"Time to wake up, Naruto."

The sound of a hand flagrantly hitting the side of the tent stirred Naruto awake, causing him to recoil at the blinding light that leaked through the open flaps. He watched as his sensei lingered outside, and though he desperately wished to dive back into his sleeping bag and slip back into his sleep, he lazily rose to sit up as he searched for his clothes. He was fixated by the way the sparse bits of light reflected off the dust particles in the air, watching them carefully descend around him.

"Sometime today would be nice," he heard Kakashi mutter under his breath. Rolling his eyes, Naruto exhaled deeply as he slipped his shirt over his head. The night before he had been too tired to even change and merely needed to strap into his shoes. Taking one final breath before his long day began, he finally hopped to his feet and poked his head out. "Good morning, Kakashi-sensei."

"Good morning. You wouldn't have happened to see Sakura, would you? I stopped by her tent first and she wasn't there." Although the mere sound of her name still stung, he hid his discomfort and coolly detached himself from the question. "No," he glibly said, "I haven't."

"Well, come with me then. Let's check by the campfire first."

The two of them bounded though a particularly large thicket of trees back toward the campfire, and found Sakura deathly still. She was in the same position she was last night; her knees we pressed tightly against her chest, her chin resting in between them, with her arms locking them in place. Though there were only blackened ashes surrounded by a circle of stones, her eyes were stuck watching in the same place where the flames had flickered in the air the night before. Every muscle was tight and still, almost as if she had been carved out of marble. It wasn't even apparent if she was breathing. The two of them quietly stood, not wanting, and not knowing, just what to do next. Kakashi stepped forward over a log into her field of vision.

"Sakura, have you slept?"

"I'm fine."

"But you can't possibly—"

"I'm fine," she muttered, tilting her head just enough to make eye contact. She flashed him a quick, inflated smiled, but behind her eyes was nothing. "Let's just get going."

Although she suggested leaving, she was unable to get up and move. Her body's resistance and exhaustion kept her put, and she continued to sit in front of the fire. Kakashi worriedly looked to Sakura, and then to Naruto, and noticed he refused even to look at her. He kicked a rock with the toe of his sandal in order to avoid having to even glance in her direction. I can't believe this. In a matter of days, my team has disintegrated. Kakashi let out a loud sigh. I miss when they were harmless little genin. "Naruto, why don't you go look for something to eat? We'll handle packing up here."

Without speaking, Naruto nodded in affirmation and headed back behind them into the woods. Now alone, Kakashi elected to give Sakura one more minute; if in one minute, she didn't get up, dust herself off, and spring back into her normally cheery self, he knew he would have to do something. But it was evident that she would have sat there for the rest of her life is she felt so inclined to. Kakashi sauntered in her direction and laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. He warmly gave her a light squeeze and listened to the wilderness around them; a murder of crows flew above their heads, cawing madly as they nested into the canopy of the trees and disappeared.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura quietly mumbled. Her voice was small and feeble, much like when she was a child and hid herself from the world, and at this moment she felt very much like doing the same. Kakashi tilted his head in attentiveness.

"He's going to hate me forever, isn't he…" After the words left her lips, she slowly upturned her head to face him. She desperately sought out the reassurance and in his face. "No he isn't," he chided. "And I think you know him well enough to know that."

She kept quiet, hoping he would continue to speak. "I don't know exactly what is going on between you two, but I suspect there's much more to it than I'm aware of." Sakura felt herself becoming bashful, both not wanting to reveal her secret to her sensei, but also desiring the relief of disclosure. Kakashi affably rolled his eyes. "Naruto is…sensitive, in a way. He's so used to people abandoning him, people taking advantage of him…I imagine there's a limit somewhere." He crouched down next to her and looked into her sunken, tired eyes. She stared back with the corners of her eyes beginning to water. "He won't hate you forever. But this isn't going to fix itself by pretending whatever happened, didn't happen. And I think you know what you need to do."

