"What do you mean he's injured?!" I exclaim, feeling my stomach drop. The flowers fall at my sides and each one of us tenses before we all take off in a mutual consensus that we need to get back as soon as possible. None of us make any snarky remarks, we run together in silence.

Sakura, the medic nin, asks Choji while running, "What are his injuries? Do you know?"

"He lost his footing and tumbled down the, I don't know, hill? Mountain?" Choji explains. "But anyway, the point is that he broke his left ankle and sprained his right elbow."

Sakura nods, a wave of relief washing over her and the rest of the group. "Good, then it's not too serious. I'll perform some emergency treatment, but I can't heal him completely. He'll have to wait until we get back into the village."

For some reason, I'm not relieved just yet. My throat feels as though it's clamped shut. As we approach the campsite, I can see Naruto sitting on a log with his legs outstretched. Shikamaru is wrapping a makeshift sling on Naruto while Hinata sits beside him, a concerned look on her face and a comforting hand on his shoulder. I slow to a stop when we reach the campsite, falling behind as the rest of them rush to Naruto's side.

Shikamaru moves out of the way, allowing Sakura to perform her standard medical questions before tending to his injuries. Naruto just grins and tells everyone he's fine earning him a hard look from Sakura, shutting him up.

I can't explain why, but I start crying. The water pools at my eyes and I feel sobs itching their way through my throat. I try to suppress them, but it still makes its strangled way out my throat. Naruto turns to me, saying, "Ino?"

I turn around and run off. My emotions are getting the best of me, I know, and I know that my friends are going to wonder what's going on (I hear Kiba ask, "What's gotten into her?") but I just need to clear my head. I run back in the direction we came from a moment ago. I don't stop running. My chest heaves and I feel as though my legs will give out at any moment, but I don't stop, not until I reach the field of flowers. Then I let it out.

The scent of the flowers intoxicates me, but I don't care, falling onto my knees within the sea of colour. What is my problem? I have no idea. But my eyes swell as water nearly gushes out of them and I sob my ugly sobs out. It takes me a few minutes, but a part of my brain seems to click on, telling me to pull myself together.

"I'm such a freak," I say to no one. Lifting myself up, I take a look around me. There are crinkled flowers at my feet, the ones that I crushed when I fell onto my knees. I don't bother to wipe my tear-streaked face. I just shake my head and laugh. I laugh. I'm crazy.

In the distance I can spot the flowers I dropped a moment ago and go to pick them up. I hear footsteps approaching behind me, so I hastily rub off the dried tears off my face and stand up, my makeshift bouquet back in my hand. Turning around, I'm surprised to see Tenten approaching me. I expected maybe Sakura or Shikamaru, but regardless, I expect the same words from all of them.

Tenten doesn't have a concerned look on her face though, she has an understanding one. My eyes almost well up again at the warmth in her expression. She reaches me and places a tentative hand on my shoulder, giving me a small smile.

"Do you want to talk?" she asks.

"About what?" I ask. My voice sounds as though I hadn't used it in a few years, but it works.

Tenten shrugs, "Whatever you want." She looks at the flowers in my hand and says, "Maybe you can talk about flowers."

I scoff but smile anyway. "I came back for these," I use as an excuse, "they're for my dad. I didn't want to go through that trouble and then come back empty handed. I mean, Naruto isn't in a fatal condition, so I thought I might as well get them before it got dark, you know?"

Tenten nods, choosing to believe me even though I can see the doubt in her eyes. Instead of addressing it, she asks, "Ino, what do you want to do?"

I'm taken aback by the question. I definitely wasn't expecting this one.

"Do with what?" I ask stupidly.

"I mean, what do you want to do right now? Or when we go home?" Tenten explain. She places a hand on my back and the other on my arm as she guides me back on the trail, towards the campsite. "Do you want to go to a coffee shop? Dance in the moonlight? Play in the rain? Work at the shop?"

