Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

A/n: This is the re-written version of chapter one. It has a lot of the same events, just some different things. Like the way Naruto acted and other things. Remember they are eighteen in this! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

Chapter One

Tsunade sighed and ran a hand through her light blond hair, a frown forming on her lips. All week had been nothing but a hassle. Most of it involving a court case- Sasuke Uchiha's court case to be exact. She had been forced to endure five days of an intense trial - one where the elders were nervous and bitchy. After all, now that Sasuke knew of the truth and he had come back to Konoha he was determined to drag the elders down with him. Which in the end, he and they both won in their own ways- but mainly Sasuke.

She decided to exile the current elders and elect a new batch of old bags that would undoubtedly gripe about every little thing that she did. That was what the elders were best for after after all. Griping, moaning, and tearing her a new one if they didn't approve of something- which was almost everything.

Then again SHE did appoint them herself this time- they weren't hand-me-down elders from the previous Hokage. The new council consisted of people that were younger than herself, but still very knowledgeable, reliable, and trustworthy. They weren't very well known, but she knew them personally to be unbiased and interested in what was best for the village.

Sasuke's punishment in the end was to start out from the rank of Genin and have a year of probation while having to complete one-hundred-and-fifty hours of community service. It was a gentle punishment in her opinion- but she knew if she had him executed then Naruto and Sakura would never forgive her nor would they forgive the village. Hell, they would try to save Sasuke from such a fate- even if it meant risking their own lives. That much was certain.

The older blond leaned back in her chair, her dark amber-toned eyes glued to the ceiling. Thinking of Naruto and Sakura made her wonder about why they had such a . . . distant relationship now. They had been closer than any other team before the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

Now they were just distant and it was starting to show what kind of emotional and mental turmoil it was causing each other. Naruto tried to act like everything was all right by giving fake smiles and laughs while cracking jokes - and Sakura had been acting depressed. When she was around her friends though she would force a smile on her face and try and pretend like nothing was wrong. But it was more than obvious to not only her, but their entire friend network, that something had happened between the two. The only ones that even acted like they knew what was going on was Yamato, Sai, Kiba, Kakashi, and Lee and they hadn't even really told her what it could be.

Tsunade frowned. Was there anything that could repair their friendship so that they could act normal again? It was killing her seeing two people she cherished so down and depressed. But what could she do?

Before she could even come up with any ideas for a solution to Naruto and Sakura's strange behavior, Shizune walked in her office, a folder tucked under her arm.

"Here's those hospital reports that you required, My Lady." Shizune mumbled, approaching Tsunade's less than tidy desk and placing it on top of a mound of paperwork.

"Thank you." Tsunade mumbled, "Hey," Shizune stopped and glanced up at Tsunade with a questioning look on her face, "have you noticed how down Naruto and Sakura have been?"

Shizune didn't even hesitate, "Yes, how could you not notice?"

Tsunade cuffed her chin between her index finger and thumb, a calculating expression hanging on her features, "Hm, I wonder if there is anything we could do to help them make-up." she said, "You know something bad happened between them."

Shizune bobbed her head in agreement, "But what?"

Tsunade sighed, "I don't know- but I heard about Sakura chasing Naruto down in Iron Country while I was still in a comatose state." She said, closing her eyes, "Then when they got back was when I woke up. And I haven't seen them really be around each other much since then."

"So you're saying . . ."

"That something happened between them in Iron Country." Tsunade pointed out, causing Shizune to blink in realization. "Sakura must have said something or done something or vice versa that caused friction in their relationship." she said, "And it must be pretty bad if they haven't even made up yet."

Shizune stared at Tsunade. Tsunade stared at Shizune. "There has to be something we can do."

Tsunade's eyes widen all of a sudden, a light going off in her head. "I have an idea - it was just an experiment but . . ." the older voiced, trailing off and smirking happily. "We're going to use THAT jutsu."

Shizune cocked her head to the side, "Huh?"

Tsunade stood up and walked over to a tote that she had brought in. It contained valuable trinkets for various jutsu that she knew. She knelled by the side of the tote and popped off the blue lid with ease and discarded it on the floor beside her. Afterward she rummaged through the box, moving things aside until she found what she was looking for.

