Naruto 1. Chapter 1

Memories from a distant past

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Believe it!

I have manipulated the plot of the actual events of Naruto to match my plot and story so don't be mad at me and leave mean comments because you don't agree with it. Please enjoy it an don't forget to rate and review. Thank you guys and have an awesome day.

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Chapter 1: Words that cannot be forgotten

It had only been a month since the end of the war, obviously they had won. While the ANBU and Jounin went on A or S ranked mission earning large quantities of money, it was the chunins and genins and pretty much anybody who can's job to rebuild the village. Most of Konoha was destroyed during the war, so they expected to be doing this kind of mission for quiet a while. In the mornings they would be assigned a site and each team will go to their assigned site and work there for the day.

Needless to say, Sasuke has been forgiven for his crimes at the end of the war. The hokage had actually planned on punishing him, though the village along with Naruto as their big leader protested against it. It wasn't that hard to convince the hokage since she had other more important things to do anyway. So for the past month Sasuke had been doing missions with his team, team seven.

Well...most of team seven anyway. Every morning he had come to their assigned meeting place to find Naruto and Kakashi, who wast late by the way, already waiting. The first week it happened Sasuke was surprised to find the two of them walking towards him even before he reached the destination. He hadn't questioned them when they had walked straight to their site. But the longer it happened the more he thought about it. First he thought the reason she never seems to be with them is because girls weren't doing construction. But then he had seen other girls at the sites. He would know, they never stopped drooling when he took off his shirt that one day when it was too hot. He never made that mistake again, even if he boiled to death.

It only bothered him more as a whole month passed by without him even having a glimpse of her. He had been wondering why the hell he was spending all his time thinking about Sakura. Then on a very very very tired day, his mind had gotten himself to admit that he missed her and that he wanted to see her. Needless to say, he had been very surprised with himself moments after but the next day he had come to the conclusion that he did not have to hide from his feelings anymore. He didn't have any goals that needed to be completed. He did not have to resist any feelings he would have as a healthy young man.

So that's why he had sneaked into what Naruto said was her office in the hospital. He had thought about the possibility of Naruto lying to him about where her room is to embarrass him when some other crazy girl opened the door, in which case Sasuke had already thought of seven different ways to torture the blond. His personal favourite was using mangekyo sharingan on Naruto and puttying him in a world where everyone praised Sasuke's skills while Naruto watched. But Sasuke was sure he could come up with more beautiful ones.

When he was in the middle of his eighth idea, sitting on the brown leather couch, did he hear the door open to reveal his former teammate in a white coat. He felt like he hadn't seen her in forever and didn't miss when his stomach did a great flip at the sight of her.

Sakura looked tired. Rally really tired. She had slightly dark bags under her eyes and her pink hair was in a messy pony tail. He watched in amusement as she walked into the office, took off her coat and put it on one of the chairs in front of her desk revealing her normal pink skirt and red shirt completely oblivious to her unexpected visitor. She pulled out the hair tie from her hair and ran her slender fingers through her pink hair to straighten it out and getting rid of the knots.

She sat down on her chair at the desk with a heavy sigh and lifted her head to find her visitor. She stared at him for a total of two seconds before she shot up from her chair.

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed as a wave of head rush hit her due to her abrupt stand.

Sakura was so totally surprised to see Sasuke of all people sitting on her couch. She was also embarrassed that in her state of tiredness she had completely missed his presence. She was also shocked because Sasuke had seeked her out for whatever reason he deemed worthy.

The last time Sakura saw Sasuke was close to a month ago when he had been treated for injuries he received during the war.

When the hokage had said all teams would be doing missions to help build the village, Sakura had felt lost and uncomfortable. Sasuke's words during the war had been echoing through her mind since the moment they left his lips in every time she had a quiet peaceful time. She didn't want to see him, she didn't want to even be near him.

She loved him, yes, but the words he had spoken had caused her so much pain that she wasn't even aware she was capable of. The reason they hurt so much is because she loved him so much.

So when the hokage had ordered Sakura to stay in the hospital to help treat the injured, she was so happy she would've hugged her mentor of she had had the time. She had of course told Naruto and Kakashi-sensei where she will be, but she hadn't felt the need to tell Sasuke because he wouldn't have cared anyway.

But she was fairly certain he hadn't come to her to check on her well-being. That's just going too far. So then why was he here in her office sitting on her couch on her only fifteen minute break?

"Where were you." he didn't ask it like a questions. He demanded an answer and his question clearly implied that you better answer or esle, so she answered because she doesn't have the strength not to right now.

"Here." she replied sitting back down on her chair because it didn't look like he would leave soon anyway.

"For a month?...Why haven't you been doing missions?" he asked narrowing his eyebrows at her. So maybe he did come here to check in her. Why?

