted Sasuke from his attempt to dismantle his blonde-haired friend and his eyes narrowed as he watched the Hyuuga prodigy leave the room. The easy smiles, the shared laughter—he wondered how and when Sakura had developed what seemed to be a friendly relationship with the Byakugan user. Before he left Konoha, he hadn't been aware that they had even spoken with each other, much less exchange light-hearted banters.

He kept his gaze on her as she walked over to Naruto and unconsciously, his hand went to the newly-formed seal on his shoulder. It was still warm and he could still feel the slight heat inside him. She bent down a bit over Naruto's sprawled form and the motion brought attention to her—

Sasuke glanced away only to meet the dark eye of his former sensei, who stared back at him with a knowing look.

"What?" Sasuke demanded rudely.

Underneath his mask, the Jounin smiled mischievously. "Sakura's sure grown up nicely, ne, Sasuke-kun?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh my, so defensive," Kakashi said in a whining voice that grated on Sasuke's nerves.

"Shut up, old man," he hissed.

Kakashi chuckled, shaking his head. Interesting, he thought.

Sakura, oblivious to the conversation between her former teacher and teammate, was trying to make Naruto get off the floor. "That's enough, you moron. You look absurd."

"B-but, S-Sakura-chan! D-d-didn't you hear what obaa-san s-said? S-S-Sasuke's a G-G-Genin!" the blonde sputtered.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, we all heard it, Naruto, and we all had a good laugh. Now get up, you're going to catch a cold if you don't." It wasn't exactly true, but at that moment Sakura wasn't thinking straight. The adrenaline that had kept her on her feet was disappearing and lethargy was rapidly taking over. She closed her eyes for a moment and she could see the small speckles of lights dancing behind their lids. If she didn't find a bed—preferably her bed—soon, she was going to collapse where she stood.

Naruto abruptly stopped laughing and sprang to his feet. "Sakura-chan?" he said, his voice etched with concern. "Are you okay?"

She gave him a weak smile, massaging her temple with her fingers. "I'm just exhausted. I think I better head home before I have to spend one more night in the hospital."

"Then I'll walk you home," Naruto offered, as she'd assumed he would.

"Thanks, Naruto."

They turned around and found Kakashi and Sasuke locked in what apparently seemed to be a staring contest.

"Oi, you two, what's going on?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi tore his eyes away from his black-haired former student and smiled at the two other shinobi. "Nothing," he answered glibly. "Na, Sakura, are you leaving already?"

"Yes, I think I must."

"Good. Tsunade-sama said you needed rest. I'll walk you back."

"It's fine, Kakashi-sensei, if you have something else to do. Naruto already offered to accompany me," Sakura told him. "I don't want to trouble you."

"No trouble at all. Especially for my favorite former pink-haired student," he added with a subtle glance at Sasuke, who narrowed his eyes warningly.

"Mou, I'm your only former pink-haired student," Sakura pointed out with a smile.

"Mmm, that's right," Kakashi agreed sheepishly.

"Oi, you old pervert, are you trying to hit on her?" Naruto demanded.

Kakashi sighed. "It's a sad day when showing concern means that you're trying to seduce a beautiful woman," he remarked sadly.

"Sou, sou," Sakura agreed laughingly. "Besides, when it comes to older men, I'm more of the Genma type."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, aghast.

Sakura and Kakashi chuckled and observing them, Sasuke couldn't help but feel like an outsider. He was acutely aware that years ago, Sakura would have blushed crimson and then proceeded to bash Naruto's skull open for his tactless comment. Obviously, the three of them had gotten closer during his absence and on some unexplainable level, it irritated him to feel left out.

Which pissed him off even more. He didn't like the feeling, did not welcome it all. He'd thought he was immune to such petty emotions and to discover he was wrong infuriated him.

"Look at me damn it! Show me that you can at least feel!"

His jaw clenched at the memory of his words. What does she know anyway? Sasuke thought petulantly. Did she know that when he closed his eyes at night, he saw blood spattered across the walls of his family's home? Did she know that he couldn't look at Naruto without remembering how he'd left his best friend's broken, almost lifeless body lying in the middle of nowhere? Did she know that every time he saw someone crying, he saw large green eyes shining with tears as they begged him not to leave? True, he didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, but despite what she thought, he was not without emotions.

"Oi, Sasuke," he heard his former sensei call out to him, breaking into his thoughts.

