Normal POV

"Go right on in. She's waiting,"

A pale long finger reached for the brass knob on the door and twisted it open. A girl with long pink hair carried a bag full of scrolls into a large round office. Holding the bag in front of her, she walked up to the desk in the center of the room and set them down. Ignoring whoever was in the room with her, she smiled at the golden haired lady sitting in the chair in front of her.

"Tsunade-sama, I brought to the scrolls you wanted," said Haruno Sakura. She brushed the dust on her arms to the floor and fixed her red shirt and white skirt. Her black spandex under her skirt was riding up, so she quickly fixed them as well. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and flexed her sore hands. Her long porcelain fingers twitched as they tried to relieve themselves of the strenuous weight they had just carried ten blocks.

The golden-haired lady sitting in the chair smiled at Sakura and graciously waved her arms to a chair beside the desk. "Sit, Sakura. You look tired,"

Sakura waved her arms and insisted, "Oh, no! I have to go back to the hospital to re-organize the papers that were destroyed by a rampaging patient, remember?"

"Ah yes…" reminisced Tsunade. "That patient…quite the interesting one, wasn't he?"

"Yes-,"

"But we have more important things to discuss. Turn around Sakura and look around my office,"

Sakura's eye brows rose slightly.

Sakura noticed she hadn't even looked around her office so she quickly followed orders from her sensei. Standing next to her was a tall tan young man. He was at least a head taller than her and wore an orange and black jumpsuit. He wore his black hitai proudly on his forehead and stood with his arms in his pockets. Sakura looked up to see a head of spiky blonde hair, slightly growing past his ears.

It was a person she could never forget.

"Naruto…" breathed Sakura.

He looked down and beamed his blue wide eyes at her green eyes. She could see her reflection in his eyes and by the looks of it, she looked terrified.

He tugged his hands out of his pockets and grabbed her small shoulders. "Sakura-chan…it's been a while,"

Sakura sharply breathed in a quick gasp of air as she noticed the deepness of Naruto's voice. It was no longer the squeaky raspy voice she remembered from her teenage years. It was mature, deep and rough. It was as if his voice box had undergone an intense sun tanning, becoming rough and dark.

She dropped her arms to her sides as if they were 100 pound weights and quickly looked at the ground, releasing herself from the trance that Naruto had put her in. Sakura took a sharp step backwards, surprising Naruto. "Sakura-chan?"

Sakura could not make eye-contact with her old teammate. Memories that were locked away behind her mind quickly resurfaced. She whispered, "What's going on?"

Tsunade wrapped her arms around her waist and commanded, "Keep looking around, Sakura. Naruto isn't the only surprise in store for you today,"

Sakura raised her head slowly and carefully turned around. She refused to meet Naruto's anxious eyes as she looked around because she knew she would break if she saw those blue saucers again.

She didn't know that the other person that was in the room could easily break her as well.

She couldn't even say his name.

The man that commanded her into utter silence smirked and said in a bold voice, "Sakura,"

Sakura couldn't do anything. She didn't know what to say. Still staring at the raven-haired man she stuttered frantically, "Ts-Tsunade-sama, I'm going to the hospital now. If you need me, just ring me up,"

She tried walking, but it felt like her feet were weighed down by concrete blocks. She picked up her empty bag slowly without making eye contact with anybody. Slinging it across her narrow shoulders, she picked up her heavy feet and shuffled out quietly.

After she exited the room, her shaking hands closed the door behind her silently. Sakura couldn't control herself anymore. She sprinted down the empty hallways, right past Shizune, the women who let her in the room that contained her old teammates. Zooming past Shizune, she accidently knocked her papers out of her hand. "Sorry, Shizune." Sakura looked down at the floor, embarrassed. "I didn't mean to…I…just sorry,"

Embarrassed at her stupid apology towards Shizune, she continued to sprint past the villagers and the stores. Sakura stopped, or couldn't stop, when she reached the hospital door. Quickly shaking her head and smacking her head a couple times, she walked in with a fake smile on her face. Acknowledging the nurses around her she walked calmly toward the elevators. Pressing the "up" button, she waited for the doors to open.

She stepped into the elevators and pressed the very top floor number. Elevator music came on and it calmed her down a bit.

The memory of her two teammates in the Hokage's room came back to her thoughts.

Why am I so useless? That was so embarrassing.

She shook her head again.

I haven't seen them in five years. Why wouldn't I be a bit freaked?

She kicked herself as she walked toward her office.

Because they left me.

She paused in front of her door. Her hands shook as reality hit her straight in the face.

They're really back.

Opening her door, she stalked toward her desk, placed her empty bag onto the floor, and slumped into her comfy black leather chair. Behind her head was a window wall, where the villagers can see her and she can see them. She swiveled the chair so she could face the glass wall.

It was as if they, the villagers, could see right through her. They could all see her behind those fake smiles and sparkling eyes.

