Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Title: Sakuwa Hawuno

Summary: Sakura gets hurt during a mission to retrieve Sasuke, and she turns chibi! With the girls gone, it's up to the Konoha men to babysit her. What happens when she gets 'kidnapped' by Akatsuki, and that only Orochimaru knows the cure to save her? Read to find out. SakuraxMulti

I wanted to make af funner, happier story. The other ones I'm currently working on have quite a lot of drama... And tragedy. Sort of. Plus I've got major writer's block for the other ones. Ack.

"Naruto, let's get out of here!" Sakura screamed. The walls were starting to crack and crumble, and since the building was underground, everything would collapse on them. Sakura ran towards the exit, hopping over some corpses of Orochimaru's henchmen as she did so. She was breathing heavily- her chakra was depleted and she had to rely on her own strength to continue sprinting. "Hurry up, we don't have much time!"

"I know, I know! You're not the one carrying Sasuke, Sakura-chan!" Naruto replied, grunting as he caught up to Sakura. The two ran towards the exit, towards Sai and Kakashi who were waiting quite worriedly for them. Naruto, carrying an unconscious Sasuke on his back, ran up ahead of Sakura, who was slightly limping from one of her injuries. She tried sprinting faster, but her ankle was burning with pain.

Suddenly the front of the exit collapsed, trapping the three inside. "Crap, we have to find another way out!" Naruto exclaimed, turning into the room beside him. There had to be another way out of the underground building. The place was still shaking as the two ran across a room. As Sakura turned a sharp corner, she tripped, causing her to stumble and fall straight into a shelf. A couple of jars hit the floor, shattering into pieces and spilling its contents all over the floor. Her arm hit a glass container filled with some strange purple liquid, breaking it immediately. The sharp pieces of glass had cut into her skin, and some of the chemical seeped into her body.

She immediately recomposed herself and continued running towards Naruto who was still up ahead of her. She yanked out the glass shards with a grunt of pain, deciding she would have to deal with a possible infection later, when her chakra had been restored. They ran through a corridor or two, making many turns until they finally saw light coming out at the other end. The exit! Naruto and Sakura, with a last burst of energy, ran towards it, and into the field were Sai sat, waiting. It was a miracle everything hadn't collapsed and trapped them under there.

"We made it!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning. He repositioned Sasuke on his back to make it a little more comfortable and easier to travel in. It was surprising how strong the tranquilizer was, considering Sasuke was still knocked out after one prick of a needle, courtesy of Sakura. It had been difficult enough getting to him, so it was only fair that it would be easy bringing him back, right?

They finally had Sasuke back. The last missing member of team seven. Naruto grinned at the thought. They were all finally together again. Sakura, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke. It was like the old days, except now there was a new member to the team. Sai. He was still having social issues of course, and although Naruto always became irritated whenever Sai would comment on something about him, he was still considered a valued member of their team. The comments Sai would make- they were never compliments, only things like 'Hey dickless', which annoyed Naruto to no end.

"Yeah! We did it!" Sakura exclaimed. She threw a fist in the air but suddenly she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her. She wanted to rejoice at the moment, but she had been fighting, healing, and running for so long, and she simply didn't have as much chakra as Naruto posessed. She was much more tired than he was at the moment, and she started to feel it. "...We have... We have... Sasuke-kun!" She muttered, before collapsing. Kakashi caught her before she hit the ground, tsking and stating that she had pushed herself way too hard.

They immediately brought the two to the Konoha hospital, where they were both quickly tended to. They were healing well, and Sasuke had already woken up after a couple of days. He was given some time to rest a bit, and Naruto visited him quite a lot, but a week after he was taken down to the council, where they had almost sentenced him to death if it weren't for a blonde, loud-mouthed ninja who begged and pleaded them to give Sasuke another chance.

The council knew about Naruto's determination, as well as his promise to Sakura. They knew that if Sasuke was sentenced to death, he would gladly run away with him and become a missing-nin. That would make him one of the biggest threats to Konoha. They had no choice- they couldn't let Naruto, container of the nine-tailed fox fall into the hands of Akatsuki or anybody, so they agreed reluctantly. Naruto had been training for so long in the hopes of bringing Sasuke back that it would be such a waste of his efforts to kill Sasuke, anyways.

The council decided he would give Sasuke a second chance. He was to be watched closely for three years, by ANBU of course. By the end of those three years, he would be judged again by his behaviour to see if he was able to be trusted by himself. He was not allowed to use ninjutsu nor genjutsu until the three years were up, but he was allowed limited taijutsu after six months of probation. Sasuke stayed quiet throughout the entire thing unless he was talked to. His answers sounded sincere, and it seemed that he had finally given up on killing his brother for revenge.

It had taken a lot for Sasuke to change his mind about killing his brother. When Naruto and Sakura had come barging into his room, he had been completely surprised. Sakura disabled his chakra points, and the two literally dragged him out, and he realized that they had killed basically everyone in the underground base- Kabuto and Orochimaru were nowhere to be found, though. He was unwilling to leave at first, but both Sakura and Naruto had pleaded him, and gave as many reasons why he should come. They told him that revenge wouldn't make him feel any better, and that he might as well come back to Konoha and be happy. Most of the reasons had made sense, he admitted silently, but he had been too stubborn to go. Sakura then bowed her head, muttering an apology, and before he could say anything, she had pricked his neck with a needle.

Then there was the hospital visits by Naruto. They argued a lot, but in the end of each one, Naruto would declare how happy he was that Sasuke was back. He was still shocked that they still wanted him back, after nearly killing them at their last visit. He had said some hateful words, too, but deep inside he knew he didn't truly believe in it. He had been trying to, but he failed miserably. Sasuke felt a little guilty as Naruto explained what happened to Sakura after he left. He was also secretly proud of her, now that she had finally been able to become the strong kunoichi she always wanted to be.

