Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Naruto characters. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
The next morning, Kohana woke up. She turned to the side, hoping to see Itachi's face. To her disappointment, all that greeted her were rumpled sheets.
"Of course. If he stayed here, Tsunade would've had him arrested." She mumbled to herself. She lay back down in bed, closing her eyes. The door slowly creaked open and Emiko peeked in.
"Hana…are you okay?" She asked timidly, so unlike her. Kohana turned to her side and smiled reassuringly. Emiko softly made her way in and kneeled down beside Kohana's bed. Her eyes were alert, a little tired, and scared.
"Hey, what's got you so scared?" Kohana asked hoarsely. She sat up, clutching her head. She groaned. "Crap; I need some medicine or something."
"Are you hungry Kohana? I'll bring up some breakfast for you. When I came up here, Yukio was beginning to prepare breakfast. I think Tsunade-sensei went to the hospital to see how things are holding up there. Apparently there was an attack in the forest last night. One of the guards spotted our class S ninja."
Kohana became alert. 'I hope it wasn't Itachi. If it was anyone but him, I'll be fine.' "W-who-who was it?" She stuttered, trying her best to look normal.
"Orochimaru," Emiko told her simply. "It seems he's been after Uchiha Sasuke for a while now. Hokage-sama and a lot of the Anbu black are watching Uchiha-san closely and the village entrances. I guess it's very important that Uchiha-san is protected. He is, after all, the only remaining Uchiha of his clan; besides Uchiha Itachi, of course." Emiko then stood up. "Oh, I shouldn't be worrying you like this. You're sick and I'm not making things any better."
"No, it's really alright Emiko. I'm feeling much better. I think I'll eat breakfast downstairs with you guys." Emiko looked at Kohana anxiously before nodding her consent.
"How many people were injured during the attack?"
"A couple. They were alerted as soon as possible so not much damage was done. However, Orochimaru and his minions are very powerful. I wouldn't be surprised if Orochimaru was as strong as Tsunade-sensei or Jiriya-sensei."
"Speaking of Jiriya-sensei, do you know when he will be arriving? I've been meaning to ask him something about toad summoning. I haven't reached the endurance point where I'm able to use a lot of my chakra and still have enough to summon my toad. I was hoping to find him and ask him to train with me."
"Actually he's here already; Tsunade-sensei said that he arrived soon after the Chunin preliminaries were finished. He was assigned to train Uzumaki-kun. Uzumaki-kun is not all that bad. He is actually very powerful once you get to him. I'm guessing that you simply caught him by surprise yesterday."
"That's true, but as a ninja, one should expect such attacks and be ready for them as soon as possible. His reaction should have been like Sasuke-kun's when he heard your giggle yesterday. He should have been alert, quick, and ready to battle. Even if Naruto-kun is strong, he's still not ready to face the real way of ninjas. To be used as tools; that is our purpose."
"According to Tsunade-sensei who heard it from Kakashi-sensei, Naruto-san has decided to have his own ninja way."
"And what is that, exactly?" Kohana asked interestedly as they walked into the kitchen. She sat down at the table as did Yukio and Emiko. Steaming food was laid before them.
"He said that he will never give up and that he'll take a path with no regrets. Those are pretty strong words for someone like him."
"I guess the goofball is the one who understands life the most," Yukio added quietly.
"And I also heard from Tsunade-sensei that he beat Hyuuga Neji-san in the chunin finals. It was surprising to everyone to say the least. He had promised a companion, Hyuuga Hinata-san, that he would beat Neji-san. Neji-san had beaten Hinata-san badly, I'm guessing."
"Naruto-kun must really value friendship then. But really, have you seen Jiriya-san at all? I need him to help me train. Things are getting harder, and slacking off is something I really can't be doing now, with or without this sickness."
"Kohana, pushing yourself too much will only be a burden in the end. Your condition will get worse and you'll have to stay in bed even longer, which means less training. You, as a medic nin, must know this well."
"Of course I do; I also know what my limits are. I am like any other person who wants to exceed those limits. You may think me a fool for it, but this is something that gives me life, something I can do that will help people."
"You confuse me sometimes, Kohana. You've changed a lot…sometimes too much, and that worries me." Emiko stared down at her plate and slowly began eating.
"Please. You always get worried and scared over the stupidest things. Not to be cruel or anything, but I think it'd be better if you minded your own business. I'm done; I need to go find Jiriya-sensei." Kohana stood and made her way out the door.
"How did Kohana become so stubborn? Why is she so different? She used to be so much quieter and a little more obedient; or she'd at least listen and take into account what we were suggesting." Emiko looked to Yukio for answers.
"She's 21 and old enough to make her own decisions. Besides, for the first 16 years of her life she depended on other people, but now I think she just want to be more independent. She doesn't want us spending all our time worrying about her. This is her new way of showing that she's alright." Yukio told her, putting his full plate in the sink. "I'm full; I'll be in the forest if you need anything."
Emiko watched him go, totally distraught. "What's happening to us? We all used to share everything. What's so different now?" She stood and left the kitchen, leaving the food on the table.
A/N: Here's my next chapter. Sorry I ended so lamely; I just wanted to update before Christmas. Here's my holiday gift for you all (since I don't want to say Christmas because some of you might not celebrate that, so yeah…)! Thanks for all the reviews! Can't wait for more!
