Disclaimer: I do not and probably will never own Naruto.

Firstly I would like to apologise to everyone following this story for the long wait. My computer crashed on me over the Christmas holidays and could not get it fixed. This update was meant to be here just before New Years but again I do ask your apologies. Hopefully this update will make up for the long wait.

It was then that time decided it had taken enough liberties and sped up again, it was in those painful unreal moments that followed afterwards that the scream that had halted in my lungs left with frightening clarity as I watched the blood flow from the gaping wound in my best friends chest.

"NARUTO!"

The memory of his failure to fulfil his promise to the love of his life replayed through his head, a constant reminder of how he had failed the ones he had loved. It had been at the fore front of his mind ever since, every time he trained, every time he spoke to her and every time he landed in hospital.

It had taunted him and provoked doubts of his ability to become Hokage and a fear of looking the only girl he really ever wanted to be acknowledged by in the eyes again.

So much so that for the first few months after his and Sasukes battle, which resulted in the Uchiha's death, he had not moved from the room he was placed in the hospital and had not spoken any other word to anyone besides the occasional whispered "Arigato" to those who brought him his food or "Gomen" to the friends who visited him as often as they could.

He had eaten very little over those three months of recovery, even ignoring the bowls of ramen the kunoichi of the rookie nine and team Gai had occasionally brought to try get him to eat. The fox had refused to speed up his recovery because of Naruto's refusal of his help during the battle at the Valley of End.

Out of all the people who had visited, the one he had spoken to the most was Sakura, he would whisper apologies to her at intervals all the way through her visits, hoping that she would not hate him for failing to bring back the Uchiha. Sakura would usually bring him flowers sent to him by all his friends and place them by his bedside, then taking a seat she would silently keep him company for a few hours before being pulled back onto hospital duty.

After two months of her visits she couldn't take the silence between them or his whispered apologies any longer and confronted him.

"Gomen-sai Sakura-chan"

Sakura had been sitting by his bed watching him again for the thirty-second time in two months, not failing to bring him some form of get well gesture but now she turned to him so fast that he thought she might have hurt herself.

"Stop it."

Having whispered it so softly Naruto almost missed it, lifting his questioning gaze to meet her watering eyes immediately he assumed he had done something wrong and begun to apologise hurriedly.

"Gomen Sakura-chan, gomen don't cry. I didn't mean to hurt you, gomen . . . . "

His profuse apologies turned to mumbled whispers as he realised if she had not accepted his many hundred apologies in the last few weeks then why would she begin to forgive him now?

"Stop apologising Naruto." All the time her watering eyes staring at him as if pained at the sight of him.

Sobered by what he now believed would be his last time seeing or talking with the friend and love he had now made hate him he said the words he had dared not speak the weeks before, when all he could do was apologise for the death he had caused.

"It's okay . . ." whispered Naruto, eyes still down cast at his bandaged hands that now desperately clutched the white sheets of his hospital bed.

Now it was her emerald eyes that held the questioning gaze as they searched his down turned face.

"It's okay to ha- . . . to hate me if you want Sakura-chan." the lump that formed in his throat nearly stopped him from saying what he wanted, but he had forced it down and now it was said and he shut his eyes painfully tight.
He did not want to see her leaving him alone, didn't want to see the only thing he wanted more than becoming Hokage become an impossible dream.

Although, in doing so the young shinobi did not see the widening of the emerald eyes that watched him, nor did he see the shock that registered on the face of the woman that sat at his bed side. So focused was he on stopping the tears that threatened his own eyes that he didn't register the sharp intake of breathe that came from the seat beside the infirmary bed.

A few minutes passed and the two stayed frozen in the moment, Naruto waiting for the one he cared for most to walk out of his life forever and Sakura at a loss for words after Naruto's revelation of his fears.

The spell finally broke when without warning Naruto felt himself being held in a strong embrace and the felt the prickling feeling of warm water on the skin of his neck. Letting go of his death grip on the sheets that covered him he took in the warmth that surrounded him, the feeling new to him.

"Please Naruto, don't do this."

It was these whispered words that brought his attention to exactly who it was that had embraced him. Of all the things he had expected, shouting, screaming, cursing, slapping and the more likely punches this was not even one of the possibilities he considered. He was hopelessly confused as to why she had not just walked out on him after all the reasons she had for hating him, why would she want to stay longer now that she didn't have to.

"Naruto?"

His name on her lips brought her immediately to his attention, she had still not let go of him and was now speaking with a clearly shaking voice which was evident since she spoke right by his ear, even if it was slightly muffled by her talking into his neck.

Shifting slightly to let her know she had his attention Naruto dared not move in fear of upsetting her further. She got the message and when she spoke again he though he misheard.

"I don't hate you Naruto, It's not your fault."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself he tried to form a response of any kind. "But why?" is what left him in shallow breath of disbelief. "I broke my promise to you Sakura, not only that but I . . . I killed him, now you can never be happy again and it's all my fault." Bandaged arms had lifted to wrap around her and bring her ever closer to him, not caring of the pain she was sure to inflict on him for holding her so intimately. "You should hate me, you have every reason to."

