You guys probably thought I went missing but I'm here, I apologize for taking so long. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for all the support!

Disclaimer: I do not own

Naruto was sitting on the couch, once again, when Sasuke returned home from the warehouse. Sasuke entered without saying a word to his blond roommate, and he slumped down into the couch next to him and closed his eyes. Naruto just watched Sasuke in pure amusement, already knowing that he had a rought day in the warehouse; it was not an easy job to be the leader of a drug cartel.

"Rough day?" Naruto asked with a slight chuckle, flipping through the channels of the television.

Sasuke sighed as he opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. "We killed one of their main men Dobe; it wasn't a part of the plan but it had to be done." Sasuke admitted to his best friend, knowing that Naruto did not want to make attacks on the rivaling cartel just yet.

Naruto sat silently for several seconds, processing over the information, before responding back to Sasuke. "Does the leader know yet?"

"I'm positive that she or her second in command was informed first before anyone else. I talked to Itachi already, and since it happened in the streets he said the police won't know what gang or cartel did it."

"And what if evidence is found on our men?" Naruto asked as he stared into the empty space in front of him. "I'll be damned if one of our men gets locked up."

"What does Itachi do whenever there is evidence that can put us in a bad position?" Sasuke asked Naruto. "He throws it away right? Itachi is on our side, don't worry dobe. He has saved both of our asses countless of times before; the police department still doesn't know that you are the head of this cartel because of Itachi."

Naruto nodded in understanding, "She's going to plan an attack, she'll think that we did this on purpose." Naruto said in a low, some-what threatening tone.

"Then we will deal with it but for right now let's just relax; I'm tired of dealing with the business for today, I don't know how you do it." Sasuke said as he lifted himself off of the couch, "I'm going to head to bed, we have Sakura's barbeque tomorrow, right?"

Naruto only nodded in response as he allowed himself to get absorbed by the television once again. Naruto didn't want to start a war with the rivaling cartel but it seemed like it was bound to happen no matter what move he decided to make. Unlike Sasuke, Naruto couldn't ignore what happened and worry about it later; it was the leader's responsibility to prepare and take care of a problem. Naruto knew it was best if he found a solution to his predicament but his mind wasn't in the right place, all he could think about was Sakura and the barbeque with all his friends.

Sakura stood in the frame of the front door to her and Ino's home. She couldn't move past the threshold, her mind couldn't process what she was seeing. Ino was sitting on their living room floor with a bloody body laying in her lap. The person was a male, around the age of 18, and he had short brown hair. Sakura knew who the boy was but she couldn't bring herself to fully believe what she was seeing; Sakura believed that Ino was playing some sick joke on her and she wanted it to stop.

The boy turned his head to the side, looking Sakura directly in the eye. "Hey boss," He said softly with a small grin, "I got myself into trouble this time, eh?"

Sakura held back the sob that was escaping from her lips. She shook her head at the boy on the floor, "Keito...you certainly did get yourself into trouble..."

Sakura wrapped her arms around her body and slowly made her way to the living room. She placed her coat and bags on the kitchen table as she passed it, and sat down indian-style next to Keito's body. Sakura looked over Keito more closely and saw several bullet wounds just in the area of his torso. Sakura didn't dare to allow herself to look for anymore wounds, afraid of what other injuries she might find.

Ino stroked Keito's hair affectionately, rocking herself back and forth at the same time also. Sakura stared at Ino's crying face sadly. She had blood and dirt smeared on her cheeks, Sakura only assumed it was from Keito, and her eyes were red from crying so much. Sakura's heart ached for Ino, she knew the two of them had something going on in secrecy. If Sakura remembered correctly, there were a number of mornings where she spotted the two in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Like any other teenage couple, they had their future planned already, and marriage was apart of those plans.

Keito wasn't only involved with the two girls on a personal level, he was also one of Sakura's best workers; Keito was in charge of one of Sakura's branches. He was one of the most loyal men Sakura had, anything she needed he got it for her.

"What happened Keito...? Why aren't you in a hospital?" Sakura questioned Keito, who only chuckled in response.

"What else could've happened boss?" Keito said sarcastically in a weak voice. "It was the opposing cartel. I was giving out my weekly supply to one of my dealers when they tried to rob me; they didn't think I was going to fight back."

"How many of them were there?" Sakura asked as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"About a dozen or so..."

"Twelve fucking guys verses one. Does that sound like a good idea Keito?" Sakura snapped at his stupidity. Due to Sakura's outburst, Ino began to sob violently.

"Ehh, it didn't sound as bad in my head, but I had five-hundred dollars worth of kush in the trunk... you would've been pissed either way boss."

Sakura shook her head; she could be heartless sometimes but this put his life in danger, she wouldn't of been mad if he explained what happened. "...I wouldn't of..."

