*Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto, nor any characters in it, but if you work for the people who make the Naruto series and like whatever the hell it is I'm doing, please give me a job as the one I'm at sucks terribly and my boss is a slave driver who makes me work the day after Christmas, on federal holidays, and overtime without any pay.... Thank you....

It was a cool late spring's night with not a cloud in the sky. The sounds of Konoha's villagers echoed through the valley and the lights of the village shined into the dark sky with a heavenly glow. The clinking of dishes being washed at a nearby restaurant were mixed with the sounds of people tending to their evening meals, but up on the village rooftops, the sounds were but a distant hum mixed with the wind's song.

Naruto lay on the roof of his apartment staring out into the starry sky. Catching sight of a shooting star, Naruto shut his eyes to make a wish. At first, Naruto thought of wishing that Sakura would come back to him, but before he could, he was reminded of what a selfish wish that would be. As Naruto laid there, thoughts of Sakura came into view and Naruto's mind drifted elsewhere.

It had now been about over a month since she had left Konoha without an explanation as to why she left. No one had seen her, no one knew where she had gone, and not a day went by when Naruto wasn't sick to his stomach thinking about it. Grumbling, he turned onto his side.

Naruto's face suddenly turned to sadness as he remembered the day that Sakura was discovered missing. He was furious when Tsunade had refused to send out a search party. Feeling that Sakura had left on her own accord, Tsunade chose not to follow out of respect for her privacy, but even though Naruto could understand Tsunade's decision, it didn't stop him from throwing his biggest tantrum yet and having to be tackled down by the rest of the team.

The next couple of days were followed by failed attempts to leave the village and chase after her. At one point, Naruto had managed to recruit Kiba and Akamaru to help him in his search. They didn't get far though. They didn't even get out of the village gates. Kakashi and Jiraiya had been waiting for a move like this, and their escape was thrashed sooner than the time it took to dream it up. As Naruto could still feel the pain of being struck down, his thoughts traveled to the converstaion he had while Kakashi pinned him to the ground.

"...Naruto! You have to obey Tsunade-sama's orders!"

"Datte! Datte!! We cannot leave her! What if something happens and we're not there for her! I can't let her turn into Sasuke!"

"Naruto, even if you found Sakura, do you think she would come back? After all this time, you know that she isn't the type of person that likes to be alone. Whatever made her decision, she was resolute."

Naruto's eyes were now watery. He remembered how he suddenly stopped and realized the truth in Kakashi's words: Would Sakura come back? Even if he asked her to? It was painful for him to be in Konoha without her, but did he really even have the right to ask her such a thing? Everyone has their own path and their own decisions to make. Was this one hers?

Up until that point, Naruto had only thought about his own need for her, and it was for that reason that he had decided to make a wish that wasn't selfish, a wish that only unconditional love could make.

...I wish that Sakura-chan would always find happiness... he thought.

Sighing big, Naruto shifted where he lay so that the ridges of the rooftop would stop hurting his hipbone.

...I hope she's alright...

Rolling over onto his other side, Naruto grumbled some more. As the days had rolled by and missions come and gone, Naruto felt like time was standing still, like he was swimming hard upstream but was going nowhere. Ever since that day Sakura left, he had bothered Tsunade every chance he had to get her to let him search for Sakura, atleast to find out why she left. Sasuke was one thing, but Sakura was different. She was the glue that held their team together, and though many didn't realize it, she was by far the strongest all-around fighter. Her wits, medical abilities, and sheer strength were all incredible, but it was her kindness and compassion that kept the team from falling apart. She gave them a reason to continue, whether it be for the sake of protecting her or reminding them every now and then that they were a unit.

"Naruto..." said a voice from behind.

Startled, Naruto jumped up to see that Sai was squatting behind him.

"WAH! SAI! Don't sneak up on me like that..." said Naruto, shouting to a mumble.

"You were thinking about her again, weren't you..."

"Mmmm, Sakura-chan has been gone so long! Not even Jiraiya's spies could locate her... not even Akatsuki..."

"We could try to look for her," said Sai. "...though Tsunade-sama would be angry if we did..."

"Mmmmm," grumbled Naruto with a furrowed brow. "I would, but looking for Sakura would be like looking for the last piece of char shiu in ramen! You just can't find it unless you swallow the whole bowl!! She could be anywhere..."

Irritated, Naruto scratched his head.

"Did she have any outside relatives?" asked Sai.

"Mmmm, no, not according to her mother... Not even a relation to another village..."

"You know, Naruto, there was something I was thinking about..." said Sai in thoughtfulness.

"Hmmm?"

"Why don't you just ask Kakashi where she is?"

"Heh? Why would Kakashi-sensei know where she went?" said Naruto, tilting his head in confusion.

"You really are dumb, aren't you?"

Naruto frowned. He never liked Sai's bluntness.

"Sai, you really should have been taught by ANBU how to interact with people. I don't know how you blend in on missions... What do you mean anyway? Why would Kakashi-sensei know where Sakura is?"

"Naruto, it is a shinobi's business to always know information on everything that can cause potential problems. Besides, do you really think that Kakashi-sensei would just let his student walk away without knowing what happened to them? His character is not the type. He should know which way she went at the very least."

Naruto was silent. It had never dawned on him before. Kakashi-sensei would never have let any one of them go without knowing where they had gone. He would always be their sensei, and the question of where Sakura had gone would have bothered him more than it did Naruto.

"Why didn't I see it before?" Naruto asked himself.

"...Because you're too..."

"Shut up, Sai..."

Early the next morning, Sai appeared at Naruto's door.

Knock, Knock.

BOOM!!

Suddenly the doors burst open and Naruto came out with a look of intent on his face.

"Yosh!! I'm ready," said Naruto.

Sai had jumped back and had his hand on the hilt of his blade. Standing at ease, he put on a smile.

"Ohiyo, Naruto-kun."

"Haa!! Ohiyo, Sai. Are you ready?"

"Mmm."

As the two headed over to Kakashi's apartment, Naruto was running through attack possibilities over and over.

"Naruto, why don't you just ask Kakashi if he found anything?" said Sai.

"No! If Kakashi-sensei failed to tell me he tried looking for Sakura-chan, he deserves nothing less than hostile treatment!!"

"Do I?" said a voice.

Naruto froze. Chills went up his spine. Turning around slowly, he saw that they were already being followed by Kakashi.

Naruto gulped hard. "Uuuuh... Ohiyo, Kakashi-sensei!"

"O-hi-yo, Naruto-kun, Sai... What are you two looking for so early this morning?"

Suddenly Naruto jumped and turned to Kakashi with a stomp and swung his arm up to point at him.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WENT LOOKING FOR SAKURA-CHAN!?"

"Oh? Did I?" said Kakashi, putting a finger to his mouth in thought.

"USO!! DON'T LIE TO ME!!"

Kakashi sighed. "I guess there's no dodging it. Why did you help him figure it out, Sai?"

"Gomen, Kakashi," said Sai with a bow.

"Who said I didn't figure it out on my own!?" shouted Naruto.

Kakashi and Sai were silent.

"Temae!!"

"Hai, hai, okay Naruto, you win. Yes, I went looking for Sakura's trail..."

"Huh!!" gasped Naruto in excitement.

"...but it disappeared after it rained..."

"NANI!?"

"Sorry, Naruto, but we didn't find anything significant," said Kakashi with a sigh.

"Could I talk to Pakkun?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi could see that Naruto was hanging on to his last glimmer of hope. Denying him anything at that point would just break his heart.

Perhaps he just needs to hear it for himself, thought Kakashi. It might be best to give him something to settle his troubled mind.

Kakashi's eyes softened and then he nodded. Bringing his hand to his vest, he pricked his finger on a sharp blade that stuck out from a pocket on his vest before putting together hand signals to summon Pakkun. When the tiny puff of smoke had cleared, Pakkun sat there staring at the three of them, wondering why he was summoned in the middle of Konoha's streets.

"Pakkun," said Naruto crouching down to him. "Can you tell me about the night you went searching for Sakura-chan."

Pakkun saw the sadness on Naruto's face and thought it best not to dazzle him with questions.

"Well..." began Pakkun. "...we followed her scent out the eastern gate and up the path for quite a bit. After a while she cut into the woods before striking a stream. We split up to see which way she took but it was long enough to stall us until the rain came. By the time we had reached where we think she got out, the rains had erased her scent."

"Where was that?" asked Sai.

"North," replied Pakkun. "The stream went north-east, but she got out on the northern side. We atleast managed to pick it up there. After that, we couldn't find anything... I'm sorry Naru..."

"...so there was nothing else?" interrupted Naruto. "Nothing at all?"

"Mmmmm... No, nothing really. All we picked up here at the start was Sakura, the two guards, some villagers, Neji..."

"Neji?" asked Kakashi.

"Mmm, Neji."

"You didn't tell me that before."

"I didn't? Hmph, I must have thought it wasn't important..."

Kakashi was silent. His eyes had glazed over in reserved thought.

"...Was his scent strong or old?" asked Kakashi.

"I don't remember."

"...Either way, I sent you out as soon as I heard Sakura was missing, and that was around eight in the morning... What was Neji doing up so early after such a long mission? And so far from his part of town?... He had to have been there that night... What's even more suspicious is that we all saw him walk back towards his home... Something tells me that Neji has been holding out on something..."

"Neji..." said Naruto, balling his hand into a fist. "That guy better not be hiding something, or I'm gonna.."

"Now, now, Naruto. Let's not assume anything before we blow up," said Kakashi, eyeing out whether he'd have to tackle Naruto again. "Let's just see what he has to say. It might just be a mistake. Besides, what would Neji know that we don't?"

The day seemed to rush by quickly as Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai suddenly found themselves with a mystery on their hands. They searched everywhere for Neji, but he was nowhere to be found.

"He wasn't at home, he wasn't at the training grounds, and he was nowhere near the school!" shouted Naruto as the sun was setting. "Where the hell could he be!?"

"Well," mumbled Kakashi. "Hinata confirmed that he didn't have a mission, so he has to be somewhere here. Come to think of it, I didn't see TenTen, Lee, or Gai-sensei either. Did you?"

Sai and Naruto shook their heads.

"Oh!" said Naruto suddenly. "We didn't check Fuzzy-Brows' dojo!"

The two looked a bit confused, but shortly after they followed Naruto, they could hear Gai and Lee's voice sounding off in the distance. When they arrived, Gai and Lee were in a heated battle of youth with TenTen keeping score.

"Where's Neji?" Kakashi asked TenTen.

"He just left. He should be walking that way," said TenTen, pointing to the opposite direction from where they came from. "If you hurry, you can catch him."

Kakashi didn't say a word to Sai and Naruto, just gestured to them. The two looked at eachother and immediately disappeared.

"Is something wrong?" asked TenTen.

"Ano, has Neji ever acted strange since our return from the mission involving Sakura?" asked Kakashi.

"No, he hasn't. He hasn't said anything atleast. Everything else he's done is not out of the ordinary."

"Arigatou, TenTen. I'll be off now..."

With that, Kakashi left the building but immediately took off. He was soon followed by Gai, Lee, and TenTen as there were screams heard from Naruto.

Kakashi and the others ran through the woods until they came upon Sai. Stopping next to him, Kakashi saw that Neji was standing over Naruto who was lying in pain on the ground.

"What happened!?" cried Gai-sensei.

"He attacked me," said Neji.

"Nani!?"

"It's true," said Sai. "We were running after Neji when Naruto ran ahead and tried to capture him."

"What's the meaning of this?" asked Neji to Kakashi. "Has he forgotten friend from foe?"

Kakashi scratched his head.

"Gomen, Neji. We just had a few questions," explained Kakashi. "Could we please have a moment alone?"

At that point, Gai, Lee, and TenTen reluctantly slid away.

Leaning against a tree, Neji crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"What is it that you need to ask?" said Neji.

"Well, first of all, you should open your eyes Neji so that I can see them," said Kakashi.

Neji opened his eyes and found that Kakashi had pulled back his forehead protector, revealing the Sharingan.

"An interrogation? What warrants such an act as this?"

"Where did you go on the night Sakura left?" asked Kakashi.

"Home. I thought everyone did."

Kakashi stared at him for a moment. Then he continued.

"What were you doing the next morning after we returned from our mission?"

"Don't remember. Is there a reason for all of this?" asked Neji, irritated.

"Hmmm... perhaps we made a mistake?" said Kakashi, looking up at the sky. "That's ok then, you can go."

Neji shook his head as if to say, "you're all crazy."

However, just as he was walking away, Kakashi signaled to Naruto and Sai. At that moment, Sai's snakes wrapped themselves around Neji before jumping on him to pin him down.

"Kakashi! What's going on!?" yelled Neji.

"You're lying..." said Kakashi, snapping his fingers and holding his hand out to Naruto. "We'll get it from you, even if we have to do this... Gomen, Neji."

A flash of delight came from Naruto's eyes as he pulled from his coat something sleek and green.

"No! NO!! What are you doing!?" yelled Neji, trying his best to get free.

"Mmmhmhmhmhmmm..." giggled Kakashi. Stretching out the material, he revealed the suit that Gai had given to Naruto. "I'm afraid we're going to have to resort to dirtier tactics, if this is the case."

"NO!" yelled Neji. "YOU CAN'T!!"

"Oh, yes we can!" shouted Naruto. "You'd better spill or I'm going to walk you through town and dump you in the middle of the Gennins!!"

Neji went silent for a moment and looked away.

"Fine," said Neji. "Do it."

"Aaaaah... so you ARE hiding something," said Kakashi. "Come on Neji, let's hear it."

Kakashi picked up a stick and went to sit on Neji. He began to poke Neji's cheek with it like a slow torture until his cheek became red and eventually a teensy bit raw. After that, Kakashi could see that there was no reasoning with him.

"Neji, please. We need to know what happened to our comrade. We have been worrying about it ever since," said Kakashi, his eyes lamentful.

Neji looked over to Naruto. Naruto had been looking away the whole time that Kakashi began poking him. His expression was sorrowful and his posture told Neji that he was feeling hopeless. If Neji wouldn't tell them where she was, Naruto felt that all would be truly lost.