Sakura had stayed asleep throughout the entire time he was being judged. No matter how hard everybody tried, she would not wake up. Naruto knew something was wrong when she was still unconscious after a couple of weeks. "Tsunada-baachan, you need to heal Sakura! She's been asleep for two weeks - she should be awake by now!" Naruto exclaimed, as he barged in the Hokage's office. He was worried sick about the girl. Every day he'd visit the hospital, hoping to see her awake and ecstatic. She should be- they had finally brought back Sasuke. She should've been celebrating their success instead of lying in a hospital bed all alone.

"Two weeks?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. When Kakashi had carried Sakura in the hospital, Tsunade had checked her condition, and found that there wasn't anything to worry about. Tsunade had already healed her ankle but Sakura was still extremely exhausted from pushing herself too hard when she last checked. After a long rest, her energy and chakra should've have been restored completely. Tsunade hadn't detected anything else other than that. "I'm going to have to run some tests on her. She should've woken up a long time ago."

Tsunade was worried about her apprentice- or, well, ex-apprentice. The girl had progressed amazingly. She had raw talent, and with her determination, she was able to accomplish basically anything. It wasn't any surprise to Tsunade that she had became an equal to her. She looked at the piles of paper on her desk, and decided that she'd just have to worry about that later. Sakura definitely came before the paper-work.

Naruto followed the Hokage to the hospital, where she checked her condition thoroughly a second time. There didn't seem to be a problem with her besides the lack of eating, but that was something Sakura would be able to fix easily. She took a sample of her blood, studying it carefully. It was hard to concentrate, considering Naruto was always looming over her shoulder, asking a million questions at once. She finally got him to shut up after she threatened to kick him out of the room.

"Naruto, did Sakura get poisoned?" Tsunade asked, studying Sakura's blood cells carefully. There were small traces of some kind of chemical that had been mutating Sakura's blood. There was barely any of it, which was how she hadn't detected it during her first check-up. Naruto shook his head, saying that he didn't remember seeing her get poisoned at all. They had been at different parts of the base, fighting. He wasn't able to keep an eye on her the entire time.

Tsunade sighed, and she tried seperating whatever had seeped into her body away from her blood, but she found after numerous tries that she couldn't. "Shit." She muttered under her breath. Naruto heard her and started panicking. If she died, he wouldn't know what to do. She had been there with him every step of the way, and it would not be fair if he lost her just as he had gotten Sasuke back.

"What happened?! Is Sakura going to die? She can't die, we just got Sasuke back! I fulfilled my promise to her! You have to fix her, Tsunade-baachan. You can't let her die! You have to-"

"Shut up, Naruto! I'm trying, okay? It's difficult to concentrate with you yelling at me all the time!" Tsunade exclaimed, causing Naruto to immediately shut up. Tsunade looked in closer, and noticed that although the 'poison' had spread through her blood stream, Sakura's body was already trying to get rid of it- but very slowly. "She'll be better in a few months." Tsunade concluded, immediately relieved. She took a sample of the blood, carefully examining its properties. It was an unknown substance- probably one of Orochimaru's experiments.

"Let's just give her some rest. Sakura is strong. Everybody knows that. She'll wake up eventually."

"Sakura-chan? Is that really you?" Naruto exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the small four year old girl. She had the same pretty green eyes as Sakura. And the same bubblegum pink hair as Sakura. She looked exactly like her. He tried pinching himself, rubbing his eyes as he continued staring at her. "Kai!" He exclaimed- maybe it was a genjutsu. When nothing happened, he tried again, and again, and again. "C'mon, now. This isn't funny." He said, whining. He had always been awful with genjutsu, and he was already tired of trying to dispel the 'genjustu' Sakura had cast upon him. The girl stared at him with wide eyes.

"Who awh you?" She asked, in a babyish accent. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes and he ran out of the room, heading towards the Hokage's tower. She had to see this. He left Sakura sitting there miserably. She couldn't recall anything that happened to her, or anybody at all, except for the fact she knew how to speak and that her name was Sakura Haruno. She carefully hopped off the bed, and headed out of the room in nothing but an oversized hospital gown.

She wandered around the halls, peeking in numerous rooms. When she found a nice looking lady, she approached her, tugging her skirt lightly. "Excuse me," Sakura started. The nurse looked down at her and Sakura continued to speak. "I'm wost. Can you hewp me find my way?" She asked. The nurse nodded her head, saying that she would try her best. She scooped up little Sakura in her arms and headed down to the main desk.

She set Sakura down on the counter, and opened a drawer filled with files. "May I have your name?" The nurse asked, politely. Sakura smiled at her- the nurse's heart just melted. She was simply too adorable. She had bright emerald green eyes, her cheeks were round and chubby, and when she smiled, dimples appeared. Sakura stated her name, her voice high and babyish. The nurse just wanted to squeeze her, but she knew better.

"Sakuwa?" The nurse exclaimed, looking up the name. She new the little girl really meant 'Sakura' but she wanted to tease her a little bit. Toddlers always got worked up over the smallest thing, and needless to say, it was amusing and very cute.

"No, no, no! It's Sa-ku-wa!" Sakura exclaimed, pouting. The nurse laughed, patting Sakura's head lightly. She had bright pink hair, just like Tsunade's old apprentice. Her name was Sakura, also. The nurse thought for a moment, and came the conclusion that it must have been a coincidence. The Hokage's apprentice was much older than four, that was for sure.

