Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Thank you for the lovely reviews, everyone! I really appreciate it and this chapter is dedicated to all of you! Keep on reviewin' and let's see what number we can get to! Remember, even an 'awesome' is better than nothing!

Time was going by too slowly for Naruto's liking.

It seemed like hours since he'd rushed into the hospital with an unconscious Ino in his arms, but it'd only really been a little past thirty minutes. He could only wait until either Sasuke or Itachi, or both, walked in and blamed him for whatever the hell was wrong with her. He could imagine the weirdly intimidating older sibling looming over him with a fake smile and a knife in his hand, and he could definitely imagine Sasuke blowing up on him and smacking him with a lawsuit that would strip him of everything he owned... even his name.

From his spot in the large waiting room, he could see out into the lobby, but only the receptionist's desk, half of the elevator, and some fake potted trees were in his sight. He was bent forward in the uncomfortable seat, elbows on his knees and face cupped in his hands. Blue eyes watched nurses appear, then disappear, but no Uchiha siblings.

He sighed.

Straightening himself, he dug into the pocket of his jeans and fished out his cell phone, opening it up to see what time it was. He looked at the illuminated numbers and figured it was starting to get dark outside, since he couldn't see outside from where he was. A small envelope popping up caught his attention and he opened his text message, noticing the lack of contact name on top of the screen.

This is Ten-Ten, but my phone broke so I'm using my cousin's. Why didn't you pick up earlier?

Naruto raised a brow. Her phone broke? He messaged back.

Something happened and I didn't have the time to answer. I thought you were a bill collector.

The sudden shrill scream of an infant startled him and he fumbled with his phone, sighing a breath of relief when he managed to keep it from hitting the ground. Another envelope popped up and he opened it.

Idiot. I don't know if she stopped by or not, but Sasuke's baby sister was supposed to swing by. Did she?

Naruto started texting back immediately, wondering how she knew.

She did. How did you know?

The answer was almost instant.

Sasuke's older brother Itoshi or what not spoke to me at school and said she would. What happened?

Naruto was about to reply, but heavy foot falls pulled him from his thoughts and he looked up to see stormy obsidian eyes. Before he knew it, a fist connected with his jaw and his head snapped to the side, his body lurching with it. His body seemed to act on its own in an instant and without even realizing it, he had the attacker on the floor with his arms twisted behind his back and his face shoved into the floor.

"Who the hell do you...wait...Sasuke?" he could tell by the raven hair and Kokusai uniform that it was the smallest Uchiha. His face was pushed against the cold tile and what Naruto assumed to be shouts of anger were muffled by the floor. He instantly jumped up and stepped back. "Aw, jeez, I'm sorry!" he apologized. "You did punch me in the face, but you didn't deserve that! I could've broken your nose... or worse, both of your arms!"

Sasuke lifted himself from the ground slowly and growled, wiping at his mouth with the back of his arm. He stood and brushed himself off, sending a poisonous glare in the blond's direction. He looked on the verge of man slaughter and as positive as Naruto was with his defense skills, he was sure he'd have an issue taking the pissed male down. He looked like a raging bull.

"What did you do to her?" Sasuke took a step further, then shot forward and tried to hit Naruto again, but the taller man grabbed his wrist and swung him to the side, pinning him against the wall. The raven winced.

"Look here, Uchiha," Naruto's tone changed dramatically. "I didn't expect you to prance in here and brand me a hero, but I did expect maybe a little bit of civil behavior from you."

Sasuke's glare only darkened and he seemed to spit venom when he spoke.

"You don't deserve that much," he growled.

Naruto almost laughed.

"You're such a prick. When your sister came to my apartment to beg me to forgive you for being an ass hole, I listened to her and considered calling a truce between us. But now I don't think I should," he shoved his palms against thin wrists and didn't even flinch at the other student's hiss of pain. "Because when she passed out in my bathroom, I ran as fast as I could to get her here so she could get help. Yet here you are telling me I don't deserve a civil conversation?" he pressed harder. "You should be on your knees, kissing my fuckin' feet."

In an easy movement, he had the raven on the floor.

Sasuke tried to push himself up, but the large hand gripping his hair stopped him.

"You...!"

Naruto spat.

"You think you're so high and mighty, but you're just a spoiled princess. I don't give a shit if you have money or power, neither if those two things can stop me from ruining that smug face of yours," he threatened.

"Uzumaki Naruto, what are you doing to that poor boy?.!"

Naruto's dark demeanor vanished in a second and he froze up, immediately letting go of the black hair he'd been gripping onto. Turning around, he gave his mother a horribly fake smile, his nerves getting to him. He laughed slowly, swallowing.

"Nothing, Mom..."

