Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

Summary: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

Pairing: Naruto X Sakura

Beta-Reader: Haishiro

AN: Editted as of March 27, 2009

Broken Leaf

08. Before They Meet

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It was as if Sakura's heart slammed to the wall and fell.

"Sa…Sa…" His voice sounded like glass almost, fragile and weak.

She bit her lower lip, her mind floating away; it had been a recent habit. She pinched her hand, telling herself it would be a bad time.

"You're back," she smiled. His hand felt warm.

"Sakura."

Three days passed by before all hell broke loose.

"You wanna go at it!" Naruto shook a bold fist.

"Hn, get out of my room already."

"I'm bored."

"Leave me alone."

"Uchiha, there's nothing to do!"

"Who are you?"

The blond stopped at a mid-sentence and closed his mouth.

The boy squinted, "I swear I told you my names a lot of times already…" He looked back at Sasuke, smirking, "What, you got a memory problem or something?"

Sasuke scowled. "I know your name, but who are you in terms of rank? I've never seen you…" The boy was beyond strange. His skin was too pale, his eyes a bit too clouded.

"Who are you in terms of rank?" asked Naruto, mimicking his question. He flapped his makeshift wings like a parrot.

"Answer my question."

"Nah." Naruto squinted. "I don't like you. You look mean." Then he turned back to himself, "Hehe, can't believe Hinata gave me three free Ichiraku ramen coupons!"

A cough. "Hn."

Naruto stared back skeptically, "Was that your attempt at a laugh?"

"Look, Sakura put you in here with me. I appreciate it if I knew whether you're a comrade—or someone who would kill me in my sleep."

"Would have killed you already if I wanted to since I was here long ago," Naruto eyed him, "You really should get that brain of yours checked."

If looks could kill, Naruto would have dropped dead ages ago.

"Whatever." Sasuke pulled his head down under the covers and turned towards the window.

"Sleeping already, Sasuke?"

"Tell me when Sakura's here."

"Fine," Naruto sighed, "Can't you talk more at least? It's going to get boring again."

Sasuke didn't reply.

"Come on!" Naruto insisted, "You can even make fun of me." When Sasuke didn't reply in the next few minutes, Naruto stopped.

The blond shuffled around the floor. "Two more days…" The words were barely audible.

Two more days until the meeting…

Sasuke opened his eyes.

"What?"

"Thought you weren't talking to me," pointed out Naruto, a faint smirk visible.

"I never said that," Sasuke fluffed out his pillow and sat on it, "What's this about two days?"

"For a person with your attitude, you're awfully curious…"

"You owe me for painting paint all over my face."

"Well if it gets you talking…" Naruto stared at Sasuke for a few more moments as if deciding whether he was trustworthy or not, "Just don't tell Sakura-chan, okay?"

"Fine."

"I'm going to run down naked and scream 'Ramen Day' on that day," smiled Naruto, "Wanna come?"

"Whatever." Sasuke wasn't going to ask if he was going to end up with lies. Sasuke crossed his legs and stared up at the ceiling.

"Hey, hey, hey, Sakura said that you can get of the hospital in five days, right?"

Oh great. The. Noise. Was. Back. Already.

"Let's go to Ichiraku's to celebrate! Sure you'll love it, ha!" Naruto swung a fist upwards.

Sasuke glowered, "You're telling a patient to eat ramen after they've been in a coma? What kind of doctor are you?"

"Whoa, that's the longest sentence you've said to me!" Naruto pointed a finger at his head and laughed, clutching his stomach and falling flat on his back, "And I'm not a medic."

His eyes flashed red, "You're not a medic. That's it. I'm talking to the wall." He stared up and began counting how many cracks were in there.

Come back soon Sakura…

The annoying voice wouldn't stop. "Are you bored? I'm still bored."

Sasuke twitched his eyebrow.

Sakura placed the finished antidote into her kit. It was going to be used for her guest presentation at the Academy. She managed to convince some of the kids there to sign up for a medic course. If all went well—

"S-Sakura," Hinata rushed in. Her skin was paler than normal, if that was possible. Even with all her stuttering, it was rare to see her in full panic mode.

"W-What's wrong?" Sakura stood up a little too quickly, knocking a vat of water from the table. It swung around and began its descent.

She turned back and grabbed the handles just when the vat was inches away from the floor.

"Well?" she asked, panting huge breaths.

"It's Sasuke and Naruto, they—"

"Naruto again," Sakura growled, forming a fist to her face, "What did he do?"

"Well…they're…gone…"

"…What?!"

"Sasuke, you sure this is a good idea?" asked Naruto, looking around the busy corridor, "Sakura will beat me-us to death if she finds out."

