Broken Pieces

Team 7 had been having a great evening. As the team walked down the main street of the town they were visiting, Naruto and Sakura were laughing and even Sasuke and Sai were smiling. Sakura had a stain on her shirt, but it had not ruined her mood. She was too happy.

She looked from Sasuke, to Naruto, to Sai and then smiled. They were happy, all so very happy. The external and internal evil that had been residing within them all had died. Except for Naruto, the evil known as the Kyuubi still lived within him, but that couldn’t be helped and he’d learned to live with it. She was going to remember this time as the happiest in her life.

It was like the Golden Age of the second chapter of her life. The first Golden Age was the time Team 7 actually began feeling like a team before Sasuke left. What with Kakashi-sensei leading a new Genin team, the great Team 7 found a new Jounin leader in Naruto. After becoming a Chuunin, he quickly rose in the ranks of the ninja, becoming a Jounin and an ANBU within six months.

Their mission success rate was 100% and they were completing the hardest missions. So at age 19, the four teens were earning a lot of money, they loved their career, and they were surrounded by those that loved and cared for them.

And Sasuke…

Sakura looked at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye and smiling slightly. She flushed happily when his lips turned up slightly with the hint of a smile. She was sure, and so very certain, that something would happen between them soon. And she couldn’t wait.

Naruto punched Sai in the arm as the pale man made a joke about Naruto’s manhood, but his mood could not be deterred. Throwing an arm around Sai’s neck and giving him a noogie, Naruto laughed again.

“This is great, I have three of my favourite people in the world with me, and we’re being paid to hang out!” He grinned.

“We’re only hanging out because we finished the mission dobe. No sense in going back to Konoha in the dark.” Sasuke pointed out.

“You can’t spoil my mood teme, I’m having too much fun! Just think: our teachers used to hang out like this. At one point in their life, Baa-chan, Ero-Sennin and Snake-Bastard used to do this. And our parents’.”

“I can’t imagine our parents doing this though,” Sakura said with a smile. “To me, my parents have always just been that, parents. I still have that silly notion in my head that they didn’t have a life before I came along.”

“That shows that you like tradition Sakura-chan, you’re one for the past.” Sai said.

“And what’s wrong with staying with what’s good? Look at this, look at us! Why would I want that to end?”

Naruto nodded. “True, there could be nothing greater than this.”

“I think things could be better.” Sasuke said. “I’m not saying that what we all have now is not great, it is. But it will eventually change, and I think it will only get better. The evil is gone. Akatsuki, Orochimaru…Danzo, they’re all gone. We’re entering a new reign of peace in Konoha. The first in our lives. And with us getting older and wiser, things can only get better.”

“Wow, Sasuke’s an optimist!” Sakura grinned, clinging onto his arm.

He didn’t pull away. “We’ll further in our careers, our lives will evolve…grow. We still have so much to learn, but since we’ve already suffered so much in life, the only thing there’s left to experience is good.”

Naruto grinned. “Yeah, I hear that. Me becoming Hokage will be great. Teme will be head of the police, Sakura will become the head of the hospital and Sai will be head of the ANBU. Team 7 running the town, that can only be good.” He paused and then laughed good-naturedly. “And what with me being a hero now, I might get a few of my own fangirls. Yeah, I might finally get a girlfriend!”

“Unlikely dobe.”

“Shut up Sasuke-teme!” Naruto poked his tongue out at his best friend.

“Hey look, it’s Team 8!” Sakura waved frantically to the running team. “I wonder what they’re doing here…”

Team 8 didn’t stop as they ran passed though. Their faces were set in grim determination, showing the serious side to ninja life. No matter how much fun one could have as ninja, and how happy they were, danger and death were always a possibility. One always had to be prepared.

Kiba was riding atop Akamaru, and Shino and Hinata were running along side him. Ever since Kurenai retired from active service to spend time with her son, Team 8 had been whittled down to three humans and one canine. All three of the humans were ANBU, specialising in infiltration, assassination and information-gathering.

As Team 8 passed Team 7 on the road, they saw as Hinata removed a hair tie from her wrist and swiftly pulled her hair up into a tight bun. She didn’t lose stride or fall behind her team in her movements, and within seconds, they took off into the air, heading south out of the town.

“Must be an important mission.” Sakura concluded. “I keep telling Hinata she’ll have to cut her hair, it’s getting pretty long and could be a hindrance on missions. She says she can’t…something about Hyuga tradition.”

“I think Hinata looks great with long hair, she looks mature and…womanly. She looks like a deadly kunoichi. Her short hair reminds me of when we were young, she’d look too fragile now if she had short hair.” Naruto said, eyes lingering on the direction Team 8 had gone.

