As I said, I'm working on it. Here's the new chapter 7! I AM FIXING THINGS AS I GO SO I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCED IF YOU'RE NEW TO THIS STORY AND THINGS DO NOT ADD UP. I really hope you guys like the changes and feel as though things make more sense after doing these reviews and tweaking's.

Enjoy~

Flashbacks

Inner Talking

Chapter 7

Sakura's POV

All I could see was darkness. There wasn't a single speck of light and it terrified me. The last thing I remember was healing Haku and passing out due to chakra depletion and that isn't a great last memory to be honest. Chakra depletion is known to kill anyone, it doesn't matter how strong you are.

Even though I can't see, my other senses are working just fine. I can smell chemicals in the air, hear this repetitive beeping noise, and I could feel something touching my hand. No, both of my hands, people are holding my hands. It isn't hard to realize that I'm in the hospital, but the question is who is touching my hands?

I tried to open my eyes, and it felt like I was holding Kakashi-sensei on both of my eyelids, but I pushed them open after a few tries. My vison was blurry but I blinked and looked towards the beeping sound and saw my heart monitor. I looked to my left and saw my mom holding my hand asleep in a hospital chair, holding my hand. Looking to my right I saw my dad also sleeping in a chair holding my other hand.

I had to hold back the tears in my eyes as I looked at my parents; they were probably beyond worried about me if they were sleeping in the hospital with me. I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my face and I tried to suppress my sobs, but that made my heart monitor beat faster and louder and it woke my parents up from their slumber.

My mom reacted quicker than my dad as she had gotten out of her chair and was hugging me while asking if I was okay and if I needed anything. My dad hugged us both and then went out of the room for a few moments.

I kept hugging my mom until I stopped crying and she wiped my eyes to dry the tears and ruffled my hair.

"You know, you almost gave us a heart attack Sakura." My mom broke the silence and I looked down guiltily, not wanting her to see my downcast eyes. I didn't want people to worry so much about me, I wasn't a kid anymore, and I didn't have Mori around to watch over me no matter what anymore.

I could tell she was expecting me to say something, so I said, "I'm sorry mom, but I do have a question." She looked up at me as though silently telling me to go on. "How is my team doing? Is everyone okay from the mission? Are Zabuza-san and…and Haku-niisan doing okay?"

She opened her mouth to talk but was interrupted by dad walking back into the room with a smile on his face as he says, "I got you a nurse squirt, and look who I also found roaming the halls." Him and the nurse step away as I see Haku and Zabuza behind them and I get a surge of excitement and a big smile covers my face. Haku rushes over to my side and throws his arms around me as he tells me how happy he is to see me awake and that he was so sorry for attacking me.

I patted his back and hugged him extra tight as I really have missed having him around. I felt a hand on my head and looked up to see Zabuza looking down at me-without the bandages around his mouth- and he says, "I…I'm sorry for everything I have done to your team and you. I know attacking your teammates will probably make you hate me but-, " I cut him off by pulling him down into a hug and I whispered to him, "I forgave you as soon as you agreed to come here with us. You are now one of us, Zabuza-niisan."

He looked really uncomfortable, but after a few moments he hugs me back. We stayed like that for a few moments before my brain decided to work as I let him go and they got up and I looked at my parents and said, "Wait, are they not supposed to be under supervision? And how are you okay with this? JUST HOW LONG WAS I OUT?!"

I heard a familiar chuckle and whipped my head around back to the door and saw my team there. "Yo," Kakashi-sensei said and entered with a bickering Sasuke and Naur-chan.

"Kakashi-sensei, how long have I been unconscious?" I really just wanted an answer to my questions.

He comes up to me and ruffles my hair saying, "You were out for about a week, you had us worried Sakura. I'm glad you're okay as I'm sure your family is as well." I looked over at my parents, looking at their relieved expressions as they hugged one another. They were dressed in their ANBU gear which surprised me.

Weren't they on a mission before you left for yours?

INNER! You're there now? And oh yeah, that's right, they were on a mission.

The nurse came over to me and was about to start checking me over when the door slammed open and I saw a fuming Tsunade-sama coming over to my bed screaming about how she told the nurses to come and get her when her apprentice woke up and how incompetent they were if they couldn't follow a simple order. Almost everyone stopped talking- even Naruto and Sasuke stopped bickering- to stare at Tsunade as she rushed over to my side and started checking over my chart and started to do a final healing, not noticing the stares we were getting.

I cleared my throat as I looked at her and said, "Um, Tsunade-sama, you just gave away that I am training under you to Hatake-san, my team, my parents, and Zabuza and Haku."

She looked up and noticed the people in the room and rubbed the back of her head as she said, "Well you were going to find out sooner or later right? I guess sooner rather than later huh," She laughed and then she said she would see me in a few days and got the hell out of here.