They all knew that she died inside when they left, five years ago.

They all knew that those fake smiles contained frowns and disappointed smirks.

Those viridian eyes, they sparkled, but they all knew that those eyes they loved so much were dead, a dull green never to sparkle again.

The question was, how come they all knew the real Sakura, but she couldn't even realize those small things about herself?

Sakura shook her head again. Lifting the corner of her mouth slightly, she noticed how many times she has been doing that today.

Turning her body away from the window, she picked up her large stack of papers and set them in front of her. Arranging them into three smaller stacks, she picked up an elastic band and put her long hair into a messy bun. She stretched her arms in front of her and cracked her neck slightly.

Time to go to work.

Back in the Hokage's office

No one said a word. Not even Naruto, surprisingly.

He probably didn't know what to say.

Tsunade looked back and forth between the two men in front of her and clapped her hands to end the awkward silence that Sakura left behind. "Ok! So, what should your punishments be?" She crossed her arms and stood. Walking between the two boys and stood with her hands on her hips.

"You two are missing-nin. Law states that death is the immediate punishment." Tsunade cracked her knuckles and stepped towards Sasuke. "Should I kill you where you stand?"

Naruto raised his hands in defence and shook them violently. He tried to say something, but stuttered out mumbo-jumbo that no one could understand.

"Naruto, speak clearly." Tsunade turned away from the two boys and walked back to her desk. Sitting in her comfortable chair, she put her hands to her chin. Cracking her neck, she looked at both of the boys.

"So, I assume you two don't want to die today."

Naruto stuttered, "Ye-ye-yes! Of course not, baa-chan!" He raised his large hand and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "We both want to come back, and stay!" Cracking a small at the stoic boy next to him, he grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and gripped it tightly. "Together,"

Tsunade looked at the two boys, no…two men, in front of her. She remembered them both when she gave out missions to them. So small and un-muscular.

They looked like squirts back then. My, has the time gone by.

Naruto grew in height and muscle mass. His whiskers had become less defined and his facial shape had become more prominent. Less round and more masculine.

Naruto had grown to become very handsome, like his father.

Tsunade looked at Sasuke. She always knew he was the handsome one in Konoha 9.

Naruto was taller than Sasuke now by at least a couple inches. Sasuke's black hair shined in the light above him. His outfit consisted of a cream colored tunic and dark navy pants. The tunic was sleeveless, so his muscular lean arms were exposed to the cold AC running in the room. He was still as pale as ever, eyes empty and distant. His katana was wrapped in a black cloth running around his waist.

Naruto was more muscular than Sasuke, but Sasuke had a leaner, defined look than Naruto did.

Tsunade smiled as she noticed the differences physically than when they were kids.

She grabbed two blank scrolls from her desk and quickly wrote down some things. She slapped her hands together as she sealed them with her blood. Summoning a hawk, she sent the scrolls toward the hospital, knowing that Sakura would open them.

The scrolls were meant for her eyes only.

She looked up at the boys and boomed, "Your punishment is probation for a year. No ninja things, nothing. Only D- ranked missions, and only when I tell you. You are going to be watched 24/7," she paused and smirked slightly. "Oh, and you both are going to live with a teammate of yours. I can't have to running around the village un-supervised."

Naruto looked up, surprised at the statement that Tsunade just said. "We're going to be living with Sakura?"

Tsunade bit her lip, trying not to laugh. Smiling, she grabbed Naruto's collar and shook him. "No, of course not. Sakura wouldn't even allow me to say those words in a sentence together,"

She let go of Naruto's collar and smoothed his clothes out. "You are going to be living with Kakashi,"

Sasuke's eyes widened and he scoffed, "I'm afraid that I can't do that," He crossed his arms and looked away from the two people standing in front of him. "I'd rather live with Sakura,"

Naruto shook his head violently, agreeing with every word that Sasuke said.

"And why not, Uchiha-brat?"

"Because our old sensei is a pervet," stated Sasuke. Naruto kept nodding repeatedly towards Tsunade and grinned.

Naruto beamed, "I want to live with Sakura-chan!" He scratched his head and look at Sasuke. "I don't think we've ever been to her house, even when we were kids, right Sasuke?"

"Aa," answered Sasuke.

Tsunade put her hands into her head and smoothed out the wrinkles that were appearing on her forehead.

Naruto and Sasuke, or just Naruto, were blabbering about where they were going to stay, being missing-nin and all while Tsunade noticed how old she was getting. Smoothing out her wrinkles, she began to reminisce her past.

She was alone, unlike the two boys in front of her.

Jiraya was gone, and so was Orochimaru. Her only two teammates, her precious people. Don and her younger brother were also dead.

She noticed how alone she really was.

Depressing.

Enough about me.

