Chapter 8

The guest evaporated into nothing as everything was no longer moving rapidly. Leaving only air and the three students shielding themselves in a bit of fear. It was as if whatever caused the wind was no longer present. Naruto tilts his head in confusion.

"Huh?! Wasn't there something there!"

He yelled while standing on the branch then jumping down beside Sasuke. The three chunins rushed over beside them with fear in their eyes.

"Mm, Sasuke did you see who was there?"

Naruto asked while glimpsing at the chunins trying to make them stay calm after such a scare.

"No .. but whatever it was it's gone for now.."

He responses while getting to his feet and pulling his sword out of the path of a crowd then placing it back beside him.

"Hey, Sakura! did you see anything?"

Naruto says with a curious look.

"What was that?"

One of chunins asked while the other two stare in agreement, wanting to know what caused that immense wind.

Sakura blinked as the figure disappeared, her eyes narrowed as she walked over to the other two and shook her head as Naruto asked her if she saw it. She looked at the three worried but agreed that the guy was over with and gone.

"Let's get these guys out of here...I'm pooped,"

she says shaking her head and looking at the others.

"We're not so sure… we'll have to report it I don't think it's anything to worry about we have anbu trained for wind techniques like this, but we still have to be on guard."

she says looking at them with a smile.

"I'll catch up with you guys later I have to stop by the hospital and file some stuff now that I'm back and close by if you need anything you know where I'll be,"

she says to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Don't get into any trouble,"

she says giving Naruto's arm a playful shove before walking off towards the infirmaries.

The three chunins darted off to their homes with a shocked look on their faces.

"You're right Sakura."

Naruto says then turns his body at Sasuke who seemed to have a thoughtful look on his face since the strange situation happened. Thinking of what would be a great time to report the issue that they saw. Naruto waves goodbye to Sakura with his arm flaring in the air.

"Later Sakura!"

He says after receiving a playful shove then darting off to the nearest ramen shop. Hungry he was during the training with the three chunins that he was fairly impressed with how they came a long way. Sasuke gives Sakura a quick wave as she leaves then follows Naruto from behind. "Where are you going now?"

He asked loudly since Naruto was up ahead.

"Ramen!"

He yelled back while turning his head as they were both welcomed into the Ramen shop by the old man.


Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto's alarming display for saying goodbye. After giving Sasuke a warm smile she began to walk quickly in direction of the medical center and keeping in thought what she needed to have finished by the end of the night. She stretched her arms upward forgetting how tired she had been before and sighed gently feeling her bones almost break. "Sheesh I forgot how troublesome it is to hang out with those two, everything ends in a fight," she says to herself, after a bit of daydreaming she reaches the offices where she discovers are closed.

"Huh? How strange...these are usually filled after a mission...perhaps the hospital is open and can let me know."

she walks a few more feet where she enters the hospital and the doctors have many people all lined up and papers are everywhere.

"I'm going to be here for a while…"

she sighs and rushes over to the nearest nurse who gives her the list of what is to be done. Sakura, without another word, starts to go down the list.

The place was empty despite missing the rush hour of when it would be packed and it was impossible to find a seat. The two find a seat and greet the old man with smiles.

"How's business?"

Naruto says while observing the place. The old man was pleased to see familiar faces once again. "Its booming thanks to you."

He turned his back and began preparing the ramen. A word wasn't needed knowingly of what to prepare. The old man places the two bowls along with a smile.

"Thank you!"

Naruto yelled when seeing the ramen in sight then digging in before it had a chance to cool down, meanwhile Sasuke nods his head to the old man as a thank you. Sasuke was about to dig in but then was distracted by a sense of something was watching them.

"Someone's watching us."

Sasuke added in a whisper before turning his body.

'Could it be familiar with the training ground incident.'

He thought to himself.

"Hm? I don't sense anything."

Naruto says before lifting his head from the bowl and looking around.

"What could it be?"

He added then whipping his face smeared of ramen onto his sleeve.

Sakura set out to finish the files she had organized, her head was throbbing she really needed to take a break but she just had to make sure all these ninjas had the right care and the best doctors. The Pinkett anxiously waited in line at the computers to log in her patients and get them healed, she wanted to go home and rest so badly. Her mind wandered and she thought of the figure they had seen a while ago, part of her wanted to open up and ask someone about it but she stayed quiet and instead focused on what her work had in store. It had taken five hours to finish up her work and by that, late at night, it was already close to midnight.