"Tsunade-sama!" I called after her trying to get her to come back here and help me explain what had happened because now I could feel the looks from everyone and I did not want to explain everything on my own for Kami-sama!

You are screwed Saki.

Royally screwed is more like it.

After answering everyones questions and talking with my team about training in a few days and saying goodbye with a hug from Naru-chan, a quick hug from Sasuke, and a ruffle of hair from Kaka-sensei and saying goodbye to Haku and Zabuza (Kakashi was to watch them both until the Third speaks with me and we decide what to do with them) they left. All that were left in my room were my parents, and they did not look like they were going anywhere for a while.

They sat down in the chairs where they were sleeping just a few hours ago and I finally asked them, "Did you come back from your mission just to come and see me?" I know I'm their daughter, but nothing comes before the mission, not even a daughter in a coma in the hospital.

My parents looked at one another, then they smiled and my dad said, "Squirt, we had our team take over the rest of the mission. Hokage-sama himself sent for us to come back and when we came back he told us we would have another mission once you woke up."

I balled my hands into fists as I thought about what he just said, that means they were going to be leaving again and I don't know how long this mission would be.

My mother took one of my fists into her hands and smoothed it out and said, "I have personally gone to the Hyuuga compound and told them of our situation and they are willing to have you stay with them for as long as our mission permits our absence."

I perked at hearing that knowing I would get to spend time with Hinata-chan and we would get to spar.

My dad sighed and said, "I have also given Hyuuga-san a list of what I would like you work on with his nephew and Hinata as we will not be back for a while." I looked up startled at what he just said. My father is also one of the people who trains me and he has a small list of things we work on for every month, so if he gave him a list, then that means…

"How long" I whispered to them, I needed to know to prepare myself for this long separation.

My mom squeezed my hand and said, "Hokage-sama said it could take anywhere from six months to a year." I felt my heart skip a beat as what they were saying was sinking in, but I had one more question. "What is this mission about?" My voice cracked in the beginning and I cursed myself for it.

When it was silent for a few moments I finally looked up from my hands and stared at my mom for I knew that out of the two of them she would most likely tell me. She looked at my dad, then back at me and said, "Our orders are to track down the whereabouts of Orochimaru and if we can engage, to take him down at all costs."

"No!" I yelled. My blood ran cold as soon as I heard the name Orochimaru escaped my mother's lips. That's the bastard that took away my brother four years ago. He is the reason my parents were so sad. He is the reason my parents are so overprotective of me. "Please, there has to be someone else they can send." I was pleading with them, but I also knew my efforts were futile as they cannot ignore an order from the Third.

I heard a whooshing sound and in front of my bed was a masked person, a man judging by his posture and build, who looked at my parents and said, "Hokage-sama is requesting you to leave the village as soon as possible. He wishes you luck and tells you to meet the rest of the team by the village gates. That is all."

"Hai!" Both of my parents answered as the masked shinobi disappeared almost instantly. My mom bent down and hugged me. I was staring at the two senbon needles in her hair, they were engraved with cherry blossoms and had Mori and my names on them. She pulled away from me and my dad bent down and hugged me. Before he pulled away he put something around my neck, it was my necklace! He smiled and said, "You left it at home before your mission, figured you wanted it back."

I smiled and looked at my parents retreating figures. They looked back once more and I said, "I love you, be safe." They smiled and disappeared from my sight. It was the first time I was left alone and the room was suddenly too quiet. All I could hear was the sound of the heart monitor and my breathing. I needed to get out and I needed to get out now.

Ever since Tsunade came in and did a final healing, I could finally feel my body again. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and carefully took the wires out of my arms and got up. I could stand, but I had black dots in my vision meaning I probably needed water. I walked over to the sink and got a cup and drank a few cups of it to quench my thirst and help make me not so dizzy.

Once that was done I rifled through some of the drawers and found my clothes and my weights, nice and clean folded in a bag. I then got dressed and tapped into my chakra to see how I was doing; I had almost all of it back which was good. I walked over to the window and hopped up to the sill and jumped down the three stories, landing on my feet.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I was running to the one place I knew I would be safe- I ran to the memorial stone. I made it there within a few minutes and I knelt before it and stared at the names as I have done numerous of times before hand. I found the one I was looking for and traced my hands over Mori's name and a small, half crazed laugh escaped my mouth as I looked up at the setting sun and talked to my brother. I told him about the mission, Haku-niisan, Zabuza, and everything else. I explained how I was in the hospital because I had been stubborn like always and healed Haku until I passed out.

But after a while I fell quiet and just looked at his name, forever engraved into the stone and I suddenly felt so angry. Angry at everything, angry at Orochimaru for taking my brother away from me, angry because my parents were going after that creepy bastard, angry because…because I felt so useless.

