Hi. Ive brought you guys the next chapter!

Sorry for the wait.

Naruto is not mine blah blah blah...

With her terrible sleep she got up from the bed. She found no use laying there when her headache wouldn't let her rest. She stared at the gray haired man sleeping beside her. His sitting position looked uncomfortable, but she didn't dare move him. She knew that if she woke him up right now, he wouldn't go back to sleep. He was just that type of person.

Her eyes lingered on him. All she could visualize was how horrible her behavior was that night. He had stayed there with her, calming her nightmares away as she yelled and beat him; degrading his sleep. As terrible as she felt toward her actions, she was also glad that someone had stayed beside her. She hadn't felt like this since the night she had stayed over Yamato's place. All the other sleepless nights she would awaken and never find sleep again, fearing that the man taunting her dreams would haunt her again.

She quietly got up and headed to the bathroom. Once she finished with her hygiene she went to her small kitchen. Her refrigerator was basically empty, but with the little she had she managed to make something up for the both of them.

A couple of minutes later and Kakashi was fully awake. Sakura heard him walk toward her as she set up the plates for breakfast.

"Why didn't you keep sleeping?"

Yawning he replied, "I wasn't tired anymore."

She knew it was an obvious lie, but nothing could be done. Arguing would get her no where so she gave him instructions of where she left the extra toothbrushes. Soon he was back in the kitchen, ready to take a seat and eat.

They sat silently eating. This made such an awkward distance between them, or so Sakura thought. She could not tell what was on Kakashi's mind, but seeing as he ate like everything was just dandy, she thought it was just her over thinking things. Her thoughts flew to that awkward moment of the night before. Again, something she was very thankful for, but her embarrassment overshadowed that.

She couldn't get over the repetitive beatings she had given him the night before. In that moment she had lost control of her chakra and hit him repeatedly, in what she thought was self defense. She knew that there must be bruises underneath his clothes. She felt so ashamed. The thought of not letting him sleep as she cried out only made her want to face palm herself.

She wondered how many hours he had slept. Five? Four? Ugh, she felt like a terrible person.

"Thanks Sakura." The masked man in front of her said, setting his chopsticks down. His plate completely clean.

With all her thoughts still roaming in her head, she blushed in embarrassment at his gratitude. It should be her saying thank you.

Her gain of color did not go unaware by the Copy-nin. It made him smile in the inside. She still held the innocence he feared she had lost.

"No, thank you." She said bashful.

She was still innocent. He mentally thanked kami for that.

"Your welcome?" He replied back, pretending not to understand.

Her eyes lifted up to see him. "I'm serious. Thank you for staying with me and for listening to me."

Crap! Now she recalled everything from last night. How had it slipped her mind? But now that she remembered she couldn't drive her thoughts away.

Shit, Tsunade's "training!" Another thing she had forgotten. Great, what else was she going to forget!?

Sakura cursed herself for the unlikable turn of events. What was she going to do!? She knew that she would not, by any chance, give up living the lifestyle she knew, the one that she loved. She also knew, however, that the condition she had to meet was not one she was willing to take.

Kakashi stared at her concerned about her furrowed eyebrows. Was there something else he didn't know?

"Are you finished with breakfast?" The Copy-nin asked, distracting her from her previous thoughts.

Sakura turned to him then her plate. She was finished. She nodded her head in response. Kakashi quickly stood from his seat grabbing their plates. The rossette protested stating that she was the hostess and he her guest. Kakashi continued walking toward the kitchen as if she had said nothing.

She was persistent, however, claiming it unethical for a guest to do such things. Kakashi, smart as he was, had a comeback, "After last night I can basically call this my second home."

Her cheeks turned pink as she understood his teasing words. "Kakashi!" She said trying to regain her composer, but failing. At that moment he knew he had won.

"Why don't you go take a shower. After last night I think you'll need it." His words came out as orders. There was no room for argument as he said, "Drinking excessively can lead to many health problems, but you don't need me to explain them, right? "

He had seen her drunk. He would never let this go.

Sakura became annoyed with his mocking tone. She closed her mouth tight, glaring at him as she stomped away to the bathroom. Her sympathy for her sensei left; she now hoped that she had given him a good beating.

