Disclaimer- (I don't see the point in these things considering the website name is fanfiction, which literally means fiction made by fans. However, every time I forget to put one in here someone kindly reminds me to do so, so here it is.) I don't own Naruto.

Warning: No, this is not a Sakura bashing fic..

Yes, it is ItaNaru.

No, Naruto does not have a twig-n-berries.

Yes, I am strange. Normal is boring. Very boring. Normal is for squares who don't occasionally look at the sky and find shapes in the clouds... No offence intended.

No, I do not know if I can/will update regularly. If you have read any of my other stories, you will know exactly what I mean.

Does anybody really read this stuff anyway? I don't. I usually skip all the boring stuff and go straight to the story... Come to think of it, I'm not very good at reviewing either. ^.^' ... Awkward...

I hope you enjoy!

Sakura hums a happy tune as she walks down the quickly darkening street. After the war, Konoha was completely rebuilt in a more modern way with the people in mind.

She hears familiar voices but is content to ignore them. She knows quite a few people thanks to her ever growing reputation in the hospital. She does stop ,however, when a question catches her attention.

"How long have you been in love with Uchiha?" Sakura barley dares to breathe as she waits for an answer.

"I don't know what the heck you're talking about, Shikamaru." So Shikamaru's cornered someone about Sasuke? Is that... Naruto?

"Don't play dumb Naruto. I still remember how the two of you were inseparable back then. If 'that incident' hadn't happened then I'd be willing to bet a years salary that you two would be wearing matching rings." Sakura feels as though she's going to faint. Naruto is in love with Sasuke? They were close when they were younger? What's going on?

"Come on Shikamaru, that was so long ago. I've moved on and so has he, that's why I'm here and he is still running around outside the village." Naruto's voice sounds choked. Like he can barely get the words out. Sakura moves her left hand to cover her mouth. So Naruto really does love Sasuke?

"You're lying to me Naruto. I want the truth, no matter how troublesome it may be. There's always a chance that you'll leave to try and find him, and end up hurt. So I'll ask again. How long have you been in love with Uchiha?" Tears of betrayal start to run silently down Sakura's cheeks. Has Naruto been going after Sasuke this whole time to bring him back for himself? What about his promise to her?

Naruto sighs. "Since the first time I saw him I guess. He saved my life when I was young. It started as friendship, and then developed into a child's crush, after that I began to love him more with each passing day. When he left we kept in touch using letters. I knew everything that was going on while he was with them." Sakura's anger grows. Naruto and Sasuke were sending each other letters the whole time? What the hell? She's the one that tried to stop Sasuke from leaving. She's the one that he thanked before he left. She's the one that begged Naruto and the others to bring Sasuke back.

Sakura clutches the forgotten grocery bag in her hand and turns the corner. She glares down the alley and notices that Shikamaru and Naruto are further away than she thought they were. The wind must have carried their voices to her and helped to mask her presence.

Sakura marches down the alley, and manages to catch the two shinobis' attention. She ignores their surprise and walks straight up to Naruto. He looks up, and his blue eyes widen with surprise and fear. She lifts her left fist and sends it flying in her blonde team-mate's direction. He doesn't dodge, so her knuckles connect squarely with his jaw.

The blonde hits the wall behind him with enough force to crack the brick and leaves a perfect indent of his body. He falls to his knees and gingerly holds the side of his face. "S-Sakura-chan? How much did you hear?" He asks.

She looks down at the blonde with open disgust and betrayal. "Enough to know that you love him. When were you planning on telling me? How could you do that to us? How could you do that to me?"

His blue eyes seem to plead with her. "Please understand Sakura-chan, I couldn't tell you." Sakura's foot flies out. Naruto throws up his arms and manages to block the kick before it can connect with his chest, but it still throws him into the other building. This time he goes straight through the wall. Sakura makes a move to attack him again only to find that she can no longer move.

"Let me go Shikamaru." She hisses at the shadow manipulator.

"No." He responds, sounding slightly annoyed. She glares at him but is forced to look away when he looks at Naruto. The blonde groans and stands slowly, and unsteadily, on his feet. His left arm is hanging awkwardly at his side. Sakura feels a grim satisfaction when she sees him wince and grip his side. One broken arm, and several broken ribs. If how he favors his right leg is anything to go by, then he also sprained his ankle.

"Sakura-chan. I wanted to tell you. I tried to tell you so many times, but I was scared. I didn't know how you would react. Please understand." He pleads. "Because of what I am, what he is, I couldn't tell you without risking our enemies using us to their advantage."

