Author's Note: Hey guys, a shorter chapter this time. I had planned on getting into the real meat of this chapter but decided to split it in two so that I can make it longer without having to interrupt it, if that makes sense. Also, I am starting my internship this Thursday so wish me luck! This also means that you'll have to be patient with me since I will be pretty tied up in school stuff.

To all my reviewers, Thank you guys sooooo much for taking your time to let me know what you guys think about this story. It makes the many days and hours spent writing and planning this story WORTH IT! I love you readers! Also, thanks for the likes and shares! I truly appreciate every one!

P.S. I write to music! In case any of you are curious, this is the song I primarily listened to while writing this chapter: "Prismo- Stronger [NCS Release]"

Also, Happy New Year, friends! Don't let other people criticize you for making resolutions! Prove people wrong :)

Chapter 12: Be Bold

Sasuke squinted when the morning light flickered into view above the tree line, illuminating his face and warming it instantly. Summer was definitely on its way now that May was just around the corner. It made nights spent in the forest like last night bearable.

This morning made the twelfth day that Sasuke was in Konoha. To Sasuke, that was twelve days that he had not been searching for any signs of the Otsusuki clan. Last night, when he had seen the moon peek through the clouds, Sasuke's stomach had twisted. As he watched Sakura admire it, he couldn't help but despise it for what it reminded him of. Every day and every second that Sasuke wasted in this village, he felt like he was putting the village at risk.

According to Chino, when the White Zetsu army had passed under the Valley of Hell-the remote canyon located in the Land of Hot Water where Chino's clan had one resided-she had been able to indirectly read their minds, coming up with her own idea of the human bombs after having witnessed this. After Sasuke had defeated her, Chino had told him something else that had frightened Sasuke. The White Zetsu army had been expecting a threat greater than the Allied Shinobi Forces. This almost confirmed Sasuke's theory, the theory that perhaps Kaguya had created the White Zetsu Army to fight a force more powerful than herself. Sasuke was convinced that more of her kind was out there and they would be coming here.

This is the information that he desperately needed to tell Naruto. Sasuke had to put Naruto on his guard without affecting the peace that currently existed between shinobi nations. And here Sasuke was, waiting rather impatiently on the ninja who could rival Sasuke's strength. Only together could they hope to defeat this threat.

Perhaps if Sakura knew about all of this, she would be able to understand why Sasuke had to leave immediately. Sasuke had listened as she had confessed her love for him again last night. He had denied her. . . again.

Sasuke was convinced that if he pushed and pushed and pushed Sakura away from him, she would eventually move on. He would force her to believe that there was nothing between them, spare her an eternity of disappointment, and do so by not returning any of her feelings. Did Sasuke even have any feelings for her? He most certainly couldn't deny that he did; she was the only woman that he could possibly have any feelings for. What was the difference between caring for someone and loving someone? Sasuke wasn't sure. All he knew was that it was difficult to walk away last night; it was hard to resist crossing that threshold and spending one more night in a safe place with someone he cared for; it required the better half of him to tell her that she needed to stop waiting for him and find some other man to love. Did this mean that he did love her?

Sasuke held his head in his hand, a headache forming in his temples from the rough night's sleep. He silently cursed Naruto for taking his sweet time to return. Sasuke definitely wouldn't have slipped this far if Naruto had been here when he arrived. Sasuke needed him to return so he could do what he knew was the right thing. A family of his own was something that Sasuke had dreamed for at one point in his life, and before he had left the village, he had admitted to himself that he cared deeply for his pink-haired teammate. Now, despite all that he had been through, Sasuke had taken on his brother's legacy, a purpose that was more important than any dreams of a happy life filled with friends and possibly love. His friends deserved that dream, and Sasuke had to protect that future.

It was with this train of thought, that Sasuke jumped down from the tree that he had been sleeping in and made his way towards a small stream nearby. When Sasuke arrived, he speared one of the many fish teeming about the water's edge. Then, Sasuke summoned his hawk and watched as the bird flew into the air, spiraling and diving back down to land on its master's arm. Sasuke reached out and offered the small fish to the winged fowl who gulped it down appreciatively. Sasuke reached into his hip pouch and pulled out a small note that he had composed last night, securing it to the hawk. Jumping back into the air, the bird flew off into the sunlight.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sakura picked herself up the following morning and made her way to the hospital. When she arrived, Sakura's assistant, Kirai, had made her way over to Sakura and bowed low before her, apologizing for her mistake in regards to the mental health ward. Sakura had helped her pupil off the ground and hugged her, telling Kirai that she was proud of her for trying to take charge in her absence and telling her that they would work harder together to ensure a better future for the hospital.

