"Oi where do you two think your going" Cee demanded to know the next day when they'd finished eating an early lunch, the Raikage already neck deep in treaty negotiations with the Hokage and he caught two of the genin preparing to head off.
Leaving him and Darui with the last remaining genin "Therapy session" Sasuke admitted shamelessly "Still have issues from a trauma I've had for about four years now" he continued not really explaining truthfully.
"So Sakura-san is going with you for moral support" Darui asked in confusion, Naruto shifting his eyes from person to the next knowing the truth now after all this time but apparently it was back to the usual diversion tactic for the Cloud Shinobi.
At the question his very first friend if he was being honest, nodded "Precisely, for moral support, anyway we really need to get going" Sakura rolled with the obvious excuse and ushered Sasuke out the door since they already had their sandals on.
Then down the streets to T&I, only to go around the building to the much smaller friendlier building that was for mental trauma "Just on time, Mr. Yamanaka will see you two now" the receptionist greeted.
When the two twelve year's that have been having regular therapy sessions entered the waiting room, but at her statement Sasuke and Sakura headed for the door, knowing the way to Inoichi's office by heart from how many times they'd been there.
"Good afternoon, Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan, have a seat and I'll ask a simple question that I want you both to answer, how was your night did you sleep well" Inoichi greeted kindly and both mentally traumatized kids relaxed.
Sitting down in the comfortable oversized plushy chairs "Not exactly Inoichi-san, someone broke in last night around two and tried to kill Naruto" the Uchiha admitted, he'd actually had a hard time going back to sleep after that.
"Me either, was to paranoid really, even with a Kage class shinobi and two of his best Jonin staying in the house" the pinkette grimaced, Inoichi frowned not quite what he expected as he scribbled down notes on his clipboard like usual.
Reviewing past notes at the same time "Okay maybe think of someway to reinforce the window with weapon proof glass or seals I know you and Naruto-san are very good at them Sakura-chan, you can also do that to every window in the house and the doorways" the blonde suggested.
Finding an easy solution to the problem at hand, emerald orbs lit up in realization "We should totally do what we did for Tazuna's house" Sasuke smirked remembering how they'd given the civilian family the protection of a fortress without the actual guards.
"It's definitely a thought, I'll have to ask how Naruto feels about it when we get home" Sakura tapped her lip trying not to delve to deep in thoughts right now since they were currently in a therapy session and they couldn't implement the idea's given.
One problem down he figured there were still several to get through "Right then you said issues have popped up, what kind of issues Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan" Inoichi looked between the two almost teenagers that were fully qualified genin now.
Sasuke eyed Sakura and she nodded "We've been having a couple of nightmares, er Shisui, yes she got over that by the way, left us some gifts for when we became genin but we had to go into the Uchiha Compound to get them, it brought back some of that trauma" the ebony haired preteen said.
Feeling like an idiot while Inoichi clicked his pen and started scribbling more notes on that clipboard of his "That's good you managed to get over losing Shisui-san, however the next time you wish to go into the Uchiha Compound ask permission" the Yamanaka Patriarch chuckled.
Kids were reckless but he couldn't blame them this time around, they most likely wouldn't have gotten permission to retrieve the gifts Shisui had left for them if they had asked "Don't have to worry Inoichi-san, I've already lectured Sasuke on that" the rosette grinned.
While he rolled his eyes in exasperation to Inoichi's amusement "Very well what seems to be the issue for you Sakura-chan" Inoichi set his attention on Sakura, who'd been letting Sasuke do all the talking so far.
"Apparently I really hate liars and I have a really bad temper, I feel like I'll snap at anyone nowadays even with all the etiquette about minding my manners and remaining polite instilled in me" Sakura was right back to grimacing.
By her side the Uchiha snorted "Not that you didn't already have a foul temper Sakura, it's merely, ow, gotten worse, ow, see we really need to get her, ow, some anger management Inoichi-san" Sasuke piped in teasing his friend only to be repeatedly punched in the arm gently of course.
Sakura would never really seriously maim him unless it was during a spar then he was fair game and so was she "The idea does hold merit, when you feel like hitting someone, punch a pillow instead or fiddle with something, counting backwards helps to" the blonde listed some ideas.
Hoping that at least one of them would work for Sakura "For disliking liars, hmm some people are going to lie regardless if you like them or not, it's part of being a shinobi, the lies keep you alive longer if you know what I mean" the Yamanaka Patriarch explained.
Unsure of how to really help Sakura on her second issue "It's okay wasn't really expecting much on that front Inoichi-san" the pinkette shrugged she'd really only wanted to talk about it knowing it would help and it had, because now she felt much better about the subject of liars.
