Prologue: Recollection

It's over. Sakura exhaled deeply as she remembered all that had happened in the previous weeks. Madara had declared war on the ninja world, and had allied with Kabuto to try and capture the last tailed beasts, Naruto and Bee. Numerous lives were lost, and countless people were injured. But now, it was over. Madara was defeated and once again, there was peace.

Peace? No, I don't think it'll ever be truly peaceful again. Sakura curled up on her chair and looked down at the paperwork on her desk. Too much has changed, she thought. And we'll never go back to how we used to be.

She closed her eyes and thought back to how terribly hurt Naruto had been after he was brought in to the medical centre. He had looked her in the eye and told her that Sasuke would be coming back. That he had kept his promise. "Yeah," Sakura murmured softly to herself. "Sasuke-kun has returned to Konoha, but...It's not right."

Sasuke had nearly killed Naruto before he was finally captured and detained by Konoha's ANBU squad. Now, the former Orochimaru lackey would spend every last second of his life in the village's most guarded jail cell. He would never see the light of day again. And that, Sakura remembered, was already considered a light punishment for him. All the village leaders, especially the Raikage, had wanted the Uchiha dead. They had wanted him hanged and burned in public, where everyone could see his disgrace. But Tsunade-sama was kind enough to spare his life, Sakura smiled in recollection.

Madara had disappeared after his loss. No one knew where he was, and though the shinobi world still thought of him as a dangerous man, the leaders agreed that he wouldn't attack for another good hundred years. Kabuto's body was found near his lair, and he was buried somewhere near the Hidden Village of Sound. His Edo Tensei zombies all met the same fate as their creator.

The sound of the doorbell ringing pulled Sakura away from her thoughts. "I'm coming!" She yelled as she ran down the stairs. She unlocked the door and pulled it open.

"Oh, Naruto…Sai…Hello." She smiled weakly at the two boys standing on her doorstep. "What brings you here?" She glanced up at Naruto, who still had bandages on his face and a cast on his right arm. Sai was in better shape, but there were bruises on his skin and a melancholic look in his dark eyes.

Naruto managed to grin back at his teammate. "Don't tell me you've forgotten, Sakura-chan," he whined. "You do know what today is, right?" He rubbed at his cheek, wincing a bit.

Sakura looked down. Of course she knew, but there was a part of her that wished she was never informed. "Yeah," she said, trying to keep her voice light. "Today is the day…"

"Today is the day Team Kakashi is allowed to visit Sasuke-kun," Sai finished for her in a flat voice. He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head. "Come on now. You do wish to see that traitor, don't you? If we don't depart now, we'll miss visiting hours."

Sakura was still for a moment. Naruto waved a free hand in front of her face. "Hey, you alright?" He frowned, staring at the kunoichi with an earnest look in his eyes. "If…If you're uncomfortable about going, it's okay. You don't have to go."

"N-n-no! I'll go," Sakura stepped forward and walked in between her teammates. "I want to go. C'mon, we're going to be late!" She skipped ahead of Naruto and Sai, smiling wide. She hoped that they couldn't tell how heavy-hearted she felt, how nervous she was. Of course she wanted to see Sasuke-kun, but could she? She didn't know what state he was in, or how he felt about being held in prison. She didn't even know whether he'd want to see his old teammates again. Probably not, she thought. But…We won't stay too long. We won't bother him. He's still Sasuke-kun…He won't hurt us. She repeated this over and over in her head.

"Hey, wait up!" Naruto wobbled as he tried to catch up to Sakura.

Sai smiled to himself. Their bonds are still strong, he thought. I wonder if they'll always stay this way.

This is my first fanfiction! Please review. Expect awesomeness in the next chapters!