"Were you... were you about to hit him?.!" she shrieked, running over to help Sasuke off of his knees. She landed fierce hazel eyes on her son, a single glance promising him a long and terrible punishment if he didn't start explaining what was going on.

"No, I wasn't going to hit him..." he trailed off, looking to the side. "Just, you know..."

There was a resounding 'SLAP!' that could've probably been heard throughout the entire hospital. Naruto hunched over and gripped his head, yowling in pain from his much smaller mother slapping him on the back of it. Tears prickled on the sides of his eyes and he whimpered. He could take anything, but he could never ever keep his composure after being hit by his mom.

Sasuke would've laughed at the male's pain if he'd been in a better mood, but at the moment he wanted nothing more than to rip something or someone to shreds. But when Kushina turned in his direction and gave him a sympathetic look, his anger disappeared and was replaced with a painful sensation of nostalgia.

In that instant, she looked so much like his mother.

"Sweetheart, forgive me for my son's rude behavior," she put her hands on his shoulders and smiled softly. "I don't think he understands that you're probably very sad right now because of Ino's condition, but-"

"Mom, he came in here and acted like a complete dick-dattebayo!" he whined childishly.

Kushina smacked him on the arm really hard that time, frowning.

"It doesn't matter, dattebane!" she shouted, matching his childish tone. "His sister's very sick and he needs support, not someone threatening him! Now sit down right this instant. I'm going to take Sasuke-kun upstairs to see Ino-chan, alright?" she glared at him. "Don't do anything stupid."

Naruto didn't say anything, but he obeyed his mother and sat down in the seat he'd been in before, his face sullen as he rubbed his sore arm and head. So much for leaving Sasuke with a frightening image of him. Now he was sure all the raven would remember was his mom beating on him and treating him like a toddler.

Great.

xxxxxxxxx

Sasuke didn't want to look Ino in the face.

He kept his dark eyes on the floor as he listened to her soft breathing and the sound of the heart monitor, the hair on the back of his neck prickling when he heard her struggle to cough. That was when his eyes moved on their own and looked up at an extremely pale face. He then noticed how fast his heart was racing.

Ino was smiling softly, ice blue eyes tired and worn.

"I didn't expect to see you here," she whispered beneath her breathing mask.

The student scoffed at her and took a seat in the metal chair beside her bed.

"Hn," was all he said in reply, once again refusing to look at her.

Ino laughed faintly and reached a frail hand out to press her fingers against the warm skin of her brother's cheek. She couldn't help but smile at how stubborn he was, the motion only a slight upturn of pink lips. He was the same as always.

"What would you do if someone knew you were here?" she asked.

Sasuke ignored her.

"Who told you what happened? Was it Naruto?" she continued. "You know... he saved my life. If it weren't for him, I could've died. That's what Kushina-san told me."

Sasuke continued to remain quiet. Ino just pulled her hand away and crossed her arms over her lap, her gaze never faulting from the back of her brother's head. She didn't once let the smile slip from her face.

"You two shouldn't fight anymore," she said. "I know how our mother's death is weighing on your heart, Sasuke. I can see how much you hurt no matter what you say or what you do, but... I don't want you to add anymore stress to the load you already have. Please, listen to me..."

Sasuke didn't utter a word.

"Sasuke..." she called out to him, her lips twitching.

No answer. She gripped the white sheets underneath her slender fingers.

"Niisan-"

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped, standing up so fast that his chair flew back and slammed into the wall. His teeth were clenched and hot tears spilled from his wide eyes, slipping down his flushed cheeks and dripping onto his trembling hands. He stiffened and looked his sister in the eyes, knowing he'd see what he feared the most; his mother's dying face.

Ino just stared at him, still trying to smile.

"Don't you think I would throw away all of my worries if I could?.!" he yelled. "Do you think I want to live this way? Worrying about how I'm going to successfully run our family company? Hating how my brother can have the life he wants because he dumped his problems on me? Trying my hardest to keep up my grades, keep up my social standing, keep up with everything around me? Worst of all, I have to be perfect for everyone... I have to be perfect, so I can't even let anyone know you're my sister?.!"

The pale blonde lifted her hand and traced a finger alongside a falling tear on her brother's face. She then touched his chin and whispered for him to come closer, leaning forward so she could get a good look at his face that was so full of anger, pain, and sadness.

Sasuke hesitently moved forward, shaken.

"It's been like that since the adoption," she spoke. "Why does it bother you now?"

"Because when I look at you, I see Okaasan!" she shouted defensively. "I see my dying mother smiling to me from her hospital bed, telling me everything will be okay! I believed what she said, so I didn't bother staying by her bedside because I thought she'd come home soon... She died alone and I didn't get to say good-bye," he looked at Ino, gritting his teeth. "Yet here you are, dying like she did and I'm not allowed to be by your side?.! Our father expects you to die alone?.! I want to listen, but at the same time, I don't! I don't want you to die like this... alone without someone. I couldn't stand to be next to you through this and make the same mistake as before...! But Otosan expects so much... I'm trying to be perfect for everyone, but I want to be imperfect for myself!"

