Sakura woke up early the next morning, and dressed, doing her hair. She felt refreshed since her trip to the forest the day before. She had really taken Sasuke's words to heart, and, even though Shizune's loss still hurt her enormously, she was determined to stop moping around. She entered the large space that was the living room and kitchen, and saw Naruto snoring loudly, limbs splayed out on the couch. Sitting below him on the floor was Sasuke. Sakura couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not, but he did have his eyes closed. His eyes... she had been so consumed with her own feelings the day before that she hadn't asked Sasuke about his eyes. When he had first appeared they had been bright red with strange black marking swirling around the pupil. Then had suddenly gone back to onyx, and Sakura couldn't help but wonder about them.

            She tiptoed into the kitchen, and tied an apron around her waist, intending to make breakfast for the two to try to make up for everything they had done for her. She opened the fridge and saw that is was fully stocked. She peered into it, and saw a handwritten note attached to a package of meat. She grabbed it, and read: Please make sure Sakura eats well. Sincerely, Soraya and Akio. She smiled to herself at their kindness, thinking that they were probably the only people in the village who weren't currently afraid of coming to her house. She picked some ingredients and set to cooking.

            As she settled into a comfortable rhythm, she thought back to the exact conversation she and Sasuke had had. Although his words had been harsh, they had held a truth to them that she couldn't deny. She was alive, and she was going to live for both Shizune and herself. Plus, Shizune had left her something to do, and she was going to find her home. She had a good idea of where it could be, but the only thing that might be a problem was Sasuke and Naruto agreeing to bring her back with them, to the place where they lived deep in the forest. She had recently only been a burden to them, and she would probably be even more of a burden if they took her with them, but she had to know. Shizune had been the only one that had tied her to this village. With her gone, she was eager to move on, and find her birthplace and possible that of Shizune's.

            As she flipped the omelet she was cooking, Sasuke's calling her name echoed in her mind. She blushed, and shook her head furiously. When he had said her name for the first time, an unfamiliar feeling had spread inside her. She had felt warm and fuzzy inside like something had been released within her. To be honest, she hadn't even known why she had suddenly started calling Sasuke Sasuke-kun, but it had simply felt right after their conversation. She felt that they were closer somehow, and that she had to change the way she called him accordingly. Every time she thought of him though, she felt as if she was missing something important, some information that she was supposed to know. She rubbed her wrist unconsciously, thinking back to the first time she had laid eyes on him. She had felt burning on the inside of her wrist. She hadn't looked at it because she was so entranced by him, but something now told her that she had missed something important.

            Smoke rose to her nose, and she looked to the omelet in alarm. The edges were singed black. She quickly plated the omelet, lifting the edges to see how much it was burned. It was still edible... Eh, she'd give it to Naruto. She set on making one for Sasuke, making sure to pay more attention this time.

            Her feelings for Sasuke were definitely unnatural, was the conclusion Sakura had come to, but they weren't unpleasant. Every time he was around, she felt relaxed, and she always wanted to be close to him. Despite his bluntness and rudeness, she liked him. She smiled to herself as she cooked, and was careful to plate the omelet before it could burn. She turned, the two steaming plates in her hands to see Sasuke, clearly awake, watching her attentively. She blushed, wondering how long he had been awake.

            "G-Good morning, Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted quietly.

            "Hn," was what he responded as he stood up, stretching with his back to her.

            She pouted slightly at his short answer, but decided to try to get something more out of him.

            "I made you breakfast," she said hopefully.

            He turned to look at her and walked over to the counter, sitting down on one of the stools and eyeing the omelet that she slid in front of him.

            "Hn," he muttered.

            A nerve on Sakura's head twitched in annoyance, but faded slightly once she saw him dig in greedily. She put her chin in her hands as she leaned against the counter, and took this chance to observe him without risk of looking creepy. He really was drop dead gorgeous. The way his raven hair stuck up in the back, and how his bangs framed his face that was so pale in comparison was just so... sexy. Speaking of pale though, Sasuke did look a bit paler than usual. Now that she looked closer, he had bags under his eyes, his cheeks were sallow, and his veins were quite prominent on his face. He looked ill. Why though? He had been eating, she was sure of that. Then again, she had found him in the forest late at night. Now that she thought about it, why had he been there?

            She opened her mouth to ask him, but a large thump, and a groaning made both her and Sasuke turn to see a groggy Naruto on the floor, rubbing his head where a small bump had started to form.

            "Ow," he muttered.

            His nose twitched, and his head snapped up in their direction.

            "Food?" he asked, cocking his head.

            Sakura couldn't help but giggle, and pushed his plate forward.

           "Eat up," she said.

