She stood outside and leaned against the wall. The shade provided nice relief from the scorching sun. It was just around noon, and she nervously bounced her leg. Her house was nearby, and she was getting closer each road she walked down. She agonized over and over about how best to break the bad news to her parents. Maybe I should just…not tell them. Not now, but maybe…ugh, no. She glanced from beneath her bangs at the people sipping and calmly chatting outside the teahouse a couple buildings down. She spotted a man smoking a cigarette, and although she never smoked, she desperately wanted one. Maybe I'll just tell them in a couple days. Yeah…yeah, I'll wait a day or two. I just need to get home. She kicked off the wall, and clutched her bag tighter against her side. Taking a deep breath she rounded the corner. That feeling captivated her heart again; that horrible, shameful burn that gripped at her throat and plummeted all the way to her stomach. There was no end to her discomfort. Distracted, and not seeing through her bangs, Sakura clumsily collided into a much sturdier woman.

"Hey! What d…wait, Sakura? Is that you?"

The familiar voice rattled her, and her head shot up. Her heart was ready to explode straight out of her chest, and she felt herself growing redder and redder by the second. Of all the people to bump into, her mother and father, both shackled to shopping bags, were the last two people she wanted to see. "Sakura? What are you doing here?" her father questioned. She continued to stare doe-eyed at her parents. The words bobbed up and down in her throat, unable to escape passed her tightly pressed lips. "Aren't you supposed to be on your honeymoon?" Her pupils rapidly bounced back and forth between her mother and father. Say something, you moron! They're looking right at you! Mebuki laid her bags on the ground while her father used his hand to shield his eyes as he looked behind her. Her mother began to press her. "And where is Sasuke? Why isn't he with you?" The intensity of her parent's insistence only continued to break her. She felt that same horrible, dooming feeling overtake her as her face contorted into a malcontented grimace. As he father continued to scan the area for Sasuke, her mother seriously gripped her daughter's arm. "Sakura, what's the matter with you?" All at once, she felt herself crumble into her mother's arms, startling her immensely. Burying herself into her mother's bosom, Sakura stifled her tears and struggled to regain her composure. Kizashi crowded around in a panic, immensely confused and frightened by his daughter's outburst. "Sakura, my sweet flower, what's the matter?!" Wiping her tears against her mother's shirt, she slowly began to peer her head upward. "Can…can I talk to you two…at home?"

…

A steaming cup of tea sat in front of her and she clasped her fingers around it tightly, letting the warmth soothe her rattled nerves. Her parents sat sympathetically, yet somewhat sternly, across from her at the table. They waited expectantly for her to begin talking. Her leg bounced nervously against the leg of her chair as she struggled to find the words to say. "Sakura," her mother began, "I need you to tell me what's wrong."

"Yes, Sakura, what was all that about?"

"We want to help you, honey."

"You know your mother and I love you so much."

"No matter what."

"Yes, no matter what!"

"You can—"

Sakura slammed her hand against the table in annoyance. "Yes, I know! I know I can tell you anything! Can you just give me two seconds, please?! This isn't easy to say." Her parents both leaned back in their chairs and exchanged looks of surprise. They watched her continue to bounce her leg and twiddle her fingers. "Oh, honey, every couple has their fights. It can be very difficult in the beginning, but that's no reason to get so worked up by—"

"There is no marriage. Not anymore."

"W…What on earth do you mean?"

Mebuki and Kizashi leaned even further over the table. Sakura began to feel closed in by her parents' concern. "I'm having the marriage annulled by Tsunade-sama."

"What?!" Mebuki exclaimed as she shot up from her chair and ambled toward Sakura. "Sweetheart, what in the world happened?! You two have been together so long!" Kizashi sat wide-eyed and gape-mouthed at his daughter. All that money for that wedding…and she's already getting divorced? You have got to be kidding me. Her mother cradled her head in a dramatic fashion as Sakura struggled to withdraw from her embrace. "I just…I can't be married to Sasuke-ku…Sasuke. I can't." Kizashi tapped his fingers against the table as he stared passed his daughter. "There's thousands of Ryo I'm never going to see again."

"Kizashi! This is no time for jokes!"

"Who said I was joking," he huffed, blowing a piece of hair from his face.

Mebuki grimaced as she directed her attention back towards Sakura. "Why are you getting divorced? You were so happy on your wedding? What could have possibly happened in three, four days?"

"Sasuke…he…"

"He what?"

"He only wanted me to have his children. He just wanted me to get me pregnant."

Her parents recoiled in shock. They had seen him come around often in the year before they were married. Although he had never struck them as a very affectionate person, neither of them thought he was only superficially interested in their daughter. Her mother lowered herself into the empty chair at Sakura's side, laying a sympathetic hand on her arm as she blinked away her lingering tears. "Naruto warned me. He told me all of this that day and I didn't believe him." Her voice trailed off as she remembered all his kindness, and how coldly she had dismissed him on that day. Any other time, he would be the one at her side offering a loving ear and tender hand, but no longer. Just her overbearing parents. "I'll kill him!" Kizashi exhaled, slamming a fist into the table, causing upset tea to jolt from their mugs and splash to the floor. "Dad, please, no. I don't need you to fight my battles. I'm a grown woman, I can handle my own business. I just wanted you two to know."