I couldn't stop my brother from dying, I couldn't stop my parents from taking that mission, I couldn't stop Naruto and Sasuke from getting hurt, I couldn't stop anything from happening no matter how hard I tired. But that would stop now; I would train harder than ever. Now with my parents gone, I'll have access to Hinata at all hours and her cousin and his team.

I hear Neji complain to his female teammate about their other teammate Lee-san and how vigorous he and their sensei are when they train. Maybe I could find Lee and have him help me with my stamina and endurance. Tsunade-sama has kept my weights at 50lbs on my legs (25lbs per leg) and 30lbs on my arms (15lbs per arm) so that I can get used to them for a while before she ups them again in about a month.

I refuse to be helpless damsel in distress- I would rather give myself to that creepy bastard.

"Nii-san," I whispered to the stone, "I promise, I'm going to avenge you. I will get strong enough to take down the person who took you away from us. I love you." I was about to leave when all of a sudden, I felt something. It was a presence, and I sent my chakra out to see if it was a threat, but I didn't pick up on anything. The presence was still there, and it felt warm, soothing, and safe. It felt like there was a warm cloud around me, wrapping my in its warmth.

My eyes widened, it felt like this when I would hug my brother, warm, safe, as though nothing could hurt me. I smiled as I felt tears roll down my cheeks as I whispered, "You always come to me at my worst times, huh, nii-san?"

I laughed and started to turn around to go back to the hospital when I felt another chakra coming towards me. I tensed as I sent my chakra out to figure out who it was, and I was surprised, I didn't know who it was.

He stopped a few feet away from me, standing in the trees, not showing himself just yet.

I tensed and said, "You can come out now."

The first thing I saw was the man's black cloak as he finally stepped into my field of vision. He was decently tall, his cloak had red clouds outlined in white on it, and his right hand was not in the armhole of his cloak as it was resting in the middle. He had ebony hair that was pulled back into a short pony tail at the base of his neck. I saw his head band across his forehead and saw the leaf village symbol with a scratch threw the center of it, meaning he was a rouge ninja. But the most unsettling thing was the fact that his eyes were crimson red, the same red that Sasuke's turns when he has his Sharingan activated. But only Uchiha's have the Sharingan, so he was…

I whipped out my kunai and got into a defensive stance as I barked, "Who are you, state your business here!" I didn't see him move, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth I felt the cool, sharp blade of his kunai as he held it against my throat.

I didn't dare move- one wrong move and I would be slicing my own throat. The man behind me didn't move a muscle as he seemed to be waiting for me to react to his obvious show of attack. But I refused to move as well, this man will not get the best of me. I refuse to die before I get my revenge.

We stayed in the same position for what felt like forever, and based on the fact that the sun had set and we were now sitting in the dark, I would guess quite some time had passed. I felt a small movement from behind me and I used the not as threatening space between the kunai and my throat to talk.

"Why wouldn't you just kill me? You had me from the beginning, yet you didn't do anything but wait." I was curious as to why he did this. He was obviously very skilled and he is rouge, meaning he has probably killed many people before me, so why hesitate?

I didn't think he was going to answer, but after some time he finally said, "I was going to kill you as soon as you saw me, but you don't seem to know who I am. And you seem rather, familiar to me, so I was curious."

He was right; I didn't know who he was. "Who are you? As far as I can tell you were once a Konoha shinobi, but now you are rouge."

He walked back around to face me from the front, and now we stood face to face. (More like face to chest because he was so much taller then I.) He smirked as he said, "My name is Uchiha, Itachi."

I was correct in assuming he was an Uchiha, but the name Itachi sounded VERY familiar. I had a feeling that I should know who he was, but I brushed it off for later investigation. I heard a high pitched whistling and before I could do anything, Itachi was up and said, "I will meet you here on the night after tomorrow. Do not tell anyone I have been here, if you do, you will regret it." And then he was gone, just like that.

I was going to ponder further on the subject until I realized that the nurses at the hospital would most likely be coming to check up on me. I added chakra to my feet and started running for the hospital. I was almost there when my vision started to blur and I miss stepped on the roof and started to plummet to the ground.

My landing didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, but once I opened my eyes I realized why. Sasuke was holding me in his arms as he kept running towards the hospital. I opened my mouth to say something but he shot me a look that told me to keep quiet and I obliged until he jumped through my window and put me down on the bed.

He walked over to the other side of my bed and gently put the IV into my arm and then he kept staring at me for a time. I was waiting for him to say something, anything to relieve this tense atmosphere.

