Author's Note: Hello again, it's me. I wasn't going to continue on if there weren't any reviews, but I think I want this to go on. I really planned it all out. Well, things might get a bit more strange from this point on but I'll try to make it more interesting. Thank you, and see you later~! R&R

Naruto stared at her with confusion.

"What are you talking about, Sakura-chan?" he said, lost in translation.

"I'm not your bitch, dipstick," the girl told him slyly.

Chills ran down his spine.

"Then… who are you?" he asked quietly, almost as if he was in a funeral home. The girl blew a cloud of smoke in his face. He coughed.

"Haruka," she grinned.

The girl sat back down carelessly and smoked like there was no yesterday. She put her feet up again on the table and crossed it. Her slender back was leaning against the dark yellow wall, and the dim room light glossed over her pretty rose colored hair. No matter how much he observed and stared at her blankly with his mouth open, that girl, that audacious, boisterous, insolent girl was Sakura. Still, watching her smoke coolly on the floor with that mischievous, sinister grin made him second that.

Finally, after a few minutes of staring and causing an awkward mood in the room, Naruto sternly said, "Okay, what the hell did you do with Sakura?"

"I told you, I'm Haruka, idiot," the girl muttered, cussing under her breath. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and gritted his teeth. For the first time in his life, Sakura was beginning to get under his skin. He was still confused, but was a little sure that this person was not Sakura.

"Listen, you imposter," he said, grabbing her arm again, this time, tighter. "You better fess up about it or I'll beat the answers out of…"

But before he could finish, she twisted his hand with her other free arm. Naruto yelped in pain. The girl leaned over to his left ear carefully, as if she was going to tell him a good secret.

"Rule number one," the pink haired spunk whispered, but her voice seemed to rise in crescendo. "Don't… ever… touch me!!!!" With that, she furiously tossed Naruto to the right wall with only one hand. He didn't even have any time to scream; she was way too quick. After a loud bang, he slid down to the floor, landing on his head.

'Ow…,' he thought. He didn't want to know what the next rules were. But she was coming toward him, and he could see that in his upside-down vision. She stopped right in front of his head and crossed her arms. She stood there like a gangster with a sinister grin printed on her face. He didn't like the look on her face. Smiling back, he added a nervous chuckle, and she chuckled back evilly. She stooped down, took out the cigarette that she had between her lips, and mashed the burning end on his forehead.

"Now," she said, twisting the cigarette around. "Rule number two: refer to me as Haruka-sama, capiche?"

"Sakura, snap out of it!" Naruto said, feeling the singe on the middle of his forehead. He winced from the pain, and tried not to give in to her little amusement.

"Hey, hey, now…," a man back at the table slurred, "Give the poor lad a break, won't ya? We're tryin' to enjoy a good drink here!"

There was a small pause in the room.

"What… did you say…?" the girl now named Haruka said. Her back was turned away from the drunks. Her posture was suddenly stiff, almost as if she was frozen.

"I said…."

"I don't give a damn!!!" the violent girl shouted as she violently turned around and flipped over the traditional Japanese cuisine table full of food and drinks. The women in the room screamed, and the men backed away to the wall. The girl stood up, cracking her neck and her knuckles, her face painted in vivid descriptions of violence and mischief.

"Now, who wants to go first?" she said with an evil smile plastered on her pretty doll face.

Fear ran through the room.

"Oh, where is that Naruto and Sakura? They've been gone for hours now, and we don't even know where they are! We checked every room in this building." Ino shouted as she busily bustled throughout the hallway. Shouts and bursts of laughter flowed through each rooms with thin paper pocket doors. The silhouettes of those people in the room were full of life and energy. They looked like puppet shows, except rowdier.

"I hope they are okay…," Hinata whispered, and Kiba put his hand on her shoulder.

"Cheer up," he comforted her. "They couldn't have gone too far. It's just a restaurant."

"Still, for them to go away for so long….," Sai said with his usual tone and face. This made everyone worry even more.

"I am sure that they are both fine. I have full confidence in Naruto-kun," Lee tried to reassure everyone. "Besides, it is not like they have gone home together, right?"

Everyone briefly paused in the middle of the hallway. Another burst of laughter came through from another room, and they all snapped back to reality. They walked again.

"I'm sure they are fine…," Ino gritted as they were nearing to the end of the hallway. "We haven't checked this end of the hallway yet." Ino, though, already doubted that Sakura and Naruto could be in this hallway. The rooms at the end of the hallway were full of low-class businessmen, rowdy drunks, and sometimes, useless local gangs.

Suddenly…!

"Get up!"

"That's Sakura's voice!" Ino shouted, running to the room at the very end of the hall. Quickly, they all rushed to the room where the voice was coming from, even though they doubted that Sakura could ever be in there. Rushing, Ino hurried and opened the pocket door, and slowly but surely, Sakura was in there.