"Its been busy. A lot of people were injured during the war." she answered with a sigh. She wanted him to leave. In her younger days she has chased after Sasuke without building a life for herself. But now she had a life. Now she was her own person. Now she could handle Sasuke's harsh attitude without having to be weak in front of him. But...she was still Sakura. She still loved him. It was one thing to ACT like his words didn't hurt but for them to ACTUALLY not hurt is a whole other thing. And she knew there would never come a day when they wouldn't hurt. So the best she could do was pretend they didn't and hope that some day she will be able to look at him and not remember the things that hurt.

"Lets go get dinner." he said bringing her out of her thoughts. Oh man, she did not want to have to hang out with him any more than she had to.

"I'm not really in the mood for ramen."she said turning her chair to face the window, so that she wasn't facing him and his smugness that seems to follow him even when he isn't trying to be smug. The sky was unbelievably blue today. They were the colour of Naruto's eyes. There were no clouds to obscure the beautiful sky from her view and so she enjoyed it. The sun shone down on the village as people got ready for lunch but it didn't look like Sakura was going to be able to take advantage of her much needed break.

"Not ramen." Sakura could hear the annoyance in his voice, she only inwardly smirked. somethings never change.

"How did you get Naruto to agree to that?" she asked with a smile. He must have done something awful to the blond for him to agree a meal that consisted of anything other than his beloved ramen.

"Just...just you and I." Sakura was more more surprised at his stutter than the actual words that he spoke. So she had to turn her face towards him to understand his implication. She was yet again surprised. He wasn't looking anywhere else but at her. His onyx eyes were fixated on her as if he was waiting and would be waiting for as long as it would take.

She stared at him for a while longer and in that while she saw the seriousness in his words and understood the implication very well. She was surprised by it . Hell yeah, of course! At first she couldn't figure out what he was planning. But the longer she stared at him the more real it became.

For a moment, she contemplated on saying yes and jumping into his arms. But the next moment, his words assaulted her innocent mind.

"**Eyes up from Naruto! Naruto...I'm going to say this clearly right now...**

**you and I...if either one of us dies, that will mean the end of this world.**

**No matter what happens, we absolutely cannot allow ourselves to die. **

**Like when the infinite tsukuyomi took place...and you just happened**

**to be by Kakashi and Sakura. You understand what I'm saying don't you...?**

she almost lost control right then and there. After the war was over, her attempts to keep his words from repeating over and over in her mind had been complete failures. So in the end, she ended up running to the bathroom of what remained of the hospital and cried. Because there was only so much she could pretend. At one pint she does become tired of holding everything in. Like a soda bottle that had been vigorously shaken. After a while, she had to return to treating patients because her feelings come second...always.

It was easy to pretend when he wasn't here that he cared. But when he was in front of her and saying things to her, it was hard to hold on to that lie she told herself all the time.

"I'm sorry. But no." she said as strongly as her voice allowed her to. She was happy she hadn't looked away because the shock that came to his face at her answer was priceless. His eyes widened a fraction for at least three seconds. She loved it. She loved the fact that she managed to make him look like that with just a few words.

"Why?" he demanded with narrowed eyes, clearly displeased with her answer.

She smiled at him. She truly smiled at him because by telling herself that she was okay and smiling is the only way she would not let the tears in her eyes drop.

"You hadn't meant to save me...or Kakashi-sensei. You were fine with me possibly dying. A month later and you expect me to believe you care?" she asked quietly. The smile never leaving her face. She wasn't mad at him. No, if she was mad, she would hit him. She would really punch him so hard that he wont be able to get off of bed for weeks. But it was more like finally accepting what was always in front of her. She was strong enough to accept it now.

"I had no choice." he growled at her, standing up from the couch and walking to her desk.

"I know. Its okay. I don't mind." she assured him quickly looking up at him with the smile still in place. And she didn't, she really didn't mind. It was a kind of an awakening for her and for the hurt to go away, it'll take some time..

"don't you understand? I'm asking you to be my girlfriend." he said angrily, leaning forward to rest his palms on her cluttered desk.

Her futile attempt to slow down her beating heart was quiet embarrassing for a ninja and her brain's comment to not feel such happiness at his words went totally ignored by her heart as well. Such words coming from Sasuke...she could hardly believe it. But she was happy for him. He was starting to speak his mind, even if his methods are a little unorthodox.

"We wont be happy together Sasuke." she said getting up from her chair to stand at her window to look out the window at the buzzing streets, because she would much rather look at that than at the determined onyx eyes of her visitor because they were tempting her to throw her resolve away.

Sasuke could hardly believe what she was saying. Sure he didn't love her yet. But right now he knew that he liked her...a lot. He knew he wanted to be with her. He wanted to be near her. It was an odd feeling that he wasn't used to but he felt it none-the-less. And though he would never admit it, he liked it as well.

"I will always question your feelings for me. Always wonder whether or not you are pretending." she stared out the window of her room as she talked.

"I would never do that." he said looking at her back hoping she would turn to look at him. Hoping she wouldn't avoid his eyes anymore.

"It doesn't matter. I wouldn't believe you." she said as the smile finally disappeared from her face. She turned around, finally facing him, looking at him with no reluctance. "I will always love you Sasuke. I don't even know how to stop. Nothings changed...not me...and not you." she finished as he continued to stare at her.

