There used to be three of them.

NarutoSasukeSakura. SasukeSakuraNaruto. SakuraNarutoSasuke.

And of course, Sasuke just had to get jealous and leave, leave before learning the whole story.

Then, it was just the two of them.

Naruto and Sakura. Sakura and Naruto.

And, grudgingly, Naruto had to admit, in some ways, Sasuke’s betrayal did help him grow closer to Sakura, but he refused, refused to let Sasuke take credit for that.

But finally, after four all-too long years, they had finally brought him back. They had brought him back. Theyhadbroughthimback.

Really, it wasn’t the type of battle Naruto had expected. After all, Orochimaru was dead, and so was Itachi. Sasuke had his own Mangekyou Sharingan, not that he really needed it anymore, and almost came back willingly.

Of course, after they had brought him back he was put on probation and always had an ANBU tailing him, but they expected that. What they couldn't quite get their mind around was the fact that he was starting to warm up to them and act like the Sasuke they knew before Orochimaru came and screwed everything up. Actually, he started to act more like a normal person, than the Sasuke they knew, but that was alright too.

Things weren't exactly the same but they were close enough for Naruto.

~ 

Naruto knew deep down somewhere that he was probably in denial about the whole Sasuke-leaving-Konoha-for-his-own-gains thing, but he refused to admit it. Really, there were some times when it seemed that everything was a hopeless cause; those were the times when everything he had gone through just came crashing down on him.

But it was Sakura and his promise to her that kept him going. Whenever things seemed bleak and hopeless, he'd always remind himself of the promise he made to her and promised to himself that he wouldn’t fail a second time.

Sakura... he remembered the first time he saw her. She was being teased and bullied by the older kids because of her overly large forehead. Personally, Naruto thought it made her look cute, in an innocent sort of way...or innocent in a cute sort of way, not that what he thought ever mattered.

Still, it didn't seem right that people picked on her because of something she had no control over. He might have been biased from his own experiences, but it just didn't seem...right.

He wished he could help her somehow, by beating up the bullies or something, but he knew it would do no good. Once Sakura told her parents about him, she would just hate him like all the other kids, and that was something that he wasn't ready to face yet.

So he was understandably glad when Ino befriended Sakura and gave her a hair bow to help hide the size of her forehead.

That was, until they started fighting about whom Sasuke liked more. He didn't understand. Couldn't they tell that Sasuke wasn't interested in either of them? It was just one of those things about girls that annoyed Naruto to no end.

~

When Naruto found who was on his team, he wasn't sure what to think. On one hand, he was on the same team with Sakura, and would hopefully manage to develop some sort of friendship with her. But then on the other hand, Sasuke was there too, destroying any possible hope of any type of friendship with Sakura. It didn't help that Kakashi was just a lazy mental crackpot. Naruto was sure that the old man was playing some sort of joke on him by giving him a team of people who were mentally insane. But then again, he was the Kyuubi container, so maybe it was a grouping-together-weird-people thing.

Then came the mission to Wave, the C-turned-B-turned-A rank mission.

Naruto never imagined that he would grow so close to his team, Sasuke in particular. He was surprised when Sasuke risked his life for his, and then even more when he felt all the anger and pain, especially once he unleashed Kyuubi's power.

Not as if the events in the Chuunin Exam helped much.

When Orochimaru attacked, he wasn't sure what exactly was happening. He couldn't understand why both Sasuke and Sakura didn't seem to be able to move. So he took it upon himself to attack Orochimaru. After all, he was just another genin that was after their scroll, albeit a genin with some sort of weird power to paralyze people. At least, that's what he thought.

And then he found out that Sasuke had received some sort of cursed seal thingy. He didn't understand exactly what it was, just that it was bad.

And of course, Kakashi had to choose to train Sasuke instead of him, and teach Sasuke an awesome super-cool jutsu. To say he was annoyed with Kakashi would be a bit of an understatement.

But he had to admit, if Kakashi had chosen to train him, he never would have met Jiraiya. So Naruto wasn't sure whether to be mad at Kakashi.

The person Naruto really felt sorry for was Sakura. Once she finally realized what it meant to be a kunoichi, she dropped out from the finals and didn't get a chance to prove her worth.

He had to admire her, though, when she stood up against Gaara for Sasuke's sake. That was perhaps the first time he had a clue that his feelings for her were becoming more than a childhood crush.His feelings toward Sasuke, however took a bit longer to understand.

~ 

In the battle on the hospital roof, Naruto couldn't really understand why Sasuke seemed sort of ticked off at him for knowing a technique like the Rasengan. After all, Sasuke had the Chidori, didn't he?

When he first found out that Sasuke had went to join Sound, his first thought was about how he knocked Sakura out and how hard he was going to kick his ass for that. His second thought was when he realized what Sasuke had done and how selfish his choice was.