"You said you're were bored and I need to try something out."

"Alright," said Naruto, "but I'm coming just to make sure you don't collapse or anything."

Sasuke studied the blond carefully.

"Did…you just-never mind," Sasuke shook his head.

They exchanged glances once more and silently dashed down the hallway. If Sakura found them, they wouldn't make it out undamaged.

Naruto made sure to stick to the wall. Of course, wearing orange and trying to blend into a white wall—

Sasuke hovered near, "Come."

Naruto mouthed an okay and followed after Sasuke. They turned a corner and ascended a couple of stairs. Naruto glanced briefly at a clock. There was still time before Sakura would be bringing in lunch. He would make sure to return in time and…he shrugged. Sakura would be angry if Sasuke didn't come back so he figured would drag the black haired boy back, no matter how weird he was.

His thoughts were cut short when they came across a dark hallway. There was lighting, but it looked like it heavily needed repair.

"Dead end?" He stared onwards, looking for a light source. The Uchiha merely grunted and turned a handle from somewhere.

They arrived on top of the hospital. The sun glared down heavily upon the two. Naruto closed his eyes, seeing colors swirl around like a whirlpool. He was losing his vision again. He tried rubbing his eye. It didn't do any good except add to the damage. Sasuke turned into a huge blob of black and blue. Strange…he resembled a fan, oddly.

"Stop rubbing your eyes," snapped Sasuke, "I need to test my skills."

Naruto lifted an eyebrow, still scratching his eyes, "And this has to do with me…how?"

"You said you were bored," smirked Sasuke, "Unless you're scared."

"Who'd be afraid of someone like you, chicken butt!" Naruto frowned, cracking his fist in protest.

"We'll see," said Sasuke simply. He was never a fan of provoking someone else. It was childish.

A fist flew towards his face. It was too straightforward and simpleminded. Sasuke stepped back, catching a blur of orange. He slid to the right and kicked upwards, towards the orange. He felt something; Naruto had blocked with his arm.

He felt his leg crack, just a bit.

Must be because of the coma.

He closed his eyes quickly and activated the Sharingan. Instantly, he could feel another level of pressure added. It could be ignored, for now. Sasuke turned to a sound at the left. It was Naruto with his eyes closed; did he know about the Sharingan? His pose was completely…calm. He froze. There was another two more blonds standing next to him. No! The world did not need more of…them! Did he finally grow insane? No…no…they were just clones. Zipping towards his destination, he performed a couple of fast seals.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" The familiar flames licked warmly at the air. The fire landed on one of the Naruto's bottom. It disappeared in white smoke to his displeasure. One of the remaining Naruto winced. Another Naruto went toward him with a kunai ready. He skidded to a stop. The kunai flying towards him was as accurate as Chouji heading to barbeque. Sasuke slammed to the right and leaned down. The kunai graze his shoulder and fell uselessly to the ground.

Naruto's eyes widened. His remaining clone vanished as he gaped like an idiot.

"Ah…that scent…" He froze.

"What do you think you two are doing?!"

Somehow the blond managed to close his mouth, point towards him, and shout, "It was his idea Sakura-chan!"

He turned back saw Sakura in one of her raging modes.

"I was testing my skills," he shrugged, tucking his hands back into his pockets. That was when he remembered he wasn't wearing his old uniform.

"Yeah, yeah, Sakura it was all his idea. Not mine," he heard the blond say. Figures the guy was not going to take the blame.

Sakura breathed in deeply and blew out loudly. Her hands went up to her hair. She closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them, then smiled, like a little kid who had just been given candy.

"I have the perfect plan for you two," she chirped. Heck, she even added a few giggles for the hell of it.

"Hey Sasuke!"

"I know, you're bored," he snarled. "I know you're bored."

"No, I'm hungry," said Naruto. "You didn't have to repeat yourself. I heard you the first time."

Sasuke sighed. He was pretty certain this guy only acted like this at certain times, like when he was near him. He was sure of it.

"Oh great, I'm itchy but I can't reach it!" whined Naruto, glaring at the ropes tied around his body. Perhaps his feeble mind thought he could destroy the rope with his eyes.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and tried to get up. He didn't get far, with ropes binding him to a mattress. Plus, the kunai managed to go in a bit more than skin deep. Sakura had refused to heal it, saying it was his fault in the first place.

"This sucks! Sakura might have brought ramen today…" sighed Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto," called out Sasuke, completely ignoring his previous statements, "Why did you have your eyes closed today?"

