Thank you everyone very much for the reviews! I made this chapter a bit longer than the rest. Currently where I am it is about two in the morning but I've had so much chocolate that I could probably stay up for days and not be tired.

ashley- Heh heh, jeez Naruto, what is he thinking?! About the mirror, just wait and you'll find out! Muahaha! Yup, I'm evil! Sorry about that!

Well, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter here, I'll post the next one ASAP.

xX Aya Marie-chan

Sakura was just about to thank Naruto once more and invite him out for ramen on her (not as a date, she would say it more than once if she had to) when Tsunade bust through the door, like she had something urgent to say.

Tsunade was about to say something until she realized that Sakura was awake, so instead she said, "Oh, good you're awake. We'll talk later. Naruto, my office, now." With those few simple words, she was gone.

'Jeez, I wonder what's irking her… She never seems to get up in a frenzy… Well, Tsunade-sama is certainly eccentric! I just hope everything is all right. If my sensei is uneasy, there is a problem… That sake always seems to calm her right down…' Sakura thought curiously to herself.

"I guess I've got to go. It sure seems like something is troubling her… Sakura, be careful, ok? I'll see you soon!" Naruto said cheerful once more. With that, he was gone even quicker than Tsunade.

Tsunade's office was almost exactly the same as usual, with the exception of one drastically changed and obvious detail: her desk was entirely cleared off. This alone shocked Naruto enough that his jaw dropped. This only confirmed his idea that something was wrong, very wrong.

"Tsunade-baa-chan! Has hell frozen over? What's wrong with your desk?" Naruto demanded worriedly. There wasn't even a glass of sake on her desk. Naruto was certainly in for some bad news…

Tsunade sighed before she replied gravely, "Naruto, Konoha is in danger. Peaceful life may cease to exist here in a short matter of time. Sound-nins are on the border of Fire Country. They are rapidly advancing. They are about to raid Konoha." This awful news was only the beginning of his shock. With this bit of information alone, Naruto was lost for words. Naruto being lost for words is a shock in itself. It actually seemed not only improbable but also impossible!

"Sadly, Naruto, that isn't the worst of the bad news. Uchiha Sasuke, the traitor to Village Hidden in the Leaves, just so happens to be leading those very Sound-nin…" Tsunade trailed off knowing just how much this boy had meant to Naruto, perhaps he meant even more to Sakura.

"Well, I suppose he is finally returning after three years, just for the wrong reasons… I can't believe that he would actually be indifferent enough to attack here; this was where he grew up! Is he mental? That question is rhetorical by the way… I already know the answer. That teme is a psychotic, revenge-driven, asshole that only cares about his goddamned self! Had he cared about Sakura like I thought he did, he wouldn't have left her here alone to die! Sure she's alive, but she's empty… and it's all his fault! I'm going to battle that teme and put him through so much fucking pain that he'll wish Itachi had killed him when he had the chance!" Naruto yelled furiously! Tsunade understood Naruto completely, as she too wished to pummel Sasuke to a pulp for what he did to Sakura. The only concept she didn't quite grasp was how Naruto had thought that Sasuke had even cared for Sakura…

Tsunade replied hesitantly, "Naruto, go tell Sakura. You're the best person for the job. I may be really close with my dear apprentice, but not nearly as close as you are with her. Take care of her though, I think of her as my own daughter. So if you screw anything up, or cause her to deal with more anguish and heartbreak than she has already, you'll have to answer to me!" Naruto laughed nervously. He knew what her chakra powered fists could do when she was pissed off. He knew because he had a first-hand demonstration from Sakura, her apprentice whom shared this skill, and he was normally the subject of rage.

"Heh, heh, now Tsunade-baa-chan, you know I would die to protect Sakura. There's no need to worry, or use those deadly fists, now is there…?" Naruto said shakily. She narrowed her eyes for a moment, inspected him carefully, and then nodded.

