Upon entering Suna, a hospital representative met Sakura and Ino at the village gates. They were taken to a hotel where they would stay for the duration of their time in the village and then proceeded to the hospital. Just like during the meeting with Kakashi and the others, Sakura presented the data to the hospital staff, the village council, and Gaara, the Kazekage. It was decided unanimously that the Children's clinic should be implemented in Suna. Just as in many other villages, they faced their fair share of children who were now orphaned due to the war.

With the success of the mission to start a clinic in Suna, Sakura and Ino decided to celebrate this achievement and invited Temari. On the recommendation of Temari, they were inside a bar that she happened to like as the temperature of the desert began to decrease with the sun setting in the sky. Temari, who had finished her current drink, smiled as she put her glass on the table.

"Whew, this is exactly what I needed. A good drink with some friends outside of my brothers." Temari said, grinning.

Ino giggled as she was already on her third drink. Her cheeks flushed as she set her glass down. "You said it; I'd hang out with a certain someone more if she weren't with her boyfriend all the time!"

Sakura frowned, deciding if the waitress would come over again, asking if they wanted another round to get Ino water and maybe some toast instead. Temari raised an eyebrow as she looked over at Sakura.

"You have a boyfriend? Did you finally win Uchiha's heart?" Temari asked.

Sakura laughed, shaking her head. "No, I'm dating Naruto. We've been together for six months now! I'm surprised Shikamaru or chatterbox here didn't tell you before."

Temari laughed. "No, they both forgot to tell me of that information. Good for you, Sakura; we always thought something was going on between you two!"

"Thanks, Temari!" Sakura said happily.

Ino put her hand on top of Temari's to draw her attention. "And they're living together now. So you know a wedding won't be too far away soon! I'll be sure as the wedding planner that you all get an invitation!"

Sakura sighed as Temari laughed again.

"He hasn't proposed yet," Sakura said. "One second, you say I'm spending too much time with Naruto. The next second you're trying to make me walk down the aisle as fast as my mother!"

Ino shook her head and her left hand in the air in a similar formation. "We want you married, but you need to find balance. For example, the Children's clinic in Konoha. Sometimes after a full day of work, you still check in on the kids before heading home when you have staff you trust."

"I do trust them!" Sakura admitted. "But if I'm honest, I like being with the kids. They're so adorable! Like Toshiro, he's so quiet and polite!"

"Yeah, and he seems to like Sai when they draw together! Funny how he can pull Sai's attention, yet I can't." Ino sniffed.

Temari raised an eyebrow. "I'm curious since I couldn't attend the meeting you had today. Is this clinic just for orphans or all children?" She asked Sakura specifically because Ino was currently sipping her drink again.

"The goal is for any child who may be having any mental or emotional challenges to come. So that they find healthier ways to address their anger or sadness; I'll admit that I did base the initial structure of the clinic on orphans, as Naruto and Sasuke were my inspirations for the clinic. Had someone been there to assist them both when they were younger, their lives might have turned out differently."

Temari nodded as she looked at the glass in her hands. "I see; Gaara had a rough childhood too. Even though he had Kankuro and me, we weren't always allowed to speak or be around Gaara. And after our uncle's death, he was so angry and cold. But after the chunin exams, he changed so much after fighting Naruto. It was nice to have my little brother again instead of the weapon my father intended him to be. The ninja world can be so cruel at times, especially to children. If your clinic can prevent that from happening again, then I'll be sure to sing its praises to anyone who'll hear me out."

Sakura smiled at hearing Temari saying this. "Thank you, Temari; I hope all the villages will one day consider adding the clinic to the other villages."

Ino set her glass down and raised her hands in the air. "Yahoo! Helping the kids one village at a time!"

Temari and Sakura laughed nervously as Ino's outburst drew some attention from the other guests. A few began grumbling before turning back to their tables, while a few men smiled in their direction. Sakura noticed this and decided she'd better get Ino out of there.