With a smirk on her face, she pulled out two rope necklaces, each having a small kunai charm attached (they were too dull to cause the wearer any pain or harm). She then went back to her desk and sat down, eyeing the necklaces.

Shizune arched her eyebrows, "I think I know now." she said, crossing her arms, "And that might just work. But weren't you going to use that for those on house arrest?"

"Yes, but we will make an exception. Besides, I haven't tried it out on anyone to see if it will work." Tsunade grinned, then put the necklaces down on her desk. Afterward she did a few hand seals, the charms on the necklaces lit up a blue color - the color of chakra - for a few moments before changing back to normal. "Now I just need you to go fetch our subjects for us."

Shizune bowed, "Yes, My Lady." And with that she was gone.

Tsunade couldn't wipe the smug grin off of her face. She may or may not have just saved her two favorite subordinates - not that she was biased or anything. Just protective over the two. One her apprentice, the other like a son to her.

She just hoped her plan would work.

Sakura gazed up at her pasty white ceiling, a frown on her face. She should be happy - Sasuke was back, safe and sound - but she wasn't. Of course she was glad that Sasuke was back home - he was her friend and she cared deeply about him. But she just felt uneasy. Mainly because after everything was said and done, Naruto started distancing himself from her. When she had tried to offer to take him to Ichiraku's he had said 'no'. That's when she knew something was really wrong. He was her best friend and she knew him almost like the back of her hand when it came to his actions - but sometimes he could be unpredictable and this was one of those times. But she had a feeling she knew what was wrong.

It was her words in Iron Country. She had lied to him about her feelings. She had forced herself to try and reciprocate his feelings that she had learned that he had for her which resulted in her sounding insincere. And she didn't even realize how much she had hurt him until a few weeks ago when she started really analyzing their situation as a whole. And that's when it dawned on her how rude and cruel her actions had been.

If Sasuke had told her that he loved her when they were twelve in such an insincere manner she would have been heart-broken and would have felt betrayed. Yet, she never stopped to think that Naruto wouldn't believe her. She assumed that he would not question her and take her words to heart. Which he had taken her words to heart, just not in the way she had wanted him to. Instead he had told her with a hurt and angered face, "I hate people who lie to themselves."

Sakura flinched at the memory; there was no way she could turn this around and blame someone else. She was the one who got herself in her current situation. And she needed to learn the consequences of her actions.

The pinkette turned on her side, stifling back a sob, why had she taken him for granted? He had always done just about anything for her without question and now she had ruined what they had. And what they had was something she had considered special. She cared about her friendship more so with him than Sasuke. She was willing to kill Sasuke if it meant saving Naruto and preventing Sasuke from falling even further into the dark abyss of misery. That man, she had thought, was a lost cause. The Sasuke she had once known was gone.

But Naruto had proved her wrong - he had been able to pull Sasuke back to the light. And in the end Sasuke had gotten his revenge against the elders (yes, she learned the truth about Itachi and finally understood why he had joined the Akatsuki and was so set on destroying Konoha). So all had seemed all right in the end. But when they got back to Konoha and Sasuke's trial had ended, Naruto did a complete 180! He distanced himself - very un-Naruto like. And it worried her.

She just wanted to make everything better, but she didn't know how. When he saw her he would immediately change his path - flee using Hiraishin on a few occasions. And that hurt as well. He didn't want to be near her. Usually, when she, him, Sasuke, Sai, and Kakashi were at Ichiraku's together they would act just like they use to. Except Naruto never referred to her as 'Sakura-chan' it was always just 'Sakura'. And most of the time his smiles were fake, his laughter empty. Which did she blame him after what she had done?

No.

If Sasuke, when she was still in love with him, had done the things that she had done - she wouldn't have been able to forgive him. She would have been devastated by such false hope. She would have forced herself to move on. After all, she would have felt disrespected and belittled.

