Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters within. Just a fan with an excess of imagination and a penchant for writing thoughts down.

Please remember as you read this: My story is going to go slow and explore the feeling and thoughts of everyone was they live this life. Don't expect things to move quickly and develop fast. This is a deep dive story into the development of SasuSaku. I love them and I think they deserve a happier outcome together than they got in the manga.

Responses to my reviewers:

Rinfantasy: Karin doesn't count in my estimation of who was the worst fangirl because she wasn't there during their academy days. Sasuke is thinking about the past when he speaks about it, and Orochimaru doesn't count because he's not a girl and he also was not there during the academy days. Yes, Ino was annoying, but Sakura wins for most annoying fangirl because she was the one placed on Team 7. Sasuke couldn't get away from her because of that. Thus, Sakura is the most annoying. That is my reasoning and I hope this clarifies my choice.

CherryBlossomsBlooming: Thank you for your kind words! I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me! I hope you continue to like how I portray the characters!

Chapter 4:

Naruto knew something was off. He'd been lying in wait for Sasuke for at least an hour already and the Teme hadn't shown up along the route leaving Konoha. He knew today was the day Sasuke was embarking on his journey of redemption, and he had been hoping for a few words or even a spar before he left. That idiot. Naruto tried to understand this need Sasuke felt. He knew that the last few years had been really confusing for Sasuke. To spend your life trying to kill your older brother for massacring your clan only to find out that the man had been doing it for the greater good and had spared you out of love...Naruto knew that would fuck a person up. Add into it all that Itachi had then goaded Sasuke into murdering him as an atonement of his own, and Sasuke finding out everything AFTER he killed Itachi...well that was a clusterfuck of crazy.

He had made a personal promise to Itachi that he would look out for Sasuke after he was gone. He'd have done it anyway, but it was especially important because of his own dealings with Itachi. Sasuke was more than just a friend. More even than just a best friend. Sasuke was the brother he had always wanted. Team 7 had become the family that fate had denied him. Sasuke leaving the village would split their team up again, and Naruto wasn't thrilled about it.

Coming back to his senses, Naruto looked around trying to see if Sasuke was finally coming. Where the hell was the Teme?! He was not leaving this village without a confrontation. The slashed hitai-ate weighed heavily in his pocket. It was a symbol of everything they had been through, and Naruto was determined that it would go on this journey with Sasuke since Naruto could not.

Contrary to popular belief, Naruto wasn't a complete idiot. He was a knucklehead, but not an imbecile. To fulfill his dream of becoming Hokage, he couldn't go harrowing off on an adventure with Sasuke no matter how much he wanted to. There were a million things he had to do before he would be ready for the Hokage seat. Treaties to study, policies to memorize, Anbu schedules and mission plans to focus and learn about. These were just a few of the multitude of shit he needed to learn. Hokage was a shit job, but one that Naruto had always coveted, and would proudly step into when he time came. Plus, he had a secret weapon that no other Hokage had used until now. Shadow clones. He could tackle the mountains of paperwork with the use of shadow clones. How no one else had thought to use this as a tactic for battling the boring aspects of the position Naruto would never know.

After another hour of waiting around, Naruto figured he would have to come to Sasuke. The damn Teme was either evading him on purpose, or he wasn't ready to leave yet. That was fine with Naruto. He'd hunt that asshole down. With that thought, Naruto leapt through the trees back toward the village.

Sakura landed in a crouch on the roof of her apartment. So much to do. Packing, cleaning out her apartment, preparing to leave, delegating duties at the hospital, and talking with Tsunade, Mom and Dad. First things first...lunch. She wouldn't have the energy to get everything done if she didn't fuel up.

Lunch was a simple affair. She threw together a loaded salad and grilled chicken, with a few anko dumplings as dessert. There just wasn't time for anything complicated. After lunch, Sakura headed toward the hospital. It was the most likely place to find Tsunade and she needed to unload all of her work at the hospital to someone else. Part of her was a little uneasy. Was she really doing this? Was she really upending her entire life to follow Sasuke on this journey? Her brain was telling her what a crazy decision this was. How did she know that this would work out? How did she know that what they might have would be worth it? How did she know she wasn't making a mistake?

Her heart though, told her she was making the right choice. She had loved Sasuke since their academy days. That love had be put through the ringer and tested in ways she never imagined as a child. The fact that she was still IN love with him after everything they had been through and everything he had done...well, that had to mean something. So it all came down to this...was she willing to reshape her entire future to see what she could have with Sasuke? Yes, yes she was.

The hospital came into view and Sakura quickly made her way to the floor where Tsunade's office was. Shizune greeted her cheerily as she breezed through.

"Good morning Sakura! What brings you in today? Isn't this your day off?"

"Good morning Shizune! I have something important to discuss with Tsunade-sama. Is she in?"

"Yes, she's in. She's a bit out of sorts, but I'm sure she'll perk up when she sees you."

Sakura passed Shizune as she reached for the handle of the door.

"We will see about that after she hears what I have to say."

Shizune didn't get much of a chance to do more than give her a startled look before Sakura pushed the door open and stepped into Tsunade's office. The blonde Sannin was seated behind her desk and glaring fiercely at something sitting on her desk. As the door clicked close behind Sakura, Tsunade's head snapped up. The scowl on her face softened to a grimace of mild annoyance and she shoved the papers on her desk to the right.

"Ahhhhh, Sakura, didn't I tell you not to show your face for a few days? You've been working too hard and I don't want to have to force you to take care of yourself."

"Tsunade-sama, I know I'm supposed to be taking the day off, but I can't put this off…"

"Put what off? " The scowl on Tsunade's face deepened.