Sakura felt immense relief at her sensei's words. Unhinging her knees from the grips of her arms, she wiped away the budding tear in the corner of her eye.

"Now, let's get up. Time to pack."

…

The three of them continued to trek through the humid depths of their forest, each of their sense hyper-sensitive to the bumps and creaks from every angle. Kakashi led out in front, nose still buried into a book, while Sakura trailed behind. Although she was desperate to stay vigilant, her exhaustion radiated through every limb; it was like she was bogged down in a casing of mud. She felt Naruto and Kakashi in front of her disappearing by five, ten, fifteen feet in front of her every time she blinked. She knew that she wouldn't be able to continue for much longer. "Kakashi-sensei?" she yawned. "Could we take just a short break?

"I suppose. It is rather late in the day already. We could just set up camp here?" By the time he turned around to scope out the area, Sakura had already lowered herself down to the ground, leaning quietly on the tree. "Thank you," she tiredly mumbled. Letting out a small chuckle, Kakashi continued to trail off. "Well, while she's sleeping, I'm going to go for a walk. You stay here with her."

Naruto stood defiantly before his sensei. "Why should I have to stay? She'll be fine."

"You can't know that, Naruto. What if something were to happen to her? You don't want that on your conscience, do you?"

"But—"

With his back turned, Kakashi nonchalantly waved as he strolled away. "If she's not up in an hour, you should probably wake her."

Left alone, Naruto turned to look at Sakura. She wasn't completely asleep, and her eyes hung open ever so slightly. He nervously tapped his foot. Though in his heart he had begun to feel bad about the night before; it was rare that Sakura, though hot-headed, would blow up in such an emotional and jarring way. Naruto thought it was strange to imagine that such an innocuous, miniscule secret could have led them to this. It had become his new daydream, imagining a billion different scenarios in his head about how things may have been different for them. He was broken from his fantasy at the sound of a quiet, whispery call of his name. He turned around knowing it to be her voice. "Naruto," she repeated, knowing now that she had his attention. "You don't have to stay. You can leave." He was surprised by her sudden assertion. All this time, she had been trying her damnedest to keep him by her side, and now she was telling him to leave? He dug his toe into the dirt with his hands in his pocket.

"It's all right. I'll stay."

"Really, you can go if you want to."

"I'll stay."

The azure sky above them began to mix with the pink and orange clouds that set against the sun, as the birds and butterflies above them nested into the trees. Naruto quietly thought to himself. I wouldn't want something to happen to you.

Sakura breathed a single sigh of relief as she allowed herself to finally rest.

…

He kneeled down by the riverbank, shielded in the sputtering water's mist and the moon's clear light. It had been difficult for him to fall back to sleep for nearly an hour now, having awoken in a panic and needing to get some fresh air. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he lowered his hands below the surface of the water and let the cool river run between his fingers. He turned his palms up toward himself, cupping a shallow pool of water, and watched his breathless reflection. All of the grief he had been feeling laid heavily in his eyes, resting them only for a moment before he heard a rustling of leaves and brush behind him. He turned around to find a dainty, shadowy figure emerge from behind a twisted tree. "Who's there?" He demanded. He pulled his hands from the water and patted them dry on his pants.

"It's me," He heard a recognizable voice call out. From behind the cover of darkness, Sakura stepped out into the soft light. She watched as he recoiled just a bit, resisting the urge to turn around. His eyes scanned her up and down, but he was caught by the fragility in her face. Everything in himself told him to leave; he should just turn his back to her in spite, harbor the scorn in his heart, and leave and never return to her again. To never be caught in her hands again. Perhaps she's had enough. After being ignored by him for days now, and after he didn't rise to leave the moment she arrived, Sakura jumped at the opportunity and slowly began to walk towards him. She took each step as lightly as possible, not wanting to make much noise if any at all. She clung to the blanket that she had draped over her shoulders, and lowered herself down next to him. He gazed at her out of the corner of his eyes, but said nothing more.

