Hey guys! This is a slightly dramatic chapter (in my opinion at least) and I worked really hard for it :) Again, thank you for all the reviews! :D

Same Disclaimer

Random comment: Weekeeeeeend!!

They were fifteen years old when Sakura's tragedy occurred.

Another year has passed since Team seven became…Team seven.

Sakura finished doing her chores in her empty house and got ready for her day with her mentor. Her parents and Setsuni would be arriving tomorrow and she just couldn't wait to see them again. One would have thought that she would get used to their absence through time, but whenever her parents left to one of their business trips, Sakura would find herself counting the days to see them. However, she hasn't been noticing their absence as much when her teammates came back from the eighteen-month long mission. Smiling, she remembered the day when they came back, bruised and wounded.

Flashback

"Sasuke…Naruto…" Sakura whispered when she saw them limping their way towards her. Each had their signature smile on their faces as their eyes stared back at her with equal happiness. Sakura didn't wait for them to come, for she ran towards them with her tears glistening under the sunlight.

Before Naruto and Sasuke could say anything, they both found themselves on the ground with their pink-haired teammate lying on them, crying tears of happiness. Both of them were speechless and let her cry as much as she wanted.

"You…IDIOTS!" Sakura yelled in the end and somehow managed to hit them both in the head, hard. Standing up, Sakura watched smugly as her boys held their heads with tears at the corner of their eyes.

"S-Sakura-chan! What was that for!?" Naruto whined and gave a small pout while Sasuke glared daggers at her. Not intimidated in the least, she held both her boy's shirts and lifted them up. Since they were much taller than her now, she had to use her monstrous strength to raise them up until they were in the air and had to look down at her.

"I told you to send me letters and all you did was send me ONE freaking letter with a couple of sentences on each! Are you kidding me!?" Sakura yelled as she started shaking them like crazy. After much yelling and scolding, the pink-haired girl managed to calm herself and fell on her knees along with both her boys. They were all panting heavily, one of them for exertion, the other two from the lack of oxygen that came from their teammate strangling them.

After that, everything was quiet and Sakura finally gave them a huge watery grin that sent their hearts soaring from relief. They missed her so much.

"Welcome back" Sakura whispered and gave them a huge hug. It wasn't until they hugged her back did she began quietly sobbing, glad that her boys were finally home.

That day, Kakashi gave them the bell test again in order to see how much all three of them have improved and he had to admit, they beat him fair and square. He didn't even have the time to read his beloved book and had to keep his eye on them the whole time.

When Sasuke and Naruto knew that Sakura has been the only one who was still a Genin because she was waiting for them, they went berserk and demanded the Hokage to send them to the Sand Village, where the Chuunin exams would be held. Sakura had told them that she refused to join another team and take the exam until they came back and her boys were furious and promised her to pass. And pass they did. They were the team that shocked everyone around them since they were able to pass the exam easily and without much effort. Sakura was able to win the final battle with only one punch to the face, earning huge applaud from the audience and a smile from Gaara. Naruto made his way to the finals as well and won his match with a very unique display of ninjutsu. Lastly, Sasuke was able to win the match within only a minute, leaving everyone around him speechless. None of the three even broke a sweat during the finals. Three months had passed since that day and now, they were getting ready to take the Jounin exams, which will be held in four months in Mist Village.

Shaking herself out of her revere, Sakura ran towards her mentor's office in order to start her rough training. Once she entered the office, she stopped in her tracks when she saw the pained look Tsunade had. Ibiki was there as well and went he saw the student; he excused himself and directly left the room. It was quiet for a while until Sakura decided to break it.

"Tsunade-shishou…what is it?" Sakura said, almost afraid to ask. Tsunade did nothing but pick up the crumpled piece of paper she had and say, "Sakura, your parents and brother were killed two days ago" That was all what Tsunade could say and without even looking at her student, she continued.

"They were attacked on their way back from the Village Hidden in Mist. A group of Jounins blocked their way and…" Sakura's wide eyes stared at the space behind the Hokage as she continued to read the report she received from Morino Ibiki after investigating the matter of the Haruno Family's disappearance. The Pink-Haired girl's body was slowly welcoming the feeling of numbness spreading all over her body, mobilizing her on the spot. "…Haruno Izumi attempted to keep his wife and son out of harm's way, but was killed on the spot…" Her life was practically over. She's only fifteen and her parents were not rich in any way. She had it easy, she just realized it "Haruno Sekai was…assaulted, raped, and beaten from her attempt of protecting her son…"

So that's what it must have felt like, Sakura thought as she stared at Tsunade through dead, hollow eyes. Sparkling emerald slowly turned into dry jade as Sakura tried to listen to her teacher, her Hokage. "Haruno Setsuni was forced to witness his parent's death before sharing the same fate, though he died slowly due to the poison…" Setsuni, he didn't even finish his second year of the academy and had to see all this, had to die at such a young age, had to suffer all this pain as his soul slowly withered away.

