Hey everyone, saying it's been awhile would be a massive understatement. 2 1/2 years since the last update, which I realize is way too long. Reality is I just write when I feel passionate about a story and get the urge to do it. Been 7 years since I published this story, back when I was a lot younger, but I still enjoy coming back to it and have a lot more free time on my hands so hopefully the next update will be quicker than 2 1/2 years, shouldn't be hard to do haha. Definitely not giving up on the story though like many have asked about. Hope you all enjoy!

Ino eagerly watched as Naruto pulled out a key from his pocket and placed it into the hole situated slightly above the rusting bronze doorknob. The obvious reason for her eagerness was the prospect of actually being able to see where Naruto lived. She'd spent weeks now hypothesizing what had brought about such a drastic change in personality within her old classmate. She realized that over three years of life would easily change a person. However, some sort of event must've driven such a severe personality and character shift. She was positive that seeing his apartment and its contents would provide her with some answers regarding where he'd been, as well as what had happened to him.

The other reason for her eagerness, one that she would never publicly admit, was that she really didn't want to see more of the district Naruto's apartment was located in. Konoha had begun to return to prosperity in recent years following the Oto/Suna invasion that had taken place during her Chunin exams. The village had obviously taken a financial hit, but it had managed to quickly recover and return to prominence as one of the leading economic powers. Despite the publicity regarding the growth of the economy and trade, tales about the poorer districts struggling were occasionally heard.

Ino rarely visited these parts of the village. After all, her clan district was basically in the opposite direction. Walking through it once again was a strong reminder that not everyone in Konoha was thriving. Rundown or destroyed buildings that had never been repaired following the invasion lined the trash littered gravel streets. Sketchy looking individuals could be seen in allies leaning up against walls, their appearances only becoming more ominous as the sun continued setting. As a shinobi she didn't feel overly threatened by anyone she saw, but she couldn't help but think this wasn't the safest place to be for a civilian woman her age. She couldn't believe that Naruto, especially in his younger days, lived in this area.

The platinum blonde waited as Naruto pushed open the aged and cracked wooden door, which generated a loud squeaking noise. She followed him into the dimly lit apartment and her first observation was that it certainly wasn't very big. It had a sort of living room and kitchen crammed all into one area. Naruto had decided to elegantly decorate the living room with a green couch and a small wooden coffee table, which was completely covered with scrolls. That was it. A refrigerator, sink and cupboards lined the wall directly in front of the entrance. A circular wooden table with two chairs were the only other objects in the kitchen portion of the room. There was another door immediately to the left of the entrance, which she assumed led to his bedroom.

"Well you certainly went all out in decorating this place, huh?"

Joked Ino in a sarcastic tone. She certainly wasn't going to be able learn much about the masked swordsman based off of the room décor.

"More than welcome to leave."

Muttered Naruto, seemingly not giving a care in the world regarding what her opinion of his place was. Ino smirked at the hostile response, clearly having anticipated something of the sort. She watched as he walked up to one of his cupboards and pulled out an instant ramen. As he prepared his extremely simple meal, Ino wandered over to the green couch located in the makeshift living room and took a seat. She immediately leaned over towards the coffee table to look at the scrolls that covered it and that even littered parts of the floor.

"Don't even think about it Ino."

Groaned Naruto, not wanting her to start reading the scrolls he had found in the Kiri cave he inhabited for years.

"Oh come on, if you're not going to talk to me you have to at least give me something to read."

"Actually I don't have to give you anything, you're the one who insisted on coming here."

Ino sighed as silence fell over the room, maybe this wasn't the best idea. Her intrigue hadn't waned at all, however, pestering the reclusive Naruto after what must've been a highly stressful mission likely wouldn't provide her an ideal situation to get information out of him. She inwardly berated herself for not fully thinking through the circumstances earlier.

On the other hand, this could potentially be her last opportunity to actually be in Naruto's apartment. She had had to instigate conversation every time the two had talked since he returned, she couldn't just fold now and give up without even trying. She looked up at Naruto, who was now seated at the wooden table in the kitchen portion of the room.

"Are you going to take off your mask to eat like a normal person, or are you going to continue practicing your psychotic tendencies even with company around?"

Asked Ino with a hint of playfulness in her voice, knowing that the question would likely draw a fiery response from the blonde across from her.

