Sorry! It has been a while since I last updated and I hope you find this chapter pleasing. It's not my best, but it a good one!

Same Disclaimer

Random thoughts: Massages are awesome!

They were 11 years old when Sakura got sick.

"She's late" Sasuke exclaimed, his eyes twitching every now and then from the group of fan girls staring at his back. He didn't even want to know the thoughts that are crossing their minds right now.

"That's weird, Sakura-chan is always early" Naruto agreed, staring at the door of their classroom, oblivious to the girls trailing after his friend. Sasuke kept glancing at the door repeatedly, thinking that Sakura would burst through it any second now.

Usually, she would be the first to arrive and greet both of them with her traditional grin. This time, she wasn't here when they arrived to the classroom. Sasuke shook it off and came to a conclusion that she may have slept in. However, Naruto was worried.

What got both of them more anxious was when Iruka entered the classroom, signaling the beginning of the lesson. The two boys stared at each other with serious expressions; they would visit her in the end of the day.

Coughing could be heard all around the Haruno household, but no one was even there to hear it. A pink-haired girl was in her bed, wrapped up with multiple blankets, but no matter how wrapped up she was, she still felt so cold and sick. Sakura heaved, trying to breathe through her nose so as not to feel too nauseous. She didn't have the energy to crawl towards the bathroom, since her muscles felt like rubber. Tears escalated down her face, wishing that her family was here to take care of her. They left about two days ago with her baby brother to a village to sell some of their merchandise, leaving poor Sakura alone. She had never felt so alone in her entire life. She felt so utterly miserable and in desperate need of someone's company, but she couldn't move from the bed. She has been lying on the futon for hours already and the urge to vomit was never decreasing. Sakura coughed heavily, panting after every cough to catch her breath. She could even taste her bile, that's it. With all the strength she could muster, she pushed her tired, sick body to the extremes as she tried to crawl her way towards the bathroom.

Sasuke…Naruto…

she thought as more tears trickled down her face. She was able to make her way to the restroom and purge everything that was in her stomach, which wasn't much since she didn't have anything for breakfast or lunch. After flushing and washing her hands with great difficulty, she allowed her legs to fail her as she hit the floor harshly.

It's so cold…Sakura was shivering, her teeth clattering together, but what was most important was that she had to make it back to her warm bed. She almost regretted leaving her futon; it was going to take her some time to go back there. She then knew she was seriously ill when her vision started becoming blurry and her body began to have chills. Giving up, she began crying softly, lying on the cold floor after feeling how useless her actions were. Before her body could shut down, she heard her bedroom door open.

It seems like her prayer was answered, and she was ecstatic to see the presence of her boys. While she was happy of the fact that she wasn't alone anymore, Sasuke and Naruto were horrified when they found their female friend slumped on her cold floor. Sasuke's didn't care to keep his aloof expression as he quickly ran towards her, raising her upper body to find out what's wrong with her. Luckily, she was still conscious and…smiling?

"Sakura! Why the hell are you on the ground!? And why are you smiling about it!?" Sasuke burst out, worried about how pale her face was. Without waiting for her to answer, Naruto and Sasuke carried her carefully to the bed.

"She has a very high fever," Sasuke exclaimed through clenched teeth, feeling her forehead. Her coughing fits were violent and constant, worrying the two boys even more.

"Guys, it's okay. I'll get better in no time–" Sakura was trying to assure her boys that she was fine, but she began coughing again. Naruto gave Sasuke a meaningful glance before bursting out of the house. He was going to search for help, since they didn't know anything about her sickness and moving her to the hospital might be dangerous. Sasuke sighed and gave a small, quick glare at Sakura.

"Why were you on the floor?" he asked again, his anxiousness resided slowly when she was able to breathe better again. Sakura explained to him what she was trying to do and how tired and useless her body was to allow her to ask for help. When she was done, she looked back at Sasuke sheepishly, silently apologizing for worrying them like that. Sasuke ruffled his black hair, trying to figure out what to do with her…not to mention that she was still smiling.

