Hello everyone. As promised, here is the next part (part 2 of 3) of the story. Yes, they are still seventeen and as one of my reviewers said, it would be weird if the problem was solved a year later. I hope you enjoy this one. I didn't have much time to write more than that since I promised to submit this part today. Next one will be better :D

Same Disclaimer

Random Thought: D-Gray Man rocks!!

A Week Later…

The mission was accomplished, since Team 7 were able to discover that Orochimaru was apparently still alive, but in a very bad condition.

"Orochimaru is waiting for a container in order to switch to its body. However, it appeared that whenever he gave the cursed seal to a specimen, they die in several days. It appears that he is not able to stabilize it enough to keep his containers alive. Because of that, we believe that he will be after Sasuke very soon since he is the only one left alive with the seal." Kakashi ended his report to the Hokage with a grim expression and took a step back in between Sakura and Naruto, waiting for orders or dismissal.

The Godaime had a sour expression on her face as she stared at Team 7 in deep contemplation. Knowing that Orochimaru is still alive is nerve wrecking as she glanced at the Uchiha, who was gazing at the ground as if angry with himself.

"Sasuke, step up" The Godaime commanded and the Uchiha took a step forward, looking at his Hokage with fierce eyes. "It seems that your mission of eliminating Orochimaru four years ago did not succeed. Do you have any explanation as to why it happened?"

"After killing him, I destroyed all his experiments and burned them all down in order for him not to find a way back. It seemed that he was able to fake his death for a couple of days and in the end, switch to a container I believe he was hiding underground. It was his last resort and surprisingly, he was still able to stay in the body for an extra year." Sasuke ended his statement and fixed his gaze with the Hokage, who nodded in the end and sat back on her chair.

"It seems that you are right Uchiha Sasuke. I want Team 7 to be on full alert from now on and all the Jounins and ANBU to be weary of anything unusual and suspicious going on in Konoha. I cannot afford losing anyone else to that snake. Is that clear?" the four all nodded their heads and started leaving the office once Tsunade dismissed them.

"Uchiha…" she said before they all left. Sasuke stopped in his track and turned around, "Orochimaru still being alive does not in any way mean that you failed your mission". That seemed to catch the members of Team 7 off guard and Sasuke waited for her to continue.

"You gave us all the information we needed and acted as a perfect spy and double agent. You destroyed all his experiments and his death was only supposed to be an extra bonus. You did better than I can imagine, don't punish yourself for it" she ended her statement and dismissed the four with a wave of her hand.

Sasuke nodded his head, feeling the regret going away after being assured by his Hokage. And so, the members of Team 7 were walking in the streets of Konoha, each with their own thoughts. Sakura then cut the silence and turned towards her three teammates.

"If that is all, I will be leaving Kakashi-sensei…" she drifted off and glanced at her two boys, who were both looking at her sadly, as if begging her to talk to them again. However, she ignored their stares and disappeared with a whirl of cherry blossoms.

Two Weeks Later…

It felt like he was going to fucking burst! Naruto could not take the silent treatment Sakura has been giving them for the past two weeks. The only time she talked was during missions, when she absolutely had to say something. Rubbing his furrowed forehead, Naruto sighed and lay on the grass, staring at the clouds passing by…so Shikamaru-like. Sasuke told him to let her be and give her some time to think about all this, but what the hell!? This shouldn't be a problem! They were together for such a long time and they were so close to one another, so why was she hesitating?

However, he couldn't help but secretly sigh from relief when she chose to reject them both. He's been thinking about all this for two weeks now (not that he had a choice, the situation practically screamed his attention) and somehow (somehow) understood why she would run away like that. She just couldn't choose between them…because she already knew who she wanted from the very beginning. The thought of that made him clutch his chest, where his heart was. It hurt…

"Ano…Naruto-kun?" A very shy voice reached his troubled mind. He opened his eyes in a flash and jumped in surprise, searching for the source of the sound. A few feet away from him, there was Hyuuga Hinata holding her hands in front of her, startled from the sudden action. Naruto then put his guard down and relaxed, running a hand through his blonde locks sheepishly. He grinned at the shy girl as he slowly saw her calm down.

"Hinata! Long time no see! How's it been?" Naruto asked. Hinata had grown to be a remarkable and strong woman, courtesy of her training with Sakura and Neji (his blood boiled at the idea of his Sakura-chan and the Hyuuga together). Smiling, Hinata sat down a few inches away from him, but looked away, trying to control the huge blush on her face.

"Um…e-everything is f-fine nowadays…Kurenai-sensei has b-b-been teaching me some n-new techniques and N-Neji-nii-san has been t-training with me regularly." She said, avoiding eye contact with the person she has admired and loved for a decade now.

