Sorry for the LONG delay, but hey I got a 3.9 GPA so I can't complain much x D. I'll try to update on a much more regular basis! Please review I always appreciate it.

"People have to really suffer before they can risk doing what they love." - - Chuck Palahniuk


Breakdown.

The last bit of light could be seen leaving the radiant sky, the dazzling orange fading away to the mysterious night. Sakura knew if she had been a tad faster Naruto and she would have been home by now, but as the minuscule jewels began to light the dark night Naruto spoke up.

"We are still a few hours from the village, I suggest we camp out here and head out in the morning", he stated more thinking out loud.

He motioned toward Sakura awaiting her answer.

She figured if she really wanted to get home she could have went a few more hours in the daunting dark, but the hot sun and extensive pace had exhausted her. She didn't have the energy of the Kyubii. She figured Naruto was only being kind.

"Yeah that sounds alright; we aren't in any rush to get home."

After they set up for the night, the only sound that could be heard was the crackling of the undersized fire. She watched as the flames danced against the mild wind, which increased the size of the orange wonder. It occurred to Sakura that she was becoming quite hungry, and was particularly thankful she had packed away some food before leaving Suna.

She gazed toward Naruto who was lying down with his eyes closed and hands placed statue like behind his back, she wondered if he was hungry. He looked so calm and at ease, she couldn't help but compare him to his younger self when everything was so wild and crazy.

He shifted under her gaze, trying to find a comfy spot. He could feel her eyes on him and he suddenly became a bit hotter. He wondered what she thought of him, he had changed a lot when all of a sudden.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrr!"

He opened his eyes in dread as he sat up quickly holding his stomach down, why was his stomach always insisting on betraying him in front of Sakura. He looked over to her to find a bewildered look upon her face, followed by a string of loud laughter.

"Hahaha I think hahaha someone is starving", she stated in between muffled laughs. She broke her sandwich in half and heedlessly made her way over to sit next to him handing him half.

"It isn't ramen, but it should do.", she stated

He enthusiastically took it and they sat in silence once again. Only the sounds of swallowing could be heard between the two. When it came time to finally get some sleep, Sakura laid her bed out on the other side of the fire, and Naruto stayed on the other side.

She laid down and as weary as she was she couldn't find her eyes closing. She looked up to the stunning star filled sky. It looked a million times more beautiful outside of the village, as if each star tried to out light the one next to it. She figured with all the lights, no one really looked up toward the sky anymore, it was a sight that few appreciated, but Sakura never ceased to be amazed by it.

Finding the lack of sleep exasperating, she decided she might try to make conversation with the man she had forgotten. Though parts of Naruto remained the same she began to see a man she had never known before. She was determined to lessen the gap that had grown so large over the months apart.

"Beautiful. Isn't it Naruto?"

A moment or two escaped and there wasn't a response, she figured he had fallen asleep, but shortly after he kindly spoke up, " Hai Sakura-chan, it really is."

The silence over took them again, and Sakura hated that. She could handle silence from anyone else, well perhaps not from Ino, but most of all not from Naruto. He was such a chatter box around her as kids, had she really fallen so far that he couldn't be himself around her.

"Naruto…"

"Hmm.."

"Do…do you believe in heaven?", the moment it left Sakura's mouth she was mentally cursing herself. Wanting to immediately slap her hand over her mouth in order to restrain anymore ridiculous questions. She had spent less than three days with him. He would surly think she was crazy now, only she could ask such a dim-witted question.

She figured he wasn't expecting this type of question since he shuffled a moment and did not answer for another few.

"Yes."

She hated his one word answers, she wanted to hit him firmly across the head, or more so hit him through a rock, and couldn't he tell she was trying to have a conversation.

" Do…you believe in hell?", now she knew she was going crazy. She had no idea where she was going with this.

Naruto instantaneously answered, "Yes."

She let out an overwhelmed sigh, satisfied on just closing her eyes and not bothering him anymore.

"I think they need each other, one can't really coexist without the other. But I think even between heaven and hell you got to have some kind of faith, some kind of other existence." , Naruto replied out of the blue, surprising even himself scratching his head.