A healthy run in the morning always gave more youth to a person no matter what the age. Gai believed this whole heartedly, so every morning at five he woke up to do as many laps as he could before the village had fully awaken. His jogs were usually silent with the birds chirping as they began the new day and the squirrels running to get food before the villagers awoke and disturbed them.

Everything seemed liked usual. Until he spotted a blur of brown and blue on one of the trees near the training grounds. His curiosity took over and his legs lead him to the tree with the mysterious blur. To his surprise he saw Yamato sitting on one of the thick sturdy branches.

He greeted him with what he called a youthful smile. Yamato hadn't sensed his presence as he turned to him surprised at the new voice.

"Got up in your thoughts?" Gai asked.

Yamato nodded his answer, still seeming to be in his own little world.

Unlike other Shinobi who preferred to worry about themselves and let others fend for themselves, Gai believed that the youth should help each other when the time came. He felt this was a call for his youthfulness to come out and show itself to the man before him.

With great pride for what he was going to do for the youthful man before him he said, "Sometimes the best way to settle your problems is to let it out."

Yamato held back all his previous thoughts to look at the green spandex man below. Speculative and doubtful he asked, "I don't understand."

With the same enthusiasm he had spoken with before he answered, "Its best to tell someone whats on your mind."

Should he just tell Gai everything? Yamato knew Gai was a good person and had no ill feelings toward the man. The only reason for his hesitation was his closeness to Kakashi. If he decided to adhere to his helpfulness would it come and bite him later. He knew it was a ridiculous notion. This was Gai, a good hearted person, only looking to help those in need.

In need? Did he really need help? He could lie to himself and say no, but what would be the point in that. He would go back to the same trouble without a resolution. His only light seemed to be Gai.

With a heavy sigh he came to an answer. "It's about a woman."

Gai inwardly smiled, glad that his aid wouldn't go to waste. "Love trouble. I can understand your problem. Love always brings trouble. "

Sakura, Gai presumed. The same problem that taunted his dear rival. He would make sure not to mention about his and Kakashi's discussion. He wanted to hear Yamato 's point of view.

"That's not the only problem."

Pretending to be oblivious to the situation he asked innocently, "What do you mean?"

Something didn't fit well with the way Gai asked his question. For a second, doubt crossed Yamato's mind. Was it really a good idea to rely on Gai? He stared at the bushy haired man before him. There was hesitation inside of him, but more than that was the need to let everything out.

He began retelling the story leaving certain names out. He was amazed at how calm and collected his words came out. He did not turn to look at Gai, but waited until his last word to turn to the man that he felt would help him.

Gai recognized that Yamato only blamed himself for Sakura's misfortune. Kakashi's response toward the mission only caused more pain toward Yamato. He knew that his rival was being more than complicated. Kakashi was a reasonable man, but when he did become unreasonable there was no way to bring him back to reason. The man became incompetent to understand any situation.

"This man that you seem to have a problem with...how was your relationship prior to the incident?"

"We were able to communicate freely," Yamato answered, then added, "he was the first person I met. My first friend."

Gai truly felt sorry. Although their relationship might be redeemed after both of them solved their problems, the fact that they loved the same woman still remained.

"Problems between good friends can always be fixed. All you have to do is not give up." That was the only plausible advise he could give Yamato, but it meant sacrifice.

"I understand your relationship with your friend is important, but how about the girl? Do you want it to stay as it has been?"

Yamato stumbled in his words. What could he say? I don't deserve more than what I already have and I don't want to ruin the relationship we already have. He knew he wanted more with Sakura, but how far would she let him go?

"I just want her to be happy." Gai's gaze lowered, admiring his way of thinking, but understanding that it hurt him to think she wouldn't be happy with him.

"Even if she's not with you." It wasn't a question, but Yamato felt that he needed to reply.

"She deserves to be happy, even if she is not with me." He gave a faint smile that showed he was being truthful and evoked the pain that stirred with the comment.

"So what are you going to do?"

Yamato turned to stare at the distant trees in front of him as if relying for them to give him an answer. After a short moment he replied, "I'm going to find her happiness, where ever it is."

"And where would your happiness be?"

There was no reply. He couldn't say he would be thrilled when her happiness was found. Inside he dreaded that her eyes would be directed to another. He couldn't say confidently that he would be happy when she was in the arms of another man. He didn't know what he expected at the end.