I blink at the options, "They all sound nice…"

Tenten smiles again, "Then I think you should do them."

"Okay, Tenten, I seriously don't understand the words coming out of your mouth right now."

"Listen, Ino," Tenten says, forcing me to stare into her eyes as we continue walking. She continues, "You should be happy. So go do the things you want to do and stop denying yourself those little instances of happiness. I don't think of you as a depressed person, but I know you're not happy."

"I am happy!" I argue, "I love being with all of you, my friends. I love swimming with you guys, cloud watching and napping with Shikamaru, bantering with Kiba, Sakura, and Naruto, eating with Choji, shopping with you, talking with Hinata, I just love being with each and every one of you."

"Yeah," Tenten drags out the word. "But I know that you do these things because we love to do them. You eat ramen with Naruto, visit Sakura at the hospital, join Hinata on her strolls, visit restaurants with Choji, cloud watch with Shikamaru, shop with me, and I don't know, I guess Kiba just loves bantering, but you do that with him too because it's what we love and what makes us happy. You should do things for yourself too."

"You guys come visit me at the shop," I point out, "and that's something I love to do."

Tenten scrunches her eyebrows in doubt, "but that's work. You're forced to do it, regardless of whether you love it or not."

I sigh, there's just no winning here. And yet… Tenten has a point. I smile at her gratefully upon this realization. "I'm not as unhappy as you think, but if it'll put your mind to ease, then I'll go do things on my own that I enjoy."

Tenten grins and pulls me in tight in a sort-of hug. I protest, claiming she'll wreck my bouquet and she immediately pulls back, but her grin is broad enough to show her joy at the words.

We return to the campsite when the sun begins to go down. I pout at the thought of this trip already ending, but at the same time, I don't think tomorrow morning is early enough time for us to leave. I hear laughter coming out of the girls' tent so I peek in to see everyone squished in there, playing a game of cards.

"Oh, Ino, hey!" Sakura greets, scootching over to give me room. "Wanna come join us?"

I don't know whether or not I should refuse, but I choose to come inside anyway. Tenten follows after me. For a while, I watch as the rest of them finish their game, no one pointing out my weird behaviour. In fact, they casually get me to join in on the conversation. For this, I'm grateful, but I have no idea how they could overlook my weird actions. Maybe it's better to just leave it at that.

Naruto accuses Kiba of cheating, which he denies. Naruto's left leg is outstretched to the side, forcing him to have to slightly twist his body in order to be able to play. With his right arm in a sling made out of one of Shikamaru's shirts, he has to play one-handed. Naruto asks me to verify if Kiba is in fact a cheater since I'm sitting next to Kiba and can peek at his cards. I shake my head, denying the accusation, then high-five Kiba behind his back. Naruto squints his eyes at us with suspicion, but we both shrug innocently.

When the round is over and I'm able to join the game, I warn Kiba that I'm not gonna go easy on him. He scoffs at the challenge but seems amused by the competition. We play for hours, only stopping to eat, then returning back to our games. The night is filled with laughter, allowing me to forget everything else and live in this moment.

When it gets late, Sakura and Tenten shoo us out, telling us it's time for bed. Hinata is already dozing off, and Shikamaru is sleeping in the corner. I nudge him awake on my way out and we all give our farewells before entering our respective tents. I gather my bouquet and gloat to Kiba about beating him on multiple occasions, to which he scoffs and promises that the outcomes will be different next time, before entering his tent.

Before I enter my tent, I look over towards Naruto's tent. Sakura had helped him into it and volunteered to watch over him in the night to make sure he doesn't injure himself further by sleeping on one of his injuries in an awkward position. With a sigh, I turn back towards my own tent, trying to to quell my worries with the comforting thought that Sakura is the best possible person to look after him.

