Chapter 3: Back Where We Began

"Lady Hinata, your bath is ready"

"Thank you, I'll be there shortly," her voice, soft and light, was like a song that reached the servant's ears. The woman standing before the Hyuga heiress bowed before she took her leave.

Hinata frowned at the woman's retreating form; she would have thought that peace among the villages, at least for now, after the war would have brought more warmth into her home among the clan, but the cold remained the same as it had always been. She had felt foolish for believing that anything would change within those walls. She was praised and acknowledged for her efforts and did not go unnoticed by her father, but she could still feel it, the ache of her missing brother.

It was nearing five months that he had passed, five months that he had given his life for hers and Naruto's. She would wake up in tears, weeping at the loss of his life along with their dream to one day overcome the hierarchy of the Hyuga clan. Neji had passed while loved by many in the clan and regarded as a hero, but Hinata knew better than to let this console her for long, the guilt almost overwhelming at some point or another throughout these months. The wound was still very fresh and she knew it would take a while for the pain to fade. She saw the sorrow in her father's eyes through the mask of coldness that he usually wore, the pain and guilt of the loss and the failure to protect his only nephew following him through the corridors of the Hyuga estate.

Hinata greeted the servants who were cleaning the floors, apologizing as she passed over the newly cleaned parts of the polished floors. The servants had reassured her as she passed that there was no harm done. Hinata sighed as she passed through the doors that had led to her bath, a sense of tranquility greeting her that had not been present in the path to the room itself. She promptly undressed and washed herself clean of the grime from her morning training before stepping into the cool, soothing water, her sore muscles finally content. As she sat in the tub, she quietly pondered what Naruto might do to soothe his muscles after training, the thought immediately bringing a faint blush to her face.

Naruto-kun… what are you doing right now?

Her pearlescent eyes stared up at the ceiling as she pondered on her first love. Although almost five months had passed since Neji's death, she had yet to approach Naruto, reverting back to her ways from watching from afar. She was almost ashamed, having felt that Neji was the one that had given her the push in Naruto's direction after he passed. She couldn't help but feel even more pain after realizing that Naruto was not going to approach her after the war. But she could also see the innocence he still held in his eyes, almost amazed at how naive he can still be even after all that he had been through.

She knew that most people already knew of her feelings toward him, even more so now that she wore her heart on her sleeve after finally voicing this to him. And yet it still appeared that Naruto saw her affection toward him as one of a dear friend. It saddened the heiress a bit, to know that he probably had a hard time differentiating the different kinds of love, but it only strengthened her resolve to pursue him even further. She knew she would continue to do so no matter how long it took for him to see that her love for him was true and unwavering.

Naruto-kun… what are you thinking about right now?

Sakura sighed loudly as she ripped her face mask off from her face and tossed it into the bin near the door to her office, shaking the ache out of her hands from having to remain in precise positions for long periods of time. It had been several hours since she had had to perform surgery on someone and she had just completed the surgery successfully in front of several other medic nin. She sat at her desk and leaned her head back, eyes closed as she relished the silence in the room as opposed to the beeping from the machines in the operating room.

It had been a pleasant surprise when Lady Tsunade had told her that the small space had become her office shortly after the war, acknowledging the fact that Sakura had gone above and beyond to care for the people within the village.

"It's not much but at least you won't be falling asleep in the waiting rooms like you usually do"

Sakura blushed at the memory, her exhaustion had gotten the best of her several times, leaving her almost completely passed out on the chairs in the waiting room having to be woken up by other medic nin and at times Naruto when he had gone to visit. She shook her head as she recalled the times she had repeated this offense, feeling no better than her sensei in his lazy days. Just as she began to doze off yet again, the door burst open and Sakura immediately stood, her movements automatic as emergencies called for her to be prepared for anything.

"THERE YOU ARE! Sakura-chan we were supposed to go get ramen hours ago!" Naruto yelled as he pointed an accusing finger at her.

Sakura calmed her frantic heart as she held her hand to her heart, the burst of the door bringing back the traumatic memories of emergency calls to the operating rooms.

"NARUTO I TOLD YOU TO ALWAYS KNOCK, I THOUGHT IT WAS AN EMERGENCY!" She scolded as she began her breathing exercises.