"I know, I know." The nurse, replied, smiling at the girl. Sakura immediately stopped pouting and sat there, waiting patiently for the nice lady to tell her where to go. "Sakura, eh? What's your last name?"

"There she is!" Naruto exclaimed, barging in through the doors. Tsunade was behind him, obviously annoyed. She hadn't believed his story one bit, but after his continued nagging, she decided she had enough and would go check Sakura out herself. When she laid eyes on the small girl sitting on the desk, she inhaled sharply. "See? I told you!" Naruto said, sounding exasperated. Sakura watched them, a little scared. She recognized the blonde boy from earlier, but he had been mean and left without saying his name.

"Thanks for taking care of her, I will handle this from here on." Tsunade said to the nurse. She bowed, saying thanks before leaving to attend to some of her other patients. The nurse figured that since Tsunade-sama was the Hokage, she could handle a small little girl. Tsunade looked at Sakura, who was trying to get down from the desk. She sighed, scooping her up gently. "What happened to her, Naruto?" She asked.

"I don't know! I came to visit this morning and she was like this!" Naruto exclaimed defensively, his hands raised beside his head. Tsunade thought back to when she had examined her the second time. It must've been the strange chemical. Orochimaru must've made it, looking for a way to achieve immortality. She examined Sakura, who was wriggling in her grasp. Orochimaru obviously needed to change a few things. "Will she be alright?" Naruto asked, worried now.

"Yeah, in a few months. This is probably some... Side effect." Tsunade exclaimed, smoothening down Sakura's hair. Sakura yawned, she was so tired all of a sudden. She didn't know it was Tsunade who was causing her to be sleepy. She was the greatest medic, causing somebody to fall asleep was a piece of cake to her. It only took a small amount of chakra and... "Somebody's going to have to take care of her." Tsunade suddenly declared, watching as Sakura slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Naruto suggested asking the girls if they could take care of her, but Tsunade shook her head. "I sent all three of them on a mission recently, so they won't be back in a few weeks."

"I'll take care of her then!" Naruto suggested, grinning widely. Tsunade rose an eyebrow, not sure if she could fully trust the blonde kid with such a great responsibility. This was her ex-apprentice. Tsunade was basically another mother to Sakura, especially when her parents had died on a mission, but she knew she didn't have the time nor the proper attention span to watch over a toddler. Not with all the duties as Hokage. She sighed, Naruto didn't know how much trouble he was going to be in if Sakura got hurt in any way. "I'm good with kids, I mean, Konohamaru idolizes me! That's gotta say something about me."

Tsunade sighed, gently handing the girl over to Naruto. She couldn't let Naruto take care of her for the few months she was in that state. She decided that it would be best to have numerous people take care of her. Preferably people she knew quite well. Tsunade thought for a moment, trying to come up with names of people that would best suit the job. It would be a few days each, and they'd have to take turns.

The next day, she told Naruto to call down everybody she had listed on a piece of paper. Naruto did as was told, and soon everybody on that list was standing in her office. Neji, Lee, Kiba, Shino, Sai, and Shikamaru. "I have an important mission for the seven of you." Tsunade started, looking at each of the boys carefully. They were all capable ninjas- amazing fighters, great thinkers. But did they have what it took to take care of little Sakura?

Sakura had stayed with Tsunade overnight, and was currently sitting on her desk, doodling on some papers. She looked up at the guys for a moment, before returning to her 'artwork'. "Hey, she looks like..." Lee suddenly exclaimed, pointing at her, but then he shook his head. "No, it can't be." Tsunade sighed, before tapping the girl on her shoulder, asking her to say her name.

"My name is Sakuwa Hawuno." She said, smiling cutely at the six boys. They all gaped- there was no possible way. They had a bunch of questions running through their mind but before they could ask even one, Tsunade spoke up again. She explained about the mission, and the possibilities of what could have happened. She started telling them about the chemical in her blood, and how the effects would last a few months. "Nade-sama, who awe they?" Sakura suddenly asked, pointing her finger at them.

"Don't you remember me, Sakura-chan?" Lee asked, hurt evident in his eyes. He had an everlasting passion for her! An undying love! How could she not remember him? Ever since he had laid eyes on her he knew she was the one. Sakura looked at him with wide eyes and backed up a bit, looking scared out of her mind. "Not even a little bit?" He asked, sounding hopeful.

"Nope, sowwy." She replied, looking down sadly. Tsunade then told them about how Sakura seemed to have forgotten everything, and everybody- a side effect of whatever had entered her blood. She explained their mission, and how they were to take care of Sakura for a few days at a time, making sure she was as happy as possible. They would have to observe her, and if there was anything important happened, they were to write it a detailed report and send it straight to her. "Babysits?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side.

"That's our mission? To babysit her?" Neji exclaimed, sounding a tad bit irritated. Tsunade nodded, saying that was basically it- except for the fact that it was Sakura Haruno they were taking care of. One of the greatest medics, and a very skillful kunoichi. Just because it was 'babysitting', it didn't mean it wasn't important. Neji sighed. He was an ANBU captain. He should be out doing dangerous missions- like fighting off S-Class criminals, not babysitting. It was quite embarassing to be doing such an easy mission with such a high status like his.

"But, but, Nade-sama!" Sakura whined, pouting. "I don't need babysits! I want to stay hewe and dwaw!" She exclaimed, pointing at all the doodles she hade made. Tsunade laughed, sheepishly. She had just realized Sakura had been doodling all over her paperwork. She set Sakura down, picking up all her crayons and other coloring supplies and placing them in a small bag. She handed it to Sakura and lightly pushed her towards the seven men.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru exclaimed, shaking his head. He wondered how someone as smart as Sakura could have gotten herself into a situation like this? But accidents did happen, and people do make mistakes, so he let it go. Sakura was human, and humans could never really be perfect. He watched at the pink-haired toddler looked up at each of them with bright, green eyes. He had to admit, Sakura had been an adorable kid when she was younger.