"Oh man...I'm pooped,"

she says to herself loud enough for others to agree as they walked out of the hospital offices after moving from one building to the other. Since it was late the same ninja from before had offered to walk her home, Sakura felt a bit angry seeing as she could take care of herself but she couldn't help being hungry for some kind of human contact from someone who seemed interested in her. Sasuke floated in her mind and she instantly shook those thoughts away so she could carry her conversation with the other.

The two carried on with their bowl of ramen as the old man told them about his booming shop and how he was very thankful for success. "I'm going to head in, Sasuke," Naruto says following a loud yawn

and placing the money on the counter. He was generous to pay for both him and Sasuke food. Naruto heads out and heads to his home that was plastered with flowers and gifts near the gate. Meanwhile, Sasuke waves his respect to the old man and heads out as well.

'I didn't see Sakura walk by..'

He thought to himself as he walked towards the hospital. He was worried about her safety since there is someone or something lurking the village.

'Did she leave already?'

He kept wondering to himself then finally spotting her along with a familiar face. Sasuke demeanor quickly changed as the two stare each other down as if looks could kill. The ninja doesn't hesitate to take a step closer to the Uchiha in a daring and disrespectful way. The two were now only inches apart, ready to chop down onto each other's neck.

Sakura kept her smile going as she continued to speak her mind and share thoughts on the events taking place.

'this isn't the same.'

she says to herself as they walk silently after exchanging some words.

'this silence isn't the same as it is with Sasuke…and even if I were talking Sasuke wouldn't glance in such a false way.'

she thinks on and on. Sakura thinks of the way Sasuke would look at Sakura or Naruto when they spoke, how sincere his gaze is and how kind he always seems there's not anything showing but you just know he cares about every word. She smiles to herself and as if someone granted her wish the Uchiha was right in front of them. "S-Sasuke!" she says surprised and glances at the two. She shakes her head at them and locks her arm with her old team mate. "Thank you for walking me this far, I'll see you at work tomorrow, get some rest." she says wanting to break the tension, she tugs her arm against his and pulls him gently so they can start walking. "Come on I'm so tired, you shouldn't be up this late walking around what if someone hurt you." she nags.


Before he could react to the ninja he was being pulled back by Sakura's strength and dragged along beside her against his will.

"Why does he keep showing up?"

He asked her as he glances over at her pink hair.

'Sakura isn't weak, she can take care of herself..'

He thought to himself as he wondered what the ninja real purpose was of walking her home. "There's something lurking the village, I didn't want you walking alone."

He says in an almost caring voice then glancing over at a flickering light, showing his reason of appearing out of the blue along with almost getting into a fight with a ninja. Less worried about his own being and more concerned about Sakura's safety.

"Do you sense it?. Naruto didn't."

Sasuke keeps his surroundings aware as he senses a cold presence watching over once again. It was like a cold dark chill hits you suddenly, despite that the weather was warm today.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the hot headed boy.

"Why do you care hm?" she says pressing herself closer to him nostalgically like when they were kids.

"I guess he felt the same way,"

she says in an attempt to soothe his concern, as she glances back up at him she notices his tone of voice and before she can say anything there is a brush against her legs of icy cold vibrations. "Burr…"

she exclaims.

"Naruto wouldn't notice something like that if his mind is focused on one thing you know how he can be.." she proceeds to let her eyes wander around.

"This might sound harsh but you don't think that...the medic ninja could be the one behind this do you?" she says glancing over her shoulder.

"Then again...it's always scary around this part of the village this late at night."

with a yawn, she presses her head against his shoulder her eyes becoming heavy.

Sasuke ignored the question that was knowingly asked . "The same way ..." Sasuke raises an eyebrow in curiosity, thinking that there had to be more to the situation then just caring for Sakura. The thought wanders his mind as they approach downward along the lit pathway. "Same old..Naruto." He says following Sakura comment as he reminsce thoughts of team 7. He glances over at her in a sense of surprise as she thought of some ideas regarding the medic ninja. "I'll keep a look out .." He replys almost cutting her off as she spoke. Sasuke noticed that her eyes were becoming heavy as she placed her head aganist him. 'She's probably exhausted from a long day at the hospital.' He thought to himself while gently placeing Sakura on his back while her head rest on his shoulder then taking a huge leap up to a neaby rooftop. As finally ariving to Sakura's place, where the cold chill no longer followed. The Uchiha enters the door and closes his from behind then processing to enter as he places Sakura down on the bed. 'Should I wake her?' He thought to himself as he enters the kitchen.

