Author's Note: So I guess I'm doing better. Thanks so much for the support! Enjoy!

Sakura opened her eyes to see that it was very early in the morning, the sun just beginning to rise. Someone sitting up beside her cast a large shadow over the medical kunoichi. Turning her head to the side, she couldn't resist the urge to give off a huge smile. Sasuke had one hand under his chin, appearing to be half asleep. The moment she tried to shuffle out of the sleeping bag, his eyes lazily shot open.

"You should get some more rest," he said groggily.

"I could say the same to you," she retorted.

"Hn, I'm fine. How are you feeling?"

She slowly sat up after she had moved completely out of the sleeping bag. "Better, but still exhausted."

"Rest. It's still early. No one else is up yet."

She smirked. "Let me guess. You were keeping watch again?"

He returned the smirk. "I don't want anything to happen. Besides, most of you are injured. It's the least I could do."

"Then could you do me a favor?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Go to sleep."

"No. Someone that isn't injured has to stay up."

"Then go and get Sai."

He shook his head, still refusing.

"Fine, then I'm staying up with you," Sakura proclaimed.

"Hn..." He rubbed his eyes. "Well, technically now we're alone. Should I do this here? Should I do it now?" Looking around the small campsite, he mentally groaned when he saw Naruto standing up and stretching. The Uzumaki then ran towards his teammates.

"How are you guys feeling?" Naruto asked as he sat down beside them.

"We were good until you came over here," Sasuke replied venomously.

Naruto slapped Sasuke's back. "Shut up you jerk. You alright Sakura?"

She smiled. "I feel a little better. Not great though. What about you and the rest? I need to check on Akamaru and Lee soon."

Naruto put both of his hands behind his head. "I feel awesome and I can't wait to really show that Kenshi guy who's boss! Anyway, everyone else said they felt a million times better thanks to you!"

Sasuke sneered and crossed his arms. "If you don't quiet down, you'll wake everyone else up."

"So? The sooner we're all up the better. We need to talk about our fights with Kenshi. I wanna beat him up as soon as possible!"

"We can't take any action unless we have a plan. That and most of us have to recover," Sasuke contradicted.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You're so negative. We could kick that loser's butt anytime we want!"

The Uchiha was becoming more and more irritated by the second. "Have you forgotten that Kurushimi is out there? Let's not leave out the fact that they have an army as well."

"You see what I mean?! Always negative!"

Sakura joined the conversation. "Naruto, please stop yelling. And, Sasuke's right, we can't just blindly rush into something. Especially when a lot of us are injured."

The Uzumaki huffed in defeat. "Yeah, yeah."

Sakura looked off to the side. "I should check on Lee and Akamaru now. Their injuries were the most severe."

Sasuke immediately stopped her from moving. "You need to recover, too."

"Who's going to help them then?" she argued.

Sasuke sighed and held out a hand. "I'll help you go over there."

Blushing lightly, she took his hand and draped her arm around his shoulder.

Naruto hopped off the ground. "I don't wanna be here alone. I'm gonna help." He held out a hand just as Sasuke had.

The Uchiha wanted to get the Uzumaki as far away from the pair as he possibly could. "Don't you have a wife to look after?"

Naruto jolted and slowly withdrew his hand. "Oh yeah. I should see if she needs anything." With this, he walked in the opposite direction as Sasuke and Sakura.

As they slowly made their way to the most injured, Sakura tilted her head towards Sasuke. "Now are you going to tell me what you've been wanting to?"

It was like an atomic bomb had gone off inside him. He could hear his own heart thundering against his chest. The male hadn't been this nervous since his first attempt. In fact, he'd only ever been this frightened when it came to this certain subject. "See to them first."

She frowned. "How long are you gonna make me wait?"

"I'm sorry. I'm not good with words. I need time to think. There's no way I'm gonna make a fool out of myself like last time," he thought to himself. The pressure kept building up the more his mind explored the outcomes. He debated with himself nonstop over it.

Lee and Akamaru were no doubt in the worst condition of the entire group. Neither had woken up after Sakura had healed them. Both Sasuke and Sakura sat down next to the unconscious pair. As the kunoichi began to examine them, Sasuke watched her and wondered if he should offer his assistance. He was trying to think of any way possible to ease his worries. "Are you sure you don't want my help?"