“Are you saying I look fragile?” Sakura frowned.

Naruto laughed. “I’d have to be blind and stupid to say that. No, you have a strong face and fierce eyes. But Hinata, she has really delicate features, and her eyes are really soft and sweet. Short hair works for you, and it did for Hinata when she was young, but she looks stunning with long hair.”

“Stunning?” Sakura grinned.

Naruto sputtered and blushed, but found he couldn’t with good conscience retract his comment. It was the truth and to take it back would be an insult to the Hyuga heiress. He tried to laugh off his comment and changed the subject, but the words had been said and were now stored in Sakura’s mind.

It was true, he thought. Long hair did work for Hinata. She looked strong, womanly, deadly and dare he say it…sexy. Over the past three years, all the teens of his acquaintance had grown physically. He and his male friends had grown a few more inches and had become more built. He himself sported strong arms and a six-pack that had been borne due to his constant physical activity. Choji looked extraordinary. The mere sight of him facing against an enemy would send the enemy cowering to his knees. Choji’s large and strong build and long messy hair was an intimidating sight. And if the enemy hadn’t bolted at the sight of him, the Akimichi man would squash them flat. Little did Konoha’s enemies know, that Choji was a warm and loving young man with a heart of gold. Like a big teddy bear.

The girls too had matured. Their figures had truly blossomed and they were becoming readily sought after by the male populace of Konoha. Not to mention they were extremely gifted in their ninja arts. They were strong, reliable, kind and incredibly loyal.

Hinata’s change, Naruto thought, was the most remarkable. He’d always thought her a pleasant looking girl, he’d always liked the colour of her hair, skin and eyes, and her personality was one of comfort and sweetness, but now she was different. Better. The roundness that had been in her face since childhood had disappeared, making way for a slender, oval-shaped face that exuded femininity. And her figure had changed in a similar fashion. Hinata had always been curvy, gifted with a generous bosom and small waist, but as she aged it only solidified into a womanly figure.

Naruto only knew this of her figure because her ANBU uniform was much more form fitting. Clothes that hugged the skin and didn’t ruffle was essential for ANBU, allowing for stealth. He knew because he could see, that her curves had smoothed out, becoming more proportioned for her growing body and adult face. She looked like the deadly assassin she was, and the seductress that she wasn’t.

Her body was one that would be perfect for seducing men before killing them, but Hinata’s nature would not allow her to accept those kinds of missions. And for some reason, Naruto was extremely glad for that.

“Dobe!” Naruto was pulled from his thoughts. “Ramen?”

“Heck yeah!”
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The next evening Team 7 was back in Konoha and had just left the Hokage’s office, having handed in their report. They’d found out that Team 8 had been deployed on an assassination mission. Apparently a rogue ninja was running rampart in another town and killing innocents to obtain food, drink of the alcoholic kind, shelter and just because he could.

Sasuke began heading off in the direction of the Uchiha estate, and Naruto ran after him, promising to help his best friend unpack his belongings. Sakura and Sai soon followed, eager to help where they could.

The spent the evening cleaning up the abandoned estate and filling it with new furniture that Sasuke had recently bought after his ascension to Chuunin. His rise to Jounin and ANBU would take a little longer than the others because he was still on probation.

After they’d had enough of cleaning, they’d lay about in Sasuke’s room talking about the future and the past. As they spoke, Sai began painting something. Before Naruto, Sakura and Sai departed for the evening, Sai presented the painting to Sasuke. It was a portrait of the new Team 7. Sasuke immediately hung it in the front room of the Uchiha estate.
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Three days later Sakura met with Ino, Tenten and the newly returned Hinata at their favourite café for lunch. Knowing better than talking to Hinata about her assassination mission, Sakura instead asked her how the Hyuga clan was faring.

After they had eaten lunch the sat at their table discussing everything from clothes, to work, to boys. And in that department, Sakura had great news.

“Sasuke-kun asked me out!” She giggled giddily. “Two days ago, the four of us,” The others knew immediately she meant Team 7. “Were training, and when Naruto and Sai went of the grab lunch for the four of us, he asked me!”

Her three girlfriends were very happy for, and they toasted to the new couple’s happiness. “So have you kissed him yet?” Ino asked.

“Of course!” Sakura looked shocked that her friend had thought they hadn’t. “And he’s a very good kisser.”