Neither of them spoke for minutes, but continued to just sit together. "Naruto, please talk to me," she mumbled. Gripping the blanket in one hand, she placed the other on top of his. Every inch closer she got to him, he felt a well of fire rising up in his chest. As he became acutely aware of this, Sakura took his hand and quickly brought it closer to her, resting it on her knee. He confusingly let her hold his hand while he resisted the instinct to pull away. She dropped the blanket from her shoulders and let it fall to her waist, Naruto felt his breath hitch. Beneath the blanket she had nothing but a short, thin camisole that rode an inch above her bellybutton, and her smallest pair of boxer shorts. The blood rushed to his head as he stared, blinking wildly, at her body before him. Having only seen her like this once before, it opened up the floodgate to the memory of the night he spent with her during the war, and he felt the same panic and devastation overtake him again. "Naruto," Sakura whispered, watching as he began to shake. A smile crossed her face as she cooed his name. "Go ahead. You can."

He immediately withdrew his hand and shook his head. "No, no. I don't want to."

"Naruto, I know that you do. I'm telling you that I want you to."

"No, no, I can't," he stammered, turning on his heel and quickly rising. His thoughts raced with anger and lust and frustration and guilt; all of these feelings intertwined and coursed through every extremity in his body. The only thing he could think of was every innocuous, friendly sparing session he had with her; part of him wished to truly, actually fight with her. "Naruto, please!" Sakura cried, hastily following after him and reaching out for his arm. At the touch of her fingers he stopped in his tracks, and he could hear the strain in her voice. "Naruto, please," she pleaded quietly, "what do I have to do for you to forgive me?"

He remembered the way she looked in her wedding dress, her eyes glinting with both light and tears, happier than he had ever seen her, even as she married both his best friend and his worst enemy. He had made it happen; it was all because of his stupid, horrible promise. In his mind he relived that night. She had walked in so calmly, sensuous and serene, but immediately melted once she slumped into his arms. Her kisses were warm and sweet like her tears, her hands gently caressing his wounded head. Her legs straddled over him. His hands wandering up her back.

"Sakura," Naruto hissed with his back toward her. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe I don't want you anymore?"

He could hear the sound of her quietly draw in her breath. Over his shoulder he glared at her, and silently relished in the damage his words had done. In her hand she clenched the blanket tighter and cowered away from Naruto, listlessly releasing her grip on his jacket and letting it drop by her side. She was feeling the same panic as she had the night before; she wished to run away, to pretend she hadn't made this ugly mistake, and simply move on with his passive-aggression. But she couldn't. Sakura was desperate to make him understand, and desperate for his forgiveness. And if not his love, then at the very least his friendship. The thought of losing either of these things transformed her quietly hitched breathing into pained, anxious pants, tears following suit.

"You don't understand, Sakura…do you?"

Her eyes were soft and dull with tears, and in the midst of her grief, he felt a genuine sense of remorse bleed through into his voice. "That night after the war wasn't just something to do for me."

Sakura's throat closed up, suspending a horrible, aching tension. The mere mention of that night made her stomach turn. In an instant she felt nothing but shame.

"I thought that you loved me, Sakura."

She simply stared at his back. It reminded her of all the years before, the way she stood behind him and let him take the lead; all the confidence she had in him to protect the both of them. The only person he depended on to protect him was Sakura. And she had let him down. She slowly approached him, moving carefully and thoughtfully. In her hand she softly cupped his cheek. Though everything in his heart told him not to look, not to look into her tender, doleful eyes, he did anyway. Sakura calmly spoke.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

Those three words deafened all the other sounds around them. He had been waiting so long to hear them, not even knowing that he needed to. They came out smooth and soft like silk, never hard or bitter. Breaking their painstaking eye contact, her fingers grazed his cheek while her hand slipped away, and she gently turned back towards the trees, her delicate figure slinking away back through the dark.

Naruto stood alone again, even more confused than before