A/N: We'll start off with a general pairing. These two are m safety and I sometimes hate to admit it, but I like them together, they're cute. That made this easy for me to write. But since this is my first NaruSaku, please be gentle with me. Hope I didn't screw them up too much! Listened to 'Life' by Our Lady Peace!

Warnings: Uhh...angst, slight fluff (I can't stay away from it, you know), and straight people (boyxgirl—the horror!)

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The Strength of a Hero, the Strength of a Heart

Naruto x Sakura

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Her tear-stained cheeks shone in the pale full-moonlight, obstructed only by the few clouds floating by overhead. Haruno Sakura had been crying since the day her love had left Konoha. The day that Uchiha Sasuke left was the day that Sakura stopped smiling. It was as if all the laughter and joy in her life had been drained from her soul.

Granted, it had been an entire year since he'd left. And though she'd been training tirelessly with Tsunade for months, she felt no stronger than she'd been the day he left them. She still felt weak, naive, and useless. Though she masked her feelings when with Tsunade or her sensei; Hatake Kakashi...she even felt the need to hide her depression from her last remaining teammate, Uzumaki Naruto. Though she could tell they all knew something was wrong, she'd always fake a smile and say that she was fine.

Haruno Sakura was not fine. She was anything but...

Sakura walked in rhythm with the Godaime; her sensei, Lady Tsunade. In both their arms were tall stacks of papers and such, just returning from the check in desk by the village gates. It was a butt-load of paperwork—as Tsunade had so blatantly stated when handed her stack.

The pink-haired kunoichi had smiled lightly at Tsunade's comment but said nothing in response. Tsunade watched her curiously out of the corner of her eye and slowly cocked an eyebrow, knowing that something was wrong with her pupil. She'd known for a while but assumed it'd blow over; evidently it had not.

"Sakura, you going to tell me what's wrong...?" Tsunade asked gently, knowing how emotional the girl could be at times. It had seemed to Tsunade that word had reached them that Naruto was planning to leave with Jiraiya in one more day's time, the young ninja had only gotten worse.

Sakura blinked and looked up at her sensei, "Wh-what...? There's nothing wrong Lady Tsunade." Sakura lied through her teeth and Tsunade knew it from the girl's tone.

Tsunade scowled down at the younger girl, "Don't lie right to my face, Sakura. If you want to be my pupil you have to trust me. You've been depressed for a while now, so tell me what's wrong."

Sakura's cheeks tinted pink, wondering if she'd really been that obvious. But even Sakura was unable to piece together exactly what it was that was making her feel so empty. She sighed, "It's not..." Sakura trailed off for a moment, still piecing together her thoughts. "It's not about Sasuke-kun...I know he left but...that's not why I'm sad."

"Then," Tsunade started, slightly surprised that the root of Sakura's misery wasn't the Uchiha boy, "Why are you so sad...?"



Sakura thought for a moment, mulling over every thought she'd had recently—including one or two of suicide, which she'd obviously disregarded after regaining her senses—been hooked on. "I...I don't..." Sakura stumbled over her words, unable to think of what to say.

Tsunade watched her closely as the previously weak kunoichi pieced together why she was depressed. "I can't stand the thought of Naruto-kun leaving Konoha tomorrow..." Sakura finally stated, her tone was so distant and lonely, as if he poor girl had not a friend in the world.

"I just can't help but see Sasuke-kun when I looked at him and...I just can't loose both of them, Lady Tsunade..."

"You don't have to." Tsunade smiled, resting her chin down on her stack of papers.

"Wh-what...? But he's leaving tomorrow!"

"They aren't leaving until tomorrow morning. That gives you 9 hours to track down that idiots ass and tell him how you feel."

"But I—" Sakura started, but she was quickly cut off by the older woman.

"Knowing Naruto, he'll be dead set on going so you can't hope to change that. But if you find him you can tell him how you feel, then maybe you won't feel so lousy later!" Tsunade said, deciding that her idea was better than anything else Sakura could do.

"But Lady Tsunade, I don't know what I'd say and—"

"Easy! Just tell him whatever you feel, kid. I'd do it soon too; Jiraiya was talking about leaving early."

"What!?" Sakura yelled, instantly horrified that Naruto could be leaving as the two spoke. Tsunade stiffened slightly at her high-pitched, worried tone but remained sturdy.

"I'll give you today off to straighten this out, now get moving!" Tsunade smiled, merging Sakura's stack with her own to create a pile of papers so large that Tsunade could scarcely see anything. Tears brimmed Sakura's eyes and she bowed quickly to the Godaime.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Tsunade-sensei! I promise I'll make up for it tomorrow!" Sakura shouted, turning and sprinting down the streets towards Ichiraku's, one of Naruto's most beloved places to be when not training or causing trouble...or both.

