Darkness seemed to envelop me. For how long, I couldn't tell. It was just a never-ending sea of black. No dreams, no nightmares, nothing.

That was until I finally saw a glimmer of light. Had I died? Was this the infamous light that I had to step into for it to all be over?

"I still do not understand. How could Sasuke have gone out after him alone like that?" The quiet voice of a man asked, his tone that of genuine confusion.

"It's his brother we're talking about here, Sai. He took away everything he had." Another voice answered. Naruto, it was Naruto's voice, more serious than usual. There was a pause before a female voice spoke, and immediately I recognized it as Sakura's.

"It seems like Ren is the only thing from his childhood that's remained unscathed. If she doesn't pull through, I can't imagine how he'd feel or what he'd do."

Those words were the words that pulled me out of the darkness as my silvery-gray eyes fluttered open. The lights were too bright, making my head ache almost instantaneously.

"She's awake!" I heard Naruto exclaim excitedly, and I turned my head slightly to see the trio standing before me, the blurry colors gradually becoming clear images. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai stood there, all smiling down at me. Naruto's face had broken out into a toothy grin, nothing out of the usual, but even Sai's fake smile was swapped for genuine one.

"What happened? Where's Sasuke?" I sat up, ignoring my muscles' protests. Sakura gently pushed me back down, and I took a breath to calm my irritation, keeping in mind that I had just woken up.

"Take it easy, Ren. You were captured by Uchiha Itachi, and we ambushed him while he was on the move with you and his partner Hoshigaki Kisame. He managed to escape, but Sasuke went after him alone. We stupidly didn't realize it in time to back him up; although I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted it anyway. When we finished off Kisame we found him laying over you, unconscious, and we eventually found Itachi's body not too far away." Sakura explained, not meeting my gaze as she reached the end of her explanation.

"You mean…Sasuke killed him? Where is he?" I asked, taken aback. If Sasuke had fought against Itachi, I could only begin to imagine the condition he was in. My gut twisted at the thought.

"Well, a little while ago Shizune told me that Kakashi had requested him, so they must be speaking right now, or maybe even finishing up." My eyebrows furrowed together at her answer. He had already healed? Wait.

"How long have I been out?" I asked warily. A slight frown tugged at the sides of her mouth.

"You were in a coma for a little over two weeks now," I blinked, taking in what she had just told me. I probably hadn't missed much in that case. I had half-expected it to be longer, but it bothered me that I had been out for two weeks. What had I missed?

As if reading my mind, she continued. "In fact, Sasuke just got released yesterday morning. He was in a worse state than you; even Tsunade-sama came in and helped accelerate his healing. You haven't missed much though, trust me. We've spent most of our time in here with you and Sasuke. You were out cold, I expected you to be out for a while longer. Nevertheless, we're all glad you're awake," She said, pausing as she picked up my chart from the edge of the bed. I nodded in silent agreement, I was glad too.

"You should be out in a few hours. Your injuries are healed for the most part; you just have a bad gash on your side. You'll need to keep it bandaged for at least another week. Your right ankle was fractured pretty badly, but nothing too serious. The bone has already healed, but I put a tight fabric around it that you'll need to keep on for a few days until you can get back to rigorous activities. Oh, you'll need crutches as well," She explained, gesturing to a pair of crutches near the door.

"After you've healed enough to stop using the crutches, and only after that, you can go back to light training; I would suggest taijutsu. You'll need the extra chakra if you want your injuries to finish healing at a good rate. Then you can gradually make your way make to using ninjutsu again. You got off lucky; if you weren't a shinobi you'd be stuck here a lot longer. Any questions?" She finished professionally, leaving me surprised. I supposed I hadn't put much thought into her saying she helped out at the hospital.

"Uh, no. Thank you for your help."

"Hey, Sakura-chan!"

"Hm?" Sakura hummed half-heartedly in question, grabbing a folder from a compartment on the door.

"I say we go get Sasuke-teme and head over to Ichiraku's to celebrate Ren getting better, my treat!" Naruto chirped happily, grinning as he gave me a thumbs-up. Sakura arched a pink eyebrow at his suggestion.

