Look At Us Now

By ValkyrieWarrior

Disclaimer:

Summary: Sasuke is finally coming back and Naruto and Sakura couldn't be happier. But, something feels terribly off, will Naruto be able to figure it out before it's too late for those he holds dear. Narusaku, Shikainosai, others if you catch the little hints.

As always, I am deeply grateful for those who reviewed and took the time to read my story. Thank you so much.

I also want to thank templar132. Without you, this story would be filled with errors. I also want to thank you for giving me some ideas, it really helps.

And I don't know what they eat in Japan for breakfast, so I used American foods.

That's it for AN's...

The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah...

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Previously

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'What was that?' He was still breathing heavily. 'Was everything that just happened all dream?' He asked no one in particular.

He released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

'It was just a dream.'

Naruto walked back to his bed and lied down. He concentrated on getting back to sleep and soon he was dozing off.

'Only a dream.' He thought.

"Sorry, my friend."

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Chapter 6: Intentions Revealed.

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"Hey Sakura." Sasuke ran up to the girl.

Sakura was walking down the sidewalk, heading to her boyfriend's house. "Oh, hey there Sasuke." She turned around to see him catching up with her.

"So, how have you been?" She asked him.

"I can't say that I'm doing great, but things are starting to look up."

Sakura nodded along as she smiled at his reply. "Hey, you want to go get some breakfast?" Sasuke suddenly offered her.

Sakura would have gone with him, but she was already going to spend breakfast with someone else. "Sorry, Sasuke, but I'm already going to get food with Naruto."

Sasuke's face was expressionless, but deep inside he wanted her to go with him. "Okay."

Then an idea popped up in Sakura's head, "Hey, why don't you come and join us?"

He was a little surprised by her invite, but glad nonetheless.

"Yeah, you should come, it will be just like old times." Sakura wanted to bond with him again, after not seeing him for nearly ten years. She thought that having Sasuke there would be good for their team. It would be a great time for the three of them to just talk.

"I shouldn't." Sasuke said modestly, but secretly he just wanted to look good to her.

"No, you should come." Sakura argued.

"Pleeeeasse?" She pleaded as she pouted her lips and curled her eye brows.

Sasuke smiled, achieving what he had hoped for her to do. "Okay, but only because you want me to."

"Alright." Sakura beamed. The two set off for Naruto's.

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'Do you think it meant something?'

"I think it does, but I don't know what though." The Kyuubi answered his question.

Naruto was still lying down on his bed as he thought about the nightmare.

'It felt so real though.' He added. 'I could feel her soft skin and I swear I smelt her scent.'

"It could have been more than just a dream."

'What do you mean?' Naruto asked him. He was starting to get terrified, because the more he remembered it, the more real it felt.

"Well, maybe a premonition, perhaps." The fox was smart when it came to these sort of things.

'You mean like a warning about the future.'

"Precisely."

Naruto contemplated the idea. It would make sense, after all, it was a vision. Sakura isn't dead. Naruto had made sure to call her that morning to make sure she was okay.

He got up and pulled his shirt up. 'No scar.' He remembered the thin scar that had marked his side in the dream. Nothing about the dream was true, not yet at least.

'So, you think it's a message?' Naruto asked Kyuubi.

"It could be, or it could have been just a nightmare. Either way, we don't know for sure." The Kyuubi informed him.

'Well, how could we find out?' He asked him, intently waiting for a reply.

"Hhmmm." Kyuubi thought for a while. "Well, you could either talk to Sakura about it and see what she thinks, or maybe Tsunade."

'I can't talk to Sakura about it, it scares me too much.' Naruto told him. He didn't want Sakura knowing that, just even thinking about it and looking at her at the same time would be hard enough.

'Tsunade-obachan could probably help me out.' He considered the option. 'Do you have any other ideas?'

"You could always wait it out and see what happens." Kyuubi offered as a last resort.

'What? That's a terrible idea!' Naruto yelled in his head.

'Tsunade it is.' Naruto decided that he would just talk to the Hokage about it.

Naruto stopped his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door.

"Hey Naruto." He heard Sakura's voice from the other side of the door.

Naruto completely forgot everything he was just thinking about just by hearing her voice. Just her voice alone made him feel so much better. Naruto was smiling as he got up to open the door.

"Hey, Sakura-chan how are-" Naruto immediately stops talking after he sees Sasuke.

It's not like Naruto is mad that Sasuke was here, he just wasn't use to seeing him at his apartment, and with Sakura no less. Sasuke would never come to Naruto's apartment unless it was important.