"Nawuto-niichan!" Sakura exclaimed, running towards the blonde. He grinned holding his arms out for her, but suddenly she tripped, scratching her knees on the ground. "Ouch!" She exclaimed, looking sadly at her knees. The boys had no idea what to do and simply watched as her eyes started to water. Suddenly her cut glowed green, and immediately healed herself.

"What just...?" Kiba exclaimed, incredulously. The girl had somehow managed to heal herself. Tsunade furrowed her eyebrows, apparently deep in thought. In the meanwhile, Sakura simply got up and ran towards Naruto, who picked her up and tickled her tummy gently. Sakura giggled, swatting his hands away. Naruto chuckled- babysitting was going to be easy!

"Sakura's body is still trying to protect itself. Her memories are probably still locked up in her subconscious, somewhere. I'm not absolutely sure what's causing this, so like I said, we just have to wait it out." Tsunade exclaimed. It was the only reasonable explanation why Sakura could still heal herself. Orochimaru could've had some sort of break through with whatever had gotten into Sakura, if he had continued on with it.

"Who's the the brat going to stay with, first?" Sai asked. He had already decided on a nickname for little Sakura. Now that she was too young to be called hag, brat would have to suffice. Sakura apparently hadn't heard him, and she continued on laughing as Naruto tickled her some more.

"She'll be staying with Naruto for today." Tsunade replied, and Naruto grinned, saying how glad he was he could play with cute, adorable, Sakura-chan. The other guys shrugged, they didn't care who went first. They all wanted it over with. "You six are to help him if he needs any, and will have to report back here every day so that I can assign who will take care of her next. This will continue until she is fully healed- and just because you have this mission, it doesn't mean I won't be assigning other, more difficult ones. There are six of you- more than enough to babysit one child." She stated. "Well thanks for your time, boys. You may leave, now."

The seven men nodded, leaving the premises. Naruto placed Sakura down and let her walk beside him, holding her little bag of coloring supplies. "Sakura-chan is so different, now." Lee suddenly exclaimed as they were walking. All the guys had left, going there separate ways but Lee decided to stick around a little longer. Sakura looked up at having her name called, and smiled shyly. "Don't you remember me at all? Do you recognize the name Lee at all, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura shook her head, innocently, and Naruto laughed sheepishly. "She had forgotten everything." He explained, somewhat sadly. Sakura looked up at him with a sad expression as well, saying that she really wanted to remember, if it made them both feel better. "Yes, it does make me feel better, Sakura-chan." Naruto exclaimed, grinning now. Sakura grinned back, happy again.

"I have to go, now, though. Gai and I are supposed to be sparring right now. I'll see you soon, Sakura-chan, Naruto-san." Lee exclaimed, heading off in another direction. Sakura smiled to herself. That Lee guy wasn't so bad- he reminded her of Naruto-niichan, except he looked a little funny.

"Hey." A low, velvety voice was heard. Something clicked in Sakura's head when she looked up at the raven-haired man. She felt like laughing, smiling, and celebrating, but at the same time she suddenly felt anger towards him. Fury, even. She wanted slap him in the face, kick him in the shins, anything! She glared up at him as he strolled up to Naruto, and Sakura. He seemed very intimidating, that was for sure.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning now. Sakura looked up at the blonde with bewilderment. Naruto-niichan was friends with the bad, scary looking man? She didn't want to believe it. She tugged on Naruto's pant leg and looked up at him with wide eyes. Naruto looked down at her with the grin still plastered on his face. "Sakura-chan, this is Sasuke!"

"Sakura-chan?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow. The toddler couldn't possibly be... Nah, it was just a coincidence. Either that or Sakura had a younger sister he had never known about. She looked about as old as how long he had been gone for. It wasn't impossible. The same pink hair, green eyes. He could definitely see the resemblance between the two. Sakura was probably still in the hospital, anyways.

"Nawuto-niichan, let's go now." Sakura murmured, still glaring at Sasuke, who was now a little suspicious. She even sounded exactly like Sakura when she was younger. Was that normal? He wouldn't know, of course. Nothing really added up. Why would Sakura's parents name their other kid 'Sakura' again, anyways? Sasuke scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to do. It was plainly obvious that little Sakura didn't like him in the slightest.

"Don't you want to talk to Sasuke?" Naruto asked, holding towards Sasuke, who stepped back, shaking his head. Sakura shook her head, too. She didn't want to have anything to do with the guy, but she didn't know why. It was confusing, and when things were confusing Sakura got frustrated, and frustration only caused tears to come to little Sakura's eyes. "Awh, no! Sakura-chan, don't cry!"

But it was too late. The little girl had buried her face into his shirt and was bawling her eyes out. Sasuke's eyes widened- he never really dealt with these kinds of situations before. He never interacted with kids, so he had no idea what to do. "Shh! Be quiet!" He ordered, and Sakura only wailed louder. Not only was the man scary-looking, but he was mean, too!

"Don't say that, Sasuke. Jeez, you're really bad at this." Naruto exclaimed, glaring at Sasuke. "No, no, Sakura-chan. Sasuke didn't mean that. Please stop crying! I'll... I'll give you ice cream when we get to my house!" He said, bribing her. Her crying immediately died down to mere hiccups and sniffles, and she looked up at him with a heartbreakingly cute expression.