But she hoped she would never experience that. Besides, she had lost her feelings for Sasuke (even though, during the war she had been certain she still loved him romantically, but learned otherwise). She didn't know it, but after a while, she realized that she valued Naruto more than she did Sasuke. Of course she valued Sasuke quite a bit now that he had returned. But still . . . she would never allow herself to love him again - not like that. Sasuke was emotionally daft and torn. He had deep scars running through him mentally and emotionally that he would never be able to overcome - at least not for a long time. Meaning that his intimate and love life would suffer greatly. He wasn't one to get close with someone physically nor was he willing to really open up to someone. So why waste her time? He needed a true friend like Naruto to open up to fully before he could ever open up to a girlfriend or someone he felt romantically about.

Sakura sat up in her bed and walked over to the glass sliding doors that lead out to her balcony. She slid open the door and walked over to the stone railing and leaned against it, her elbows resting on the cool stone while her chin rested in her palms. She kept her eyes focused on the orange and pink sky above the village, the beautiful shade of orange reminding her of the friend she had lost for being so stupid and compulsive.

She bit her bottom lip, and stood up, rubbing her arms to attempt to warm them up in the winter air. Her Jounin outfit wasn't very winter-friendly, but since she was on call she chose to wear it despite that fact. All she wore was the usual Jounin navy blue shirt with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, black gloves to protect her knuckles when she pushed her chakra into her fists, an olive green Jounin vest, black short shorts, her black knee-high ninja boots, and her usual ninja equipment. She was more than cold to say the least.

When Sakura had enough of the cold she turned around and went to head back inside when she felt a presence behind her. Immediately she twisted her body back around, readying her fist to make contact with flesh, muscle, and bone when she saw who it was.

"Shizune?" She blinked, crossed her arms, and shivered, "What's wrong?"

"Lady Hokage requires your presence."

Why was he acting like this?

Naruto sighed and sat down on his bed cross legged. His shaggy blond hair was missing its usual head band and he was clad in a long sleeved black Jounin shirt that had the signature red-swirl on each upper sleeve (his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows), an olive green Jounin vest that was unzipped, and his usual orange pants. He didn't care too much for fashion, but decided it would be best to start wearing the Jounin shirt and vest to show off his rank. Even she had started doing that.

The blond frowned at the thought of his pink-headed friend. Of course he still cared about her and didn't want to see her unhappy, but now that he had brought Sasuke back his mind was plagued by her confession. That's what had him in such a wreck.

He was hurt.

He felt betrayed.

He felt angry.

He felt disrespected.

Yet instead of approaching him and apologizing for what she had done, they both pretended as if nothing happened - flashing smiles and laughing whenever they were around the rest of their friends or comrades. She acted as if she didn't even care whether or not they made up. She didn't come to his apartment to talk, and she didn't seek him out often. Her actions were proof enough that her words had been empty ones. Just - just why the fuck did he love her?

The blond sighed, that was an easy question. She was caring. She was bold. She could be abusive when he pissed her off or went too far - she had always kept him in line when he needed to be. She had stunning jade eyes, a smile to die for, a forehead that he would love to kiss, and beautiful, managed pink hair that he wanted to run his fingers through. He wanted to make her happy - and that was another reason he distanced himself.

If she didn't love him - if she didn't respect him - then that meant that she still viewed him as a pest. An annoying fly that was in her way of being with Sasuke. He was willing to put his happiness on the line for her - even after everything she had done. That's just how much he loved her.

Naruto gazed across his room where a golden picture frame rested on top of his dresser. The picture was of him and Sakura at the winter festival when they were fifteen. She had worn a pale blue kimono with a design composed of small, white flowers that complimented her features beautifully and a white sash around her waist, her short hair had been clipped up in the back while her bangs were kept down, cuffing her face. He on the other hand had worn a plain black yukata with a navy blue sash around his waist. He had won Sakura a stuffed teddy bear and that was what made them decide to have a picture taken. Thankfully they ran into Lee whom had a camera and made them huddle together for a photo. Sakura and he both were smiling, his arm around her shoulders while she squeezed the bear to her chest.

"What a good memory." he muttered, laughing bitterly just as a pebble 'clinked' on his window. He cocked an eyebrow and swiftly bent over the edge of the bed and grabbed his ninja sandals. He put them on and crawled over the bed and opened his window. He frowned when he saw Shizune down on the street staring up at him expectantly. "Shizune?"

"Yeah!" she answered, her hands cuffing her mouth, "Lady Hokage requires your presence!"

