Author's Note: Forgive me for terribly explaining everyone's attires and looks now. I'm doing my best to explain what they are wearing from The Last. Just imagine that when I explain their looks or if you don't know what I mean search for their The Last looks. I didn't put in Sasuke's poncho either because I just didn't want to.

Now, it was a week and two days before the festival and the other nations would be arriving soon. Sasuke had woken up each night to different terrible memories. He didn't know it, but each time he woke up, he woke Sakura up. She was starting to worry about him. Ever since the incident a few nights ago, he hardly talked to anyone unless he needed something. This morning when Sakura was woken up, she decided that she was going to make him talk.

Sasuke came out of the bathroom and was irritated to see that she was up again. He didn't say anything and sat down next to her on the couch.

"What's wrong with you?" she questioned.

He crossed his arms. "I don't know what you mean."

She narrowed her eyes. "You've woken up every night since you came back."

He widened his eyes slightly. How did she know that?! "Maybe I have. Why do you care?"

She was getting upset now. "I care because you're my friend."

"I shouldn't be," he mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" She was just confused now.

Sasuke gave an annoyed growl. "Nothing! Just forget I said that. Go back to sleep."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me something! You haven't told us, haven't told ME anything since you came back. I thought that we should give you time, but you've had three years Sasuke!"

He got up and walked to stand in front of where she sat. She stood up, too. He was apparently trying to intimidate her, but the kunoichi wasn't backing down.

Sakura was furious. "If you don't tell me anything because it's to 'protect' me, then you should know that I'm not some stupid little girl anymore."

Sasuke was slightly taken aback. "I never said that."

"Then why won't you tell me anything! What's the real reason?"

The Uchiha said nothing and stared at the floor.

"If you don't tell me something, then you have to come out of the apartment today," she said.

No response. She continued to wait but nothing came. Walking back to her room, she slammed the door behind her and sat on the bed.

Sasuke stood in the same spot where she had left him. He couldn't tell her anything. But why? Was she right? No, he never thought of her as some "stupid little girl". The part about protecting her though... All he wanted to do now was protect her. Not just the standard protection, he knew she could handle herself. The protection he wanted to give to her was safety from a certain person. From Sasuke Uchiha, from him. Never again could he hurt her the way he had already done. But was he causing her even more pain now?

It was about noon. Naruto and Sakura had basically dragged Sasuke out of the apartment. Sasuke and Sakura were currently not on speaking terms, so it was mainly just her and Naruto doing the talking.

"So did Hinata and the others get back safe?" she asked the Uzumaki.

He nodded happily. He was going to say something, but he started to notice the tension between his teammates. Silence had taken over the team as Naruto shifted his blue gaze between the other two. "Wonder what's up with them..." he thought to himself as he started to stare forward.

Just as he had fully turned his head to the front, Naruto and Sakura heard a cry of pain followed by a very loud curse word. They turned back to see a familiar large dog with his teeth deep in Sasuke's leg.

The crackle of lightning started when someone else began to shout.

"Akamaru, stop! It's okay!" A very exhausted Kiba Inuzuka screamed as he came into view.

The Inuzuka's companion quickly let go when he heard his owner's voice. He jogged over to Kiba and away from a livid Uchiha.

Kiba chuckled nervously. "Oh hey Sasuke. I heard you got back a few days ago. Sorry about Akamaru, he's been a little restless lately."

Sasuke had crouched down to examine his bleeding leg. He looked up, still furious, at Kiba and Akamaru. "Hn, Kiba."

Kiba breathed a small sigh of relief. "Thank goodness he didn't try to kill me," he thought to himself. As he finished his thoughts, the other members of his team came into view behind him. Hinata Hyuga, now Uzumaki, and Shino Aburame walked towards their comrades.

Naruto immediately beamed with joy. "Hey Hinata!" he called as he waved toward his wife. She blushed and waved back.

Sasuke looked at all of his past comrades. Kiba's hair was less spiky than usual and he had apparently started to grow facial hair, he guessed by seeing some on the Inuzuka's chin. He was also wearing fingerless gloves that came up halfway in between his elbows and wrists. The coat he wore was a little different than usual. His dog companion Akamaru had gotten even bigger than the last time Sasuke had seen the dog. Other than his size, he still looked the same.

The only reason Sasuke had remembered Shino Aburame was because of the fact that he had bugs living inside him. The image of the bugs helping Shino in battle came to mind. He was wearing a long coat with the hood up. What he could see under the hood was a pair of dark googles, or something of the sort, and his hair was almost shoulder length.

Hinata was wearing a light lavender blouse with dark navy blue shorts. Her blueish-black hair was now all the way down to her waist. Other than that, she hadn't changed to much.