The boys were still talking in front of her while she was thinking. Suddenly, she clapped her hands to get their attention. "Well, I believe that isn't my decision. It would be Sakura's," Tsunade rubbed her hands and clasped the fingers together. "Sakura isn't so, let's say, open anymore. You'll have to really convince her to let you stay at her place,"

Naruto laughed and waved his hands. "That's not a problem! Sakura-chan will just fall for my good looks and let me in,"

A quick pale hand smacked Naruto behind the head and muttered, "Dobe,"

Chuckling, Tsunade checked her watch. A smirk was imprinted on her face as she wrote down something on a notepad. "Here is the address to Sakura's home," said Tsunade as she handed the pink piece of paper to Sasuke. She ripped off another piece of paper and quickly scribbled something down. Passing the paper to Naruto, she chimed with a smile, "Here are the directions to the Konoha Hospital. Her shift should be ending in fifteen minutes, so I would hurry."

Naruto snatched the paper out of her hand and grabbed Sasuke's collar. Sasuke grunted as Naruto pulled him out of the office. "Thanks baa-chan!" called Naruto as Sasuke struggled under his iron grip.

Tsunade shook her head in amusment and sighed, "Boys will be boys." She looked down at the paperwork on her table. "Oh, Sakura…I hope your prepared for this," she paused, "You're going to have to be."

Back at the hospital

A hawk appeared at her window sill and gently pecked the window. The pink haired maiden turned around from her massive pile of papers and opened the window. The hawk greeted her with a slight dip of its head and dropped two scrolls in her hand. Sakura placed the scrolls on her already crowded table. Opening her drawer, she picked up a piece of dried fish and gave it to the hawk as an award. The hawk gracefully accepted the reward and flew away.

Sakura sat back down in her chair and picked up the two scrolls. They were nothing intricate, no special color or design to indicate its importance. She sighed and picked up a kunai to slice the red seal off the scrolls.

As soon as she placed the kunai to the red seal, she paused. This was no ordinary seal. This seal was the only seal Tsunade-sama used to communicate with Sakura via scrolls.

The seals were red, indicating that blood was involved to seal these scrolls.

Sakura dropped the kunai back into her pouch and calmly did a few foreign hand signs. She bit her thumb, not hard, but enough to draw a little bit of blood. She spread the blood around her thumb and pressed her thumb on the seal. Her fingerprint was a kind of key, it unlocked the seal and both scrolls opened. Quickly drying off the excess blood, she read the first scroll.

It was Naruto's shinobi records.

It showed every mission, every detail of Naruto's life. His parents, his past, his status…everything.

The next scroll was Sasuke's records.

The same information appeared.

Sakura leaned back in her chair. With her brows furrowed, she began to wonder. Why was Tsunade sending her the records of Naruto and Sasuke?

Sakura wasn't the least bit interested in her ex-teammates lives.

They didn't even know hers. She wondered, why even bother caring? They didn't care about hers?

What an immature thought, Sakura.

Re-sealing the informative scrolls, she placed them in a safe behind her bookcase. Sakura paused as she put the scrolls inside the iron cage. Lost in thought, she pondered even more. Was it possible that Tsunade sent Sakura these records to keep them safe from the hands of the elders? Why would Tsunade give such a large responsibility to her? Was she ready to burden such a responsibility? Tsunade- sama knows how important Naruto and Sasuke are to this village. She knows how they are in danger from the elders. Why not protect the imperative information herself? Why give it to her inferior student, Haruno Sakura?

She must have a good reason. Give it time.

Sakura sighed, exasperated about the fact that her old teammates were back and in deeper trouble than they were before.

No, she wasn't exasperated. She was frightened. Scared. Terrified.

How could she face them when a hour ago she walked out on them. She left them in the Hokage's room.

But they did that first, didn't they? They walked out on me first. Both of those idiots deserved it.

Sakura shook her head, feeling her pink locks brush against her cheeks.

Wow, I've been doing that a lot today.

She sat down on the couch in the corner of her office. Laying her head on the back of the couch, she closed her eyes.

Sakura wanted a well -deserved rest. This day was too hectic for her.

Little did she know that her life was about to become a little bit more hectic with the arrival of her two old teammates about to knock on her office door.

}{}{}{}{}{

Hey guys!

If you guys enjoyed my new fanfic, please review and give me some comments! I'll really appreciate it.

Also, I just wanted to say the italic sentences between each paragraph, for those who didn't know, were little thought bubbles. Sorry if I got anybody confused.

I wanted this fanfic to be a little bit more mature and elaborated. I hope it didn't confuse anyone at all…^^.

Again, any comments or reviews would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading my new fanfic (sorry about the sudden cancelation of my first story…)!

OH WAIT! BEFORE YOU LEAVE!

I don't know what to title this fanfic. All the names I come up with kind of suck. Ha!

Any suggestions would also be appreciated! Thanks for all your help!

-mdrm812-