"I think it's time I get her back to the hotel," Sakura announced. "Come on, Ino, start circulating your chakra as Lady Tsunade taught us."

Ino sighed as she held her hands up and did the ram hand sign as she focused on her chakra. The rosiness of her cheeks faded, and she sighed. "Fine, kill all the fun, why don't you?"

Temari laughed again as she reached into her back pocket. "I'll have to keep that trick in mind if I get a little carried away. Do you two think you can get this to the crybaby for me?" She asked, pulling out a scroll.

Ino smiled and took the scroll. "I'll be sure he gets this as soon as possible!"

After paying their tab, the girls went their separate ways, with Ino and Sakura heading to their hotel. Unknown to the two, a lone figure was watching them from above. Dressed in a black cloak with a hood covering his head, he kept his eyes trained on Sakura specifically.

"I spent three days following those two, and there is no sign of the brat yet. The boss isn't going to like this. Even after setting her apartment on fire, she somehow survived. Hopefully, the others found out where he was hiding. No matter; we'll have the boy soon enough." A male voice said before flashing and stepping away into the night.

After saying their goodbyes to the sand siblings, the pair began heading home. Traveling for three days as they did before, the pair were both happy and relieved to be returning home. They were only a mile away from the village, so they decided to walk back the rest. Sakura, in particular, was more than excited to see Naruto again. She missed him terribly and wanted nothing more than to feel his warm embrace and lips on her forehead.

Smiling, she brought a hand to her forehead as a soft pinkish color covered her cheeks. It wouldn't be long now before she could see him. And with the current time, he'd be getting out of work in thirty minutes. She opened her eyes and turned to Ino, who was unusually silent as she kept her eyes forward.

"Everything okay, Ino?" Sakura asked.

Ino gasped before looking at Sakura. She laughed nervously, shaking her head. "Yeah, I'm great. How bout you forehead?"

As she looked at her best friend, Sakura's left eyebrow arched higher than her left one. "Why are you all jumpy all of a sudden?"

Ino frowned before crossing her arms. "If you must know, I was checking the area around us with my sensory skills."

Sakura put her hands on her hips as she pursed her lips. "You were looking for an enemy ninja, and I caught you off guard walking next to you?"

Ino sniffed, closing her eyes. "I was in deep thought. Listen, when we get back to the village, do you mind handing in the paperwork? I need to check on my mom and the flower shop. And wash my hair as soon as possible!"

Sakura laughed and nodded. "Sure, I'll handle it. Also, if I run into Shikamaru, do you want me to give him that document from Temari?"

Ino shook her head. "Nope, I'll take care of it! If you give him that document in front of Naruto, he'll get all embarrassed about his relationship with Temari."

"Why's that?"

"It's because he said Naruto teased him about it when he returned to the village. I guess the other guys like Kiba are teasing him about it too." Ino admitted.

Sakura smiled. "But they look cute together! He likes her, right?"

Ino groaned. "Yes, Choji and I have already told him to ask her out hundreds of times. He's almost as hard-headed as you are."

"Ha-ha, I'll take care of the paperwork, so you don't have to worry bout anything."

The ostentatious village wooden gates were in view now, along with security standing in front of the entrance. They both looked at one another before nodding and running towards the door. After checking, Sakura said her goodbyes to Ino and immediately headed toward the Hokage building. A grin appeared as she landed in front of the building after taking to the rooftops to travel. As if on queue, Naruto and Shikamaru were exiting the building laughing together about something.

He hadn't noticed her until he looked forward; his pair of cerulean blue eyes met her emerald eyes. As he started jogging towards her, Sakura felt her heart skip a beat as a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Sakura, you're back!" He cheered happily as she wrapped his arms around her hugging her tightly.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his torso, leaning into him. "Yeah, I just got back. I missed you so much, honey!"

He pulled back enough to kiss her softly before hugging her tightly again. "I missed you too, sweetie!"

Shikamaru, approaching them, shook his head at the pair before putting his hands in his pockets. "Welcome back, Sakura."