            Naruto scrambled from the floor on all fours to get to the counter, and plopped himself down on the stool beside Sasuke, his mouth watering visibly.

            "Gross, eat up already!" Sakura grimaced.

            He dug in immediately, and Sakura saw Sasuke turn his head to hide a smirk. She smiled unknowingly, knowing he didn't want Naruto to know he found him funny.

            "Ne, Sakura-chan, aren't you going to eat?" Naruto asked, looking up momentarily from his food.

            "Eh?"

            In her swirling thoughts of Sasuke, she hadn't actually thought to make any food for herself, but now that Naruto mentioned it, her stomach decided it was a good time to let itself be known by letting out a very long, very loud growl. She blushed, this time in embarrassment, and stammered, "O-Of course I will! I was just waiting for you two to wake up!"

            Naruto started laughing his head off, and she leaned over the counter and smacked him upside the head.

            "Ow!" he complained.

            "Eat your food," she growled in a low voice, a deadly aura surrounding her as she slowly turned her head to look at him over her shoulder.

            "Y-Yes!" he gulped, and stuffed the entire omelet into his mouth.

            She quickly set to making herself an omelet, cheeks still flaming. How embarrassing for her stomach to growl so loudly in front of them, in front of Sasuke in particular!

            Her omelet was quickly done, and she sat down at the counter on Sasuke's other side, having completely forgotten her earlier concerns for him in her embarrassment.

            Just as she finished her last bite, a knock sounded on the front door. Everyone froze and looked at each other. Sakura swallowed, and stood up. This would be the first time she would face anyone from the village since... the funeral. Her heart clenched, and she pushed it out of her mind, walking to the front door. She took a deep breath, resting her hand on the handle, and opened the door. Two pairs of large, hopeful brown eyes greeted her gaze.

            "Akio-kun... Soraya..." she said shocked. "I—"

            But she was cut off as the both of them launched themselves at her.

            "Saku!"

            "Sakura-san!"

            Sakura stumbled back, somehow managing to keep her balance as Akio was latched onto her leg, and Soraya's arms were tight around her neck. Sakura stood for a moment in shock, her arms hovering in midair, before a soft smile graced her face, and she hugged both of them.

            "Sorry for worrying you," she said softly.

            "Damn right you are," Soraya said, and Sakura gasped slightly at her use of even such a minor swear word.

            "Saku, are you alright now?" Akio asked, removing his face from against her leg and looking up at her with shining, innocent eyes.

            Soraya let go of her, and Sakura bent down and grabbed Akio, balancing him on her hip.

            "Mm. I'm not completely okay, but I will be," she said.

            "Really?" he asked.

            "Really. So don't worry about me anymore, okay?" she said, nuzzling her nose against his.

            He giggled, and wrapped his arms around her neck, snuggling into her. She giggled and turned to his smiling mother.

            "Well, come on in," she gestured to Soraya.

            Naruto and Sasuke stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room, clearly not knowing what they were supposed to do. Naruto though, being the people person he was, greeted them amiably, "Hey, little squirt, Soraya-san."

            "Hello," Soraya said amiably, bowing slightly in greeting. "I trust that you've both been keeping Sakura well fed?"

            "Yup!" Naruto said. "Right, Sakura-chan?"

            "Mm, thank you, and thank you for stopping by all the time Soraya," Sakura said as Akio played with a lock of her hair.

            "Oh, please," Soraya waved her off. "You would have done the same for me."

            Sakura smiled, knowing it to be true.

           "Sakura-san," Soraya said, her smile dropping. "Now that you can, can we talk for a second? "    

            "Of course," Sakura said, a frown now displayed on her features.

            "Privately?" she said, looking apologetically at Sasuke and Naruto.

            "Oh. Guys, do you mind?" she asked, turning to both of them.

            Sasuke shrugged, though his eyes narrowed, and Naruto gave her two thumbs up and they left the room.

            "What is it, Soraya?" Sakura asked worriedly, sitting down on the couch and settling Akio on her lap.

            A dark look crossed Soraya's eyes as she said, "It's Nashiro and his gang."

            "Oh, no. What are they up to now?" Sakura said, already having a bad feeling about what Soraya's response was.

            "He's doing what Nashiro does best: twisting the truth to his convenience. Him and his men are going around and whispering in everyone's ears about how you brought two outsiders into the village, that it had never happened before your arrival. The fact that they were both jumping across roofs wasn't exactly helpful either," Soraya said, putting a hand to her face in fatigue. "I've been trying my best to convince people otherwise, to try to make them see that they haven't done anything the whole time they've been here and that you'd never bring anyone dangerous to the village, but Nashiro is a powerful influence, and people don't change so easily. They're scared of outsiders, especially because they're so... different. I don't know what he's trying to do exactly, but I suspect he's trying to start some sort of movement to finally fulfill his goal of exiling you."

