Title: Sakura's Home
Author: Winter Ashby (rosweldrmr)
Disclaimer: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto-sama. I don't own anything about Naruto, this is just for fun and if I did own Naruto I wouldn't have to right this, because I would have a team of very talented people turning this into a saga right now...
Rating: K+
Warning: this not only has spoilers until Manga 270ish, but it's kind of required for you to know what's going on. I use a lot of the Gaara mission, just made it AUish.
Summary: Sakura was kicked out of Konoha five years ago but now has been asked to return… She will meet old friends and be faced with the consequences of her actions. Future AU Sakura centric. No pairings, and you need to be up to date in the manga and series.
Authors Notes: Sorry about the confusion with the last chapter, hopefully this will answer those questions and bring about a whole set of new ones.

Chapter 18 – Severed

Kakashi opened his eyes. The sunlight that came through the opened window was obscured by someone. Kakashi winced and made a grunting noise.

"Kaka-sensei," Naruto spoke quietly as he took his place on the tiny bed, next to Kakashi. "You're back!" He announced enthusiastically and looked to Shizune for confirmation.

Shizune nodded and checked some of the IV's that were hooked to Kakashi's arms and legs. "I'm glad to see you're awake Kakashi-sempai." She smiled and began to remove some of the tubes. He nodded in her direction, but didn't speak.

Kakashi looked around the room. Ino and Chouji were sitting at the far end of the room, their heads bowed, speaking quietly. Neji was standing over Kakashi's couch. He was looking down at Sakura's body.

Naruto smiled broadly and tentatively gave Kakashi a pat on the arm. "It's good to have you back." His fox-whiskered-cheeks bulged as he smiled even brighter. It was Naruto's way of saying Thank you to Kakashi for all that he did.

Kakashi couldn't speak yet, so he made another noise that was a cross between and grunt and a throat-clearing. Naruto didn't seem to mind that he could speak. He was happy all the same.

"Can you remember anything that happened?" Shizune leaned over her clipboard, a pen in hand and waited to see if he would speak.

Kakashi cleared his throat, and winced. His muscles were weak and frail. "I…" his voice was raspy and dry. "I don't remember…" he glanced around at the room again, his face falling as he did so. "What happened?" he croaked before his voice gave way into a fit of coughing.

Shizune shooed Naruto up so she could help Kakashi sit. She gave him something green to drink and waited for him to swallow. "You used you Mangekyou Sharingan against Itachi." She reminded him gently, her hand resting on his back. "You've been caught in another dimension for almost a month."

Kakashi's face was stone behind his mask. He didn't act as if he recalled or was surprised by what she said. "I see."

"Sakura saved you!" Naruto chimed in, practically giddy with joy. He was unable to hold back anymore.

"Sakura?" Kakashi asked, his face falling for the first time.

"I called her back to the village, and Tsunade-obaa-cha let her heal you." He bounded over to where her body lay, under Neji's strict supervision.

"How?" Kakashi asked as he tried to sit up.

"With my help." Ino spoke up for the first time. She stood, and Chouji held her hand. "I transferred her consciousness into your mind. She said she had to balance your Chakra."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he caught the sideways glance Ino gave in Naruto's direction. "And whose idea was that?" Kakashi sounded dangerous.

"Sakura's." Naruto supplied happily as he began to make his way over to the couch where Sakura lay.

"Naruto, no!" Kakashi warned him as Sakura's body lay helpless and unconscious.

Naruto turned. His eyes wide with surprise, Kakashi's voice had been so hard, and menacing. "Kaka-sensei, what…?" Naruto asked, still stunned in place.

Kakashi's hands balled into fists and he shot Shizune a menacing look. "You knew?" She didn't speak, but nodded slightly as she looked over the papers in her hands. "Ino, Chouji?" He let the question hang in the air. He didn't even bother to ask Neji, even if he hadn't known, with Byakugan, he could see it.