"Sasuke is leaving the village...and I offered to go with him."

The long, awkward silence that followed her statement seemed to continue endlessly. The anxiety coursing through Sakura's body was like a live current. She couldn't seem to stand still and kept shifting from one foot to the other. A sweat broke out on her forehead and the back of her neck. The wringing of her hands had to looking down as she realized she was squeezing them tightly enough to be painful. The opinion of this woman meant the world to her and she would be devastated if Tsunade expressed disapproval or disappointment.

"He finally accepted your offer."

Sakura's head spun so quickly that her hair was spread across her face in disarray. Green eyes locked in a steady gaze with brown. Tsunade's face was blank of all the emotions that had been there moments before. The blank slate she presented to Sakura only made her even more nervous. Tsunade was a passionate woman that readily shared her thoughts and feeling on her face. For her to present a seemingly calm facade had Sakura wondering what her sensei was thinking.

"Y-y-yes, he accepted my offer and we are leaving in 2 days."

Inner Sakura smashed her head on a wall at the stutter. She was a grown ass woman who could make her own choices in life. She wasn't being forced to do anything and if she wanted to do this, then she definitely could. Yet, this woman was such a focal point in her life and her words had the power to deal a heavy blow.

"I see."

Well, Sakura hoped she could see too.

"You will need to pass your workloads on to other people. Are you prepared to do that?"

"Yes Tsunade-sama. I know it will be nearly impossible, but I'm going to have to do it. I am going to leave with Sasuke."

"Pfft, nearly impossible? It will be easy. Actually, I'll take your work and spread it out. You don't even need to be here for that. Don't get a big head. You aren't indispensable. Go on and do what you need to do, we will be fine."

Sakura stared gape mouthed at Tsunade. She almost wanted to protest everything her sensei had just said. She knew that her work was crucial to the hospital, and that it couldn't just be distributed to others like it was nothing. She also saw what Tsunade was doing. She knew Sakura better than she knew herself, and she would know how stressed out Sakura would be right now. Not just the stress of all the things she needed to change and get ready, Tsunade would see the stress of happiness. Sakura was so incredibly excited about this that it was becoming its own form of stress. Tsunade was doing what she could to relieve some of that stress.

"You're a terrible liar Tsunade-sama."

"Be that as it may, get your ass out of here and go get whatever done you need. 200 days wouldn't be enough to get your business in this hospital settled, so 2 certainly won't do any good. We can handle it, so get out of here."

Sakura knew from experience that arguing with Tsunade was pointless. The woman was a lot like Naruto in that respect. Once she set her mind on a course, you needed to just go along with it or get out of her way.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama. Is there an-"

"Yeah yeah. Get the hell out of here. You have a lot more to get done, and I promise to call for you if you are needed...Just stay safe and live your life Sakura. It's time to focused on yourself as much as you've focused on work."

Sakura smiled brightly and spun on her heal. Tsunade was right. She did have a lot of other things that still needed to get done, and so little time to do them in. She breezed past Shizune, her mind whirling a million miles a minute. She didn't even hear Shizune asking her if she was alright. She needed to get to her parents' house and speak with them next. Her Mom and Dad would want to help her pack her stuff and probably offer her a place to store them. Once that was all done then it would be time to tackle the hardest part...Naruto. That was probably going to be a fight.

Once Sakura exited out the door, Tsunade slumped in her chair. Her arms lifted to rest across her eyes as she tipped her head back. Well fuck. Life was about to get a lot more annoying. Sakura was one of the hardest working shinobi that Tsunade had ever seen. The shear volume of work the woman had was enough to keep a dozen lesser shinobi busy. Delegating those responsibilities would be a nightmare that Tsunade didn't want to deal with. The sound of a heavy jar thumping on the desktop had Tsunade whipping her arms down. The sight before her surprised the hell out of her. Shizune had silently entered her office and had just plunked a jar of sake on the desk. A cup mysteriously joined the jar shortly after.

"Shizune...what are you doing?"

"I could hear everything from the other side of the door. Tsunade-sama, this seems like a perfect time to partake of some sake before we have to buckle down and assume her massive load of work. You had better hurry before I change my mind."

Tsunade quickly reached to pour herself a cup of sake when she noticed a second cup join hers. She looked up at Shizune quizzically, freezing as she poured the sake. Shizune sighed loudly.

"You're spilling the sake Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade cursed and quickly tipped the sake jar up and filled the other cup. Shizune drinking sake with her was a rare situation. Obviously Shizune understood the enormity of what they had just taken on.

"Do you think she is doing the right thing Tsunade-sama? He's not going to hurt her, will he?"

"I don't know Shizune. All I know is that if it were me and Dan, I would have to make the same choice she is. As for hurting her? If that boy breaks her heart, she will crush him beneath her foot like a bug."

Shizune laughed as she and Tsunade toasted Sakura and Sasuke and the adventure they were about to embark on. Tomorrow would probably be an ugly mess as they tried to sort through all the work Sakura did and figure out how to split it up. If Sakura was willing to walk away from everything she was doing, especially after being the workaholic she was, then this decision must have meant more to her. If it was that important, then she had to do it. If she didn't, Shizune was sure she would regret it forever. Shizune just hoped that Sasuke understood the preciousness of the treasure he was taking from them. The stupid bastard had never shown such a level of self awareness, so Shizune doubted he would ever be able to truly appreciate his good fortune. Yet, people could change and mature, and hopefully Sasuke was one of those people. Shizune was just worried about what would happen when they let Naruto know their plans…