"Screw this"The Hokage grumbled as she thrust the piles of paper work across her desk.It had nearly been one week since Sasuke decided to settle temporarily. That is 10080 minutes that Uchiha Sasuke had invaded Sakura's brain. Her concern for that man had sidetracked her. However, the two rarely came upon each other. Well, Sakura frequently reminded her self not to wish to see him, so she simply avoided him.

There were moments where she considered starting a conversation, but it would probably lead to insults, which would lead to arguments. That was such a long time ago. They were just kids. But Sasuke did imply every single insult directly.

You are weak

Run. Go back to Konoha…

How sweet… but he didn't know her. She didn't know him too well either. If she knew him, then she would know exactly why he returned to Konoha.

Maybe he's here to revive his clan again… oh wait.

'The Uchiha clan is officially extinct.'

..And I can't imagine Sasuke screwing every one of his fan girls. Okay! Okay! Bad thought! Come on...Focus on Hokage stuff...

She peered beyond her windows. What a nice day.. She imagined a gang of youngsters committed to their kunai-throwing practices and other productive activities they would be doing to increase their skills as shinobi.

As her mind fell into profound thoughts, a sudden fist started hammering at the door.

Knock-knock

Knock-knock

Knock-knock

"Come in" she approved permission

It was Ino. "Hey Sakura" Ino greeted. Instead, Sakura's eyes focused on her paperwork. "What is it Ino?" she asked without looking up.

Ino paused a second. "Uh—are you aware that Uchiha Sasuke has been lurking in Konohagakure for the past week?" she asked

Sakura finally looked up and sighed "Yes. I'm quite aware of that" she answered "Is there a problem?"

Ino suddenly felt stupid for asking Hokage Sakura such a question. "No there's no problem.." she assured. "So, why'd you do it? Let him stay, I mean" Sakura glanced at her with a furtive look. "That is classified information" she explained "besides; he'll only be staying for a month"

"I'm just confused is all" Ino admitted "He comes to the flower shop every day and buys the same freakin flower but he never says anything about it. It's kinda like the old times you know. No matter how much you try to lure Sasuke, he'll never bite"

Sakura abruptly switched to 'normal' Sakura mode. "Shame on you, Ino!" Sakura teased "Shikamaru would be devastated if he found out you were trying to flirting with Sasuke…just like old times"

It was fairly obvious that Shikamaru and Ino were more than friends. Whenever Shikamaru mentions Temari or spend time with her, Ino is put to a blind rage. And whenever Ino shows her intense admire for Sai, Shikamaru becomes grouchy for the day.

"Hey, I got over him" announced proudly "Didn't you?"

No.

. "Of course" she replied nervously "It was such a long time ago and he was..."

Her tone was very unpersuasive. Everything about her at that exact same moment told Ino that her best friend was still in love with Sasuke. That look into her deceiving eyes convinced Ino that Sakura cared for Sasuke very much. She was still holding on to him after all he's done.

"Oh-my-god." Ino sputtered shockingly. "After all these years...you still love him..."

Sakura's face didn't move, but she nodded. Ino stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Sakura. She required as much support from anyone right now.

As Ino embraced her, Sakura suddenly whispered to her. "I do. I still love him. I love him so much. I don't wanna lose him..."

Once again, she felt her self getting weaker by the second as her realization grew clearer.

Sasuke remembered every detail of the battle as well. He remembered how it started, how it happened, and how it ended. He also remembered reflecting the battle as it ended. He knew damn right that his goal in life was a success. He remembered watching Sakura cry and watching her walk back home alone. He knew as she walked off—without Naruto's body, that she was in a whole other dimension. It was the cold, lonely, and empty dimension where happiness was unknown.

As she completely vanished minutes later, it had happened. Sasuke was the only one to witness what really occurred.

Sasuke analyzed Naruto's body. He detected that his hands were the first to budge.

Impossible! He thought as he spotted his hand move more. Is Naruto still alive? That means Sakura left too quickly ...and it was his entire mistake. Sasuke grew traumatized but never indicated it as Naruto's eyes unwrapped themselves. Sasuke could imply that he was still very defeated and couldn't stand up. He didn't look straightforwardly at Sasuke as he was laying on the filthy ground. The rain continued to pour on his and Sasuke's face.

"Naruto…" Sasuke muttered nervously

Still flat on the ground, Naruto turned his head towards Sasuke. The young kyuubi kid stared at him without a heart. "Is..is that my name?" he asked feebly. Naruto looked at himself. He was filled with blood. "Why..why am I so bloody and hurt?"

Sasuke didn't know how to answer. "You are Uzumaki Naruto….you were involved in this battle" he stuttered

"W..what happened?" Naruto tried asking as more blood poured straight out his mouth. "I just...I can't... remember a thing at this moment..and..who are you?"

"Right now" Sasuke started to explain "You need to get to the closest hospital within reach. It's kind of a miracle that you're still alive"

Well, well. Looks like you saved him after all, Sakura. Except..he's got a mean case of amnesia. Sasuke wondered exactly how powerful Sakura's medic powers were.

"Who saved me?" he questioned as he weakly arose. "Was it you?"

"…." Sasuke paused "We'll talk about that later" Sasuke promised as he let his closest friend fling his arm around him for support. Naruto, alongside Sasuke, walked faintly and continued to stumble little by little….until they would eventually reach a hospital. Along the way, they did not speak.

A/N

Man, it feels so good to update. Naruto's alive! (SURPRISE!) We will defenietly get back to him..next chapter. Like I said, the bits of pieces will gradually come together in each chapter. EVERYTHING will make sense in the ending. I also wanted to thank the reviewers for reviewing on my b-day. It's not my b-day today, but let's act like it is and review some more!