A/N: I've decided to turn my one shot into a full story, this is chapter 2. Some things will remain unchanged from cannon, but others things will as this is a Narusaka focused AU.
"Sakura, you want to do what?" Shizune shouted.
"Hashirama's Cells, I want you to inject them into me Lady Shizune!" Sakura said very seriously.
"Captain Yamato, have you been showing off so much that one of your team members thinks messing with Hashirama's Cells is a game?"
"I wasn't aware that I'd done anything that qualified as showing off, Milady; I'm just as surprised as you are." He said hastily.
"Sakura, you must have faith in your own power, not borrow someone else's! Frankly, I'm disappointed in you!" She said harshly.
"You think this is about power, you think I'm that shallow!" Her anger exploded, and she smashed a chunk of a desk apart. Captain Yamato repaired the desk with wood style.
"Sakura, what on Earth has gotten into you?" Shizune said worrisomely.
"Naruto can't die because of that damn fox." Sakura said emotionally.
Yamato suddenly understood. "So that's what this is about, the sealing Jutsu."
"There are plenty of sealing Jutsu that don't involve dangerous experimentation." She reminded anxiously.
"But only one is powerful enough to suppress the nine tails chakra after four tails appear." He stared at Sakura with an empathic look. "You want to protect Naruto, that's it isn't it?"
"You can't always be there, Captain Yamato. He was almost nothing. If not for the chakra embedded into the seal—his father thought ahead..." Sakura said quietly.
"His father?" Yamoto asked, confused.
"I'm guessing that he worked it into the seal to appear in Naruto's psyche if things unraveled to a dire point." She said with a thoughtful look.
"The eighth tail." Sakura said. "But that was a one-time thing. If it takes over again, and the seal unravels that far, he will die…
Shizune sounded momentarily reminiscent. "He was always brilliant Minito… I was just a medical student back then, but even I heard of the genius he was and his feats as a ninja and a person were legendary…"
"Lady Shizune, I want to do this for, Naruto." Sakura pleaded emotionally.
"Sakura, people die in attempts to host Hashirama Cells," Shizune warned seriously.
"I'm fully aware of that, I'll will my body to accept them I have to for Naruto." Sakura said, full of conviction.
"Sakura, this isn't safe— "
"Please…!" Sakura's voice cracked with emotion. "I'm begging you both…" She dropped to her knees.
"Sakura…" Shizune was caught off guard.
Yamato however, met Sakura at her current level and slowly brought her to her feet. "You're in love with him." He said calmly.
Sakura had finally collected herself and answered with absolute certainty. "I am, and he's scared of losing control again, and I'm scared for him. As his girlfriend, I need to do this."
"He broke the necklace that contained the first Hokage's sealing Jutsu. You won't be able to— "
"I'm going to create my own sealing jutsu, by modifying that one. I've already got a plan trust me!" She looked dead serious.
"Sakura, where is Naruto? Does he know what you're asking?" Yamato asked.
Sakura smiled. "Sleeping, he's not a morning person so I haven't told him yet."
Shizune had a strange look, and she was suddenly empathetic. "Alright we'll do it; I think that your superior chakra control will help your body to accept the cells but be warned that still doesn't guarantee success." She cautioned bluntly.
"When can we do it?" Sakura hastily asked.
She sounded professional now. "We will do it at the beginning of next week since the week is almost over. You'll be unable to do missions until your body stabilizes."
"Lady Shizune, Thank you…!" Sakura said gratefully.
After Sakura left, Yamato looked uncomfortable. "Are you sure this is a good idea."
"Honestly, no… But I know what kind of affects losing the person that you love most has on a person. Lady Tsunade lost all hope for a very long time… Until she met Naruto. Sakura endured what happened to Sasuke but if anything happens to Naruto…" Shizune sighed somberly.
Yamato thought of Tenchi Bridge and nodded. "Sakura has an emotional attachment to Naruto that is deeper than anything else she's ever felt including her physical attraction to Sasuke and it seems like she has allowed herself to embrace those feelings for Naruto."
"I hope you wake up soon Lady Tsunade, you can't join them yet." Shizune said quietly under her breath.
Naruto was still sleeping when she returned to his apartment, she stood in his bedroom doorway watching him contentedly.
"He looks happy, I'll let him sleep…"
Sakura decided to look around Naruto's apartment. It didn't feel like a home, just a place to sleep and eat. Quietly scanning the kitchen she saw no food beyond his personally accumulated stash of ramen, but even that was running low, seeing all this made her sad.
