Naruto looked up at the elder man, which he to some degree had looked up to in more than just height. He had always thought that Kakashi had stayed behind and taken care of Sakura-Chan. Ino had been right, Naruto didn't really know Sakura-Chan all that well apparently. He always thought that she had parents to return home too, unlike the rest of them.

"Sensei, did you know?" Naruto asked, looking at said man. Kakashi didn't meet his eyes and he understood that, no, Kakashi didn't know that Sakura didn't live with her family.

If you haven't noticed that, how can you call yourself her friend? The words spoken by the second Hokage rang in his head as a reminder. He claimed to have known Sakura-Chan since they were kids, but did he really know anything? What did any of them really know about her?

"…No" Came a whisper from the elder man said. Naruto turned to look at him once more. He heard the fox growling inside him. The anger was so sudden that he just slammed his hand down onto the table, before getting up.

He walked down the streets of Konoha. He stopped at the old swing he used to sit on as a kid. He had felt so alone back then, he had never wanted anyone else to feel like that too… Had Sakura felt like that too? No, she probably felt even worse, for she did have parents who just didn't love her. It must have been awful.

"Na-Naruto-Kun, are you okay?" a soft voice asked him. He knew that voice, it belongs to Hinata. When he turned around he saw her standing there with a red face, she was looking awfully nervous.

"Do you know Sakura well?" Naruto asked a bit hesitating, sure he could understand why Ino knew, but he wasn't sure if Hinata knew Sakura that well, right?

Hinata looked down at the ground.

Hinata and Sakura were walking down the street. After Sakura was left behind by her team, had Sakura and Hinata begun to become friends. Hinata was helping Sakura carry some books home. She watched as they walked by the gate and saw Sakura stopping, she got a faraway look in her eyes. Soon Sakura turned around and smile sadly at her before they began to walk once more.

Once they got back to Sakura's home, Hinata watched her take out the key to lock the door up. She couldn't find her parents' Chakra, where they not home?

"Where are you pare-parents Sakura-Chan?" Hinata asked after having looked around the big house. There was space for more than 5 other people more in the house.

"I…I haven't talked to my parents since I was 6" Sakura had said hesitating. Hinata didn't need her eyes to know that Sakura was giving her that sad broken smile of hers. Her voice had sounded broken all on its own.

"It seems I'm not worth enough to stay behind for, everyone is going to leave me behind someday… Even you Hinata-Chan" Hinata was shocked, slowly turning around to face her, but Sakura was simply looking at her team picture. Hinata swallowed before quietly promising "I won't leave you behind Sakura-Chan"

"Oh, Hinata-Chan don't make a promise you won't keep," Sakura said finally looking up at her, her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. Hinata would prove her wrong, she would be there for Sakura-Chan when she really needed her.

Hinata nodded her head, she may be a mile soul, but the time she needed to be calm the most, she had snapped. No one, other than Hinata and her father knew that Neji and Sakura had been in a romantic relationship. She had failed Sakura when she needed her most.

When Neji and Sakura had first started out, there had been some ups and a lot of downs. Hinata had seen how happy they made each other, and she truly believed that there would never such a happy, loving couple ever again.

Both of them like to keep their private life to themselves, so no one really knew about it. Hinata had noticed it in the small things, like how Neji helped Sakura train or how he willingly went to the hospital, yes, he almost volunteered when they needed a medic to come and it was always Sakura.

She saw how Neji become nicer to her, he smiled more openly. Sakura became more confident in herself, she held herself with a new pride. It was like they were made for each other. If Hinata believed in soulmates she was sure they were their other half.

When Neji died protecting her and Sakura stood not too far away to see it, she didn't yell at Hinata. Hinata had expected her to run passed her to Neji and hold him until he took his last breath. Sakura did just that, but she just kept sitting there and when she finally turned around to face Hinata a sad, soft smile with tears ran down her cheeks.

He has finally found peace. She remembered those words all too well, what Sakura had failed to see was that she also gave Neji peace. It had angered her and before Hinata had thought about it, she had slapped Sakura and turn around running away after yelling something at her.

"I have never met another person, who was mentally stronger than Sakura-San," Hinata said after some time. Hinata had tried trying to talk with Sakura, but it was hard. Hinata was ashamed of herself and Sakura thought Hinata blamed her for Neji's death. She had turned her back to Sakura and left her behind.

"It kind of funny I needed Ino to tell m-"Before Naruto could say anything else to Hinata, she turned around and ran. She needed to find Ino, she knew only Ino would lose control and tell Sakura's story or some of it. Ino should have known that Sakura didn't want them to know or she would have told them already. Sakura would take it as betray, she was a very private person.

Hinata knew that she could never undo that past, but she would rather die than turn her back on Sakura once more, like Ino had done. This time she would show Sakura that Hinata would stand by her side no matter what. Action spoke better than words ever could after all. She would help Sakura find her own peace too.


Sakura stood and just looked at Shukaku, debating whenever or not she should trust the tail beast. He had no reason to lie, she concluded. She nodded her head at him "What the hell shall I tell the others?"

The sand monster simply smiled at her and Sakura was reminded of a feline right before it struck its prey. He didn't say anything, but the next moment the sand began to move and before Sakura knew it she stood in the Kazakage's office. She blinked a couple of times before she looked into Gaara's sea green eyes that were filled with worry for her. She hugged him, she warned him "Don't you dare leave me alone with that stupid beast ever again".

She looked over his shoulder and saw the Hokages with someone else. It wasn't until he came out for the shadow that Sakura felt her whole body freeze in shock. There right before her stood the third Kazakage, he looked even meaner in person.

When their eyes met, both narrowed their eyes even more. Sakura couldn't help but compare them with Sasuke's eyes, both were so cold and dark. "Girl, we have met before, no?"

"How did you know, you were dead?" Sakura asked quickly letting go of Gaara, but still standing closer to him than most dared. He didn't seem to mind her much either.

"In order to use my metal Jutsu he needed to keep some of my soul in the wood body," He said casually like it was a daily thing to be turned into a puppet. She narrowed her eyes even more.

"How much do you remember?" Sakura asked eying him carefully now, it was the same way she had watched Sasuke last time she saw him.

"Other than you destroying the whole carve and smashing my body with just your hands hardly using Chakra?"

"Or the fact that he stabbed you, and you simply grabbed that sword and ripped it from your body while it healed without you touching you?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. Out the corner she saw Gaara freeze, she had never told him what he didn't need to know.

"Or the fact that you ended up getting Sasori's interested? He even offered to take you in as an apprentice, even told you some of the ways to make his poison... He became attached to you and when you killed him, he felt a great among of pride." He said, and this time it was Sakura who was frozen to the place, she had never told anyone that he had offered her apprenticeship, ever.

"Fight me" It was an order, he wasn't really asking her. She knew that if she didn't want to fight, Gaara would not allow him to fight her.

"Tomorrow," Sakura said nodding at him. She could use someone to attack and get her frustration out on. If he volunteered to be her pushing bag, who was she to deny him? She was moving towards the door when Gaara spoke once more.

"Sakura what did Shukaku want?" he asked and Sakura cursed her rotten luck. She had hoped he had forgotten.