GOMEN GOMEN GOMEN!!!!!!! I have been having a rather tough time at school and I haven't been able to get any inspiration for this chapter. That was until I started watching ROD The TV. I got to episode 3 and went OMG WRITER"S BLOCK IS GONE!!! YEAH BABY!!!!

Thanks to all those that have been patient with me!!!! I didn't mean for it to take me this long to update!!! Please review!!!! I hope this makes up for the long wait!!!!!


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Chapter 7

The whiteness of the room around him was blinding to the point that he would have preferred to keep his eyes closed if it hadn't been for the fact that no matter how hard he tried, his eyes would snap open, allowing a small hiss of pain to escape his lips as the white ceiling reflected the pale sun that seeped through the open window of his hospital room. He'd spent 3 days in the blinding whiteness.

September had glided into October on freshly made winds, carrying the soft Sakura blossoms that were late to bloom. It was his favorite time of year and he found himself unable to even register the idea of leaving the room. His mind was simply too muddled with thoughts and plans for the future for his body to even move from its position pressed into the soft hospital bed. Tsuande had been chiding him about how there was going to be a permanent imprint in the mattress since he rarely shifted positions.

He sighed. The whole barely moving and thinking life style had started 3 days ago when Tsunade had returned with Ino, Ten Ten and Hinata who had learned the reason for his sudden hospital visits. They had cried for him which for Naruto felt like the last thing that needed to be done for him, of all people. He wasn't very good with receiving caring gestures or shaken looks. It was all foreign ground to him.

He was by no means great friends with the three kunoichi. He only knew Ten Ten through Neji and Lee since that was all the two talked about sometimes. Surprisingly, Lee had no interest in Ten Ten as a girlfriend but the knowing glances Lee gave Neji when ever the topic surfaced, spoke of a rival's agreement. His normal fake smile appeared on his face, hiding his sorrow at not having his rival next to him, having conversations like those two did.

Hinata was a completely different story. He had actually gone out with her for about a month, seeing as Sakura had finally bashed his head in about how Hinata liked him so much. It hadn't lasted long as Hinata had soon realized her love for him was merely admiration of his unique ninja ways. He was merely her inspiration and somehow he had become her teacher. It was odd for him at first but the two had remained rather tight friends over the months.

That was all they ever were going to be as Kiba had tried to kill him after Hinata had broken up with him and gone to him to have a long sob on her teammates shoulder. Shino had merely watched from the sidelines, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips at his teammate's care for their teammate.

Then there was Ino. The 3 months between Sakura's Parent's deaths, Ino had been over at Naruto's apartment almost as if she was the third roommate. Sakura had refused to stay with Ino for some reason only Sakura knew. So Ino, the best friend of the rosette and as untrusting of a guy caring for a girl's needs as any other girl, had come over everyday like clockwork.

Through their time attending to Sakura, the two had learned a great deal about each other. Of course, with out the constant contact between Ino and Sakura, Naruto and Ino would have remained rather distant except for the occasional get together he had with her teammates Choji and Shikamaru.

The whole conversation he had had with the distraught kunoichi only confirmed his fears. He could not tell Sakura and she could not stay close to him. She was too smart not to figure it out. Naruto sighed and banged his head against the pillow.

He was feeling better at least. Kami-sama knows how long that would last. He felt like he did before he went after Sasuke. His mind was what had kept him in the hospital. He could have escaped after Ino, Ten Ten and Hinata had found out but he didn't. His mind was just too confused for him to even think of a good way to escape.

This had lead to Tsunade and Shizune to check up on him every couple of hours just to make sure he was still breathing. Naruto chuckled at the thought. They were fairly big worry warts when it came to him. Fawning over him like a little brother. Naruto's train of thought stopped.

"Like a little brother…" He tried the feel of the words on his lips, each syllable released from his mouth with the utmost care and precision. It had sounded weird in his mind, some sort of small fetish that made little sense to him but speaking it out loud had sounded almost too perfect.

He loved every click of his tongue as he said it. It meant family. The pleasant dream would slowly dissolve away as the person of his affection would flash into his vision, reminding him of his extended stay in the hospital.

Damn it. All I've been doing is thinking and look at what it has gotten me into?! Naruto cursed. The thought of disappointing those he called family, what he believed to be an assorted mix of his friends, teammates and senseis, always came to his mind. It hadn't stopped for the past three days. This singular thought would then lead to the pink haired beauty, earning a swift smack to the front of his face by the palm of his hand. He was going to kill himself from guilt before he actually died from the poison. Damn it…

He needed to get out of this room.