It had been a point of issue for her since the start of academy though so she figured it was something that would always be ingrained in her "My sharingan awakened, decided to train with it and become a medic-nin the world's first Uchiha Medic" the raven haired preteen admitted.
Announcing his new dream "Congratulations Sasuke, it seems you've finally moved on from your family's massacre" Inoichi clapped proud of the boy for overcoming a difficult struggle such as hating his older brother for what Itachi had done.
"That's right, I, very much hate people that still treat Uchiha's like their nothing more than dirt, when I started training under a medic at the hospital the receptionist accused Sasuke of using his sharingan to forge our sensei's name when he didn't even have the dojutsu yet" Sakura ranted.
Outing yet another issue "Prove to them that their wrong about Sasuke-kun if anyone can do it, it's you Sakura-chan, but it's also up to Sasuke-kun to, now before I wrap up this session, how are you two doing in a general sense" the blonde stated calmly then moved onto the final question.
"Pretty good Inoichi-san, Mebuki-san and Kizashi-san have really become like another set of parents to me, I think Father and Mother would approve of them, living with Naruto has been something else though, but I can't imagine living my life any other way" the Uchiha explained.
Feeling nice and relaxed by this point, all of his worries miles away for the time being as Sakura took her turn "Same, everything's been great since we became genin except for that A Rank Mission mishap that nobody got hurt on, life has been wonderful" the rosette smiled.
"Good, good, also good luck on training to be a medic Sasuke-kun with that our session is over, don't be afraid to come back if you need another, also if there is anyway you can convince Naruto-san to come in for a session to that would be great I feel like he might need it" Inoichi announced ending the session.
To which both preteens stood "See you" the blonde waved as they nodded at his hinting, they would probably have to do a lot of coercing and with that the duo were gone, trekking slowly back to the house, hearts light now that they'd gotten some things off their chests.
Until they were back home and shucking their sandals "How did the therapy session go" Naruto was right there, relieved to have his friends back and the two Cloud Shinobi could stop nagging him about things he didn't know.
"Really good actually, though Inoichi-san mentioned having you come in for one, no one will judge you for it just remember that okay, he also gave us an interesting suggestion to prevent what happened last night from happening again" Sakura was the one to answer this time.
Sasuke putting their sandals away in the cubby otherwise Mebuki would smack them upside the heads for being so messy "You two are good at seals, do the same thing you did to Tazuna's house" Sasuke reminded when Naruto looked confused.
Baby blue eyes lit up though at the mention of the very protected civilian house back in the Land of Waves "Oh yeah we can totally do that" the blonde grinned eager to practice his fuinjutsu again with Sakura who was really awesome when it came to improving old seals and the like.
"Just let me go get my books, tags, scroll, chakra ink and brush, I'll grab yours to Sakura-chan if that's okay" Naruto waited for a nod then zipped off to his room and then Sakura's, as they headed for the living room.
In a couple of minutes he was back, carrying a stack of fuinjutsu books, a bag of blank scrolls, a stack of blank tags with two ink-pots and brushes balanced precariously on top of it all "Hold up what's all that stuff for" Darui frowned wondering what the genin were plotting now.
Then he saw the titles to some really advanced fuinjutsu books "Fuinjutsu is not for genin" Cee glared reaching out to take the books away when the lone girl smoothly stood in front of him, emerald orbs narrowed and arms crossed over her chest.
"Cee-san you are a guest in this house, you don't have that right to tell us what we can and can't do, or try to take away our belongings, yes you are an adult but not our parent, and besides the Hokage was the one who gave him the books, so don't do that again" the pinkette warned.
Fury etched into her eyes, Naruto eeped and hid behind Sasuke afraid of his friend as she radiated anger maybe even a small level of killing intent to if he wasn't imagining things, Cee took a couple steps back "Right understood" the onyx eyed blonde nodded.
Sitting down on the couch and reminding himself not to get on that girl's bad side ever again "Deep breaths Sakura, I'd have probably done the same without knowing the situation to" the Uchiha instructed carefully not wanting her to fly off the handle at him either.
Cee should be lucky that she didn't try to take a swing at him, that would have been disastrous "That Kid has issues" the dark skinned male grimaced when Sakura stormed off to cool down probably, though he did understand her anger though, Cee had been in the wrong this time.
"Believe me you don't even want to know Darui-san" the younger blonde sighed and plonked his head at the low sitting table, exhausted and it wasn't even bed time yet, Sakura was always taking the heat for him and maybe he really should go see that Inoichi guy for a therapy session.