"The sun was shooting needles into my eyes?" Naruto fidgeted around the ropes, "I started seeing different colors. You were a huge blob of black and blue, like a fan almost."

"You know that's not normal, right?" Sasuke sighed. He didn't even know why was going to suggest something to Naruto. "Try asking Sakura. She's a good medic—"

The door slammed open and crashed into the wall.

"I-I trust you two have learned your lesson?" Her voice quavered. Sasuke glanced at the changes on her face. There was this watery look in her eyes, which looked close to becoming ice. Her hands were held to her side, clenching so tightly her knuckles had gone white. There was almost a faint smell of blood coming from her. Something obviously happened to her while they were stuck tied in a stupid room.

He kept quiet. She would deal it with it herself like any shinobi.

"Yes! Yes! Now lemme go!" Naruto jumped up in his chair. It followed him up in the air.

"Stop that or face the consequences," warned Sakura, eyes drifting half-closed, "Your bodies will fit neatly under that bed and no one will ever find you." She took a deep breath.

Naruto blinked. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Who would be stupid enough to believe that?

"Hehe, you won't do that to us!" Naruto looked up with what Sasuke thought was uncertainly, "Right?"

Sakura nod's was as slow as an ant's crawl.

Was Naruto trying to make her laugh? It wasn't working if he was.

"Not to interrupt…but can you untie me-us?" asked Sasuke. The rope was digging into his skin.

"Hmm…" Sakura walked over to Naruto and cut the ropes, "Chakra based rope that you'll never get out on your own? Nope."

"You untied that idiot."

Sakura frowned, "If he was such an idiot, don't sneak him out to the roof to have a sparring match."

"Anyways, you know the drill," she said, "My work's over. We're going and I'm not about to let a crazy suicidal maniac loose in the hospital at night."

Naruto smirked and winked to Sasuke.

He watched his only chance of going free walked away as the door slammed shut.

It was going to be a long night.

At least he was left alone without Naruto finally.

"So…is the festival still on?" asked Naruto. "I also have to tell Hinata thanks for those coupons."

"Coupons?" Sakura looked bemused.

"Ramen!"

"Right, right," nodded Sakura. "This is a festival for the Chuunin exams so it's supposedly used to get to know other ninja from other villages."

"Eh?"

Sakura pushed him forward, "Let's go then!"

Naruto noticed that the surroundings hadn't really changed except with the occasional ninja from another country.

At Naruto's request, which he asked over and over, they went over to Ichiraku's. There was only one seat open so they proceeded with rock-paper-scissors.

Sakura won.

"It's only fair since you chose the place anyway," she said after swallowing a mouthful of noodles.

Naruto responded by saying that he didn't need to sit on a chair to enjoy ramen. The ground and chair made no difference as the ramen's quality stayed the same—Sakura rolled her eyes at this.

They went over to another place—Sakura's choice—and got dessert. Both got ice cream and things were going pretty well until Naruto got a brain freeze.

"Told you not to eat too fast," scolded Sakura. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Naruto rubbed his forehead. "That tasted good, almost as good as ramen!"

Sakura merely nodded.

They continued down the road until they met Ino and Chouji. For some odd reason, Shikamaru couldn't make it. Ino mentioned something about a mission but she didn't specify. Before they could talk any longer, Chouji pulled Ino to a restaurant.

Naruto commented that Chouji would make a valuable comrade for Ramen Day, earning a smack on the head.

Not long after, they clashed with Hinata's group. Apparently, they had been looking for them as well.

"Hey!" greeted Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura! Are you guys coming to the park as well?" asked Tenten.

Sakura searched around her brain for a while until she realized why Tenten had said that. There was supposed to be another reunion during the festival.

She took a quick glance at Naruto. He was still his excited self, if not more, and she did promise to attend more reunions.

"Yeah," she nodded. "We'll go later."

"See you there then!" said Kiba. The rest of the group followed afterwards.

"Gah, I forgot to thank Hinata!"

"You were just talking to her a minute ago?" frowned Sakura.

"Well…I forgot," said Naruto. "Oh yeah, I forgot this too." He fished around his pockets, revealing a flower.

"Here! It's dried up," he said, handing her the flower. "Since you work all the time and you have to watch after me, you probably don't have a lot of free time…"

Sakura took the flower delicately and twirled it around with her fingers, "Thanks."

Naruto grinned, "Glad you like it!"

She laughed.

"Let's go to the park. They're waiting," she said, tugging him along.

"Y-Y-Yeah."

She felt the blond nod frantically behind her. The corners of her mouth twitched just ever so slightly.