The loving couple let each other go as they turned to look at Shikamaru. Sakura, who was still smiling, nodded in his direction. "Glad to be back. How bad was he while I was gone?" She asks, pointing to Naruto.

Shikamaru chuckled. "I thought I'd have to hold him down with my shadow possession jutsu so he wouldn't go following after you. But he wasn't too troublesome."

Naruto blushed as he folded his arms while Sakura laughed a little. "Well, it sounds like he was better than me. I'm sure Ino had it up to the sun and back with me while we were gone."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Great, at least I know Choji, and I have an Ino venting session coming up. Anyways I'll see you two later."

"See ya, Shikamaru!" Naruto said while Sakura waved. He looked down at his girlfriend and was about to say something when his stomach growled.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Sounds like someone is hungry. I'll turn in my report to Kakashi Sensei, and then we can figure out what to eat."

Naruto grinned and nodded. "Sure, that sounds great! I'll wait out here! So no rush while you're inside, y'know."

Sakura nodded and leaned over to kiss him before entering the building. Naruto let go of the door as a blush covered his face. He tried to resist the urge to swoon but couldn't help himself. Straightening up fast, he put his hands behind his head before chuckling.

After having dinner at Ichiraku, Naruto suggested that he and Sakura go on a stroll before heading back to their apartment. At first, Sakura wanted to protest, especially after traveling for six days. But with the weather being nicer than when she left, Sakura decided to go along with the walk. They traveled to the academy, and Sakura looked up at Naruto, surprised as he had a smile on his face.

"So what are we doing here?" Sakura asked curiously.

He started walking towards the lone swing tied to the tree. Although the Academy had changed on the outside, this tree stayed alive after all of these years with the swing. Sakura followed behind him slowly until he stopped at the swing and held the ropes.

"Come on; I'll push you!" He said, grinning.

Sakura laughed a little nervously. "This swing has been here since we were kids, Naruto. I don't think I or anyone else should get on it."

"I changed the rope on it yesterday. So you'll be fine, y'know!" Naruto insisted.

Sakura walked over to the swing and sat down slowly. Holding on to both sides of the ropes, Sakura lifted her feet as Naruto began to pull her backward. The sun was starting to set over the village as a breeze drifted through the air, causing her hair to stir. He let go of the ropes, and she swung forward, feeling the momentum of the swing as she held her feet out.

"Do you remember the first day at the academy?" Naruto asked behind her.

Sakura laughed as she remembered it didn't take long for Naruto to establish himself as the class clown, with Iruka chastising him for his behavior. "Iruka sensei had all of us stand up and introduce ourselves."

He chuckled as he pushed her softly when she swung towards him. "And what did I say?"

Sakura blushed as she closed her eyes. "You said I'm Uzumaki Naruto! And I'm going to be Hokage!" She giggled again as she looked back at him. "And soon enough, I believe you will be Hokage!"

"And what else did I say?" He asked curiously.

Her blush deepened. "When everyone laughed, you were angry but smiled, and you pointed right at me and said I'd be your wife. And I said eww, no!"

They laughed at the memory, and Naruto caught the swing slowing Sakura down. When they finished laughing, Sakura thought about the memories she and Naruto had spent together. How he was there for her and how she tried her best to be there for him when they grew closer. All the adventures, from the Land of waves, the chunin exams, rescuing the Kazekage, finding Sasuke again, and helping team ten with the fifth against the Akatsuki. Naruto saves the village from Pien, defeating Kaguya and stopping the moon from falling from the sky.

Sakura closed her eyes, smiling. "We've been through so much together. My only regret is not being nicer to you sooner. I used to think you enjoyed seeing me fail when we were younger. But your warmth, kindness, honesty, and perseverance inspires me to this day, Naruto. You make me want to be a better person, a better Sakura. One that can truly bloom as the trees do in spring."

