A/N: For my Readers and Reviewers,

I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get this chapter up, but I've had this crazy case of writer's block. (Thanks to Alter-Kyo and her story ideas...getting me all distracted and what not, knowing I have a short attention span... -_-'' ) Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. All rights resereved to Masashi Kishimoto.

Naruto walked down the darkened street, his mind clouded with painful memories. The last thing he had wanted to do was to have that conversation. It was bad enough that he had to experience all the pain he had gone through all over again, but to see her sadness at his words made it harder for him to keep the wall that he had built up over the years standing firm. He was torn. Forgive and forget? Dwell and wallow? Ignore and cope? Naruto let out a frustrated sigh as he roughly ran his fingers through his unruly hair. It was too much to think about at once, especially in the late night hustle and bustle of the village. He passed the academy before he broke into a sprint, his destination at the moment unknown.

Tenten sighed and snuggled closer to Neji. The day had been one of the happiest days of her life, but also one of the most exhausting. She smiled as the days events replayed in her mind.

"What are you thinking about?" Neji asked softly as he idly twisted one of Tenten's curls around his finger. She looked up and smiled.

"You." Neji quirked an eyebrow at her with a smirk. Tenten giggled and leaned up to kiss her husband. Neji returned the favor only to pause when the phone rang. He looked at it curiously. Who could be calling so late? He reached over and picked it up.

"Hello? Oh…Hey. Yes she's right here." Neji said as he pulled the phone from his ear and handed it to Tenten.

"Hello? Oh Saku- Honey…calm down. How about I come over and we talk about this ok?" Tenten said, sitting up. She moved out of Neji's embrace and began changing out of her pajamas. Neji sat up and looked at her.

"I'm sure he's fine. Just give him some time…I'll be there in a moment." Tenten said placing the phone on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong?" Tenten pulled her hair out of her shirt collar before sighing and turning to Neji.

"She and Naruto got into a fight… all I really got was that he left and that he was upset and that it was her fault." Neji nodded slowly before getting up and slipping on a shirt and some pants. Tenten looked at him.

"What are you doing?"

"I should go find him. If their fight was what I think it was about, He is going to need someone to talk to. Last time he was even remotely this upset he did some pretty stupid things." Tenten nodded and walked out of the room headed towards Naruto's house.

Tenten hurried to her friend's house and found Sakura staring out the window. The older kunoichi came inside to find out what had gone on between the two only to have Sakura answer her every question in a single shaky question, "I was cruel to him before, wasn't I?"

Tenten sighed, lead Sakura back to the couch, and sat her down, she knelt down by Sakura's knees and nodded, "You broke his heart, and he nearly lost his self in the misery. Sakura, do you know what happened?"

Sakura shook her head "No. Will you tell me?"

Alter-Kyo invasion: *squeal!* total fan-girl fantasy... Neji in a bed with no shirt and no pants... please continue with your reading...

Naruto sighed as he stared over the darkened city. He stared blankly ahead as he watched the trees sway to the gentle breeze.

"Great place to think huh?" Naruto looked over his shoulder at Neji and shrugged. Neji walked to Naruto's side and followed Naruto's gaze over the village.

"Sakura called Tenten…" Neji explained, placing his hands in his pockets. "I assume you told her…"

"She started it." Naruto grumbled his voice raw with held-in emotion. "She lit into me about how I didn't care about her and how I only have her with me because I feel guilty and… it just went downhill from there." Neji nodded slowly.

"Maybe it's just her hormones. Tenten can get pretty crabby when I don't do something correctly…" Naruto shook his head and turned to Neji.

"She tried to apologize… She…She acted as if she didn't even know… But that makes no sense. How could she not know?"

Tenten took a seat on the couch next to Sakura. She looked at her friend quietly as she tried to think of a way to begin. Tenten sighed and looked over to the window at the crescent moon. 'Let's see what good this does…' she thought as she turned to Sakura.

"Well," Tenten pushed her bangs out of the way and sighed, "It all started that last time Naruto told you he loved you. I couldn't believe what Neji had told me when he said you laughed in Naruto's face. He shut down after that, came to train with Lee, Neji, and I but he looked so dead. He'd do every reckless thing in the book." Tenten explained, "I guess you could say it really began back when we were kids. You know of Naruto's past life and how he was treated so I won't go into that, but it was your acceptance of who he was that made him begin to like you, and soon love you. Sakura, to Naruto you were his… saving grace. He said that whenever he was upset or sad he would think of you and remind himself that not everyone hated him. Not everyone blamed him for the chaos that wrecked the village, for the millions of deaths that occurred. Team 7 was what he fought for, what he lived for and you… you are what he would die trying to protect.