Sakura looked at him with a slightly surprised expression. "I think I can handle this on my own. Oh and after this, you're telling me what's been on your mind."

He smirked as she shuffled towards Akamaru. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to tell her now. Glancing around, his confidence sank when he saw that most of the group was awake or just now waking up. The male scratched his head in defeat as his attention once again came back to Sakura.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "It looks like they'll be up and moving soon. I'll replace the bandages later. Now, what's been on your mind?"

He pivoted his head around to hide the light shade of red that had appeared on his face. "C-Can we go somewhere in p-private?"

She grabbed his hand out of concern. "Hey, are you okay? You were stuttering like this when we took a walk. Maybe you should rest some. Especially since you didn't sleep last night."

He quickly calmed himself and moved his hand out of her grasp. "Stop worrying about it. I'm fine. I just... have a lot on my mind."

She smiled and crossed her arms. "Then hurry up and tell me."

"That's what I'd like to do," he thought. "I will when we're in private."

She giggled. "What, is it some embarrassing secret? Just whisper it to me."

He huffed in frustration. "No! It's not. Sakura, I'm not joking about this."

She immediately noticed the tone in his voice and shrank. "I'm sorry. Where d-?"

The pair gasped as Naruto slung an arm around their shoulders, pulling them into a huge hug. Without hesitation, Sasuke shoved the Uzumaki away and angrily stood up, towering over him. "Do that again and I'll put a hole in your chest!" He was livid. "I thought I got rid of him..."

Naruto let go of a bewildered Sakura and jumped up to match Sasuke. "Shut it you piece of crap! What's wrong with-?!"

Sakura punched both males in the stomach, making them lose their breath and hunch over. Putting her teammates in tight headlocks, she said, "I'm tired of you two idiots fighting about pointless crap all the time!" She released them and they fell to the ground, rubbing their necks.

Naruto chuckled quietly. He spoke with a joking tone so that only he and his best friend could hear. "This must suck for you. Guess she's also had enough of your crap. The only person that actually likes you is-"

The Uchiha angrily kicked Naruto. Grabbing the man's collar, he rolled on top of him. The startled Uzumaki gasped when his gaze caught the blood red in the disgruntled male's eye. Instead of fear, a spark of fury lit inside of Naruto as his eyes also changed, revealing his Sage Mode. "Yo! Sasuke chill out!" He growled when the attacker tightened his grip.

"Finish what you were gonna say before! I dare you!" the Uchiha snarled. "I'll kill you on the spot!"

Naruto retaliated by grabbing Sasuke's collar. Both males had an iron grip on each other. "What the heck is wrong with you?!" the Uzumaki seethed. "And you're not even gonna put a scratch on me! I'll beat you as bad as I did when we were in the Final Valley last time!"

Before Sasuke could fire back, sand covered the two males and seperated them, flinging them back and pinning them against trees on opposite ends of the campsite. Gaara nervously switched his gaze back and forth between the men. Everyone stood behind the Kazekage, whispering to one another. Even Lee and Akamaru were up, using their comrades as support. Kakashi calmly walked in front of the Kazekage.

Sasuke and Naruto had their gazes locked, full of fury. Neither struggled against the sand, only clenching their uncovered fists.

The Hokage cleared his throat and sighed. "What's the issue this time?"

Not one of the restrained males answered, still focused on glaring at the other.

Kakashi sighed for a second time. "Alright then. Can you two at least calm yourselves?"

Naruto huffed but obeyed. He let his body relax and the markings around his eyes diappeared. All of the shinobi were shocked to learn that the Uzumaki was the first to calm down. In fact, Sasuke only got more agitated. He began to struggle wildly against the sand keeping him in place. He froze as he caught sight of Sakura's horrified and confused expression. Frowning out of guilt, the Uchiha stared at the ground and let his body relax. Kakashi signaled for Gaara to release Naruto, who also had a guilty expression present on his features. When Sasuke was finally let go, he continued to stare at the ground, hiding his expression entirely. After seconds of complete silence, he slowly walked past everyone, not looking at anyone. The last person he passed was Sakura. No one said a word as the Uchiha sauntered into the woods.