Naruto frowned as he watched her, the comical anger quickly faded into nothing as he watched her steady her breathing, patting her chest as though it would calm her racing heart. A couple of moments passed and she placed her hands on her hips, "as for lunch I'm sorry, I was needed for surgery and it took longer than expected." She said as she took a seat on the small sofa near her wall and sighed, her hands on her knees.

"Sakura-chan are you okay?" Naruto asked as he closed the door to her small office and knelt down to be leveled with her sitting form.

Sakura arched her brow as she watched him, "Of course I am, why?" She followed his cerulean gaze to her hands which she realized were shaking slightly. She lifted her hands off of her knees, showing the slight shake that they had, the surgery had probably exhausted her more than she had initially anticipated. She didn't know when Naruto had sat next to her as she was too focused trying to stop her hands from shaking.

She was in a trance as she watched one of Naruto's slightly larger hands take hers. She turned to look at him, but his eyes were still focused on her hands. Sakura had shifted more toward Naruto, genuinely curious of his actions and quite surprised at the concentration he had. He began to knead her hands, rubbing at the backs of her palm where he felt her muscles twitching.

She sucked in a breath as he squeezed and massaged her hands with his own, his bandaged hand holding them in place while his free hand smoothed over both of hers. She noticed his hand was a golden color in contrast to her own pale complexion, with slight callouses from years of training.

"There you go pushing yourself to the limit Sakura-chan, how long have you been here?" he scolded as he continued his ministrations.

"Ah" Sakura shook her head, her face suddenly hot. "Like three in the afternoon?" She pondered as Naruto's hands paused.

"Sakura-chan, it's seven"

"Okay so it's not that bad"

"Sakura-chan, if your hands are like this, that means it's been way longer than just a few hours."

"… What day is it today?"

"WHAT?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"NARUTO YOU'RE RIGHT NEXT TO MY EAR KNOCK IT OFF! WHAT ARE Y- HEY STOP!"

"We gotta get some food and water in your system before you pass out like all those other times Sakura-chan!"

Before Sakura could object she was already out of her office and being dragged out of the hospital.

Sakura glared at Naruto as he devoured his second bowl of ramen as though he had been starved for days.

"Sakura-chan, your ramen's getting cold ya know," he said between chewing and slurping noodles.

Sakura quietly picked up her chopsticks and resumed eating her meal, tired of arguing with the brick wall that was Naruto.

"How are your hands feeling now?" Naruto asked absently, completely missing the way Sakura's face began to heat up again.

"T-they feel fine, a twitch now and then but it'll pass. Thank you," she said as she looked up at him. Naruto paused at this as he looked down at her and saw her smiling up at him. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave an awkward smile, Sakura's gratitude throwing him off a bit.

"It was nothing really, I was just hoping something would work. I get those if I don't eat or drink anything before training. You should know about this stuff Sakura-chan you're the doctor," Naruto said as he resumed eating.

No sooner than after he had finished his sentence did Sakura place a hand over her chest and audibly gasp, feigning offense, "EXCUSE ME?!"

Naruto quickly realized what he had said, "NO WAIT THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT SAKURA-CHAN YOU'RE SO COOL AND SMART AND TOUGH YOU PROBABLY KNOW WAY MORE ABOUT THIS STUFF THAN I DO!" he was frantically trying to get her attention as she had turned her bar stool to face away from him, arms crossed and head turned to the side.

Just as Sakura opened a seafoam green eye to look into his sincere ones, she noticed a curtain of dark blue hair pass through hastily. Sakura opened both of her eyes at this, knowing very well it had been Hinata. She then straightened herself out, suddenly guilty at the child-like antics she had been caught doing.

"Don't worry about it Naruto, I'm kidding," her playful demeanor suddenly disappeared.

Naruto gave a sigh in relief before sitting back down and returning to his food.

"So how's everyone at the hospital doing?"

"They're doing fine, it's just the children's wing that has me a bit worried. A lot of those kids still need help."

Naruto frowned at this, with the thousand burdens he still carried, leave it to him to want to add another to his list and help the children at the hospital as well.

"Don't worry too much about it Naruto. Ino and I have been talking to Kaka-sensei about opening up a new program for the children."

Naruto's face quickly turned to one of surprise.

"Really? What'd you have in mind Sakura-chan?"

"These kids lost a lot due to the war, and even then we have many that lost a lot way before the war even started. Sure there are kids out there who can turn out okay, but for those that need help… I was thinking of a children's therapy center. Not just here but for all of the villages, children shouldn't have to suffer as much as they do right now, especially not on their own. I want to help them be okay not just physically but mentally too. I want the children's therapy centers to be their safe space and instead of bottling these feelings left from their trauma up, they can turn them into something positive, you know?"