Surprisingly, for once, Naruto stayed quiet. At first he didn't talk much when they first met, but he gradually started talking more and more. Strangely, Sakura didn't mind. In fact, she found herself talking more than she would have. There weren't a lot of people she could talk to except for the nurses at the hospital. Occasionally she would visit her parents and they would talk, but that was it.

She glanced back at Naruto and quickly looked back. The park appeared in view. The whole group was gathered around in an area of the park.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata walked forward to greet them.

Sakura released her grip on Naruto's hand. "I'll go see how Ino's doing."

"O-Okay," said Naruto.

"Okay." She took back one glance at Naruto and Hinata before walking over to Ino. Chouji had left Ino to talk with Kiba and Shino.

"Hey," she took one more glance at Naruto and Hinata. Hinata was moving her mouth slowly and tapping her fingers. "What are you up to?"

"Missions and more missions?" Ino shrugged. "Sakura?"

"Yeah, I heard. The usual, huh?"

"Why do you keep staring at that direction?" She turned over. Sakura's friend was talking to Hinata, rather loudly.

Ino put on a smug look, "I see. Our little Sakura is jealous."

"I can look anywhere I want. It's a free world."

Ino smirked, "Sure, whatever you say." She widened her eyes, "Wow, I can't believe they're doing that!"

"What?" Sakura shifted her eyes to the scene. Hinata and Naruto were only talking. "Why would it matter?"

Ino flipped her hair, "Nothing, nothing."

Sakura looked at her darkly, "Usually your nothings mean something. Wait. Scratch that. Your nothings always mean something."

Ino crossed her arms, "Why would you think that?" She leaned closer to Sakura, "Better make sure he doesn't fall under Hinata's spell. She's known to have quite a couple of fans…" She moved her eyes over to Kiba and Shino.

"They just think of her as a sister."

Ino shrugged, "Whatever, it's not my problem anyways." She gave a venom smile.

Ino had a special talent to be annoying, but she wouldn't fight back. Not after today. It was her fault that it happened. If only she had arrived earlier to that patient… Tsunade taught her to be a bit more self-forgiving, but that didn't mean she would be guilt free.

She took a quick look around the park. It was pitch dark save for the lanterns that hung from strings. From her view, the pathway had a mystic view to it. It would be nice to walk around after dark.

She snuck a glance at Naruto. He was drifting away, his eyes staring in the distance. Then he was himself again, laughing and scratching his head.

"Just go back already," Ino's eyes twinkled. A moment later she grabbed Sakura's shoulders and threw her with such force she nearly flew.

She landed next to Hinata, almost on her knees. Sakura felt her ears turn bloody red. What was Ino trying to do?

"Ino, why'd you push me?" she shouted, gritting her teeth.

"Sorry dear, my hand slipped," said Ino, waving her hand. Sakura could only stare.

"A-Are you okay?" asked Hinata. Her eyes turned away almost instantly.

Sakura brushed the invisible specks of dust off her clothes, "Yes."

Naruto shot her a worried look, "Are you sure? Your face is all pale."

Sakura brushed off his comment, "I'm fine." Her eyes crawled over to Hinata once more as an uneasy smile came to her.

"You would too if someone pushed you halfway across a park…"

"True."

Her eyes blinked. Who just said that? It wasn't Hinata or Naruto. Sakura shrugged. She was tired so it was natural to hear things.

"Hey, come with me!" Naruto grabbed her hand, taking one last look at Hinata, "Thanks for the advice!"

Sakura saw the shy girl nod and attempt a wave.

"Where are you taking me?" Sakura tried to tail him, the best she could do. She found it hard with Naruto pulling one of her hands.

Out of the corners of his eye, he gave a somewhat reassuring stare, "Someplace cool to cheer you up!"

"So he knew…"

He charged through the streets, occasionally turning at corners and scooting away from innocent people. Sakura came close to falling when she stumbled on a rock and found it impossible to balance herself with one arm. For once she was glad that Naruto didn't let go, even if he was the reason she almost fell face first.

The surroundings slowly grew darker, with less people roaming around.

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost…I think!"

"I think," Sakura sighed. "I hope for your sake it's near." The temperature was dropping and she found that she missed her warm house terribly.

Blurs floated around her vision. She couldn't find the strength to concentrate much longer. When Tsunade gave her lessons, she always expected for Sakura to appear early so she always preferred to sleep early. It became a habit that wouldn't go away.

"I'm tired…"

The sounds around her became distant and unfamiliar. She caught a faint "We're here!" before closing her eyes and slumping forward into the darkness…

Shikamaru fidgeted, pushing an irritating branch away. His legs were being to grow numb from sitting in the same position.

