Authors notes

I am so sorry about how late this was! I have sat at my computer every night trying to write, but unfortunantly on top of a major case of writers block, I've been really sick, broke up with my ass of a boyfriend, made three new friends, I'm losing some really close friends, and I've developed a health problem due to stress! Yippie, right? Anwyas, I know you're not looking to hear about my crappy teen years, and if you got this far, I'm proud of you, if not, onto the story.

Warning: Slight shohen-ai, light Kiba and Sakura bashing-not really, they just aren't nice-, crappy writing?

Disclamor: I'm saving up my money so that one day soon I will be able to fly to Japan, look mr. naruto-creator-guy in the eyes, and say "Look, see, I'm not going to threaten you, but if Naruto and Sasuke aren't married within the next five chapters, you may or may not be in the hospital with katana in your gut that I may or may not have shoved in your gut..."-I swear, I'm not dealing with anger issues, honest...-

Author: Obsessive

I gasped in horror. Naruto looked terrible. There were tubes sticking out everywhere, and blood, so much blood. He was covered in dried blood; his hair was matted with it. I rushed over and took his hand. The normally warm skin was shockingly cold.

"What…what happened to him?" My voice was shaky, even to myself.

"They seemed to have coated their weapons with poison. It…began eating away at his skin and veins…We had to make several antidotes, and they may not mix well…" Shikamaru looked at me, genuine sadness in his eyes.

"You said that he may not make it…?" Neji trailed off, his eyes locked on Naruto's unmoving form.

"Like I said, we're not sure how they antidotes will react with one another. If even one or two don't work…" He looked at his feet, then out the window. Kiba and Neji went over and each grabbed one of his hands. We stood there for a long time, me holding Naruto's hand and them holding each others.

It began getting dark maybe an hour later, and a few hours after that I was falling asleep on my feet. My eyes kept fluttering closed before jerking open. Someone-Neji I think- dragged a chair over and gently pushed me in it.

"Thanks…" I mumbled sleepily. I closed my eyes and tried to let my consciousness slip away, but found it hard to think of anything but the nin on the bed. I focused on the beeping of the heart monitor, and soon I could feel myself slipping away.

The next three days passed in the same way. I would wake up, then sit there all day. There was always another nin with us, but I rarely paid them any attention. Hinata and Ino came in often, and we would talk normally, but with the others it was always awkward. Neji and Shikamaru were torn between liking me and hating me, so we didn't speak much. Kiba refused to talk to me, and instead just glared at me for hours. Sometime after dark I would fall asleep, still gripping his hand.

It was twilight on the fourth day when Sai came in. He was unusually pale, and had slight circles under his eyes, but I knew that I had to look worse. He dragged a chair over and set it about a foot away from me. When he sat down, I could feel his eyes trained on me, but I refused to turn away from Naruto.

"Beautiful, isn't he?" When I didn't reply, he spoke again. "Even when he looks like death warmed up, he's still got this…magic, doesn't he?"

"Yeah…" I said in agreement.

He was quiet for a few minutes, then began again. "Do-."

Sai was cut off by the door opening. In walked a limping Sakura. She looked as bad as I felt. Her eyes got all watery when she saw Naruto.

"Oh, Kami…" She whispered. Walking over to his other side, she picked up the hand that wasn't firmly set in mine. Raising it up to her check, she held it there for a good long while, and I despite the situation, I felt jealousy flow like acid through my veins. Sai must have picked up on my feelings, because just as I was about to say something, he coughed lightly, and Sakura opened her eyes, seeming to remember we were here.

"So…they let you out?" She glared lightly at me.

I returned the look. "Obviously." I was annoyed. The last time she saw me, she was kind. Now she was almost rude. It seemed like the only reason she liked me was because I was on death row. Either that or something had changed in the past weeks.

She gave Naruto a lingering kiss on the forehead, then walked to Sai and gave him a small hug. Before she left she paused in the doorway. Without looking back, she said "I hope you know what you're going to do…Some people won't wait forever for to make up your mind." Then she was gone, left to limp alone back to her hospital room.

I stared in the dark, pondering over her words and actions. Her kiss had seemed almost lover like, and her words were troubling. What had she meant when she said that I needed to decide on what to do? Had she meant she would make a move, or somebody else would?

I was jerked out of my thoughts by a smooth, clear voice. "She's right, you know. Some people will be patient with you, but many won't. He's in very high demand here in Konoha…Many women and men richer, stronger, and nicer than you want his love." He stood up, and put his hands on my shoulders when I tried to protest.

"Shhh. You know I'm right." He gave my shoulders a gentle squeeze before exiting quietly.

In the dark, the silence seemed overwhelming. There was nothing but the monitors and Naruto's faint breathing to keep me company and distract me from my thoughts. The mere thought of someone else having Naruto's attention, his affection was enough to make me sweat. I fell asleep slowly, my head resting on the side of his bed.

My dream was a montage of memories. Us at the river as children, our first kiss, our first spar, the first time I saved him, the first time I was proud of him, the first time he saved me, our first fight, our last fight, the last thing I ever said to him, and a thousand things in between. Suddenly everything was still, and the only image in my mind was Naruto surrounded by small, pink-haired, blue-eyed children, laughing.

My hand crashed into the metal edge of the bed, and I jerked awake. I looked at Naruto, staring wide eyed. I was vaguely aware of the blood that ran from my newly acquired cut, but I was much more preoccupied with my startling revelation.

"I…I love you…" My whispered words seemed much louder in the early morning stillness, and hung heavy above my head. The blonde on the bed seemed to hear me, because a few seconds after I said it, he turned his head in my direction and smiled slightly. I tensed, waiting to see if he would wake up, but when he remained still, I relaxed somewhat and laid my head next to his thigh.

"Kami…what do I do now?"

Okay, so, Dudes and Dudettes, I have a question, as always, and my question is this: I want either Naruto or Sasuke -or both- to have another love interst, and I want to know who your top two for each person would be...the story will always be a SasuNaru, but I want something to prolonge it, so I need some help...

Review please! It would really help!