The girls giggled as some of the boys of what was known as Konoha 13 walked passed. Lee, Choji, Naruto and Neji walked over to the girls’ table and Neji instantly went over to Tenten and placed a soft kiss on her head. The boys then pulled up seats to sit with the girls, and Choji took to picking at the food left over on Ino’s place. For a moment Ino felt disgusted at her friend’s antics, before she laughed mirthfully.

“Choji, what would you do if I said that wasn’t my food? What if it was here before I got here?”

Choji looked delighted. “If you haven’t ordered yet, then I can get some food too.”

The group laughed and Sakura looked at her blonde teammate. “Naruto, have you seen Sasuke-kun today?”

Naruto turned his gaze from Hinata, who was blushing lightly. “The Emo-boys? Nah, I haven’t seen either of them. Teme said last night he had business with Baa-chan, and Sai is giving a guest lecture at the Academy.” He turned back to look at Hinata. “How are you Hinata, having a good day?”

She nodded quickly, the blush still burning on her cheeks. “H-Hai Naruto-kun, very good arigato. And you?”

“Couldn’t be better. Great training session, great company,” His eyes lingered on hers. “Yeah, great day.”

“Speaking of which Hinata, did you even see us in that village four days ago? You guys ran right past us.” Sakura said with a smile.

Hinata looked shocked. “Oh no, gomen we didn’t. Wh-where did we run past you?”

“In the main street.” Naruto said. “You ran past us just as you put your hair up.” He lifted a hand and lightly tugged on a strand of her hair. “Did you complete the mission?”

“H-Hai, the target was easy to find. He s-seemed to have forgotten the fundamentals of ninja stealth. H-He was a big man, tall and v-very angry. Shino-kun thinks he was slightly unhinged. I-It was a long and difficult battle, h-he was on some sort of soldier pill that made him incredibly strong as well.”

Naruto frowned. “Were any of you hurt?” He took her hand in his, inspecting it as if he would find a wound there.

“H-Hai, but we’ve been healed.” Her blushed deepened because of his hand on hers. “Shino-kun b-broke his arm, and I g-got speared, but we’re fine.”

Everyone looked shocked. “You got speared?” Sakura asked, leaning forward.

“H-Hai. There were so many demolished buildings, and at o-one stage the target hit me, and I was thrown back and was impaled on s-some sort of pointed debris.” She rubbed her shoulder lightly. “I took out the object and cl-closed off the blood and chakra to my arm. Th-then I had it healed when I g-got back to Konoha.”

Sakura was shocked. “You…you stopped the blood flow to your arm? Hinata, you could have lost your arm doing that! If you didn’t get it healed in time, the damage would have been irreversible!”

Hinata nodded. “I-I know that Sakura-chan. But if I didn’t, I w-would have bled to death in that l-little village…I wouldn’t be here. I h-had to take the risk.”

“Hinata-sama, Neji-san, you’re needed at the Hyuga estate!”

A Hyuga had approached the table and bowed to Hinata before nodding to Neji. The two Hyuga cousins stood.

“Ja ne minna, see you around.” Neji said.

“H-Hai, ja ne. Have a g-good day.”
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Naruto sat in his apartment that evening with Sasuke, Sakura and Sai. The four of them were going to have a movie night and he was preparing the popcorn in his kitchen. As he watched the kernels pop, his mind wandered to Hinata. It had shocked him to learn that she’d almost died on her previous mission, and it hurt him too. He wanted to protect her. Deciding he wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass him by, he vowed to ask her on a date.

He was attracted to her that much he knew. She was a kind person, and she’d always shown him kindness and compassion. She was also interesting, alluring, strong and beautiful too. There was no reason for him not to be attracted to her, and so for him to learn that he’d almost lost her before he’d really gotten to know her, had forced him to wake up.

He couldn’t think that Hinata would be there forever. She was a fantastic person and if the dangerous life of a ninja didn’t take her away from him, some undeserving male would. The thought of another male holding Hinata, touching Hinata made him jealous beyond belief. So he was resolved to ask her out, he had to take a chance.

His stomach suddenly growled in hunger, but the sound reminded him of something else. The Kyuubi. Grinding his teeth, he scolded himself for forgetting about the demon residing within him. Hinata was the Hyuga heiress and an innocent person. To be linked with him would link her to the Kyuubi, tainting her. He knew she knew about his ‘tenant’, she’d heard it from enough people, but now he wanted her to hear it from him so he could truly know her reaction.

“Dickless, is the popped corn ready yet?”
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Naruto entered his usual training ground and was shocked to see Hinata beating at a training post. It had been two days since he’d had the movie night with his team and he’d yet to see Hinata since making his decision about asking her out.