"Rise and shine, Princess!" Kiba hollers as he smuggles me with a pillow. I groan and bury my face in my hands. When he's satisfied at successfully waking me, Kiba jumps up and continues to create a ruckus to wake everyone up. I practically crawl out of the tent to observe with squinted eyes—to my annoyance—that the sun has not made its complete way up yet. Sakura doesn't seem to mind, seeing as she's throwing bags filled with her stuff out of her tent. She's probably accustomed to short hours of sleep and early morning wake-up calls. How that girl is still alive is beyond my comprehension. Hinata rubs her eyes drowsily while Tenten rolls up sleeping bags.

I nudge Shikamaru's leg to wake him, but he simply groans, rises from his spot, and drags his feet out of the tent towards a tree a few feet away. In an instant, Shika is unconscious with his back against the tree and his arms and legs crossed before him. I shake my head but in retrospect, I'm in no position to judge, seeing as how I can barely keep my eyes open.

Choji enters the tent just after I have changed out of my pajamas and tied my hair back. He offers me rice with a few vegetables and fish to eat for breakfast. The gesture makes me grin and accept the food gratefully. While eating my breakfast, I exit my tent to inspect the rest of the group. Everyone, save for Shika and Naruto, are sitting by the fire, warming themselves up as they eat. Jerking my chin towards Naruto's tent, I ask, "Did anyone wake up the dork?"

"No, we thought he should rest up a bit more," Sakura comments, and from her tone I can hear the tiredness of it. I guess she was pretty tired too, but refused to show it. Afterall, she stayed up all night watching over Naruto. Sakura continues in the same tired voice, "Resting is the best thing he can do for his injuries at the moment. But I guess someone should wake him up."

Kiba jumps off his seat, volunteering, "I'll do it!"

My eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets and I can't help questioning his excitement this morning. "What's gotten into you today?! I've never seen you at dawn, but I doubt you're always this energetic."

Kiba grins, "I'm just excited to go home. Akamaru must be missing me a lot back there, he has nothing to do without me."

I smile, knowing for a fact that Kiba is the one feeling his companion's absence. Kiba walks towards Naruto's tent with a spring in his steps. His yelling is loud enough that he might as well have been screaming it from the hills, Naruto would have been able to hear it from that far away. There's a lot of yelling going on and the sound of struggling with a few curses, all coming from Naruto as he warns Kiba to stay away from his injuries.

Eventually, Kiba comes out scowling, then helps Naruto make his way to the circle around the fire. Naruto's hair is disheveled, giving me an urge to run my hand through it and fix it up, but I bite my lip and suppress this urge. He waves lazily, greeting the group with a simple, "Yo."

"How was your sleep?" I question Naruto after we've all greeted him and Kiba helps him sit down between me and Sakura. "Did you give Sakura trouble?"

Naruto scoffs, "I'm an angel."

"Of hell," Sakura adds.

"That doesn't even make any sense." Naruto states, angling his body towards the pinkette.

"It makes complete sense to those who have witnessed it, and since I have, I am a firm believer that angels of hell exist." Sakura argues, crossing her arms.

The two teammates continue to bicker until Tenten breaks them apart by offering Naruto food. This shuts him up until he's finished eating, then they're back at it. My eyes catch Hinata's, and although she doesn't have the same look of annoyance as I do, she gives me a look of understanding. She says, "Naruto, would you like some help packing your bags?"

Hinata's voice is so gentle compared to the bickering voices between Naruto and Sakura—which are continually rising in volume—that I'm sure he doesn't hear her request. But I guess this is Naruto, and his hearing is the best I've ever known. To prove it, he breaks away from the banter to respond with a cheeky grin, "Thanks Hinata, but Sakura helped me with them last night."

"Oh, okay," Hinata says with a disappointed smile.

Naruto immediately says, "But my tent is gonna be a problem! So, um, if you're not busy, do you think you can help me with that?"

"Baka," I insult under my breath. Of course, with his super-ears, Naruto hears me and questions my insult. I roll my eyes, "Nevermind."