Eight minutes later Sakura was back, but before she could get comfortable on the floor someone knocked on the door, Sasuke was quicker though and two minutes later he was back with Shino "I thought I'd drop by for a visit and stay for dinner, why because we're…." Shino began.
Only to trail off as he noticed people he didn't know sitting in his now girlfriends house "Shino-kun, Cee-san and Darui-san, their Raikage-sama's escorts who's here for a treaty between Leaf and Cloud, Cee-san, Darui-san, this is Sasuke's and I's last teammate Shino Aburame" Sakura introduced without skipping a beat.
"Wait I thought Naruto-san was your teammate isn't that why your all living together so that you can really get into team spirit" Darui questioned immediately as Shino sat ridiculously close to Sakura to be decent in his eyes if he was being honest.
"Dope has no parents and Sakura's parents took us both in years apart" Sasuke piped in watching the duo work on their seals, coming up with intricate seals that would protect the house from intruders, kami that had been awful.
Darui creased his brow "Just how is it Sakura-san's parents knew you well enough that they'd offer their home up to you" Cee pressed determined to get some sort of information out of the kids, while Sasuke went rigid.
Looking to Sakura for some help "Because in all but blood their family, same with me, Sakura-chan really took that whole will of fire thing to a completely different level than old man Hokage did" Naruto commented helping out a little.
"The will of fire to see everyone as family, civilians, other shinobi, blood relations don't matter that is our way" the Aburame heir went further into detail on their philosophy to make the Cloud Shinobi understand them better.
Hopefully anyway "Basically what their saying is that we hung out a lot to consider each other family especially after the….." the Uchiha stopped in his tracks as Sakura slapped a hand over his mouth, lips pressed into a stern frown.
Sasuke backtracked realizing he'd almost revealed the truth to people who didn't know "Let's just leave it at that okay, anyway we really need to get to work on those seals" the pinkette cleared her throat to get them back on the task at hand.
"Roger that Sakura-chan" the goofy blonde knucklehead Uzumaki saluted, diving head first into one of the few things he enjoyed, while Shino watched, knowing they couldn't reveal the truth to him just yet and not upset over it.
He had a lot of patience in regards to Sakura with the daily trouble she got into and most of it wasn't even her fault, eventually Naruto made over thirty clones and gave them the task of covering every surface inside and outside of the house with the seals he and Sakura had made.
It took over two hours while the original got to sit down and do nothing and Sakura started an early dinner just as it was turning five, the door was thrown open "WHAT THE FUCK WHY DID I GET ZAPPED" the Raikage boomed in a furious voice.
And Sakura shot Naruto an irritated glance before going to fix his little mistake "Sorry about that Raikage-sama, we covered the house in seals to prevent another intruder, Naruto must of messed up something, I'll fix it" Sakura scowled over her shoulder.
At the sheepish looking blonde "You still love me right Sakura-chan" Naruto pouted as she worked quickly and five minutes later the seal was adjusted, Sakura rolled her eyes and let out a long suffering sigh but relented by nodding.
The boy really was just a goofy prankster that was starved for friendship she didn't care what Mizuki-sensei said, beast sealed inside him whatever, it never influenced Naruto after all and she wasn't going to start hating him because of it.
For all she knew he was the one who was saving them from it breaking loose and wreaking havoc on their village and anyone else who said otherwise could go jump off the Hokage Mountain "Um Sakura you kind of zoned out there" Sasuke drew her from her deep, deep thoughts.
And she found herself seated at the table eating already "Leave the kid alone, I'm surprised she hasn't gone insane being around you day in and day out, needing therapy like this afternoon" Darui snorted.
Sakura went rigid "Darui-san please keep that particular comment to yourself, just because Sasuke needs therapy doesn't mean he's insane and besides most of his issues have been worked out" the pinkette reigned in her anger very quickly and managed to talk in a polite sounding tone.
Very upset that the man was commenting on Sasuke's therapy sessions that she was a huge part of as well, like a lightbulb going off, onyx eyes widened "You didn't go for moral support did you Sakura-san, the session was as much for you as it was for Sasuke-san" Cee pointed out for everyone.
"The question is, why do you need therapy sessions brat" Ay prodded forcefully glancing towards the unknown brat but wanting his question answered right then and there, treaties after all meant an alliance what better time to start getting to know some of his new found allies than now.
Well not yet but soon "Because she lost someone very close to her heart, my apologies I am Shino Aburame, their teammate on Team Seven the reason I am here, why to see them after they've been gone on a month long mission" Shino drove the knife in deeper.
"I witnessed something horrible alongside Sasuke the rest is forbidden to speak about by Hokage-sama" Sakura blew out a breath keeping the explanation simple so she didn't have to reveal the whole truth thankfully.