His thoughts were so internalised, it was Hinata that noticed him and spoke first. “N-Naruto-kun?”

He snapped his head up and his eyes cleared, focusing on the young woman before him. “Ohayo Hinata…I-um…how are you?”

Hinata’s expression was one of shyness, concern and happiness as she approached him. “I’m…I’m okay. Naruto-kun, is something wrong? You seem…d-distracted.”

“Hinata…”

She was shocked by the tender tone of his voice and softness of his usually excited eyes. She blushed as he reached up a hand and tugged on a piece of her hair, twirling and playing with it between his fingers. He seemed distracted for a minute longer, just staring at her hair and swallowing nervously.

“N-Naruto-kun?”

“ ‘Nata you’ve heard it from others, both good and bad guys, but now I want you to hear it from me. I have…Hinata, the Kyuubi is sealed inside me.”

Hinata took a deep breath to gather her courage before she gently took his hand from her hair. She studied his hand for a moment, fascinated by his tanned skin and minute scars; before looking up at his suddenly tormented eyes.

“Naruto-kun, I d-don’t think any less of you because of it. I-If anything, I think better of you.” She stepped closer to him, touching his stomach lightly. “You m-must have been so powerful at birth to even survive it. N-Naruto-kun, you’re carrying the strongest demon in the world, and you’re carrying it successfully.”

“Not all the time…”

“Did he escape because you were weak? N-No, he escaped because your will to protect those you care for was so strong. Strong Naruto-kun!” She paused after her outburst of her last words. “You are strong. Th-that’s what I think of you. Y-You are strong and good.”

His eyes lit up and he gave her his truest smile. “Arigato.” He whispered.

His breath on her face made her realise how close they were and she tried to step back, but Naruto’s sudden arms around her waist prevented it. Her face was dusted red and she stuttered his name, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest at his intense gaze.

“There’s something…” He looked down at her hitai-ite and cleared his throat. “Hinata there’s something I want to ask you. Now, I may not be the smartest guy in the village, Shikamaru has that covered; and I may not be the most popular guy in town, that’s the teme’s position; but I am a guy who knows what he wants. And I want you.” Her face flushed a deep red, and both of their eyes’ widened at the double meaning of his words. “I-I m-mean,” He corrected. “I want…I want to be with you Hinata, I want to be your boyfriend…take you out on dates, tell you stories, listen to yours…spend time with you, I want to spend time with you.”

“I’d…N-Naruto-kun, I’d l-love that. In f-fact…” She was intensely inspecting his jacket and running a finger over the fabric. “I…I have…N-Naruto-kun I have…” He watched her with a twinkle in his eye and a smile playing at the corner of his lips. “I have had…f-feelings for you. F-For a long time.”

She slowly looked up to meet his gaze, only to be rewarded with the brightest smile and happiest eyes she’d ever seen. Brighter even, than when Sasuke was finally returned. He pressed his forehead to hers, his grin fading into a serious expression.

“I might…I might kiss you now…”

She bit her bottom lip and flushed. “I d-don’t know how.”

“Then we’ll learn together.”

And learn they did.
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Sakura frowned as she sat at the restaurant table with Sasuke and Sai. Naruto was late. That in itself was not strange, but he was late for food, and that was strange. The two dark-haired boys were conversing quietly, unaware of Sakura’s emotional state. When the familiar blonde-haired young man did eventually show up and sit down at the table, he had a goofy grin on his face.

It had been two weeks since he and Hinata had started going out, and he’d been enjoying every minute. Sakura: not so much. His new relationship was messing with her perfect routine.

“Where have you been baka? You’re 45 minutes late!” She snapped.

Sasuke and Sai stopped talking to watch the exchange. “Sakura, chill. I’m sorry I’m late. I was on a date with Hinata; we had a picnic on top of the Hokage Monument. We got talking, and she eventually fell asleep with her head on my lap. I didn’t want to wake her. I knew you guys would understand.” Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but Sasuke stopped her with a loud cough and a stern look. “So, what’s good here?” Naruto asked, oblivious to the exchange as he studied the menu.
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Three weeks later, Team 7 was in a training ground having a routine training session. Sakura and Sasuke were sitting off to one side as Sai and Naruto worked on a tag-team move. There was laughter, conversation and good times being had by all, until Team 8 appeared.

“Ah gomen guys, we didn’t know this field was taken.” Kiba said, hopping off Akamaru.

“It’s 7.30 on a bright sunny morning, how can the best tracking team not realise someone was here?” Sakura asked coolly.

Her team looked at her with varying degrees of disbelief, though Naruto quickly shook his off as he approached Hinata.