"What?" he said.

"We're leaving. Get some rest."

"That's right," Naruto added. "Little Genin need all the rest they can get."

He scowled at the blonde-haired shinobi. "Fuck off."

"Maa, maa, you should show more respect to your superior," Naruto mocked.

"Naruto," Sakura scolded good-naturedly. "That's enough for today. Come on, or I'll leave without you." She started to head toward the door.

"Sakura." Her name slipped out his mouth before he could stop them.

She turned to look at him, her green eyes cool. "Yes?"

"I . . ." What he could he say? "I . . . thank you."

It was perhaps, in her opinion, the worst thing he could have said to her. The words evoked within her memories she'd tried hard to suppress, memories from a night that had been one of the worst moments in her life.

"No need to thank me, Sasuke," she said coolly. "I was doing my duty."

His black eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything and realized there was no need anyway, because as soon she delivered the statement, she walked out of the room without a backward glance.

"Oo-oi, wait up, Sakura!" Naruto called out, chasing after her.

Kakashi sighed again and gave Sasuke a brief pat on the shoulder. "Ja, we'll see you later, Sasuke."

"Hn."

"I was only doing my duty."

It was possibly the worst thing she had ever said to him.

"I don't get her, Kakashi," Naruto remarked as they watched Sakura disappear into the safety of her apartment.

"Hmm?" the older Jounin said, looking up from his book.

"Sakura," the younger man clarified. "Sometimes I think she's gonna get back to normal, and then she turns around and do something that says otherwise. Are all women that complicated or is it just her?"

"Maa, right now, Sakura's probably more complicated than others," Kakashi stated.

"But Sasuke's back. Shouldn't she be, I don't know, happy? I mean, it's Sasuke for crying out loud!"

Kakashi glanced at the blonde-haired young man from the corner of his eye. Poor boy, he thought. His family—the only family he'd known—was once again complete, but there were still gaps between them.

He sighed and closed his book, slipping it into his pocket. "Sakura's changed a lot, Naruto. When Sasuke left, she hurt on a level so much more different than yours. She never had to go through heartaches like we did and Sasuke's absence was the first real tragic in her life, so she'll probably find it harder to forgive him—to forgive herself for what she probably thinks was caused by her weakness." Kakashi smiled. "Women are illogical that way."

He reached out and laid a hand on Naruto's arm. "They're both at a point in their lives where things are complicated. All we can do now is support them and let them settle their problems themselves. No matter how much we want to interfere, we can't. They have to do it by their selves or they'll never be as happy as we want them to be. Do you understand, Naruto?"

"I guess so. Demo, it's hard, you know? They're my . . . they're my precious people."

Kakashi smiled ruefully. "I know, Naruto, I know. They're mine, too, but there's not much we can do right now. We just have to sit back and watch. But I know one thing now, we're going to have one helluva time watching them. Those two—they carry so much baggage between them, it's bound to be entertaining when they finally figure things out."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, laced her hands together and stretched, giving a satisfied smile when she heard her knuckles crack. She hated paperwork! Even after eight years, she still hadn't been able to clear her desk. Every time she thought she could rest, Shizune came in and placed more piles on her table. She was the Hokage, damn it, not some bloody pencil-pusher! She should be exempted from doing this!

She stifled a yawn and twirled in her chair, looking out through her open window at the sunny village of Konoha. It was barely eight o'clock in the morning and she was already yearning for a glass of sake.

Suddenly, a fox-like face appeared in her line of vision and she bit a back a scream as she sprang away, the back of her chair hitting the edge of her desk hard.

"Oi, obaa-san," the fox said.

"Naruto no baka!" she hissed. "How many times have I told you not to do that?"

The young man seemed unperturbed as he hung upside down in front of her window like a pesky bat. "You busy? I need to talk you."

"Go away, damn it."

He ignored her words and jumped into the room, landing neatly on the floor.

The Hokage groaned and rubbed her temples. "What the hell do you want now?"

"Why did you choose Sakura?" he asked, leaning against the wall with his arms and legs crossed.

"Excuse me?"

"That seal thing yesterday. Why did you choose Sakura when you could have done it yourself?"

"I have my reasons, Naruto."

"That's not a good answer, damn it."

"It's the only answer you'll get, you brat!" Tsunade shouted back. "I'm the Hokage—I decide what's the best course of action."

Naruto sniffed and muttered something under his breath.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "What was that, boy?"