Why is she saying such contradictory things? He was very confused. And its not true. He HAS changed. If he hadn't, he seriously doubted he would be here asking her to be his girlfriend.

"This is ridiculous." he muttered closing his eyes and frustratingly running a hand through is raven locks.

"I think...we should not see each other." she said making his eyes snap open to stare at her. But she had returned to staring out the window. So he glared at the back of her pink head, hoping she would sense the hole he's trying to bore through her head. "that way, I will be able to continue to blindly love you...while you continue to hate me for whatever reason...like always." she murmured the last part that he barely heard it. But he did. So he stomped his way up to her and grabbed her wrist and turned her to face him. She didn't look fazed by his action at all. She only stared at him with blank eyes that he wasn't used to seeing in her.

"I never hated you." he said as calmly as he possibly could because she was really pissing him off.

"Even if you loved me...I would never believe it Sasuke." she said shaking her head as if to get something out of her head. "I would much rather spend my life loving you from a far and knowing you are happy than constantly wonder if you really loved me or if you truly are happy being with me." not only was he angry at her words, he was also aware of the slight pain her words caused him as well. It was like the flipping of the stomach right before a battle, only...it hurt...a lot.

"Sakura, do you realize how stupid this is?" he asked angrily shaking her shoulders to snap her out of whatever depression she had gotten herself stuck in.

She pushed his hands off her shoulders angrily with force. He was surprised at the fiery look on her eyes because she had never looked at him like that.

"Sasuke...what you said...during the war...even if I forgive you, I can't forget them...I never will." her voice wavered because she finally let the tears sting her eyes and he didn't miss them when they gathered at the rim of her emerald eyes. He was surprised she hadn't started crying sooner. She must have really been holding back.

"I already told you, I had no choice Sakura."

"I know that. But I will forever have those words in my mind Sasuke. What am I supposed to do? They wont stop repeating...over and over and over again. I can't stop." she screamed at him finally letting out her true feelings and emotions. She held on to his shirt mid way through her rant and fisted it in her hands. She shook him back and forth as the tears she had been working so damn hard to hold in finally escaped her eyes and ran down her face.

He hadn't meant for what he said to stick to her that much. He stared at the top of her pink head as she leaned her forehead on his chest, her fingers still fisted in his shirt. At the time, he had wanted to save the villae his brother had sacrificed everything for. To be honest...at the time...he wouldn't have cared if she died. He would have been sad afterwards and regretted it , but in that one moment, it hadn't mattered to him. And now he felt guilty. Out of all the thing he had done to her, he had finally managed to break her resolve and hurt her enough to have an impact in his own life. He never thought this day would come.

Is a month enough for someone to change how they look at another? Is a month long enough for him to develop feelings for her? Is that one moment long enough for him to break her to such fine small pieces? The kind of pain he had caused her for three years combined wasn't strong enough to break and hurt her the way that one moment had. He realized it was too late to realize this because she was already so broken.

"Sakura..." he managed to murmur in a weak voice.

"If we were to be together, I would be sadder than I was when you tried to kill me Sasuke." she said, her words muffled by his shirt.

He didn't want to hear her say something like that. He didn't want to think that being with him would make her sad. He wanted her to go back to being herself. Being the Sakura who thought nothing was happier than being with her Sasuke-kun. How can he bring her back? Because he desperately wished to be with her.

"I wont let you be sad." he said though his dry throat seems to not be helping much. She raised her head then and moved her hands back to her sides as she stood in front of him with puffy red eyes and a pink nose.

"You can't give me happiness...no one can." she breathed with a pained smile that made his stomach tumble painfully for some reason.

"If ...if we learned to love each other...we could be happy." these words coming out of his mouth are so foreign to him. Yet he felt he had to say them because he wanted to be with her more than he previously realized. She smiled at him then. As if he were a child and had said something naive

"Love isn't the only think needed to make a relationship work." she said wiping her tears away.

She was being impossible. To everything he said, she had something to say to oppose him. He could not get her to meet him half way and it was making him angry, but he knew that most of all, Sakura deserved some patience from him, so he gave it to her.

"I'm not going to give up." he said determinedly looking at her emerald eyes so she knows he's serious. She seemed surprised by his declaration because her movements stilled for a moment and her yes widened ever so slightly. He inwardly smirked at his success. But her shock was gone the next moment just as she was, because she started walking towards the door of her office. He stared at her back as she headed for the door. He thought she wouldn't say anything but she did and he didn't like it.

"Then you'd be wasting your time." she said putting on her white coat on her body, still keeping her back to him.

"I wont let you be anyone else's." he said again because he wanted her to know he would not be giving up. He was happy with her reaction because she stopped walking and her hand held the door knob, one leg inside the room the other outside. He saw the smile appear on the side of her face that was visible to him and before she closed the door all he heard her say was, "Silly Sasuke..." and he stood there in her office not sad or mad but determined to make her accept him again.