"Hello Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke," Hinata greeted.

"Hn, Hinata, Shino," Sasuke responded, still looking at the bloody holes in his leg.

When the others greeted each other, Shino gave a small laugh.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that Sasuke remembered who I was and he's been gone for three years. You were gone for two and couldn't remember," the Aburame retorted.

As Naruto and Shino started to argue, with Hinata trying to break it up and Kiba snickering, Sakura made her way to Sasuke and crouched beside him. She slapped his hands away from the wound and green healing chakra appeared.

"Sakura, you don't have to-" he started.

"Just shut up and let me concentrate," she mumbled back to him.

"I'm sorry for this morning," he said.

She still didn't look at him. "It's fine." She wrapped a small bandage around the now small wound. "I'm sorry too."

"For what?" he asked as they stood up.

"For going off on you like that."

He didn't say anything else. She should not have to apologize to him for anything. Especially for something as simple as a small argument. He wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her until she promised to never say sorry to him again. Instead, he kept his silence.

Hinata had finally managed to shut Naruto up. She sighed. "So where were you guys heading?"

"No where in particular," Sakura answered.

"We were just about to meet with Shikamaru and Choji to see about the arrivals. Would you guys like to come?"

"Sounds great to me!" Naruto said.

"Since when do you like going to things where you have to pay attention?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"Hmph! Is there ever a time when you're not a jerk?" the Uzumaki shouted back, putting his hands behind his head.

They headed off and Sakura went to talk with Hinata. "I still don't see how you can put up with that all the time," she smiled.

Hinata laughed and glanced at her screaming husband. "It can get a little annoying sometimes, but I live with it."

"I thought Ino was supposed to be helping with arrivals too," Sakura said.

Hinata smiled. "Her and Sai are on a date. She said that she would come later." Hinata stopped when she saw the upset look on the pink haired kunoichi's face. "Is there something wrong?"

Sakura quickly smiled. "No, everything's fine. I'm just stressed about the arrivals is all."

"Why would you be worried about the arrivals?" Hinata asked, baffled.

The Haruno mentally face palmed. That was a terrible excuse. "Hinata, how did you feel about Naruto being completely oblivious to your feelings all those years?"

The former Hyuga looked back at a stoic Uchiha and back at Sakura. She was well aware of her feelings for him, and that Sasuke knew how she felt, too.

"We need a girl talk later. Me, you, Ino, and Tenten," she responded with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"What? Them to?" she asked with worry.

"Trust me," Hinata said, still smiling.

Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi had been patiently waiting for the others to arrive. The best friends chatted about this and that until the others had come into view.

Sasuke looked at Shikamaru and Choji. This was getting to be to many people. He wondered who else he'd have to get reacquainted with today. He frowned at the word reacquainted and turned his gaze back to the two comrades.

Shikamaru Nara had probably changed the least out of everyone Sasuke had seen so far. His dark hair was still pulled back into a tight ponytail, and his earrings were still the classic studs.

Choji Akimichi's attire remained pretty much the same. His hair, however, was now short and he had facial hair on his chin. The earrings he wore were also studs. He also looked to have lost some weight.

They reached their destination and everyone said their greetings. Sasuke was really starting to get annoyed by how many people he was forced to catch up with in one day.

"Hn, Shikamaru, Choji." He was grateful that they said a normal greeting and didn't ask any questions.

"Well," Shikamaru began, "I just got word from the Hokage that the Sand Village will be arriving today."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. He wasn't prepared to speak to the Kazekage or his siblings today. That feeling that he had of despising Gaara had finally gone away. He still had no clue why he had gotten the feeling in the first place.

Choji spoke up. "We don't have to do much. We just have to greet them and all that. There's nothing to it." He turned to look at the Nara with a wide grin. "I bet Shikamaru is excited that they're the first to arrive. It's been about a month since you last saw Temari hasn't it?"

Everyone except for Sasuke turned to Shikamaru with a teasing look. He turned a light shade of red with embarrassment. "Why are you guys always teasing me about being in a relationship? Is it really worth it?"

Naruto laughed. "Oh c'mon Shikamaru we're just goofing around! Look at it this way, at least we can get girlfriends!"

The Nara gave a small smile. "Well, I guess if you put it that way. They won't be arriving until late this afternoon so we have some free time."

Choji immediately beamed. "What do you guys say we go to an all you can eat buffet for lunch?!"

The others nodded in agreement and Kiba started to go off on Naruto for the girlfriend comment. All of them started moving, but one.

Sasuke looked on. A frown came and he looked at the ground. He thought to himself. "Look at them. All laughing and smiling. Why can't I be like that? Even Shikamaru, one of the laziest shinobi I know, is having a good time. Shino is actually showing emotion, too. I don't deserve friends like that. I don't deserve friends at all." He turned to go the other way when someone grabbed his wrist.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked with concern.