"Why the hell are you smiling in a situation like this!?" he yelled, getting aggravated for not being able to understanding her actions. He heard her sigh as pulled the covers closer to her and was met by silence. After what seemed like hours when it was only a few minutes, Sasuke was about to repeat his question when he heard her soft, deep breaths. The young Uchiha sighed again and went to pick up all the clothes and trash scattered in her room, it was better she slept now and rest. Naruto should be here any minute now.

Just as he thought, he heard a loud poof somewhere in the living room and he waited for the familiar presence to enter the room.

"Sasuke! Sakura-chan! I brought some help!" Naruto's enthusiastic voice reached his ear. Sasuke sighed for the third time in the last hour as Naruto came into view, along with the Hokage and a nurse. Alarmed and quite surprised, he gave a small bow to the Hokage and stared at Naruto confused.

"I ran into Old Man here and told him what happened to Sakura-chan. He took the best medical ninja in Konoha and transported us all here!" Naruto ended with a wide grin as the nurse scrambled towards the sick child with worry. The Hokage just smiled at Sasuke's expression when he kept glancing at Sakura every now and then to check if the nurse is doing her job right. Naruto stood beside Sasuke and everyone kept quiet for the medic-nin to do her job.

"Hokage-sama, it seems that the young girl was poisoned" the doctor explained after several minutes of prodding into her body, surprised as well as the rest of the people.

"WHAT!?" Naruto yelled, furious at who would poison his Sakura-chan while Sasuke cursed for not figuring this out sooner. The Hokage narrowed his eyes, wondering who would poison a child and where did that poison come from anyway. He looked back at the female doctor and gave a scary look.

"I want a full report on the poison's formula and effects. Have the report on my desk by tomorrow morning, is that understood, Yuuki?" the Doctor, Yuuki, gulped and nodded, determined to take out the poison from the girl. It wasn't anything serious, but if it wasn't out of the girl's system soon, it may kill her through time.

Naruto and Sasuke were struck speechless at what just happened, both of them terrified of almost losing their friend. Sakura was the reason Naruto and Sasuke were able to go on with their life, though the latter wouldn't admit it anytime. They were so close to losing her and that feeling was enough for them to strive to become stronger in order to protect her.

The Hokage, Sarutobi, smiled as he watched the chemistry between the three children. They would be the perfect example of the Fire of Konoha. Ushering the both of them outside the room as Yuuki worked on Sakura, he hoped that the next generation would correct the mistakes of their grandfathers.

Twenty minutes later, Naruto started walking back and forth while Sasuke fidgeted every now and then. The Uchiha looked back at the calm Hokage, wondering why is he still here. He heard from his late parents that the Hokages were always busy with paper work and keeping Konoha safe. Unable to contain himself, he asked "Hokage-sama, why are you still here?" Sarutobi smiled at him kindly, surprising the Uchiha greatly.

"The children of Konoha are my important people and I would do anything for them, for they will be the future of Konoha. The fact that someone was able to poison our children without us knowing is very dangerous and threatening. There may be a spy here as well, so its better I stay here until Yuuki is done" The Hokage explained, satisfying Sasuke's curiosity. Before he can think of any other question, someone suddenly interrupted him.

"Hokage-sama, we've investigated Haruno Sakura's daily action in the past two days and we believe that we have a trail." An ANBU said beside a shocked Sasuke. Staring at the ANBU with amazement, he secretly wished to be just like him. The Hokage nodded and stood up when he saw Yuuki descending the stairway, looking tired, but satisfied. She nodded at the Hokage before disappearing with the ANBU.

"So? Is Sakura-chan okay Old Man?" Naruto yelled; tense but ready for the results.

"It appears that Yuuki was able to extract the poison out of Sakura's system, so she is safe for the time being." The Hokage explained; glad to see they relaxed from his news.

"Wait, 'for the time being'? Do you mean that she is still in danger?" Sasuke caught up, suspicious and tense again. The Hokage shook his head, "There is a very small chance whoever did this will come back, but I highly doubt it. Just to be safe, I will assign an ANBU to keep watch so you two don't have to worry about anything."

The first thing Sakura noticed when she opened her eyes, was that she wasn't feeling as bad as she thought she would. Her vision wasn't blurry and her strength was slowly but surely coming back to her. Smiling, she slowly sat up when a hand on her shoulder pushed her back down.