“Like you said, 7.30 in the morning. Not really paying attention.” Kiba said, waving a hand discerningly.

“Ah, it doesn’t matter. Sakura’s just not much of a morning person. But you’re here now and that’s all that matters.” He curled Hinata into his embrace and kissed her on the cheek. “Ohayo ‘Nata, how are this morning?”

“I’m good Naruto-kun, how are y-you?”

“Getting better with each passing moment.” He hugged her tight. “Do you wanna get some breakfast with me?”

“Naruto-baka, we’re in the middle of a training session!”

Everyone looked at Sakura in shock. “No, it’s alright, we’ve done all we can do today. Dobe, you and Hinata-san enjoy your date.” Sasuke put in.

Naruto was glaring coldly at Sakura and an awkward silence fell over the group. Hinata could feel that Naruto’s form had tensed, and she was never one to encourage a bad situation.

“I-It’s okay Naruto-kun. We were actually about to begin a training session-”

“Hinata, go and enjoy your breakfast. We can regroup at noon for our training session.” Shino said calmly.

Hinata nodded in thanks to her team before she and Naruto took off to their breakfast. Sakura watched the couple leave before turning on the remainder of Team 8.

“Aren’t you upset that it’s messed up your day? Them just deciding to go off…” She said, waving her arms in the general direction the new couple had left in.

“No.” Shino said firmly. “Hinata is happy and that is all that matters. We only have to rearrange our schedule slightly. What we were going to do at noon, we will do now instead. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

And with that, the two males and the canine of Team 8 took off in the direction of their respective homes. Sasuke and Sai looked at Sakura strangely, as if trying to figure out who she was.
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“Hey guys, I thought I’d surprise you and bring something totally different. This stuff is called ‘pizza’. Hinata and I found this place earlier this week that makes it. It’s delicious, it has meat and cheese and other stuff.”

A week later, Team 7 sat in Naruto’s apartment for their weekly movie night. Naruto and the other boys seemed to have forgotten about Sakura’s outburst the previous week, and had moved on. Said girl was now leaning against Sasuke on Naruto’s couch as Naruto entered the lounge room with a large pizza, and Sai sat on the floor doodling in a sketchbook. The blonde sat the pizza on the floor beside Sai, and the others stared at it in amazement.

“Impressive dobe, you’re branching out.” Sasuke said, scooping up a slice and handing it to Sakura before taking a slice himself.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Yeah well, Hinata’s a good influence.”

“Is she coming tonight?”

Sakura phrased the question lightly, asking it as carefree as possible, but Sasuke noticed the small furrow in her brow. Naruto was oblivious, shaking his head.

“Nah. I invited her, but she said that movie night was a Team 7 thing, and she didn’t want to get in the way. I told her she could never get in the way…” He trailed off as his thoughts turned to the blue-haired heiress.

“That was nice of her.”

“I wouldn’t have minded.”

“One more wouldn’t make a difference.”

The three answers came at once and although all three were civilised answers, only two showed that they didn’t mind and extra person attending. Sakura’s answer however, made the boys’ turn their head.

“Sakura…do you have a problem with Hinata?” Naruto asked, frown evident on his face.

“No, no I-”

A knock at the front door cut her off and Naruto moved quickly over to it, hoping it would be Hinata. It wasn’t, and instead the person standing there was a Chuunin there to inform Team 7 of a mission.

“Well, looks like movie night’s been cancelled,” Sakura said as she stood up and brushed off her skirt. “Time for us to shine.”

Naruto, ever excited for a mission, did not see the irony of the situation, however Sasuke and Sai did, and shared a look. Sakura seemed to get more worked up over the possibility of Hinata joining their movie nights, than the fact that they got a mission and the movie night was cancelled completely.
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Four days later Naruto had Hinata pressed against a street fence in a passionate kiss. Normally such passionate embraces were kept in privacy, but Naruto had just returned from his mission, which had only been partially successful. There was a loss of life and it had hit Naruto hard, so the moment he saw Hinata as she walked down a side street with her team, he pulled her into a kiss.

Sasuke, Sai, Sakura, Kiba and Shino stood by awkwardly, not looking at the couple or each other. After a short time, Sakura was seriously considering leaving or breaking the couple apart, when they moved away on their own accord, and Naruto’s eyes now had their usual twinkle back. So wrapped up in her own feelings, Sakura did not notice this fact, so the truth that Hinata made Naruto happy never entered her head. It was Hinata that shooed Naruto off, telling him he had to report to Tsunade before free time. Ninja first, always a ninja first.