"Ice cweam?" She asked. Naruto nodded, grinning widely. "Okay, let's go Nawuto-niichan! Let's go away fwom the mean chicken butt man." Sakura said, glaring at Sasuke, who only glared back. Naruto snorted- chicken butt man? Where did the girl come up with such a ridiculous name for Sasuke? He asked her, and Sakura shrugged, looking as innocent as ever. "His haiw looks like a chicken butt. Do you see, Nawuto-niichan?" She asked, pointing at Sasuke's head. Naruto started cracking up, causing Sakura to smile.

"Yes, I do see, Sakura-chan!"

Her smile grew when she saw Sasuke's irritated expression. "Now look here, you little brat-" He started, but Sakura's once happy expression immediately turned into one of sadness and hurt, and her eyes started to water. Sasuke stopped at mid-sentence, afraid she was going to cry again. "No, no, I didn't mean that. I was only kidding. Just don't cry aga-" Sakura started wailing, clutching onto Naruto again. Naruto immediately stopped laughing and glared at his friend.

"Look what you did! I had just gotten her to stop crying. If she remembers all this when the poison wears off, you're going to be in so much-"

"Poison? What are you talking about?" Sasuke interrupted him. Naruto wasn't making any sense. Naruto rose an eyebrow, but then realized that Sasuke probably hadn't heard about what happened to Sakura. He grinned sheepishly- he had a lot of explaining to do. He told Sasuke about the possibilites that Tsunade had come up with, and the guys' babysitting mission. Sasuke nodded, trying to absorb the information. "So that's... That's really her."

"Yup." Naruto exclaimed, patting the toddler's back. Sakura had basically cried herself to sleep in Naruto's arms. When Sasuke stayed silent, Naruto looked up questioningly. "Aren't you worried about her at all?" He asked, as if he was testing him. Sasuke hadn't been able to talk to her at all. He should have thanked her for everything. For not giving up on hope, on Naruto and his promise, on herself, and especially for not giving up on him unlike the many in Konoha who had. If Sasuke even thought about calling Sakura weak, Naruto was going to punch him. Hard.

She had gone through intense training with the Hokage herself- a legendary sannin and the best medic in the entire world. Naruto had watched her push herself so hard until she collapsed to the floor with exhaustion, sweat dripping from her forehead and brow. Even then, she wouldn't give up, she'd simply get up and push herself even harder. And she wouldn't stop unless somebody made her, which usually ended up being Tsunade-sama and occasionally Kakashi or Naruto himself. He was always tempted to tell Sakura that she didn't have to go through all that because he was always going to be there and would always protect her. In fact, he had told her that once, but Sakura punched him square in the jaw. He flew through six trees before landing on the ground.

Sakura healed him right away, but she told him that she was sick of being the weakest link, the one slowing everybody down. She told him that she was going to get stronger so that he wouldn't have to waste his time protecting her. She said that she was going to become strong enough to help him retrieve Sasuke. After all, he was precious to them both. She told Naruto that she wanted to prove to everybody and even herself that she was not a weak, helpless little girl, but a strong, powerful kunoichi- and she was.

Now, years after all that training, Sakura was now one of the most amazingly skilled kunoichi Naruto had ever met in his life. Her medical skills rivaled that of Tsunade and Shizune's who've taught Sakura everything she knew. Her brutal strength was known everywhere, and her perfect chakra control was sought after in numerous missions. Needless to say, Naruto was very proud of his Sakura-chan. Her determination, her hard work, her perseverance- she was an inspiration. If Sasuke thought any different, he was wrong and Naruto would have to make him learn that Sakura had changed.

In fact, Naruto didn't think Sasuke even deserved Sakura's love. She probably wanted his approval, but she should have more than that. After all those years, she deserved the best. Not only was she an incredible kunoichi, but she was also one of his truest most trustable friends he had ever had. Some may say she was a little too temperamental, and possibly too overemotional, and they were right- but that didn't mean it was bad. Without that drive, she wouldn't be able to get through all the training. It also made her a great friend- there wasn't anybody Naruto knew who didn't like the girl. Even the stoic, and somewhat unemotional Gaara had seemed to take a liking to her.

"No. I am not." Sasuke replied, causing Naruto to gape at him. Was he serious? Before Naruto could say or do anything, he spoke up again. "She'll pull through. It's Sakura, right? There's no need to worry." He said, lightly touching Sakura's short pink hair. He wasn't stupid, he had heard from many sources about what went on in Konoha. He knew that Sakura had become much stronger. To be honest, Sasuke was curious. He wanted to see exactly how powerful she had become- he had heard quite a lot back in sound, like how she had been able to kill one of the Akatsuki members. When he first heard of it, he couldn't believe it. The Akatsuki was one of the most powerful organizations in the world, defeating one of their members was a great feat.

Naruto stood there, at a loss of words. Sasuke never complimented anybody, and before he would always say just how annoying and weak Sakura was. Naruto really didn't expect him to say such positive things about her so fast. "Well, I have to go. Tell me when she's back to normal." Sasuke exclaimed, before walking off. Naruto shrugged, and walked back to his apartment with Sakura sleeping soundly in his arms. When he got inside, he gently laid her on his bed, then started digging through the freezer for the ice cream he promised, earlier. When he found some, he sighed in relief. He didn't want to deal with an upset Sakura, no matter how old she was.

"Nawuto-niichan?" Little Sakura murmured, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes. She looked up at him with a questioning expression. "Wha? What happen to big meanie?" She asked, looking around. Naruto laughed, filling a mug with ice cream and handing it to Sakura. She grinned widely at him before taking the spoon and taking a large bite. Naruto patted her head lightly, telling her that Sasuke hadn't meant what he said and that he was actually very sorry. "Yeah wight. He's just saying that." She replied stubbornly, eating another spoonful. Naruto sighed- he never would have expected this kind of reaction from her. He had thought she'd be ecstatic at hearing praise from her Sasuke-kun.