"You shouldn't be moving" Sasuke said, ignoring her gaze before he went to finish cleaning the room. Sakura knew from the beginning that Naruto and Sasuke would be here and so it didn't come much of a surprise to her. She sighed, urging her muscles to calm down as she stared at the back of the Uchiha.

"What are you doing Sasuke?" Sakura's hoarse voice broke the silence in the room, but it was ignored as Sasuke kept prancing around the room, picking up trash and clothes he sees every now and then. Sakura wasn't exactly the person he would call neat freak, but she is clean and organized enough to make sure nothing hit her floor, so what worried him was how everything was scattered everywhere around them. She must have been too tired to pick them up, which also made him wonder how long was she sick? They haven't seen each other for almost a week now, since all of them were busy with exams and training. He almost felt guilty he did not check on Sakura and Naruto for the time they weren't together.

Sakura was just happy they were here, that's all what she could think of. She is not alone, suffering from this illness by herself. Sasuke then explained to her the reason she wasn't feeling well these past couple of days. Before contemplating on her case, Naruto came in with bowls of…Ramen.

"Sakura-chan! Since you are not feeling well, I thought of making some Ramen for all of us! It will bring back your energy in no time!" Naruto exclaimed as he placed the Miso Ramen (Sakura's favorite) on her lap. Sakura and Sasuke just sighed; that was so typical of Naruto to do.

Before Sasuke can scold Naruto for making her eat something so unhealthy, he was surprised to hear a loud growl coming from Sakura. The said girl held her stomach, blushing and laughing softly at the same time.

"I think I got back my appetite and I am famished!" Sakura said, scratching her head shyly. Both boys gave her a small smile before eating their fill of Ramen.

That Night…

Sakura sighed as she lay on her bed with fresh, new pajamas. Her hair was still slightly wet from her recent shower, but she felt so much better than the afternoon. It was night time now and her friends have left several hours ago after constantly reassuring them that she was fine. Now, she could focus on studying on the history of the Shodai and Nidaime, since it was certainly coming in her next big exam. She wasn't a genius for nothing, but sometime, you just have to work hard to get the highest marks in the written exams. She grinned inwardly when she knew that Sasuke occupied the first place the other activities, it was just that obvious he was highly skilled. Her thoughts then took her to Naruto and she just had to sigh; she just prayed that he wouldn't in more than a subject.

Sasuke was having a nightmare. No, it was more of a memory that constantly invaded his mind. He was reliving the bloody massacre of his clan two years ago and it was horrible. Watching your parents dying in front of him over and over again was just so horrible that Sasuke woke up with a loud scream. Panting heavily, his wide eyes searched his cold room for any intruder, reassuring himself that there wasn't anyone there to kill him in his sleep. Several minutes after that horrible memory, Sasuke managed to labor his breathing and calm down. Messaging his temples, he kept repeating the words in his mind.

It was just a dream

Just a dream

A dream…

No matter how many times he said that, he jumped at the slightest sound coming from insects in the trees, owls, or the wind. An hour later, he gave up trying to sleep and contemplated if he should just go train. Maybe he would train hard enough to come back home and pass out. Just then, Sakura appeared in his head and the moment it did, he disappeared from his room.

Sakura was reading the thick book again when she head and soft knock on her window. Jumping for being caught completely off guard, she turned to her right to see the intruder.

"Sasuke?" Sakura sighed in relief, holding her erratic heart as she walked slowly towards the window and unlocked it. The young Uchiha came in, raising an eyebrow at the pink-haired girl.

"Why aren't you asleep? It's almost two in the morning" Sasuke proclaimed, waiting for her to answer him. She would be resting and sleeping instead of occupying herself with 'some light reading' as she once has said. Sakura fidgeted at his hard gaze and slowly pointed at the book on her bed.

"I haven't been studying the past two days and exams are so close. I can't just sit here and fail!" Sakura explained, as if it was something he should have known. Irritated, Sasuke shoved his hands in his pocket and walked towards her bed. Confused, Sakura followed him slowly, since she was still a little weak from the poison and stared at Sasuke, who was also staring at the thick book. Grabbing it with his left hand, he raised an eyebrow at his stupid friend.