As Team 7 made their way to the Hokage Tower, the fatality was no longer on the forefront of Naruto’s mind and he was able to enjoy his friends’ company more. Teasing, crude jokes, and the usual bickering between Sakura and Naruto. And she loved it. This was her life, her team and the time they spent together.

As always, after their mission was completed, they celebrated with a trip to Ichiraku Ramen. After their second bowls, Team Gai arrived after an intense training session. The two girls took up talking and the majority of the guys listened in silence as Naruto displayed a rare talent of speaking with food in his mouth, yet able speak effectively without spraying the masticated mess about.

It was when Naruto asked Neji where Hinata was, that Sakura broke off her conversation with Tenten and looked at the blonde, unjustly annoyed. When Neji replied that Hinata was at one of the training grounds, it was not Naruto that left first. Five minutes after receiving the information, Sakura discreetly dismissed herself, giving the excuse of going home to see her family.

Once she left the ramen stand, she didn’t give a façade of heading home, heading straight for the training grounds and focusing on Hinata’s chakra signature to find her friend. She also registered in the back of her mind that Hinata was alone, but she didn’t realise that that made things easier, as she would have said what she was going to say even if Kiba and Shino were there.

Hinata looked up and turned around to face the pink-haired girl as she came into view on the training field. There was no mask of happiness to see her, only resignation.

“Sakura-chan, is there something you want to tell me?” Hinata’s words came slowly and softly, trying to stall the inevitable.

Sakura nodded. “Hinata, you’re my friend…and I need you to understand something. Onegai. Sasuke-kun is back, Team 7 is together again, our friendships’ are like what they were before…we've finally picked up the broken pieces and fixed everything. We’re the most successful team of our generation!”

Hinata nodded. “I…I know that. And you deserve that honour of b-being the best, you’ve all worked so hard…been through so m-much-”

“Exactly!” Sakura cut in. “We’re finally back together!” Now she was shouting. “Team 7…” Her tone softened some as her thoughts lingered on her beloved team. “Team 7 is finally back together, happy, whole…together. And Hinata I don’t…g-gomen but I don’t want you coming between us.”

“B-But-”

“Naruto’s happy, you’ve seen it. So onegai…leave us be.”

Hinata’s pained and shocked face suddenly made Sakura feel some semblance of regret, because she scurried off before Hinata healed enough to even think of a reply. Her friend, one who had advocated strongly for a relationship between her and Naruto was now retracting that idea and undermining their relationship. Not only was Hinata hurt by the request to stay away from Naruto, but also from the fact that it came from someone who she thought was a friend.

No longer in the mood to train, feeling suddenly cold and sluggish, Hinata headed home to curl up and cry on her bed.
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A week on and Sakura was deliriously happy. She and Sasuke had been on several official dates, teamwork had improved between Team 7, and Tsunade had complimented her on her improved bedside manner.

The Golden Years had returned.

All her friends around her were happy too. Sasuke of course, Sai, Ino and even Naruto. He was loud, energetic and enthusiastic about everything, and in her mind, she felt she’d done the right thing the previous week.

Team 7 was walking down the main street of Konoha on a cloudy morning, but even the weather didn’t bring them down. Sai was doodling on a piece of paper, expertly moving around people to avoid bumping into them, Sasuke and Naruto were having a spar of the verbal kind, and Sakura was smiling happily as she watched the faces pass her by (all the while holding onto Sasuke’s arm, of course!).

And it seemed the rest of the town was unaffected by the weather, as the streets were bustling and talk and laughter could be heard all about. But it was the bark of a dog that drew their attention.

Naruto grinned at the sight of Shino and Kiba in the opening of an alley street. As they approached the two humans and one canine, they could see that they were in the middle of some heated words. Well, Kiba was anyway. Shino still spoke in his monotonous, cryptic speech, and all emotion was hidden by his jacket and glasses.

“Hey guys, what’s the fuss about this morning?” Sakura asked, leaning onto Sasuke’s arm.

“Yeah, how was that mission? I heard from Baa-chan that your entire team got called out in the middle of the night a week ago. Did you get back last night?” Naruto asked.

Kiba and Shino’s discussion came to a halt and they looked at Naruto with appraising stares. “What are you on about?” Kiba asked curtly. “We’ve been back for four days. Mission was simple. Get to the town, recover the stolen artwork, return to Konoha. Easy as pie.”

Naruto frowned. “But then…I haven’t seen-or even heard from Hinata! Is she alright?”