"I-I was just walking by a-and happened to s-s-see you looking w-worried and a b-b-bit sad. Is e-everything o-okay?" she asked, finally gathering some courage to glance at Naruto, who suddenly felt miserable all over again. Hinata freaked out for a minute, knowing that she had something to do with his sudden mood swing.

"G-Gomen-nasai!! I d-d-d-didn't mean t-t-t-to upset you Naruto-kun!" Hinata stuttered, growing light headed and upset from ruining her time with him. Naruto went out of his trance and looked back at the unusually red Hinata with a shocked face.

"No no! It's not you. It's just…my team. We've been really tense around each other that it is frustrating me to no end. I don't know what to do anymore." That was how Naruto started explaining his feelings towards his Sakura-chan and how Sasuke felt towards her as well. He also told her the reason as to why they were so awkward around one another. For some reason, it was easy to talk with her, since she was so into what he was saying. By the end of his story, he exhaled loudly, glad that he was finally able to let his feelings out and tell them to someone. Usually, he would let out everything at his best friends, who were currently ignoring him and looking away during missions. Having Hinata here hearing him out made him feel better. He looked at the Hyuuga heir with a smile.

"Thank you so much for listening Hinata-chan. Sorry for the trouble" he finally said and was happy to see her smile back at him.

"It's okay Naruto-kun. It s-s-seems like you and y-your teammates n-need to sort it o-out soon. Also, maybe y-you need to think back and s-s-see what you h-have done wrong. It would h-help you out in a way" She finally said, blushing at how close Naruto has come to her. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed once she knew how much Naruto loved Sakura. However, she doubted he loved her the way Uchiha Sasuke did (she kept telling herself that), since it felt like his feelings bordered on family love. Shaking her head, she stood up from the grass, dusting her pants.

"You guys will surely make up soon. Sakura-chan just needs time, I guess…to sort out her feelings and all." She left Naruto reluctantly, hoping to the gods she would not lose him. Her hands trembled with the thought of not being together with him, but she still couldn't muster the strength to tell him her feelings.

It was midnight when Sasuke came back to his cold, dark house and he was dead tired from the constant training he's been forcing himself to do (good distraction). Sakura had been avoiding him ever since the day he and Naruto showed their true feelings toward her. He didn't know what to do these past couple of weeks and seeing no one "break in" to his room and wake him up in the morning made him feel very unsettled. He's always had nightmares of the day of the Uchiha massacre, but it never bothered him because both Naruto and Sakura would be there in the morning breaking an entry into his house and waking him up because of all the commotion. However, having no one to do so in the mornings just made the nightmares worse and the bags under his eyes didn't help ease up anything.

He never thought that he was so dependent on them and the fact that he was so frightened him a little. He never wanted to admit it, but it seemed that they were his sanity and were the ones keeping him from leaving the village and blindly seeking out revenge. Naruto supported him and helped him stand up on his two feet and Sakura…Sakura helped him breathe.

He's not sure he would be able to last without them and he didn't care if his attachment to them could destroy him entirely.

Sakura sighed again during her shift and tried to smile brightly at her patient.

"You're all done. It was a clean break, so don't worry about it. Within a week, you will be completely healed" She said to the civilian man, who thanked her repeatedly and went on his way to check out. She rubbed her large forehead and sighed, her tiredness getting the better of her. She has been working double shifts every day for the past two weeks, praying it can distract her from everything going on. However, no matter how many shifts she took, her boys just constantly kept invading her mind and it has been frustrating her to no end. Grabbing her third coffee of the night, Sakura sat in her personal office and stared outside her window, contemplating on what to do. Her choice has been clear ever since she arrived to Konoha, but she wouldn't … couldn't let one of her boys feel rejected because of her. She loved them both so dearly but in an entirely different way. Naruto has been her sun, the first person to get her out of her dark, cold place. She loved him as much as she loved her…brother, Setsuni. Thinking about him almost brought tears to her tired eyes and she shook her head to bury those thoughts deeper into her mind. This can wait, for their second death anniversary was in a couple of days; she would dwell of that later.

She also loved Sasuke, but in an entirely different way. She was in love with him and wanted to be with him forever, but she couldn't break Naruto's heart! All her life, she worked to take both of them away from the darkness and into her world, but this will just be terrible. She would rather they stayed friends than hurt Naruto…her brother in that way. Yes, she would rather do that.

Two Days Later…

It was that day, the day her family was brutally murdered behind her back; the day her life has taken a complete turn. As she kneeled in front of their graves, she placed the flowers she purchased from Ino and prayed for them. Her darkened emerald eyes swept over their names and she had a small smile as she remembered her days then.

Flashback

"Nee-chan!! Come on! Wake up!" her five-year brother said, attempting to wake his older sister up. After a few minutes of that, he stomped his foot and sighed, going under the covers and scooting himself closer to Sakura for warmth.

Sakura opened one eyes and smiled at Setsuni, hugging him tightly and kissing his forehead.