When she arrived, there was no sign of the yellow-haired shinobi. Sakura cursed under her breath and tapped on the counter, a young girl appeared and smiled at her. "Oh, Haruno-chan...! Can I get you something?"

"I'm sorry, not right now Ayame. I'm looking for Naruto, have you seen him?" Sakura asked, unable to make eye-contact with the young woman.

Ayame shook her head, "No, I'm afraid not. Not since last night. I'm sorry I couldn't help more."

Sakura nodded and thanked her before hurrying back onto the street and sprinting as fast has her legs would allow towards the grounds where Naruto, Sasuke, and herself had trained before. When she arrived at the site she was gravely saddened to see that Naruto was no where to be found.

Memories clouded her judgement for a moment, the past replacing present in her mind.

"Sasuke-teme, I won't let you be better than me! I can beat you!" Naruto hollered boastfully. Sasuke had merely scoffed at the blonde's proclamation.

"Keep dreaming, dobe." Naruto had looked up from what he'd been doing and grinned, waving wildly in Sakura's direction.

"Good morning Sakura-chan! You look so pretty today! Wanna see my awesome new move?" Naruto asked happily.

"You mean the thing where you nearly blew yourself up?" Sasuke asked mockingly, a small smirk wore on his lips.

Naruto twitched and glared at the raven-haired Uchiha, "Oi! Shut up Sasuke! I can so do that move! I'll do it just for Sakura; I won't let her down no matter what!"

Tears stung Sakura's green eyes once more as she remembered her teammates. "Sasuke-kun..." Sakura whispered as the Uchiha faded away into the atmosphere. She turned her attention to the blonde, still grinning cheekily in her direction. "Naruto-kun..." Sakura whispered his name, and he too disappeared. Her lower lip trembled an she buried her face deeply in her hands.

"I'm so weak...Sasuke, Naruto...I'm so sorry...please forgive my weakness...!" Sakura sobbed, as if the figments of her torn imagination were real and still near her. Sakura suddenly remembered her current mission and turned, sprinting as fast as she could away from the training grounds. She couldn't stand to be there.

Not where she'd spent so many afternoons with them. Her heart wasn't that strong just yet.

--

Uzumaki Naruto sighed and glared up at the spiky-haired sannin, "Ero-sannin, can we go yet...?" Naruto groaned, shifting the weight of his head from one arm to the other. Jiraiya held a finger up, indicating for the blonde to be quiet as he did his quote; "research", unquote.

Naruto rolled his eyes, grumbling to himself as he lolled about in the grass feeling utterly bored. He had no interest in the girls Jiraiya was peeking at and he certainly had no interest in helping the old pervert with his research. Hell, Naruto didn't even know what Jiraiya was researching! Just looking at some girls; that was all he was doing!

In a last ditch attempt to manage his crushing boredom, he fell back from his seated position and tucked his arms behind his head; allowing his mind to drift away from the scene he was currently in.

Sadly enough, Naruto's mind always went back to the same places. The last time he'd seen Sasuke...the promise he'd made to Sakura...and the last time they'd both been happy and smiling with him—this seemed like it was eons ago, and he missed it dearly. He missed Sasuke's presence, he missed seeing Sakura smile...most of all he missed being happy. Though he seemed to be better at hiding it than Sakura was...

No one asked Naruto what was wrong. No one asked him if he was okay. No one asked him anything any more! It was almost like they'd given up hope on him, leaving the blonde no choice but to mask this feeling; like he did so many others. Eventually, Naruto gave in and allowed his mind to replay the images he's seen happen so many times it was almost like it never happened at all.

But it did, and it hurt like hell to see it all crash down in front of his eyes over and over again...



"I'm not coming back, Naruto. Just go home." Sasuke's words cut him like glass. Blinking back the tears he'd lifted his head and shouted at Sasuke.

"No! I'm not going back to Konoha unless you're with me! I'll break every bone in your miserable body if I have to! Sasuke-teme...!" Rage echoed in Naruto's voice.

Naruto tightened his eyes. Sasuke had been their friend. He'd been their friend and he'd betrayed them! He'd made Sakura cry...!

"P-please Naruto-kun, this is a once in a lifetime request..." Sakura's cracking voice trailed off, "Please bring Sasuke back to me, please! I just want him back..." Tears poured out of her neon green eyes, the sight alone broke Naruto's heart instantly. He'd never really seen Sakura cry so much...so sadly.

"Sakura, I'll bring him back. This is the promise of a lifetime, for the request of a lifetime. I won't let you down!" Naruto had given her a thumbs up, hoping to boost her spirits. It had seemed to work at the time as a small smile crawled onto her lips.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun...thank you so much!"