"You sure it's okay?" Naruto asked instead of answering her. "I mean, with how Sakura's been acting toward Sasuke, she can easily decide to fry his brain when she gets her period."

The Hokage snorted. "Do you really think that?"

Naruto shrugged. "I suppose not."

"Listen here, you little brat. Sakura's first and foremost a Konoha ninja. She's loyal to the boot and she won't do anything to jeopardize my trust in her. I'd never have given her such a responsibility if I felt otherwise."

"Hmm, that's true, but you're wrong you know."

"What?" Tsunade demanded, annoyed.

"Sakura's a Konoha ninja but first and foremost, she's family. My family and though it doesn't seem like it now, she's Sasuke's family, too," Naruto said quietly. "And no matter how she thinks otherwise, she'll never do anything to jeopardize our trust in her."

A smile crossed her face, but Tsunade quickly smothered it, opting to scowl at the younger man. "Then what the hell are you doing here?"

He shrugged again. "Just wanted to say good morning, I guess."

"Well, it was a good morning until you came along. Now get out of my office—you're disturbing my work."

Naruto snorted. "Please. You were probably looking for an excuse to slack off."

"Get out!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going. Sheesh. Women!"

It was perhaps three years ago. Naruto had returned early from his mission and had been disappointed to learn that both Sakura and Kakashi were out of the village because of their own missions. Kakashi, he didn't worry about much, but Sakura . . . though she'd proven to be more than capable in handling herself in dangerous situations, Naruto still couldn't suppress his protective instincts when it came to her.

He was walking past the village gates, his belly full of Ichiraku's delicious ramen, when he spotted the group of shinobi walking toward the village. He didn't pay them much attention until he spotted the familiar pink hair among the group and a large smile crossed his whisker-marked face.

"Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed, dashing past the other villagers who gave him a wide-berth when they saw him break into a run. "Sakura!"

She didn't see him instantly and when he got closer, he abruptly drew to a halt as he noticed the expression of her face. She was pale, her usually bright eyes dull and red shot. She walked slowly, as if her feet were too heavy to lift. Her hands were caked with black smudges and dried mud and that itself was cause for concern, as he knew how fixated she was with self-cleanliness, no matter what the occasion.

There was something else that bothered him aside from her appearance. He caught the splattering of red on her once pristine-white medical uniform and recognized the faint, but familiar scent. Blood

He stepped forward. "Sakura-chan?" he said in a voice barely above a whisper.

She looked up and the look in her eyes almost staggered him. She looked so . . . defeated. He'd never seen her wear such an expression, not even during their younger days when she was still struggling to overcome what she, as well as many others, had deemed her flaws.

"Saku—" His voice faltered as she brushed past him without a word, as if he weren't even there. He whipped around in shock, lifting his arm in an attempt to stop her.

A large, heavy hand landed his shoulder and he glanced from it to its owner. Unique, white-colored eyes stared back at him, preventing him from the action.

"Neji . . ."

"Leave her alone, Naruto," Hyuuga Neji told him firmly. Even the prodigy looked weary.

"Neji, what happened?" Naruto demanded. "What's wrong with Sakura?"

"It was a hard mission," was the prodigy's cryptic answer. "There were few survivors."

"What mission? Survivors from what?" Naruto all but yelled, concern for one of his best friends making him louder than he usually was.

"Leave it, Naruto," Neji said in a voice that brook no argument. "Sakura needs some time alone."

"What happened? Is Sakura okay? Oi, Hyuuga, I'm talking to you. Don't you dare walk away, damn it! Hyuuga!"

Naruto frowned. Now, looking back, he realized that was the day Sakura had started to act differently. That was the day she had lost the spark that usually gleamed in her large green eyes.

That was the day she'd given up on searching for Sasuke.

"Kuso," Naruto muttered, his fingers tightening around his chopsticks. On hindsight, he realized he shouldn't have listened to that damn Hyuuga. He should have pestered the other man for more information. He should have followed Sakura and found out what happened. He should have . . . should have . . . he should have done a lot of things he hadn't done.

Damn it, he thought. What had happened on that mission? All he knew was that they had been sent to a neighboring village that had been under attack and that by the time they'd gotten there, the damage had been done. There had been few survivors and too many bodies to count. But that couldn't have affected Sakura so much, could it? All shinobi experienced death—some more than others—during the course of their lives. It was part of their job description. Sakura knew that. So what had been so different about that particular mission?