The wind was soft against her skin as she meandered through the streets, a destination in mind but no time frame of when to get there accompanying it. Her mind was filled with thoughts and sentences and images all centering around the same person. The same person she'd come to realize meant more to here than she had first thought. She suddenly stopped, realizing a pit stop had become necessary. The girl turned to her right, allowing a small smirk to grace her lips.

The store she stood in front of had scrawly cursive painted on the window in a creamy white. A small flower like line had been painted underneath in an assortment of colors and hues. She smiled at the name 'Yamanka's Flower Shop' before slipping through the door, a slight tinkling bell above the door announcing her stealthy entrance.

A teen looked up from the counter, her platinum blond hair slipping over her shoulder at the sudden movement. Her slate blue eyes looking up slightly glossy in distraction, her elbow propped on the table, her hand holding her chin.

"How can I- Sakura?! Wh-what are you doing her?" Ino said slightly flustered at her friend's drop by visit. Sakura shrugged walking closer to her friend, her eyes roving over the flowers.

"I was walking by and decided to drop in to see you. It has been a couple of days since I last talked to you," Sakura smiled. Ino was still looking at her with slight tinge of pain in her eyes at the very sight of Sakura. Ino gripped the counter trying to calm herself down.

She's just in her to talk. It's not like she's going to suddenly confess that she loves Naruto. That would be crazy. I mean yea… She thinks she likes him but that was before Sasuke-kun came back… Yeah… She is defiantly not going to suddenly say she is in love with Naruto… Ino prompted her mind as her grip loosened and she smiled at Sakura.

"What do you want to talk about Forehead?" Somehow calling Sakura 'forehead' came naturally to her almost like a relaxant as she slipped back into her care free, albeit hot self. Sakura tick marked at the nickname.

"Just wanted to let you know Sasuke is back on the market. You can dine your eyes out Pig," Ino tick marked.

"Why is that? Figure out he's out of your league, Forehead?" Ino taunted back, her previous thoughts dispersing with the wind.

"No Way, Pig! I figured I'd be nice and give you a chance with him seeing as you never had one to begin with!" Sakura snapped back, throwing a condescending smirk at her best friend.

"Forehead!"

"Pig!" The girl's were soon glaring at each other before banging their heads against the counter, laughter engulfing their bodies. They giggled and snorted, till their sides ached and their heads were spinning from lack of oxygen. Ino looked up resting her chin on her hand again, watching Sakura with a blissful smirk.

"It's hard to believe we're best friends, no, Sakura?" Sakura looked up at the blond, her smile just as big.

"Yeah, it sure is," Sakura chuckled back. Ino sighed in content.

"So how is Sasuke 'back on the market'? Were you dating him forehead?" Sakura flushed.

"No," Ino raised an eyebrow.

"Then, My Dear Sakura, why have you lost interest in the Uchiha?" Ino smirked hoping for another embarrassed induced out burst. She only received a shy rosette avoiding the blonde's eyes. "Sakura?"

"You remember that conversation we had when we were at the spa?" Sakura asked nonchalantly.

"Which one? We had so many I've lost track," Ino commented watching as Sakura undressed a flower with her eyes as her stare intensified somehow.

"The one about how I needed something in my life that kept me warm and happy?" Sakura glanced at her friend to gage her reaction. Ino thought for a few moments, her eyes tracing the wooden planks of the ceiling finding a vase she needed the put flowers in. She picked it up before snapping her fingers as the conversation came to mind.

"I remember! It was during our mud baths on the 2nd week while Hinata and Ten Ten were getting massages!" Ino exclaimed remembering the part. Her mood dropped as confusion took over. "Why do you want to know about that?"

"I think I found someone who fits the requirements," Ino raised an eyebrow, the oversized vase resting against her hip, the deep blue and white blending with her normal outfit.

"Like who, forehead?" Sakura looked back at her friend a slight pink tinge to her cheeks, a warm smile engulfing her lips. A shatter was heard as Ino's mind processed the name that slipped from Sakura's lips like waves over sand.

"Naruto,"


Uhhhhh... I don't really know what to say except GOMEN!!!!!! I hope it makes up for the wait... hehe... PLease review so I know if it was worth it... Thanks.

Iluvwind