It was her birthday.

She hated her birthday. Hated it more than you could ever imagine.

"Take it, demon. Enjoy it. You deserve it."

It took everything she had to keep the henge. Everything.

She was so concentrated that she didn't make noise. That annoyed them.

But they got over that. Especially when she bled.

She woke up slowly, her body not wanting to move. Oh God did it hurt. A look down told her the henge was intact, but her clothing was not.

And she wasn't in her apartment. Shit.

Wincing, she got up and fled. She was only a few blocks from home, thank goodness.

"Dobe! Dobe, wake up!"

She froze when she saw Sasuke standing at her door.

Wrong choice.

At the sudden cease in movement, her protesting muscles screamed in agony. She stumbled, and fell to her knees. Sasuke looked up, annoyed that someone interrupted him interrupting the dobe's sleep-

"Naruto…?"

She was vaguely aware that her chakra was slipping. Internal healing along with keeping up the henge was hard.

Especially with this much healing to do.

"Teme," she said softly. "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke stared at her blankly. "We were going to train," he said, as though it was obvious.

She racked her brain, trying to remember. She did not remember saying they would train today.

Especially not today.

"Change in plans," she said, struggling to get upright without wincing. "Can't today."

Sasuke stared at her oddly.

She got up slowly, slightly proud that she hadn't winced or otherwise.

"Why not?"

Naruto stiffened. "I just can't," she said, walking past, annoyed that he watched her every step. But then, looking down, she could see why. Her shirt was long gone, torn to shreds. Her pants were still hanging off her frame, but only barely.

She unlocked the door, slamming it behind her before he could follow just as her henge dissipated.

Sasuke pounded on her door, but she didn't dare answer, her voice wouldn't be as low or deep as before.

He stopped soon, and she breathed out, staggering to the bathroom.

Bam bam bam.

Naruto jerked awake suddenly. The banging continued.

Bam bam bam bam.

"Naruto! You in there?"

Sakura. No doubt because it was-she looked at the clock-nearly twelve o' clock noon. Naruto never slept this late.

She got dressed quickly, glad for once of Kyuubi and her ability to heal so much faster than others.

Naruto answered the door after activating the henge. "Naruto! It's so late! Where have you been?"

Naruto blinked at the pink-haired kuniochi. "I was sleeping. Sorry."

Now Sakura blinked. "You were still asleep? Are you feeling alright?" Naruto dismissed her reaching hand.

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan. What did you need?"

She blinked again. "Training with Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei?"

Oh. Shit.

"Gimme two seconds. Or just not wait for me." Naruto backed up and slammed the door in a confused-looking Sakura's face. She rushed around, grabbing her ninja garb and sandals. When she opened the door, Sakura was still there.

"Naruto!"

Naruto blinked. "What?"

Sakura looked angry. "You pervert!" She said before aiming a punch at Naruto's head. She dodged it deftly, cursing herself. "You and your damn sexy justu!"

The henge had dispelled while she'd been running around. It must have taken more chakra to heal than she'd been aware of.

She quickly fixed the problem, and a repentant Naruto pleaded with Sakura to stop being angry.

It was all a lie, of course. But appearances had to be kept.

"Naruto. Nice of you to join us," Kakashi said. His one visible eye didn't have the tell-tale upside quality-he wasn't smiling, despite his easy-going sound.

Naruto made a noise of agreement. It was strange that 'man speak' was easy to understand once you knew why they communicated in grunts, unlike most females. Girls had a tendency to blab, while guys normally kept to themselves. As far as Naruto could tell. She wasn't really one of the guys, anyway. Not that they knew she wasn't.

"Sparring. Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura, you're with me." Three nods answered, and four people were suddenly in different places.

Sasuke didn't acknowledge the fact that Naruto had missed yesterday, or that she had been extremely late. Kunai were thrown and blows were exchanged, each falling into steady rhythm. It was familiar, but different. Techniques had changed over the years apart, and they were each still learning the new styles. Across, farther away, Sakura had already reduced parts of the green lawn into chunks of misplaced earth. It didn't seem that she had landed a punch on Kakashi, though.

In Naruto's distraction, Sasuke delivered a well-placed fist into the gut, catching her off-guard. She grunted. Of course, he had to hit her right there, the center of the seal. As it were, her own curse. And of course, being hit there was a bit uncomfortable under normal circumstances, but in light of recent events, such as having to use so much of the Kyuubi's chakra to heal so much in such a short amount of time, being punched in the center of the seal was nearly excruciating. Sasuke drew back, ready for Naruto's counterattack, but none came.

She fell to her knees, an arm wrapped around her middle, the other still holding a kunai uselessly at her side.

Lightning, she thought dimly. It's like being hit by lightning. Like chidori.

She fell forward, landing in front of Sasuke, who was utterly confused.

And for the second time that day, the henge dispelled without her knowledge.

But this time, she wasn't awake to fix it.