Holding Her Last Breath: Just 3 Days

I've been entirely exhausted these past 2 days. I'm not sure why, but I wanted to do a double upload but the formatting wasn't working sooo I didn't. But here's chapter 5. Why is it out so early? Because chapter 4 was entirely random and did not have a purpose at all XD,

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"SAKURA!! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN ANYWAY?!" Ino demanded later that day. The women were already at one of the outdoor tables at a near café.

"Sorry," Sakura apologized with flushed cheeks as she stuffed a clump of (damp) pink hair behind her ear. She had to taken so much time finding a bra since all but one had mysteriously 'disappeared'.

"I- got caught up in things at home and couldn't find my…necessities." She looked at Tenten for help.

Ten smiled. "You're forgiven. Come sit down." Ino gawked at her. "That's it? Just like that without a second thought?!"

She smiled wider behind the cup of her caramel cappuccino. "Unlike YOUR lazy boyfriend Sasuke is completely different. Like daddy, ne Miya-chan?" she cooed at her daughter who had insisted on tagging along to see Sakura.

The 4 year old girl shyly nodded as she sat next to her mother. To the untrained eye their daughter was a split image of Tenten, but the friends she held close to her knew that Miya inherited Neji's lavender eyes and Tenten's short chestnut colored hair.

Sakura smiled at the little girl. "You've gotten so big Miya-chan!!"

"Hai…" The girl replied as she lowered her head but stared at the emerald-eyed woman from the corner of her eye. The Hyuuga daughter had inherited her father's quiet nature.

Tenten had told her that Miya looked up to Sakura and admired her beauty. At the fireworks festival last July, Miya followed her around (without Tenten knowing so she had freaked until Sakura returned with her.) but Sakura hadn't minded at all though.

In face, she enjoyed the little girl's company. It made her wonder if Kami would bless with her with a daughter one day.

"I'm so jealous of your perfect happy family..." Sakura had told her when she had finished scolding her 3-year old daughter.

"Ehh? Perfect happy family?" Tenten asked as the tiny chesnut haired girl clutched her mother's hand and looked up at Sakura with great fascination.

"I bet Neji was overjoyed to finally have a family of his own." The pink-haired woman replied as she fiddled with the gold embroidering her pink and gold kimono.

" I could tell that Neji-kun was disappointed from the minute he learned his first-born was a girl." She replied as she ran a hand through her bangs. The chestnut-haired woman had exchanged the two buns on top of her for one. Though she was only a year older than Sakura, the Hyuuga woman looked more mature than the rest of the women.

And in Sakura's eyes Tenten was the most beautiful.

"He probably wanted a son because he knows that if he dies, his son would take care of you." Sakura offered and smiled.

"He keeps forgetting I'm not some normal helpless broad he picked up off the streets. I fought along side him; sometimes I even saved his ass for Kami's sake! So why would I need protection?" Tenten glanced at Sakura with an irritated expression.

Sakura stifled a laugh. He wasn't as cold as Sasuke, but he was egotistic and appeared just as uncaring. So the thought of a panicking, over-protective Neji was a hilarious thought. "He knows better than anyone else that you can take care of yourself."

"But when I was pregnant he rarely let me out of his sight!" the woman protested as she put her hands on either side of her head.

" I don't necessarily think that he was worried about you getting hurt, but everyone else since you get a little…weapon crazy." She replied. This made Tenten smile. "Mm, I guess you're right. I was a wobbling time bomb when I was pregnant…"

'You could say that again…' the pink-haired woman thought remembering just how scary she was. 'Neji must've suffered…' "You're so lucky Ten. As much as you don't want to admit it, Neji loves you and Miya more than life itself."

"Sometimes I wish Neji-kun wasn't so 'caring'…did you know that after we were married he didn't let me out of the house?"

Sakura giggled. So THAT was why she rarely saw Tenten after she and Neji returned from their honeymoon...

"I wish Sasuke-kun would just come out and tell me how he feels. He's starting to open up a little more, but it's nothing like your relationship...you two have been together since you we were kids, ne?" Sakura asked. Tenten blushed at this. Though they "thought" they had done a good job covering up the fact that they were seeing each other, all of Konoha knew.