After all, what did he have against Konoha; they were all kissing up to him for being the last of the oh-so-great Uchiha, while he was the subject of all their hatred. Naruto couldn't help but feel that Sasuke was being overly self-absorbed in his own goals.But of course, weren't all Uchihas like that? And Itachi was the most Uchiha-like of all of them, if being an Uchiha meant being an arrogant, self-absorbed stuck-up bastard who was overly-reliant on the Sharingan. So it made sense that Sasuke was unknowingly following in his brother's footsteps.

But where was logic in trying to gain enough power to kill Itachi first; after all, he said he wanted to resurrect his clan as well, but what would happen to the once-powerful Uchiha clan once the last survivor died killing his brother who obviously wasn't interested at all in the welfare of his clan.

The battle at the Valley of the End was where Naruto really began to understand how much Sasuke meant to him. It wasn't just the promise he made to Sakura; it was a promise to himself that he would bring back his teammate. His best friend.

His brother.

Because that's what Sasuke had become. After living for 12 years without knowing the love of a family, Team 7 was probably the closest he could get.

If he couldn't even bring Sasuke back, how could he expect to be able to achieve title of hokage? After all, they had trained together, and knew each other's fighting styles. Or at least they should have. But it seemed they both had a few surprises.

With power from Kyuubi and the cursed seal, they were about evenly matched. What Naruto wasn't prepared for was the fact that Sasuke was actually aiming to kill him. But because of that, Sasuke got a slight upper hand, and that was enough.

~

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Four fucking long years later...Naruto stands on the bridge where they used to meet as a team. He still can't believe Sasuke's total change of attitude; he's almost social now. But he assumes that comes from finally knowing the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre.

Naruto watches as Sakura and Sasuke walk up to the place he's standing on the bridge. Sakura runs over, leaving Sasuke behind. "Come on Naruto, we're going out for ramen and Sasuke's paying."

"I never said that," objects Sasuke."Well, either way you are."

Naruto has to smile seeing his teammates acting like a team, again.

"So are you coming or not?" Sakura asks impatiently.

"No." Naruto turns away, and starts walking in the other direction. His teammates catch up quickly, though.

"Who are you and what have you done with Naruto?"

"I can kick your ass to prove to you who I am if you want, teme."

"Bring it on, dobe."

"Hey, I thought we were getting ramen."

"Well, if you haven't noticed, the dobe here seems to be having some mental problems; maybe you hit him too hard on the head."

Sakura rolls her eyes. "Of course, blame it all on me; you were the one who decided to drag him off to spar when he wasn't fully recovered."

"He was the one that dragged me off! And I refuse to take responsibility for the baka's psychological issues."

Naruto interrupts the argument that he personally thinks could take a couple days (or months) to resolve. "Look, I just figured we shouldn't completely destroy and annihilate Sasuke's wallet before he's been back for two months, but I'd be happy to take up that offer in a couple of days—"

"—Which is why Sakura should pay instead—"

"—Besides, I said I'd meet Ero-sennin somewhere." The last part's a lie, but his teammates don't need to know that.

"Oh, okay, maybe some other time then?" Sakura almost seems disappointed that Naruto isn't coming, but he can tell that she's hoping Sasuke will still agree to go.

"Yea, okay, but you and Sasuke can still go, if you guys want."

Naruto watches a while as Sakura and Sasuke walk off in the other direction, towards Ichiraku.

He realizes, even if Sakura or Sasuke himself don't, that Sasuke still has a second goal to accomplish. He knows that Sakura would be happier with Sasuke than she ever would be with him, and so he believes that she should spend more "quality time" with Sasuke.

It's not to say that Naruto isn't interested in Sakura anymore, but he just believes it's better for all of them. It hurts, though; more than he had expected it to, that he has just given up Sakura to Sasuke, even if neither of them realizes it.

It would probably hurt more if he hadn't, though. Sakura would be forced to decide between the two of them, and that choice could possibly tear their friendship apart and Naruto knows that she would eventually choose Sasuke. This way at least, he could lessen the pain by knowing that he had brought this upon himself.

So by letting her go, he’s almost bringing her closer to him, closer, at least than what the other option would be. Almost like a reverse psychology of sorts.

A small gust of wind blows through the branches of the trees above, bringing down a shower of cherry blossoms and Naruto has to reflect on the irony of the situation as he catches a petal between his fingers.

Like Sakura, the beauty of cherry blossoms just can't be kept. They last for a short while before they disappear, but they can always be expected to come back next year. As for Sakura...no one knows what will happen in the future.

His hand opens, allowing the cherry blossom petal to spiral down to the ground, joining all the other petals.

He looks back towards the direction Sasuke and Sakura headed and he knows that this is the right decision for all of them.

Because sometimes love means letting go when you just want to hold on tighter.