"Forehead girl, what the heck are you doing in there?!" Ino shouted. The rest of the gang scouted the room with their eyes. The room was a mess. It had tables turned, food all over the floor, and trembling girls in every corner who tried to get out as soon as the door was opened.

"She's crazy, that girl is crazy!!!" one girl shouted as she ran out of the room with the rest of her buddies.

They were all shocked to see what had happened in the room. But they were even more shocked to see around seven men kneeling in front of Sakura with their arms raised to the sky. Naruto just sat carelessly in the opposite corner with nothing but blankness drawn upon his face.

"Save us, please…!" one man in a kimono shouted. Sakura conked him on the head with her fist.

"Hey, hey, shush…!" the sprightly girl said threateningly, and then turned to the Rookie 9 and shouted, "If you have no business here, then get lost."

Ino and the rest of the gang started to climb up the ledge. Hinata and Kiba crawled over to Naruto to check his condition.

"Naruto… Naruto-kun? Are you okay?" Hinata whispered, worried. Naruto slowly raised his head up, turned to the indigo haired girl and smiled weakly.

"Dandy…," he replied.

"Please… save us. She's crazy! She's going to beat us up and kill us!" another man shouted in plea. Tears were forming in his eyes. Mercilessly, Sakura raised her fist and conked every men kneeling on their heads. She kept repeating the procedure about two times until Ino grabbed her wrist.

"Sakura, what has gotten into you?! This isn't like you. Let's go home, okay?" Ino said. Sakura started to laugh and forcefully pulled her arms away from Ino's grasp.

"Sakura…? Geez, she sure has some friends, especially this ugly dumb blonde one right here," the girl nastily quipped.

"What?! Why you little….!" Ino shouted as she raised her fists up in the air. Rock Lee and Choji quickly grabbed her away before she could pounce onto Sakura and shred her.

"What do you mean by that?" Sai asked, ignoring Ino's animated fit of rage, punching sound effects, and Choji's head flying up at the background.

"What do you mean by what?" the pink haired lass hissed.

"Well, you said, 'Geez, she sure has some friends...' Why are you implying yourself in third person, or as if you are not you, Sakura?"

Sakura scoffed and rubbed the bottom of her nose with her index finger.

"Sharp kid, here…I'm Haruka," she answered him with a mischievous grin. "Say, you're lookin' hot. Wanna go out? The night's still young."

"Sa…ku…ra!!!" Ino shouted angrily. "Snap out of it! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Look, I already told that stupid looking blond boy back there, I took care of her. Don't bother calling her out again, okay? Because she won't answer back," she said, and then noticing that the men who were kneeling were trying to crawl away, she kicked one of them in the groin. The rest of them quickly went back to their places, whimpering and kneeling, while that one unfortunate guy rolled around the ground, groaning in pain.

Everyone stared at each other in confusion. Suddenly, Sai swiftly made his way behind Sakura in the speed of light.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this…," he said, and lightly touched her shoulder. Sakura soon fell to the ground. Seeing this, the joy spread throughout each of the abused men on the floor.

"We're free now!!! Run away!!!" the kneeling men shouted as they tried to grasp their balance, tumbling down on to the ledge and crawling away.

The sun was held high up in the crystal blue sky. There were no hints of clouds, and the birds roamed and danced freely into the distance. Ray of lights from the sun streamed down into one hospital room, where Naruto laid down on the bed unconscious. As soon as one light hit Naruto, his fingers started to slowly move.

"So he's okay, after all," a mellow voice said. Naruto's eyes started to twitch and slowly open. Wondering who it was, he turned his head to where the voice came from. A tall, lean figure with a green flap jacket and jet black hair was leaning against the wall. It was Shikamaru.

"These days, I always seem to wake up in the hospital…," Naruto groaned as he rubbed his sore head. "What happened last night?"

"You went out cold in that restaurant," Shikamaru explained. "Do you remember anything?"

Naruto rubbed his head a little harder, trying to reclaim the lost memories. His back was also hurting a little. Finally, he said, "Yeah, a bit. I went to this one noisy room and… Sakura-chan! She was dancing wilding and smoking and drinking. Then she beat me up in front of those drunken jerks. I've never seen her move that quickly before…"

Shikamaru grabbed a seat on the nearby stool. He crossed his arms with his head stooped down. His eyes were closed, as if he was concentrating.

"You know, I've heard news about Sakura a while back when you were in the hospital for three months…"

"I was in the hospital for three months?!"