He watched as Sakura happily enjoyed her ice cream, sighing when she accidentally spilled some on her shirt. She laughed sheepishly and tried rubbing it off. He started wondering, again, about how long she'd stay in this state. The more positive side of the situation was that he didn't have to worry about anymore boys trying to hit on her. It was simply unacceptable. Nobody could touch her- nobody. His blood would start to boil whenever he saw another man flirting with his Sakura-chan, and even though she'd get outrageously mad about it later, he couldn't help but drive them off. Far, far off. Besides, Naruto was sure she'd thank him later. She was too good for all of them, after all.

"Sakuwa is all done ice cweam!" She exclaimed, extending the cup up to him. He smiled, taking it from her and placing it in the sink. He'd wash that later, probably. "I need to go to the bathwoom, Naruto-niichan." She exclaimed, opening her palms up to show the melted ice cream that had gotten all over them. Naruto laughed, leading her to the washroom sink so that she could wash herself up.

Naruto led her back to the living room, where Sakura decided sit in front of the television and watch cartoons contentedly. "Who awe you?" She suddenly exclaimed, sounding immensely confused. After a few seconds, Sakura seemed to answer her own question. "Inneh? Inneh Sakuwa? That's a funny name." She said, giggling. Naruto watched her in confusion. Who exactly was this 'Inner Sakura' she was talking to? Naruto pretended to continue watching TV, but he listened to what Sakura was saying at the same time.

"Memowies? Like what?" She asked, scratching her head. There was a pause, as if somebody was actually replying to her question before she decided to speak up again. "Sowwy, Inneh Sakuwa. I don't wemembeh." Sakura suddenly smacked her forehead, causing Naruto to jump a bit. "Nope, nothing." She exclaimed right after, and she paused to let the 'Inner Sakura' speak. Naruto was going to have a lot to say to Tsunade, later. He did, however, remember something similar during their first Chuunin Exams, where Ino had tried taking over her body...

"Uhm, what awe you, inneh Sakuwa?" Sakura asked, once again. She paused for a moment, nodding her head, though her eyebrows furrowed together. "A spwit-pehsonawity? I don't get it." There was another pause, and Naruto waited patiently for her to speak up again. "Ooh! That is so coo-" She suddenly cut herself off, much to Naruto's surprise. "Thinking only? Oh, okay. I will twy." Sakura replied, though in a whisper. Suddenly she stopped talking, but she looked as if she was in deep concentration.

Naruto wanted to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Could Sakura and that 'Inner' of hers communicate through each others' thoughts? He knew for sure Sakura didn't have a bijuu inside of her. "I did it!" She exclaimed, grinning. Naruto flinched slightly, not expecting her outburst. Suddenly Sakura started speaking again, although much softer than before. "Oh, wight. I should be quiet." She replied to herself, placing emphasis on her last word. Suddenly her smile disappeared. "We not cwazy, wight?" After a small pause, she started smiling again. "So Sakura is just special? Cool." Naruto wondered why Sakura had never told him about her inner self. It seemed interesting enough.

Naruto suddenly had an idea. What if he teached her how to be a ninja? Training might her memories to return, and then she could become normal again! He turned towards her with a grin on his face, "Sakura-chan, would you like to become a ninja?" Naruto asked. Sakura looked at him quizzically for a moment, and opened her mouth to speak but she suddenly closed it, as if she was listening to something else. Her eyes suddenly widened and she broke into a grin. She closed her eyes to think for a moment before she opened her eyes to finally reply to Naruto.

"Inneh Sakuwa says I alweady was a ninja, but I fowgot evewything." She said, somewhat disappointed. "I want to be teached, Nawuto-niichan!" She exclaimed, causing Naruto to grin again. He laughed, correcting her mistake with a 'taught' instead of 'teached'. Sakura smiled shyly, embarassed by her little mistake. "So when do we stawt?" She asked, trying to bring the focus back to her training instead of her grammar.

"Do you want to start today? There's quite a lot of time before dark." Naruto exclaimed, standing up. Sakura plopped down from the couch, grinning madly. She was really excited, actually. Her inner had told her about her 'past life', before her memories were erased. She didn't know the cause of it, but she didn't really care. At the moment she was only four, so she didn't find it as important as having fun. Her inner had told her about the people she had communicated and been friends with, but little Sakura couldn't remember them at all. Her inner had also told her that she was a brilliant, strong, skilled kunoichi, which confused Sakura. She had no clue how to even be a ninja, but she was expected to be so great- it was quite a lot to take in.

Apparently not too many people knew about Inner Sakura. When her memories had been erased, she hadn't told many people at all, so little Sakura decided that probably was the best idea, too. "Sakura-chan, can you summon some chakra?" Naruto asked, causing Sakura to look up at him in wonder. Chakra? What was that supposed to be? Her Inner replied in her mind, explaining the basics. Sakura listened quietly, leaving Naruto to wonder what exactly was going on in Sakura's head. He had never really seen her space out and stay quiet like that. He came to the conclusion that she probably had quite a lot of practice multi-tasking like that.

Sakura nodded her head once, closing her eyes. She listened carefully to what her Inner was trying to tell her, and followed the instructions exactly as they were, and soon Sakura could feel the energy flowing through her veins. Naruto, suddenly sensing the change, grinned happily. "Great work, Sakura-chan!" He praised, causing Sakura to grin back up at him.