Naruto gritted his teeth underneath his mask. Even in his own apartment as a guest Ino wouldn't stop messing with him. He would typically just slightly tilt up his mask to eat food in order to maintain his practice of keeping the mask on constantly. Tonight wasn't going to be any different, regardless of the fact that the Yamanaka heiress was sitting across from him.

"No I am not going to take it off Ino and if anyone has been a psycho today it's you! You've basically forced your way into my apartment like some type of stalker."

"What can I say Naruto, you've piqued my interest. I tend to give a significant amount of attention towards things that intrigue me."

Stated Ino with a devious smirk as she sauntered over to the kitchen table and proceeded to take a seat across from the jinchuriki. The emphasis she placed on significant made Naruto subtly gulp. Was this what flittering was? He'd never really had a girl show any significant amount of attention towards him from what he could remember. Granted he probably wasn't the best at noticing that stuff before he left the village and his time away in isolation certainly hadn't provided him with any opportunities to improve.

"Well…. well I guess that's really unfortunate for me."

"That depends how you look at it! Yes, I may harass you at times, but I'd bet that there's a large number of guys in the village that would love to have caught my attention. Don't you enjoy having a pretty girl like me around Naruto?"

Naruto hated the slight grin that covered the blonde kunoichi's face. It really sucked that she knew she was attractive. It also sucked that she knew he wasn't comfortable in situations like this. He needed to come up with some sort of rebuttal so that he didn't completely lose the exchange.

"What if I don't think you're pretty?"

Stated Naruto in as monotone a voice that he could muster. Ino sweat dropped at the comment but quickly regained her composure as she stood up slightly and leaned over the table.

"Oh stop it, or else I'm really going to start thinking you're just not interested in women at all. Did your time away just destroy any sexual drive you had towards pretty girls?"

Naruto couldn't be more thankful he had a mask on. He could feel his face starting to heat as Ino leaned over the table towards him, bringing her face and chest into notably closer proximity. Ino made sure to hold her position for quite a few seconds, trying her best to make sure Naruto was as uncomfortable as possible. After around fifteen seconds she broke into loud laughter at what she assumed was Naruto's embarrassment and leaned back into her seat.

Naruto let out a loud sigh before slightly hanging his head in defeat, knowing he wasn't going to be able to claim any sort of victory from this exchange. He could definitely leave Ino, or just about anybody, speechless with his actions and behavior on the battlefield. However, he was quickly learning that verbal exchanges with the platinum blonde were another story. She had the upper hand on him and wasn't intimidate by his persona in the slightest, despite the fact that he'd actually abducted her not too long ago.

"I'm glad you've had your fun, masks definitely not coming off now."

Grunted Naruto as he slightly tilted up his mask, leaving only his lower jaw and mouth visible. Ino pouted and crossed him arms, unhappy about his final decision but clearly still amused about the recent exchange.

A brief silence fell over the room that was only occasionally interrupted by the slurping of ramen noodles. Naruto was initially content with just eating in silence, but couldn't keep one thought from running through his head. What Chiyo had said to him before her death continued to eat away at him. Would allowing somebody in a tad bit improve his situation? Hell, did his situation even need improvement? Did Chiyo see something he didn't? He peered up from his food to see Ino idly looking around the barren apartment.

"You told me you'd talk about what happened with Sakura."

Stated the jinchuriki as he returned his gaze to his ramen in order to resume eating. Ino's eyes shot open while locking back onto the masked blonde across from her. She was nearing the point of departure just a few seconds prior based off of how the visit was going. The fact that he instigated any sort of conversation came as a complete surprise when considering how things had been going.

"Oh… yeah of course! Well I guess I shouldn't necessarily sound excited when talking about losing a friend, huh?"

Asked Ino in a somewhat rhetorical manner.

"Sound as excited as you want, I despise her so it doesn't make a difference to me."

Muttered Naruto though slightly gritted teeth. Ino cringed a bit at the harsh response to her statement, knowing that the relationship with Sakura was a sour point for him. She remembered back to the day in the hospital where he tore the pink haired kunoichi apart. Clearly he held a significant amount of animosity towards the girl for one reason or another. She could easily think of a few potential reasons why.

"Right, well, Sakura and I have had a…. complicated history that I'm sure you know a little about."

"Well I remember the two of you desperately fighting over who would get the honor of touching Sasuke's dick first in the academy."