'It hurts, my chest…hurts'

Sakura did not want to listen anymore. Before Tsunade was done with the report, Sakura's feet dragged her out of the office. She could care less how she looked like or where she was going, her life was over anyway. Death was suddenly a very welcoming feeling.

"Oi, watch where you're going girl" A distant voice growled. By the time her mind was able to comprehend what she did for that person to yell, he had already left and she was once again alone in her thoughts. She stood up from the ground, her numb body unconsciously gliding between the many other bodies to avoid bumping into any more people. She didn't know what else to do right now.

'How long have I been walking?' Sakura was aware enough to know that a lot of time has passed. Her body was taking her deep into the forest and it was a very familiar path, Team seven's training ground. Once she was able to comprehend that her boys would be there, she needed no more confirmation as she sped over towards the training ground.

"Naruto, Sasuke…" Sakura whispered to no one in particular, hardly able to raise her voice any further. Her throat, she has come to realize, was dry and painful. Her feet were aching and her eyes hurt. She gained speed at the thought of meeting her boys. They were the only people in her life left; there was no one else to return to anymore. She needed to touch them and make sure they were real.

She needed to feel them.

"Naruto, Sasuke… NARUTO! SASUKE!!" She yelled through a hoarse and desperate voice. She never ran this fast her entire life, never.

"NARUTO! SASUKE!!" she yelled again as she neared the training ground.

'Haruno Izumi attempted to keep his wife and son out of harm's way, but was killed on the spot' Tsunade's voice invaded her already messed up mind. Finally, the tears that were begging to be shed fell in streams on her porcelain face.

'Haruno Sekai was…assaulted, raped, and beaten' A sob wrenched its way out of her mouth. They didn't deserve any of this.

'Haruno Setsuni was forced to witness his parent's death before sharing the same fate.' No, please no. Setsuni, her beautiful, lovely brother was gone now. Setsuni did not deserve this, her only brother who she adored and loved and promised to protect him no matter what. Life seemed to lose its colors with him gone; he was such a happy child.

"NARUTO! SASUKE!" Sakura screamed and finally, she was able to spot them training together. Through her blurred vision, she saw them stop in their track and stare at her in horror, she must have looked worse than she though she did.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto's voice was shocked. What just happened?! But Sakura could care less of telling them that right now. She just needed to see them, to know that they were real and not gone as well.

She just kept running towards the closest person she could touch, which turned out to be Naruto. What relieved her was when Naruto slowly opened his arms, welcoming her in. She wasted no time to think and just crushed her body to his. If her brain was working properly, she would have been amused from how he didn't lose his balance and fall from the huge force.

Once she was in his warm, warm presence, she started shaking from her loss, from what she could never have back. She tightened her hold on him, not caring if it would give bruises the next day, for he was her only source of comfort now.

'No…' Sakura thought with relief as she felt Sasuke's hand on her hair, soothing her his own way. 'She has friends; Ino, Hinata, Tenten, Lee, Neji. She had her boys who love her, even if the other would sometimes say otherwise.'

Sobs and wails of agony spread throughout the training ground as Sakura set her soul and feelings free, pleading that the pain would just go away. Just for a moment so that she could breath. But the pain never went; it just slowly ebbed away, leaving nothing but emptiness in her chest.

As her wails finally quieted down, she felt so exhausted. Her legs could no longer support her body and her arms felt so numb from the vice-like grip she had on her friend. Her body sagged against Naruto, but he supported her himself, holding her upright with his strong arms.

'Maybe…just maybe, they could save me' Sakura though as she slipped out of conscious. Before her brain succumbed into darkness, she heard Sasuke's soothing voice.

"Naruto, take Sakura home. I'm going to see Tsunade, I think she knows what happened to her" His voice kept drifting away, but Sakura was at ease. She could rest for now.

"Sakura-Nee-Chan! We're back!" Sakura heard Setsuni yell out as he ran towards her. She picked her brother up and gave him and tight hug, kissing him in the forehead even though he complained about the gesture.

"Setsuni! How was your trip!?" Sakura asked, happy that her family was finally back after their two-week business trip. As she heard her brother talk about the journey nonstop, she gave a smile at her parents who have just arrived as well.

As Setsuni hugged his sister like no tomorrow, Sakura couldn't help but think this is a dream. She was in such a happy place and felt that her heart was at ease…except…this wasn't real. Once she came to notice how weird this was, her parents started drifting away from her. All what the Kunoichi could do was watch as Setsuni, as well, was wrenched away from her arms.

"No! Where are you going? Why are you leaving me!?" Sakura yelled to them as they kept going further and further away. Her parents were giving her sad expression while her brother was crying out loud, lifting a hand towards his sister.

"Sakura dear, we do not belong in your world anymore, remember? You will have to go on with life without us." Sakura's father said with a sad smile as he held Setsuni and his wife closer to him. It felt like he was leaning on them for support.