Sakura began by seeing all of her mental health patients, young children who had been negatively affected by the war. She visited each and every one of them, counseling them and doing medical checkups on them. Several children from the Coliseum were also newly admitted into the mental health clinic, all of whom Sakura was glad to see didn't suffer from any Sasuke-inflicted injuries. It made forgetting him today a little easier.

One little boy was passed to Sakura from an elderly member of her staff named Miho whom Sakura had hired at the start of the clinic. He clung to Sakura's hip throughout the rest of her checkups, playing with her hair and crying every time Sakura placed him on the ground. It was hard for Sakura to release the child back into Miho's care, but Miho had whispered to him that she would take him to visit the koi in the small pond just outside the hospital, a promise to which the little boy skipped off merrily to.

After seeing all of the children, Sakura attended to every single one of her burn patients. She surveyed the healing process and was impressed with how well the mixture had repaired their burnt skin with minimal scarring. Even the patients who had allergic reaction were doing well despite the entire ordeal. They even agreed to let Sakura try an altered version of the substance on their remaining burns, which Sakura had been able to develop by analyzing the patients and finding alternative ingredients to accommodate for their sensitivities. These burns began to heal very quickly and Sakura was able to reserve her chakra supply for other patients.

Sakura grinned when the red haired man named Haru Mizuno had walked in, flashing her his Naruto-like smile.

"I can't wait to get this off so I can go back to the sauna!" he told her, sitting down on the exam table, holding out his green arm. As Sakura removed the herbal coating, revealing new skin with every peel, the young ninja made joke after joke in an attempt to make her laugh. He kept on insisting that he wanted to prove to her that he had a sense of humor.

Despite her mind being filled with thoughts of Sasuke, Haru reminded her so much of Naruto that she found herself missing her obnoxious friend. Sakura also felt relieved just to laugh. It was like breaking the surface of water and taking a big gulp of fresh air after being under for so long. Her smiling only encouraged Haru and he continued to try to make her laugh.

"I'm very grateful," he said to her after she washed away the last of the herbs from his arm.

Sakura expressed her appreciation for his kind words and walked him out of the room. Haru began to walk away only to turn quickly on his heel and offer Sakura a nervous grin as he walked back up to her.

"Before I go," he said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck quickly, "I just want you to know that I think you are really great. And-uh-I'd like to do something for you-you know to pay you back for everything that you've done for me."

Sakura stared up at him in silent surprise and he quickly added, "It doesn't have to be a date-well, unless you'd like it to be-uh, I mean, I would like it to be.."

He stopped and looked away. Because of his confidence throughout the whole exam, Sakura would not have expected for him to be so bashful now. It took Sakura a second to realize that he was actually asking her out on a date. Sakura's face turned red and she simply said, "Oh."

"I mean," Haru interjected, rubbing a large hand through his red hair. "Only if you want to. . ."

"I, um," Sakura began, trying to find the right words to say. She remembered another time where she found herself in a similar situation. A man whom Sakura had healed during the Fourth Shinobi World War had written her a letter and confessed his love for her. She had told him no, much like Sasuke had told her no last night. It was sad really, that Sakura denied others for Sasuke who in return denied her.

Find someone who can give you the happiness you deserve.

Sakura replayed Sasuke's words in her mind, hating every syllable of that sentence. Is that really what he wanted? Sasuke claimed that he wanted her to move on and here was a man who was offering her that start. What if she said yes? Would Sasuke be satisfied then?

Sighing in defeat, Sakura replied, "I'm sorry, but I actually have someone already who I care deeply for. . ."

It was almost embarrassing how easily and genuinely Sakura admitted it.

"Oh," Haru muttered quickly, offering an apologetic smile and closing his eyes. "That's unfortunate-I mean for me that is. Well, anyway, just- thank you for everything. I wish you the best happiness, with whoever he is."

Thank you for everything.

Sakura's heart skipped at those familiar words, but frowned because it wasn't Sasuke who had said them. She was hopeless. Sakura was foolish if she believed there would ever be anyone else.