Responded Naruto, causing the Yamanaka's mouth to drop at the bluntness. Ino began to yell a response but was quickly cut off by Naruto.

"Hey! It was..."

"It was pathetic."

Ino gritted her teeth as her right hand tightened into a fist. He wasn't wrong, but the wording was a little too candid for her liking. Her anger began to dissipate quickly as she looked at Naruto across the table. She assumed that he forgot his mask was slightly tilted up, because she could see a grin beginning to spread across the uncovered portion of his face.

Naruto was happy to have finally gained some sort of reaction from Ino. He had been just getting battered around by her but he'd finally secured some sort of victory. That was until he saw the girl begin to chuckle.

"What?"

"You've just got a really nice smile."

Said Ino with a smirk. She could've swore that she saw a slight hint of color appear on the man's face before he rapidly pulled his mask all the way back down. Of course she was slightly peeved that he had once again eliminated the opportunity to show any sort of facial expression, but she was happy she at least saw him smile for just a brief moment. There was just something that felt right about him having a happy expression on his face.

Naruto had completely forgotten that his mask was tilted upwards. He cursed himself for being too focused on his food and proceeded to push the bowl to the side. He was somewhat interested to hear about how the relationship and eager to avoid any further discussion of removing the mask

"Get back to your story."

Ino knew this was an obvious deflection but went along with it regardless, she felt she'd riled him up enough at this point. Now was the time to get slightly more serious and potentially find out something new about him, depending on where the conversation went.

"Alright, alright, learn to just take a compliment. Back to what I was saying before I was so rudelyinterrupted. We were really close friends before the academy. We really had a falling out once the academy began, as you so eloquently described."

Naruto couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle at Ino's multiple instances of severe sarcasm, causing the Yamanaka heir to smile a bit.

"Things did get slightly better following our Chunin exams, but the tension over Sasuke was still there a bit. I eventually started to move on from him, probably a few months after you left actually. Him intentionally trying to leave nearly killed Shikamaru and Choji. It changed my entire perception of him... I guess I started to really just grow up and realize there's more to people than looks."

Naruto closely watched Ino's demeanor as she recounted Sasuke's actions. She could see a twinge of pain in her face as she talked about her two teammate's near death experience on the retrieval mission.

"I mean; you remember the state you all were in after that mission. You were arguably the worst out of everyone. But that's not the point…"

Ino continued on, clearly trying to change the subject as Naruto briefly zoned out. If only she knew the full extent of the injuries he had suffered. Naruto's life had been saved countless times thanks to his healing factor that came from the fox. However, severe injuries sometimes did leave a degree of scarring, as demonstrated by the darker shaded skin shaped in a jagged circle on the right side of his chest.

"The amount of time Sakura spent with Sauske, even after he tried to leave, began to irk me. What really pissed off myself and our graduating class was how, how nonchalant she was when you…. you left. I know this may be somewhat hard to hear but at first, it didn't really seem to bother her. To be honest, I think she thought you'd return the village in relatively short order."

Naruto briefly clenched his right fist under the table as Ino uncomfortably recounted Sakura's reaction to his departure. Ino had paused her monologue briefly in order to give Naruto some time to process what she said. He definitely wasn't surprised to hear how Sakura handled his departure, but it still angered him to no end.

"But I think it started to change right around the one year anniversary of your departure. No one on any of the teams in our class really wanted to associate with Sasuke or her. Team 8, 9 and 10 all had members on the rescue mission and all did hold a grudge towards Sasuke. Sakura was the only one who'd associate with him. She tried to reach to my team and I on a few occasions in order to connect with Sasuke again, but that was out of the question for Shikamaru and Choji, so I sided with them."

Naruto smirked at the notion of his two ex-teammates being ostracized to an extent. Sasuke knew what it was like to be alone, he was certain it wouldn't bother the Uchiha very much. Sakura was another story, the cold shoulders she received must've been a change of pace for her.

"I think the Sasuke and her started to feel a little guiltier. I can't say for sure but I'd guess so based on her change in rhetoric and demeanor whenever you leaving was brought up. Especially since no one had heard the smallest detail about your whereabouts. Honestly…. everyone thought you died."