Naruto's eyes opened, resting at half-mast as the cool summer wind blew through his blonde spikes. You didn't have to thank my Sakura... Naruto thought, I let you down, didn't I?

Jiraiya suddenly tapped him in the side with his sandaled foot, "Okay kid, let's get moving."

Naruto merely nodded in response and rose from the ground, grabbing his backpack as he did so and slinging it lazily over one shoulder. "Right, ready to roll Ero-sannin," Naruto nodded, his enthusiasm slightly dampened by his long lost memories. Sakura had told him he was a hero for trying.

Naruto wasn't a hero. He wasn't nearly strong enough yet...

--

Tears now freely fell down Sakura's flushed face as she searched everywhere that she could think of for the blonde shinobi. The sun was setting and she knew they'd be leaving soon, if they hadn't left already. If she wished to catch them now she'd have to get to the gates. She turned quickly and sprinted through the streets, still unsure of what she'd even say if she did find Naruto.

All she knew was that she had to find him before he left. And she needed to find him now.

Upon reaching the gates she stopped and panted, looking at the two men manning the entrance post. "Have you seen Naruto-kun...?" Sakura panted, tears still slipping down her cheeks.

Hayate nodded, "Yeah, they left about five minutes ago. You can catch them if you hurry." He said, gesturing to the gate. Sakura nodded and sprinted out the gate and over the hill, her gaze desperately searching for that blonde mop of hair.

Getting desperate as the sun slowly set, she cried out. "Naruto-kun!" as loud as she possibly could, waiting anxiously for a reply she felt would never come.

"Sakura-chan...?" A faint voice echoed over the hill and Sakura's heart skipped a beat, she sprinted madly towards the voice only to find a blonde boy running like a mad man towards her. She froze solid, suddenly realizing that she 

needed something to say. "S-Sakura-chan, are you okay? Is anything wrong?" Naruto asked, his voice the epitome of concern for her. His blue eyes simply swam with everything Sakura had felt the last few days. Her hearts suddenly bled for Naruto as she understood how he felt.

Tears continued down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms tightly around Naruto, he hesitantly hugged her back, a small smile wearing on his lips. "No, Naruto..." Sakura whispered into his ear as she tightened her grip around his neck. He hugged her back in turn, "Nothing's wrong." She smiled.

Naruto grinned and hugged her as tight as he could without breaking her ribs, "When I come back, I promise I'll be stronger Sakura. I'll be strong enough to be a hero."

Sakura smiled, tightening the hug for a moment then releasing and pulling away slightly so she could see Naruto's eyes. "And I..." Sakura trailed off for a moment, "I'll be stronger too, Naruto-kun. I promise that my heart will be as strong as yours." Sakura said, gently placing a hand on Naruto's chest where his heart was.

The beat of Naruto's heart instantly increased as Sakura smiled again. The first time he'd seen her smile in a very long time. "I'll miss you Naruto-kun..."

Naruto nodded, hiking his backpack up on his shoulders. "I'll miss you more though...but when I come back, you'll be glad! Just look forward to the next time you see me, instead of the last time you did. Okay?"

Sakura nodded, leaning forward towards Naruto and gently placing a kiss on his lips. When she pulled away the blonde was blushing a million different shades of red.

"Okay. I'll look forward to the next time I can do that..." Sakura smiled, blushing slightly as well. Naruto grinned stupidly and nodded.

"Sounds good to me...!" He said happily, still high from the kiss she'd given him. Jiraiya grew impatient thought, a bored expression wearing thick on his face.

"Wrap it up love-birds, we gotta get moving!" Jiraiya hollered, uncaring of how the other two felt. Naruto sighed and turned back towards Jiraiya.

"Bye Sakura! See ya when I see ya!" Naruto waved happily, trotting back towards the perverted sannin. Sakura continued smiling and nodded, folding her arms over her chest.

As she walked Naruto walk away she remembered something crucial she had to tell him, "Wait! Naruto-kun!" Sakura shouted, waving her hand in the air frantically. Naruto stopped and turned.

"What is it?"

"I...I love you!"

Naruto turned an even deeper crimson, if this was at all possible and grinned. "I love you too, Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved wildly as he turned away from her again, knowing he had to press on if he wished to keep pace with the still moving sannin.

As Naruto slowly turned the corner, disappearing from Sakura's view; the smile remained on her lips as if it would never leave her face. Return home to me safely Naruto-kun...

I trust you...

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A/N: I like this couple. Don't know why, they're just cute. Keep an eye out for the next NaruxWHO!? pairing! Review if you liked, please? –holds out the review collection tin-