"It's wonderful to want others to be happy. But one can't forget their own happiness."

"You can't tell me that when my happiness depends on someone else. If she doesn't love me, what am I supposed to do!?" His words came out of frustration. He was truly facing his dilemma. This was the pain he felt every day, pain he was never able to say aloud.

"I cannot tell you what she will choose in the future. I will tell you that if you want things to look brighter for you, you have to step up and take action. Find your happiness and stop waiting for life to give it to you."

Gai's words were like a slap in the face. He knew that things didn't change without action, he knew that well. There was just a fear in him. What if he did do something, would it lead anywhere? Would she recognize him as a potential lover? Would her wounds be opened again? She had affirmed to him that she didn't want the past to keep them distant, but he still had trouble. He was scared that with one wrong move, he would lose her for good.

Gai gave the last push he could think of. "Fear is a powerful thing that can control your life, but it shouldn't. What if tomorrow you come to realize that you want to have a chance with her, but by the you might be too late. Can you live with the thought that this insane fear is the cause of losing your chance to happiness? "

With nothing more to add Gai left. He only hoped that his fellow companion could take his advice and do what would make him happy.

There was nothing for him to do that day. Any other day he would lock himself in his apartment and read his beloved books. Today, however, he had Sakura beside him. He wouldn't let this pass by. There was nothing in particular to do for two ninja's who were just going to be together. With nothing in mind they strolled through Konoha reminiscing their long history together. It wasn't the first time they talked about the good old days. It made her much happier when they would laugh at trivial things that he had forgotten.

She seemed to love the moments when Naruto would be prideful and vow that he would get Tora, the wife of the fire Daimyo's cat. At the end he would have several scratches all over his face and ripped clothes. She always had to heal him afterwards while holding her laughter.

He could remember those days. Those times were simpler. Sasuke was still with them and still treating them as companions. Kakashi had always believed that the boy would stay with that new bonds he created, but as it turns out his desire for revenge was much greater. He recalled how hard Naruto and Sakura took it. Naruto was able to change his lost to determination and managed to pass it on to Sakura. Sakura was more realistic, however, and she knew that Sasuke would not come home no matter what she and Naruto did. From then on she lost the young girl love she had once held so strongly. It was not surprising that news came of Sasuke 's death. The curse of the sharigan was to overpowering for the young boy. It was presumed that Sakura would have been an emotional wreck, but at that time she was the only one to keep Naruto stable.

He remembered how surprised he was at her strength then. She held herself and Naruto up through those dark times. As he looked at her now he could still see her strength.

"Our training ground." Kakashi turned to the same direction she was looking at and realized that she was right. Their feet had landed them to the place where they had first trained.

"Feels like ages since I've been here." He voices without realizing it.

"Me too." Her eyes soften at the view before her. This is where her journey as a ninja started. At that time she didn't know she would have two teammates who would mean the world to her, or a teacher who would become a dear friend. Now as she looked upon it she could recall her struggle to the woman she is today. All that she worked for was not in vain. She could hold her own and now that she could be victorious. She was no longer the young naive scared girl she used to be. This sense of pride made her smile.

"You've changed so much since the first time I met you. " She turned to her sensei in awe of his words. She shouldn't have been, though. She knew that he had acknowledged her worth a long time ago. "Sorry."

Her focus flickered back to him in confusion. He made a small embarrassed laugh, "I know how strong you are both physically and mentally. Back then though, I didn't. ..."

She stared at him wide eyed. Inside she always knew that he had been different with her, but never thought he would say it to her or apologize.

"Don't worry, you had a lot on you plate." There was a time that she had felt useless in his eyes. She knew better now. Her lips turned to a smile, "Now I'm just glad we have each other."

"Me too." His eyes conveying the smile he hid.

They continue to gaze at the scenery. It gave them a sense of ease and calmness. Sakura promised that she would do this again. This would be a part of her life that no one would take away. Not even the fear that was controlling her. She would learn to tame it because her fear of losing what meant most to her didn't compare to the dread she felt inside.

With her decision made she said her goodbyes to Kakashi and headed straight to the Hokage tower.

That's it for now. I hope you guys like the story so far. Hopefully ill have the next chapter posted up soon. Reviews are helpful btw.

Thanks for reading

-Zero =)