"Just be quiet and listen," Shikamaru shot back coolly. "Anyways, while you were knocked out cold for three months, Sakura had been sometimes seen by the neighbors. They said she had been roaming around the neighborhood late at night, singing and drinking. Sometimes they saw her talk to some strange old guys and walking away with them. Once or twice, someone vandalized apartment buildings by putting some weird symbols with spray paint. They think it was Sakura, but they have no proof of that whatsoever…"

"Wait, why was I in the hospital for three months?" Naruto asked. He was shocked to realize that he was in there all this time.

Shikamaru sighed. "Don't you remember? Me, you, and few of the chunins and jonins were out on a mission…." He tried to continue on, but a small sparrow with a note tied around its leg was pecking on the window. Shikamaru slowly unfolded his crossed arms and abruptly got off the stool.

"I'll have to go. As if Tsunade can't get off my back for one sec… If you want to see Sakura, she's in the hospital too. It's room 403." Shikamaru said and quickly left. Naruto stared at Shikamaru's back, full of unanswered questions in his mind…

First thing was first – Naruto decided to go see Sakura. Sakura though… only the image of the girl called Haruka ran through his mind. Her violent actions, her slick moves and trash talk was all that passed through his eyes. He was wondering if Sakura finally went mad, or she was stressed. He couldn't think anymore.

Without much effort, he made it to room 403. But just before he could twist the door knob to enter, he heard voices. First there was a shout.

"Sakura, you went pretty far! Partying with strangers and then beating them up?! What the hell is wrong with you?"

There was a brief silence, and then the same voice spoke again.

"You are definitely one of a kind. You even beat up Naruto to the point where he finally got knocked out."

Another silence…

"I'm going out," the voice said. Naruto quickly removed himself from leaning against the door. No sooner or later, Ino emerged, storming out of the room. She didn't notice Naruto sitting in the corner. Silently, Naruto made his way toward the door. But before his hands could reach the door knob, he heard her voice.

"What is wrong with me….," she whispered, though it was audible enough to hear. The door was barely closed, and Naruto could see through the small closure the lonely figure sitting on the bed, bent down. Her hands were covering her face. The room was still a little dark, due to the curtains covering the window. He wanted to go in there was push the curtains away. That was the first thing that he wanted to do so badly. But his fingers barely even touched the cold metal knob. It slowly pulled itself away from the door. And then, without even realizing, Naruto was pulling himself away from the room, the corridors, the hallways….

Tsunade was sitting on her desk, unrolling the scrolls and getting past the heavy paper works. Today was busier that before, and she was absolutely furious.

"Grr, one of these days… more paper works…," she grumbled, biting the end of her pencil and then snapping it in half. Then, there came a knock on the door…

"Ugh, can't you come in later?! I'm busy!" Tsunade yelled, but it was ignored. Naruto emerged from the door.

"What do you want… can't you come back later?" Tsunade said, but Naruto stood there firmly.

"You are hiding something from me," he snapped. "What are you hiding from me now?"

"So what are your questions?" Tsunade sighed and took a pause as she gathered her hands together, letting her elbows rest on the wooden desk. "I was expecting this anyways…"

"Why was I knocked out for three months? How did that happen?" Naruto rushed in, not giving her the chance to say anything more. Tsunade sighed again, wondering if Naruto's fury would ever cool down. She closed her eyes for a moment, and then reopened them again.

"When you woke up about a week ago, who was right beside you?" Tsunade asked.

"Hinata, but what does that have to do with anything….,"

"That was exactly about three months then…," she whispered, flipping her blonde mane that hadn't been kept well due to busy schedules and procrastination. She stared at him again with anticipation. "Then Naruto let me ask you another thing. Who is Sasuke?"

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Who is Sasuke…? Yeah, who's that?" he answered back. Then, he shook his head and rubbed his forehead with his bare right hand. "What does this have to do with anything, Tsunade baa-chan?"

Tsunade tightened her crimson lips. She was afraid that this moment would come. She clasped her rested hands tighter.

"About three months ago, you were on a mission with few jonins and chunins. According to the reports I've heard from," Tsunade said, placing her right hand on the stacked pile of paper. "Your head had been critically hit. The details were not clear, but when a group of jonins found you, you were already losing lots of blood and consciousness."

"Sakura-chan…. What about Sakura-chan?" Naruto muttered quietly, but his eyes and hands were starting to shake.

"She was fine at that time, though she was found unconscious too. She wasn't in a critical condition like you, however…," she replied carefully, trying to grasp the words with her tongue. "When she woke up in the hospital after the mission, she began to acquire strange habits. Sometimes, I received reports about her troublemaking. Sometimes, she acted as if she was the total polar opposite of herself.

"If you can't remember who Sasuke is, then I cannot help you any further. Just forget about what I said. Anyways, I will try, however, to help you reclaim your memories that you lost."