"Not hungry, Naruto?"

He looked up to smile at the slightly-wrinkled face of the man who without a doubt made the best ramen in the world. "Just thinking, oji-san," he replied as he stuffed a few strands of noodles into his mouth.

The old man nodded, satisfied by the answer. For a moment there, he'd been worried that his number one customer had gotten tired of his ramen.

"Na, oji-san?" Naruto said as he took a sip from his glass of water.

"Hmmm?"

"Life's pretty hard sometimes, isn't it?"

The old man smiled as he dried a bowl. "Of course it is. But I've always believed that it's up to us to make the best out of it. Hai, life can be pretty hard sometimes, but it can pretty wonderful, too. Don't you agree, Naruto?"

"That's true." Naruto grinned and then lifted his bowl to his lips. A second later he set it down and stood up. "That was great as always, oji-san, but I have to go now. I'll come back later."

"Oo-oi, choto matte, Naruto! You didn't pay for your meal!" the old man called out after the blonde-haired young man.

"Put it on my tab!" he shouted back as he ran through the crowded street. He moved fast and moments later he disappeared from sight.

The old man sighed as he looked forlornly at the numerous empty bowls left by his number one customer. "Tab, my foot," he muttered. "It's going to take him a century to pay that up."

"Sakura, Sakura . . ."

She buried her face deeper into her soft, warm pillow, stubbornly refusing to open her eyes.

"Sakura-chan, it's me. Wake up."

No way! she silently screamed. Go away and leave me to my sleep!

But that annoying voice refused to shut up. "Come on, Sakura-chan, wake up. Sakura-chan!"

Aargh! Her eyes sprang open to meet a pair of cerulean ones and a groan was emitted from deep within her throat. "It's too early for this, damn it," she mumbled, hugging her bed covers close to her.

Naruto smiled as he watched his female friend stir under the mountain of pillows and comforters. "Good, you're up," he said.

No kidding, she thought, annoyed. She rubbed her eyes and swallowed to wet her throat, which was dry from sleep. "Naruto," she began groggily.

"Hai?" he said, bending closer so he could hear her better.

"You're one of my best friends and I love you a lot."

His gaze softened at the rare declaration of affection. "I love you, too, Sakura-chan. You're like a sister to me."

"That's nice to know," Sakura said softly. "But, Naruto?"

"Hai?"

"You have exactly five seconds to tell me what possessed you to wake me up this early before I decide to make a Naruto-sized hole in my bedroom wall."

Naruto gulped. "It's not early. It's almost noon," he blurted out, slightly panicked.

"That's irrelevant. Medics rarely get to sleep and I was extremely tired. Three seconds."

A trickle of sweat formed at the side of the blonde's face. "You didn't show up at the bar last night so I wondered what happened to you."

"One second. This room could use another window, ne?"

"I-It's Thursday and I was worried."

She paused in gathering her chakra into her fist. Thursday. It was an unofficial rule, but she and Naruto always met up for breakfast on Thursdays when they were both in the village. Over the years, their respective jobs had made it rather difficult to see each other and their Thursday mornings' get-together was one of the things they did to ensure the solidity of their friendship.

Sakura sighed and pushed the covers to her waist. "You're saved, Naruto," she declared and couldn't help but smile when he released a long breath of relief.

"How did you get in anyway?"

"I used the key you gave me."

"I must have been out of my mind when I gave it to you."

"Probably. You gave one to Kakashi, too."

"What time is it?" she asked as she squinted to look at the clock on the small table beside her bed. Fortunately for Naruto, he hadn't pulled back the curtains so the room was still slightly dim. She sat up in the bed and stretched her arms, biting her bottom lip to stifle her yawn.

"I told you, it's almost noon," Naruto reminded her as he straightened to his full height. "When you didn't show up at Ichiraku's earlier, I decided to come over and see if you're okay."

She snorted. "After your tenth or twentieth bowl?" she asked sarcastically.

"Hey, I'll have you know that a guy my age gets hungry easily."

"Naruto, your hunger matches a gorilla's," Sakura pointed out dryly. "You're still hungry, aren't you?"

"I only had seven bowls," he said defensively.

She rolled her eyes. "Go into the kitchen and make us something to eat while I take a quick shower. And be careful," she called out to his back. "I just had the stove replaced after you burned it down last week!"

