"Hey. Are you going to wake up or not?"

I could barely open my eyes, the light was almost blinding. I winced as I sat up to take in my surroundings. It felt...familiar but my mind couldn't place it. The soft yellow background gave the...area perhaps? It gave off a soft golden glow around me. Just where am I?

"It's pretty, right? And don't worry about the light, you'll get used to it after a while." The voice said. Suddenly, the light didn't bother me as much and my mind became clear. That voice... It couldn't be... But then again...

I slowly turned to my left side to see my late Husband, Naruto, smiling at me, though he looked...different. He was a teenager again! An...so was I. "Wha... w-what going on? A-Am I dead again?" The mere thought of leaving my young children behind made my eyes tear up but he whipped them as soon as they came. His touch gave me butterflies. It was as if we were touching each other for the first time. But it had been a long time...

"No no, you're alive. Just resting." Naruto caressed my cheek with his thumb, smiling sweetly at me. "I missed you, Sakura-chan."

I fell into his touch and smiled back. "As did I." I took his hand in mine and sat closer to him. "What you doing here? Or...why am I here? And why are we fifteen again?"

"I wanted to talk to you and I saw this as my opportunity to do so. I wanted to tell you face to face how proud I am of you. And as for the fifteen-year-old thing, I don't know, that's something I can't control." He chuckled off that last part with his familiar mannerism of scratching his neck. "But really, I just wanted to talk to you, see how you were doing."

"So you haven't been watching me?" I teased.

"I have! I just...wanted to hear it from you. I miss hearing your voice, you know?" He shyly admitted. My Naruto, even after all this time, he still gets shy around me.

"I do too." I smiled warmly at him before continuing. "I didn't know at first but...I think I made the right decision coming back and fixing things. I know I still have a lot to work on but the kids and I are in a good space with one another. I swear, I didn't know how bad it actually was until I went back to that very moment. Truthfully, in my mind, it wasn't that bad before the wish but once I got there... It...that wasn't me. It didn't feel like...me. But it was."

"Yeah? But you took the time to fix it."

"It wasn't easy, especially with Hanami, that girl just like you in a lot of ways you know? But, after all was said and done, she and I worked things out. I'm still working on it but I can tell our bond is getting stronger as the days go by. Arashi is just so understanding and relaxed. I think he got that from your father but that hair...he's definitely your mother's grandchild." We both chuckled at each other.

"What about Shina-chan? How is he?"

"He's so...mature. I'm so proud and grateful to him. He really took charge after I shut down. When I think about it, I feel so terribly guilty for forcing him to become a second parent to his younger siblings when he should be the one enjoying his childhood. That's why I want to do my best to make him proud, to see that I'm trying to become the mother he and his siblings deserve. He inspires me to do more and to try more, in fact, he inspired me to do this job."

"Speaking of," Naruto's smile got wider as he looked into my eyes. His ocean blue pupils never left my green ones... I missed this man so much. "You have a twinkle in your eye."

I cocked my head back in confusion. "What do you mean?"

He chuckled and shook his head at me. "Back then when you were still a disciple of Gran-Lady Tsunade, you'd have this twinkle in your eye every time you talked about your work. Whether it was some new information about a healing technique in a book or healing a once dead fish, you'd have that same sense of wonder in your eye. Back then, being a medical ninja is what made you look like that and after some time, it seems to me that you got that spark back."

I didn't say anything at first but his words ran through my mind. I guess trying to find this cure distracted me from the fact that...I love this job. Not only did I love it, but I also missed it dearly. "I guess you're right. I really did miss this job, even when I didn't want to admit it. After you passed, I swore to never step foot in a hospital nor use any of the techniques I was taught. I blamed a lot of people that day but most o all, I blamed myself. I always thought I could've saved you, that I should have. It wouldn't be the first time I did so why didn't I then?"

"Hey, hey," I felt his soft touch cup both of my cheeks as he turned my head to him. "You did all you could. I'm okay. What happened that day happened and we can't change it, trust me because if I could, I would have much as you did. But it's alright, I'm happy with what I got." I don't know how he does it. That contagious smile of his made me want to punch him and kiss him at once. But the fact remains, he's right. I can't change what happened, that wasn't one of my options, so I have to live with what I got. "I think our time together is coming to an end."

"Maybe. But I do know one thing and that is that I love you so...much. I can't wait to be by your side once again." I began to choke up in his embrace. I didn't want this to end so soon.

"Sakura-chan..." He embraced me and caressed the back of my head as he whispered to me. "Remember, I will always be with you. I love you and I will see you soon..."