They were just waiting until the two announced it official.

"Yeah, I don't regret anything. When we were first married he was so eager to start a family. There was no way I could refuse him...and that was how Miya came to be..." Tenten paused to smile at her thumb-sucking daughter who looked as if she wanted to touch Sakura's short pink locks.

"Sasuke will open up. Just give him time. Him and Neji are alike in a way…Ah...ne, Sakura I think Miya-chan wants to touch your hair..."

"Earth to Tenten and forehead girl!!" Ino yelled as she waved a hand in front of the women's faces. The two had become silent and simply kept smiling at each other.

When the two snapped out of it, they returned to Ino and Hinata.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Mind letting us know what just happened there?" the blonde asked, obviously jealous. Once Miya was born, Sakura began to spend more time around Tenten.

And she hated the thought of someone else taking away her best friend (besides Sasuke).

"Sorry. We were having a moment." Tenten grinned. Then it turned into a smirk. "Onto a more…interesting subject; how are you two handling your men? Ino, Hinata?" Tenten asked looking at the woman.

"Well, unlike your perfect life, Hinata and I probably won't be having families anytime soon. Though I have to admit, Naruto's changed a lot since we were 12. But regardless, he's still the same goofy blonde whose hormones haven't caught up with his body- ahh no offense Hinata!"

The girl blushed a little and waved her hands in reassurance. "N-None taken! W-What about Shikamaru?"

The blonde sighed. "Shika's thinks proposing is too 'troublesome'! But my intuition's saying he does wanna pop the question to me! Besides Sakura I'm the only one that isn't married." Ino complained.

Tenten, Hinata and Sakura all exchanged if-only-she-knew glances at Ino's statement. They couldn't wait to see Ino's face when she was looking down at Shikamaru offering her a ring as he knelt before her.

'That's right…me and Sasuke-kun have only been dating for a few months...' Sakura thought as she looked down at her hands placed in her lap.

Tenten sighed longingly when a waitress brought over some cherry-filled mochi. Hinata, without a thought took one and bit into it. But when she noticed Tenten staring at her, she looked up. "D-Do you want one, Ten? I bought them all f-for us to eat."

"Hmm? Oh it's not that, Hinata. I'm trying to watch what I eat. Since Miya was born; mochi is so fattening and I don't wanna become one of those fat mothers." she said putting her head on the table. The thought of being able to train and move around without being out of breath scared her to no end.

Hinata was tempted to put it down but Tenten spoke without looking at her. "I know what you're thinking, and don't even think about it." she threatened with made the girl yelp. Though they had never truly talked, now that she was married to her cousin, they were practically sisters-in-law.

"You don't have to watch your figure at all…Naruto must be overjoyed with you…" she mumbled under her breath.

"Please Ten! You look like you haven't gained a pound and you already have a 3 year old daughter!" Sakura told her reassuringly. Tenten simply snorted. "That's what you think. I must be at least 4 sizes bigger now-"

"Well if you went up 4 sizes I have no hope at all!!" Ino blurted out panicking to Sakura like she normally did. "I mean…I eat more than you all combined sometimes! Does this dress make me look fat? It DOES- doesn't it?! I KNEW I should've gotten that beige looking dress-"

Sakura held her up her hand. "Ino, you aren't fat, and beige will never be your color." Sakura argued as she looked at Hinata with envy.

Tenten was right. Over the years, Hinata developed into a woman fit to be known as the Hyuuga heiress. She began growing out her beautiful midnight black hair and started to open up. But despite this, she kept her innocent personality which the men quickly noticed. Especially her growing bust that turned more than a few heads.

"You're just saying that because you have fan boys and you aren't chubby and unattractive…" Ino mumbled as she pushed away the plate of mochi. Though she refused to believe it, Ino had fan boys of her own. With her long, silky blonde hair tied up with bangs shielding one of her cerulean colored eyes and the curves Sakura had always wanted, Ino was far from ugly or chubby.