"I was trying to make the water boil faster!"

Sakura stood under the shower for a full ten minutes, letting the hot spray of water drive away her drowsiness and soothe her still somewhat aching muscles. She clenched and unclenched her fists, feeling the tingling there. "Damn," she muttered to herself, "I really used up a lot of chakra. Thank God I don't have to go to work today."

Moments later, she appeared from her bedroom, her face rather flushed from the heat of the shower and her damp hair trailing over her shoulders. She wasn't surprised to find the two bowls of instant ramen placed on her kitchen table and Naruto already scoffing one down. Normally, if given the time, she preferred to prepare her ramen from scratch—thank God her mother had made sure she learned how to cook—but because she was almost always too busy—and that she was good friends with a certain blonde whose obsession with ramen bordered on insanity—she kept her pantry well-stocked with the instant noodles.

Naruto looked up as she entered the kitchen and smiled at her. "You're lucky you didn't take too long in the shower, or I would've eaten your bowl, too."

"I don't doubt it," she retorted as she walked over to her refrigerator and took a jug of iced-tea. "One of these days, Naruto, your stomach is going to—"

"—explode from eating ramen," he finished for her, having heard this lecture numerous times. "Yes, I know, Doctor."

"Smart ass," she muttered as she sat down at the table across from her friend. The smell of ramen wafted to her nose and her stomach gave a responding growl, reminding her that she hadn't eaten a thing since she came home yesterday.

The two friends sat down quietly, enjoying their meal and each other's company. Sakura had moved out of her mother's house when she was eighteen and the apartment she currently lived in was nice and comfortable, not too big nor too small. She had decorated it with warm, soothing tones, creating a place that invited one to relax and unwind. It was also Naruto-proofed, with very few delicate crystals and vases, as she'd known from the very beginning that he would be a constant visitor.

"So how did it go at the bar last night?" she asked.

He started to speak, but almost choked from the mouthful of ramen in his mouth. She rolled her eyes and poured him a glass of tea. "Swallow, you savage, swallow."

He took a deep gulp and then set the glass down, wheezing a bit. "It was fun. Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Lee and Tenten were there."

"And?"

Naruto grinned. "Lee got drunk."

Sakura groaned. "Did anyone get hurt?" she asked, already picturing an emergency room full of patients who had been unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity of the drunken taijutsu specialist.

"Nothing too serious, but Lee will sure as hell be in a lot of pain the moment he gets over his hangover."

"Why is that?"

"He accidentally gave Tenten a black eye."

Sakura chuckled. Accident or not, the weapon mistress would undoubtedly be merciless in her retribution. She smiled as she pictured the pretty, brown-haired young woman and thick-browed man. She wasn't exactly sure when it had happened, but a while ago, she had noticed that Lee no longer gave her those dark, longing looks and she knew it would only be a matter of time before she would hear rumors about Lee and Tenten's relationship. She was happy for them. In their line of work, relationships—especially great relationships—were rare and a part of her was eternally grateful that Lee had given up on her. She cared for him deeply, but only as a good friend and she knew that Tenten had always had a soft spot for her teammate, despite the rumors that had surrounded her and Hyuuga Neji.

"Was Hinata there?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head as he reached for his second bowl of ramen. "Nope. She's on a mission in the waterfall country and Kiba's been moping all week. He didn't talk much last night. It was pitiful."

Sakura slanted her friend an amused look from underneath her lashes. She wondered if he would ever learn of the Hyuuga heiress' long-time crush on him all those years ago, which had, of course, faded the moment Kiba found enough courage to pursue her. They made a surprisingly good couple and Sakura had never seen Hinata happier. The other young woman could still be painfully shy at times, but she no longer stuttered around those she considered her friends.

"Relationships are nice, aren't they, Naruto?" Sakura said wistfully, thinking of her own lack of one.

Her friend shrugged. "I guess you can say so. Personally, I think it takes away a guy's balls."

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, disgusted by his crudity.

"What?" he said defensively. "It does!"

"Humph! We'll see if you still feel that way in a few years."

"Providing I do find someone I want to have a relationship with. If you haven't noticed, Sakura-chan, I don't currently know anyone who I can even think to have a relationship with."

"Oh?" Sakura started to smile slyly. "What about a certain Hyuuga heiress?"

"Hinata?" Naruto's eyebrows rose incredulously. "You must be more tired than usual, Sakura. She's with Kiba and I don't poach."

