A/N: sorry for the long wait everyone. In return, I'm making this chapter longer than I normally would as repayment for taking so long.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Bring Me To Life

Summary: After Sasuke left, Sakura didn't know what her purpose in life was anymore. Her presence has becoming nothing. When three years pass, Sasuke comes back to Konoha. At his return, Sakura is at a mix of emotions"Save Me From The Nothing I've Become."

Chapter 15 – Decision

The walk towards Tsunade's office was grimly quiet. Sakura kept on glancing at Sasuke, curious as to what the raven-haired ninja was thinking about as she looked at his stoic expression. 'I wonder why Sasuke-kun's so calm about this,' the pink-haired girl thought.

"Sasuke-kun, how can you stay so calm?" Sakura asked him. Sasuke moved his onyx gaze towards her.

"Why shouldn't I be calm?" he asked, no emotion in his voice.

"Well, I don't know…" Sakura said, pondering in her head. "It's just…I don't know. Something's bugging me about this whole thing."

"Hn," Sasuke answered simply. Sakura sighed as they entered the Hokage Mansion. As they approached Tsunade's office, Sasuke noticed his female companion tensing visibly in front of the door. 'What's she so worried about?' he thought, putting the thought to the back of his mind.

"Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura said quietly outside the door.

"Come in," the blonde-haired woman said. Sakura nodded, opening the door and walking inside as Sasuke followed. Tsunade was reading over a mission report, her eyes still glued to the piece of parchment as Sakura and Sasuke came in.

"What is it Sakura?" Tsunade asked. She felt another chakra in the room, a powerful one, but thought that it was only an ANBU ninja that came in to tell her something after Sakura had finished speaking with her. "I'm very busy, so make this quick."

"Right, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura began. "This would go a lot faster if you looked up from what you're reading."

"And why would that be?" Tsunade asked, her almond eyes still on the mission report.

Sakura quietly fidgeted, "Because—"

"Because she wants to show you that I'm still alive," Sasuke pointed out bluntly as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. Tsunade, recognizing the deep male voice, looked up at Sasuke.

"Ah, so you were alive," Tsunade said, her expression blank as she looked at the Uchiha Prodigy. Sakura, confused, cocked her head to the side.

"What? You knew he was alive?"

Tsunade kept her face towards the Uchiha, moving her golden almond eyes towards her apprentice. "I've dealt with cases similar to what Uchiha went through, but there's normally a one out of ten chance that the victim survives. In this case, he was just very lucky."

"Why didn't you tell me this?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow at her mentor.

"I didn't want you to get your hopes up," Tsunade answered. "I didn't want you to think it was a promise thing that he would possibly make it."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, "I wouldn't have thought that." Sasuke, meanwhile, closed his eyes and leaned back further into the wall as Tsunade and Sakura had their discussion. Getting slightly impatient, he spoke up."Can I go now?"

Both Tsunade and Sakura looked at the Sasuke. 'Oh yeah,' Sakura thought, 'I forgot Sasuke-kun was here.' Tsunade leaned back in her chair behind her mahogany desk. "Not so fast there, Uchiha."

Sasuke growled, "Why not?"

Tsunade leaned forward, setting her elbows on her desk and folding her hands in front of her face. "We still need to discuss your punishment for abandoning Konohagakure. You didn't think you'd get away so easily now, did you?"

Sasuke narrowed his onyx eyes, "Punishment? I thought the probation shit was my punishment." Sakura nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, it wasn't," Tsunade retorted. "Your punishment, fortunate for you, cannot be decided by me. I will have to go to the village elders in the morning tomorrow, and until then you still are on probation. Lucky for you, if you weren't an Uchiha, I'm sure you would've been killed right then and there when you set your foot back in this village."

Sasuke scoffed, getting off of the wall he was leaning on and stuffed both of his hands in his pockets. "I'd like to see you try and kill me," he muttered. Tsunade narrowed his eyes.

"Watch your mouth," she warned, "your arrogance could be the downfall of you. I'm not guaranteeing that you'll be forgiven easily, Uchiha. Know that." Then the Godaime turned to her apprentice, "Sakura, make sure he stays in your watch for the rest of the day."