Sakura smiled at her friends who scolded the blonde for saying such things. At times like this; being with the women she grew up with was refreshing. She could be herself and be understood, but that didn't mean that she didn't enjoy her time with Sasuke. Though she didn't realize it, he listened to her, even when she talked for hours. But it didn't come close to another woman's opinion.

"I should get going. Sasuke-kun's probably pouting that I left." Sakura replied with a small smile. But Ino forced her to sit back down. "What! Chicken boy is actually CARING where you go nowadays?" she demanded.

Sakura blushed. "I guess so…"

"Since when?!"

"Well…when I came back this morning he…acted as though I had been gone for days…I just got up to get snowman bagels…"

"Took him long enough." Tenten said as she crossed her arms. Hinata nodded in agreement. Everyone knew that Sakura had been miserable because she believed Sasuke didn't care about her at all. They also knew she had been working herself to the bone to hide her misery.

"D-Does this mean you're going to c-cut back your hours at the hospital?" Hinata asked as she began to pull out her share of the bill. Tenten followed suit. The pink-haired woman smiled as she nodded. "You guys won't let me have a choice in the matter anyway."

"Damn right!" Ino agreed as she reached into her purse to pay for her tea. "Well I better get home and change." She informed them, but the women looked at her strangely.

"What's wrong with what you're wearing?" Tenten asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I can't go out like this!" Ino said wildly as she stood and pointed to lavender jacket covering most of the white v-neck sweater and matching purple lavende skirt she was wearing.

"A-Anno...why not?" Hinata added, just as confused as Tenten. Ino frowned at the two. "It's a complete fashion no-no!"

"A-After getting dressed, how about we meet at the training grounds, then decide a restaurant to eat?" Hinata suggested.

"If it takes Ino 3 HOURS to get ready I think we better re-think our meeting spot." Ten said glaring at Ino from the corner of her eyes.

"It's not MY fault I want to look my best for everyone!" The blonde shot back as she crossed her arms and looked away with a huff.

"How about we go up to the Hokage's tower to star-gaze? I hear it's going to be cold tonight. I'm sure Naruto can pull a few strings if Hinata seduces him." Sakura interjected. The dark-haired woman flushed furiously.

"Fine, fine. I'll see you guys in a few hours. Come on Miya-chan. I'm sure Neji-kun is worried about you." Tenten told her daughter before the two rose and left.

"I gotta go too. Shika told me he'd help me pick out an outfit if I came home early. See you tonight..." Ino replied with a grumble before rising and going the opposite direction.

"I think...those two just had a fight..." Sakura mumbled as a sweatdrop appeared on the side of Hinata's face. "A-At least...it isn't as bad as a Ino-Temari fight..."

The women nodded in agreement. Before Ino and Shikamaru got together, there had been a love-triangle that included Temari. Though they seemed to get along whenever something involved Shikamaru emotions raged and eventually someone would have to break them up before destroying all of Konoha (Shikamaru stayed out of sight). Temari, in the end, found someone new and went back to the sand.

But it's said that the Nara still stays in touch with Temari (without Ino knowing of course).

"S-Sakura d-do you want to take a walk with me?" she asked timidly. The pink-haired woman simply smiled. "I'd love to."

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"Ahh I love Konoha!" Sakura exclaimed as the two walked through the towns and watched the falling snow.

"I-It's so peaceful here." The dark-haired woman next to her exclaimed. Emerald eyes sparkled. "It is, isn't it? I mean, we aren't a war and we're all living happy lives with the people we love. I heard Tsunade-sama is planning on declaring Naruto as roku-daime when she retires! You must be proud of him, ne?"

Hinata twiddled her fingers around. "H-Hai…I remember back when we were genin. It was all h-he talked about." She paused to look up at the sky. 'It was his dream…but now he's m-making it a reality!"

"I wonder how things are in Suna. Has Naruto heard anything from Gaara lately?"

"N-No, but he sent a note a couple weeks ago. He sent his regards to Naruto-kun." She answered with a smile.