"So this is how you've lived since we were little…"
Sakura returned to Naruto's bedroom, gently climbing back in bed. Perhaps instinctively he began to wake. There was a split-seconds panic on his face but then he relaxed.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked frowning.
"Nightmare, Sasuke destroyed the five great nation's and their core villages, the leaf was first. He killed everyone and extracted the nine tales from me, using his Sharrigean to control it.
"The seal broke." Sakura said.
"When he killed you right in front of me."
She swallowed "How?"
"Chidori through your heart. I couldn't take it. I had nine tales instantly and tore the seal off." He clenched his bedsheets angrily.
"Naruto, you are going to be alright. I can't do a damn thing about Sasuke, but I can sure as hell keep that damn fox in check. That's what I was looking into that while you were asleep." Sakura told him determinedly.
"Really?"
"Yes, and I think it's possible to fortify the seal with something called a sealing link."
"Isn't that what my dad did?" Naruto asked confused.
"No, that was chakra infusion, which can be done to anything or anyone including seals." She clarified.
"With a sealing link, if the seal is the lock, then a this is a person to person link that has to break before the lock itself ever breaks. It gets added to the targeted seal and I bear it on my body too." She finished saying.
"But then Sakura, you would be subjected to the nine tails." Naruto shook his head. "It's full of hate."
"I'll just punch it if it gets unruly. The sealing link will create a perfect echo of the eight sign seal you have, which means I will know when the fox throws a tantrum." She said seriously. There was fire in her eyes now. "That's not it either, I'm going to get myself injected with Hashirama's cells so I can tame the fox if the worst happens again."
"What? No, you could die all of this is too risky Sakura." He said anxiously.
The devotion that Sakura felt burned brightly in her eyes. "I can't just watch you suffer as this damn fox tries to take over, not again. I'm not going to die either, I promised to keep you alive. I can't just stand back do nothing, Naruto, not when I love you so much. Besides, Lady Shizune and Captain Yamato already agreed to do it."
"There is no stopping you huh?" He gave her an admiring smile.
Sakura pulled him as close to her as she possibly could with a tired smile. "No, and we'll be off from missions until my body adapts to Hashirama's cells, but taking it easy is the best thing…"
"I still want to see how you are going to strengthen the seal." Naruto said quietly.
"Thinking about us isn't the only thing I was doing over the last few days." She said rather emotionally.
"You're doing all this for me." He seemed to be struggling to comprehend the lengths she was willing to go for him.
"You showed me what love is supposed to be, it's a partnership, two people trying to live for and grow with each other forever. I don't care that you have the nine tails inside of you, I love you so much, Naruto Uzumaki." Sakura stretched gently over him and kissed him slowly and thoroughly, teasing his lips here and there with her tongue until he opened his mouth for her.
Their heads were intimately stuck together now, and Sakura soon felt wetness on Naruto's face and she stopped but never pulled her face away from his.
"Are you okay?" She asked ever so softly brushing his tears away.
He had both his hands in her hair. "I'm so happy, and I never thought that would happen… It's all because of you, Sakura…." He said gratefully.
"All because of me… She blushed shyly.
He nodded, smiling as he continued teasing her hair between his fingers quiet and emotional. "You were the first kid my age that made me stop feeling like a monster, sure, I annoyed you like crazy back then, but the thing is, you wouldn't waste punches on people that you didn't care about." He chuckled proudly.
Sakura found herself agreeing with this, still she clarified a bit sheepishly. "I didn't even know about the nine tails back then so if it makes you feel better, that had nothing to do with why I didn't like you." She looked apologetic but smiled. "I'm so sorry I never realized why you were always looking for attention or that your over excitement is very hard for you to control."
"I have gotten better, though, right?" He asked hopefully.
Sakura giggled briefly and nodded. "Yes Naruto, you have: you ditched that ridiculous sexy Jutsu for the most part; you've learned to control your enthusiasm and have a much better filter. The only thing that still needs work is how much ramen you eat."
"I'll never stop eating ramen." He said with panic in his voice.
"I would never stop you from eating ramen but nutrition is important. I'll help you shop." Sakura said cheerfully.
"I've never gone shopping before," Naruto confessed sheepishly. "I just bought a bunch of ramen from Itchiraku.
"Then this weekend, we're turning this place into a home," Sakura said.
"Thanks, Sakura, I'll take you on a date in return, okay," Naruto said brightly.