            "You don't think he'll do anything to Naruto and Sasuke-kun, though, do you?" Sakura asked, worrying that she had endangered them unknowingly.

            "I don't think he would make a move against them when he doesn't know what they're capable of, especially when even I can sense that they're capable of quite a lot," Soraya said, curiosity evident in her eyes.

            "I know they are," she muttered, thinking back to Naruto's strange orange cloak of energy and Sasuke's eyes the night before. "And I've only seen a sliver of what they can do."

            There was a beat of silence, and Sakura could tell that the brown-eyed beauty wanted to ask more, but she restrained herself.

            "So what are you going to do, Sakura-san? Once Nashiro sees that you're okay enough to walk around now, he won't hold back any longer."

            "Well, I don't think I'll do anything," Sakura stated simply.

            "Wh-What?" Soraya stammered in shock. "What do you mean you won't do anything? He wants to exile you, you know? Exile!"

            "Saku?" Akio asked too, now looking at her worriedly.

             She rubbed his head of red-brown hair affectionately.

            "Soraya, Shi—" she stopped, and took a deep breath. "Shizune said something to me before she died."

            Soraya's eyes softened immediately.

            "She told me to 'go home'."

            "Go home?" Soraya said uncomprehendingly.

            "Mm. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I'm pretty sure she meant where Sasuke-kun and Naruto came from," she said, playing with Akio's fingers.

            "Where they came from?" Soraya asked, and Sakura knew from the tone of her voice that she had a suspicion of where it was already and that it was probably right.

            "The forest," she said, lifting her green eyes to face Soraya.

            The word hung like a weight between them, and neither spoke for a moment.

            "But, Saku! This is your home," Akio spoke up, grabbing her dress in his tiny fist. "You can't leave!"

            She looked down at him sadly, and brushed his hair back gently.

            "You're right, Akio-kun. This is the only home I've ever known, but... there's another one out there that I need to find."

            "But, Saku! Then you won't—" he started.

             "Akio," Soraya said sharply. He fell silent.

            Only Aki's sniffles were heard for a moment before Soraya spoke up again in a voice laced with nostalgia.

             "You've always loved that place, every since I've known you," Soraya said, casting her eyes downward. "I could see that you were drawn there, and I guess I always knew you would eventually return to where you came from, but I guess I thought that that day was far off..."

            A small, glistening rivulet made its way slowly down Soraya's cheek, stopping at her chin to assimilate into a small teardrop that dropped down onto the carpet below, leaving a circle a shade darker than the rest of it.

            Soraya raised her head, giving Sakura a watery smile.

            "I guess you're finally going back where you belong, huh?" she asked, her voice breaking.

            "Soray—" Sakura started, her own eyes watering.

            "Promise me," Soraya interrupted. "Promise me that you'll come back and see us sometime. After you've seen everything you need to see and done everything you need to do, come back and tell us all about it, okay?"

            Full-blown tears were streaming down Sakura's own face now.

            "You've—You've been the only one that made me feel w-welcome," she hiccoughed. "You and Akio were the lights in my life up until now. Of course I will!"

            And she quickly stood up with Akio in her arms to throw herself on the couch opposite the one she had been sitting on, and wrap her arms around the both of them, all three of them starting to sob.

            "I promise!" she cried. "I p-promise, I promise, I promise! I'll come b-back to see the both of you, and I'll tell you everything I've learned and s-seen, and maybe—maybe I'll take you guys with me!"

            "Mm, that would be nice," Soraya said, lips trembling as she smiled. "Right, Akio?"

            "Don't k-keep me waiting t-too l-long, Saku!" he wailed, his eyes flooded with tears. "C-Come back soon, o-okay?"

            "I'll try my best," she sniffled. "I promise. Thank you. For everything."

    "Sakura-san," Soraya said, her smile dropping. "Now that you can, can we talk for a second? she said, looking apologetically at n her features.

THE FEELS, MAN! I CAN'T! Soraya and Akio, my OCs! They're so precious! I just--my heart can't take it, man! I literally finished writing this chapter now, and was so excited for you guys to read it that I couldn't wait! Thoughts??? 

Oh, and just as an FYI, the next update might be take a little more time than normal because I have to shadow a company as a requirement for my school for three days out of the week, so I may not have time to write the next chapter. I'll probably post the next caper for Dragon Boy and Princess though because I have it pre-written, and all I need to do is edit it. Sorry if this author's note is really short, but I'm rushing cause my mom has been telling me to take a shower for the past hour, and she's let me write this whole time, so... yeah. My mom is as scary as Erza! Anywho, please vote, comment, and share, and I will see you all next time. Meena out. Ja ne!