Sakura and Naruto spent the next two days in her house, awaiting a phone call from someone. Anyone.

The phone didn't ring once.

On the end of the second day, Naruto went up to Sakura's bed and laid down. They would have slept in separate beds, but having some sort of contact with one another seemed to take some pain away. It helped a little.

"Sakura, are you coming up?" Naruto called from up the stairs.

"Ah, not yet I think, I'm just going to clean here some more," Sakura called back. She looked at the mess in the living room, and sighed. She didn't know what to do with herself now. Was this the way she was going to live, here on in?

"Okay," Naruto replied.

Sakura sat on the couch, and looked at the multicoloured string of her carpet. She felt a sting in her throat as she looked over at the windows leading to her deck. She quickly looked away, sick of crying. No, don't think about that. Her eyes were so dry, the stung each time she closed them.

She turned her head away and looked over at the opposite couch, covered in magazines and dirty laundry. Before she knew it, her eyes were filled with tears and she was crying silently on the couch. She tried to keep quiet, but after a while, breathing became a problem, and she was gasping for air. She covered her face with her hands, and bent double over, leaning on her knees.

She sobbed, and hiccupped. Breathing in deep, she stood up, and turned around once her crying died down a little. Naruto was standing there. His bright blue eyes were red rimmed. She gasped and looked away. "I… I um, got something in my eye…" She walked past him, heading for the bathroom.

"Sakura…" Naruto said as she rushed past him. "Sakura, wait…"

Sakura closed the door on Naruto's face. He heard her sob, and hit the mirror, or the counter.

"Sakura… Please, open the door…" Naruto leaned against it, putting his head on his raised arm. "C'mon… I know you were crying… I don't know what you feel so ashamed about…"

The door clicked, and Naruto stood straight.

It opened, and Sakura stood, with tears running down her face. "I don't feel ashamed…" Sakura looked down, wiping her tears from her face roughly. "I just don't want to cry anymore…"

"I feel the same," Naruto hugged Sakura tightly.

"Oh…" Sakura sighed into Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto… why…"

"Why what?" He asked. Her hair was tickling his nose.

"Just…" Sakura mumbled.

They stayed like that, swaying on the spot, quietly crying in each other's arms, clinging to each other like if they let go, they'd fall apart.

"Should we go to bed?" Naruto mumbled.

"Mmhmm…" Sakura mumbled. She was getting tired. Or maybe it was just her eyes. They were so itchy. She wanted to rub them until they stopped hurting, or maybe the pain went away.

Naruto put Sakura's arm over his shoulder, and he put his other arm under her knees, sweeping her off her feet. "What're you doing?" Sakura mumbled sleepily, her eyes closed.

"Shh," Naruto hushed. "Just sleep."

"Mmm…" Sakura brought her arm down off his shoulder, and placed it on her other one, tilting her head to the side, towards Naruto's chest. He looked down at her as he walked up the stairs.

He placed her on the bed gently. This was the first time she had actually fallen asleep within the last two days. He knew, because it was the same with him. He could feel her shaking the bed with her sobs every night, and he could feel her restlessness.

Oh, Sakura…

"Sakura…" Naruto said quietly. She was still in her jeans and shoes. She hummed quietly. Naruto shrugged and lifted her back gently as he undid her blouse. Her jean came next, then her shoes. Should I? He questioned himself, looking at her bra. She shouldn't sleep in it… Closing his eyes, he took her pajama shirt in one hand and the hook of her bra in the other (he was quite skilled when it came to undoing bras with one hand… Hinata taught him, shyly…)

Once he felt the bra unhook, he squinted down slightly to see only what he needed to. Making sure the bra wouldn't suddenly fall off, He put the pajama shirt under Sakura, and then he closed his eyes again.

Finally, he successfully took her bra off and put her pajama shirt on. He gave up on putting bottoms on. It was a hot summer night anyways. She'd be more than happy to wake up in panties than hot, thick pajama bottoms.

He had seen Sakura naked before, accidentally, of course. It was at a bathhouse somewhere in the tea country. He had looked over the wall (they were the only ones staying there… on a mission to find Sasuke…) and started to ask Sakura where they were going to go next. He was in swimming trunks, but Sakura… Oh boy, was he in trouble later.

He smiled, and laid beside her.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he heard Sakura mutter, "Oh…ne…kiha...denu…"

Naruto looked over at Sakura questioningly. "Sakura?" He asked.

Something was glowing at the far side of the room. Naruto put his arms in front of Sakura to get a better look at what it was. Something tingled on the back of his neck, and he ducked just as a kunai flew at his face.

"Just as sharp as ever, Uzumaki," A smooth familiar voice hissed. "Too bad, I would have liked to see that kunai go through that stupid face of yours…dobe…"

Naruto growled. "Uchiha… Sasuke…" He stood up, and turned on the bedside light. Sasuke came into full view. His new outfit was appealing (to a girl, of course). He had a loose black shirt on, and the front was open. His jeans were ripped, and his shoes looked completely dead.

"What're you doing here?" Naruto growled.

Sakura moaned from behind him and sat up. "What's goin'on?" She gasped and squeaked when she saw Sasuke. "Sa… Sasuke… kun…"

"Hey, babe," Sasuke sneered. "I'm here for her, Uzumaki. I need her for some entertainment. I don't understand why you two came looking for me, even though you knew, one day, I'd be back."

"We were trying to save you, you asshole," Naruto spat.

"Mm, not too friendly then," Sasuke laughed.

A scream came from behind Naruto, and as soon as he span around, he saw a hard metal ball come from nowhere and smash him in the head. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

"Now, Sakura," Sasuke laughed gently as he looked at the boy on the floor. His head was bleeding, but it wasn't fatal. "I'm going to give you a choice. You can either come with me, or," He laughed gently again. "You can end up looking like him."

Sakura looked down at Naruto over the edge of the bed. She leaned down, and touched the wound. She looked at her hand, now covered in Naruto's blood. She slowly looked up at Sasuke, her hair partly covering her face.

"Sasuke," She growled. "Why the hell did you do that? You know that Naruto's fox is completely sealed away. That's foul play."

"Who ever said I was nice?" Sasuke laughed.

"You stupid fucker," She hissed. "Get out! Get the hell out of my fucking house! Now!"

"Don't talk to Or-Sasuke like that," A voice said from the shadows. "We are not leaving until we have you."

Sakura looked to the right. Kabuto was standing there. "I thought you died," Sakura growled.

"You thought wrong," Kabuto chuckled darkly. "Shall we, Sasuke-sama?"

"Don't call me that," Sasuke laughed. He walked over to Sakura, and kneeled down in front of her. "I'm not Sasuke, dearest one."

"Well, then, who the hell are you?" Sakura spat.

He pushed the hair off her face gently. As quick as lightening, he grabbed Sakura's neck, and squeezed the pressure points. Before she blacked out, he whispered, "Sasuke's dead, now. I'm Orochimaru."