Naruto sighed, "What does Tsunade-baachan want now?"

Sakura and Tsunade gazed at each other, the younger frowning, the older smirking. The room was tense and the silence long, but they both knew something was about to happen. It was to be anticipated after all.

Finally Sakura stepped forward, her nerves getting the best of her, "Is their something that you need Tsunade-shishou?"

Tsunade smirked and nodded, "Yes, but you're going to have to wait for a moment, Sakura."

Sakura blinked in surprise and decided that it be best not to say anything. Instead she opted to just bow her head and take a seat in a chair beside Tsunade's desk. Once she was sitting she glanced over at her teacher, a pleasant look on her face. That boosted Sakura's curiosity. Just what the hell was Tsunade up to? Whatever it was it was making Sakura uncomfortable and putting her on edge. She knew the woman had something up her sleeve, but just what to be exact?

Before Sakura could contemplate her current situation any longer, Shizune and Naruto came through the door. Sakura and Naruto both gasped, the latter giving her a fake, cheesy grin. Sakura placed her hand over her heart and sighed, why wouldn't he just let her talk to him? Didn't he know she wanted to apologize? Of course not . . . How could he?

"I just wanted you both to come here because I have something to give you." Tsunade spoke before they could say anything to one another, noticing the immediate build up of tension in the room. The aura was awful and almost suffocating, full of anger, hurt, and confusion. That's just how strong the emotions seemed to roll off of everyone in the room were.

"What would you like to give us, Tsunade-baachan?" Naruto questioned, his arms crossed across his chest. Part of Tsunade expected Sakura to leap over to Naruto and punch him for calling her 'baachan' like she normally would - but it didn't happen. Sakura didn't even budge an inch, in fact.

Wiping the surprise from her face, Tsunade said, "These necklaces."

Sakura and Naruto neared her desk, making sure there was distance between themselves though. "Necklaces?" they asked in unison as the Hokage handed them both identical rope necklaces with a kunai charm attached to each.

"Yeah, I wanted you both to know how much I appreciate you as my subordinates." she chirped, grinning widely when they both thanked her and slipped them over their heads around their necks. Immediately they glowed the color of her chakra, causing both to jump back in shock.

"What the hell?" Naruto chided, trying to tug the necklace off only to be zapped by her chakra and feel his being drained at the same time. "Ouch!"

"W-What's this about, Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura inquired, her own attempt to take the necklace off ending with the same results as Naruto. After the intense, acute pain disappeared, she was left panting from what felt like chakra exhaustion to a small degree. She certainly didn't want to feel that again! It felt as if someone made her hold onto an electric fence that not only shocked her but absorbed her chakra as well!

"Those necklaces force you to have to spend time together - corny yes, but will it solve whatever issues that you two are having? Hopefully. Also I needed subjects to try this jutsu out on - who better than my most trusted subordinates." Tsunade explained with a pleased look. "If you try to pull the necklaces off, both which are fused with my chakra, will result in you feeling intense pain while having your chakra drain. Also if you both are out of a three meter (9.9 feet) radius of one another the one that left the radius will feel that pain and exhaustion. It could result in death if you're out of the radius for a prolonged amount of time."

"But why the hell would you do that, baachan?" Naruto demanded, a mortified expression overwhelming his features. Sakura just stared down at her feet in thought, she did want to make up with Naruto after all - and this was the perfect opportunity to rekindle their friendship. Also she was all for helping her master after all she had done for her over the years. But if they were too far apart from each other it could result in death. Those consequences were . . . harsh.

"Because for one, you two need to make nice. And the other reason is because this could make house arrest a lot more easier. No escapees." Tsunade answered, "This experiment will last until next summer. Now - GET YOUR ASSES OUT OF MY OFFICE!"

"B-But . . . but . . . what should we do first, Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura asked meekly, her hands clasped in front of her tightly, a blush on her face. Things were going to be hell. Bathroom breaks -oh my Kami? Her eyes widened - this experiment lasted for three seasons, how the hell were they going to go to the bathroom?

"I suggest you figure out who is going to live with who."

I hope that's better than the original. Naruto doesn't completely avoid Sakura and pretends to be happy on occasion I hope he seemed more in character! Please tell me what you think!