As soon as the door closed behind her she let the smile drop from her face. "...I could never be anyone else's" she whispered to no one and walked towards her patients to carry on with her day as if Sasuke Uchiha just hadn't said everything she ever wanted him to say to her.

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The second chapter will be out soon.

Thanks for reading.

And again don't be mad because its different from the actual story because its supposed to be different.

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	2. Chapter 2

PLEASE READ:** I really appreciate you guys leaving reviews. I have to say this is the best set of comments I have gotten in all of my stories. I love everyones comments because you guys are telling me what's wrong with it and what you didn't like and what needs improvements and this is exactly the kinds of comments I'm looking for so I can improve my writing to give you guys something that you can enjoy. THANK YOU AGAIN :D so that's why I decided to upload this chapter sooner than I thought I would. Because you guys were so super awesome.**

Also this is in a much much lighter mood. Even I was depressed after writing the last chapter. And Sasuke is a little OOC in this too because romance and Sasuke doesn't go well together unless he's a little OOC.

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Chapter 2: Events that had been forgotten

By the time the day was done, Sakura was tired and depressed. Which is why she decided to pass by the Yamanaka flower shop on her way to her apartment in case her ex-rival were to be there. And she was thankfully. Hanging out with Ino almost always helps Sakura come back to her cheery self. In the middle of her many fights with the blond, she forgets her troubles of the day and she can easily just become a twelve year old again fighting to be the best of the two.

Today she desperately needed to feel like twelve again and pretend that she had no troubles and that Sasuke Uchiha had NOT come into her office to tell her things she wanted to hear three years ago. That's why after finally being released from the hospital at five in the evening, she decided to pay Ino a visit.

Upon arriving at the flower shop, she saw Ino standing behind the counter inspecting her nails as Sakura entered through the door. Ino looked up with a huge smile as the little bell at the top of the door announced the arrival of a customer. However, upon seeing it was none other than her ex-rival, her smile dropped and she went back to inspecting her nails as if she hadn't even seen Sakura.

"Its just you forehead." Ino said boringly.

"Is that how you greet all your customers?" Sakura asked as she went to stand opposite Ino on the other side of the counter.

"No just the dumb looking ones." Ino retorted with a fake smile finally looking up from her nails to Sakura. "I had to cut my nails for the mission I just had and they are going to take forever to grow back." Ino complained showing Sakura her short nails to inspect. "My fingers look fat and ugly with short nails." she finished with a grimace.

Sakura took time to inspect her friends nails and looked at Ino with a serious face. "Yeah they do." she said at a scowling Ino.

As the quiet settled down on them because the fight she wanted to start hadn't even had a chance to fully blow out of proportion, Sakura let out a sigh hoping Ino would ask her what was wrong because she needed to talk to someone and Ino is the best she's got right now at a short times notice.

"Woah! Why the long face forehead?" Ino asked with a raised eye brow.

"Sasuke came to visit me." Sakura said raising her eyes at Ino to see her reaction. After a few minutes of contemplation, she decided to tell her the truth rather than work her way around it. She was way too tired for that and Sasuke had pretty much ruined her break for her as well, she was too tired to make up all kinds of lies to stop herself from talking about it.

"Why? Is he in the brink of death?" Ino asked, her voice slightly irritated.

"No...he asked me out to dinner." Sakura said nonchalantly, as if Sasuke Uchiha asking someone for dinner,let alone a girl, was perfectly normal and happens all the time Ino's eyes widened and she looked at Sakura as if she had gone crazy.

"I'm sorry. Did you just say Sasuke Uchiha asked you out to dinner?" Ino repeated leaning her body towards Sakura across the counter. Sakura nodded her head waiting to hear anything she has to say to console her. "Huh!That was faster than I thought." Ino finally said pulling one corner of her mouth to one side.

"What?!" Sakura asked surprised at what she had just heard. Out of all the things she expected to come out of Ino's loud mouth at her current situation, those words didn't even register in her brain as a possibility.

"Well, I knew he would do it. Just not this soon." Ino said as if that's what she needed clarification on.

"No pig, What the hell do you mean? did he say something?" Sakura asked frantically because what she was hearing was impossible. How would Ino know he would do that? As far as Sakura knew Sasuke couldn't stand Ino, just as much as he couldn't stand her.

"What did you say?"Ino asked with a wicked smirk ignoring Sakura's question completely. 'People are so impossible sometimes' Sakura thought in annoyance. "You said yes didn't you? this is so exciting." Ino radiated off excitement. Ino halted in her lane of happiness when she received no answers from her pink haired companion. "What did you do?" Ino asked suspiciously narrowing her eyes at Sakura.

"I told him 'no'." Sakura said calmly. she had come here in order to forget what had happened because she believed Ino would say something mean and start a fight. But instead Ino was not letting the subject go even if she got no reply from Sakura as she shoot off questions at her.