"Then be imperfect."

Sasuke's red eyes snapped up to whoever had slipped into the room.

Naruto smiled a bit and lifted a hand in an awkward greeting.

"I wanted to apologize for earlier... as much of an ass hole as you are... I shouldn't have treated you like that... um..." he looked away from the piercing eyes, knowing he'd walked in on something personal. "I didn't mean to just walk in, but no one was answering when I knocked, so I got a little worried..."

Ino looked at him and smiled.

"What were you telling my brother?" she pressed.

Naruto's eyed widened a little.

"Ah... that he should be whatever he wants. If he wants to be imperfect..." he shifted his gaze to Sasuke. "If you want to be imperfect, then be imperfect. I can't possibly understand what you're going through. I'm a normal kid who lives in a normal apartment with normal hobbies and a normal goal in life. I don't know what it's like to lose a parent, I don't know what it's like to have such pressure on me, I just don't know..."

"Then go away," Sasuke snapped.

Naruto glared at him.

"I'd rather swallow rat poison than be buddy buddy with you, but I'm trying to give you some advice on your sister's behalf," he growled. "I'm doing this for her because unlike you, she's a nice person. Now, what I was trying to say was that if you want to be happy, you need to listen to your heart, not the voices around you. When it comes to what you want, you make all the choices, no one else."

Ino smiled softly, looking back at her brother.

"That's what I want for you, Sasuke... I want you to be who you want to be. We both know the family business is important, but-"

"I'm leaving," Sasuke interrupted her, shoving her hand from his face. He wiped at his wet face and breathed in deeply so he could gain back his composure, his face reverting back to its usual stoic mask. He walked around the bed, ignoring the female's pleas for him to come back. "I shouldn't have come. I should've let you deal with this on your own because it's none of my concern. I take back everything I told you," his voice broke, but his face remained passive. "I don't care if you die alone."

The look on Ino's face broke Naruto's heart.

"You... you heartless bastard!" he almost went to tackle the raven, but the girl's soft voice called beckoned him to stop.

"Naruto..." she held in salty tears and smiled, like she always did. "Let him go. It's supposed to be like this..." she trailed off and choked on a sob. "He wasn't supposed to see me, so I'm just happy he came...!"

Sasuke ignored her heartbroken voice and left the room.

xxxxxxxx

A little over one week had passed since the dramatic ordeal and it seemed nothing was going to improve Naruto's depressing mood. Ten-Ten had tried jokes from a best-reviewed joke book, the newly christened member of the team- Lee- had tried his hand at dancing, which had only resulted in laughter from his cousin, but not his target. It looked like nothing was going to switch his attitude around... until a cheerful blonde girl stepped into first period on Thursday morning with an unusual positive air to her.

"How are you doing?" she stepped in front of the gloomy student's desk.

Naruto, who'd been unpacking his bag, stared at her with his mouth wide open.

"I-I-Ino... what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the hospital?" his expression of shock turned to one of worry. He looked her up and down, and he had to admit that she looked a lot healthier than the day he'd left her at the hospital.

She laughed.

"You know, I'm not at the hospital all of the time. I can go weeks at a time without feeling sick. Right now, I'm feeling pretty good," she grinned, something he'd yet to see. She was starting to turn into the girl he'd pictured her to be the time he'd read her letter. "I heard you weren't doing so well, so I wanted to make sure you were alright."

Naruto looked confused.

"Who told you that...?"

"I think... that maybe what you said reached Sasuke, somehow. He came to visit me again the other day and apologized for hurting me when he'd left before..." she smiled even brighter and leaned forward to wrap her arms around Naruto's broad shoulders, her cheek pressing against his warm neck. "Thank you. Other than Itachi and me... no one's ever tried to help him see how he's ruining himself. I mean, he didn't change completely, but you shoved him an inch toward the right path."

"Wait..." Naruto pulled away and stared at her with eyes. "I convinced him to let everyone know you're his sister?" he whispered the last part, not sure if his conclusion would be accurate.

Ino shook her head, but didn't seem upset.

"No, but he promised frequent hospital visits and that he'd spend more time with me. He's trying and that makes me very happy," she beamed.

Naruto just sighed and crossed his arms.

"Uh huh. I'd prefer it if he would grow a pair and let everyone know about you. I am surprised, though, that he mentioned me not doing well."

Ino blinked, then giggled.

"Oh, he said that you weren't pulling any pranks or bothering him, so he assumed you were sick or something. He told me that relieved some of his stress, though."