Naruto continued teaching her some basic things about ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. Like before, her chakra control was exceptional, even for such a small child. Naruto, who wasn't very good at genjutsus could only explain how to dispel it. She nodded, to both Naruto and her inner, who she was receiving quite a lot of help from. Naruto tried teaching her some taijutsu, much to Sakura's dismay. She would rather have done the tree climbing excersize all day. But nonetheless, she listened to 'Naruto-niichan' and did as she was told.

"What do we have here?"

Naruto and Sakura stopped and looked over to see Kakashi leaning against a tree trunk. He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly. Sakura smiled shyly back- she had no clue who the strange, mask-wearing man was. When Kakashi started walking towards them, Sakura ran behind Naruto, clutching on to his legs tightly. Kakashi only laughed, crouching in front of Naruto and Sakura. "Don't worry, I don't bite."

Sakura's inner told her that the man in front of her was someone who she could trust- her old sensei. Sakura nodded to herself and stepped from behind Naruto, staring at the man curiously. "Hewwo. My name is Sakuwa. Nawuto-niichan was just twaining me to be a ninja!" She exclaimed, spreading her arms out for him to lift her up. He didn't seem to get the hint and simply continued to crouch there, scratching his head somewhat confusedly. "Up! Up!" She exclaimed, hoping he'd finally understand what she meant.

After a small moment of thought, Kakashi figured it couldn't hurt to lift Sakura up for a while. He did so, although a little awkwardly. He wasn't really used to dealing with children about Sakura's current age- hell, the last time he even had to deal with kids was team seven, and that was years ago. Sakura giggled happily- she loved being high in the air. It was fun seeing something from a much different angle- and you could see so much more when you were up higher.

"What were you two working on?" Kakashi asked Naruto, who shrugged, saying that he was teaching her the basics. Sakura, who wasn't listening, was playing contentedly with the headband covering his eye. She traced the leaf symbol on the front, wondering what exactly it meant. Her inner explained it to her, saying it was to show what village he came from. The village that she had been born and had grown in up in.

Kakashi didn't mind letting her play with his headband, or his hair, or his mask- even though her little fingers would tickle him slightly. He continued talking to Naruto, giving him some advice on teaching her. He was sure that Sakura would pull through and return back to normal, with all her memories, but if Naruto wanted to train her, then so be it. It couldn't hurt. She was so strong, and it hurt him knowing that he had barely helped her at all.

He felt like sighing. Of course he hadn't helped. He had spent all his time on either Sasuke or Naruto, never once paying attention to Sakura. It was as if he had given up on her from the beginning, labeling her weak immediately. He hadn't known she would turn out to be such a beautiful, talented kunoichi. To be honest, he had been blown away. Especially when she announced her status as ANBU Captain. He had found himself looking at her much differently after that, much to his dismay. He was absolutely sure that he wasn't supposed to have feelings for an ex-student. A student that was at least ten years his junior.

He always hid it from her, from everybody. He wasn't planning on letting anybody know about how he had caught himself staring at her multiple times, or how he always felt more giddy and more generally happy when she was around, or how he would have nobody but her, or the Godaime herself, heal him after missions. He hated to say it, but he had grown too close to her. He tried preventing anything of the sort from happening ever again, especially after Obito and Rin, but he couldn't help it. This girl was much more than he could handle.

He felt an attraction towards her. And guilt- especially guilt. He believed he hadn't, in the slightest way, helped Sakura. He never encouraged her, or even tried giving her advice. All he had done was watch from the sidelines. Maybe it was a good thing, though. If he had been more involved in her life, maybe she wouldn't have progressed so much. He'd probably hold her back, making her feel so weak and useless to the point where she would want to quit being a ninja. He was truly glad she hadn't given up.

After his brief chat with Naruto, Kakashi decided it was time to leave. He gently placed Sakura on the ground and gave her a pat on the head, saying that he'd see her later sometime. After that, he disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving Sakura to wonder what had just happened. The man in front of her, had literally just poofed away. If that was some sort of ninja trick, then Sakura really wanted to learn how to do it.

Naruto continued training Sakura for a few more hours, stopping every few minutes for a break. The small four year old could only handle so much, and he didn't want to exhaust her. "Nawuto-niichan..." Sakura started slowly, as if thinking carefully about what she was about to say. "... Who was Sakuwa-chan to you, befowe she lost hew memowies?" She asked, looking up at him with wide, curious eyes.

"She was... She was one of my best friends." Naruto replied, unsure of what to tell her. She was more than just a 'best friend' to him, though. She always had been, ever since they were younger. He kept asking her out on dates, but she always refused. Was her heart still set on Sasuke? Even after all those years of being ignored, of feeling hurt and betrayed? Naruto knew he would still love her if she did. He'd never give up. And even if she only liked him as a friend, then he'd gladly take it.

"I will be youw best fwiend too!" Toddler Sakura exclaimed, her arms outstretched. Naruto chuckled, picking the girl up and cradling her in his arms. She giggled, laughing when Naruto tickled her stomach. She was glad she had been able to make her Naruto-niichan happy, especially since he had lost somebody precious to him- well, sort of.

"We should get going, now. It's getting late." Naruto exclaimed as he started walking towards his apartment yet again. Suddenly Naruto felt a tap on his shoulder and he whirled around, nearly dropping Sakura who was now giggling madly. "Woah, Kiba, you scared me." Naruto exclaimed, scratching his head sheepishly. "Hey Akamaru." Akamaru barked in reply, sounding as if he was laughing at the poor guy. Kiba looked down at Sakura and cringed. He was never really good with kids. "What do you need?" Naruto asked.

"The others and I have decided the order. Tomorrow will be Lee's turn, then Neji's, mine, Shino's, Sai, and then Shikamaru. That cool with you? Lee told me to tell you to drop her off at the training ground tomorrow morning at five." Kiba said, grinning at Naruto's exasperated expression. Five in the morning? He never usually got up until around ten unless he had a mission.

