Author's Note: Thanks. Everyone's fine. They closed the school and the police investigated the whole thing...they didn't find anything so they let us go back to school the next day. They figured it was just a prank. That was really scary though, prank or no prank! I was freaking out!

Disclaimer: I do not and have never owned Naruto.

Hungry for Power

by: ashleylynn167

Chapter 4: Unexpected

Sasuke sprung from his bed in the Konoha hospital. Scanning his surroundings, he gritted his teeth. 'Back...in this place...' he thought to himself, standing up off of the bed. 'Why...can't I-' Sasuke winced at sudden strike of pain, stopping dead in his tracks. 'Ugh...' Shaking his head, Sasuke continued towards the door. 'I...have to...train...I...won't...lose...again...' He stopped and looked over at the chair beside his bed. It was occupied by the same pink haired, lovesick girl over and over.

'Sa...Sakura...' he winced again at the pain and groaned softly. 'How...long...has it been...this time? I...can't remember-'

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, sitting up in the chair. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Are...you awake yet?" She turned to the bed to see Sasuke still in the same place. He was shaking and groaning in pain. "Sasuke?!" she leaned over him. "What's wrong?" She put her hand on his head as she asked this.

It took a lot of strength for Sasuke to move that fast to get back on the bed without her noticing. It wouldn't have if he was at full strength, but Sasuke could feel his entire body shutting down as he laid there.

"Sakura," Kakashi sensei started, entering the hospital room.

"Kakashi sensei?" Sakura turned to him.

"It's been over a week." Kakashi stated. Sasuke gripped the sheets, hearing this announcement. A whole week passed and he was still in so much pain. It seemed that every time the curse mark was activated, it made his stronger and the side effects lasted longer.

"A week, two days, and 14 hours...and he's still not awake..." Sakura said sitting on the bed and grabbing Sasuke's hand. Sasuke winced and squeezed her hand. Sakura frowned. "He's in pain, sensei...a lot of pain..."

"When was the last time you left this room, Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

"...a week, two days, and 14 hours ago..."

Kakashi chuckled. "Let him rest. You should go home."

"But I want to be here next to him when he wakes up..."

"...Sakura...just go home."

Sakura sighed and tried to let got of Sasuke's hand but he just squeeze her hand and kept a tight hold of it as he continued to quiver in pain. Sakura gasped and turned slowly to him in shock. He was still unconscious, yet he held her hand tightly. "Sasuke..." she whispered.

"Hm..." Kakashi squinted. Hearing this confused grunt from his sensei, Sasuke released her. Sakura was at the brink of tears. "Sakura?" Gripping reality again, she looked up at her sensei. "Go home...rest..."

"Oh...right...I forgot..." Sakura held back those tears and walked out of the room. Kakashi kept an eye on her until she was completely out of sight, then turned back towards Sasuke. He opened his eyes slowly.

"What was that?"

"I...the pain got to me...so I...squeezed her hand...until it subsided..." Sasuke said struggling to sit up on the bed.

"Hm...in any case...when I said you needed your rest, I meant it. Don't struggle if it isn't necessary...and eat something..."

"I can't just...stay here...forever...Itachi...and Orochimaru...they're out there...getting stronger every minute...and I'm just...sitting here...doing nothing...I have to...train...I need to get stronger..." Sasuke's breathes were uneven.

"Relax...once you recover, you can get back to training."

"I won't just...sit here..." he said pushing the covers off.

Kakashi created some hand seals and gray feathers appeared around Sasuke's bed. His eyelids got heavy and he fell back onto his pillow. "Nirvana Temple Justu...thanks Kabuto..." Kakashi chuckled and turned to the door. The nurse rose an eye brow, seeing him cast the jutsu. "I'll release him from it...eventually..."

Kakashi smiled and left the room, scratching his head. The nurse gave him a worried look, watching him until he was out of sight. She then sighed, went over to Sasuke, and pulled the covers over him with a smile.

Author's End Note: Please Read&Review! Thanks!