"How did Naruto know?"

"I think he just had his suspicions." She shoved her face again into her hands. "I should have listened to him. He's always right, he wouldn't say something like that if he didn't have a reason." She lingered in her hands for a couple seconds more. The darkness was comforting. No one looking at her, parents included. No one expecting anything of her. No one to give difficult answers to. She wished to crawl into the darkness and hide. She stood abruptly, gathering herself and heading for the door. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this. I really am. But I have to go see Tsunade-sama now. I'll come by later, if that's all right with you two."

"You're always welcome home, honey."

"Thank you. Now, I have some things I have to make right."

…

Leaves rustled against the window of Tsunade's office as she lazily swiveled in her chair. She had yet to read over the contract that had been sent to her by the Land of Waves and had little interest in motivating herself to do so. The past couple of days had seen nothing but constant stacks of papers, as well as Shizune's constant nagging. She decided to revel in this brief moment of peace before she returned to her dulling work. A tiny knock at the door interrupted her. Sighing at the thought of another delivery of treaties and requests, she hesitated for a moment, still gazing at the leaves. "Come in," she groaned, back facing the door. Quiet footsteps eased into her office. The lack of confrontation surprised her, and Tsunade turned to face the figure standing at her desk. She was surprised to see Sakura, normally emphatically bold, standing small and meek in front of her mentor. "Tsunade-sama," she mumbled, "I need to speak with you."

"Sakura? I thought you left for your honeymoon?"

"I did."

"Well, what are you doing here then?"

She noticed the tears glistening in the corners of her eyes and dripping to the floor, and she cautiously stood up. "Sakura," she urged. She nimbly stepped to her side and delicately laid a hand on her back, guiding her to sit in her chair. "What happened?" As Sakura held in her tears, she let out a forlorn sigh. "I thought he loved me," she murmured, dragging her wrist across her eyes. "Naruto tried to warn me…but I didn't listen." Tsunade's head bowed curiously. "…About Sasuke?"

"Yes."

"What did Naruto warn you about? Sakura, I still don't understand what happened."

Sakura fiddled with her fingers as she recalled how quickly things had transpired between them. "Sasuke…he…he only married me…" Sakura choked on her words and hid her eyes behind her hands. Just breathe she thought just breathe and tell her. "He… he only married me to have children. He never loved me. He just wanted to use me to…to revive his clan." She felt sick again. Tsunade glibly scoffed; her Senju sensibilities immediately boiled inside her. "Can't trust an Uchiha," she muttered under her breath. Realizing that this may not have been the most appropriate thing to say, she quickly eased over to her apprentice and laid her hands delicately on Sakura's shoulders. "I'm so sorry Sakura, that was unseemly of—"

"I need your help."

Tsunade paused at her abruptness. "...What can I do?"

"Well, first I'd like to have the marriage annulled."

"…You and him didn't—"

"No. No, we didn't."

She nodded her head. "Well, all right then. You'll need to fill out some paperwork to contest it, but it's relatively simple. I'll give you what you need before you leave."

"Thank you. I have one more favor to ask."

"And that is?"

"I want you to put us on a mission. An S-Rank mission. Just Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and I."

"For what purpose?"

"I'd rather not discuss it right now."

"Does it have something to do with Naruto?"

Sakura bashfully turned her head away, inadvertently revealing the truth to Tsunade. Her mentor let out an exasperated sigh. "You've become more like me than I may have liked. You two are a lot like… like me and Jiraiya." Tsunade bit her lip and thought inquisitively of the open missions she had left. Lately she had been behind in her assignments, but most of them were merely C or B rank missions. She pivoted towards her desk and quickly rummaged through her drawers. "I have one," she mumbled, losing track of her thoughts, "That I have been saving for…a couple weeks now, as I haven't had a squad… with the time—there it is—to take care of it." She removed the folder from beneath a pile of haphazardly stacked papers, and plopped it into Sakura's lap. "One S-Rank mission. You can skim through the details now, if you'd like. Or you can wait until I formally call Team 7 in my office for the assignment. It's up to you."

"I think I'll wait. But thank you Tsunade-sama. This means a great deal to me."

"Whatever you need Sakura. Oh," she quipped, rummaging again through her drawer. "Here are annulment forms. Don't want to forget those, eh?"

Sakura graciously extended her hand to take the papers as she rose from her chair. Tsunade gazed at her downtrodden pupil. She had never seen her so utterly defeated before, although there was little she herself could do herself to fix it. "Sakura," she cooed, "Please don't make the mistake I did by swearing off love. He loves you. And no one else is going to love that knucklehead like you." Sakura was fresh out of tears but her heart was touched by Tsunade's words. Her hands wrapped around her mentor and she brought her in for a tender, albeit aggressive, hug. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade laughed as she softly patted her back. "All right now… try to relax for a day or two. It's all going to be okay." Sakura nodded as Tsunade rounded back toward her desk. "I'd love to chat more, but I really have some work that needs my attention. I'll see you when I call Team 7 in for the mission. Good luck, Sakura." She nodded in respect as she made her way to the exit. She quietly closed the door to Tsunade's office, and although she still felt that small ball of despair in the pit of her stomach, it was unraveled by the slightest twinge of hope.