"Well, I pulled out my gun and that was it; all twelve of them shot at me. I'm surprised I didn't die right there."

Ino sobbed louder after Keito finished that sentence. She couldn't bare to listen to the story but she refused to leave his side in the state he was in. Ino had a feeling in her gut that Keito was going to die because of his wounds, and she wanted to be with him in his last moments.

"Why aren't you at a hospital instead of here, they can help you there." Sakura said softly, trying not to disturb her best friend anymore.

"Ino found me lying in the middle of the road, it was as if it was fate. I would've died right there- and I'm going to die regardless- but Ino found me and I'm going to spend my last moments with her instead of in a damned hospital. "

Sakura was quiet for a while before looking at Keito in his eyes. "You're not going to die Keito, not while I'm here." Sakura said as she began to lift herself off of the ground.

"It's too late..." Keito said weakly. He suddenly began to cough violently, spitting up blood all over himself also.

Sakura only shook her head as she walked around looking for the supplies she needed. Sakura quickly gathered what she needed and sat next to Keito. Sakura was in the process of removing Keito's shirt when she stopped to look at Ino.

"Ino..." Sakura said softly to the shaking girl, "I'll need your help if you want him to survive."

Ino slowly looked up at the pinkette with blond strands stuck to her red face. Ino nodded slowly at Sakura but she was still zoned out and confused.

"Don't waste your time... it's too late boss..." Keito breathed out, struggling to inhale correctly now.

Sakura shook her head, "Shut up Keito." She whispered as she cut off his shirt while Ino substituted a towel for her lap so she was able to assist Sakura.

"He's losing too much blood." Sakura said to Ino who was sitting on the other side of Keito directly across from her.

"We need to remove the bullets first, right?" Ino asked while she wiped away the tears that were on her face.

"Correct. Take these but clean them first with the peroxide, we don't want the wounds to get infected." Sakura informed Ino, handing her a pair of tweezers and pointing to the brown bottle near Keito's head.

Ino nodded and got right to work, only worried about if they could actually pull it off and save a life. Sakura had already disinfected the other pair of tweezers, so she began to remove the bullets that were stuck in his torso area. To Sakura there seemed like there were only fourteen bullet wounds which could have been a greater number since there was a dozen of guys that fired at him. Ino was soon following Sakura's actions, removing the bullets on her side of the body.

"What do we do now?" Ino asked as she held the bloody bullets in her left hand.

Sakura sighed and grabbed the peroxide bottle next to Keito's head, "He's not going to enjoy this." Sakura held the bottle and slowly poured it over Keito's entire chest and stomach.

"Shit." Keito hissed as he arched his back in pain.

"Shhh, this will only help." Ino tried to sooth Keito but the burns were only adding on to the pain he was feeling. Ino felt herself go teary eyed having to watch him in so much agony.

"Sakura," Ino whispered, "what if one of the bullets hit a vital organ?"

Sakura looked at Ino with soft eyes, "Let's not think about that, we did our best; now all we have to do is close up the holes."

"And how are we going to do that?"

Sakura held up a box of band-aids towards Ino, "This is all we have."

"I guess band-aids will have to do," Ino sighed while grabbing a hand full of them from the box.

Keito used all his power to raise his head and look at the box. "Wow, I'm really going to die if all you have is band-aids." He chuckled weakly, resting his head back down on the towel.

"That's not funny at all." Ino said as she began placing the band-aids over the wounds.

Once all the wounds were covered the two girls helped bring Keito to his feet, moving him to the guest bedroom to lay down and rest. The two of them left Keito alone and returned back to the livingroom, cleaning up all the blood and extra materials on the floor.

"I'm calling Tsunade." Sakura announced as she put away the peroxide in the cabinet it belonged to.

Ino stopped what she was doing and stared at Sakura wide-eyed, "I can't ask you to do that Sakura, we don't need her."

Sakura sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, "I can't let my pride get in the middle of this one, a life is at stake here. Keito doesn't want to go to a hospital and she is the only person that can help us, and she won't question about what happened."

"Yeah, but she'll scream and lecture you for hours. She'll blame you for this somehow."

"I know," Sakura said, leaning against the kitchen counter, "but if she makes sure he is okay then I'll deal with it."

"Thank you Sakura," Ino said greatfully as she ran to give her best friend a hug, "I know how hard this must be for you."

"It's fine, I can handle her." Sakura said while hugging Ino back, "This is for Keito."

Ino nodded, letting go of Sakura. Ino looked at Sakura with a serious expression, "What are we going to do about this rivaling cartel now? They almost killed Keito."

"It's war now," Sakura said darkly as she looked out the window in the kitchen, "there was no need to try to kill one of ours. They deserve everything we're about to throw at them."