Sakura grinned and kissed him, actually excited about the idea of going out on a date with Naruto, which reminded her that even though some things had changed for the worse since they were kids, their relationship had changed for the better. Now they were together, and Sakura knew that she would do anything to stay together.
"A date, huh? That sounds like fun." She said excitedly.
Naruto was giddy now. "I'll plan something perfect, it might take a day or two, but I'll make sure you always remember it."
"Any date is perfect as long as it's with you." Sakura said quietly.
So over the weekend Sakura shopped for Naruto in order to furnish his apartment and stock it with more than just ramen and sometimes expired milk. To Sakura's surprise he wasn't picky about her decisions, she quickly realized that this was because he enjoyed being fussed over. Not that he would ever admit that, but she knew that not having anyone early in his life she could tell that getting such care and affection meant so much to Naruto.
"Hey Sakura I've got some things I have to do so I'll see you later." He said.
"Hmm this wouldn't have anything to do with the date you are planning does it?" She asked curiously.
"Yeah, but don't ask me anything; not even the interrogation corps would get an answer from me." He said.
Sakura giggled. "If you say so, I'll go back to your apartment while you're busy with whatever you're planning for our date. By the time you get back, it'll be a comfy place to live." She said patiently.
She kissed Naruto before watching him take off towards the other end of the village. Sakura headed for Naruto's apartment carrying one big bag of general store goods on her back, intending to transform it into a place to call home.
Meanwhile, Naruto's first stop was Ino's flower shop… He had a few ideas for the perfect first date with Sakura but couldn't decide between them.
"Oh man I can't mess this up or she might change her mind… I really have no clue!" He came bursting into the flower shop a bundle of nerves. "Ino, help me!" He shouted over dramatically.
"Naruto? Why would you shout like your were in danger? You think you can barge in here disturbing customers!" She scolded sharply.
"I promised Sakura the perfect first date but I don't know what to do. Something fun, something fancy, something casual, something romantic… Oh no if I don't even know where to start this is going to be the worst first date ever!" He looked panicked.
"First of all, calm down, Naruto! Second, I should have figured this was about Billboard Brow, you two just can't navigate love on your own. Alright then let's here them, I promise I won't steer you wrong!"
Naruto's apartment turned into an all day project for Sakura and she couldn't wait to surprise him. The moment he was back home later that evening she ran excitedly to the door.
"I think that's the happiest you've ever been to see me." Naruto said as he greeted her with a grin.
Sakura shook her head throwing her arms around him. "Of course I'm happy to see you, let's go." She urged quickly. "It took all day but I finished."
"You really worked on this place all day…" He smiled emotionally at her.
"Naruto, you've never had a comfortable place to come home to, I wanted to change that." They continued walking.
"You painted!" He said, impressed as he looked around.
"I did, with Sai's help, he felt responsible for swaying my emotions to the point that I tried lying to you in the Land of Iron…" So what do you think?" She watched him anxiously.
"I think it's awesome, I love orange!" He said with a grin.
"I thought so, I'm glad you like it, Naruto." She said. "Come on." Sakura led him to the sofa, sitting curled up against him.
"This wasn't here before," Naruto said with confusion.
"You needed more than just your bed as a place to relax." Sakura said giving him a very loving smile.
"I've never thought about anything like that. Honestly, without you I would be much worse off. " He admitted quietly.
She dropped her head on Naruto's neck. "You do push yourself too hard, its always scared me. Now that we're together."
"I've always taken care of myself." He said with a shrug.
"Well, you don't have to worry about that, you have me now, and I promise Naruto I'll always be watching over you." She told him with tender affection.
"You are the best, Sakura!" He kissed her forehead.
Sakura blushed, looking into Naruto's eyes. "No, that's you, my forehead has always bothered me, and everyone has made fun of it… That you love it makes me feel good about it."
They wrapped their arms around one another and started kissing, this went on until Naruto's stomach interrupted things.
He shook his head. "I guess that's always going to happen around you."
"I think you need to eat." Sakura gave a small laugh. You have been gone almost all day."
"Ramen it is!" He said cheerfully.
"I fully stocked you kitchen cabinets with other food." She said. "But if it's ramen you really want, I kept it there. Just try to branch out more, please." Sakura looked pleadingly at him.
"Sure Sakura." He nodded.
The two of them ate dinner together contentedly, both discussing something that they had yet to really ponder.
"I can't believe another war is starting," Sakura said anxiously.
