A/N: I hope this makes up a little bit for the other day's short chapter! BTW, thank you for the reviews, as always, I love them! And thank you to .magnolias! Your comment was nice and I appreciate the well wishes. :) ~Tsu

Sakura appeared in her bedroom through a large cloud that soon dissipated.

What have I done?! Oh my Kami, I don't think I should have done that…. No. No. That was fine. It is FINE, Sakura. You couldn't not tell him! You needed to say something. When would you have said anything otherwise? Uh, like, never probably! She thought frantically.

After a few moments of racing thoughts, she undressed herself, leaving her old clothes in a pile against the wall. She slipped an oversized t-shirt on, a gift from Naruto with the Uzamaki crescent enlarged on the back. She slept in it almost every night, not that she'd ever let him know, he'd be too proud about it. It comforted her, though. She felt loved when she wore it, she knew Naruto would never feel any less about her just because he was in love with Hinata. Not that Sakura was jealous, she was exactly the opposite! However, she couldn't help but feel relieved that Naruto felt just as protective of Sakura now as he did before his newfound love interest. For a brief moment when Hinata and Naruto had begun seeing each other, Sakura worried that Naruto would forget about her. She relished in the idea of them being together, they were adorable to her; but she felt like she was someone who was easily forgotten. Sasuke could never love her, not even as a friend, so she questioned if Naruto wasn't fawning over her as a crush, would that mean that he would leave her emotionally just as easily as Sasuke had physically? Naturally, though, she had quickly been relieved of her worries.

Flashback…

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled across the street in a more than obnoxious level. He ran through the people, each of whom gave him a piece of their mind over his public behavior. A granny even hit him with her purse.

"Watch where you're going, young man!" she exclaimed.

Sakura just sighed from her location, shoulders drooping in her usual judgement of her teammate. When he reached her, he was heaving and rubbing his head from the wound he received by the elderly woman.

Right when she opened her mouth to lecture him about proper public behavior and crossing the street in a decent manner, he shoved a small package in her face.

"Here! This is for you!" he said with a huge grin planted on his face.

Sakura looked surprised, her lips skewed in a curious pout and an eyebrow rose.

"This better not be a frog, oh great Toad Sage," she threatened as she began to tear away the paper covering.

Underneath was a simple black t-shirt, probably too big for even Naruto, but on the back was his family symbol. She ran her hand across the circle.

"Do you like it, Sakura-chan? It's too big, I know, that idiot at the store doesn't know what a small is!" He looked at her curiously, concerned that she'd throw it back or question his abilities in buying a simple shirt in the right size.

She looked surprised at his question and met his gaze with confusion.

"You got this made for me?!" She questioned.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her, "Well, duh, Sakura-chan. You're my family. I understand why I grew up the way I did now, and I love and respect my parents for the sacrifices they made, but that doesn't mean I'm alone anymore. Unofficially but still kinda officially, you could be an Uzamaki, too! You beat me up just like any normal sister would I imagine!" He laughed at himself, throwing his arms behind his head.

Sakura gapped at his statement. She clutched the shirt tightly in her hands. He wouldn't know the significance of his proclamation until later, but tears immediately stung her eyes. She bit her entire bottom lip and looked downward, trying to control her emotions but they were too much.

Naruto's eye flew open and his hands went upward in defense. "Sakura-chan! I'm sorry! You don't have to take it! I didn't mean to…"

Sakura interrupted him by throwing her arms around his neck and burrowing her head into the base of his shoulders. He could feel the tears against his skin but he swelled with happiness after she spoke again.

"Thank you, Naruto. This is THE best gift I have ever received. I love it."

To which he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and lifted her off her feet in the embrace. She was only able to manage reaching his neck because he had bent down when she started to cry. He spun her around just a few times and laughed in his usual manner when she went from giggling to wiping her tears and demanding he put her down. So long as she was happy, he would take 1000 scoldings from her.

After putting her down, Sakura placed the shirt in her bag.

"Does Hinata have one?" she asked.

Naruto only wickedly grinned and blushed.

She wacked him over head, "Not only did Jiraiya teach you Sage mode, he taught you how to be a huge perv!" But she smiled while he recovered from her brute strength. They were undoubtedly family.

End Flashback…

After she finished reminiscing over how she received the shirt, she washed her face and climbed into bed. There was nothing more for her to do that night. It had been so long, from eating with the team, to destroying the sparing fields (she cringed when she realized she'd have to deal with Tsunade tomorrow) and all the things between her and Sasuke. She was sure he would never want anything to do with her again.

She sighed. Right now, though, was not the time to be thinking of that. It had to have been 1 or 2 AM. Then, without any struggle, she fell into a deep sleep.

Sasuke had walked back to his apartment, which was fairly close to Naruto's. He was on autopilot. Everything and nothing at all seemed to be going through is mind. Why had he held hands with Sakura? Why did he care where her parents were? Why was he furious at the idea of her struggles while he and Naruto had been blind to her past? Why was he thinking about any of this at all?!

Like clockwork, he took a cold a shower, put on only sweatpants to sleep in and laid on top of the covers, one arm behind his head and the other draped over his abdomen. His eyes bore into the ceiling above him. The room was black, but the only color he could see was translucent emerald. His thoughts rolled over and over the nights' events. He was at war with himself: his choices from years past and from not too long ago. After about an hour of complete silence and no movement, Sasuke came to one conclusion: He hadn't been madly in love with her, but perhaps for longer than he ever wanted to admit, he cared for Sakura in a manner unbecoming of teammates.

Shortly thereafter, he closed his eyes and slept peacefully through the night.

Seven hours later, however, three members of team seven were being awoken by the presence of an ANBU member in their room.

"Uzamaki Naruto…"

"Haruno Sakura…"

"Uchiha Sasuke…"

"Lady Hokage has requested your presence immediately."