Suddenly, the baffled Uzumaki began to head in the direction his teammate had. Sakura and Hinata were quick to stop him. After Hinata had grabbed her husband's arm, she made him turn to face her. "Naruto-"

He moved away from the women and faced the direction Sasuke had gone. "I'm not goin anywhere. I just... I don't get it. I was just playing around like I always do."

Hinata rubbed her hands together. "Sometimes you tend to go a little far."

He shook his head repeatedly. "I know. But, even I know what really sets him off."

Sasuke stared at his reflection that was visible on the surface of the water. He had been sitting on the riverbank for most of the day. The rage he had towards his best friend had mostly gone away, but some still lingered. Was it true? Did Sakura really not care anymore? He angrily threw a stone into the water, causing a gigantic splash. No, it definitely was not true. Rubbing his eyes, he wondered why he had even taken Naruto's joke seriously. He then ruffled his dark hair. The Uchiha did not have his headband, cloak, or any of his weapons with him. He couldn't care less if everyone hated him. They had the right to hate the Uchiha, but when the Uzumaki had started to say that Sakura didn't care... It made Sasuke truly feel alone. Sure Sasuke did have some friends, but without Sakura he felt like nothing.

"All of this is too much for me," Sasuke thought.

"Go say it!" came a distant shout from behind.

Sasuke did not twist his head around.

"No! It's embarrassing!"

"Hinata told me to make you even if you refused!"

The footsteps came closer and Sasuke peered at the newcomers from the corner of his eye. Sakura was shoving someone along. To his dismay, that someone turned out to be a certain Uzumaki.

"I'll take whatever punishment Hinata wants to give me!" Naruto complained.

"Shut up and say it or I'll give you some extra punishment!" Sakura shouted.

Huffing and crossing his arms, Naruto looked away and began to speak. Sasuke was quick to interrupt, his back facing them. "Don't bother. I don't need an apology from someone th-"

"Shut up you-!"

Sakura punched Naruto on the back of his head, making him see stars. She sighed. "You two are hopeless..."

Sasuke frowned as he continued to gaze into the river. "Are we friends?"

Both Naruto and Sakura had a bewildered look on their faces. Naruto scratched his head. "Wel-"

"Not you idiot!" Sasuke spat, unmoved.

The Uzumaki quickly turned to Sakura, who looked even more shocked than before. He was beyond lost...

"O-Of course we are. Why would you even ask?" she responded shakily.

A lightbulb had gone off. Naruto nodded slowly in confirmation, trying to hide his expression. "That's what he went off about?! Ha! This jerk really really really likes Sakura! If I try to help and Hinata finds out, she'll go off on me too! I guess I have to be quiet and keep to myself. Ugh... Great... I hate this already..."

Sasuke was motionless, his hands folded in front of his mouth, elbows resting on his knees. "I wish the dobe would leave... Then we'd be alone. Maybe I can do it without hesitation this time..."

Naruto suddenly remembered something important. "Oh yeah! Back at camp we were all gonna tell what happened during the search! We gotta hurry if we wanna hear everything!"

"We'll be there in a minute. Go on ahead," Sakura responded.

The Uzumaki quickly sped off into the woods, towards the campsite.

"Finally," Sasuke thought.

"What's wrong? Why did you ask if we were still friends? You know we are," Sakura said curiously.

He swallowed. "It's just... Naruto-"

"Since when do you ever listen to what he says?" she questioned, smiling and crossing her arms.

He smirked. "Yeah, you're right. It was stupid." He stood up and walked until he was right in front of her. "Can I tell you that thing now?"

Suddenly, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "Tell me while we're going back to camp."

He stared at their hands as they ran along. "No, not like this..." He skidded to a complete stop, dragging her with him. "Can't we talk for a few minutes?"

"No. If we want to learn about our enemies, then we have to hurry back," she claimed. "You're usually the one that's concerned about that kind of thing."

"Then let me tell you why I'm not," he said, clearly frustrated.

She huffed and put her hands on his shoulders. "Go! Say it now!"

He froze entirely, not even daring to breathe. They stood like this for a minute or so.

"Fine! Don't tell me then!" she complained as she once again pulled him along.