Naruto sighed. "At least nations are not fighting each other this time, but Madara Uchiha is the second greatest shinobi ever."
"That''s who we are facing, someone who was alive two generations ago?" Sakura couldn't keep the shock out of her voice.
"Yeah, I don't know how he's alive, but he's the one who manipulated Nagato's hatred, and now he's manipulated Sasuke too." He was very bitter.
"You started to say something about this in the land of iron… What is it?" Sakura asked nervously.
"I promised I wouldn't say anything to anyone. Only Kakashi-Sensi and Captain Yamato know because they were there when Madara told me." He said defensively.
Naruto knew too late that he had slipped up, and now he wasn't sure what to say…
"Naruto, you can tell me. I won't say anythi, I swear. I just...if there is a reason why Sasuke is so evil now, I want to know. If we have to kill him someday and I never understand why I'll never make peace with it. Please, just tell me!" Sakura looked imploringly at Naruto now.
Naruto looked unsure for a moment but after a long stare at a copy of the team photo Sakura had no doubt placed on the end table near the so, he turned back to Sakura...
"Naruto smiled sadly. "Okay, I don't know the specifics but you seriously can't say anything to anyone. It could cause panic and distrust in the village at the worst possible time."
"How bad is it?" Sakura asked nervously.
"It's terrible Sakura, maybe worse than the nine tails attack in many ways..." Naruto looked both extremely serious and incredibly somber. "It all goes back to Sasuke's clan, his brother and the leaf village."
Sakura gulped, she had never seen Naruto so serious and subdued all at the same time; this story wasn't going to be easy to hear…
...
"What a mess! I can't waste time resting Shizune!" Tsunade insisted.
"But you need your rest before the war officially begins." She insisted back. "Besides, there have been some personal developments very recently." There was a subdued look on Shizune's face now. "Sakura is so determined to protect Naruto she wants to create a sealing link and inject herself with your grandfather's cells."
WHAT? What is the point of the steps I took to make sure that team 7 is safe from the nine tails if Sakura is going to act so recklessly. My grandfather's cells are a life and death risk to inject into anyone, especially someone without dedicated clan linage. I would think being trained by one of the legendary Sanin would be enough for her!" Tsunade was very frustrated.
"Sakura was furious when I thought she was doing it for power. She broke a desk, and then next thing I knew, she sank to her knees, begging to do it." Shizune looked empathetic now. "Sakura is in love with Naruto."
Tsunade's anger evaporated on the spot, and she became uncharacteristically subdued. "When did this happen?"
Shizune was watching her mentor's change in behavior knowingly. "Captain Yamato believes that the Tenchi bridge incident deepened Sakura's feelings for Naruto. It could be that recently finding out Naruto has always been in love with her caused Sakura to take a long look at how she felt about him… It was quite an emotional shock for her, but I think you are better off talking to Sakura milady."
"How long ago did Sakura ask about these things?" She asked.
"It was Thursday morning, and it's now Saturday morning, so a little less than two days ago. I'm guessing she did the research for several days until she was comfortable enough to come to us." Shizune said quickly.
Tsudane was pulled into melancholy nostalgia. "Naruto reminds me so much of Don and Jiraiya, I was in love with them and they're both dead now; dead just like my brother Nawaki; I see him in Naruto too."
"Lady Tsunade…" Shizune was concerned.
Tsunade was suddenly emotional. "I'm probably supposed to stay impartial as Hokage, but… I was a broken woman with no meaningful purpose before those two… Naruto gave me hope, and Sakura gave me purpose beyond my duties as Hokage."
"You're not going to lose them, Milady." Shizune said quietly.
"I have to make sure that they are prepared to lose each other, especially when a war is coming and they are still determined to save Sasuke," Tsunade said as she composed herself.
Shizune frowned. "About Sasuke…"
"I'm already aware of all that thanks to Kakashi; to say that it is a problem is an understatement. Still, I'm not sending anyone from this village out after him. That nearly ended in disaster last time and he's exponentially stronger now." Tsunade gave a long sigh and then stood up. "Thank you, Shizune; please let Kakashi know that I will be relying on him while I handle Sakura's Hashirama cell injections and monitor her health afterwards." She sounded blunt once again.
Shizune nodded. "Yes milady!"
Once she was by herself Tsunade was back in thought again. "I miss the three of you every day. Please watch over Naruto and Sakura in the coming days of inevitable war…."
A/N: Hopefully, this gives you a taste of my mindset for this story. Please review.