"I see. You know, Naruto really is amazing, Hinata." Sakura commented which surprised the Hyuuga heiress.

"I mean, when we were kids, I just thought he was a loud screw-up that couldn't do anything right because he didn't have parents to discipline him." Sakura paused to look at Hinata who was laughing sheepishly. "But...after being on the same squadron as him I realized that even after Konoha shunned him because of the Kyuubi, he still goes so far for us and never goes back on his word. I can't tell you how many times he protected me when we were little- and even now!"

"I-I think it was fate. I-If he hadn't had such a rough life, he wouldn't be the same Naruto-kun we know." Hinata smiled which made Sakura at a loss for words.

"You're right. If he had parents, and everything he ever wanted, I don't think he would be the goofy, determined, idiot we all came to love. I think he would be a spoiled, lazy brat!"

The two laughed at the thought for awhile before Hinata spoke. "Sasuke-san is p-pretty amazing too," she added with a softly. "H-He's lost more people at one time than we lose in an entire lifetime…yet he still managed to open up."

Sakura nodded solemnly. "It took us awhile to open him up; he had been lonely for so long, he forgot what it was like not to be. For awhile, he forgot about getting revenge on his brother and wanted to stay with us…but when his brother came back…all that we worked for was forgotten and he left…"

"B-But he came back…to you." The heiress protested. But the look on her friend's face didn't soften. "Still...he had been hardened again. Sometimes I wonder if I hadn't been chosen to be on Team 7 with him and Naruto, would things have turned out the way they were? Would he have looked at me twice if we weren't comrades? It's scary how just a few events in a person's lives could change everything."

Hinata gave her a sympathetic smile. "But you WERE chosen to be with him in the end, ne? I think…you're like Sasuke-san's light; the one that saved him from darkness. You were meant to be together!" she replied.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Hinata! You didn't stutter!!"

"I-I didn't?" the woman asked as she looked down at the ground. It was a nasty habit she had developed as a kid because she had been so shy. But with Naruto as her husband, she began to do it less and less. Sometimes, not at all.

Her emerald eyes shone. "I'm glad I can talk to you like this, Hinata. You know, when you open up some of the things you say are really deep. Maybe I should start coming to you more often!"

This made her blush wildly. "I-I'm not that g-great! R-Really, Tenten and Ino are s-so much better than I am-"

Sakura simply slapped her on the back and laughed. "Nonsense! Ino's too hardheaded and Tenten's busy with her family. Besides, you're one of my best friends who married Naruto- practically my brother! Which means we're pretty much family, Hinata!"

"R-Right. I'll keep that in mind." Hinata said with a warm smile as they reached the turning point of each mansion; the Hyuuga's on the left, and the Uchiha's on the right.

After saying their goodbyes the women parted ways. Though one went to the Hyuuga mansion and the other to the Uchiha, Sakura and Hinata were two of the women who would change Konoha history and destroy the old bitter rivalries betwen the clans in exchange for something beautiful.

And their loved ones that have passed on watched over them with smiles on their faces as they watched the two peacefully parting ways temporarily.

Things truly were changing for the better.

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Sasuke-kun, I'm home." Sakura called when she stepped in the door and took off her shoes.

When she didn't get a reply back, she walked through the large mansion looking through the rooms he could possibly be in. "Sasuke-kun?" she asked when she reached their bedroom. He wasn't in there either.

Then she saw a note, from Naruto:

Sakura-chan!

Heheh this is kinda unexpected but since you're with Hinata-chan me and Kiba decided to "borrow" teme for awhile (he needs the sunlight. Seriously is he turning into a hermit??).

I'll bring him back all safe and sound! :)

Naruto

'That Naruto...' Sakura thought as she felt a smile curl at her lips.

'Well at least now I have the house all to myself...no horny Uchihas...so refreshing.' she thought with a giggle before walking to the bathroom and running herself a bubble bath.

"Today is a good day..." she murmured before soaking herself in the pink bubble, strawberry scented water.

TBC...

2 am...so tired...I'll update soon though

Don't hold your breath...

xxasukachanxx