"Not Hinata."

Cerulean eyes widened as Naruto finally realized who Sakura was talking about. "O-oi . . .!"

"You had to lead a Chuunin team on a mission last month, didn't you?" Sakura reminded him. "A certain Chuunin with a certain, younger Hyuuga heiress on it?"

"Y-you don't know what you're talking about, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Please," Sakura snorted, deciding to take the direct approach. "I've seen how Hyuuga Hanabi looks at you sometimes—she's certainly isn't shy like her sister. And if I'm not mistaken, I once saw you checking her out."

"You're c-crazy!" Naruto sputtered. "She's freaking fifteen years old!"

"Which makes you a pervert. My, my, Naruto, you are Jiraiya's student, aren't you?" Sakura teased.

"You need to get your head checked," Naruto mumbled. "Too much chakra to the brain. Checking out Hyuuga Hanabi, my ass."

Sakura chuckled. How odd it would be if Naruto did finally end up with a Hyuuga, but not the Hyuuga many had once assumed it would be. Hanabi was a skilled Chuunin—as expected, considering her bloodline—and she was almost the exact opposite of her older sister. Whether or not she was destined for Naruto, only time would tell, but for now, Sakura would take great pleasure in teasing her friend about it.

"You're one to talk about Hyuugas anyway," Naruto hissed. "What's going on between you and Neji?"

Sakura blinked. "What do you mean?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to snort. "You guys have this weird flirtation going on. Everyone has noticed it. He's more talkative around you."

"Hyuuga Neji and I are good friends, nothing more, nothing less. He's an excellent shinobi and he's very smart. I like talking to him—he doesn't make me feel as if I'm talking to a twelve-year-old," she couldn't resist adding with a pointed look at Naruto.

He ignored the insult. "Yeah, well, there's nothing going on between Hyuuga Hanabi and me either, so drop it."

"Fine."

"Fine."

They engaged in a staring contest for long minutes before they finally dissolved into chuckles. "Look at us," Sakura declared. "Kakashi-sensei was right. Years down the road and we're still bickering like children."

Naruto grinned. "But it's good, ne? I like knowing that some things will never change."

"Mmm-hmm." They both returned their attention to their meal, lapsing into comfortable silence again. They had gone through so much together and their friendship had had many ups and downs, but through it all, they had still come out . . . pretty okay and both were utterly grateful for that.

"Na, Sakura?"

"Mmm?" They were in her living room, lounging on the cozy sofas she'd bought at a yard sale two years ago. She looked up from the magazine she'd been rifling through. "Nani?"

"Are you going to see Sasuke today?"

Sakura inwardly sighed. He just had to bring it up, didn't he? she thought and promptly told him so.

"Can you blame me?" he demanded. "My best friends are obviously having problems with each other and you expect me to do nothing?"

Her jaw clenched, angry at him for being so damned persistent, angry at herself for making him worry. Naruto had had enough worries—she didn't want to add her problems to them as well.

"Do you hate him that much, Sakura?" Naruto asked seriously, so unlike his usual cheerful tone.

She sighed and ran a hand through her slightly damp hair. "I . . . I don't hate him, Naruto."

"What is it then?" Naruto studied her face closely. "You've said some pretty harsh words to him, Sakura. Please, help me understand."

She bit her lip and avoided his gaze. "Listen to me, Naruto. I have some . . . issues with him. You're my best friend—my family, but please, they're my issues. Let me deal with them on my own."

He stared at her for a long time and then finally he gave a curt nod, knowing that she was stubborn enough to distance herself from him—and everyone else—if he pushed too hard.

"Okay, Sakura, okay," he said, resigned. "But you do know that if you need anything—anything at all—I'll always be here for you, right?"

She smiled at him, feeling the fist around her heart loosen a bit. "Of course. It's a promise of a lifetime, ne?"

He grinned. "Hai, Sakura-chan, a promise of a lifetime."

To be continued . . .

Okay, I know that some of you—heck, most of you—aren't exactly pleased with the idea of a non-Naruto/Hinata pairing, but I'm the type of person who likes to explore other possibilities. And besides, this is fan fiction, so I'm allowed to explore, so if you guys don't like it, you can kiss my virtual . . . well, you know what, heehee . . .

For those of you who aren't that mad, you know what to do now, don't you? Opinions, suggestions, hell, even critiques, are cordially invited.