"Dobe."

That one word Sasuke always called him, he didn't know why, but it made him feel better. Suddenly, Naruto felt that everything would be okay, that he had nothing to worry about. That for once everything is finally back to the way it used to be.

"Teme! Why are you even here?!" Naruto yelled back. He wasn't mad, the words just came out.

"Sakura invited me, loser!" Sasuke quickly fired back.

"LOSER! Why you..." Naruto extended his arms, getting ready to strangle his long lost rival.

Sakura stood between the two raging friends as she thought to herself that they would never grow up.

'I guess some things never change.' She thought to herself as she shook her head.

"Alright cut it out you two." She tried to break it off.

"He started it!" Naruto accusingly pointed a finger at Sasuke.

"You made it worse." Sasuke said matter-of-factly.

"I honestly don't care." Sakura added in before crossing her arms.

Naruto and Sasuke looked away from each other as they both let out a 'humph.' Naruto knew he wasn't mad at his friend. This was just the way team seven functioned. Naruto would do something, nine times out of ten it was something stupid, and then Sasuke would compliment his stupidity. In turn, Naruto would retort back with something, provoking Sakura to come in and break things off before it got too nasty. This was team seven's endless battle.

Naruto's grin came back.

Deep within him he had missed this. Just the three of them doing what they usually did. He missed Sasuke, the friend he viewed as his rival and his brother.

"Now, both of you stop and behave," Sakura started, being the most reasonable among the three, "otherwise, I will put you both in the hospital."

Both youth's eye twitched and they gulped.

"Yes ma'am." They said in unison.

Sakura smiled, "Good. Now, what do you guys want to eat for breakfast?"

Naruto opened his mouth to speak,

"No ramen!" but Sakura already knew what he was going to say before he could say it.

'MAN!' Naruto's facial demeanor seemed to die a little.

'Idiot.' Sasuke thought. He would probably never admit this, but he had missed this as well.

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"I don't know what you're talking about, Ino." Chouji replied as he munched on his endless supply of chips.

"Don't play dumb," she said, "you know exactly what I mean."

The two were in a restaurant, apparently eating breakfast as they sat there yelling at each other.

"Now spill it!" Ino wanted to know what was bothering Shikamaru, and who better to ask than Chouji.

"Ino, as much as I want to help you in your little investigation," he takes an intake of air, "I can't."

"And why not?" She half asked half yelled. Ino was beginning to get frustrated of just going around in circles, never getting to what she wanted, whatever that was.

Chouji stopped eating for a second. "There are rules in life you just can't break, bonds you must keep, and lives that one must protect."

"What are you talking about?"

"Friendship and life in all its glory."

See, Chouji didn't want to betray Shikamaru by talking about him behind his back. He had to respect Shikamaru's decision for keeping things the way they were. And most importantly, Shikamaru would kill him, bring him back to life, and then kill him again if he talked. So, Chouji decided it was best he kept quiet.

Ino looked like she was about to explode, but she calmed herself.

"Alright, well there are no rules, so you're not really breaking any of them." Ino tried to reason. "Also, Shikamaru doesn't have to know."

He thought about it for a moment. Sure Shikamaru wouldn't know, for now. But he will once Ino does something about it, like avoiding him, then Shikamaru would definitely kill him. However, if he did tell her, she might react positively and ultimately make Shikamaru happy, but then again she might not. Chouji could say it, but...

"In all seriousness Ino," Ino leaned in closer to hear what he had to say, "whatever it is that's bothering him, it's just not my place to tell." He tried to make her understand.

"I mean, would you like it if I go around telling people something about you?" Chouji continued.

Finally, something seemed to hit Ino.

"I guess you're right." Ino looked down, feeling guilty that Choiji was right. It wasn't' her place to ask him something he shouldn't share with other people.

"Oh, hey there Ino."

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"Almost done." A man was standing in the middle of the room. It was dark and ominous. There were flasks and beakers everywhere, on the left side of the room was a table full of test tubes and burners on it. From the looks of it, it was once a laboratory for who knows what. There were undistinguishable specimens in the jars lining the wall, a number of bones in one corner, and what seemed to be a skeleton chained to the wall.

Kabuto removed the tube from the flame. He grabbed a jar full of powder and, using a tiny scapula, scooped a small bit of it and poured it into the tube.

"Hehe," he laughed maniacally as he mixed the chemicals in the tube, "this is my best work yet."

He stopped for a minute and put the tube back over the burner. "A chakra activated poison, hahaha, it's genius." He said to himself as he laughed wickedly within the dark chamber.