Placing my half-eaten plate down, I excuse myself to go pack my own bags. As I do so, I shove my things into my bag with unnecessary force. My thoughts wander and I can't help wondering what could have happened last night that made Sakura and Naruto so buddy-buddy. Bickering between our friend group just proves the strength of the friendship in a way only understandable by us, therefore confusing me on Sakura and Naruto's sudden changes in attitude. Of course, they're teammates and have been friends for a long time, but Sakura seemed to have a stone-heart towards him. I just don't understand it.

I nearly stomp out of the tent and glance over to the side to see Hinata and Naruto working their way through packing up his tent. It seems difficult for Naruto, but he looks as though he's trying as best as he can to make do with what he's got. I don't even realize I'm sulking until a yawning Shikamaru comments, "If anyone saw that look on your face for even just a tenth of a second, they'd know you've fallen for the guy you keep calling 'idiot'."

Ignoring his comment, I ask in a forced cheerful voice, "Are you going to help me out with the tent?"

Shika groans but complies. Choji joins us and we finish just about the the same time as the others. We gather back around the middle of the campsite and Kiba asks, while pointing his thumb at Naruto, "So like, are we gonna have to take turns carrying this guy?"

Naruto rolls his eyes, "I can't exactly walk on my own, here."

"Well who told you to be so clumsy, then?" This comment earns Kiba glares from Tenten and Sakura; even Hinata fixes him a stern look. Kiba holds his hands up by his shoulders and says, "My bad. Geez, if looks could kill…"

Shikamaru volunteers to be Naruto's human crutch first without any complaints. I smile, thinking to myself, Helping out a friend in need isn't so troublesome, is it, Shika? You're such a softy on the inside. Shikamaru seems to read my mind, because he glares at me with no malice. He scoffs and turns away, but I catch his lips quirk up.

The eight of us begin our journey home with our bags flung over our shoulders and Kiba leading the pack. He's nearly bouncing with every step, and has to stop every now and then to call the rest of us to hurry up or he'll ditch us. Along the way, Shikamaru trades spots with Hinata and instead walks with Choji at the back. The two of them walk leisurely, somehow ending up at the back. Sakura walks alongside Naruto and Hinata, as extra support in case they needed it, although Hinata insists she will be fine for the whole trip back.

For a while I stare at their backs, watching the three of them as they joke and converse. I can't help feeling a pang in my chest, as though my insides were being turned. This trip has ended up to be extremely eventful and my mind can't stop racing as I think of all the events. Maybe I'm overthinking some things, but this whirlwind trip and my whirlwind emotions are not a good mixture, thus resulting to my confused state.

I shake my head in an attempt to clear it. I promised myself I would give up on Naruto as soon as the trip was over, and from my understanding, the trip is over. Instead, I should be looking forward to doing the things I love on my own, just as Tenten had suggested. As if on queue, Tenten strolls up next to me, linking our arms and asking me what I plan to do when I get home.

"Go sleep in my comfy bed that I take for granted," I answer. Tenten rolls her eyes but laughs, admitting she'll be doing the same. I know she expected an answer of either working at the shop, or rolling down a field or something else that's just as wild, but I honestly don't know what type of activity—like the ones she suggested—I'll do first. So instead, I say, "I'm just gonna roll with the punches, I think. So if there's an opportunity to do something, I'll try to take it."

Tenten seems pleased with my words and says, "Hey, if you need ideas, I can give you some. Maybe if you try some new things, you'll be surprised to find how much you like it. Like for me, when I started to learn how to cook, I thought I'd never stop doing it. Heck, I thought maybe I'd open up a café or restaurant. It's that much fun for me."

I scoff, "Excuse me, but maybe if you guys woke me up to help you out with the cooking, you'd know I'm one fantastic chef."

Tenten raises a brow, "A little cocky, now, are we?"

We laugh and continue with our conversation. I didn't even realize we passed Naruto, Hinata and Sakura until I hear them calling out to us to wait up. It almost shocks me to realize that, because for once this whole trip, I wasn't aware of Naruto's presence. This feeling I want to get used to, and the thought of finally being able to take that weight off my shoulders excites me.