An awkward silence fell over the room as Ino's gaze fell to the floor. She'd maintained confidence throughout her story, not being afraid to tell it how it was. Most would argue that blunt honesty might not be the way to go given 'Nuu's' apparent mental instability. However, she'd seen more of him than most and believed he was somewhat stable for the most part. Granted his entire attitude and persona changed in combat, as if he was a completely different person, but all of her conversations one-on-one with him demonstrated he was quite sane. He was sarcastic and blunt in their conversations, so she figured beating around the bush wasn't the way to go with him.

"By the time the year anniversary of you leaving came around, I'd just lost interest in wanting to hang out with her. I was busy training; she was busy training. I was hanging out with my team, she was hanging out with, well, mostly Sasuke I guess."

Ino gave a slight chuckle at the remark, which amused Naruto.

"We were cordial for the most part, but I kind of just moved on from her as a friend and definitely from Sasuke as a crush. The only occasions that I spent extensive time with them was during the occasional mission, such as the one you so kindly kidnapped me during."

"Correction, I think you meant to say saved you during."

Cut in Naruto, gaining a chuckle and an eye roll from the Yamanaka.

"I guess that's one way to look at it Naruto, but this is my story so I'll stick to how I viewed it. That's pretty much it though, not overly eventful, just kind of a steady falling out."

Stated Ino as she placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand. Naruto leaned back in his chair, wondering how best to respond. She was honest with him, revealing personal information to someone she hadn't seen in over three years and hadn't known much prior to that gap.

"Any thoughts, maybe some sort of commentary?"

Quipped Ino, hoping that she could get some sort of dialogue going between the two. Multiple thoughts and scenarios ran through Naruto's head regarding a potential response. Ino sighed and sat backwards into her chair, disappointed about the result of her recap. She thought maybe she'd get something out of Naruto, but she supposed it was slightly naive to think so.

"I almost killed Sakura during the mission I was on."

"Ummm, ok. Like you were getting frustrated with her and considered..."

Ino was abruptly cut off with a clarifying remark by Naruto.

"No, as in I intentionally blew up a cavern with her in it, which nearly crushed her with rubble."

Ino leaned back in her chair, at a slight loss of words. She was hoping for some response from Naruto, but wasn't necessarily excited to hear that he was out in the field trying to kill Konoha shinobi. Sure, she wasn't on good terms with Sakura, but that didn't mean she wanted the girl dead.

"Why would you do that? You… you can't do that Naruto!"

Yelled Ino, hoping to emphasize her displeasure with the revelation. Naruto sighed as he looked straight at the Yamanaka heir through the eye slits in his mask. Why the hell did he decide to respond to her with a statement about nearly killing one of her old friends? It's not like he weighed the pros and cons of the statement, it was just kind of the first thing that came to mind about Sakura that he hadn't yet reveled. The incident was fresh in his mind and just spilled out.

"Yeah, may not have been the best course of action."

Muttered Naruto, causing Ino's mouth to slightly drop at the nonchalant response to such a drastic action.

"Not the best course of action? You think? I'm not a huge Sakura supporter these days either, but I wouldn't actively try and kill her on a mission! If anyone found out you killed her you'd probably be arrested!"

Yelled Ino once more, attempting to illustrate the severity of his actions. Naruto became slightly agitated at the response, particularly her comparison of feelings towards Sakura.

"Hmph, let's not pretend your outlook on Sakura is the same as mine Ino. Maybe I would've been reprimanded if I killed her. Hell, I'm probably going to be reprimanded regardless once she runs back crying to Tsunade. However, in the moment I saw an opportunity to kill an S-ranked criminal and if Sakura was collateral then so be it. She would've done the same probably."

The Yamanaka heiress had forgotten how cold the new Naruto was. It wasn't insanity, it was a calculated decision he made that nearly killed Sakura. The callousness of the strategy was just somewhat eye opening to her. She was taken back at the statement, but made sure to compartmentalize the important information that Naruto relayed. Both Sakura and him had been involved in a fight with an S-ranked criminal. That was an astounding development, one she would potentially get back to after she illustrated how messed up his actions were.

"It's not even being reprimanded; they could execute you! That doesn't concern you at all?"