When Sasuke left to be with Orochimaru, Naruto went after him because he couldn't stand to see you upset. He was so happy to see you smile when he brought Sasuke back to you. Even though he was broken and bloody, he was so relieved to know that you smiled again. That's when things went bad. Now that Sasuke was back, you reverted to your old self. You tormented him, teased him, put him down… everything you could to make him feel like crap. But the worst was when he told you he loved you..."

Tenten paused and thought back as she spoke, "When he asked you to meet him at the park so he could talk to you was what he now calls one of his biggest mistakes. Your reaction made him regret everything he'd ever done, and felt…"

Sakura blinked quickly, the tears forming in her eyes threatening to fall down her cheeks. Her mind took her back to that day.

"H-hey Sakura-Chan!" Naruto said with a smile as he looked up at the pink haired kunoichi. Sakura smiled and looked at her teammate slowly taking in his nice outfit and tamed hair.

"What's the occasion?" she asked, looking over the blonde. He smiled and shrugged.

"I…wanted to try something different." He paused and looked at the ground, before turning his attention back to her. "Would you go for a walk with me?" Sakura looked at Naruto in confusion. Her teammate was acting strange. Sakura shrugged and nodded, "Sure."

The two walked through the park in silence, Sakura petals falling from the trees above. Naruto came to a stop at the bench that faced the pond and sat, motioning for Sakura to do the same. Sakura sat and looked at Naruto.

"So… what'd you want to talk about?" Naruto chewed on his lower lip lightly, reaching down beside him to pick up a small bouquet of roses. He held it out for Sakura, keeping his eyes from her gaze. Sakura looked at the flowers in confusion.

"Naruto what-"

"I've been trying to gather up the courage to ask you this but it's been hard…especially with all that has happened lately but…" He turned and looked at Sakura. "Sakura I love you. I love you more than as a friend, and I have for a while. I know I've asked you for a lot and I've been kind of selfish but… I…I was wondering if you would go out with me. Be my girlfriend… I promise I will be the best boyfriend you have ever had! I'll do everything to make this work and keep you smiling. I…" He paused and blushed a little. "It makes my heart warm to see your smile… So… Will you?"

Sakura looked at Naruto with a blank expression. She wasn't sure if the dodo-brained friend of hers had just really said what she thought he did. Sakura mentally shook her head. No… Naruto didn't mean what he said. Sakura broke into laughter at her thought.


"Naruto... You're funny. I know you don't mean that, I know this was just one of your ways of making sure my love for Sasuke is still strong. It is, but thank you for helping Sasuke confirm any doubts he had about me." She said with a smile, taking the bouquet and sniffing it. Naruto shook his head. This wasn't what was supposed to happen.

"Sakura-Chan… I-I…"

"These flowers smell so good! I didn't know Sasuke-Kun had such a good taste in flowers. I bet Ino helped him pick these out." She said, more to herself than Naruto. Naruto sat back in his seat and shook his head. This… why wasn't this turning out like he had expected? The teen jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked over to see Sakura's concerned expression.

"Naruto are you ok?" The blonde nodded and ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"Y-yeah…"

"Well I better get going, I have to go to the hospital in a few minutes and now I want to stop and shop for something for Sasuke-Kun! Thanks for giving me the flowers he picked Naruto!" She said as she walked off, leaving a dazed and hurt Naruto on the bench.

Sakura's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Oh god… I hurt him. I was so…naïve and cruel…I… why didn't anyone tell me?"

Tenten sighed, "We were going to… Hinata and Ino were furious with you when they found out how you had treated him, but Naruto said to leave it alone. He said it seemed that you had made your permanent choice."

Sakura shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing. "If I did that to him, hurt him so much why…why does he still treat me as a friend?" Sakura asked quietly, tears now streaming down her face. Tenten shrugged nonchalantly.

"That's Naruto for you. The same reason he forgave Sasuke… and everyone else who caused him pain."

"Ugh… I'm a terrible person…. I-I…" The pink haired kunoichi stopped as soft sobs racked her body. Tenten patted Sakura's back.