Since Tenten and I made it quite a ways ahead, we fall in line with Kiba. He joins in on our conversation once Tenten explains to him the situation of me never doing things on my own. Kiba nods his head tentatively then agrees, "Hey, I kinda wanna do that too!"

"Honestly, we should all probably get into the habit of doing things on our own that we just want to do without a care of what others will think of it," Tenten states with a passion that could challenge Lee's. She speaks the words in one breath, almost losing me, but I caught onto its meaning. She continues, "I mean, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, you know? Self-improvement goes such a long way-"

"Tenten," Kiba cuts her off, "I think you've been spending a ridiculous amount of time with Lee. I understand you're teammates, but seriously? You're turning into him."

"And what's wrong with Lee, Inuzuka?" Tenten questions warningly.

"Nothing's wrong with him per-say, he's just… a little—actually, more than a little—over the top."

"Hmm," I hum in understanding. Turning to Tenten, I say, "He's kind of got a point."

Tenten rolls her eyes, "Whatever, I don't care. When you actually listen to what Lee has to say, it makes sense and I completely agree with him on it."

"I'll make sure to invite him to our next inspirational conversation," I say.

"I never realized it until now, but wow, we really do pick up a lot of habits from our teammates," Tenten comments.

"I guess that's just how things work out," Kiba suggests. I turn to Kiba and just stare at him, causing him to ask, "What is it? Is something on my face?"

"I'm just wondering if you've ever had a crush on anyone before, Inuzuka." I respond.

Kiba's eyebrows scrunch up in mild confusion with a dash of disgust, "Why would you be wondering that?"

"I don't know, the thought came to me and I'm surious."

Tenten perks up and pesters Kiba to fess up his secrets. Kiba refuses to do so, however, Tenten and I finally manage to force it out of him.

"Alright, fine!" Kiba says with an annoyed sigh. He goes back to his free-spirited ways and says, "I don't waste my time with things like that, but I'm a man who sometimes desires companionship just as any other man—"

"Just get to the good stuff," I say impatiently, biting back my tongue from commenting how the thought of Kiba having desires disgusts me. Of course, it doesn't actually, but it's in our nature to bug one another.

"Okay, geez, no need to be in such a rush," Kiba says before continuing. "Anyway, I guess I always thought the idea of having that companionship would be nice, but I never thought it was necessary or made it my priority. I did, however, have an interest in a girl—and I will NOT tell you who or give ANY hints what-so-ever so don't even think about getting it out of me—but I don't think it'll work out, so I'm over it."

I raise a brow and turn to Tenten, whose expression reflects mine. She asks, "How long have you liked—I mean, 'showed an interest' toward her for?"

Kiba shrugs and takes a deep breath as he thinks. "I don't know... Three years, maybe?"

"Three years?!" I exclaim. "And you're 'over it'? How?!"

Kiba growls, "Well if there's no chance, then what's the point? I refuse to waste any more of my time. Plus, I'm content with things being the way they are."

I sigh, I wish I had that sort of attitude. But it all makes, really. I guess in the end it doesn't matter how long you've cared for someone, if you know that in the end you won't end up with that person, why waste any further time.

"Can you guys not tell anyone what we just talked about?" Kiba asks almost shyly. "I don't talk about these things so this is the first time I've shared that. If anyone else finds out about this, I don't know what I'd do. I just know neither of you will like it one bit."

Tenten and I agree not to do so just as the village gates come into view. I mentally thank Tenten and Kiba for this talk. I also make a mental note to stop acting so weird, and I know publicly thanking them will confuse them and qualifies as weird. They just won't be able to understand how much they've helped me with this talk. I feel slightly guilty for not telling them—especially Tenten—about my true feelings and why I'm acting so weird. But the less people who know about it, the easier it will be to pretend like it never happened, right? Hopefully that's the case.