"Do what you have to, just make her happy. Dismissed," Tsunade said in finalistic tone and proceeded to lay a map on her desk. Naruto shook his head, and began his walk back to the hospital; hopefully Sakura hadn't excused herself…

Sakura quickly became bored being alone in the hospital room, so she left. It had been giving her too much time to think, think about everything. Thinking just so happened to be dangerous to her health, and her bandages were a constant, nagging reminder of that. Therefore, her instincts as a med-nin simply could not allow her much time to think.

She decided that she would wait for Naruto at Ichiraku, where she would proceed to treat him to ramen as she had intended to earlier. Sakura was sitting by herself, twirling around cheerfully on one of the stools, putting up her façade once more. She noticed that the traffic of bustling people had slowly dissipated and the streets of Konoha had become strangely, yet eerily empty.

Sakura was on the verge of getting up and leaving, perhaps returning later to search for him when she saw a black and orange blur fly by. Naruto's outfit change had certainly been for the better.

'Yes, indeed, his new outfit is definitely more… fathomable,' Sakura thought to herself, slightly disgusted by the image of his old orange and blue attire.

'Are you kidding me? What he was wearing before was so frigging hideous that any change would have been more fathomable! I wonder what he looks like now… ' Inner Sakura trailed off.

Sakura face became blank and cold as she replied to her inner self, 'No, I don't wonder what he looks like now. It wouldn't matter if I did, it's not like I'll be visiting him in Sound any day soon. Imagine that, "Oh, hey Sasuke-kun, I came to visit you! Since I know it'll make you happy I'll even sob my heart out on your feet and lick your shoes clean for you! I'll be you little slave to order around and torture forever! Great, ne?" Psh, as if! He has nothing to do with me anymore, and as of now I make that feeling mutual.'

She nodded her head a little before she darted off after Naruto, 'So much for the ramen…' Naruto surely would be disappointed. She sighed in a resigned manner, he was nowhere in sight.

'Daaang, when Naruto puts his mind, and his chakra, to it, he sure can be fast!' Inner Sakura complemented. Sakura directed more chakra to her feet, and sped off even faster. Finally, a blob of orange and black came into her line of vision.

'Where exactly is he headed?' Sakura asked herself. This path was all too familiar. She walked it every morning when she was on her way to the… hospital. Why on earth would he be running that fast to the hospital? It's quite apparent that he wasn't injured, because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to move that fast.

Inner Sakura pointed her finger and yelled, 'Baka, he's obviously going to see you! Remember, he doesn't know that you checked yourself out?'

'Oh, I guess that would make sense…' Sakura agreed.

'You're lucky to have me around! Where would you be without me?' Inner Sakura asked in a know-it-all voice.

Sakura countered, 'I beg to differ! Hm, let's see... Without you I might be on some nice little tropical island with Sasuke-kun! Oh the tragedy… Not.' At the thought of being alone on an island with Sasuke, Inner Sakura fainted with joy. The real Sakura, the one whom all her common sense had been instilled, wouldn't even blink at that offer anymore. His final words of gratitude had their momentary affect, naturally, until the intelligent portion of her mind processed that it was either likely to be a spur of the moment, or simply empty words. Empty… Just like her. Just like those words died in her memories, her heart and soul faded as well.

'Keep it together, Sakura… Seriously though, it's about time she shut up! That one always works… heh heh,' Sakura thought triumphantly to herself.

"Hey, Naruto! Wait up! I've been looking for you!" Sakura called out loudly so the blonde would at least slow down. At hearing her voice, Naruto instantly came to a halt. Sakura had been running so fast that she nearly bumped into him.

"Oh, good, it's you Sakura-chan! I was looking for you too, actually! I have to talk to you; it's really important, and… private. Do you have anywhere else we could possibly take this?' Naruto asked quietly. Naruto being quiet means that something is terribly wrong. Naruto's voice only knows one volume, and that is loud, loud enough so that everyone in a 5-mile radius can hear.