Naruto sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. He wore simple khakis shorts and a stripped tank top but he wanted to make sure he looked attractive for Sakura's barbeque. He only assumed that Sakura would be there since it was her barbeque, and that was the only person he really wanted to impress. Naruto had decided that he would address the cartel's problems after the barbeque, once his mind was cleared.

"Dobe, are you ready to go?" Sasuke asked as he walked into the front hall near the door, holding the car keys in his hand.

"Yeah," Naruto said as he glanced in the mirror one last time, "what time does it start?"

"It started an hour ago dickwad."

Naruto stared at Sasuke for several seconds before speaking, "No, it starts at four."

Sasuke sighed as he opened the front door, "It's now five o'clock."

Naruto looked at his phone to read that the time was actually five o'clock, 5:03 to be exact. "Shit." He swore as he grabbed a jacket and made his way out of the door. Naruto swore it was only 3:47 when he last checked his phone.

Sasuke locked the door behind him on his way out, and he followed Naruto down the stairs to the car. They entered Sasuke's car at a hasty pace, already an hour late to the function. Naruto sat in the passenger's seat complaining about their lateness while Sasuke drove and tried not to strangle the annoying blond. They reached Sakura's house in less than twenty minutes, and when they arrived her driveway was already cluttered with cars. Sasuke parked the car on Sakura's lawn despite of the imposition he received from Naruto because there were no more parking spaces available to his liking.

"Sakura-chan is going to kill you." Naruto said as he stepped out of the car and onto the grass.

"Shut up dobe, she's just going to have to deal with it." Sasuke retorted while locking the car doors. He followed Naruto up the lawn to the front door of the massive house.

"How do the two of them afford this? We live in an apartment and you're a drug lord. What do they do that can afford this?" Sasuke asked, motioning to the modernized home.

"Sakura's parents left her tons of money when they died; they aren't prostitutes if that's what you were thinking. Sakura-chan isn't the head of a drug cartel either, she's too innocent for all of that." Naruto answered as he rang the door bell.

Sasuke laughed as he put his hands in his pockets. "I don't know, I can see Sakura living some kind of double life."

"I can't, " Naruto said with a shake of the head, "she's not merciful, she can't take a life. I know Sakura-chan like the back of my hand, and she's not cut out for our type of lifestyle."

The girl of which their conversation was about answered the door with a huge smile on her face. She hugged Naruto and Sasuke excitedly before dragging them in the house.

"Everyone is already here!" Sakura said as she led the two to the backyard. "Kiba was looking for you two."

"Sakura-chan what's over there?" Naruto said, his attention drawn to a room down the hall in which all the lights were on. A few people were crowded around the door and Ino was a part of the group.

"Oh that's nothing, family stuff," Sakura lied while pulling the blond away from the room of her injured friend, "the real party is out here!"

Naruto and Sasuke stepped out of the house and into the backyard, amazed by the sight in front of them. Sakura's backyard was huge, it had a full patio with an inground pool and trampolines everywhere; Sakura was not lying when she said it was a party. The place was decorated with lights all around and music was blasting from two massive speakers that were placed on the deck. The whole place was packed with people; people were on the trampolines, in the pool, and dancing everywhere.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto screamed over the music, "I thought you said this was supposed to be a small get together."

"It is!" Sakura replied in his ear, "Just go have fun already! Look! Sasuke is enjoying himself!" Sakura pointed to the black haired male who was quickly downing his first drink.

Naruto shook his head as he grabbed Sakura's wrist to prevent her from leaving just yet. "I only came here for you Sakura-chan," he whispered in her ear.

Sakura blushed as she looked up at Naruto. "Alright," she said to him, "come with me then."

Sakura led Naruto back into the house and into the hallway where Keito was staying in. Naruto easily spotted his room before because of all the activity going on around it; all she had to do now was make up a believable story before bringing Naruto into the room.

"What are we doing Sakura-chan? I never thought you were this type of girl." Naruto said with a devious smirk, moving closer to the pinkette.

"That's not what we're doing!" Sakura laughed as she pushed him away. "...my cousin is in bad shape and I'm not sure if he'll make it..." Sakura said solemnly, her whole mood going through a drastic change.

"...Is he in the room over there...?" Naruto asked while pointing to the illuminated room at the end of the hall, the one he noticed when first walking in.

"Yeah, just follow me." Sakura said quietly as she made her way to the room.

The two of them entered silently, careful not disturd Keito who was in the bed and the woman who was hovering over him. The woman looked as if she was in her late twenties or early thirties, and her breasts were probably her most noticeable feature. She had platniun blonde hair and there was a diamond shaped birth mark on her forehead. Naruto also noticed that Ino was in the room; she was crying silently in the opposite corner of the room, and Kiba was trying to hold and comfort her but it was not working.