"What's between heaven and hell?", Sakura asked.

Silence over took them, and Naruto's sarcastic side emerged, "Last time I checked…the earth?",

Sakura's eyes who had slowly began to close flung open, but she lay still on her back, "What…?", she searched the ground around her until her fingers clasped what she was looking for.

She silently hurled the rock into the air, over the dim fire; she waited only a moment till it connected perfectly with its target.

Naruto let a small yelp, "Sakura-chan, that could have taken out my eye."

"You can use your wit and sarcasm on all those other girls Naruto, don't try it with me."

"No, think about it Sakura-chan Earth is right between heaven and hell. Always has and always will be. It admires and will forever gaze toward Heaven, wanting and always aiming to reach it one day. But it also has to battle against the evils of hell, try to convince others that it isn't the correct path. Earth has a heavy weight to carry, but with guidance from both ends it is balanced. So even though the two exist, earth will always keep them at bay, Heaven and Hell don't belong with each other…and besides doesn't Heaven and Earth, sound nicer than Heaven and Hell?

Naruto stopped speaking and waited for an answer from Sakura. He heard a slight laugh towards the end of his little speech, and found a content smile crossed on his face. He really had no idea where those words came from they just flew out like that, but he didn't mind as long as it made Sakura happy.

Sakura felt her eyelids get heavy as the words sunk into her mind, before she drifted off she thought about what the old lady had said about her taro card. She suddenly felt a slight sting in her arm, but her eyes were too heavy and her body to fatigued to move. So she merely ignored it.

"Goodnight, Baka Naruto."

And unfortunately a good night was the last thing Sakura was going to have.

Sakura could feel the intense light of the sun against her eyelids, the warm glow was tickling her skin, however as Sakura tried to open her eyes she found it quite hard, but she noticed a chilly breeze hitting her face. The wind was slamming against her and she questioned whether or not she had made believe the warmth of the sun and instead was caught up in a wind storm.

And as she pushed the sleep from her eyes, her eyelids remained heavy, she tried to lift her hand to her face and found that she felt exceptionally limp. She swiftly realized the wind was rushing at her, as she was being carried.

The hands holding her were warm, and she could sense the rigid grip on her body. When she tried to shift she could feel the grasp tighten.

"Hold on Sakura-chan….", she deliberated a moment and concluded it had to be Naruto, his voice was so isolated like he was miles away from her and not the one carrying her in his arms currently.

Than a thought occurred to her, why did she need to be carried, she had two feet she could walk herself. She was prepared to quarrel with him, when a concentrated pain stabbed at her arm. It felt as if it was on fire. Thoughts raced her mind, and she logically began to grasp that she had been injured somehow.

She ran through some things in her fuzzy mind, and remembered the appalling sting she felt last night in her arm. Could something poisonous have bit her? Was she going to be alright?

She focused her attention on her arm and sure enough she could feel scarps of cloth taped to her skin. She wasn't certain why Naruto had sheltered her arm with a cloth; she managed to assemble enough energy to have her free hand stroke against the sting.

It was moist. Then Sakura truly began to panic, she was bleeding. She looked up eyes barely open to see Naruto utterly attentive on the road ahead, he had sweat forming on his forehead and Sakura tried to smile to get his attention.

When he looked down at her, his blue eyes were dancing; he had that look of extreme worry. He was no doctor and he knew he had to get her home quickly. She rested against his chest and slowly whispered to him, "P-Poision…"

She considered he had already figured it out or he wouldn't be rushing like this, but Sakura was a medic. If she had been bitten last night and the poison wasn't removed in time it would be spreading through her body attacking her vital organs. If that was the case she wasn't going to live much longer. What a befitting end she thought, she finally began to let go of some of the pain in her life, only to end up parting by death.

She stopped struggling the heavy feeling in her eyes and allowed sleep to take her once again.

"Sakura…"

A/N

Muhahaha! I know it gets a little corny but what can I say. Please Please Please review!