She then turned to both of the shinobi, "Meet me tomorrow at this time sharp, and I will tell you the outcome of the discussion with the Village Elders about Uchiha Sasuke's punishment."

"Understood," Sakura said, looking at Sasuke. "Right Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke merely scowled at the blonde-haired woman in response as Tsunade scowled back at him. 'I wonder why he has bitter emotions to Tsunade-shishou,' Inner Sakura stated plainly.

Sakura turned around on her heel and headed towards the doorway, Sasuke following her after a few seconds. They left the Hokage's Mansion in silence, until Sakura spoke up. "Do you want to go to Kakashi-sensei, Sai, and Naruto and train for the rest of the day?"

"I don't care," Sasuke responded, keeping his onyx gaze straight ahead on the road they walked on.

"Well, I'm going to go, so I'm just going to assume that you'll be joining me." Sakura said. She began heading over to Team Kakashi's training grounds, and sure enough Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai were there. Kakashi had his infamous Icha Icha Paradise out, as Naruto and Sai sparred against each other.

"Take this fight seriously!" Naruto yelled as he threw a kick towards Sai's body, "And stop smiling at me!" Sai's smile turned into a smirk as he dodged Naruto's kick. 'It's way to easy to intimidate Naruto,' Sai thought, moving in to throw a punch at the blond-haired ninja.

"The dobe gets intimidated too easily," Sasuke muttered, watching as Naruto's frustration with Sai's calm composure distracted him from focusing on a battle strategy. Soon Sai had Naruto pinned with a kunai against his neck.

"Good job Sai, intimidating Naruto," Kakashi said, a bored tone in his voice. He looked up from his orange book when he saw Sasuke and Sakura walking towards him.

"Hello there you two," the silver-haired jounin greeted. "How did it go with Tsunade-sama?"

Sasuke merely frowned as Sakura answered. "Well, she wasn't surprised to see Sasuke-kun alive. She's going to a trial for Sasuke-kun's punishment tomorrow, and we have to meet her there tomorrow same time we met her today sharp tomorrow."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Punishment? I thought his probation was his punishment." He closed his prized novel, "Oh well, she is Hokage. She has power in deciding his punishment." The copy nin lazily looked over at the young Uchiha. "Sasuke, why don't you spar with Naruto in the mean time? And Sakura," he looked at the pink-haired girl. "You'll spar with Sai."

Sasuke merely shrugged, walking over to spar with Naruto as Sakura walked over to Sai. "So, old hag, I guess I'm fighting you," Sai said, a fake smile on his face. Sakura rolled her emerald green eyes. 'Old hag?! Why that little—' 'Leave it alone, he's just trying to get to us.' 'Kick his ass for trying!'

The rest of the day continued with the members of Team Kakashi sparring against each other, changing whom they fought every now and then.

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"Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura asked as she and Sasuke stood outside the door. Sasuke stood next to Sakura, silent and hadn't said a word the whole day.

"Come in, Sakura, Uchiha," Tsunade said, her voice calm and her composure collected. The two walked inside quietly. Sakura took a seat upon a chair that sat a few feet away from Tsunade's desk as Sasuke leaned against a wall near the chair Sakura sat in, arms folded across his chest.

Sakura placed both of her hands neatly in her lap as she patiently awaited what Tsunade was to say next. 'I wonder what the Village Elders decided the punishment should be for Sasuke-kun,' she thought to herself. 'Probably no missions for a year or something,' her alter ego answered.

"Sakura, Uchiha, as you know I went to speak with the village elders yesterday about Uchiha's punishment, and they have come to a decision." Tsunade had both of her elbows on her desk, her hands folded in front of her face and her expression turned stern and serious.

"Know that I had no influence with this decision," the blonde-haired woman said. "What the Village Elders have decided for Uchiha Sasuke's punishment for leaving Konohagakure and becoming a missing nin is…"

Sakura anxiously leaned forward slightly.

"…Death."

A/N: This is like one of those chapters that all authors/authoresses type/write and they can't help but feel proud of the work they've written. As said, this is one of those chapters I'm glad I got to write. (: