The Return

Intro/Chapter 1

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*Thanks so much for 50K reads!!! I posted this story to AO3 as well  :) *

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                                The Journey Begins Again

  Sakura sighed and exited the operating room. She wiped the sweat from her brow, "Whew, another life saved it seems."

"You did great, Sakura. I don't think even Tsunade could have done it better" Shizune commented, removing her gown and gloves. "You should go and celebrate a job well done".

"Yeah" Sakura smiled, pulling her elastic out of her hair. She only wished he could be there with her.

She waited so long for his return. Yet, he hadn't even come home for Naruto's wedding. All she got was a letter of congratulations since it was her birthday on the same day. She appreciated the thought but wondered if he thought of her as more than a comrade at this point. What was he doing on this journey of redemption? Couldn't he come home to her, just this once?

She trudged along down the bustling Konoha streets. All of the couples were gathered and celebrating another successful mission at Ichiraku's. She felt out of place amongst her old teammates though. It just didn't feel right without Sasuke.

"Sakura? Hey! Come eat with us!" Naruto called on seeing her.

"You can sit next to me if you'd like?" Hinata offered. She had become much more confident than Sakura remembered from the old days. She smiled on seeing Naruto give her arm a squeeze.

"No thanks, I'm really fine" Sakura shrugged. She saw the irony in her and Hinata switching places. Embarrassingly, her stomach let out an obnoxious growl.

"Sounds like you're hungry after all" Sai and Ino chimed in. Sakura clobbered Sai and gave Ino a stern look.

"Ok, ok, we get it," Ino said defensively with a grin.

Sakura shook her head and sighed, pushing ahead and leaving the group behind. She didn't feel much like celebrating tonight. Walking along, she felt a strange presence behind her. A glimmer of hope emerged in her heart.

"Sakura?" Naruto ran up the stone path towards her. "Are you okay?"

"Oh...Naruto" Sakura said disappointedly. "I thought...never mind."

"You don't seem like yourself. What's up?"

"It's just...I was hoping." She paused, biting her lip. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she thought back to the days when Team 7 was together. "Sasuke" she breathed, her voice shaking.

"Sasuke?" Naruto questioned. He looked stunned for a moment, then a look of recognition dawned on his face. "That's it! You miss him, don't you?"

"When did you get so smart?" Sakura chuckled through tears.

"I guess marriage does that" Naruto smiled. "Listen, I'm sorry things turned out the way they did. If only I'd been stronger, I could have brought him home earlier."

"No, it's okay. Naruto I-"

"But I promise I'll get him back again" Naruto smiled, giving Sakura the thumbs up.

Shocked, Sakura remembered the first time Naruto made that promise. She threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Naruto".

"Hey, it's no problem this time. I don't think it'll be quite as difficult to bring him home" he chuckled. "We'll bring Sasuke back for sure!" 

"Well, this time you'll have help" Sakura smirked, clenching her fist. "There are a few things I'd like to say to him too. That baka, making me wait this long. Shannaro!"