Crumpling his face a little more, Naruto clenched his fists, making them into two airless balls.

"She called herself Haruka…," he whispered.

"What…?"

"That's not all… she acted as if she was someone else, someone that was not her. That girl last night, Haruka… Sakura called herself Haruka. She wasn't herself…"

Tsunade's eyebrows were raised, and her ears were perked.

"Haruka, you say…?"

Naruto nodded once. Tsunade began to grit her teeth.

"This is bad…," the blond woman said as she began to clench on her pencil tighter. She stared at Naruto again directly. "So you still have no clue what happened at that mission three months ago?"

"I told you, I don't even know why I was in the hospital for three months. And who is Sasuke?" he answered back directly. Tsunade sat still with thoughts racing in her head.

"Sakura is sick," Tsunade quietly added. "She is unwell."

"Sick? How…?"

"Have you ever heard of dissociative identity disorder, Naruto?" he shook in a tiny motion and cocked his head downwards. She continued on.

"It's a rare condition where a person has multiple identities and personalities while interacting with others in the social environment."

"What does that supposed to mean," Naruto said in confusion.

"It's like having a lollipop that has few other distinct tastes," she sighed. Naruto's face lightened a little with insight.

"Unfortunately, Sakura happens to fall into this category. I tried to cover it up by not telling you. Few ninjas know what's happening to Sakura. Boy, I never thought I would be able to see this day…"

"Then how can we cure her? Do you have a good medicine for this?" Naruto hurried along.

"No, there isn't any medicine that could cure her instantly. This is a mental problem, so it hadn't been thoroughly researched. In fact, few people in this world who are diagnosed with this condition still live with it…"

Naruto's head drooped down, his cerulean eyes pooling in anger and dissatisfaction. He clenched his fists tighter and tighter.

"If I could only remember what happened then…," he stated with his shaking voice. "If I could… I could save her…"

"Don't beat yourself up," Tsunade quietly added. "Look, I'll find a good cure, though this isn't my specialty. In the mean time, I have another mission for you!"

"Huh, what is it?" Naruto raised his head. Not now… just not right now.

"Your mission is to protect Sakura," she roared. "Don't let her get out of your sight at all times. Of course, you may leave her alone when she returns back to her house. Other than that, stay on guard for her!"

"And that's my mission…?"

"Yes, until we can cure her," Tsunade said. "You won't have any other mission than this." Her tone was final, and although Naruto oppose, Sakura was in his mind.

After Naruto left the hokage's office, he wandered around the streets, dazed and confused. How could there be an illness like that in the world? It didn't make sense, but he tried to swallow it in. From the last night experience, he realized that Sakura might not be all that she could be for now.

He thought of heading home, but a voice called out to him.

"Naruto!"

He bent his head a little to the side. His eyes caught a glimpse of pink in the air.

"Sakura-chan," he turned toward her. She ran to him and stopped, trying to catch her breath.

"I was trying to catch up to you," she said breathlessly with her hands on her knees. "I saw you coming out of Tsunade-sama's office, and I wondered if you had any other missions coming up…"

He stared at her hard, but his eyes drawled in gentleness.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," he said. He wanted to ask her, but stopped before he could continue. Instead, he lightened his face with his goofy grin and said, "Yeah, I have a mission. It starts right now, but I have to do it alone."

"Huh, really…? Am I also included in this mission as well?"

Yeah, you are the mission; he wanted to say, but instead, he answered, "Maybe."

"I really have nothing to do these days. Tsunade-same told me to relax, which is unusual."

"That's nice," he muttered, but a shooting pain in his back started to grow. He fell on his knees with one hand on his spine.

"Naruto? Naruto, what's wrong?!" Sakura shouted, stooping down beside him. She carefully examined his back with her gentle hands. Finally, she came to a conclusion with a relieved sigh.

"It's not a big problem. It seems as though you've kind of put some kind of strain to it," Dusting herself, she stood up and also helped him stand. "You'll be fine alone. What the heck did you do to yourself?!"

"You…," he was going to say that she threw him to the wall twice, but changed his mind quickly. "I trained too hard, I guess…" She furrowed her brows in suspicion, but left it at that.

"Well, be careful. Really, you are so stupid, Naruto," she added with a gentle smile. "Ah, I have to go to the library. I said that I would come by to pick up some books there to the librarian."

The library. He never liked studying, but instead, he said, "I'm going there too!"

"Really?" she raised her brows. "That's surprising, for a guy like you."

"I think I'll sign out some books too," he lied. She blankly stared at him and narrowed her eyes. But with a quick nod, she began to walk, and he soon followed her. While walking beside her, he asked her a question.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, do you know a person named Sasuke?"

She stared at him strangely.

"Sasuke? Who's that?" she said, and kept on walking.