The Uchiha mentally cursed himself the rest of the way back to camp. The pair sat down side by side, filling the gap in the circle around the fire. Everyone already knew that Kenshi had been the main opponent for each team and that he had disappeared at the end of each battle. After all the shinobi had shared their stories, they learned that each group had also faced a large number of their army. Not only that, but the members of the army had been well, weak and easy to defeat. When the defeated members of the army were to be captured, every single one of them had exploded. At first, Sakura was surprised by this fact. Then, she remembered how the earth prison had fallen apart and how the ground shook. The last major part was the fact that everyone had felt the sensation of their memories being copied after seeing Kurushimi's eyes.

However, none of the facts truly made sense. Many questions still needed to be answered. Why were there so many Kenshis? Why were the army members so weak? What was with Kenshi disappearing and their memories being copied after catching sight of the strange eyes? Those were just a few of the many questions that needed to be answered.

Sakura had written every new discovery down in the notebook she kept. She hadn't picked it up since Sasuke had first seen it. After the kunoichi had gone over them for perhaps the millionth time, she finally shook her head. "I have no clue."

"Can I see what you've been writing down?" Shikamaru asked.

"Of course," Sakura responded, handing the notebook to the Nara.

Shikamaru ended up sitting on the opposite end of the campsite, followed by Gaara and Kakashi. The three men were looking over each note, trying to figure something out.

Meanwhile, the rest of the shinobi had split into small groups, waiting to see if Shikamaru and the Kage had discovered something. Sasuke and Sakura were sitting beside each other under a tree. Now the Uchiha had an opportunity to get "the thing" off of his mind.

"Can we go somewhere private now?" he asked.

"They could find something at any second," she replied. "No one else is near us at the moment. Tell me now."

He crossed his arms and surveyed their surroundings. "What are they going to think if they see us, I don't know, hugging? Wait, why should I care because they'll find out eventually. Heck, they already think that something's happening between us. But... I can't freeze up again. Especially not in front of everyone else." Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Sakura, please. This is really important to me."

She frowned at the serious tone in his voice. She was about to reply, but was interrupted by Naruto plopping down directly in front of the pair.

Sasuke immediately put a disgusted look on his face. "The idiot always chooses great times to do things like this..."

Naruto had an excited and eager expression. "I overheard them talking about stuff over there. Looks like they're onto something!"

"That fast?" Sakura questioned, bewildered.

The Uzumaki shrugged. "I dunno. They must've found something that we didn't think about."

Minutes later, the shinobi were called together once again. Anticipation levels ran high among the seated ninjas as Shikamaru stood in the middle beside the fire. He had the notebook in one hand, the other holding a map. He cleared his throat and silence filled the campsite. "We may not be able to answer a lot of questions at the moment, but we now know a major part of this whole operation." He held up the map, which had a gigantic circle around one area. "The location of their hideout."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at this.

Shikamaru held up the notebook. "Sakura took notes on basically every single thing we know about the enemy. Not only that, but she also listed which groups were assigned to what area and when they were attacked. Sasuke and Sakura were ambushed on the last day of the search," he pointed to a spot on the map, "on the point furthest away from the hideout. Kakashi, Gaara, and Kankuro had a battle on the second day of the search and they were the first to be attacked. They were assigned to this exact area," he moved his finger to rest on the circled place, "leading to the explanation that this is where the hideout is located. To make sure, we looked in on the other timings. All of it matches up and we're positive that this is the right place."

The shinobi instantly began to take in everything after Shikamaru was done. Sasuke was thinking the hardest. "That seemed way too easy to figure out... It's like they want us to find them..."

"We should all get plenty of rest," Kakashi began, "because we're traveling again tomorrow."

Sasuke glanced at his teammate. "I'm sorry Sakura, but it'll have to wait. I'm going to defeat them. Soon..."

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed! I'm getting to it. Don't worry. Just be patient. Please review! What did you guys think of the latest Gaiden chapter? I thought it was adorable. Also, I've heard that two more novels have been confirmed. One for Itachi and one for Sasuke. Sasuke's is about his future and we all know what's part of that -wink wink-. Also, the new Boruto trailer just came out. It looks like he's able to use Chidori. I thought it looked pretty good.

OTHER UPDATES

I'm going to start on the next chapter for Family Struggles soon. I'm not going to abandon it. I promise.