She had been staring at her hands when she spoke, for some reason she had been afraid to view his expression but when she had faced him, she was surprised to see him staring at her intently, those cerulean eyes glistening in the amber light of the lamps above them with something raw yet gentle.

Sakura cleared her throat and tore her eyes away suddenly, "we should get going Naruto."

Sakura had offered to pay since they had gone out much later than they had initially agreed but after a moment Naruto looked extremely offended before smacking his money on the table. She shook her head before she stood and opened the curtain for him before promptly being guided out, scolded for not letting the "gentleman" lead her out to which she had promptly snorted.

The sun had already set by the time they left, the chill of night was passing by in a breeze as they continued down the path to Sakura's apartment.

"Hey Naruto?" Sakura suddenly interrupted the silence.

"Mm?" Naruto had seemed to come out of a trance, his hands clasped behind his head as he walked.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked him.

Naruto lowered his arms and slipped his hands in his pockets, shrugging as he looked ahead.

"I don't know, a lot of different things I guess."

"Well what's one of them?"

"How great Konoha looks now that it's back up and running ya know?"

Sakura smiled up at him, leave it to the future Hokage to care about the appearance of the village.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"… Have you thought about dating?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he stared down at her.

"Wha- Sakura-chan why are you asking about that?"

"Well, it's time someone asks! Those gifts that you're getting everyday aren't just out of gratitude!"

"Sakura-chan I'm busy, I can't worry on that stuff yet!"

"Naruto, you're on your way to being nineteen soon-"

"And you're barely turning eighteen heh heh-"

Sakura smacked his arm, "Shut up idiot I'm still an adult!"

"I never said it was bad!" Naruto rubbed the spot on his arm that she had smacked.

"But anyway… you really should be thinking about it. You'd been wanting to date for a long time, right?"

Naruto was suddenly very quiet as he stared at her as though she were growing an extra head.

"What about Hinata?" Sakura suddenly asked.

"Eh?" His look of surprise had suddenly turned into one of confusion.

"You heard me, what about Hinata?"

"What about her?"

Sakura shook her head as they had arrived in front of her apartment building.

"Thanks for walking me home," Sakura said as she turned to face Naruto, the conversation had clearly gone up and over Naruto's head. Sakura sighed, silently vowing she would try again.

"Ah, it was nothing Sakura-chan!"

Sakura arched her brow as she took in Naruto's form, his blonde hair had grown longer and his eyes showed the tiredness he tries hard not to reveal. The village affairs were not to be taken lightly, Sakura had seen firsthand just how much a Hokage had to do to upkeep the village and its people. She subconsciously placed a hand on his blonde locks and rubbed the top of his head.

"You really should get a haircut, your hair is way too long to be kept up."

"Ow Sakura-chan you're being too rough!"

She almost poked out an eye of his as she placed a finger over one of them that he had squinted shut on time.

"And these bags under your eyes have to go away too, get to sleep on time you idiot!"

"You're one to talk Sakura-chan!"

Sakura gaped at him before grabbing him by the front of his jacket, "what did you just say?" She ground out.

"I said you're as beautiful as ever Sakura-chan!"

Sakura squinted at him, too tired to fight him any longer on appearance.

"Get home and get to bed" she growled, Naruto nodded eagerly before she released her hold on his jacket.

"Goodnight Sakura-chan!" He said as he started walking toward his own home.

"Goodnight Naruto" she said before entering her apartment building, leaving Naruto to walk alone with lingering thoughts of dating and haircuts.

TBC

A/N: Hello all! Happy week-iversary from when I uploaded this story. I'll try to upload weekly, thankfully the outlines are helping figure some stuff out while I add things here and there. I wanted to add a bit of what I think Sakura and Naruto's friendship behind the scenes would have been like, I know they're still acting a bit silly in this chapter but it's because I still wanted to keep the immaturity of their relationship before it starts to get serious, seeing as how they didn't become adults over night. I absolutely had to add a small detail about Sakura's age since Shonen Jump confirming that she was the youngest in Team 7 was such a cute detail to me. _ I'm about to start introducing The Last events soon (time skip ending is not included!) so please stay tuned! Please have mercy on my spelling and grammar as I finish editing when I have time T-T