"Sakura," Tsunade said in a soft voice that was unusual to Sakura, "things aren't looking well."

Sakura looked back and forth between Keito and Tsunade, understanding what she was trying to say. Keito's condition was only worsening, and there was not much that they could do. It seemed like death was inevitable for the young man, just like he said it was.

Keito was pale and his breathing was now quick and desperate. "The pain," Keito said with a raspy voice, "someone please just end this."

Ino's sobs grew louder and Sakura found herself trying to fight back tears once again; Keito was begging for someone to end his life. Sakura moved closer to Keito, who was twisting in pain, and gently rested a hand on his arm.

"Keito," Sakura said quietly, "what are you saying...?"

Keito shut his eyes tightly as his own tears began to fall. "It's too much pain," Keito cried, "I'm going to die regardless."

Sakura nodded slowly and she turned to Tsunade for answers, "Do you have anything?" she asked.

Tsunade nodded as she began to rummage through her large purse that was placed on the edge of the bed. She soon found what she was looking for and held up a large pill. "One of these and that's it..."

Keito held out his hand, awaiting the pill, he would do anything to end the pain at this point. Keito knew the end result was going to be the same the only difference was how long he endured the pain.

"Wait... Keito you don't have to do this," Ino said in between sobs, "We can figure something out."

Keito shut his eyes tightly as more tears began to fall. "I'm so sorry Ino." Keito said sadly, "I can't ask you to forgive me for doing this but there's one thing that I ask of you..."

"What..?" Ino asked as she moved to stand by Keito's side.

Keito smiled sadly at Ino and grabbed her hand, "Don't let this be the end of the world for yo-"

"What do you mean Keito?" Ino cried, "You're dying on me..."

"Ino, let me speak please." Keito waited a few moments before continuing on. "I understand that I'm leaving you here- and I'm so sorry for it- but I want you to move on, okay?"

"Move on?" Ino shouted, "Keito you're dying for crying out loud, you haven't even given me a chance to grieve." Ino was in tears while speaking to Keito, these were her last moments with him and she couldn't believe what he was asking her to do.

Keito laughed slightly and wiped the tears off of Ino's face. "I know it's a lot to ask for," he said, "but please do it for me."

Ino looked down, avoiding eye contact with Keito, and remained silent to his request. Everyone that was currently in the room stood to the sides watching the duo sadly. Sakura began to feel her anger build by the seconds that passed; she was going to kill every single person that was involved with the incident that led to Keito' s death. Not only was one of her best men dying, but her best friend was suffering and that was something she did not allow anyone to get away with.

Naruto stood next to Sakura with a feeling of pity for Ino. He didn't know what was causing the kid to die, or how long they knew each other, but he could tell they had strong feelings for one another by just looking at them interact with one another. The whole scene was sad to Naruto, but it wasn't enough to make him cry. The last time Naruto cried was when he was twelve years old, and he sworn to himself he would never do it again.

"Ino," Keito said while moving to sit up despite the extraordinary pain he was experiencing, "can you please promise me that."

Ino nodded in response as she wiped away the remaining tears on her face. "I promise."

Keito grabbed Ino's face and kissed her passionately for the last time. Keito's body was screaming in pain but he ignored it because he only had a few more minutes left. Tears began to escape out of Ino's eyes again once they broke a part, she knew this really was the end.

"I'm ready now," Keito said in a low voice, his shaky hand stretched out towards Tsunade.

Tsunade stepped foward and placed the pill in Keito's hand. She whispered instructions to Keito before turning to face the rest of the group. "We should let these two have their time together now," she said, "I know this is no time for a party but we must get out there."

No one argued with Tsunade but said their respected goodbyes before exiting the room.

Sakura was the last one left in the room, besides Ino, and she walked up to Keito and gave him a sad smile, "Well, I'm not going to have to clean after your messes anymore; I don't know if I should cry about that or be relieved."

"Be relieved boss," Keito chuckled, "I can't get into anymore trouble."

Sakura let out a laugh but it turned to a soft sob. Sakura quickly got herself together before she turned into a crying mess.

"I'll see you around Keito." Sakura said as she began to leave the room.

"I'll see you in hell boss, we both know we're not going to heaven." Keito said with a slight grin.

Sakura shook her head as she closed the door to his grinning face. She was amazed that Keito was still himself despite of the pain he was going through. There was one thing that was stuck in Sakura's mind though; she was going to murder Keito's killers with her bare hands.

I hope you enjoyed reading this! Keito was just an OC of mine and this is just a little incident that adds to the plot. Anyway, this is your time to review now, so go !