"Mmm..." I once again winced in slight pain as the light peeked inside. "N-Naruto...?" I called him but no one answered. "Damnit." I looked around and immediately sensed where I was. I was back at my tent, but how? The last thing I remember was...

"The kids!" My sleepy state quickly vanished as I rushed to my feet though that might have been a mistake. Just as quick as I rose, I fell back down. My legs were aching and my head was spinning. I noticed three water bottles to the side of me along with a handwritten note.

"You passed out after the kids were all healed. Neji told me how you didn't sleep for the past three days nor consume any liquids. Drink these then come by the medical tents when you wake up, Tsunade."

"I passed out? Shit, how long have I been out? And who carried me back?"

"We, you've been out for thirty-six hours and Neji brought you back." A female voice answered. I turned to see only TenTen standing at the entrance of the tent. "It's a good thing you're finally up, I almost thought you worked yourself to death."

"T-Tenten! I've barely seen you these past few days, how is everything on your end?" I opened a water bottle and took big gups as she and I talked.

"It took a lot of effort but the village is all coming together. The buildings and newly rebuilt homes look great! I'm happy we did this. You know, when we first started to build on the houses, none of the villagers, well maybe two or three people, would help but now, almost all of them have been helping for the last few days. It's amazing! Speaking of amazing," She walked over and by me, smiling at me. "I heard about the case, congratulations! I knew you could do it! The moment you told us about joining the mission with us, I just knew it would be a good thing."

I blushed at her constant compliments. "Thank you, Tenten, I really appreciate it. I didn't know how I would do myself but I'm grateful we found our way." I took another swig at my now second water bottle and got to my feet. "I need to go see them, actually."

"Sure," She got to her feet as well. "Let's go together. I'm just about finished on my end."

As we walked together, I took the time to take in the scenery. Though it's only been a day and a half, the village looked so different. The buildings were well made and there seemed to be no rubble in sight. The villagers all hung out at each other's door laughing and talking among themselves. I could hear them gushing about how such a great job all of us did on their new homes. Amongst the crowd, I can see the Kages talking to some of the village volunteers as well, probably giving thanks from the looks of it.

As we reached the medical tents, I was shocked to see how little there were in comparison to the other day. It seemed only a few as six remained opened.

"Here they are." Tenten jogged ahead of me and peaked her head inside a tent. "Hey, guess who finally woke up?"

I came up from behind and peaked my head inside as well. Standing there was Neji, Shizune, and Lady Tsunade talking with each other. "Hello."

Tsunade smirked and put down her clipboard to hug me. "Welcome back my disciple. Did you have a good night's rest?"

"She should have,' Said Neji. "She damn near slept for two days."

I hugged my mentee tight and walked over to the other two. "My legs are like jelly but I'm fine."

"Well, you did use up all your chakra so it makes sense. You're probably not even fully rested." Shizune giggled.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Sakura."

"How are the kids? And where is Mr. Han?" I asked.

"Han is with one of them now. He's been working with them since they woke up." Tsunade grabbed at my arm, guiding me to her. "Come, let's go see."

As we walked to the tent on the far right, I could hear a child-no-children's laughter with an adult. My suspicions were correct once we made it inside. "Mr. Han," I called to him. He looked away and was obviously surprised to see me.

"Sakura-san, you are awake? Did you get enough rest?"

"Probably need a bit more, legs are killing me and the room is spinning just a little, but I'm alive." I joked. "How are you? I hear you're working with the kids." I turn my attention to the four kids that were sitting on their beds being in their own world. 'How are they?"

"Yes, I needed to make sure they were okay. I've been by their side for so long...I couldn't just...go home, you know?"

"I completely understand."

"As for your other question, we do have some issues but we're working on it. They just woke up not too long ago and I got them to talk. Not much has been said but it's apparent they're going to have to go through some rehabilitation, The disease really did a number on them. Nothing too series like brain damage but they're definitely going to have some kind of health problem. Like Kuma," He points to a boy with bright red hair. "He's going to have a hard time breathing for a while."

"Is it permanent? What about the others?"

"We don't know, they could heal but we'll know in due time. As for the others, it's the same. We'll have to take it step by step, but my staff and I prepared for it."

"Now that you're up, I guess it's time to tell you." Tsunade interrupted. "The medical support is going to be leaving tomorrow. The volunteer contractors still have some things to finish so they'll stay a few more days after us so if you want to stay with the kids until the other team leaves, let me know."

"I..." I looked at the kids in the corner talking to one another. They were so precious and young... I want to help them any way I can. "I'll stay until then."

"You can count me as well, Tsunade-sama." I hear Neji say.

"Well alright. I'll see both of you in a few day's time."