A/N: Uwah, the internet is down! I can't watch Bleach anymore! Such a shame! I even did my homework early so that I would have more time! Stupid internet!

---

The cloth in Sakura's hand rustled as she moved a bit. She glanced up at the clock. It was time. She folded the dress in half and stood up, making sure all the needles were in the right place.

She locked the door and stepped out into the gentle embrace of spring. The wind played in her hair, making strands fly about her face, teasing her and laughing. Sakura took in a deep breath and enjoyed the wonderful morning.

When she reached the bridge, she found that Sai and Naruto were already there, waiting for her. She quickened her pace into a jog and waved at them.

"Hey! Sorry, I'm late!" she stopped and smiled at them.

Sai and Naruto returned her grin, saying that it was fine. They were there early anyway. This time, Sai and Sakura looked at each other quietly, but didn't say anything. After a few moments of Naruto chattering away to no one in particular, Sai excused himself and left him with Sakura.

"Are we going to the flower shop again today, Sakura-chan?" he asked excitedly as they walked down the warm streets of Konoha.

She shook her head. "No, not yet. The flowers we bought the other day are still fresh."

"Then where?" his blue eyes shone with anticipation for the day.

"Home. You can help me with something," Sakura continued walking.

"Eh? Help? With what, Sakura-chan?"

She laughed a bit. "You'll see."

Naruto kept the silence away with his insistent but comforting talking. Half the time, Sakura wasn't really paying attention, but only nodded or made a small sound of acknowledgement when Naruto asked her something. It didn't take long before they were in front of Sakura's house again.

The pink haired girl sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with my family. Every single time they hear you're coming, it's like they purposefully leave the house or something…" her sentence ended in a carefree laugh.

"Maybe they're just busy?" Naruto asked while getting ready to take off his shoes.

"Maybe," she replied, unlocking the door and entering the quiet house.

"Excuse me for intruding," the blonde said once more as he went inside.

He's so much calmer now. What have Sasuke and Sai been doing to him? She asked herself humouredly.

"Uwah, this is a pretty dress, Sakura-chan! Is it your's?" Sakura heard while she was still removing her shoes. She walked into the living room, where she had folded the dress. Now it was being held up by Naruto.

"Nope. It's supposed to be for Hinata. I'm just not finished with it yet."

"Hinata? You mean that weird, shy girl, Sakura-chan?"

She couldn't help but to laugh at his description of Hinata. "It depends on how you see her," she said. "By the way, Naruto…"

"Hm?" he put down the dress carefully and looked at his friend.

"That's what you're going to be helping me with," she reported.

"Huh? I don't know how to sew though…" Naruto rubbed his head, confused.

She walked over to him and picked up the dress, unfurling it until it shone with the morning's light. It looked quite nice even though it was only half finished. Her hand rested on the lavender silk.

"That's not what I meant," Sakura told him while fiddling with some of the lace. "You're going to be my mannequin."

"Eh, you mean…" his usual smile turned into a pout rather quickly. He crossed his arms and turned his head away rebelliously. "Noo, Sakura-chan! Not even for you!"

"Not even for me? How about… for Hinata?" she tried persuading him to work with her. Even though she could do it without someone wearing it, it was much easier to deal with if there was.

He faltered. "She's nice… But I'm not getting in a dress for her either!"

Sakura brushed away her pink hair from her face. She feigned deep concentration. "Well then, how about Sasuke?" an amused grin flitted in her emerald eyes.

This time he really faltered. He began sputtering and waving his hands around. "For that teme? Why? I wouldn't do anything for him!"

"Why not?" a deep voice made Naruto halt and turn around slowly.

Naruto faintly heard Sakura sigh and say, "Saskue, for once can't you just be normal and come through the door? They're made for that reason, you know…"

"What? What's wrong with coming through the window? It's always open anyway," he said calmly as he leapt into the room and strode over to the other two. He looked at the dress. "This is what you wanted help with?"

Sakura looked at them sheepishly. "Yeah, I really need to finish this by tomorrow. I promised Hinata I'd finish it by then, but I sort of… forgot…" Her face brightened almost immediately as she clapped through the cloth.

Sasuke and Naruto sweatdropped.

---

The Uchiha sighed exasperatedly as he held up a pin cushion in one hand and a variety of thread in the other. His situation wasn't as bad as Naruto's though. On top of a stool he stood, indignantly glaring down at the two of them as they circled him slowly.

Purple silk fell past his knees all the way down to his ankles. Lace was meticulously being added and fixed at the hem of the dress. He couldn't even fold his arms since "that would crumple the fabric and give it wrinkles" so he was reduced to frowning and glaring at the other two.

Miscellaneous ribbons kept getting into Sasuke's face and eyes as he followed Sakura, choosing out the right needle or color of thread whenever requested. His face did not hide his annoyance. His eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was set in a firm frown.

Only Sakura was cheerfully adjusting the dress accordingly. She told them all sorts of gossip, though most of it was useless and neither of the boys were interested. Sometimes she spoke through the needles that she held in her mouth. Her fingers touched the fabric tenderly as she pierced various threads and pieces of lace through. Ribbons were continually being added, much to Sasuke's displeasure.

It seemed to be eternity before Sakura was satisfied. By that time, it was late afternoon. "Okay, Naruto, you can come down now," she told him cheerfully, nearly stabbing Sasuke with a needle as she absentmindedly poked the pin cushion.