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Ino looked up at the sound of her name to see Sakura walking into the restaurant, behind her were Naruto and Sasuke. They walked over to Ino's and Chouji's table, where they all sat down.

"Hey guys, getting some breakfast?" Chouji asked from his table.

Before he could get an answer, Naruto was already bombarding the hostess with his orders. "Alright, first of all I want tea. Then ramen, rice, miso, ramen, dango..."

Everyone in the table was staring at him with wide eyes, shocked that he could eat so much.

"And did I mention ramen?" Naruto finally finished. He looks at his friends to see that each and everyone of them were giving him a look, "What?"

Sakura chuckled. "I'll have a hot chocolate and an omelet."

"I'll have the same thing." Sasuke said as he passed a smile across the table to Sakura.

Sakura smiled back at his small gesture. Ino noticed this little exchange between them.

"Hey Sakura, could you come with me to the bathroom."

"Umm, sure."

The two girls get up and headed towards the girls room. The guys were left alone in the room by themselves.

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"Alright, Sakura I want you to tell me something." Ino began as soon as they stepped into the bathroom.

"Not that I know of, why?" Sakura asked, completely oblivious as to what Ino was talking about.

"I saw those smiles that you two passed to each other, so tell me."

"Tell you what Ino? I really don't know what you're talking about." Sakura said honestly.

Ino considered for a moment that Sakura may really not know what she meant, so she decided to get to the point.

"Are you still in love with Sasuke?"

Sakura was taken back by her suddenness, but wasn't really bothered by it. As a matter of fact, she should have guessed that Ino would ask that, although she was a little late.

"No, I don't love Sasuke in the sense of boyfriend and girlfriend anymore."

Ino was shocked by her answer, but glad as well. "Well, that's good. Now at least you know who you really want."

Sakura chuckles a little, "Yeah, I just found out myself about a week ago." Sakura remembered that night she spent with Naruto. That night when she gave him all of her heart.

"Just sucks you had to leave so soon." Inner Sakura decided to add in.

'I couldn't help it, they needed me at the hospital!'

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"Naruto, I'll just walk home with Ino, okay?" Sakura asked her boyfriend as they walked out of the restaurant.

"Oh, okay." Naruto leaned forward to peck Sakura on the lips. He was pulling back, but she pulled him in deeper to make it last longer.

They would have probably stayed there longer kissing each other, but Ino was nice enough to remind them to hurry up.

"I'll see you later?" He asked her.

Sakura gave him a warm smile in return and one last tender kiss before Ino pulled her away. "Bye, I love you." Sakura yelled out as Ino pulled her along.

'I love you even more.' Naruto said within his head.

"Hey, teme, you want to go train?" Naruto turns around to see Sasuke waiting for him.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto jumped up before running towards the training grounds.

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"Maybe he doesn't like Sai very much." Sakura offered as a solution to her friend.

"That could be it, Shikamaru does seem uncomfortable around Sai."

"Speaking of, how are things with Sai?"

Ino looked at her friend. They were currently sitting on Sakura's bed, where a bunch of magazines were scattered across the surface.

"Fine." Ino said.

'Fine, that's it? I thought she would be jumping around yelling how great he is.' Sakura said in her mind.

"Maybe it isn't that great." Inner Sakura came out of nowhere. Sometimes she gets lonely just sitting within her outer self's mind, so she jumps in her thoughts whenever she can.

'Yeah, probably.' And then it hit Sakura. 'Oh, I get it.'

"Get what?" She asked eagerly waiting for the response.

'I think Ino may like Shikamaru, so she's not very happy with Sai.' Sakura discerned.

"It would explain why she has been avoiding Sai lately, and the fact that she's worried about Shikamaru."

'Huh, isn't this interesting.' Sakura said amusedly. 'Should we tell her she likes Shikamaru?'

"Nah, she's bound to find out sooner or later."

"Hey, Sakura, have you been listening to a word I said?" Ino was waving her hand in front of Sakura's face, trying to snap her back to reality.

"Huh? Oh yeah."

Ino raised one of her eyesbrows, telling Sakura that she didn't believe her.

"Aright, I wasn't." Sakura decided that she would be found out anyway, so she might as well admit it. "Hey, at least I just found out something." Sakura offered her sweetly.

"I don't even care." Ino said, trying hard not to show the interest on her face.

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'Damn, he's gotten so much stronger since the last time I fought with him.'

Sasuke avoided a flying shuriken heading straight at him. He was breathing heavily and sweat streamed down his face. He was having hard time keeping up with Naruto.