Mind flashing back briefly to that night, but she forcefully shoved the images to a back-burner to hopefully not think on them anymore "You know you seem awfully reluctant to speak about the whole truth, we won't tell the Hokage if you don't Sakura-san" the onyx eyed blonde insisted.
Wanting to learn more now that his interest had been peaked, what horrible thing had the two genin witnessed, how old had they been, how had it had been so terrible that they still needed therapy sessions long after the event had happened.
"Uh-oh not a good thing to say to Sakura, keeping things hidden and lying about it aren't really in her nature" the ebony haired preteen grimaced when Sakura grit her teeth and then without even eating just left the table.
It was all to much for her "Leave this to me why because Sakura is someone important" the brunet heir was quick to hurry after his girlfriend and found her in her room, hugging a pillow to her chest and staring blankly ahead of her.
"Sasuke I can also leave the table if you'd like so you can tell them the truth, that way you won't be breaking old man's word for Leaf Shinobi, he said nothing about Cloud Shinobi right, besides if you don't Raikage dude will just ask the old man" the blue eyed blonde piped in.
And Sasuke nodded, that signaled the third departure from the table leaving him alone with the Raikage and his escorts "Okay talk Kid what the hell is going on with you two" the younger skinned male demanded unlike himself.
"My clan's massacre, we inadvertently got mixed up in it, caught the killer in the act, he threw Sakura across the room, trapped me in a genjutsu that tortures the mind, while she watched, then she found out her best friend was dead it broke her, I'd never seen her cry before that day" Sasuke explained.
Putting his head in his hands and breathing deeply finally talking about the subject that they'd avoided like the plague for four straight years when everyone asked what had happened to them and it had been forbidden to talk about by the Hokage himself.
Clearly the Cloud Shinobi hadn't expected that as they grimaced "How is it you got mixed up in it in the first place and how old were you two when this happened" Ay questioned a lot more calmly wishing he hadn't asked in the first place.
Sasuke lowered his head even more "It was my fault actually, Sakura made the suggestion I spend the night, but my parents were strict, if I had listened to her when she said she had a bad feeling we wouldn't gone to the compound, we were also eight" the Uchiha continued.
Ay was horrified "And no one even noticed" Cee was as close to gaping as one could call it, as some of his questions were being answered and he wasn't even the one asking them, but he regretted pushing the issue.
"No, the murderer was my brother, he was different than any other Uchiha, gifted, the true heir of the clan, plus it was late evening, and the compound is isolated from the rest of the village" Sasuke sighed feeling exhausted.
While he was okay with talking about it, this didn't make him feel better, not like how it was when he and Sakura talked to Inoichi about things "So mental trauma that's why you go see a therapist" Darui asked very carefully.
"For PTSD as well, Sakura has it worse than me, if she smells blood all she can remember is that night, plus we have nightmares still and some flashbacks, her worse than me on that front again" the ebony haired preteen admitted.
And the Cloud Shinobi had no idea what to say anymore "I'm sorry for running off like that, I just needed some time to collect my thoughts" Sakura returned to the table in the next moment, looking weary, dry tear tracks on her cheeks.
They felt guilty for making the girl cry when she was letting them stay there "Must say Sakura, your panda ant colony is doing extremely well even after all this time, why because it's you" Shino piped in hoping to cheer her up by talking about her favorite hobby.
Just like that Sakura did perk up "Of course Shino-kun, you know I've actually been thinking about relocating them somewhere safe to free up some space in the habitat" the pinkette tapped her lip latching on to the new subject topic.
Cee, Darui and Ay just let it go listening to the genin brats chatter amongst themselves "Is it safe to come back" Naruto poked his head into the kitchen and was immediately waved over so that he could eat his cold food.
Hoping something like this wouldn't happen again "We'll have to mention it to my Father, I'm sure he wouldn't mind having the colony in our compound's forest, they'd be safer, less predators, or I could set up a habitat at my house for them" the Aburame heir mused.
"Got a question, how did you get into liking insects so much that you like to keep them as pets instead of regular pets like a cat or a dog or even a bird" the younger dark skinned male shuddered lightly wanting to figure out the Kid.
Emerald orbs flickered up to meet his ebony ones "Dunno it's been that way since I was really little like three or four from the time I could read, but Shisui and then meeting Shino and Shibi-sensei before academy started really got me into them" Sakura smiled.
Relaxing at the normal conversation "You use to be so secretive about that, then once we had that family visit to Shino's Compound, you just went wild" Sasuke teased, Sakura rolled her eyes and punched his arm lightly to his amusement.