"..."

"Naruto?"

The blond let a devious smile slip onto his face. Ino had told him his pranks before had caused more stress on the Uchiha, and that his lack of pranks had been a relief... He hated Sasuke with a passion that burned hotter than the fires of Hell, but he toyed with the idea of something bigger than the silly pranks he and Ten-Ten had implemented, something that would probably actually help the Uchiha heir; but in a way that would amuse him to no end.

"N-Naruto...?" Ino waved a hand in front of his face.

"Thank you, Ino. You helped me hatch a brilliant idea," he grinned, his blue eyes sparkling with something the girl felt oddly nervous about. "You won't have to worry about me pulling stupid pranks, anymore. At least, not bad ones."

"What...?"

xxxxxxxxx

"Ten-Ten, since you're friends with a lot of people in the art club, I'm going to need you to get these items for me," Naruto handed a small slip of paper to the anxious girl.

She'd been without anything fun to do for the past week and finally seeing her friend excited and chipper again, and with a new plan in mind had her bouncing on the balls of her feet, a lip between her teeth. She looked down at the paper like it was the greatest gift she'd ever received, a sighed of contentment reaching the ears of the two males students.

Naruto moved over to Lee, grinning from ear to ear. He handed him his own slip of paper.

"Lee, this is your first mission as part of our team. Are you ready to accept it?"

The bowl-haired student saluted.

"I am very excited to use my youthful energy on such a mission, Naruto-san!"

"Good, good."

Naruto looked up and down the hall, making sure no one would overhear. He then slipped on a maniacal smile on.

"You said you're also vice-president of the calligraphy club, right? When Ten-Ten brings the supplies to the empty club room in the C building, I want you to paint what's on that card onto the banner. Add flowers and sparkles if you want. Oh, and you can change up what I wrote if you want. As long as it gets the point across."

Lee looked down at the slip of paper and read over what was written there, his eyebrows drawing together. He showed it to Ten-Ten and the brunette read over it once before squawking like a parrot.

"What kind of prank are we pulling?" she looked almost horrified.

"Don't question the leader," Naruto clicked. "Just do as I ask. I expect it to be done before Sasuke's lunch shift since you two have a free period today. I'll be in class."

He smirked, turned on his heel, then left, leaving two dumbfounded students behind.

xxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke sighed.

It wasn't a sigh of annoyance, a sigh of exhaustion, nor was it a sigh of relief. It was a sigh of contenment, something he hadn't felt in a while. He still had as much on his plate as before, but with a certain blond-hared nuissance out of his hair, he felt like he could go through his school life focusing on his studies, on trying to deal with the upcoming anniversary of his mother's death, and on his plans for the future.

He walked through the congested main hall with Kiba by his side, as usual. The dark-skinned male was blabbering on about something to do with videogames, a topic which had never been of interest to the Uchiha. But he listened, mainly because he was in a fairly good mood, which was quite rare these days.

"I can't seem to figure out what combo move will kill him," Kiba droned on, looking enthralled in his own one-sided conversation. "I've been trying for days!"

Sasuke nodded, faking his acknowledgment. That one gesture pushed Kiba to continue on about his horrible luck in defeating some virtual enemy Sasuke didn't even know the name of. He didn't care, but like he'd figured before, he'd let him babble on because he was in a fairly good mood.

That was, until all of the students in the crowded hallway began pointing fingers upward, to the archway that connected the center of the stairs to the second floor library. Their once dull chatter turning to a loud thrum that made the raven scowl and scare off a few freshmen that were in front of him.

Lots of heads turned his way and whispers broke out like a plague.

Shoving through groups of students, he passed underneath the arch and turned to look up at whatever the fuss was about. His eyes widened a fraction.

A freakishly large white banner hung from blue ribbon that was tied around the railing posts of the archway. There was glitter and glued on hearts all over it, and across the length of the paper, obnoxious pink paint read:

'SASUKE-SAN! DON'T THINK OF YOURSELF AS AN UGLY PERSON, THINK OF YOURSELF AS A BEAUTIFUL MONKEY! YOU'RE ONE STEP CLOSER TO REACHING YOUR FULL CAPACITY OF YOUTH!'

Sasuke found his left eye twitching.

Kiba broke out laughing, which earned him a sharp elbow to the side.

From the opposite end of the hallway, Naruto, Ten-Ten, and Lee gave each other a thumbs up, all of them grinning fiendishly.

"From this day on, I declare this the first prank of the Kokusai Restoration!" Naruto smirked. "Our goal? To turn Uchiha Sasuke into a kind, fun-loving, generous guy!"

Ten-Ten and Lee both laughed.

"Yosh!"

Lots more drama, but comedy too! I hope you all like the turn of events!