"Are you sure you have enough money to buy all of us ramen? You do remember what happened last time you offered to pay for dinner, don't you?" Sakura asked skeptically, finishing off the question with a glare. Naruto laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, uh, I'll settle for paying half then. Teme can pay for the rest." He said, his grin returning, more mischievous this time.

"Alright, but only if Ren feels comfortable. This isn't your first time using crutches, right, Ren-san?" She asked, peering down at the folder she had opened a moment ago.

"No, I had broken my left leg as a kid." Sakura nodded.

"Okay, so this shouldn't be too difficult for you. Let's give it a shot. Sai, hand me the crutches, please." She said as I sat up, more slowly this time. She slipped an arm around my back and gently helped me get on my feet, handing me the crutches. I let out a quiet sigh of relief as I found it easy to to walk over to the futon at the corner of the room and back to the bed. Some things always come back to you.

"Do you feel any pain?" I shook my head.

"Just some muscle soreness, nothing I can't handle." She nodded.

"Okay, looks like I can release you early and Naruto can have his ramen. I have some clothes and your house key for you, so I'll lead you to the bathroom. There's a shower in there so you don't have to go home." I smiled, grateful, as I went to the bathroom, eager to let the hot water soothe my aching muscles.

I didn't realize how quickly things would go haywire after my return to Konoha, and now that I had time to think for myself, I wondered why Itachi kidnapped me, why he had taken the lives of my family members in the first place, why, why, why?

I hated the question. For as long as I could remember my mother had always smiled down at me when I asked her why after something bad had occurred. And every single time she would lightly pat my head, occasionally brushing a stray strand of dark golden brown hair out of my face, saying, "Don't ask why, little one, just say, 'okay.'"

But this time, I couldn't just push all my thoughts away with a small smile and a nod. I knew, the way my gut seemed to churn with some weird feeling (perhaps it was a knowing feeling, or perhaps it was my anticipation), that the reason was within reach, I just had to dig a little deeper. And somehow, something told me that I was getting close.

As we made our way towards Hokage Tower, I noticed Sakura's proximity and after a moment I realized that she was making sure she was close enough to help me if I were to fall or stumble, as she knew it'd been years since I'd last used crutches. I couldn't help but feel like these three had silently been weaving their way into my life, making themselves my first friends in Konoha after my many years absent. I found it difficult to fight the smile that tugged at my lips.

When we got there, my small smile fell as soon as my eyes found Sasuke. The tense, square set to his shoulders, his hands (probably clenched into fists) stuffed in his pockets, his jaw clenched and, worst of all, the red peeking out from beneath his black eyes.

He was mad; furious, even.

His eyes found mine for a fraction of a second before he wrenched his gaze away to anything that wasn't me or Squad Seven. I frowned, but Naruto seemed oblivious.

"Hey, Sasuke-teme, we're heading to Ichiraku's with Ren since she's up and running now, wanna—"

Naruto was cut off with a cold, "I'm not hungry" as he stalked off towards his apartment. Naruto turned to Sakura-chan and they exchanged a look before turning to face Sai and me.

"It's probably best if we leave him alone for a while. Let's just head to Ichiraku's."

Everyone nodded and we made our way to Ichiraku's. I silently wondered what Kakashi had said to Sasuke to make him so upset.

"Ramen with miso pork, please!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, and I absentmindedly realized then that he would always do things more loudly than everyone else.

Despite Squad Seven's amusing banter throughout the duration of the meal, I couldn't fight the worried feeling in the pit of my stomach. I polished off my meal quickly, telling myself that it was because a coma makes you hungry and not because I wanted to make sure Sasuke hadn't done anything ridiculous out of anger. I knew, some part of me knew that Sasuke was different now and he wouldn't do anything reckless again, but another part of me wanted, needed to know he was okay, and I wouldn't see the end of this gut feeling until I had at least seen him. I stood silently, grabbing the wooden crutches and tucking them under my arms.

"Thank you for accompanying me. I should get going, though, being in a coma takes plenty out of you."

Sakura blinked, surprised that Ren-san was leaving so soon. Then again, a voice in her head told her "Of course she's leaving" as she said goodbye and watched her walk away. She had a bond with Sasuke that was different from training together and taking a kunai for one another. Although she was sure that Ren would do the latter for him, she had grown up with him, and shared memories, happy and otherwise, that no part of Squad Seven would ever fully understand.