"Okay, okay, fine." Naruto said, grumpily. He'd just have to sleep earlier tonight so that he'd be able to get up in the morning. Naruto wondered if his current alarm clock was working- he had smashed a few by accident. Sakura looked up at Naruto and then at Kiba, wondering who he was exactly. She had seen him at Nade-sama's office while she drawing.

Sakura looked down at the large dog and grinned, telling Naruto to put her down. "Sakuwa want to see the puppy!" She exclaimed, wriggling out of Naruto's grasp. She expertly landed on the ground and rushed towards Akamaru, who licked her face. Sakura hugged the dog's neck, laughing in glee. "You awe so cute Akamawu!" Kiba smirked- he just found the perfect babysitter to watch over her during his shift.

"Sakura-chan, you need to be more careful!" Naruto exclaimed, and Sakura simply nodded, continuing to hug Akamaru. Suddenly she let go and walked around Akamaru, as if studying him. Kiba and Naruto watched her, wondering what she was up to. She had a silly grin on her face, and before they knew it, she suddenly jumped up on Akamaru's back.

"Giddy-up, puppy!" She exclaimed, holding on to Akamaru's ears. Akamaru barked in response and started running. Kiba and Naruto watched as Akamaru ran off with Sakura, and then looked at each other before sprinting after the two, screaming at them to stop. Who knows what could happen- Akamaru might drop her, or she might fall off and hit her head, badly injuring her.

"Hehe, I wuv you, Akamawu!" Sakura gushed as Akamaru continued running. Akamaru could only bark happily as an answer- he hadn't had this much fun since Kiba was only a small boy. He knew he might get a little scolding after, for running away without Kiba's permission, but he didn't mind. He was responsible, well-trained dog. He never peed inside the house, or left muddy pawprints everywhere. Nope, Akamaru was a very well-behaved dog.

Besides, he could always use the fact that Sakura still had a hold on his ears as an excuse. "Faster, puppy!" Sakura exclaimed, giggling uncontrollably. The ride was thrilling for her, to say the least. It was even more fun than training. Akamaru, being the well-behaved dog he was, obeyed Sakura and ran even faster, making sure not to drop his precious load.

"Kiba! Have you found her yet?" Naruto exclaimed, panting. They had lost sight of the two and had been running around Konoha as fast as his legs could carry him, but no matter how hard he tried, he still hadn't found his little Sakura-chan. If she got hurt, the blame would be set on him! He scowled at the thought- if anything, the finger should be pointed Kiba for bringing Akamaru. It wasn't his fault that Sakura-chan got so distracted.

"Nope, not yet." Kiba replied. He was equally tired and panting as well. How had they ran off so fast? The sun was setting and soon it would be too dark to even see where there weren't street lamps. Kiba groaned- Akamaru was so going to get it later. He hadn't ran that hard in a while. In fact, Kiba hadn't received a mission in a couple of weeks, and he had been taking it easy.

"Where do you think they went?" Naruto asked, obviously worried. It was Sakura-chan- his teammate, his best friend, and his crush. If something happened to her he would never forgive himself. Not only that, but the fact that it was only Tsunade's first day in assigning the mission- man, was she going to be pissed. Tsunade's anger was something he hated dealing with, especially when it was specifically directed at him.

"I wouldn't know." Kiba replied, still panting. He had seen Sakura grab hold of Akamaru's ears, and he shuddered at the thought of it. Poor boy must be in so much pain. Kiba already decided that he'd go easy on her. "How about we get a couple of other people to help look." Kiba suggested. It was getting dark, and that would only make it harder to find Sakura and Akamaru.

"Yeah, alright." Naruto replied, and the two rushed off to find somebody willing to help look for Sakura. Who knew such a small toddler could be such trouble? Naruto felt like sighing exasperatedly, but decided against it. The first person they came across was Lee, who was doing some excersizes at the training ground. "Lee, we lost Sakura." Naruto exclaimed, still panting. "We need help finding her."

"Not to worry, Naruto-kun! I will find our ever-youthful cherry blossom!" Lee exclaimed, taking off his weights and running off. Kiba and Naruto stared off at him, their eyes twitching. How could he have so much energy? His weights were so heavy, too. When their moment of incredulousness ended, they immediately split up, looking around the village.

The three spent around half an hour looking for her until they met up. "Nobody has found her yet? What if she's hurt?" Naruto exclaimed, worry etched in his voice. Kiba scoffed, saying that Akamaru was with her so there was no problem. "For all we know, Akamaru probably ate her! He's like, five times her size. We have to hurry before she really does get eaten!"

"Akamawu!" Sakura screamed, and all three men turned their heads towards the faint voice heard, and immediately ran in the direction. A splash was heard, and from the sound of it, they were very near. Naruto started running faster- something, or someone, had fallen into the water!

End of chapter! TBC.

I'm sorry about the little Sakura speakings. I don't know how else to spell 'baby language'. I hope you all know how it sounds, so just imagine that whenever Sakura says something, it sounds all toddler-ish/baby-ish. My little cousin speaks like that, as well. If it makes it easier, I tried replacing R's with EH's or W's, and there were other stuff I can't currently remember. If you're confused you can just ask what it is, otherwise I think most of it's straightforward enough.

Andandand, sorry it's about 500 words shorter than I usually make chapters. I usually aim for 10,000 but I've made exceptions before. I hope it doesn't make too much of a difference. If it's too long, then tell me and I'll do my best to shorten down the chapters or something.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please review? Tell me if you liked it at all. It would make me extremely happy.