Rebutted Ino, which to her surprise resulted in Naruto briefly laughing while shaking his head disappointingly. Ino's facial expression changed to one of confusion as Naruto pulled his right arm back through the hole for his appendage on his sleeveless black shirt. He proceeded to lift up his shirt, partially revealing the toned and slightly skinny frame the jinchuriki had. Ino looked away slightly, not wanting to appear as if she was eyeing over the man in front of her. Of course she was already familiar with his physique after treating his injuries following the battle against a few Kumo shinobi not long ago. She refocused her gaze onto the Kiri hunter nin mask while Naruto slowly pointed his left hand that was only slightly visible outside his sling towards the giant scar she had previously seen on the right side of his chest.

"You really think I'll be executed for blowing up a cavern that could've maybe killed Sakura? One of my ex-teammates shoved his entire fist through my chest and he's currently considered a valuable Konoha shinobi! How do you explain that Ino, HOW!"

Yelled Naruto, leaving Ino completely speechless as he pulled his shirt back down. She had been curious what that scar was since the last time she healed him. A chidori through the chest would certainly explain it. None of the Konoha 12 knew the details of Naruto and Sasuke's fight. The only information they heard was that Sasuke had narrowly won, only to be knocked out by Kakashi a few minutes afterwards and returned to the village. The location of the chidori strike would've killed 99% of shinobi in the world. She assumed his jinchuriki healing ability was the only reason he survived.

"I…I don't know. I didn't know he…"

Ino trailed off while being at a loss for words. For Naruto, it honestly felt good to let out some pent up emotion. He had wanted to vent about the lack of repercussions for Sauske, the apparent absolute forgiveness he received. Granted he had been away over three years, but it blew his mind that the Uchiha survivor had seemingly gotten away with endangering the lives of multiple Konoha shinobi and attempting to abandon he village.

"Well now you know, now you know Sasuke Uchiha shoved a chidori through his teammate's chest in an active attempt to kill him. You'd think that Sakura would show a little appreciation for laying my life on the line while she sat at home, merely hoping that the boy she's been infatuated with returns, right? Nope, not a care in the world for anyone else involved, as long as she gets what she wants. Both of them are worthless scum!"

Ranted Naruto as Ino just looked down at the table. She didn't know what to say, or what Naruto needed right now, but she could feel the anger radiating off of his fully tensed body. The blonde jinchuriki halted his tirade, letting out a few deep breathes in order to calm down. He didn't think he'd scarred the girl. If his past actions that she'd witnessed hadn't done that, an emotional rant wouldn't do it. It was clear though that she didn't know how to suitably respond after what he'd said.

"That kinda just all spilled out… sorry for yelling all of that at you. You didn't have anything to do with it."

"No, no not at all. I really don't mind. Like I mentioned, none of us had any idea your fight with Sasuke went that far. Pretty happy you decided to share it with me."

Said Ino while sadly smiling. Naruto was glad she was understanding, but was getting somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of sharing any other sentiments. Ino had heard enough and he still believed that getting close with individuals was potentially dangerous despite what Chiyo said to him. He haddone more than enough conversing and sharing for today. It was time to start wrapping this up.

"Yeah, well no one else in the village is insane enough to talk with me, let alone force their way into my apartment. Figured I'd reward you for being as mentally unstable as me by telling you something personal."

Ino briefly glared at Naruto for his insult, but clearly noticed his attempt to steer the conversation away from his personal life and emotions. She considered trying to dig for more details, but realized she got way more out of the Uzumaki than she had thought she would.

"I'm really glad you followed up your 'reward' by insulting me Naruto, such a gentleman. You've proven once again that chivalry isn't dead."

Sarcastically groaned the Yamanaka.

"Your backhanded compliments mean so much to me. Thank you for that Ino. Unfortunately, it is getting late and I'm exhausted so I may have to kick you out before you praise me even further."

Ino could feel that the conversation would be coming to a close so she wasn't surprised that Naruto would ask her to leave. The sun had set and it was getting late. She was sure there was plenty of validity to the idea that he was tired after a mission that he revealed involved fighting an S-ranked criminal. However, her intrigue in the Uzumaki had only increased after tonight and she was eager to lock in another opportunity to interact with the blonde. Ideally it would be Sooner rather than later.

"Fine, I'll let you force me out Naruto. Just going to mention that you're one of maybe 2% of the single population of Konoha that would be kicking me out of their apartment this late at night. You sure you don't want me to maybe entertain you a little bit more tonight?"