Ino stared at Sakura for a long moment with her blue eyes almost popping out her eye sockets. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. Sakura worried for her health when she had stood still like a statue for too long. But thankfully she regained her composure only to grab Sakura by the wrist and pull her closer to her across the counter.

"Why in god's name did you do that?" Ino asked calmly... too calmly for Sakura to take comfort in it.

"Because he doesn't care about me. You know that. I'm tired of pretending that he does care." Sakura said as she pulled her wrist back towards her and rubbed it with her other hand. " And this hurts." she said frowning at the red finger marks around her wrist.

"Are you crazy? Of course he cares." Ino screamed startling Sakura at her outburst. Sakura looked at her friend's face, momentarily forgetting her wrist. "You are such an idiot. I know for a fact that he cares." Ino said calming her voice down to normal levels and staring at Sakura with angry blue eyes.

"No he doesn't." Ino didn't know about the incident during the war. She couldn't possibly bring herself to talk about it to anyone.

"Forehead, listen to me." Ino began closing her eyes and running a hand through her long blond hair. she looked at Sakura with a pointed look and Sakura raised her eyebrows at the unfamiliar seriousness in her face. "During the chunin exams you remember what happened right?" she asked Sakura as she leaned on the counter again.

Sakura nodded in reply. Of course she remembers. That's what started this whole thing. How could she ever forget that moment in her life that was so significant to her. She had realized how weak she truly was during that time when she was unable to protect her teammates. It was a point in her life in which she had to grow up from the weak little fan girl she is and put her life in the line in order to save the two people precious to her.

"You remember how Sasuke went all bat shit crazy right?"she asked again to which Sakura nodded again even though she thought Ino could have phrased the question better. "Do you realize he did that to protect you? He broke a guys arms because he had made you look like shit." Ino said in disbelief as if she was reliving the moment and feeling all those feelings gain.

"Pig, I really wish you would rephrase your sentences." Sakura said in annoyance at being called she looked like shit. She didn't think she looked all that bad.

"Do you want my advice or not?" Ino asked with her hands resting on her hips.

"No." Sakura said wondering when exactly she had asked for Ino advice on the matter.

"And if you hadn't stopped him when you did who knows what might have happened." Ino said in all seriousness ignoring Sakura's comment about not wanting her opinion. Sakura knew Ino too well. Of course she would give her opinion and advise even if nobody listened. That's just Ino. "I think he saw that you were scared and realized he was the one scaring you and calmed down immediately." Ino said changing her serious voice to a dreamy one as she stared off into space.

Sakura looked down at the ground trying to wrap her head around everything Ino had just said to her.

"What else do you think happened?"Ino asked with a raised eyebrow as if there couldn't possibly be another reason for what happened that day. And Sakura couldn't even think of another reason as to why he would stop when she asked him to or why he would, as Ino so kindly put it 'go bat shit crazy' over her getting hurt. If he doesn't care, shouldn't he have just left her to die or something?

"I have to go." Sakura said finally because Ino was making her think things she did not want to think about.

Forest of death was a time of her life she had desperately wanted to forget. It was a significant part of her life, yes, but it was also a very painful part of her life. If she had been able to prevent certain things from happening in that forest that day, she could have prevented Sasuke's departure from the village. She had truly felt fear that day as she watched a side of Sasuke that she had never witnessed before. She had felt fear FOR him not OF him. Because that wasn't Sasuke, her Sasuke-kun wasn't like that. That's why she ran to him begging for him to stop.

It was a time in her life she did not wish to relive, which is why that memory remained in the confines of her mind never to be remembered again. But she had never thought about what that moment meant to the two of them because she feared that memory as well.

That night after the visit to Ino's flower shop, Sakura actually had to take pills to fall a sleep despite her reaching new levels of tiredness. Even though she was not very fond of the method, she had had no choice because memories kept her from closing her green eyes, memories she had worked so hard to erase and had failed miserably at doing.

The next day Sakura woke up grudgingly because the sleeping pills were still at work and the last thing she wanted to do was get off of bed. But she had to because doctors don't stop working because their love life, or lack there of, kept them up all night resulting in them taking sleeping pills.

Her morning went from bad to worse as she saw Naruto's name on her clipboard as her first patient. Sakura stood in front of the door before going in taking a few deep breaths, then she opened the door to be greeted with a smile bright enough to give her a headache.

"Sakura-chan, you look awful" Naruto blurted out first thing. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the blond with a look that promised pain and lots of it. 'Why do I have this many blond friends? One is more than enough. None is even better.' she thought irritatingly hoping to god this would be a short visit and she could get rid of Naruto soon.

"What happened this time Naruto-baka?" she asked reading the chart in front of her.

"Sasuke-teme chidoried my hand." Naruto yelled making Sakura wince. But took Naruto's left hand and inspected it. Sure enough, his hand was broken. Sasuke rarely used chidori in spars when they were young and she was pretty sure he wasn't allowed to now because of his...history. Naruto probably did something idiotic to piss him off. But this was serious, she should get someone to talk to him about his anger issues.