"Go with them. I'll see you later," he finished. When he started to walk away again he was pulled back.

"Why aren't you coming with us?"

"I don't like being around that many people," he lied.

"That's one of the worst lies you've ever told," she smirked. "I'll ask you again. Why aren't you coming with us?"

"Why do I have to?" he questioned coldly.

She was slightly taken aback by his sudden mood change. "You don't. I just don't want you to be alone. Don't you ever get tired of it?"

He jerked his wrist away. "I'm used to it by now!" She took a few steps back and got ready to block. He was confused at first but he looked down to see that he had taken a few steps forward in the sudden outburst. Quickly withdrawing, he turned and stomped off.

Sakura watched as he stormed off, wondering what had happened. The Uchiha had been fine a few minutes ago. After pondering for a few minutes, she turned and walked in the direction the others had gone.

Sasuke had gone to the training grounds and laid down under the shade of a tree. He put his hands behind his head and stared at the cloudy sky. Closing his eyes and opening them every few minutes trying not to fall asleep, he questioned his actions.

"I shouldn't have gone off on her like that. Why can't she just leave me alone though? Instead of worrying about me she should just keep to herself. No, what she should do is move on completely. Forget about me. All I can do is bring her pain and suffering. I want to stop doing that, but... it will just backfire on me if I try." He sighed. "What's wrong with me? I can't stop thinking and worrying about her. I'm the one who needs to stop. She can take care of herself."

This went on for about an hour until he sensed a familiar chakra nearby.

"Sakura, I told you to go with the others," he said without opening his eyes.

Her response was throwing something at him, which he caught with his eyes still closed.

"Your welcome," she spat coldly, "And since when did you become my boss?"

Sasuke frowned and opened his eyes to see that what she threw at him was a tomato. He closed them again.

"We finished lunch anyway. I came to tell you that it's almost time for the Sand to get here."

"Then what was that for?" he asked as he quickly ate the food.

She sat down beside him. "I don't know. I'm just trying to be nice."

He didn't say anything so she started to tease him. "You've been letting your guard down pretty easily these last few days. I'd expect you not to be beaten so easily by Akamaru."

"Hn, excuse me for not looking out for gigantic dogs all the time."

She laughed. It sent a small burst of joy through Sasuke. He sat up and what happened when he did sent electricity shooting through both of them. He hadn't realized how close Sakura had been to him. As he sat almost all the way up, their lips had brushed against each other for a split second. Sakura immediately turned a dark shade of red and looked away. Sasuke's face had the color of the tomato he had just eaten.

Scratching his head, he quickly apologized. "That was my fault. Sorry about earlier, too."

"It's fine," she responded shakily. Getting off the subject as fast as she could, she quickly added, "Can you please stop apologizing? It's getting to be irritating."

"Don't tell me what to do," he retorted, also wanting to change the subject.

She smirked. "Looks like your attitude didn't change as much as I thought it had."

He returned the smirk. "Looks like you didn't get any less annoying."

She smiled. Once again, a pang of joy shot through Sasuke. They sat there for a few minutes without saying anything, enjoying the cool breeze. Sakura was the one who finally spoke up.

"We should get going. Are you still going to say something to Gaara?"

He quickly stood up. "I forgot all about that."

She stood up as well. "You shouldn't be worried. Just say sorry and move on."

"I'm not worried!" he shot back.

"Whatever you say," she said with a grin. They started walking and the whole way there, the only thing either of them thought about was their "kiss".

"Kakashi sensei, I thought you said they would be here soon!" A very enthusiastic Naruto shouted.

The Hokage looked up from his book. "Naruto I don't know exactly what time they'll get here."

Everyone from the rookie nine, sadly now eight, was standing at the entrance to the village along with a lot of other villagers and ninja.

Sasuke and Sakura were beside Naruto. They hadn't spoken since they left the field because of embarrassment and they were also busy wondering how they felt about it.

"Naruto, just be patient," Hinata said as she grabbed her husband's shoulder.

"I can't. I've got to challenge Gaara to a rematch!"

Ino spoke up. "They'll probably want to rest first. They've been traveling for days."

"The Kazekage also said that he would like to speak with me in my office as soon as they arrived," Kakashi added.

Akamaru barked excitedly a couple of times. Kiba sniffed and a smile came to his face. "Looks like Akamaru is right! Here they come!"

All of the villagers and shinobi turned their attention towards the gates. Sure enough, a gigantic swarm of people came into view. At the front was of course the Kazekage, followed by his siblings Kankuro and Temari.