Pulling his own hand up, Naruto stared into his palm and wondered whether this was his fate. Squeezing his hand into a fist, Naruto shut his eyes, dropped his hand, and turned to walk away.

"Let's go, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto.

Kakashi looked over his shoulder. "Huh? You're giving up, Naruto?"

"Let him be. He's obviously protecting her. We should let him go."

Kakashi looked down at Neji, who looked back at him with eyes of defiance.

"What is so important that you're willing to risk being interrogated?" asked Kakashi. "Why don't you just tell us?"

"Because she told him not to!" came a voice that was strong and true.

Looking up, Kakashi saw that Tsunade was now standing behind Sai.

"Let him go," she commanded.

Tsunade had heard that they were searching for Neji, and feared that it would turn ugly if she wasn't there to back him up.

"Tsunade-sama, what is it that you're not telling me about my precious student?" asked Kakashi, getting off of Neji.

As they watched the snakes binding Neji release and disolve, Naruto turned around to face Tsunade.

"Why didn't you just tell us?" asked Naruto. "Why did you let us suffer?"

"It was for Sakura's protection, Naruto. I'm sure even you can understand that," said Tsunade. "Don't blame it all on Neji. I chose not to send out a search party because like I said before, Sakura would not have left without a good reason. I taught her to be mature. Whatever decision she made, she made it maturely. Neji didn't say anything to me until after your team's report, so the decision to not follow was the right one."

"Are you going to tell us then, Tsunade-sama?" asked Kakashi.

Tsunade sighed. "Well, I can see that it's been bothering you a whole lot more than I thought it would. Naruto, I could handle, but not you, Kakashi... What I'm about to say is strictly confidential and can never be uttered from here on out. That goes for you too, Gai, Lee, TenTen..."

Suddenly out of a nearby tree fell the three who had been listening the whole time.

"Hehe, sorry Tsunade-sama..." said Gai, scratching his head.

"Listen up, what I am about to reveal must be kept secret. I don't know what would happen if it got out..." continued Tsunade.

Everyone was silent, Neji looked at Tsunade with uncertainty, but it didn't matter, because she was about to spill the beans.

"Sakura... wants to become a nun..."

"NANI!?" yelled everyone in unison. Neji's jaw dropped, but he hid his surprise quickly before anyone noticed.

"Yes... she wants to become a nun. After what Itachi did to her, it's no surprise to me, nor to any woman for that matter. I guess she felt that going into solitude would keep Orochimaru guessing... and protect us all from having to protect her. Her decision was made not in haste, but out of love of her comrades. So you see... Sakura wants to become a nun... That is all," finished Tsunade, turning to walk away.

"USO!!" yelled TenTen. "There's just no way!! Why would Sakura tell no one but Neji why... Wait a minute..."

Tsunade stopped in her tracks, a bead of sweat passed down her face.

"Nah, it can't be..." continued TenTen.

Suddenly TenTen's face went into shock and her jaw dropped.

"OH MY GOD, SHE'S PREGNANT!!"

"AAAAACCCCKKKKKK!!" yelled everyone.

Kakashi looked like he was going to faint, Naruto was about to keel over and die, Gai and Lee had their jaws on the floor, but Sai was still Sai, just with eyebrows lifted.

Shit! thought Tsunade.

Neji slapped his hand on his forehead. "TenTen..."

TenTen slapped her hands over her mouth. "Gomen!" she yelled through her hands, her eyes open wide.

"Oh my god..." said Naruto. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god..."

"Hontou ni?" asked Kakashi, dropping to his knees. "Is it true that she's pregnant?... Uuuuuuggh, it's all beginning to make sense... Neji must have seen it with the Byakuugan."

There was no denying it after that. Turning around, Tsunade nodded to them.

Lee suddenly passed out and knocked his head on the way down.

"OI! LEE!!" screamed Tsunade.

"Does Itachi know?" asked Naruto.

"No, I don't think so... Jiraiya had been monitoring Akatsuki but didn't tell Itachi about Sakura having left, nor did he tell him about the fact that she is pregnant. Apparently the rest of Akatsuki's patience is wearing thin on the subject of Sakura, so Jiraiya thought it best to not tempt him... No one is to say a thing regarding this matter, understand?"

Everyone nodded. They understood the complications with being one of the last Uchihas.

"Wow..." said Naruto. "To think that another Uchiha would be born!... Hey, I'm going to be an uncle!!... If only Sasuke knew..."

"Oi, LEE!!" shouted TenTen.

TenTen was violently shaking Lee and managed to get him up. As everyone stood there hovering over a dizzy Lee, a sudden crack of thunder struck in the distance. Looking out towards the mountains, everyone was thinking the same thing: I hope Sakura is ok.