"Sakura…you're not a bad person. You never know how your actions affect others. I empathize with both you and Naruto. I would suggest giving it some time…maybe try apologizing to him."

Sakura looked up and shook her head.

"He doesn't want my apology. He said he thought he needed me to apologize so he could get over it but now he says that's not what he wants; that what he wants is something he can never have…"

Tenten bit her lip and sighed through her teeth. 'So he really has fallen back in love with her…' She shifted her weight on the couch and looked at Sakura.

"Tenten… What if he's in trouble?" Sakura said softly as she looked out of the window, her mind taking her back to when Naruto stormed out of the house.

"Neji went to go find him after you called. He is fine. If there is anyone who can get through to Naruto besides Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-Sensei, Tsunade-Sama and you, it's Neji." Tenten looked at Sakura, "Why don't you go change out of your dress and take a warm bath? I'll fix some tea while you're up there." Sakura looked at Tenten before complying and making her way up the stairs.

Neji sighed, took some money out of Naruto's wallet, and placed it on the bar counter. His gaze flickered over to Naruto's unconscious form sprawled out, face down on the counter. He shook his head at his friend. He was really taking this hard. 'And here I thought the last time was bad…' He thanked the bartender and walked over to Naruto, hoisting the blonde up, draping and arm over his shoulder as he began to walk him back home. Neji looked down when he heard a groan come from the male.

"Ah… my head…what…happened?" Naruto grumbled hoarsely, looking up at Neji through one hazy blue eye.

"You got wasted and decided to get into a bar fight. If you hadn't knocked the other guy out, I'd say you'd be in worse condition. You're lucky you still remember your skills when you're drunk." Naruto stayed quiet and Neji shook his head.

"At least it's not as bad as the last time." Neji said quietly and lead Naruto up the walkway to his front door. He knocked on the door and waited until it opened, receiving a quiet gasp from Tenten when she looked at Naruto.

"What happened?!" She said, her voice pitch heightened with concern. Neji shook his head and walked into the house, placing Naruto on the couch. Tenten looked at the blonde, his condition told her everything she needed to know. He was still in his tuxedo, only things missing were the vest and the jacket, there was a gash on his temple that had blood trickling down the side of his face, a bruise on his cheek from what she assumed was a punch to the face and his hands were all cut up with small shards of broken glass in them. Naruto cracked an eye open and looked at Tenten and Neji. Before he could even speak, Tenten had disappeared down the hall only to return with a washcloth and water. Naruto watched as his teammate's wife dabbed at his face and hands.

"Naruto… you should learn ways to get rid of all these pent up emotions more constructively…" She sighed and shook her head. She had to admit it was better than when he decided to see how far he could push himself, physically, mentally and emotionally. That was a train wreck.

"This is constructive if you think about all the things I could've done… and those probably would've hurt more than just some guy in a bar." Naruto grumbled sitting up on the couch. Tenten turned to Neji and silently motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen.

"I'm going to go make you some coffee…it'll help." She said as she and Neji walked into the kitchen. Tenten spun around and glared at Neji.

"Neji! How much did he drink?"

"He drank four whole bottles of Sake. It wasn't until halfway through the third one that he started getting drunk."

"And you didn't stop him?"

"Naruto and I have a mutual understanding. He deals with different things in different ways. I'm there for him when he needs to have a backup or a designated 'driver'…"

"Neji…out of all the…"

"Tenten. He's hurting…He's had to bury his feelings for the past few months and now he's finally came out and said what he felt. Not to mention he has to live with her and the possible fact that she had no clue what she really did to him…"

Tenten sighed and placed the coffee pot on the stove. "I suppose… Well Sakura's upstairs asleep so he doesn't have to worry about her tonight." The two stood quietly in the kitchen, Neji watched as Tenten poured the coffee into a cup for their teammate and made her way back to him.

"Naruto I…" Neji looked at the couch and chuckled. The two smiled at Naruto's sleeping form on the couch. Tenten took a blanket from the other side of the couch and draped it over him as she took Neji's hand.

"He'll be out until morning… let's go home." Tenten nodded and they left.

A/N: ....... 0_o" .......

I had nothing to do with the...."Alter-Kyo invasion". and A-K that's not what I meant! He was in PAJAMAS... not with no clothes on ... sheesh.