Chapter 7

Toshiro awoke to the sound of rushing water. 'What's that?' She looked at her whereabouts and recalled the night before. 'Oh, I forgot… I'm not in the Village Hidden in the Sand anymore am I?' Toshiro got out of the bed and looked out the open window. She smiled at the warm sun that was creeping over the horizon, and breathed in the crisp morning air.

Toshiro put her sandals on and made the bed just before she left the room. Silently she walked down the hallway past the bathroom. 'He must be taking a shower,' she thought. Toshiro let herself out the front door and sat on one of one of the steps.

'Why did I ever leave?' She closed her eyes. 'I can't believe how much I've missed it… the sights, the smells, the sounds of children on their way to the Ninja Academy, all the memories… there was none of that in the Village Hidden in the Sand.' Toshiro opened her eyes and watched two kids, who could've been no more than eight, walking side by side towards the Ninja Academy. 'I remember those days…' She looked in the opposite direction. 'Walking from over there to the Academy every morning… and sometimes meeting Sasuke halfway there…'

She smiled at the thought. But it slowly receded as those thoughts landed on the place that she had once called home. 'For what purpose did she do that?' Then soon after, it all came flooding back. A voice echoed through her mind, 'They were not but measuring sticks to test my potential…' Toshiro sighed sadly, 'And then she disappeared… gone without a trace…' Toshiro heard Izunami's words in her mind again.

'Why have I been left alive? She said that I was just another measuring stick to her…' She puzzled over this for a moment and it soon all became clear to her. 'I thought you still had a shred of decency left in you still Izunami. You baka… leaving me alive to grow stronger, just so I'd be a bit more of a challenge to you? That'll be a mistake you won't live long enough to regret…' Toshiro hovered over this thought a moment, but as she heard footsteps behind her she snapped out of her train of thought.

"What're you doing out here?" Sasuke walked up and stood next to Toshiro.

"Oh… I'm just thinking…" She looked up at him and smiled.

"You've been doing a lot of that lately… a lot more than I remember."

Toshiro looked back out ahead of her. "I've realized," she mumbled, "That sometimes you have to slow down and enjoy everyday you have…" Her smile faded. She hung her head and her hair fell forwards, hiding any facial expression she might have had. "You never know which one will be your last…" she closed her eyes. "But I do know this…" she whispered, "I won't meet that day until Izunami meets it first." She glanced up the street at the house that held that pool of memories. Toshiro stood up and slowly walked back into Sasuke's house and sat on the sofa.

Sasuke stood outside the door, taking in Toshiro's words. After a moment of silence, somehow, he understood in the slightest way. A short-lived wave of anger swept through Sasuke as he flashed back to his childhood.

In his mind's eye he saw himself training with Toshiro four long years ago. He remembered the last time he had seen Izunami; her long, black hair hiding her vividly green orbs from his view. She had been more silent then she had ever before been. More distant… like Itachi had been. He had found this odd, for Izunami used to act just like Toshiro; warm and happy, and friendly with just about anyone and everyone she met. Then, as Itachi changed, so did she.

Sasuke looked behind him through the window and spotted Toshiro sitting on the sofa, her chin resting in her hand. Sasuke stayed put. Toshiro was usually not the most pleasant person when she was pressed about what she was thinking. But it made no difference, for he had a pretty good idea that they were on Izunami.

He walked back in and decided that it was best to wait until Toshiro wanted to bring it up. Sasuke sat down beside her, and as he heard her sniff, he thought, 'Three, two, one...'

"I don't know why she had to go and do what she did!" Toshiro burst out as she leaned up against Sasuke. He was expecting it so he wasn't so sure why he was so surprised when she had done so.

"She didn't have to do that to them!" Sasuke said nothing back to her. He just listened. But to him, the real surprise came when she started crying into his shoulder. The slightest shade of pink crept up into his face.

"How could I just forget everything like I did!" Toshiro sobbed, "I should've stayed here like you did!" She crossed her arms and set them on the arm of the sofa. She buried her head into her arms and her crying increased.

Sasuke lifted an arm up, hesitated, and then he gently placed his hand on top of her shoulder; just like he had done four long years before. Toshiro was startled a bit by his touch, but her sobbing evanesced, slowing down to a small trickle of salty tears. As the stream disappeared she looked back at Sasuke, smiled lightly, and hugged him.

"Arigato gozimasu, Sasuke-Kun. I'm glad that I've got you as a friend…" She looked up and watched the pink in Sasuke's face become more visible. She let go and looked away, feeling herself blushing as well. "Gomen… Sasuke…"

"It… it's alright…" 'Didn't this exact same thing happen four years ago?' he thought to himself.

After a few moments of silence, it was broken by Toshiro. "Sasuke? Um, do you think that maybe you could kind of show me around the Village Hidden in the Leaves? I've kind of forgotten how to get around here… Onesai? Because it would just make my day if I got myself lost…"

Sasuke welcomed the idea if it would break the silence. "Ii yo." He rose to his feet with Toshiro next to him. They walked out the door, and it closed with a click behind them.

Sasuke showed Toshiro almost the entire village. He was going to show her the fastest and safest route to the hospital, but when he saw Sakura and Ino coming from that direction he decided against it. After Toshiro's confused look, Sasuke explained to her his… situation. They stopped for lunch at the Ramen Bar not soon after.

"Fangirls!" Toshiro laughed as she accepted a bowl of ramen. "Fangirls you say!" She burst out laughing again.

"You heard me. Don't laugh, it's not funny." Sasuke sat down next to Toshiro.

"Ii yo, you're right Sasuke it's not funny… it's hysterical!" She took a bite and continued, "So they follow you around with wide dreamy eyes, hopelessly going head over heels for you! Amazing… so I imagine they must hate me?"

"Probably."

"You know, you've got quite an, interesting, Sensei. With all those 'you're-not-supposed-to-read-unless-you're-eighteen-and-over-books' that he reads, they're bound to mess with his brain sooner or later."

"More sooner than later." Sasuke mumbled, "They probably already have…"

"I think so." Toshiro said after a large bite. "I saw him walk by a bookstore and when I took a second look, he had run in! He came back out moments later with his nose in an orange book and with two or three more tucked under his arm."

Sasuke shook his head. "Typical."

Before she knew it, Naruto was sitting at Toshiro's other side with three bowls of ramen before him. He smiled at her and happily he said, "Hiya To-" He saw Sasuke and his smile turned upside down. "-shiro…"

"Uh… hi Naruto! Fancy meeting you here!" She smiled good naturedly at him.

Naruto didn't even hear her; he was too busy glaring at Sasuke. "What're you doing here! I thought you hated ramen!"

Sasuke didn't even look up but replied, "Apparently you don't know me very well, do you?" He swallowed another bite. Naruto looked down at his own food and wolfed down an entire bowl of ramen in a couple seconds.

Toshiro spent a few seconds blinking in disbelief as Naruto did so. "Uh… ii yo?" 'And I thought I loved ramen…' She shrugged it off and went back to her own food. 'He really is a weird one…'

By the time Sasuke and Toshiro finished their bowls, Naruto had just finished his fourth. Toshiro just shook her head a couple of times as she watched him pay the owner, and then dart off after seeing Sakura walk by.

"You know," Toshiro said, watching him walk after the pink-haired teen, "Team 7 is put together with the most interesting people."

"You don't know the half of it…"

A/N: Hai, hai, I know this one was kinda boring... demo, the next chapter has also been released! How kawaii it is! Review the next chapter! -