The tears ran unchecked down his cheeks, soaking her soft pink hair and the red jumper she wore. He didn't understand why but she didn't pull away so neither did he, shedding all the tears that were holed up inside him and mumbling every apology he could think of for ruining her life and praying to Kami that he didn't lose her too.

"Oh Naruto" whispered Sakura to the shaking shinobi, holding on to him as if he would disappear she let the man who risked it all for her unleash all the raw emotion that coursed through him.

"Naruto!"

Eyes lifted to briefly search his surroundings and realizing that he was still on the old academy swing he shook his head to clear it of the voices from the past.

"Even after all this time I can't forget, even if she said wasn't my fault."

The whisper was not to be heard above the still thundering rain, weighing down the ancient oak that supported him and his old friend's weight. Deciding that the night had stolen enough of his life already Naruto raised himself up, the swing lifting up after him as if trying to follow its long time companion.

"Naruto!"

Raising a calloused hand he rubbed his temple roughly. It seems the voices did not want to leave him be just yet, but as he turned to leave the sanctuary he was frozen in mid-step by an odd sight. What caught his attention was the sight of someone running towards the academy, seemingly searching for someone.

He wondered who the person would be looking for since he doubted any would want to venture out into the rain storm that had crept over the village and the fact that it was almost midnight now would have given almost all living things pause as to whether leaving their homes was worth the soaking.

Those that did not even blink at the booming thunder that occasionally stuck were, of course, the ninja that traversed the village. The ninja who had faced death more times in their life than most would dream about in nightmares gave no notice to the wicked wills of the weather.

Again he turned to leave but was stopped this time when he heard the sound of his name through the hammering of the rain.

"Naruto!"

He turned back and saw that the person that gave him pause earlier was running towards him, only when they had almost reached them did he match the voice to the face of the person who had called out.

"Finally! I found you."

It shocked him to see Sakura leaning forward one delicate hand resting on her knee and the other holding an umbrella that slightly hid her head of beautiful pink hair from him, but what threw him even more was the fact that she had come looking for him. Why?

"Sakura-chan? What are you doing out this late?" His headed slightly tilted to the side, confused.

After catching her breath she straightened up and looked up at the man she had spent hours looking for, still surprised by the sight of him standing almost half a head taller than her even with his headed tilted like that.

"Didn't you hear me? I was looking for you."

The admission confused him even more; he had no idea as to why she would be looking for him at this time of the night and in thunderstorm no less. He gave her a questioning look, blue eyes shining brightly through the down pour.

"What do you want me for? It's late: I thought you would have been at home."

He hadn't meant to sound so resigned, the last thing he wanted to do was give her something else to worry about, but it had gotten away from him before he could stop it.

"Baka, I haven't spoken to you in weeks and I wanted to visit you today when you got back from that mission but I couldn't find you anywhere! Why are you out here so late? And in the rain no less! What were you thinking?"

Her tone was reprimanding and her gaze stern, he wished she wasn't looking for him. He had just wanted to go home and crawl into the battered bed that had been his since the third Hokage had given it to him and just slip into the slight reprieve that sleep offered, then he remembered he had no bed to go back too.

He was pulled out of thoughts when the stinging rain drops that pelted his head were replaced by the sound of fast, steady tapping. Looking up he saw the dull blue of Sakura's umbrella then glanced down to see Sakura sigh reproachfully.

"You're going to get sick you know."

Pulling himself together he gave her cheeky smile and answered her first two questions.

"You know me, just wanted to go for a bit of a walk and just forgot about the time!"

"Are you sure that's the only reason?"

"Yeah, what other reason is there?"

The sceptical look she gave him made him falter a bit, of course it wasn't but he wasn't about to worry her by telling her that he was kicked out of his apartment and was planning on just find some place to sleep at one of the training grounds.

"Don't lie to me Naruto."

His eyes widened at the sound of anger in her voice, he hadn't meant to upset her at all.

"What do yo-"

She cut him off before he could finish; her voice now void of anger but trembling. "I went to your apartment Naruto."
He shut his mouth and realisation lit his darkening blue eyes. That definitely got him. Looking away from her hurt expression he shut his eyes as well, this is exactly what he was trying to avoid and now he didn't know what to say.


He turned his head away from me and it hurt me to know that he had not wanted to tell me the truth. Hurt to think that he didn't trust me enough, I don't ever want that to be the reason for him not telling me.

"Don't you trust me Naruto?" It came out more strangled than I wanted it to but I was trying to stop my tears from joining the downpour.

His head shot up quicker than I thought was possible even for a shinobi and arms shooting up from their idle position at his sides to try wave away my thoughts, his were eyes wide and their blue depths emanated regret, for what I didn't know.