"Weird as ever Sasuke, Sakura-chan but I'm glad your not crying anymore" the younger blonde at the table commented, having always hated it when Sakura had cried when they'd been younger and that was still the same no matter how many years went by.
Sakura smiled lightly enjoying the much calmer atmosphere of the kitchen, soon enough the food had been devoured and the kitchen was put back to rights then Shino bid his farewell by pulling Sakura into the foyer after him.
"Be by tomorrow, why because we're together now" Shino announced quietly strapping his sandals onto his feet, then when he was stood, he tugged down his coat collar and for the third time kissed Sakura.
Her cheeks were very warm by the time Shino pulled away smirking "Lay still my beating heart, see you tomorrow Shino-kun" the pinkette placed a hand over her heart waving goodbye to the boy she'd liked since forever as he walked out the door and she locked it behind him.
"Is there a reason your blushing" the onyx eyed blonde creased his brow in confusion when the girl practically floated into the living room, looking very happy for some reason and cheeks apple red it was very suspicious.
At that her face turned a darker red "Must have been some kiss huh Sakura-chan, probably nothing like the first one though….ack Teme help me" Naruto grinned mischievously only to have to start running when Sakura narrowed her eyes and began chasing him.
"You got yourself into that one Dope, so nope" Sasuke watched with a smirk on his lips and simply amused by the antics of his friends, Naruto scowled but ran for his life until inevitably he tripped over something and Sakura got her hands on him.
He was about to start protecting his face when Sakura merely jabbed his side with a finger he looked confused and relieved at the same time "When you find someone you really like Naruto, that will be grounds for teasing" Sakura huffed.
Plopping down at the low table until it was time for bed, that night it was peaceful with no intruders breaking in whatsoever and the morning after once breakfast had been finished a knock on the door came "Yo Sasuke ready for more training" Kakashi called.
This signaled Sasuke's departure "See you when I get back" the Uchiha waved marching off to sharingan training with determination, perhaps he'd even sneak to the compound and snag some books from the clan library.
Regardless of how Sakura felt he wasn't going to ask for permission and he certainly wasn't asking her to come along it was to soon "Can we train to Sakura-chan, I want to practice a few things that have interested me lately" the blue eyed blonde piped in.
Knowing there was no one better than Sakura other than his sensei of course who was good at explaining things "Oh yeah that's right, Sasuke left me the hand signs to teach you the shuriken shadow clone jutsu" the pinkette clapped in remembrance.
Naruto perked up and the two of them headed out back, Cee and Darui on their heels, keeping lookout for any sort of trouble and watching the genin train "First what are the hand signs so I can train with that" Naruto turned to face Sakura.
Who nodded seriously "Watch, ox, dog, dragon, rat, dog, boar, snake and tiger, Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu" Sakura called throwing five of her shuriken and flashing through a set of hand signs, increasing the amount of weapons sailing through the air to nearly forty shuriken.
"Very scary but my turn right" the blonde gulped, seeing how easy jutsu's came to Sakura, perhaps he should also get interested in learning his elemental nature to as he took his turn to practice the shuriken shadow clone jutsu.
Only to move on to using it in conjunction with his body flicker technique, it was hard to get the timing right but after thirty minutes he managed it "Good, now what else did you want to learn how to do Naruto" the rosette praised.
And the watching duo were slightly impressed with the kid's ingenious idea of incorporating fuinjutsu into his body flicker signature "Mm maybe my elemental nature so I can start practicing with that, also wire manipulation, I saw it in a book" Naruto ticked off his fingers.
"That's an idea, hang on" Sakura paused then started rifling around in all of her pouches searching for something, what he had didn't have a clue, but she came up empty handed, Sakura frowned and rushed inside.
Five minutes later she was back carrying a little slip of paper that she handed to Naruto "What do I do with it" the blonde looked very unimpressed since he didn't know what the paper was for in the least, proving he still had a long ways to go.
Sakura put a hand on her hip "Focus chakra into it knucklehead if it tears you have wind nature, burns fire nature, gets wet water nature, crinkles lightning nature or crumbles earth nature" the fuscia haired preteen instructed gently.
Knowing not to get to frustrated at his lack of paying attention in class "Okay" Naruto sulked, doing as told and focusing chakra into the slip of paper, where it promptly tore in half indicating wind nature chakra.
"Well that's a pretty rare nature to have, but I happen to know a couple of people who has wind nature, Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei to I think if I'm not mistaken, for wire manipulation you channel your chakra into the wire" Sakura nodded still explaining things.
In the simplest way possible "You mean like this Sakura-chan" the blonde asked taking some wire from his pouch then channeled his chakra into it, immediately it started of course and Sakura body flickered deftly out of the way "Sorry" he smiled sheepishly.
"No worries Naruto, now was there anything else you wished to learn" the pinkette said patiently, Naruto nodded eagerly going into a rant about all the things he wanted to learn how to do while Sakura stood there patiently explaining everything to him in great detail so he could understand.
Until Naruto was sufficiently exhausted "Why do you indulge him like that, surely you don't want to spend the rest of your life helping him" Cee questioned with a frown in the ensuing silence while the younger blonde was meditating on Sakura's suggestion because she knew it would help.
Her head snapped in his direction "Because Naruto deserves to be treated kindly after the hell he's been though and like what was said yesterday he's family that's all there is to it" Sakura shrugged not seeing helping Naruto as a burden, in fact he needed all the help he could get.
Just then the backdoor flew open "Meditate with me Sakura, then I want you to show me how to incorporate those black crow feathers into the body flicker technique" Sasuke scowled looking pretty beat up.
"The hell happened to you Kid" Darui gaped utterly horrified at the boy's appearance, while Sakura sat at his side, hands glowing green to heal Sasuke of his injuries, Sasuke's expression soured and it took everything in her not to laugh.
Somehow though he knew she was laughing inwardly and the sulking expression appeared on his face instead "Shut up and Kakashi that's what happened, he's a f'ing sadist I swear, summoning ninja hounds on me during our training" his eye twitched madly in irritation.
That did it, now she was outright laughing at him "Can't say I don't agree with you there Sasuke-teme" Naruto sniggered cracking open an eye to peer at his friend, while the other was rolling around on the ground laughing like a hyena.
"Patience Sasuke, he's trying to help you control your sharingan remember, Kakashi-sensei must have thought his summons would help" the pinkette tsked wagging her finger in his face after she got over her laughing fit.
Sasuke was right back to scowling "I know but I still say he enjoyed watching me run for my life a little to much" the ebony haired preteen huffed before calming down and slipping into a meditative trance.
"Just be lucky he's actually taking your training seriously, when Hinata-chan, Kiba and I first met him he was hours late and for every single D Rank Mission or training session he was late to them to" the blue eyed blonde snorted.
While Sakura was simply amused and soon enough Sasuke was ready to incorporate his signature into the body flicker technique, popping around the backyard once he had it down in a flurry of black crow feathers.
Until the three of them called it quits on training to head back inside for some downtime, reading, practicing fuinjutsu or studying hardcore equations in Sakura's case "Don't tell me you brats have done nothing the entire day" Ay frowned when he returned to the civilian house he was staying in.
Right around the same time Shino showed up "No we did go out and train Raikage-sama" Sakura admitted beaming at Shino when the bug user sat beside her like he had the night before by then she was all to happy to abandon her advanced equations to chat with him.
As his two escorts nodded "Oh and what did you train in Sakura, why because it makes sense to keep improving even while on break" Shino piped in curious, he knew that he'd gotten better at some things to, but he didn't know what his teammates had improved on while they'd been gone.
"Lots of things, she taught us the body flicker technique, Sasuke-teme learned the mystical palm, I tried but don't have the aptitude, we've been working on our fuinjutsu, I also learned what my elemental nature is and now I can manipulate a wire with chakra" Naruto ticked off his fingers.
"I also awakened my sharingan and I'm interested in learning the chakra scalpel, probably delve into learning how to craft poisons as well, just a few things I'm considering, Sakura is totally badass with her summons though" Sasuke continued.
Shino looked shocked because he certainly hadn't thought they'd make such a huge leap in only a month though he really shouldn't, he sighed "Suppose the only thing to do is to find things that interest me and improve upon them as well, why because I don't wish to be left behind" the brunet heir shook his head in exasperation.
With a grin Sakura moved the lot of them to the kitchen to make dinner "Out of flour how can we be out of flour" the pinkette frowned when she reached for the cabinet and found the bag missing, it had been half full at lunch so where had it gone.
"It's over there Sakura, you must have forgot to put it back after lunch" the ebony haired preteen pointed at the counter and Sakura flashed him a bright smile as she snagged the bag and got started on dinner.
By pounding out some chicken breasts "You know it occurs to me that neither of you ever help her cook, merely watch, isn't family suppose to help each other" the onyx eyed blonde commented unable to say something.
The two boys that were residents of the house jolted "That's cause Sakura-chan practiced for years learning how to cook, we suck at it believe it" the blue eyed blonde at the table admitted sheepishly, though he had thought about helping before.