He hated missions where you had to follow someone. Eating was rare, as you had to follow the person most of the time. He only slept when he felt it was necessary. It was to ensure that he didn't lose the target.

Something was still stabbing him. The folder, he had left it during the interference with that blond. He was sure that Sakura's friend had it. Retrieving it would be fine, if he knew where it was. For all he knew, it could be in the trash or burned away.

Once again, he had to thank himself he actually read the packet for once before starting the mission. Contrary to what others say, he wasn't lazy all the time…just when he felt like it.

He sighed; shaking his head when Ino pushed Sakura halfway towards the park. The girl lost a patient today. (He knew because he was there.) The least Ino could do is to show some consideration, but knowing Sakura she kept quiet.

He checked his target again, hiding in a dark corner.

"How great," he thought. The person he was following was following someone else.

It was times like these he liked to imagine what life would be if he hadn't become a ninja. There would be fewer worries about his life being endangered. He leaned against a particularly thick branch. Then again, life wasn't all that bad. Despite what others thought of his team, they worked well together, most of the time.

"He's on the move again."

Shikamaru slapped himself awake and trailed after.

Sakura yawned and curled up in her blankets. She scratched the back of her head and sat up. Like usual, she got out of bed and stretched. It was odd for her to wake up this early considering Tsunade had insisted she stay home today—to attend the Chuunin exams. Honestly, she really didn't want to see pointless fighting. Of course, Naruto might be interested and she would end up being dragged to watch it.

Sakura stiffened.

Where was Naruto?

She ran over to his room and slammed it open.

"Not here."

Sakura sank to the floor and leaned on the wall. She remembered Naruto dragging her to who-knows-where and falling asleep. It wouldn't make sense that she was back here.

She furrowed her brow and tapped her fingernails on the wooden floor. What if they thought Naruto was trying to escape and had knocked her out? She pulled a strand of her hair.

"Knew I shouldn't have agreed to those stupid reunions!" She jammed a fist to the wall only remembering it would knock the house down if she did.

She bolted up, feeling the world spin for a moment and started for her room when the door unlocked itself.

Could doors unlock themselves?

The door opened with a soft click and she could hear plastic bags.

"Up already?" A familiar head poked through the door.

Her arms sagged. She was sure she did not need these moments.

"Tell me next time—on second thought, just take me along if you want to buy something okay?" She massaged her forehead, "I'm going to die early with anymore of these surprises."

"Sorry," he squirmed and held out the bags, "You were still sleep so I figured I buy breakfast."

She took the bags and sniffed it carefully, "Ramen? You bought ramen for breakfast?"

"Yeah…why?"

"Never mind. I shouldn't have asked."

Suddenly he sprang up, "Oh yeah! The old—what did she want me to call her again? Tsunade-sama wanted me to tell you that I'm going to be at the Hokage Tower the whole day tomorrow. She doesn't know how long I'll be gone…but she'll call you, I think."

"What for?" Sakura cracked open the lid. Steam flew to her face before she could pull away. She would have to wash off the oil later.

Naruto shrugged, "She didn't say."

"How long did you know this?" she asked accusingly while fishing for a pair of chopsticks. Sakura looked up, "Where's your ramen?"

"Ate it," he grinned. "And it's today, Granny said she forgot about it."

"That's near impossible, you see her almost everyday at the hospital."

"Yeah…" His cast his eyes towards the wall in concentration, "Must have no life if all she does is spend her time at her office and the hospital."

"Excuse me?" Sakura placed her half-empty container on the table, "I spend my time at my office and hospital. Does that mean I have no life?"

Slowly, he backed up and placed his hands up in defense, "O-Oh, but I didn't mean you, Sakura!"

Her eyes narrowed, "That's better." She stuffed herself with a mouthful of ramen.

"What happened yesterday?" Sakura sat down and waited for an answer.

Naruto shrugged, "You muttered something about being tired and fell asleep. I took you to the hospital, but they told me you just needed rest."

Sakura laughed, "You don't need to go to the hospital for everything."

"I'm not a medic," he grumbled. "So…sources have told me you were free today from the hospital?"

"Tsunade-sama told you that right?"

She received a nod.

Grudgingly, she nodded. "I have a day off."

"Yes!"

She sighed at the expected reaction.

"But, we could always visit Sasuke if you want," he added quickly.

Sakura shook her head, "I'm sure he can survive…I'm sure Hinata untied the ropes before we left yesterday. I told her to."

"So, where are we going?"

"Interesting place where ninjas try and kill each other to become Chuunin."

"Sure?"

AN: Next chapter will be a bit more Sakura centered with Naruto away