"I don't have anyone over there! Who's going to take care of me!?" Sakura yelled as she fell on her knees, unable to find the strength to move on.

"Sakura-chan, you have Naruto and Sasuke remember? They love you so much and I am sure they will be there for you." Sakura's mother said, her blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. Sakura nodded slowly and watched as her family disappeared from her life forever.

"I love you, Sakura-nee-chan…" She heard her brother whisper to her and smiled his bright smile that she will miss dearly. She had to move on for them, it was time to wake up. Sakura gripped her hair in agony and tried to shake herself awake. This wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare.

"Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Sakura woke up gasping for air, still shaken over her dream. She sat up quickly and started looking around her, but it was so dark and she couldn't see anything. Before she could start panicking, two pairs of hands grabbed her and pushed her back down. She tried to get rid of the mass of bodies by wrestling her way out, but the two figures were too heavy and Sakura didn't have the energy to use her chakra.

"Sakura, stop moving!" she heard Sasuke growl out and soon, she lay down under her heavy teammates, calm and more in control. Once they felt her relax, Naruto and Sasuke slowly let go and stared at her for a while. Sakura held her left side of her chest, feeling her heart beating erratically. Her chest area also hurt so much, since the early incident was still suffocating her.

All of a sudden, she felt so warm and secured. Why? Because one of her boys was hugging her tired, broken figure so tightly that she didn't mind the slight pain.

"Sasuke?" Sakura questioned when she was able to identify who was hugging her. He was that warm person and he was…comforting her.

"We're here for you" Sasuke said, grabbing her head and pushing it towards his chest, feeling that he had to stabilize this broken girl in front of him. Naruto couldn't just stand by and watch and so, he took Sakura's hand and kissed it softly and repeatedly. He messaged her scalp to let her know that he was there as well.

Sakura started trembling as her body was finding it difficult to handle all this, but strangely, her chest wasn't throbbing like before. It eased down to a slight pain that she could ignore for now. When she felt Sasuke's hold tighten even more, she knew that she would be okay as she buried her face into his chest. She felt better already.

"Thank you guys, you're the best" she said with a broken smile and that was how they spent their night. Sakura explained to them what happened, leaving some details, for she couldn't even think of it. Sasuke and Naruto slowly tried to drive her attention away for tonight as they talked about what they will be doing in the future. The number of missions they would have every month, the amount of money they wanted to collect, and the Jounin exams that were a few months away. They made sure to make Sakura talk as much as they could so she would grow tired as the hours passed by.

Four hours later, Sakura was asleep in between her two boys, who were staring at her softly. Sighing, Sasuke turned off the lights and covered both his teammates before closing his eyes and going to sleep himself. He truly hoped that Sakura would not change too much after this because like it or not, she was the reason for him to live on day after day. If she loses her spirit, he was sure that there will be nothing left for him to depend on. For the first time since his parent's death, he prayed that his pink-haired teammate will not be consumed by darkness.

Naruto held Sakura's hand tightly; he knew that she would sleep better if she felt that they were with her. The Kyuubi holder loved her parents because they warmed up to him and were very kind people, inviting him over whenever they made Ramen or any kind of food he loved. Sasuke would come every once in a while, for he still felt uncomfortable to come to a house full of life and happiness. Setsuni loved them both, for he would jump on them whenever they came to visit and plead them to teach him a new technique. Naruto knew that Setsuni held a soft spot in Sasuke's heart and knew that both he and the bastard were affected greatly by this. He just hoped that this will pass soon.

One week later was the funeral of the Haruno's and Sakura just finished wearing her black clothes for the event. Once she left her house, she found her own teammates waiting for her and smiled. Everyone supported her and told her that they were here for her; everyone from the Konoha eleven was there for her and she didn't feel alone anymore. Sure her chest area still hurt at the mention of her family and felt like it would rip in two, but knowing that she had people who cared deeply for her made her have a reason to fight off her pain.

"Sakura…" she heard Kakashi whisper a few feet away. Before she could raise her head to meet his eyes (or…eye…) she was pulled into a hug by her teacher for the first time. She couldn't help but smile, for this was a very rare show of affection from Kakashi himself. He had been on a mission all that time and couldn't give his condolences until now. Quickly breaking the awkward hug, Kakashi ruffled his student's hair and gave her a smile.

"It's not over yet Sakura, you still have so much more things to do with us" He said as he patted her shoulder. Sakura nodded and walked with her team. Sasuke and Naruto held her hands tightly, silently letting her know that they were here and they were not going anywhere. Kakashi took his place behind his students and smiled down at them. This tragedy just strengthened their bond further and he was glad it did. Team seven was indestructible.

Phew, done. I hope you liked this chapter. In the next chapter, we will see something new going on between the members of Team seven :D I might take some time for me to do the next chapter because I am stuck with exams and projects.

Please review!

Sadbird