Sakura glares at her team-mate, betrayal like a fresh wound in her chest. "Leave me alone! Just go away... and stay away!" She tells him harshly. His blue eyes widen, and despite the fact that his body has been injured, pain enters his expression for the first time.

"S-Sakura-chan, please." He begs in a shocked whisper.

Sakura ignores the look as the sting of betrayal courses through her again. "I said go. Now do it before I decide to break out of this jutsu." She warns. Naruto's eyes close for a moment. Then he nods. He carefully extracts himself through the hole his body made in the wall. His blue-eyed gaze meets her green one. She silently watches as tears begin to form at the corners of his eyes. Shock sets in. Naruto doesn't cry, not ever.

He tears his gaze away first and silently limps past her. She's so stunned by the revelation that she doesn't even realize that Shikamaru's released his hold on the shadows that bind her in place. Naruto cried when Gaara died, but no one died this time. So why is her team-mate crying? None of her words ever bothered him to this level before, so why now? She looks up and notices the full moon hanging in the sky.

The moon would have been shining on the blonde. She sighs in relief. Her team-mate wasn't crying, she just saw the moons glare in his eyes. Or so she tells herself. Tomorrow she'll find him and apologize for hitting him. Then she would get him to tell her everything. She looks back down and notices that the shadow user is also gone. She smiles slightly. There for a moment she was afraid that she had broken her blonde team-mate.

That had been six years ago. Sakura and most of the other rookies are 24 years old now. She had gone looking for her team-mate the next day like she had planned, but was puzzled to find that he was not anywhere in or around the village. As a last resort she had gone to Tsunade to ask her if she had seen him. Tsunade had immediately sent out search parties for the blonde, fearing that another enemy had come and taken Konoha's sunshine away, but they found nothing.

No traces of the blonde's chakra, scent, or trail were found outside of his apartment. A month later he was declared missing. One year after that, they found his blood soaked jacket on the border between Konoha and Sauna. It was also very dirty and ripped in numerous places. Gaara and Tsunade made a decision a week later to announce the blonde's death.

All five shinobi nations mourned for the blonde hero. Alliances that he formed during the war quickly became strained. Sakura even heard rumors that Tsunade had considered stepping down as Hokage. It never happened. Sasuke returned to the village soon after Naruto's head stone was erected on his grave. He said that he had to see for himself that their blonde team-mate was gone. Sasuke was allowed back into Konoha without punishment due to his help during the war. His declaration to become Hokage to fix the corruptness of the village was also taken into account during his trial.

Sakura looks in the mirror at the diamond that now decorates her forehead, just like her teacher. She regrets the words she said to her friend. She knows that it wasn't his fault, but she was just so hurt to find out that her best friend was in love with the same person she had spent years chasing. She wishes he would have told her sooner.

When Sasuke came back, she made a startling discovery. She really didn't like Sasuke any more. She only sees him as a team-mate now. Nothing more, and nothing less. A single teardrop falls onto her cheek as she remembers the words she threw at Naruto with such spite. "What have I done?" She whispers. It's not the first time she's asked herself this question.

Sakura's alarm finally goes off. She gets out of bed and begins her morning routine. She hates it when she wakes up before her alarm goes off. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts and makes her way to the hospital for another day of work. Once she arrives she jumps right into the carefully controlled chaos.

After healing a small girl's broken leg, an ANBU delivers a message from Tsunade. It seems as though she is wanted in the tower. She quickly cleans up and motions for the ANBU to lead the way.

She follows the ANBU to her teacher's office. She then knocks on the door, and listens for her teacher give her permission to enter. When she hears it, Sakura walks in and closes the door behind her, leaving the ANBU to guard the entrance.

She walks in and stares openly at the sight in front of her. Tsunade is in a heated glaring contest with a small female ANBU. Sakura shivers when realizes that the two of them are leaking killer intent. Another ANBU clears his throat and the two look at him. "I believe that Sakura-san has arrived." He tells them. The two blondes turn to Sakura.

"Right, I'll get straight to the point. I need you, Fox, and Raven to go and find one our teams. They left three weeks prior to today and were supposed to return six days ago. We believe that they may be injured and will require medical attention. Raven and Fox will be your escorts. You leave in an hour. Any questions?" Asks Tsunade. Sakura shakes her head. "Very well, you are dismissed."