"It's a serious burn. what did you do?" Sakura asked collecting her chakra to begin to mend the bone and the burned skin.

"Nothing. He was just being an asshole. He was in an even worse mood today than usual. Can you believe he came to my house at four in the morning. FOUR! And demanded that I spar with him and ended up doing this to my arm?" Naruto said emphasizing every other word to convey how outrageous he was. But to be honest he didn't look all that mad to her.

Could it be that the little situation they had going on had also kept Sasuke up as well? Could it be bothering him as much as it was bothering her?

"I heard about what happened." Naruto said quietly after a long comfortable silence. Sakura's movements faltered for only a moment at his words before going back to work. She hadn't known Naruto and Sasuke actually talked about things. But Naruto had always been close with Sasuke. As much as they fought she knew they had a connection, a bond that she would never be able to understand. She didn't know how she felt about it. She didn't know whether she was jealous that Sasuke had this bond with Naruto or upset that Naruto didn't have that kind of bond with her. But either way, she did not fit in their group and she knew it."I know what you think Sakura-chan and its not true. He does." Naruto said as she finished bandaging his arm. She did not respond to his words because she was too tired today to think about it. Sakura made to leave the room but was stopped by Naruto's voice.

"I KNOW he cares about you. I know you doubt how he feels about you but I can assure you he cares. Don't you remember what I said after he said that?" he asked her desperately trying to make her understand, because right now they are both only suffering and Naruto can't take it. Mostly because he ends up having to be Sasuke's punching bag. So if he wanted to survive to become hokage someday, he better fix this.

"I remember Naruto." she said quietly.

"I called him out on it because he's done the same thing before."

"Its different Naruto. He cares about you. He saved you. I have nothing to do with his actions." she finally decided to voice her opinion because all her friends seem to find it okay to continue on talking even if she's unresponsive.

"That's not true. I bet he's saved you way more times than me."Naruto said shaking his head.

"That's because he thinks I'm weak." Sakura said raising her voice getting angry at the thought and at Naruto for reminding her of that painful fact.

Sakura heard Naruto sigh and immediately started staring at him. Naruto was not known for his sighs. In fact she was sure she had never heard him sigh in her life. So for him to be sighing at this matter must mean something, but she wasn't sure what because she didn't know what kind of things usually made the happy go lucky blond sigh.

"…Sakura-chan...do you remember that time during the chunin exams, when we went after Sasuke when he went after Gaara?" Naruto began in a reluctant voice as if it was causing him his life to tell her what he was about to say. And why was everyone talking about the chunin exams? she's worked so hard to forget that awful part of her life yet everyone has made it point to bring the subject up in the last couple of days. Sakura made a face at Naruto disapprovingly before nodding reluctantly. She was sure it wouldn't be the same event as the one Ino had spoken of because during that time Naruto was totally unconscious.

"Well, during that time after you were trapped by Gaara's huge hand thing and totally out of it, do you know what Sasuke told me?" he asked her looking at her with two raised blond eyebrows.

"No idiot. Like you said I was totally out of it." Sakura said in annoyance hoping he would get to the point soon. She had other patients and the sleeping pills have still not worn off.

"He said that I have to save you no matter what." he said after a moment of looking at her as if he was contemplating whether or not to continue. As soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, Sakura's green eyes widened to an impossible extent. For a moment she couldn't think anything. Her mind was completely blank, but after a moment of silence Naruto began again. " He told me once I have you I have to get as far away from there as possible and that he would hold off Gaara. He said he never wants to lose anyone dear to him again."Naruto finished finally in confidence that he should finish the story even if Sasuke decided to kill him later for telling it to her.

Sakura's first thought after her mind decided to finally begin working is 'Naruto is lying'. Her second was 'Why would Naruto lie about something that happened so long ago? And her third was 'Why wasn't she aware of this earlier?.' So when she found her voice, well, nothing had changed because she still didn't know what exactly she should say.

"Sasuke cares about you Sakura-chan, he just...has weird ways of showing it. You should already know that about him." Naruto finally said after concluding that Sakura was probably not going to say anything. He stood from the bed he was sitting on and walked to the door, leaving Sakura in her statue like state. "You should go talk to him. Otherwise who knows what he'll end up doing in his bad mood. See ya Sakura-chan." he said leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Sakura could still hear his loud voice greeting everyone as he walked farther and farther away from the room.

Sakura sat down on the bed Naruto had occupied earlier because her legs felt like jelly and she couldn't hold herself up any longer. He's right. she claims to love Sasuke like no other yet she had no idea about many things about him. And she should know how his mind works. She should have known Sasuke doesn't exactly use words to express feelings and she was sure he was bad at it as well. Sasuke was more of a man of action than words. She had no idea how his mind worked now that she thought about it, of course some of it had been his fault as well because he had never let her get to know him or allowed her to understand him. But the last time they had spoken in her office, he had offered her a chance for that and she had thrown it a side like it was nothing all because of her insecurity, all because of this one thing he had said.