"Teme, don't tell me you're already tired?" Naruto was trying to stimulate him with rage so he would attack again.

There was no answer.

Naruto looks around the area, hoping to see a glimpse of anything that could be Sasuke. He searched, but there was nothing there. 'He must be hiding from me, trying to get a rest before he attacks.'

Naruto took the time to heal his wounds and clean his shoulder from all the blood.

Then Naruto sensed Sasuke's chakra behind him. Naruto was about to dodge whatever it was he was going to do, but before he could make a move, Sasuke appeared behind him, holding a kunai.

"You shouldn't talk too much, Naruto." Sasuke said as he slithered the sharp blade across Naruto's neck.

There was a poof of smoke and then appeared a shadow clone right beside Sasuke.

'Shit.' Sasuke let go of Naruto as he tried avoiding the other one that just lunged at him. 'He's quicker than I thought.' Sasuke thought to himself as he dodged another shuriken coming his way.

'He can summon a clone that quickly and without me even sensing it.'

Now Sasuke was the one left on the field, searching for his enemy. He heard the bushes rustle on the side, but there was no one there. He looks to the right, but there was nothing there as well. Sasuke looked up and was greeted by Naruto's fist.

Sasuke managed to dodge him, but if he had stayed a second longer, Naruto would have knocked him out for good.

He grabbed another kunai from his holster and threw it at Naruto, who easily blocked it with his own blades.

The two stood there for a moment, panting hard from the workout they were getting.

"I must admit, you have improved so much, Naruto." Sasuke said as he wiped the blood oozing from his cheeks.

"Well, you didn't think I just stayed here in Konoha eating ramen for the last eight years, did you?" Naruto cheekily replied.

Sasuke's lips curved slightly. "I hope not."

The two gathered up the last of their energy as they both rushed at each other.

"Ahhhh!!" They both screamed out while they were running towards each other with their hand clenched in a fist.

Their hands connected to the other's face and they were sent flying in opposite directions.

The two attempted to get up with shaky hands, but fell back down. They were drained from all the fighting.

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"I'm getting tired, I guess I'll go home now, Sakura." Ino said as she yawned.

"Okay, night Ino."

"Good night." She was still yawning as she jumped off the bed and walked out of Sakura's room.

Sakura was left alone in her apartment. It was quiet aside from the clock ticking on the wall. Sakura wasn't tired or sleepy yet.

Sakura heard Ino say goodbye to her mother.

"Let's go see Naruto." Inner Sakura suggested. She was getting bored of just sitting there with nothing to do.

'Alright.'

And with that, Sakura grabbed a coat and jumped out of her window.

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"I'll see you tomorrow then, Sasuke." Naruto said goodbye to his friend before he walked away.

"Yeah."

Sasuke was left standing on the training grounds by himself.

When Naruto was a fair distance away, Sasuke started walking towards his apartment.

'He's gotten better.' Sasuke thought to himself as he strolled on. He reached a little hill with a great view of Konoha during the night. There he stayed for sometime just admiring the village.

He really did miss this place. The one place where he belonged, where his friends were, where he felt safe again.

"I hope you're not getting soft, Sasuke."

Sasuke turned around at the sudden mention of his name.

"I could say the same for you, Kabuto."

Kabuto smiled as he adjusted his glasses onto the bridge of his nose.

"Did you finish it?" Sasuke asked him.

"It's right here." Kabuto pulled out a tiny bottle where a transparent green liquid could be seen. "I worked hard on this, so don't go wasting it."

Sasuke reached for the bottle, but Kabuto pulled it back. "Remember, you can't screw this up."

"I know!" Sasuke snatched the vial from his hand. "So, what does it do?"

Kabuto smirked. "Basically, it's a chakra sensitive poison."

Sasuke thought for a moment. "Fine."

"Now, can I trust you to do this?" Kabuto asked him.

"Why the hell not?"

"Oh nothing really, it's just that," Kabuto walked a little towards Sasuke, "you seem to be rather close to them, that's all. I'm just worried that you would back out."

Sasuke could only look him in the eyes and say, "I can do it."

"Good. Now, I have to go see someone." Kabuto said one last time before vanishing.

Sasuke was once again left alone. He stood there a while longer just thinking about what he just heard and what he had to do. Soon, he too vanished into the night.

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Naruto walked into his apartment, groaning from the long day.

He set his keys down on the coffee table and went to the kitchen to boil water.

'Oh, I forgot to talk to baachan today,' he remembered that he intended to see Tsunade today to talk to her, 'oh, well I'll just see her tomorrow.'