"Thank you," she said quietly, offering her own small, awkward apology. "I wish you the best happiness as well. I'll be seeing you."

"Off to the sauna, I go," he said, walking away with fabricated relaxation, crossing his arms behind his head and taking exaggerated steps while whistling. The behavior was so like Naruto that she couldn't help but smile sadly.

Unlike Naruto, Sakura didn't know how to get through to Sasuke. She had never been able to. Naruto, on the other hand, had a way of making Sasuke understand things; he always knew what to say to him. Maybe she should be more like Naruto. So what would Naruto do? How would he make Sasuke understand?

And then Sakura's shift was over and she helped the rest of the staff settle things for the evening. Afterwards, Sakura found herself walking decidedly toward the Uchiha compound. Be bold, she told herself. Be bold.

…

Sasuke stood on the small boardwalk where he had learned how to do the fireball jutsu from his father, staring down into the water of the river that it connected to. Memories returned to the Uchiha. He pushed the painful memories of sitting all alone at the edge of this very dock after his clan's death, thoughts of bitter vengeance running through is mind. Instead, Sasuke recalled the many night he had spent here practicing the fireball jutsu, focusing on the memory of his father saying, "That's my boy."

What would his father say to Sasuke now? Would he look at him with thoughts filled with Itachi? Would he be disappointed of everything that Sasuke had done? Would he be proud of him? Sasuke wasn't sure.

Now, as he stared into the orange tinted water, it seemed as if the entire lake was on fire. Sasuke stared out at the bright circular sun that dipped low in the sky, lowering behind the trees of the forest on the other side of the water. Sasuke felt the urge to try the beat the sun's heat. Arching his back and leaning his head back, Sasuke quickly made the stream of familiar hand signs, completing them with tiger, and filled his lungs with the air around him until he couldn't inhale anymore. Then, with everything he had, he exhaled a firey ball that blocked his view of the sun. The water spilt, recoiling and twisting away from the fire that he breathed and Sasuke couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as the blazing orb expanded to cover the entire surface of the water, almost reaching the bank on the other side.

After a few seconds, Sasuke straightened and watched as the spherical inferno dispersed into small embers that hovered in the air before him. Steam from the water rose up to catch them and they went out. The evening sun was still burning, a fire larger than any Sasuke could ever hope to execute. He smiled in defeat. Damn sun.

Suddenly, Sasuke felt the boardwalk shift slightly and he looked over his shoulder at the person who had just walked out onto it. It was Sakura. She wasn't looking at him, and Sasuke noticed that she was wearing her lab coat. She must have just gotten off work. Why on earth was she here?

Sasuke made an audible sigh of annoyance and turned to look back at the water. This was the last thing he wanted right now. He had only just gotten her out of his mind and now she was here. It annoyed the Uchiha to no end. What did he have to do to make her understand him?

"What do you want, Sakura?" he spat out harshly. " Here to confess your love, again?" He made sure to make the comment sting. It was time for this to end.

"Yes," she said with steady conviction, and Sasuke frowned immediately. "And I'm not going to stop. I'm going to tell you however many times it takes."

Sasuke spun with a growl, but it was replaced with an expression of wide-eyed surprise when he stood facing a large tree that was propelling swiftly towards him. It was so unexpected that it was nearly to him before he could react. He immediately dropped to his palms, scarcely evading the massive trunk as it passed over his back. In push-up position, Sasuke immediately looked under his right armpit to see the tree land out in the rivet behind him, causing a tsunami of water to rise up on all sides of it as it sank. The water swelled beneath the boardwalk and curled around its edges, splashing and soaking the bent down Uchiha.

Snapping his head back to Sakura, he stared at her in exasperated disbelief. She had just thrown a tree at him!

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" he yelled at her, rising to his feet and glaring at her. "Why did you just do that?!"

Sakura smirked and Sasuke watched as she slid off her lab coat and pulled down her hair. Reaching into her hip pouch, Sakura pulled out two black leather gloves. Sasuke raised a watchful eyebrow as she pulled them on tightly, tugging down on the glove of her right hand firmly which was raised to make a fist.

"Because apparently the only way to make you listen, is to fight you," she replied with a grin, walking down the boardwalk towards him. "Maybe if I beat you within an inch of your life, like Naruto did, then I will get through to you."