Sakura felt the cool sensation of his shoulder, his warmth quickly reached her cheek and she could barely stay awake after that, she was so tired she hadn't noticed him carrying her she only knew how nice it felt not to be walking anymore. She opened her eyes slowly as she felt him stop suddenly and the door close behind them. "Hmm." she stretched her arms out and wrapped them around his neck careful of not choking him. "You can put me down it's ok," she says against the back of his head, she's always been adventurous when it comes to contact with Sasuke and her first move tonight was burying her face in his spiky hair.

The Uchiha places her down and heads over to the kitchen. He reaches for a cup and pours himself cold water. Parched from the long day and walk and relieved to finally get a break. The window above the sink opened abruptly on its own. 'When I came in it was locked.' He thought to himself after being startled from the bang due to the glass hitting the wall with a unnatural force. The glass window quickly shattered into pieces, glass was spread along the counters, sink and the floor. Sasuke steps over the shards of glass, trying not to step on any. Exiting the kitchen and looking over at Sakura who seemed tired. "We can clean it up later." He says in an odd tone, not sure of what caused the window to unlock itself. "I'll clean it up .. ." He added before kneeling down on the floor and eyeing the shattered glass while picking up a piece.

Sakura slides off easily and starts walking off to her bedroom until her body ran cold and a chilling shriek of glass breaking entered the quiet room. She shouted in fear and ran into the kitchen to see what was going on. "What on earth?" she says in a breathless whisper. Walking over to the glass she's wide awake now and quickly runs over to the closet and pulls out a broom and dust pan. "My word, these winds are getting on my nerves," she says aggravated at the whole idea of what's been happening. "No no I'll clean it, be careful.." she says moving the glass out of the way. "If we forget about it then we'll be in danger of it later…" she says shaking her head in annoyance. "How am I going to explain this to the landlord…" she whispers under her breath after she's cleaned it all and placed it in the waste basket.

Sasuke kneels down while swiping up another piece of glass quickly before Sakura could sweep it up and brushes it over as then picking it up into the palm of his hand. The sides were jagged and clearly clear that this was caused unnaturally. The reflection of his face shines against the piece of glass as he points it up towards the window, turning it with his fingers. "That was caused by someone.." He says while turning the piece of glass to the opposite side and tries to get a better look at the uneven edges. Sasuke rises to his feet and places the piece of glass onto the counter and walks out of the kitchen. "Hm, should we cover the window?" He asked before moving out of the doorway while watching the light from the moon light the kitchen. "I'm sure we're not alone." He says to himself while looking over at the front door and back out of the glassless window.

Sakura sighs as she watches him clean it up instead, she shakes her head in protest as he touches the glass, but she notices how careful he's being. "Caused by someone?" she asks calmly at first "who on earth could it be this time, this is really starting to become an old trend." she sits in a chair in the dining room crossing her arms over her chest. She thinks for a moment on the incidents happening and can't seem to figure out who it could be. Without a single answer more she raises her gaze to the window and stands up once more grabbing a piece of plywood the size of the window that is hidden in the cupboards below. "These are for storms, but I'm sure they'll come in handy if any more of my windows break." she says as she starts to hammer it easily in place. "I'm going to bed…" she says when she's all finished and walks to the hallway where she looks back at Sasuke. "You're welcome to sleep in my bed if you'd like I can sleep on the couch" She wanted to make sure he was comfortable and at this moment she really didn't mind sleeping anywhere with how exhausted she felt.

The Uchiha shrugged his shoulders not sure who it could have been but wasn't worried about himself but more about others safety. Figuring that whoever it was would soon to show themselves. He soon watches Sakura begin nailing wood to the glassless window. It seemed as if the noise of the nails hitting the wood echoed throughout the night. "That should hold." He says then plummeting into the couch before Sakura spoke once more. "I'll sleep h-." He says in a drowsy voice unable to finish his thought as his eyes began to shut on their own. Then throwing the blanket over his body and over his head, quickly falling asleep to the sound of the crickets and snores from villagers that echoed throughout the village.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she watched him plop on the couch and ignore her question, she walked on over with a pillow and lifted his head gently placing it underneath for him to be a bit more comfortable than with just a blanket. "Thanks for walking me home," she whispers gently as he sleeps before standing up and walking to her bedroom where she changes out of her clothes and flourishes in the warmth of her bed going into a deep sleep.