"This won't even be coming until two months. The exam next week is about the Sandaime and the Yondaime" Sasuke said, confused as to why she was reading this right now. Sakura huffed and explained, "You can't just read about Sandaime before reading about the first two Hokages. This would just ruin everything and confuse you." Sighing, she went back to the bed, already tired from such a small argument. After taking her book from the young Uchiha, she plopped down with her back leaning on the pillows in the middle of her double bed.

"You had that dream again didn't you?" It wasn't a question; it was a pure statement she knew was true. Sasuke looked paler than usual and he was beginning to have dark circles under his onyx eyes. She took his silence as a 'yes' and scooted over a bit to give him some space to sit on the bed with her. Just as she expected, she felt Sasuke's weight on her right side and inwardly smiled when he went under the blankets and shifted slightly in order to make himself comfortable.

Sakura was so warm. Sasuke couldn't help but be surrounded by her warmth the moment his head hit the pillow. She had such a soothing presence and he wondered why he felt so safe and calm every time he went near her. This was such a strange feeling. Before he could even contemplate on his thoughts and musings, he let Sakura's warm chakra flood him as he slowly welcomed the darkness. Even then, no dreams invaded his tired mind.

Sakura gazed at Sasuke with sad, watery eyes. He would always come to her whenever he had that horrible nightmare. She remembered the first time he dreamt of it and it was a couple of days right after the massacre. She was going to visit Sasuke to give him some tomato soap, but before she could knock on the door, she heard him screaming. Breaking the door open, she saw him on the couch of the living room, clutching his head hard and letting out silent tears. One thing led to another and Sakura was humming Sasuke a lullaby she sang to her brother (though she would NEVER tell him) and he was asleep the moment she felt him relax.

Today was no exception as she started humming her lullaby smoothly and softly to him. He needed them and she would do anything for him not to fall down and give up and she knew that Naruto would do the same thing. She owed Itachi to take care of him after all. Even if he was the bad guy, he was also a very sad person who wanted to be loved, but couldn't because he was considered a prodigy who never had time for such a weak emotion. Deep inside, she wished he would find whatever it was he was looking for. (Another thing she will NEVER tell Sasuke)

It turned out that she was deep into her thinking, for she heard someone knocking on her window softly again. A smile made a way through her lips as Naruto opened the window and walked towards her.

"Hey Sakura-chan. I just came to check up on you and it seems that I'm not the only one" Naruto whispered sheepishly. It seemed that Naruto knew what happened to Sasuke because he looked at his friend, aka rival, with sad eyes "He had that dream again?" he asked after a while, but something in Sakura said that he wasn't asking a question, so she returned back to her book. She smiled once she felt another weight fall on her left.

"What are you reading?" Naruto asked, peeked over her shoulders, but gagged when he knew what the book was. Sakura sighed, "Naruto, you have to learn about this as well. This exam is important and so is the next one. Don't tell me you want to fail them as well?" Naruto pouted as Sakura flipped through the pages and began reading to the Kyuubi holder all the important factors. Naruto listened in attentively; the story she was telling was (surprisingly) very interesting, much more than when he reads it alone, so he tried his best to understand everything she was saying.

During her explanation, Sasuke woke up for a brief moment with the voice of both Naruto and Sakura. He had to admit, waking up with their voices wasn't half bad. It distracted him from all the unpleasant thoughts. He then realized that Sakura was reading the book out loud for Naruto, so he joined in, raising his head slightly.

'Smart Sakura is a very useful Sakura' Sasuke mused as he learned new facts from the girl's own explanation. Half way through her reading, Sasuke couldn't help but fall back to sleep, he was so tired.

Sakura had to stop once she heard a soft snore coming from her left side. Looking at Naruto, Sakura smiled softly when she saw him already asleep. Sasuke must have also followed in his footsteps later. They must have been really exhausted. Sighing softly so as not wake them up, Sakura silently closed the book and snuggled deeper into the covers. When she was comfortable enough, she quickly went to sleep.

They would study later. Right now, her friends were with her and that is all what she ever wanted.

Phew, Done. Next chapter would be awesome cause they will be a team finally! Please stay tuned until next time! "Our Promise"

Sadbird