The female ANBU ,Raven, grabs the male ANBU ,Fox, and the two of them disappear in a swirl of black feathers. Sakura turns and walks out the way she came in, and goes home to pack.

When she finally does arrive at the gate the two ANBU are already there, waiting patiently. Shining golden hair makes Sakura cringe. Raven is dancing around Fox with her long blonde hair playfully swinging in the wind with every move she makes. Fox throws back his head and laughs quietly at his partner. Sakura stares at the two of them bewilderedly. She has never seen ANBU act so animated. They're usually composed and strict in the way they present themselves.

Sakura walks forward to her temporary team-mates. Raven glances at the girl and immediately stops dancing. Fox looks at Raven and then at Sakura from behind his mask. "Let us leave then." He says. He turns and sets off at a comfortable pace. Sakura eyes the back of Fox's head. He has a pony tail that holds his raven locks at the nape of his neck. She stares at the mans hair. Why does it seem so familiar? She shakes her head and follows her escorts.

After about six hours of non-stop running, the two ANBU finally stop, allowing Sakura time to rest. The three of them set up camp and sit around the smokeless fire. Sakura can't help but to watch her guards. Throughout the evening she noticed that they were always together. They never touch but there is a definite air of intimacy between them that she can't help but envy.

Fox sits down and Raven sits beside him. She stretches out her legs and leans slightly on his shoulder. The man moves his arm and puts it around his partners small form. It takes all of Sakura's skill not to stare at the two of them with an open mouth. Fox chuckles drawing her gaze to his mask. "You have a question." He tells her knowingly.

Sakura feels her face flush at being caught staring. "Well, I do have a few but I know you can't really answer them." She tells him honestly. All ANBU are private people. Only ANBU that are retired, confident enough in their skills, or have nothing to lose give away their identity such as Kakashi has.

The man shrugs. "It's fine, you can ask anything you want. If I can not answer, then I will tell you so." He tells her.

Sakura smiles shyly. "So, uhm, how long have you known each other?" She asks, picking out the first question that comes to mind.

"Since the time she was born. I found her after the Kyuubi attacked and decided to watch over her." He tells her truthfully.

"Are you two... together?" She asks. Then she blushes. What an inappropriate question to ask a stranger!

Fox chuckles. "Do you know what it means when ANBU trade masks?" He asks her.

Sakura is stumped by the question. What does trading masks have to do with being in a relationship? "I don't even have a guess." She admits.

Raven's head falls into Foxs' lap. The man looks down at the small woman in his lap and shifts so that she can rest more comfortably. "According to ANBU tradition when two members trade masks, they are considered unofficially married." He tells her as he plays with Raven's sunshine hair. "My partner and I traded masks long ago. It's a type of symbol inside ANBU, where your identity is the most guarded secret, that you have planned a life after you get out."

The tenderness in his movement tells Sakura just how much he loves the woman sleeping on his lap. She looks at the woman more closely for the first time and notices how small she is. Sakura's willing to bet that the woman would be even shorter than she is, making her seem almost tiny compared to her partner. "Are you married outside ANBU too?" She asks Fox.

The man shakes his head. "No. Common knowledge states that we are both dead. We can not marry untill we reveal this information and word of our survival spreads." His hand pauses for a brief moment before he starts playing with her hair again. His voice is sad, and Sakura is struck by how mature the male is.

"How old are you anyway?" She asks.

"That is a question that I can not answer." He tells her. "Knowing either one of our ages with what you already know could lead you to our identities, and that would be very, very bad if it happens before we are ready."

"Why would that be bad though?" Asks Sakura curiously. "If everyone thinks you are dead, then what about your friends and family? They have to be worried."

Fox shakes his head. "Between the two of us we have one family member. Raven has more friends to worry about, but she had a falling out with her team-mate and hasn't seen any of them since then. Raven grew up with only me, but I wasn't able to stay with her, so her team became her family. When the team-mate learned about the two of us and did not approve, Raven didn't take it very well."

Sakura looks at the ground as guilt threatens to choke her. "I see." She says. Raven's story is similar to Naruto and how Sakura treated her friend. "Good night." She whispers as she lays down.

"Good night Sakura-san." Replies Fox. It takes a long time for Sakura to fall asleep as the new information swirls around in her head. Just who are these two, and why do they seem so familiar?

=D =D =D =D =D =D =D

This is my first ItaNaru, so please forgive the OOCness.

Reviews are welcome.

... It's the little box about three centimeters below the final word... I would know. It's the box I ignore when I hit the button for the next chapter...