We enter the gates and I immediately throw down my bag and lie on it with a heavy sigh. I hadn't even noticed its weight until that very moment. Tenten drops her bag as well and takes a seat on top of it, pulls out a water bottle, and chugs its contents down. Kiba seems to contemplate whether to rest with us or to head straight home to Akamaru. Since he'd just spent the last few days with us, it doesn't take him long to decide. He immediately drops Naruto's bags next to ours and takes off towards his home—not before saying goodbye, however.

"What a guy," I call after him as Tenten and I watch his retreating back as he literally dashes home with the use of some chakra. We both shake our heads and I continue, "I just can't imagine him liking someone. That's so weird."

"Well, even though we question it sometimes, I guess this just proves that Kiba is, in fact, a human." Tenten remarks, causing us to erupt in laughter.

"I feel like we're missing out," I hear Sakura say. I turn my head to see the rest of the group entering the gates.

Naruto's got his good arm—the left one—slung around Sakura's shoulder who seemingly switched places with Hinata. I wipe away the tears that came from laughing so hard and greet them, "Oh hey, you guys finally made it."

"Barely," Sakura jokes. She helps Naruto take a seat on one of the bags Kiba discarded. She sighs, "That was a long trip, and we didn't really stop to rest often enough. I hope your injuries haven't been strained…"

"I'm fine," Naruto assures. Every one of us give him with a stern look, knowing fully well that he is not fine, that it's just second-nature for him to put up a front and act as though he's okay. As we do so, Naruto gives in, "Okay, okay, I just need to rest up a bit."

"I'm taking you to the hospital," Sakura states. "We'll admit you and give you some medicine there."

Naruto gives Sakura a hard look, "Sakura, you barely slept a wink last night, if even that. You should rest."

Sakura rolls her eyes, "Don't be stupid, Naruto. Until you're safe in that hospital with enough drugs to knock you out for weeks, I won't rest. You know that."

Naruto sighs and turns to the whole group, "Sorry to cause all of you guys so much trouble. I appreciate all of you helping me out, though. Really." His eyes flicker towards Sakura before continuing, "It means a lot."

My eyes widen at that small ending piece. It lasted only a second, but I turn to Hinata and I'm sure she caught the look too, because her expression is sullen. I choose to not think further into it, taking notes from Kiba that I can control my feelings if I truly wanted to, and boy, I really want to.

I continue to watch as Sakura hoists Naruto up with her super-strength and they make their way towards the hospital. I shrug with my new, I-don't-care attitude and grab my bags, letting the group know I'm heading home for some sleep and a hot meal. My farewell is met with head-nods and waves. I give Hinata a final glance, but she seems to be preoccupied as she watches Sakura and Naruto walk away.

Turning away from the scene and heading home, I sigh in relief, relishing in this great feeling of not-caring. Although, deep down, I can still feel my heartbeat slightly quicken at the memory of Naruto glancing at Sakura in a way he hadn't done in a while. I force the memory away and decide to distract myself by thinking of some other activities I can get started on as soon as I am settled back at home.

Half of me is excited, half of me is tired. But I guess that's okay, because soon, all I'll be is happy.

I hope.

A/N: Hey guys! I've been working almost every day these past two weeks so writing has been difficult for me. Also, I hit a writer's block, but here's a new chapter! I'm having so much fun writing this. And can't you tell how much I've stirred the pot? /evil laughter/ ;) This chapter is pretty long, too, ehhehe.

By the way, sorry if some parts were boring, but I thought it would be nice to add a bit more character into Tenten and Sakura instead of having them just talk about boys boys boys all the time, you know? I just feel like there's a lot more potential with their characters than just that.

REVIEW, you know the drill ;)

Also, on the last chapter, I received such wonderful reviews… It makes me so happy to read such kind yet analytical reviews. I really am proud of improving my writing, and hope to continue to do better. Thank you all so much. Ugh, okay, I'm done. I just love you guys, though. Like a lot.

Okay bye!