Naruto took out a mug and poured the boiling water in it. He mixed the coffee and sugar and walks toward his living room.

When he got there, he set the cup on the table and took off his ninja-grade sandals.

He placed his feet on the table as he sipped the coffee.

"How are you, Naruto-kun." A voice from within his apartment said.

Naruto jumped up and searched the room for intruders. "Who's there?" Naruto could make out a tall figure hiding in the dark.

"It's been a long time, but don't tell me you've forgotten me already." The man walks into the light.

"Kabuto! What are you doing here?" Naruto was already tense, waiting for anything to come at him.

Kabuto fixed his glasses on his nose again as he stepped forward. "I just want to talk, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked around, trying to find anything he could use as a weapon, "I don't want to talk to you." There was nothing around that he could use. He has already used up all his shurikens and kunai in the battle against Sasuke, and the only thing threatening in the room was the cup of scalding hot coffee.

"You don't have to," he said as he laughed, "I just need you to listen."

"Why should I?" Naruto returned his attention to the traitor in front of him.

"It's about Sakura."

Naruto's eyes widened in fear.

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Sakura was walking down the street, hugging her jacket as she went on. She was heading to Naruto's just to drop by.

"Hey, Sakura, wait up." She turned around to see Sasuke running towards her.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

Sasuke was finally a foot (0.3048 meters for you metric users) or so from her. "I was just walking around, but then I saw you, so I thought that maybe you would like some company."

"Thanks Sasuke."

The two started walking down the street again. "So, where are you headed?"

Sakura turned to him, "I was just going to visit someone, but I guess it's kind of late, huh?"

Sasuke gave another one of his rare smiles, "Just a little."

They were quiet for a while. "Say, would you like to go get something to drink?" Sasuke offered her.

She was a little shocked by his offer, "Ehh, I really shouldn't. Beside it's too late at night."

"None sense, come on, I know a place." Before Sakura could argue some more, Sasuke was already dragging her.

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"You have my attention." Naruto said.

Kabuto's smirked. "Good."

He walked toward the couch and sat down. All Naruto could do was watch him, ready for any attack that Kabuto might try to sneak in. Kabuto took his time surveying the room.

"Nice place."

"What are you doing, talk already!" Naruto was getting impatient and more importantly scared of what he has to say about Sakura.

Kabuto looked him in the eye. "Naruto-kun." Kabuto got up again and walked closer to Naruto.

Naruto was holding back the desire to punch him in the face and send him flying out the window, but he had to hear what Kabuto had to say.

"I'll cut to the chase." Naruto stood still.

"Unfortunately, Naruto, I must tell you that you have to break up with Sakura."

"WHAT?" Naruto was enraged by the statement. What did this guy think he was doing in his apartment telling him to break up with Sakura. Naruto was about to make a move, but then Kabuto began again.

"If you don't want to, then that's fine with me." Kabuto's face and tone became serious. "But, because I'm so nice, I must warn you, you will kill her, Naruto."

The last words he said echoed within his head. He'd heard it before, somewhere he couldn't remember now.

"See, as we talk, a poison is making its way through Sakura's bloodstream." Kabuto began. Naruto stood there, terrified to his core of what he's hearing.

"I have planted cells in her that will cause her to die." Naruto couldn't say anything, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was going by so fast and he felt dizzy standing there. He wanted to sit down, but his body was frozen in shock.

"But, you can save her, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's heart started to pump again after hearing that he could save her. He would do anything, anything to save his Sakura-chan.

"You see, this poison that I put in her is no ordinary poison." Naruto looked at Kabuto. "It can only be activated by chakra. Your chakra, Naruto-kun."

Naruto felt like the ground was going to suddenly open up and swallow him into a dark abyss. He was getting nauseous and his erratic heartbeat made him sweat.

"If you think about it, it's not lethal at all, if you're not around."

Finally, Naruto understood. The poison within Sakura, it would only take effect if his chakra was near. He would only harm her if he was around.

"You want to save her, right? Well, in order to do that, you have to stay away from her."

To save Sakura meant that he had to keep way from her.

"It's up to you Naruto-kun. You could kill her, or you could save her." Kabuto finished. Soon, he was gone, leaving Naruto behind to think about his options.

If he stays with Sakura, she would die because of him. If he left Sakura, he would die inside without her.

"You're choice, Naruto-kun."

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End of Chapter 6

That's it.

Just leave a review telling me anything.

Again, thanks to templar132 for beta reading this.

Bye for now