She felt herself being pulled forward, and she opened her eyes. Naruto was kneeling in front of her, smiling, and she gasped when she saw the ring in his bandaged hand.

"Haruno Sakura. I have loved you since we were children. And I want to spend the rest of my life kissing your big beautiful forehead. But not only that, I want to spend every day together. And even we have to be reborn in this world; I want to spend my next life with you, too, y'know. So what I'm saying is, will you marry me!?" He asked earnestly.

Tears fell from her eyes, and she grinned ear to ear. He wanted her, and she saw nothing but sincerity in his cerulean blue eyes.

"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you, Naruto!" Sakura said before leaning in and kissing him softly.

Suddenly the sound of many pops and cheering voices around them made Sakura sit up in surprise. All their friends were there suddenly, with streamers flying in the air and some applauding and cheering as they congratulated the betrothed couple. Before crowding around them to give their most sincere congratulations.

After a night of celebrating her engagement to Naruto, Sakura closed the door to her newly earned office in the hospital. Sighing in relief, she walked around her desk before sitting down and leaning back into her chair. Her day had been hectic since she'd arrived before her schedule started. And, of course, she was immediately pulled in several directions when someone saw her.

For starters, there was emergency surgery that needed to be performed. With all surgeons in mid-operation, she immediately sprung into action leading a team of four into the last operating room. The patient was a shinobi who'd returned from a routine border patrol mission and was attacked by several rouge ninjas. The man had a broken arm, sprained ankle, and multiple stab wounds, also causing internal bleeding. And right after the surgery, she made rounds through the emergency room.

After the rush of patients slowed down, she was needed for the board meeting. It was here that she found out that the funding for the Children's clinic was denied due to unforeseen circumstances. And to make matters worse, she was told that if she wanted the specifics, she'd need to speak with the Hokage or his advisors. After that, she needed to eat her lunch on the go as she was late for the demonstration of new technology planned to be implemented in the hospital. The duty of overseeing this project was given to her as she had a relatively good relationship with the IT team in the hospital.

This particular project was an overhaul of the hospital's current system. With the advancements in technology, the Konoha hospital was moving toward using an electronic medical record system, which means that all paper charting and files would be used throughout this system, from checking patients to registration. To mark patient vitals, discharge orders, medical history, and more within the digital chart using computers connected to the hospital network. With the fear of the older staff being unwilling to learn said system, the higher-ups found it best to have Sakura spearhead this as she'd be the primary person teaching the staff how to use it.

Being tired was an understatement of the year if anyone asked her how she felt. She was glad she told her parents last night of her engagement so tonight she could stay in with Naruto. Lifting her watch, she could see that it was thirty minutes before it would be time for her to leave. Guilt began to fill her stomach as she didn't get a chance to see the children within the clinic today. Particularly the shy boy with short, combed white hair, Toshiro.

Like the other orphans, he came every day they were permitted, but she began to notice something was a bit different with him than the other children. Besides taking to art and staying quite unlike the other children, he seemed refined. The way he carried himself, standing up straight and when he would speak, was polished. He certainly didn't sound like a child raised within the village.

'He's one of the few. I don't have any records of his parents. Yet he told the orphanage he lost his parents to rouge ninjas. Maybe they were migrating here?' She thought to herself.

She sat straight in her chair and unlocked one of the drawers from her desk as she began looking up his information. She kept their specific data within her office. And any extra data that was obtained during a session was to be placed in the secure slot within medical records for her to grab in the morning.

'Let's see, Toshiro, last name unknown. Age seven, was brought into the orphanage four months ago. Lineage unknown, hair color white, eye color blue. Everything is here, but what I'd like to know….' She thought to herself again before closing the chart.

Deciding she'd spend the rest of her shift with the children instead of hiding in her office, she stood up from the desk and hung her white jacket on the hook of the office wall. A smile appeared on her face as she thought of the kids as she approached the elevators. She wondered or hoped that if she and Naruto were to have children, they wouldn't be as rowdy as their father was when he was younger. But she knew just enough of his nature would slip in, and like him, they'd be sure to bring her a few laughs. At the same time not as shy as she was before she met Ino. Suddenly her eyes widened as she began to blush.