"Know what?" Naruto asked, his eyes flashing from one person in the room to the next, looking desperately for answers.

No one answered, but Kakashi still shook with rage as he fumblingly stood from a month in bed. His legs were wobbly and he teetered, but Shizune didn't dare reach out to steady him. "Neji, what's the situation?" His velvety voice was even and calm, despite the wild look in his eyes.

Neji made a few, swift hand seals and activated his white eyes. They peered into Kakashi and then back at Sakura. He shook his head. "Her consciousness is still intact, but the connection is growing weaker."

"Connection?" Naruto still stood in the middle of the room, still trying to understand. "What's going on? What's wrong with Sakura!?" Naruto's angry eyes turned on Ino and Chouji.

"Sakura knew what would happen." Chouji spoke up from behind Ino, but he wouldn't look at Naruto.

"And what does that mean?" Naruto's wrath came crashing down around them. His eyes slimmed and he sparked a flare of chakra into the room that made everyone's spine curl.

"She's not coming back, Naruto." Ino spoke quietly, near tears herself. "But, she told me to tell you that's she's sorry." And then the tears came, rolling thick and heavy down her cheeks. She stepped towards Naruto, her hand outstretched. "She said she's sorry she couldn't love you."

Naruto choked and his watery eyes burst with tears as well, hot and angry. His cheeks were red and he furiously wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. "No." He shook his head, dislodging the tears and sending them crashing to the floor. "No, no!" He bellowed and backed away from Ino.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but she's not coming back." Ino still tried to soothe him, without success.

"The hell she is!" Kakashi's voice rang out and Ino snapped her head around to look at him.

"She wanted me to tell you that you didn't lose her–"

"Don't!" Kakashi held up a hand, warning Ino not to finish. "Just don't."

Ino just shook her head and sobbed openly. "I'm sorry." She took one last look at Sakura's body, lying on the couch, and ran for the door. Chouji was only a half a step behind her.

As Chouji held the door to leave, he glanced back. "It was a Class-S mission from Tsunade. She had to." His eyes were soft as they glanced from Naruto to Kakashi, begging for understanding. "She didn't want to." And then, he was gone too. The door hung in the air for a moment, before it swung shut with a loud, echoing thud.

Shizune refused to look up as she too shuffled from the room bowing and ducking through the door.

Naruto let out a long, billowing cry and barreled through the room to Sakura's side. But Neji didn't move. He still watched her with his Byakugan. Naruto pushed him violently out of the way. "Just get out!" He reached down and ran a hand over her check, softly. Her pink hair lay against the old, tattered fabric of the couch. She was pale and smooth. And Naruto almost cracked in half with the grief of never getting to touch her like this before.

"No." Neji finally looked at him. His arms were crossed over his chest and refused to leave.

"Why are you still here?" Kakashi bit through gritted teeth.

"Sakura asked me to watch over her body during the process." He answered calmly.

"Well, the process is over now, so you can leave. Unless you're planning to kill her again, for the honor of your clan, perhaps?" Kakashi spoke with chilling hate as he placed his own, frail, weak body between Neji and Sakura. "Get out of my home."

"She's suffered enough." Naruto begged, holding her hand and weeping.

"I'm inclined to agree with you." Neji added, leaning against the wall of the small apartment.

"What?" Kakashi asked, stunned.

"I think she's repaid her debt, don't you?" Neji quirked an eyebrow at the pair of them.

"I… I don't understand. What do you want?" Naruto asked, skeptically.

"I want to help."

"Why would you want to help?" Naruto half-stood, still clutching her hand in his.

"Because," Neji said, pushing off from the wall, "she's got something that I want back."

Okay, so Kakashi is alive! Yay! But Sakura is still stuck inside his mind, and the connection to her body is fading, which means soon her body will be nothing but an empty shell. But what's this? Neji wants to help??? What does that mean? And what does Sakura have that Neji wants back? Tune in next time to find out.