Sakura said in a somewhat confused voice, "Sure Naruto, let's head over to my place." She took the lead and he followed her soundlessly. For some reason he seemed really uneasy.

"Oh, come on Naruto. It's not like you haven't been to my apartment before. Why are you so uncomfortable?" Sakura asked. He looked at her with sad eyes when she said this.

Naruto forced a laugh before he replied, "No Sakura-chan, it's not that we're going to your apartment… It's just… Well, you'll find out all in good time…" This had stunned Sakura so much that she stopped walking and stiffened.

'Naruto, being philosophical? OH MY GOD, IT'S THE APOCOLAYSPE!' Sakura thought to herself. Inner Sakura was running around in circles and screaming as if she were on fire!

"Woo hoo, Sakura, are you alright?" Naruto asked while waving his hands in her face. She must have dazed out due to shock, it's surprising that she didn't actually have a panic attack.

Sakura shook her head, assuring herself that she wasn't dreaming and answered, "Yup, don't worry about me I'm fine. I was just worried about you! Are you sure you feel well? If you don't I'll treat you when we get there." They continued to walk in silence. All they could hear were the twittering of birds and the thumps of their footsteps against the pavement echoing against the buildings. They stopped in front of one particularly large building and entered. From there they walked up the stairwell and went inside of one of the apartments.

It looked just as she had left it. There was a bit of blood on her carpet nearly the doorway to her bathroom. Pieces of her shattered mirror remained scattered on the floor where they had fallen earlier that day. She shivered a bit as she remembered what had caused her to punch that mirror in the first place. Sakura shook it off and walked over to her bed. She crouched down and reached under it. When she pulled her hands out she was holding two pink, formal, and expensive looking cushions. She proceeded to place them on the floor. Both Naruto and Sakura sat on one and faced each other. She nodded at him, signaling him to begin.

"Well, Sakura, Konoha is in grave danger at this present moment," Naruto began uneasily, she looked a bit frightened but he continued, since that was only the beginning of the bad news, "Sound-nins are crossing the border of Fire Country, in a few hours they will close in on Konoha. Sakura… Those Sound-nin… are…" Naruto simply couldn't finish that sentence. That very sentence inevitably assured his first and only love's entire heartbreak, if that hadn't happened already that is.

Knowing that she would find out somehow, and this was the best way, he ended sadly while staring intently at the carpet, "Sakura, the Sound-nin are being headed by Sasuke." Naruto had expected her to gasp, let the news sink in, and then start crying. Or possibly to scream in rage and break something. Or even to start shaking him and say it was a lie, begging him to tell the truth. The reaction he received was so unpredictable he wouldn't have thought of her doing this in his wildest dreams.

At first her face was blank, and then her lips curled into a wicked, bloodthirsty smirk. Her face could easily be described in that moment as demonic. That sadistic little grin was only there for a mere matter of nanoseconds, and disappeared in a jiffy.

'That bastard is in for the ride of his life… I've got news for him, he's not the only person who is driven by revenge…' Sakura thought to herself. Her own thoughts sounded dangerous, murderous, and spine-tingling even to herself.

Then Sakura looked up to Naruto and smiled almost invisibly before she asked, "Well Naruto, exactly what are we still doing here? If Konoha is about to be under siege we shouldn't be sitting here little lame lambs! Plus, if Konoha were to be destroyed, how would you become the Hokage?" At Sakura's last question, Naruto became so hyped-up that he temporarily forgot his initial shock due to her reaction, this of course being her intention.

They were about to exit the door when Sakura grabbed Naruto's wrist and warned, "Naruto, when we see… him there, don't try to battle him. That little bastard, he's mine."

Tsuzuku

Hope you like it! Oh, and I'm sorry if I insulted you because I made fun of Naruto's outfit... This is just how I entertain myself at 2:00 AM, I make fun of anime character's attire! Exciting, ne?

xX Aya Marie-chan