Sasuke had done many things in his life. Some of it was saving her. He had done it many times and she had forgotten everything he had done for that one thing he had said. How had she forgotten everything he had done that was good to those few words he had uttered in the heat of battle?

So that's when she decided 'screw work'. She stood up from her seat on the bed and walked to the front desk to ask for a sick day. So doctors DO stop working because of their love lives after all.

She didn't have a hard time getting a sick day because no one questioned her when she asked. Then she thought that she looked so awful that no one was even questioning the totally out of the ordinary act of her getting a day off.

As she had expected, Sasuke was at the training grounds, but to her surprise he wasn't training. He was leaning on a big oak tree with his eyes closed looking completely relaxed. She walked towards him and stood in front of him observing his calm face. He truly was beautiful. All his boyish features had matured and made him look absolutely handsome. There was a thin layer of sweat glistening on his skin and his breathing was even as if he was in a deep slumber. In her younger days, she would've never been able to find Sasuke in such a vulnerable state. Years ago, his mind would've been too occupied with unpleasant things for him to be able to sleep so peacefully.

She must have stared too long because his eyes snapped open the next moment and she was totally caught off guard with it that she jumped back a few steps with a small inaudible gasp. He stared at her for a minute with his onyx eyes before raising a perfect raven eyebrow at her.

"Am I suddenly good enough for you now?"he asked in all seriousness. Sakura couldn't hide the painful squeeze of her heart at his words because she hadn't expected him to say anything like that. Besides, she was sure she had never said he wasn't good enough for her. But she quickly hid the pain that she was sure would appear in her eyes and responded.

"Hey, don't get smart with me because you'll regret it." she warned crossing her arms in front of her chest in pride. He scoffed at her remark and for the first time she noticed the slightly dark circles under his onyx eyes and the dishevelled dark hair on the top of his head and the slight redness in his eyes. He looked tired. And for a moment she wondered if that's what she looked like too. Probably not because even looking like that he looked like a Greek god and all morning the only thing she managed to look like was Medusa.

He closed his eyes again when she didn't say anything more again and she sighed. Apparently he wasn't going to be as talkative as he was yesterday so it was probably in her hands to get things going just as when they were younger. She eyed the scratches and cuts on his skin. Probably from the spar he had with Naruto. They didn't look that serious but she was a medic and she hadn't used her chakra at all today so she decided asking to heal him would be a good start.

"Do you want me to heal those?" she asked sitting down beside him and pointed at a particularly bad cut just under his neck even though he couldn't see where exactly she was pointing at. He opened his eyes and looked at her for what felt like an eternity to her and finally nodded. She smiled at him then because during the silence, she was afraid he'd be totally cruel to her after their awkward encounter yesterday. She tucked her legs under her and patted her lap with a hand. Sasuke narrower his eyes at her before sighing and putting his head down on her lap. It was not necessary really. She could have treated him while he was sitting up. But the twelve year old Sakura in her was planing on taking advantage of the situation.

He laid his head down on her lap with his hands folded on his stomach over his black shirt with one of his legs folded and the other straight. She couldn't help the blush. She tried, she really did. But its been so long. She hasn't been this close to him without fearing for someones life in forever.

She realized how much time they had lost together and this felt like a new beginning. It felt like Sasuke had offered her a new beginning. It must have been like pulling out a tooth for him to say such things to her yesterday because he doesn't usually say things like that. But he had put aside everything, including his personality to tell her the things he said to her. Why hadn't she realized that earlier? She gathered her chakra to her hand and ran it over all his scars that she could see and healed them to perfection. She made sure to not even leave a scar on him. He remained still with his eyes closed and in a completely relaxed state. She smiled at herself at the sight. She was happy that he felt safe with her to let his guard down and relax around her.

When she was done healing him, she remained still as well because she didn't want him to get up and he didn't make any move to get off of her lap either even though he knew she was done healing him. They stayed in silence for a long time. During that time Sasuke couldn't figure out why she was here and he sure as hell isn't going to stat talking because he had already said everything that needed to be said. So he waited for her to begin.

"Sasuke..." she finally began after thinking for may be too long on how she should start. She looked down at him to make sure he isn't a sleep. Her silent question was answered when Sasuke hummed a reply.

"I'm...sorry about the things I said yesterday." She finished quietly because she had no idea where this conversation would lead. But she had to tell him what needed to be said even if she feared the direction of it." And thank you." she added a long over due appreciation.

He opened his eyes then to look at her.

"For what?" he asked monotonously. His voice not giving out anything about how he was feeling. 'So like Sasuke' she thought.

"For saving me all those times." she answered with a smile but it soon vanished when he closed his eyes again as if he couldn't care less.

"It was my job" said Sasuke.

"No it wasn't, but you still did it anyway and I'm grateful for it." and she truly was. And the fact that he thinks that protecting her is his job when their relationship isn't all that strong made her realize that maybe he thought of her more than he let on and the thought made her heart flutter and the butterflies in her stomach are going crazy. "If your offer still stand from yesterday...I'd like to give it a try." she mumbled out almost hoping he did not hear the last part because it was embarrassing as hell. She squeezed her eyes shut waiting for his answer so she did not notice when he opened his onyx eyes to look at her. He only looked at her for a brief moment before closing his eyes again.