Sakura knew, and despite the light tinge of jealousy in her chest, she accepted the fact that they would never know the pain, the desperation of having someone you love disappear, never to return, no matter how hard you wished or how many tears you shed for them. She had lost Sasuke, once, but he was back and this was how it should be; they were all happy. She knew that Sasuke was her teammate, her comrade, and even one of her best friends, but for her, love had long ago been crossed off the list. She loved Sasuke, but not in the way 13-year-old Sakura did; not anymore. She couldn't be more happy with the way things were, and she'd be damned if she let the person who (she finally realized) had been there for her, is there for her, and always would be there for her slip away.

"Will that be all?" Ayame asked, skillfully balancing their empty bowls as she jarred Sakura from her train of thought. She was shocked to see that Naruto had only eaten one bowl. Said boy with a black hole for a stomach sighed, looking at Ayame.

"I only had enough money for three bowls," he said, his features crestfallen as he let out another exasperated sigh.

"Stupid teme." He mumbled. Ayame blinked.

"You actually have enough money for two more bowls, Naruto. Kimihiro-san covered the bill, and I guess she accounted for your huge appetite." Ayame informed him, smiling.

Sakura and Sai exchanged smiles as Naruto perked up, grinning from ear to ear as he skillfully divided a new pair of wooden chopsticks.

"Two more bowls of ramen with miso pork it is!"

Ren took a breath as she walked towards the distantly familiar training grounds. She knew Sasuke was never the most talkative person, even before the Massacre he was that way, but she knew that whatever Kakashi had told him had upset his usually calm and stoic demeanor and that meant it was important. He was mature enough to know whether or not Ren should know, and if he didn't think so then she would just leave him be. It wasn't a difficult task, as she knew Sasuke better than she knew herself.

With that in mind, she stepped on to Training Grounds Three, and was surprised when she was met with an eerie quiet. After a moment she could smell burning wood and looked around to see numerous trees destroyed, some emitting smoke from the infamous Fireball Jutsu and others split completely in half. She realized that he must've unsheathed the chokutō she had always seen perched behind him as she noticed the clean cuts some of the fallen trees had.

She finally found him, somehow managing a casual elegance about him as he sat on a newly formed tree stump. She silently sat down next to him, realizing that the sun was setting and night would fall before she knew it, the cicadas singing somewhere within the forest. She looked at him, his lips set in a tight line and jaw still clenched, his gaze looking down at nothing in particular.

"Sasuke-kun," she kept her voice soft yet strong, not realizing that she attached the long-unused surname to his name until after it slipped out of her mouth. His eyes slid to her, red with Sharingan. She realized how hard he was trying not to let the anger wash over him and take control like he once had. It had pulled him in like a tidal wave, not allowing him to distinguish up from down. She watched him for a moment as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. No wonder he had decimated a good amount of the forest surrounding Training Grounds Three.

"What's bothering you?" she finally asked, her quiet voice seeming loud against the quiet of the area. His gaze never moved as he took a minute to think about his next words.

"I know the truth about the death of our clans." His words came out smoothly, calmly, without a hint of emotion. But his eyes spoke every emotion that his lips omitted. Her gaze hardened and she subconsciously straightened as she readied herself for something she was sure she would like just as much as he did.

"Tell me."

How'd you guys like chapter four? I think it came out pretty well; I spent a good amount of time re-reading it and tweaking things here and there. I'm sure you all noticed that I changed POV towards the end; I think this will be the last chapter where we have Ren's POV, maybe not, but I'm keeping it omniscient for a little while to shed some light on other characters.

Be sure to review and let me know what you think. Also, if you happen to pick up any mistakes, let me know so I can try to fix them ASAP!

Thanks again for the continued support! Even just one review fuels me to keep writing, I love knowing that you guys enjoy my work. :)

Also: I know this is a little off topic, but if you're like me and you are a huge SasuSaku fan, please check out the Announcements on my profile for an exciting announcement that I'm sure all SasuSaku shippers will enjoy!

Until next time,
-Anna