Sasuke widened his eyes slightly at the Kazekage's current appearance. The huge gourd Gaara had used for his sand was gone. It had been replaced by a small gourd that was hanging off of his left side, attached to a brown belt. Both his shirt and pants were both crimson. His red hair had been neatly parted, the tattoo meaning "love" on the left of his forehead clearly visible.

Kankuro's attire and purple face paint had remained the same as the last time Sasuke had seen him. The scrolls he carried on his back for his puppets were the same as well. The hood had remained the same. Sasuke had been a little shocked to see how Kankuro looked without the hood and face paint. He'd only seen it once though.

Temari's appearance now resembles the one she had in their genin years. The biggest change was probably now she had bangs on her right side. She had black fingerless gloves and a purple shirt along with a dark blue skirt with a split in the middle, revealing leggings. Her huge fan was strapped to her back. So, he was right, not to different from the attire from her genin days.

They slowly made their way to the village entrance and when they reached it, they were immediately met by friends. Everyone ran to find someone they knew and catch up. Sasuke grabbed Sakura's hand and quickly pulled her to the side as a genin stampede made its way past them.

"Thanks."

"Hn," he responded as he let go of her hand. They looked around and saw Shikamaru and Temari sharing a hug. Kankuro was talking to Kiba, Shino, and Sai. They didn't see all of the others, but they did see Gaara talking with Naruto, Kakashi, and Hinata. Hinata looked to be apologizing for Naruto's "rematch" announcement. Sasuke turned his head as Sakura grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the Kazekage.

"Now?" he asked with worry.

"Why not?" she said as he tried to stop. Now it was her dragging him to the group. He didn't want to say anything to the leader of the sand village at the moment. Not in public.

"Naruto, I'm exhausted. But I'd still like to fight you again, so later," Gaara said after nodding to Hinata's apology.

Sakura stopped dragging him and pushed him forward. "Go ahead and get it over with!"

"Later." He started to retreat.

She gave an annoyed groan and grabbed him again, dragging him closer to the group. Kakashi was the first to notice and turned around. The others also started to turn and there was an audible gasp of shock from Gaara.

Sakura stopped beside Hinata and shoved him to the middle of the group. "Just hurry up and say it!"

Naruto laughed at the embarrassed Uchiha. Sasuke shot a menacing glare at the Uzumaki before firing one at Sakura. "I swear I'm going to get her for this later."

"Sasuke Uchiha," a visibly shocked Gaara said.

He turned to the Kazekage. "Hn, Gaara." He was smacked on the back of the head. He rubbed his neck and looked back at the attacker.

"Be respectful!" Sakura shouted. Naruto was using all his strength not to burst. Hinata elbowed him sharply. "You should be respectful to the Kazekage, too."

The women were both about to start lecturing them again when they heard a quick laugh. Gaara had a small smile on his face as Sasuke faced him again. "It's quite alright. I like being addressed as my regular name anyway. Sasuke, I know what you were about to say. Kakashi told me in his last letter."

He stopped talking and stepped forward to offer his hand. Sasuke's mouth opened widely along with his eyes. Gaara continued.

"There's no need for you to say anything. I've heard about your journey to make up for things you've done in your past and that is the only apology I need."

Sasuke closed his mouth and looked down at the open hand. Still puzzled, he took it and they shook.

Kakashi had been amused at the awkward look on the Uchiha's face. He decided that it was time to spare Sasuke's pride though. "Well Gaara, should we go ahead and start towards my office?"

Gaara put put a serious look on his face and answered. "Yes. I think that we should talk as soon as possible."

They set off. Sasuke had not moved and was still bewildered at how easy that had been.

Sakura walked in front of him with a smile. "See! I told you that it wouldn't kill you."

He put on a frown and rolled his eyes.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" the Hokage asked as he sat down. He nodded to Gaara to sit as well.

The Kazekage took his seat and spoke with a stern expression. "When we were coming towards the village yesterday, there was something strange. I'm not sure how to explain it. I think that I'm the only one who noticed though. It wasn't really my surrounding's appearance, it was more like..." He paused to find the right words. "More like the atmosphere. Maybe like something was watching us, something evil. I just wanted to caution you. We should be aware at the festival."

Kakashi now had a concerned expression. "Hmm... If you are sure that something might be wrong, then I will notify the ANBU. Cautioning the shinobi would be another good idea. I don't want to scare the regular villagers though."

Gaara nodded. "I think that would be the best choice."

Kakashi had begun to wonder. "We have lived in peace over the last few years. I wonder what else could possibly be out there..."

Author's Note: More terrible attire explanations. Oh well... Anyway I hope you enjoyed. Y u guys no review?! Thanks for reading! PLEASE review!