Sakura patiently waited for his voice to reach her ears. She really wanted to give it a try. But after the events of yesterday she didn't know where Sasuke stood in the matter. So when his voice finally answered she didn't know whether she was surprised at his answer or not.

"No." he said flatly and Sakura opened her eyes slowly to look at him to see that he hasn't even moved. She let out a breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding. And the "oh" that escaped her mouth at his words or rather word was automatic and she couldn't have stopped it even of she had tried.

After his heartbreaking reply, she waited for him to move from her lap and walk away from her. Because that's what she was used to when it comes to Sasuke. Him walking away from her. So she waited because she knew it was coming. She deserved it really because she had been quiet selfish yesterday when he visited. Had he been this hurt and disappointed when she had said no to his offer? It had been foolish to come to him today but a big part of her had been sure he would agree to at least give them a try.

She closed her eyes again when she felt the familiar sting in her eyes and the pricking of her nose and she's felt it way to many times to not know what it lead to. But she didn't want to cry. She had already done it yesterday in front of him and she wasn't going to disgrace herself by doing it again. She had her pride too just as Sasuke has his.

In the next few moments the weight on her lap was gone and before she could think or open her eyes she felt a light brush on her lips, but as quick as Sasuke is, by the time she opened her eyes to stare at him in shock, he was back on her lap with his eyes closed. The possibility of her imagining the whole thing was quiet high as she looked at his still form. The only thing that proved that it hasn't been a dream is the tingling sensation she could still feel on her lips.

When she saw the slight smirk on his lips that he couldn't seem to help is the only thing that made her realize he'd only been teasing her when he said 'no'. Her lips broke into a smile because Sasuke was teasing her and he had kissed her and oh my god! What is happening to the world!?

"You are meaner than I remembered you to be." she pouted slightly even though he couldn't see. But she was so happy. Now she could hardly even remember why she had refused his offer yesterday.

"Hn." came his never changing reply. She shook her head with disbelief as her smile widened. 'Somethings never change I guess'.

"If this is going to work, you have to try too. You can't push me away. And I don't respond well to 'hn'". She said looking across the training grounds at the other side.

"I'll try." he said in a soft voice that she wasn't used to at all. He opened his eyes though she didn't notice since she wasn't looking at him. But the next thing she knew, his hand had moved from where it lay on his stomach and moved to the back of her neck. She could feel the rough lines on his palms and realized that his hands have gotten rougher since the last time she held them. She felt herself being pulled down and her eyes widened. He didn't do it roughly. It was very gentle but she was very surprised by it so her eyes opened to the size of saucers. Her face was bare inches sway from his when she finally looked at his eyes as his onyx eyes bore into her green ones. She blinked in confusion when he didn't say anything for a long time and her back hurt but she didn't dare say anything. She was afraid of ruining this moment they were having after so long. Her back could snap in half for all she cared.

"I'm sorry." he finally said quietly. And she knew why he was apologizing. But she didn't care because he was trying just as she had asked him to. She smiled at his words. She had never known Sasuke had this cute and romantic side. But as odd and unfamiliar as this side was, to her it felt like it was a side that was always there but was hidden.

She moved her head lower to reach his nose and kissed the top out of pure instinct. When she moved her head back a little she realized that she was close enough to see the tiniest hint of a blush grazing his cheeks and could see that he was surprised by what she did as well. She moved her head back because really she kind of did care if her back snapped in half as it happens.

"Did you really think of us as people dear to you back then Sasuke?" she asked trying to get a reaction out of him and she did. His eyes narrowed at her when she said it. " I heard a certain story from when we were young." she answered his silent question in a teasing voice.

Then the weight on her lap was gone again and she looked at Sasuke as he picked up his kunai pouch from the ground and started walking away.

"Where are you going?"she yelled because he was walking quiet fast towards the street where Ichiraku restaurant is.

"I'm going to kill the dobe." he answered with a low growl. Sakura stood up from her seat under the tree and ran after him to catch up because she didn't doubt that he would kill the blond or at least hurt him enough to almost kill him. And she just healed Naruto too. She better remember to keep her teasing to a minimum. She thought with a smile as she caught up to Sasuke hoping to keep his mind off of his intent to kill his best friend.

* * *

There you go! After the doom and gloom of the previous chapter. I had already written this when I published the first chapter but wasn't going to upload it for at least a weak. But you guys were totally awesome with your comments. And sorry if any characters were OOC.

And this is in a completely different mood than the first one because I wanted to do a happy ending for you guys.

Oh! and don't forget to answer my poll. I just want to know how many fans will continue to write sasusaku fanfics after the manga is done.

THANKS FOR READING YOU GUYS! HAVE A GREAT DAY!


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Naruto, Angst, Hurt-Comfort