“That is the crux of our situation Naruto. We haven’t been in contact with Hinata since our return. We’ve been turned away at the door of the Hyuga estate with every attempt to see her.” Shino replied.

Sakura had stiffened at Sasuke’s arm, and he noticed. But besides him, the others were focused on the situation.

“Maybe if you come Naruto, they’ll let us in, or at least tell us why we can’t see her.” Kiba put in suddenly.

“He can’t!” Sakura interjected. “Naruto,” She tried to defend herself against his glare. “We’re meeting with Kakashi-sensei for a catch-up breakfast. We don’t want to be late.”

“You guys go on without me. I wanna find out what’s wrong with Hinata. Besides, you know that Kakashi-sensei won’t arrive for about two hours.”

With not further explanation, Naruto took off with Kiba, Shino and Akamaru towards the Hyuga estate. Sasuke looked at Sakura with a suspicious gaze and she turned her eyes from him quickly.
--------------------
“I’m sorry guys, but she’s not coming out.” Neji said politely. “She says to tell you arigato for stopping by, but she can’t leave.”

“But why not? We just want to know why!” Naruto said pleadingly.

Neji shook his head. “I can’t say, gomen. She’ll be back out in a few days, so please just wait.”

The young men at the front doors seemed to shrink in disappointment. Turning away slowly and leaving at a trudging place, Neji called back to them.

“Ah…Naruto!” Naruto looked back eagerly. “She’s not ill, if that’s what you’re worried about. She says there are ‘circumstances’, but she won’t tell me what.”

Naruto seemed a little less worried and sad. “At least she’s not sick. Arigato Neji, maybe we’ll see her next week then.”
--------------------
Two weeks later Hinata had left the estate, joining her team from training and outings, but she still hadn’t talked to Naruto. They’d see each other on the street and he’d wave eagerly, but she’d turn her gaze away with a blush, and not one like when she was young. Naruto would slump in disappointment, but beside him, Sakura would gaze somewhat gratefully in Hinata’s direction.

Sakura would never give Naruto the chance to follow Team 8 to talk to Hinata, urging the team to undertake more missions and harder training sessions. By the time Naruto got home in the evening, it was too late to call at Hinata’s house without making some enemies among sleeping Hyuga.

Hinata on the other hand, spent her nights lying away hoping and wishing Naruto would appear in her bedroom by sneaking in through the window, a romantic notion on her part, When she saw Naruto in public, he was always with his team, which meant he was always with Sakura.

The pink-haired girl’s words had hurt and offended her feelings, and even the idea of moving into the same vicinity as her made Hinata feel physically ill. She would catch Naruto’s eye in the street and her stomach would do flips and a smiled tried to surface, but as soon as she registered Sakura standing near by, she would turn away with a red flush of awkwardness.

Being the kind girl she was, she wasn’t going to ruin the friendship between the man she loved and one of his closest friends. No matter what Sakura had said to hurt her, she still had been right on the fact that Naruto was happy with Team 7 together again, and if Hinata were to inform him of Sakura’s actions, he’d surely act in a way that would in the end make him and the rest of his team unhappy.

And in thinking like a ninja, and putting the potential safety of the town first, she wasn’t going to risk the strength of the strongest Jounin team of the generation.

Where Sakura saw happiness, Sasuke and Sai saw sadness. They had witnessed the face Naruto was displaying before: it was his mask. It was the mask he used to wear back in the academy, and the mask he wore after Sasuke first left. Naruto was hiding his pain behind a smile and energy.

But Sasuke wasn’t fooled. His best friend was hollower than before. While he spoke the same amount, and at the same volume and speed as usual, the words he uttered were of nonsense, like he didn’t care what he was saying. His passion for training and ramen had disappeared. He was missing Hinata and trying to fill that void by spending quality time with his team.

Sakura only saw the fact that he was dedicated.

Sai noticed that Naruto didn’t argue. He didn’t snap back after a penis jibe, and he sighed at the moon every night the four of them leisurely bounded about the rooftops of Konoha each night.

Sakura saw this as a sign of maturity and a flash of boredom, so rooftop-bounding was quickly replaced by tracking drills.

When Naruto’s punches became sloppy, Sasuke could take it no longer. “Dobe, go get us lunch. We’re all starved and Teuchi-san always gives you discounts.”

The opportunity for ramen, and the miniscule chance of running into Hinata was too good to pass up, so he left without even cracking wise to the stoic and slightly harsh words of his best friend.

The moment he was gone, Sasuke rounded on Sakura.

“What have you done?” He asked coolly, and she looked up from healing a gash on Sai’s arm. “What have you said or done that has resulted in dobe’s unhappiness?”