"Wha— no it's not that Sakura-chan! I trust you with my life! It's just. . ." His words wiped away my anxiety but did not help when they slowly faded into silence. Watching him closely I waited for him to finish what he was going to say, my grip on the umbrella tightening.

After a few seconds he inhaled deeply, his body seeming to shiver but I knew it wasn't from the cold. The demon he contained ensured that for both their survival. His eyes darted from their surroundings to the umbrella then slowly returned to her again before he released the air he was holding in a steady stream of air.

"It's just that I don't want to bother you Sakura. I've already caused enough problems for you without making you worry over me for no reason. You don't have to worry; I'll just go find some place to sleep in the ANBU quarters."

The tears that stopped at his earlier words now returned in full force, the baka thought he was causing her problems?
'What does this baka think he did has –'Her breathe caught in her throat and her wide eyes latched onto the figure that was slowly moving back out from under her umbrella. The memory of the time she spent with a broken and battered Naruto a few years ago returned to her with frightening clarity. She remembered how, after the battle with team Hebi and Sasuke's death, Naruto ended up in the hospital with near fatal wounds and all he would say as he entered the surgery was 'sorry'.

Apologising for having caused the death of the one she had loved, but that day as she watched her best friend nearly die just for a chance to see her happy she realised that she could not imagine or bare to live her life without her best friend. The realisation back then had galvanised her into staying at his side throughout his recovery whenever she could, now as she watched him back away from her she realised he was taking her heart with him.

"No. . ." The whisper was lost in the rain. "No." Her voice grew stronger, she would not lose him. "No!" She was not going to lose the one person that had been there for her almost her entire life, even when she would not return a simple greeting.

The umbrella she held dropped to the ground, forgotten in favour of the man she was now running to. The distance was short but she collided with him with such force that they both went tumbling to the ground. She was going to hold on to him this time, he wasn't going to leave her grasp until he knew she didn't hold anything against him and till he had forgiven himself for the things that he believed he did that hurt her.

"It's not your fault Naruto, I told you years ago and I still mean it now." Emerald windows met Blue skies filled with pain. "It was never your fault; if anything I'm the one that's guilty." The windows closed and the blue skies darkened further confusion lacing with the pain.

"You nearly died that day, Naruto." The pink head dug its way into the crook hidden by blonde hair and her choked words were nearly lost to the rain. "You nearly died and it's all my fault."

Strong arms wrapped around me and I felt a sense of ease and comfort wash over me, it gave me the strength to say what I needed to.
"It wasn't your fault Sakura-chan." whispered his soothing voice, "I did it for you because you asked me to and more than anything I wanted to see you happy again."

"But now –" The voice cracked and the tears that he had been fighting to control overwhelmed him and sprang forth, joining the tears of the girl he held in his arms. " But now you can't be with the one you love and it pains me to know that, even though I wasn't the one who killed him, I was the one who caused his death."

The tears that now flooded her shuttered emerald eyes intensified, he had loved her for almost as long as she had known him and he had done everything he possibly could to bring back the one she loved knowing full well that it meant he would never be with the one he loved.

It was different now, after the battle at the Valley of End she had felt gut-wrenching terror at the thought of Naruto dying and leaving her alone in the world. It had come as such a shock, since she had not once thought of the one she loved after he nearly killed Naruto.

Naruto had offered her the world in return for nothing more than a chance to be with her and show her how much he loved her, and it was more than Sasuke ever could. She was glad her heart had set its sights on Naruto, she could not think of anyone who deserved it more than he.

"No Naruto, you're wrong." My voice was steadier than I thought it would be, "You didn't kill him, he caused his own death. I can never repay you for everything you've done for me. Not one thing have you done that hasn't been to try and cheer me up or just to show me that I always had someone to fall back on."

When the blonde hair brushed against her cheek, more real than the momentary splashes of cold water that assaulted their joined bodies, she lifted her head from its hiding place in crook of his neck to stare into shining pools anxiety laced with faint traces of hope.

My heart clenched for just a second, 'have I really broken this man so that he would lose hope in finding his own happiness?'

The erratic beat started again, my focus once again on the words the man I now held in my arms needed to hear, the words I needed to speak.

"You say that I can't be happy anymore." Rain filled the silence with its steady drumming. "But I can be Naruto, but I'm going to need a little help" My breath shook with a shallow breathe, hoping against hope he would get my meaning.


'Please kami let her mean what I think she means.' The words she spoke to me sounded way too good to be true, they were the life line to a chance that I had wanted my entire life but had dared not hope for.

I searched her gaze, looking for any sign that I had gotten the wrong impression and only found sincerity. I swallowed the lump that found its way to my throat, bracing myself for whatever was going to happen.

"You mean . . . ?" It was a gasp of desperation, verbally flailing out to grab hold of any form of stability.

Her dark emerald eyes light up with reassurance and I could not stop the ear to ear smile that covered my face as I held onto her for dear life, head now buried in pink comfort.

"Yes, Naruto" She whispered "I love you."


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