When did she begin thinking about having children? Of course, she'd want to be a mother, but it never crossed her mind entirely as it'd done just then. She shook her head and pressed the button on the elevator door. After she stepped in, she pressed the ground button floor and waited for the doors to close. Leaning against the elevator wall, she waited for it to travel down to the ground floor when suddenly it stopped. Standing straight, she looked around when a thunderous boom came outside the elevator.

BOOM!

The elevator jerked roughly downward, causing her to almost fall. The lights inside flickered, and Sakura looked around herself. The word error was barely visible on the elevator's electronic panel. Her eyes widened, and another loud thunderous crash shook the elevator before she could react.

BOOM!

The sounds of screams outside the doors of the elevators could easily be heard as they shook again. Sakura quickly went to the doors and willed chakra into her arms, pulling the doors open by force. It only enough room for her to crawl through as the elevator was above the opening. Whatever was happening at the current moment was an emergency, and she needed to see to it immediately.

Crouching downing Sakura went feet first through the opening as fast as she could, using the opening from up top as leverage. She slid through just in time as another loud crash came from outside.

BOOM!

The sicking sound of the metal box she had just escaped sounded like it groaned as it forcefully moved down again. And then she heard the sound of wires snapping and the grading sound happening again but continued down without stopping. She quickly stood up, gasping for air as the scene in front of her unfolded. Nurses and other caregivers ran up and down the hall, panicking with patients in their rooms.

To her surprise, no alarms were going off to signal an attack or disaster. She quickly got to her feet and then almost fell as the crashing sound of the elevator she'd just escaped roared up the chambers within, along with the smoke coming through the opening. Running to the nearest nursing station, Sakura found no nurses there presently. She quickly went to the phones to see if power was going to the computers or phones. The lights flickered before completely shutting down.

'Damn it; the first and second generator is down!' Sakura thought to herself before quickly hopping over the nursing station walls.

There was the fourth generator she could count on as it was hidden in the basement. It would kick on after the third had failed, and if she had time to guess, that would be down immediately. However, unlike the others, this would only handle the alarms, emergency lights, and overhead system. She ran to the emergency phone behind a glass container and broke it with her fist. Knowing she needed to act quickly before this got any worse. She grabbed the phone receiver bringing it to her ear as the sound from the overhead began to make noise.

"This is second in command, Haruno Sakura. This is not a drill. Proceed to treat this as a level ten threat to the hospital!"

Boom!

The sound came again, and finally, only the emergency lights were lifted as the fourth generator kicked on. The alarms began to blare, and she needed to continue.

"All trained personnel begin to move patients according to the designated area. For all patients with minor and non-life-threatening injuries, we ask that you bear with us and follow directions from the staff to the nearby emergency exits. Designated emergency members, please inform the Hokage and police of this situation immediately! This is not a drill!" She said before hanging up the phone.

The screams and utter chaos began to subside as the staff moved into action. Sakura knew she needed to address whatever was outside quickly. She knelt to the ground summoning her chakra, and willed a small portion into her hand before pressing it into the floor. Sending her chakra through the building, it began to map the entire structure throughout her mind. This technique she created was in great use back when she avoided Naruto.

Suddenly two things caught her attention. A man is standing on the roof holding his hand out, shooting explosions from his palm back to back. At the same time, three masked men on the ground level had walked into the hospital entrance heading directly to the Children's clinic.

The children were still inside the room, panicking as the staff tried to calm them down. She noticed Toshiro, in particular, was under the table he usually sat at and was currently curled up, shaking in fear. Sakura pulled her hand back as the sound of another explosive came from above her. Gritting her teeth, she had to make a choice and fast! Either deal with the man on the roof. Or save the children within the clinic. Making her decision without a second thought, she headed to the nearest staircase.