Gratefully, Naruto hopped off, muttering, "Finally I can get this thing off…" He began to untie the ribbons when Sakura stopped him.

"Wait. I need to see the overall effect of it. Twirl for me."

"T-Twirl?" his seven year old pride could not support such embarrassment. Especially in front of Sasuke.

"Twirl." The word was said with a 'disagree and I will personally make your life living hell' look and a sweet smile.

Grudgingly, Naruto took in a deep breath and twirled around in false enthusiasm. He stopped as the fabric fanned out around him. He even had the liberty to curtsey a bit and smiled pleasantly at them before scowling and looking disgusted.

"Well, I certainly like it!" she placed a finger on her chin. "Now for some male critique! Sasuke, what did you think of it?"

"… Looks fine…" he muttered, bowing his head and stuffing the pin cushion and array of needles into Sakura's sewing kit. A deep blush was on his face. As soon as Naruto began to twirl, he felt a bit lightheaded.

"Then that's that! I'm done with it. Naruto, you can change back into your clothes now…" Sakura told him.

Naruto yelled enthusiastically since he was finally able to change back.

"I'd better get going," Sasuke murmured, standing up abruptly.

"Wait, Sasuke! It's lunchtime. Why don't you join us? I'll make lunch for us! As thanks for torturing you two like this," she laughed lightheartedly.

He remained silent for a bit. Finally, he nodded.

"Lunch for three it is!"

---

"… You didn't say anything about a picnic, Sakura…" Sasuke said testily as he was being dragged along with Naruto.

"But it's such a nice day! I'm sure everyone's tired from all of that, right?"

"Sakura-chan… Why didn't you invite Sai instead?" Naruto nearly tripped at their speed.

"He said he was busy… I tried getting him with us as well, but he declined…" she stopped suddenly, as if to drown herself in regret for a while. "Well! There's nothing we can do about that!"

"Itai!" the boys exclaimed as Sakura suddenly started racing down the path again.

"This seems like a nice spot, doesn't it, Sasuke, Naruto?" Sakura let go of the boys. Both of them immediately began to shake their hands vigorously. Geez, she sure had some death grip.

"Ah, yes, it does, Sakura-chan. It looks very nice!" Naruto said, smiling through his pain.

"Hn," Sasuke breathed out as he stuffed his throbbing hand into his pockets again. He strolled over to where Sakura was spreading the cloth.

"Here we are! Sandwiches… More than enough to feed you two," she laughed. Her laughter filled the still air like a wind chime in the breeze. It made them all relax.

"Thanks," the boys mechanically said as she gave them their sandwiches.

Sakura gazed at the trees around them. The sun was strong, but not too uncomfortable. From the shade in the tree, they were fine.

There were a few small conversations during their lunch. Most of them were made for Naruto's sake. They were for invoking his slumbering memories, but he only took them as casual chatting between comrades and didn't seem to remember much.

It was getting late before the three of them decided to leave. Sakura took the basket and stood up tiredly. Her face no longer held her earlier cheer. Naruto took one look at her face and his eyes widened.

Why does she look so sad? So… lonely… So desperate… Naruto's eyes rolled back again as he collapsed. He never felt his head impact with the ground though.

--Memory Flashback--

"… If saving Sasuke means working along side with you, then I will…" It was Naruto's voice, but it wasn't filled with childish hopes and yells. It was so serious and ominous. His low voice rang through his ears.

Naruto could see Sai's stunned face before he walked away. Sai stood there, dumbfounded, as if the words Naruto just said were in another language. As if he couldn't understand.

The trees in front of him began to blur as another memory surfaced.

Pink filled his vision. The sounds of sobbing reached his ears before his vision cleared.

Sakura was crying… Why was she crying? How terrible she looked.

"N-Naruto… I couldn't bring him back…" she cried, her voice breaking. "Naruto, if there's someone that can bring him back… It's you… Please, please, bring him back… Bring…" the name that she said buzzed out as his memories interrupted each other again.

The roaring of a waterfall blocked out most of his senses until he could see again. There was a dark form in front of him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto could hear himself scream.

"What do you want… Usurotonkachi?" Sasuke turned around and looked at him. How frightening his face was. Half of it was covered in strange marks, and his left eye was yellow.

This wasn't the Sasuke he knew. He may have been an idiot, stuck up, and a jerk, but this wasn't him. This wasn't Sasuke…

Sasuke…

--End Flashback--

"Sasuke!" Naruto jolted upright, his face wet with cold sweat. His breathing was fast and erratic.

"Naruto, Naruto… Calm down…" Sakura quickly rushed into the room.

The blonde looked around. He was in Sakura's living room again. The couch was underneath him. A blanket was on the floor where it had been roughly kicked off in Naruto's nightmare.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" she asked gently, kneeling over to the edge of the couch, touching his forehead to feel for a fever. There was none.

"Wh... What happened, Sakura-chan? Weren't we… at the…"

"You passed out all of a sudden. Sasuke carried you back… You've been sleeping ever since, but you kept moaning and turning in your sleep. Do you feel alright?"

He nodded uneasily. "I'm fine…"

She stood up uncertainly. "I'll get you a glass of water then…"

What was that? It seemed so real… Did all that stuff really happen to me?