He realized that he might only get in the way and so didn't ask anyway "Still you two could practice and learn just like she did" the younger dark skinned male pointed out carefully not trying to order them around, just point out a fact.
And they both nodded in understanding, chances were the lone girl would still be the one doing all the cooking by the time they left at least that's the way he felt, Shino pressed his lips together, then stood "Would you like help, why because we're together" the brunet heir asked.
Sakura's eyes literally sparkled with happiness as she adjusted things around to let Shino help "So the boyfriend is the only one with some manners" the Raikage snorted, soon enough a delicious looking plate of food was set before them along with a glass of green tea.
Then they all dug in after giving their thanks for the food, chatting about this and that until it was time for Shino to leave, it was then that something happened, he opened the door and let out a shout leaping back when a kunai was thrust at him.
Everyone in the house was right there in less than a second "Who the hell are you and what do you want" Ay glowered furiously covering the genin brats with Darui and Cee stood behind them for some extra protection, the man was silent for a few seconds.
"My master said that should anything ever happen to him that our job was to kill the jinchuuriki of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, move so that I can accomplish my job" the unknown man ordered and lunged.
Passing through the doorway with great skill, not without a lot of pain though as a lightning jutsu struck him and he dropped, Ay pushed the brats back unsure of who the tailed beast host was "Brat summon your spider have him tied up, other brat go get someone from that T&I" the Raikage barked.
"Ninja Art: Red Legged Spider Summoning Jutsu, Mibojin-sama tie him up in your web" Sakura ordered of her summons when he poofed into existence before her, he didn't even ask what was going on merely did as commanded.
Until the unknown man was completely covered in webbing that felt like steel bars "What's a jinchuuriki" Naruto had to ask like a naive little idiot and Sakura grit her teeth, understanding what Mizuki-sensei had meant by what he'd said.
It seemed Sasuke was beginning to understand as well because his skin went pale "Mean's living sacrifice to seal away one of the nine tailed chakra beasts in the world, so which one of you is it" Cee looked the genin over trying to determine if he could figure it out that way.
No such luck "Naruto your the jinchuuriki I think, on that day Mizuki tricked you, he said that you had a beast inside of you, that's why people were so cruel to you" Sasuke was the one to say it and Naruto shook his head in denial.
"Can't be no I won't believe it, how could I have something like that in me, why didn't anyone say anything then do people enjoy making me suffer for some reason" the blonde wanted to deny it with every fiber of his being as tears made their appearance in his eyes.
Sasuke grimaced and took off out the door as fast as he could go, body flickering the rest of the way when he felt it was safe enough to do so "Kid calm down, perhaps there's a reason no one told you" Darui frowned eyeing the lone girl.
Who looked angry on her friends behalf, the blonde kid was practically a brother to her after all "But why would people be cruel to him when he's never been anyone but Naruto" Shino frowned in confusion.
And Sakura shook her head "Don't know Shino, but what I do know for certain is that if not for Naruto this village probably wouldn't be standing, anyone who says otherwise I'll bash their faces in with my fist" the rosette pounded her fist into her hand to prove that she was serious.
That was all it took as the tears rolled down his face and she couldn't help but reach out and pull Naruto into a bone crushing hug, then he was full on sobbing, to know that people did care for him that much was probably a relief to the boy.
"Forget what that Uchiha boy said, Hiruzen's the sadist if he couldn't even tell the boy the truth about himself" Ay growled irritated with how the night was turning out so far, Cee and Darui nodded in agreement with his statement.
Keeping watch until Sasuke came back with the Head of T&I himself "Seems the bastard broke the Thirds Law of Secrecy, great just what we need an overly emotional jinchuuriki loose on the village" the tall Anbu Commander let out an irritated sigh.
Sasuke didn't even stop her when Sakura swung around "Even if you are part of this village, if you ever say anything bad about Naruto again I will kick your ass, Naruto is Naruto, screw the thing sealed inside of him, it's not NARUTO" Sakura snapped furiously.
"I agree if Naruto really does have something like that sealed in him, it has never been and never will be Naruto himself, he just houses it, their separate entities as far as I'm concerned, why because Naruto is family to us" the Aburame Heir commented.
If the man that had come from T&I was surprised he didn't show it, merely hefted the unknown person over his shoulder and vanished in a plume of smoke "Yikes you two are scary" the ebony haired preteen shuddered.
Naruto nodding his head in agreement "Guess they make a good pair" the younger dark skinned male chuckled under his breath seeing how the duo worked together first hand, they were close, they didn't argue with one another and gave each other strength if the other needed it.