Quipped Ino as she stood up from her and walked over to Naruto, the same devious smirk from early in the night sitting on her face. It was Naruto's turn to be left speechless at Ino's apparent suggestion as she proceeded to place her hand on his right shoulder. He slightly tilted his head to look up at her, her light blue eyes mischievously peering at him.

"Well you not responding isn't necessarily a no, so I guess that means you're still somewhat into women! Good to know Naruto, very good to know."

Naruto slightly gulped while Ino removed her hand form his shoulder.

"I'll get out of your hair though, I know you actually are exhausted. You mentioned fighting an S-ranked criminal so that definitely adds up. I'll need to be hearing more about that next time."

"Next time?"

Questioned Naruto, unsure of whether or not he was ready to commit to another one of these, get-togethers? He really wasn't sure what it was, probably more of an information gathering session for Ino that had the added bonus of getting to mess with him. He also inwardly cursed that he had unintentionally revealed that he fought an S-ranked criminal on his past mission. She really was good at getting him to reveal things he wasn't trying to. He knew he hadn't revealed that Sakura knew his identity now, but he wasn't ready to discuss that matter yet. He needed to think through the potential effects and consequences of her knowing for himself first.

"Oh yes, next time. Actually here's an idea! We're going to spar, and the loser has to buy the other dinner. You're arms clearly pretty messed up so let's do it, maybe next week? Perfect, now I know where you live so I'll be harassing you late next week about it! Thanks for having me and I'll see you soon!"

Yelled Ino as she hustled towards the door and exited before Naruto even had the opportunity to offer any sort of refusal. The Yamanaka had essentially had an entire scheduling conversation with herself in the span of a minute. He hung his head in defeat as he figured there was little chance he'd be getting out of this with her. For some reason though, he found himself not overly concerned with it. He supposed there were significantly worse things to do than spar with the gorgeous heir to the Yamanaka clan.

He also had much more pressing matters to consider. Such as whether or not Sakura would tell Tsunade how he almost killed her, he figured she would. The greater concern he faced was who Sakura was going to reveal his identity to now that she knew who he was.

These were the primary thoughts plaguing his mind as he shut off the lights to his apartment and attempted to drift off to sleep.

0o0

Team 10 and Team 7 had stuck around Suna for three days to ensure that Gaara's return to power went smoothly. He received a hero's welcome after entering the village for the first time since his capture and deservingly so. Sakura had heard about the lengths he went to in order to protect the large majority of the Suna populace from another Akatsuki member. This one was named Deidara, an ex-Iwa shinobi who specialized in using explosive clay. Kakashi and Sasuke had engaged the man while she was involved in her fight against Sasori.

They ran into no problems at all while in Suna and utilized the time in the village to rest up before traveling back to Konoha. The entire village was extremely appreciative of their efforts and the prospect of an alliance forming between the two nations seemed like a surefire thing.

Sakura had yet to tell anyone about the details involved in her fight against Sasori. She typically would have told Sasuke and Kakashi any detail she deemed significant following a mission. Part of a shinobi's job was to relay information back to superiors so they could make informed decisions for the village going forward. However, Sakura had managed to put this off using a bevy of excuses, largely revolving around exhaustion and traumatization.

Sasuke didn't seem to care to that large an extent. He was clearly more preoccupied with his most recent engagement with his brother Itachi. Kakashi on the other hand was clearly suspicious of her and she knew she'd have to recount the mission details to Tsunade. She wasn't even sure who knew that the masked swordsman was Naruto, or if anyone knew at all.

Sakura had a million thoughts running through her head. Hell, she had an additional million questions running through her head on top of that. Despite being ordered to use the time in Suna to rest, she had gotten next to no sleep as she thought about this new Naruto and what she should do with the knowledge of his identity. As the days passed one thing began to become clear to her. She needed to tell Sasuke. Not only did he deserve to know, but if it came out that she knew of Naruto's identity before him and didn't let him know, all the progress she had made in her relationship with the last Uchiha would be destroyed.

So on the fourth day Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura prepared to depart from Suna. Kakashi was running a little late as he had to finalize a few political details at the Kazekage's office. That left Sasuke and Sakura near the exit to the village alone with nobody else in close proximity. Sakura didn't fully know how best break what she had to say to Sasuke so she figured she should just come straight out with it.

"Sasuke, I need to tell you something."

PLEASE REVIEW!