"Got you!" she exclaimed and laughed hysterically as her brother jumped and pouted at his older sister.

"Nee-chan! That is so unfair!" nonetheless, he smiled and buried his face closer to her for more warmth. After a few minutes, Sakura opened her eyes again and looked down at Setsuni, who appeared to be sleeping, but she knew better.

"Setsuni-chan, why did you wake me up?" she asked and saw him grinning mischievously.

"Sasuke-nii-chan and Naruto-nii-chan are downstairs waiting for you" both siblings stared at one another for another minute or so, but then Sakura disappeared from the covered and ran to the bathroom.

"Setsuni! Why didn't you tell me that before!" she yelled, furiously brushing her teeth and wearing her clothes as fast as she could. Her evil brother has just left her room, running and laughing at the same time and she shook her head at his actions, smiling slightly.

When she was done with her morning routine, she ran downstairs and burst into the living room.

"Hey guys! I'm so sorry I made you wait…" she stopped and stared at her boys and brother eating some fruits made by her mother and dango…her dango. Naruto grinned at her with a whole dango stuck in his mouth.

"Good morning Sakura-chan!" Naruto's muffled voice reached her ears as he went to take another dango…until Sasuke snatched it away.

"Dobe, you ate most of them. Leave the last one to Setsuni" he said, handing the last dango to the child, who smiled brightly and sat in between the two.

"Thank you Sasuke-nii-chan!" Sakura didn't know if it was her imagination, but she could swear that she saw a ghost of a smile on the Uchiha's face. She sat on the couch opposite to her teammates and sighed, eating some pear Naruto and Sasuke avoided to consume. Just then, her mother came into the room with a huge smile on her face and with a new plate of dangos. Naruto's eyes lit up and Setsuni grinned when he saw her.

"Here are some more boys. I prefer you all to eat as much as you could. Being shinobi is certainly not an easy task!" She placed the plate on the table and each member took one stick and started eating them happily. Haruno Sekai sat down beside her daughter and kissed her forehead.

"It's about time you woke up. They have been waiting for a while" Sekai said, giggling as her daughter blushed at her action.

"Sekai-san, these are really good! Lucky Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, consuming his third and final dango for the day. Sekai giggled and took the now empty plate inside the kitchen.

"Sakura, we need to leave soon. Our mission starts in fifteen minutes and we should be at the clearing with Kakashi-sensei by then" Sasuke said and the girl nodded her head and stood up, grabbing her bag that has already everything she needed for the mission. Setsuni's mood dropped slightly and he walked towards his sister.

"Do you have to go now nee-chan?" he asked, holding her shirt tightly. Sakura smiled and kneeled down to his height, brushing his hair aside.

"I'll be back in a week at most. I promise." Like Sakura, Setsuni grew up with a sharp mind and was able to understand how dangerous her job could be. As a result, he hugged his sister and nodded his head.

"Now now Setsuni-chan, Sakura will be fine. Besides, she has Naruto and Sasuke with her" Sekai mentioned as she placed a container of food inside her daughter's bag.

"Yeah! We will protect her so don't worry at all!" Naruto yelled, winking at the youngest member. When they all reached the door, Sekai hugged her daughter tightly, pleading for her to be careful. She patted the boys' heads and asked them to take care of themselves, earning a grin and thumbs up from Naruto and a hesitant nod from Sasuke.

"Those two absolutely adore you, Sakura-chan" Sekai whispered to her daughter and Sakura just smiled in return.

"They are my best friends after all" she kissed her brother one more time (he was already getting teary-eyed) and waved good bye to both of them.

"Oh? You're already leaving for a mission?" A voice called out and she looked in front of her to see her dad, his emerald eyes (identical to her own) shining with worry. Sakura smiled at her loving father as he swept her into his arms and pleaded for her to be careful as well.

"Don't worry dad, I'll be back in no time!" She said and waved her family goodbye before she joined her teammates.

End Flashback

Sakura was covering her eyes as tears kept streaming from her face. She missed them so much and a picture of them as she left for the mission will always be engraved in her mind. Her mother's worried stare, her father's pride in her and Setsuni's glassy eyes were something she will never forget. Her sobs never quieted down and she really tried to stop. Kami, she did, but her heart kept grieving for the loss of her family.

"Sakura, you know what you will have to do" her father's voice invaded her cloudy mind and that's when her sobs stopped. Her father always knew that she would make the right choices in her life and this was one of them.

"Those two absolutely adore you, Sakura-chan" her mother's voice came a minute later. She clenched her fist and stood up, her eyes now determined and set on her choice. She turned around and walked away from the graveyard, smiling and looking at the sky "Thank you"

She has finally made her choice.

Okay, that's it for this part :D I hope you liked it. I apologize for any grammatical or spelling mistake, I AM only human. Thank you for all who reviewed my stories! Next part won't be until after two weeks.

Sadbird