She sniffed derisively. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about Sasuke-kun. Naruto is happy. He’s smiling all the time…didn’t you see him just now, he had a grin on his face!” She pointed in the blonde’s direction.

“That’s because there’s a chance he’ll see Hinata-san. Team 8 dines at Ichiraku about this time.” Sai said, inspecting his healed arm.

The expression that crossed Sakura’s face was one of shock and apprehension as she looked from the men before her, to the direction Naruto had headed.

“That’s what I’m talking about Sakura. Why the shock, why the nerves…what did you do?” Sasuke prodded.

“N-Nothing. I didn’t do anything, I only made sure things would be back the way they were.”

“The way they were? What are you talking about Sakura? Back to what, what’s there to return to?”

“B-Before. Before Hinata…before Hinata and Naruto. When we were Team 7 and everything was great. Remember that mission when we were discussing how great everything was, and how things should remain that way? Th-that’s all I did, made sure they stayed that way.”

“I seem to remember,” Sai said with an odd coolness in his voice. “Discussing the fact that change was acceptable and necessary. I also seem to remember a conversation where we all discussed your love of the past-”

“And an unabashed selfishness on your part Sakura.” Sasuke concluded.

“What, what are you talking about? No one said anything about me being selfish!” Sakura snapped, eager to defend herself.

“It was in that phrase when you said that you had always thought that your parents didn’t exist until you were born. That to me suggests, from reading I’ve done, that you feel the world seems to revolve around you and your situation.” Sai said as if quoting from a book.

“Naruto is not happy Sakura. He’s making his pain, like he did when we were in the academy…but you never noticed back them either did you? He’s not focused, he’s not eating he’s not sleeping and he’s not happy. He’s broken Sakura. Whatever you’ve done has affected Naruto very seriously and what we’re left with is broken pieces of a once powerful man.”

“That’s crazy, Naruto’s fine. We’re all spending so much time together, teamwork’s up-”

Sasuke shook his head. “What did you do Sakura?” He asked again.

“I-I talked to Hinata. I explained to her that Team 7 was together again, and I didn’t want her to get in the way. I asked her to leave Naruto alone-”

“You did what?” Shouted a voice that was neither Sasuke nor Sai.

Naruto had reappeared on the training field, shocked and furious. Sakura stood up immediately and edged towards Sasuke, but he offered her no support or protection. Naruto stalked over to her, anger rolling off him in waves.

“N-Naruto? I thought you went to get ramen…” She mumbled.

“I forgot to ask you what kind you wanted.” Naruto said through gritted teeth. “Why Sakura, why did you do it?”

“She…I did it for us, for the team. She was always interrupting, messing up our routine…schedule!” She amended at the last second.

“The team? Sakura, you seemed to be the only one who had a problem with me and Hinata. She is the best thing that ever happened to me, ever! Do you know what she said to me once? She said she was happy with me! No one has ever said that to me before. And why did you do it? Because it messed up our schedule! So what? No one had a problem with us! And we put our careers first, ‘Ninja First, Couple Second’. I don’t get to spend all my time with her like you do with Sasuke!”

“That’s different!”

“How is that different? Because it’s you? What Sakura, do you want me to pine after you for the rest of my life because that’s what I used to do? Or would it make you happier if I was going out with Sai because we’re on the same team and it wouldn’t upset your ‘routine’? I care for Hinata, I care for her a lot, and I’m guessing because she listened to you, she cares for me too! You tried to break us up because you didn’t want things to change! Let me tell you Sakura, just because I have a girlfriend, doesn’t mean I’m going to neglect the team! I love Team 7, and I’d protect you all with my life. But now, Hinata is protected with my life too.”

“Dobe, that’s enough, I think she gets it. Go find Hinata.” Sasuke said, finally supporting Sakura, who seemed to be taking Naruto’s words as verbal blows to the face. “She’s heard you, now it just has to sink in. I think she just got carried away, and she’ll tell you so herself later. But for now…” He nodded in the direction of the Hyuga estate.

Naruto sent one last anger and disappointed glare before nodding to Sasuke and Sai and heading off the fastest he could. Sakura looked up at Sasuke with teary eyes and a weak constitution.

“I was wrong wasn’t I?” She whispered.

“Yes you were, but I do know your actions came from good intentions, you just went about it all wrong. He’ll forgive you, he’s the Dobe after all. Just give him some space, and time to be with Hinata. He’s right, she is the best thing that’s happened to him.” He led her off the training field, nodding a goodbye to Sai. “Just like you fixed me, Hinata will fix him.”