"I came to visit you and you weren't here. I couldn't find your clothes anywhere, nothing to tell me if you were still here or if you had been taken." Sasuke kept looking at me, dead in the eyes, and I could see the emotions there. He was scared, angry, and confused.

I looked away from his eyes and looked back out of the window and said, "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I didn't mean to scare you." I meant that sincerely. I had just felt the need to get away from this room once I found out my parents were going to be leaving for so long to go after the same bastard that had killed my brother.

But I was also surprised that Sasuke had come to visit me and then had actually worried about me. I looked back over at my teammate and said, "I don't know why you try to act as though you don't care for others, I can tell that you care for Kakashi and Naruto like they are your family. And you seem to care for me because you were scared that I wasn't here."

He looked taken aback as I said that. I guess he didn't realize I was watching him a lot of the time. I always study people, it's a habit that Mori had engraved into my mind when I was young so I could find out peoples intentions when doing things.

He didn't look like he was going to answer for a minute, but then he said, "It's not that I don't want to show it, Sakura. It's the fact that…I don't know how to show it." I almost didn't catch the last part as he whispered it.

I smiled and beckoned him over to the side of my bed. He walked over cautiously and as soon as he got close enough I pulled him onto my hospital bed and hugged him.

"Eh, Sakura, what are you doing!" To say he was surprised was an understatement. He seemed to fight it for a moment, but once he realized I wasn't going to let go he gave in and relaxed. I moved over a little so he could lie next to me without crushing me.

I smiled as I saw the small amount of blush on his face and he looked away, but I pulled his head back to face me. I said, "I can teach you how to show your affection. It isn't as hard as you think."

He just kept quiet as his blush grew, but he did nod, meaning he was going to listen. I grabbed his hand and held it in between us, and I stared at our joined hands and felt a small blush graze my cheeks. I cleared my throat and said, "You need to accept the fact that you aren't perfect."

"I am more than-," he started to say but I look at him sideways and he stops speaking. He looks down and sighs, telling me he is going to listen.

"You aren't perfect," I continued, "but you will get better than you are. That's the whole point to training, why do you think Naruto and I have gotten better? Training, and a lot of it."

He is looking at me, and I'm going to explain farther when he says, "We can focus on that another day, just teach me how to c-ca-are about people Sakura."

I nudge him and say, "There is no real way to teach you how to do that. It starts with a feeling, and you seem to have that already. Then you have to change your ways. You have to be nicer to people, try and talk to others more. And if you don't talk more, at least make it a point to listen and be with people."

He nods to show me he is listening, "It is not something that happens overnight. But if you make it a point to at least be more social with your team and other graduated classmates, then it should get easier. And it will make you stronger."

He looks at me and says, "I can try, but there are no promises."

I smiled at his statement and I poke his nose and stick my tongue out at him and say, "That won't be so hard now will it, Sasuke."

"-kun." He said.

"What?" I was confused.

"Sasuke-kun. It sounds better when you say it then when you just say my name." I could see how his face was panted red at saying that, and I was happy. He was trying to step out of his comfort zone, and for that I snuggled into his chest and said, "You're already showing more emotion then just a few minutes ago."

"Hn," I smirked and put his arm around me, hugging me back and I could feel my face heat up at this action.

We stay like that for a while and I feel Sasukes heart beat as I was laying into his chest. It was quiet for a while but I had one more question for him.

"Sasuke-kun?" I started. He grunted to let me know he was paying attention. "Why were you so worried about me not being in my room?"

My question was met with silence for the longest time, and I started to move from my position to look at his face, but he refused to look into my eyes. I tried to get him to look at me but he fought me. He was quiet and I took his silence with stride, just because he has started to open up doesn't mean he would be an open book.

We sat in comfortable silence as I kept snuggling into him and he kept his arm around me. I was the most comfortable that I have ever been I have been in a long time. Mori used to sleep with me like this when I couldn't fall asleep.

I could feel myself drifting off into my sleep world, but I said, "Sasuke, will you stay with me tonight?"

"Ah," he said.

"Promise you won't leave in the middle of the night?" I asked him.

"If I promise will it make you fall asleep faster?" He asked me, a note of annoyance in his voice.

I smiled and said, "Yes."

"Then yes, I promise I won't leave. Now sleep." He said that and I instantly felt better. I snuggled closer to his chest and I felt him hold me a little tighter before I fell into the deep abys of sleep.

…..

Kakashi POV

Snickering as I took some photos of my precious little students snuggling in Sakura's hospital bed. I knew that my students would appreciate this one day. At least after they get married, have a couple kids, and don't want to murder their dear old sensei for this black mail. But I knew I had to take these pictures, for it seems that they happen when people lest expect.

I laughed to myself as I jumped off of the branch to go find Naruto next so as to see if he has noticed that Hyuuga girl following him yet.