And they were both equally protective over Naruto, "Agreed 5,000 ryo they end up getting married in the future" the onyx eyed blonde bet with a smirk holding out his hand for Darui to shake, the man narrowed his eyes but shook on it.
Eventually Shino did leave and Naruto did calm down so that the lot of them could go to bed after cleaning up for themselves, though falling asleep wasn't easy, they did manage to get some rest that night with all that was going through their head.
Two weeks later the Raikage, Darui and Cee were leaving "Expect to see some of my shinobi around brats, take good care of them if you do" Ay snorted, knowing that if any of his shinobi were having trouble the pink haired brat would help them.
It was what he'd come to expect after almost two weeks of living with the girl "Roger that Raikage-sama, have a safe trip back to your village, you to, Darui-san, Cee-san" Sakura smiled brightly as she saw them off, the only one to.
Because Sasuke had been kidnapped for training and Naruto had went along to learn some wind jutsu's under Kakashi's instructions "Just take care of yourself alright Kid" Darui sighed wishing they weren't leaving right yet.
But they had to get home eventually, Sakura nodded seriously "And don't ever lose what you have with Shino-san, he completes you" Cee teased and her face lit up in a fiery blush with that they were signed out and headed down the path.
A couple minutes later they passed by an odd couple and they heard Sakura's voice ring out, so they paused to watch as she came running out the gates "Mom, Dad welcome home" the pinkette lunged at the couple they'd passed, apparently they were her parents.
"What did you miss your old man Sakura-chan" the pink haired male laughed boisterously only to whine as his wife slapped him upside the head "See that Sakura-chan, your mother is so mean to me" the man sniffled looking ridiculous.
The woman scoffed "Please Kizashi if Sakura-chan has missed anyone it's me right, right" the emerald eyed blonde shoved her husband out of the way to take her daughter in her arms for a bone crushing hug.
Unaware of the Cloud Shinobi watching them "I missed you both equally Mom, Dad" Sakura grinned not taking either of her parents sides and hugging them together in the next moment, spying the trio of Cloud Shinobi over her fathers shoulder.
In the next moment the three Haruno's were gone "No wonder that kid is so straight laced with parents like that I can see it now" the Raikage snorted turning on his heel and marching off down the path again intent on getting home, his two bodyguards nodded.
~Later on~
When it was late in the evening after dinner had been eaten and the five of them were settled in the living room, Shino having stayed away for the night Mebuki and Kizashi shared a look with each other glad to be home and remembering what they'd promised.
Cleared their throats "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun there's something we wish to ask you, we understand if you refuse though" Mebuki started hoping that at least one of them felt comfortable with the idea.
"Mrs Haruno what do you want to ask us" Naruto popped up from his slumped position looking at the older couple with curiosity in his blue eyes, the last time he'd heard that particular line was when he'd first started living in the house.
Were they about to ask that again "Well you see, we were wondering if either of you were comfortable with the idea of us adopting you both, we won't ask you to change your last names of course, but then we'd really be family" Kizashi announced.
Blue eyes widened apparently they were going to ask and Naruto shot a look to the other orphan as he'd learned to see his reaction, his gaze was guarded by his long bangs "Do you mean that" Sasuke asked mature enough to understand that this was the best he was ever going to get.
"Of course they do Sasuke" Sakura nodded seriously knowing how her parents felt, they cared for both the boys as much as she did, Naruto and Sasuke deserved to know what it was like to have a true family there for them despite the odds against them.
Naruto bit his lip waiting for Sasuke to make his decision before coming to a decision for himself "Then I accept, because truthfully I've already begun to see you as a second set of parents" the ebony haired preteen admitted looking up finally.
And the older Haruno's understood "What say you Naruto-kun" then the pink haired male switched his attention onto the younger blonde in the room, hoping that his answer would be just as affirmative as Sasuke's had been.
"I…I think I'd like that to you know" the Uzumaki boy said in the shyest tone of voice ever, deciding how the rest of his life would be in this single defining moment, to have parents had been one of his dreams and now he was finally getting that.
Mebuki sat back "Then tomorrow we'll go to see Hokage-sama and ask for the paperwork to adopt you into the family while keeping your last names" the emerald eyed blonde stated relieved they'd accepted their offer.
Sakura grinned though and wrapped her arms around both Naruto and Sasuke giving them bone crushing side hugs "Welcome to the family Naruto, Sasuke, it's going to be an absolute blast" the pinkette snickered before they split up to go to bed.
And the next day the five of them traipsed to the Hokage Tower, got the paperwork necessary and in a matter of hours, Naruto and Sasuke were officially Sakura's adopted siblings, then it was back to training and missions with their teams after two solid weeks.