So I just watched Naruto: Road to Ninja 3 days ago...

Sasuke and Sakura have a philosophical discussion.

Chapter 5

The Other Side Of the Coin

To Sasuke's pleasant surprise and dissapointment, she had noticed Sasuke sitting at the courtyard's ledge, facing the body of water.

This was the same place where we did introductions as Team 7, Sakura observed idly. Looking at the ground, she struggled to decide if she should try to talk to him, or just wait until tomorrow. Though she wouldn't tell Naruto...She was worried. She remembered when she found Sasuke ready to kill the Karin girl. And how he was ready to dispose of her just the same. Frankly, she didn't know if it was in her best interest to try to talk to him alone.

"Get a hold of yourself, Sakura," she whispered to herself. She was a ninja, a Chunnin at that! Being a scared little girl was something she'd grown out of before the second Chunnin exams.

When Sakura had reached Sasuke, where she could see his face, he glanced at her without moving his head, but did not speak.

"Sasuke." She initiated the conversation. Inexplicably, a pained expression flashed across Sasuke's face. But it wasn't there long enough for her to guess what it was.

"We're all supposed to meet tomorrow," Sasuke said emotionlessly. It sounded like a dismissal. But she wouldn't be caving in. Not when she had the chance to talk to him civilly.

"Sasuke, while we're all here, don't you think it's best if we all just talked? At least to better understand each other?"

Sasuke hadn't so much as flinched since she'd came to him, but he did close his eyes meditatively.

"Why bother?"

Sakura didn't think she had an answer that would satisfy him.

"I tried to murder you," the missing-nin said with no inflection in his voice. He stated it as fact, with no emotion behind it. "Even I know that i'm past getting through to."

But don't you see? You're talking to someone about it. That's progress, The medic-nin reflected. Sakura sat down next to him and he didn't move or react.

"You know, a shinobi once told me," she started, studying the waves from their position. "'Give up on me giving up.' Naruto said that," she credited, not looking away from the view of the waves. Sasuke glanced at her again and back at the ocean before sighing tiredly.

"I promised Itachi after he died, that I would avenge him. To restore my clan's honor," Sasuke retorted, balling one of his fists instinctively. Even now, the argument felt weak to him somehow, but he didn't know why.

"Tell me something. Is your brother the same as he was in our world?"

"Yes," Sasuke muttered in reply. Sasuke could feel that she was hitting on the one detail that he was trying to figure out. Why was his conviction wavering?

"Have you talked to Itachi about it? Your experiences in the other world?"

Sakura hit the nail right on the head. But somehow, Sasuke already knew that was the missing detail.

Thing was, he did not know if Itachi would approve. And he had the niggling feeling that he wouldn't.

"I don't want to know his answer," Sasuke said after a pause. Sakura looked at him sympathetically before deciding she should make her leave.

"I...I don't want to overstay my welcome...so see you tomorrow, Sasuke," she said, standing up quickly.

"Sakura, wait."

She froze, turning her head in his direction.

"I...Thank you," Sasuke settled on saying, turning his head back to the seascape. Sakura half-smiled before making her way to Naruto's house.

"Well, at least the Ramen here is good as usual!" Naruto commented appreciatively, his hands clapped together with the chopsticks wedged in between his palms.

"That's peculiar, you don't usually want my famous Kamaboko in your dishes, it usually has the bamboo condiment," the chef noted with a kind laugh.

"Always had a soft spot for fish!" Naruto said truthfully, and he hoped it wasn't technically a lie, seeing as how the Naruto here, or Menma liked bamboo for some reason. That stuff is disgusting!

"Ha! Well enjoy the food! I have a surplus of some more of the fish if you want to take any home!"

Naruto almost choked on his food. Hiding the pain in his throat, Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

Crap! I forgot Ma was cooking food today! But I already ordered and have this ramen in front of me! Oh well, can't be discourteous.

So Naruto ate his food heartily, savoring the tasty (but not quite nutritious) noodle dish.

And then came the hammer fist to the top of his head.

His face was propelled into his noodle dish, and Naruto could sense a presence towering over him.

"Menma! I've decided you're taking me to dinner tonight!"

Naruto was covering his face in pain from the heat of the dish and after wiping his face, he regarded this reverse Hinata tiredly.

"Oi...I just ate half of this already! I'm already getting full!" Naruto complained with an air of someone who was greatly offended. Hinata simply glared with her seemingly pupil-less eyes.

"That sounds very much like a personal problem! Now lets go. My parents don't know where i'm at right now!"

Naruto curled his lip comically and narrowed his eyes to slits.

"Sounds very much like a personal problem!" Naruto parroted with an exaggerated pose. The Hyuga's eye and lip twitched in annoyance. Rearing her hand back, she palm struck him in the chest, Naruto's body flying to the wall with a pained yelp.

"Ow..." Naruto groaned, his chest and back stinging from both the strike and the collision with the wall.

"As I was saying," The Hyuga said arrogantly. "Let's go," she commanded, hefting him up and putting him in a neck hold, all but dragging him out of the restaurant, to the amusement of the chef.

Sakura had reached the commercial district, which was adjacent to Naruto's family's house. She could even see the general shape of the home across the road, past a row of restaurants.

"Naruto did tell me that his mom makes some mean seafood," Sakura said to herself in response to her now grumbling stomach. With food in mind, she quickened her steps in hopes of getting to the house before the night got any more darker.

Turning a corner, she saw Naruto...

being dragged across the road by a neck hold, by none other than Hinata. The Hyuga heiress was Stomping across the road, with Naruto who looked half-dazed. The dark haired girl noticed Sakura's surprised expression and came to a stop in front of her.

"I'm watching you, flat chest!" Hinata growled before continuing down the road towards a restayrant along with Naruto, who still looked out of it.

Sakura sighed with depressed vigor. She really hoped they didn't have to stay here too long.

"So what do you think that is?" Kakashi whispered towards Gai, who was seated on a branch across from the copy-ninja.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't look good," Gai uttered in reply.

Down at the ground a decent distance from them, was a large bunker made of wood. From the architecture they could tell that it was made via Jutsu.

"This smells of suspicion. There are no wood elementals in Konoha, since..." Kakashi couldn't finish his statement. He almost hoped it wasn't who he thought it was. Once the guy became a missing-nin...well, it was bad news.

"We don't know for sure, yet. Right now, we should report this to the Hokage," Gai noted, jumping to his feet with perfect balance.

"Right!" Kakashi concurred, already jumping to another tree in the direction of Konoha.

"Aye, aye, aye, Kakashi! Slow down, will you! I'm not as young as I used to be!" Gai complained hopelessly, complaining of his fears of getting arthritis soon.