So this chapter is more just kind of lighthearted. Tried to throw some happiness and humor into this piece o' junk. :P So I hope you enjoy!

But for all the other chapters, you know what the perfect soundtrack is? DLZ - TV on the Radio and Illuminated - Hurts. You should try it.

anon: I was intending for this originally to be a dark fic, and I'm still trying to work it into it. 'Cause I really don't like romance, lovey fics and all that... but we'll see. I'm still trying to figure it out for myself and see what fits where. (:

"I'm sorry." Those words rang through his ears for hours. "The elders are stubborn, and while you probably deserve a proper apology for all that has occurred… this is the best that I can offer." Tsunade had apologized to him, once she had finished fixing his face and reassuring herself that Sasuke had all the medicine required to ensure his health. "No one knew the truth until very recently… But do not think that that makes you right for all that you have done. What you have done to these people. This village. But… I'm willing to take responsibility for some of the actions of the village- and while I can't guarantee the elders will ever actually speak with you kindly on the matter… I feel you deserve at least one apology…" Sasuke honestly hadn't been able to believe it… He expected the elders to apologize before that women even attempted… But he had been surprised, and he couldn't exactly complain.

She had left almost immediately after the apology, as if her pride hurt from doing such a thing. He didn't blame her, he could tell she didn't like him, in fact he might as go so far as to think she hated him. He had a feeling if it weren't for Naruto, she would take it upon herself to kill him slowly.

Had it not been for the heavy, strong effect of the medicine, he wouldn't be entirely sure that sleep could come easy that night. But at least he wasn't a sore as he could have been- Tsunade had covered up any hints of a fight the night before, which meant no questions would be asked, and no suspicion would arise. Most people in this hospital knew the rules Tsunade and the elders had settled out. If Sasuke acted out of line, death it would be. He supposed this time around he was being given a simple warning.

He awoke to hand on his face- it wasn't gloved like most were, and it didn't feel like the Hokage's. It had him confused for a few moments as he worked to pry his sleep-ridden eyes opened. Oh, what a nice feeling it was to be able to actually open his eyes and see something. The room was a bit too bright for his liking, but he couldn't find it in him to complain. He stared at the ceiling for a long time before remembering that hand, turning to find a familiar pair of eyes staring at a cloth that she was currently ringing out into a bowl before setting it in a separate dish filled fresh water, he was assuming. Eye contact was being avoided, he could tell, regardless Sakura must know he was awake at this point. "Tsunade couldn't show up herself, and everyone else is busy." Sakura's words were soft, and low in volume, as she raised the rag, letting the excess water drip from the fabric before she set it across Sasuke's forehead. Had last night really happened? Waking up to Naruto like that… He got the shit kicked out of him, he knew that much, and then Naruto took the fall for everything so easily… That idiot confused the hell out of him, sometimes.

But now he was waking up to Sakura… Maybe the world was just playing games with his head or something. The Uchiha moved a hand to his face, rubbing at tired eyes- only to realize… He had movement of his arms, hands, legs, feet. He looked down at himself, straining to get a good look before he felt a hand being pushed against his chest. A little more rough than most medical-ninjas would have been with a patient… Then again, Sakura had yet to take her anger completely out at him. Sure, she completely broke down in front of him, but unlike Naruto, she had yet to get a hit in. She was probably fighting the urge.

"No one knows…" Sakura kept her eyes down again, as she began to fuss with a container of medicine, popping open the top and picking out one of the pills. "Tsunade felt like you would be fine without." So much trust. He didn't understand why… Did the woman think an apology would make him stay? Then again- he wasn't exactly jumping up and running out the window. But he wasn't entirely sure he could do that even if he tried. A pill was pushed to his lips and Sasuke took it in without any questions. Chewing and swallowing as he usually did. Sakura didn't seem too pleased to be helping him, but then again, he had kind of just laughed at her a month prior for spilling her heart to him… Hell, he did a lot more worse than just that. Sasuke closed his eyes, and Sakura briefly wondered if he was going back to bed or not, as she closed the container, setting it off to the side and retrieving a bottle water. "Drink this before you go back to sleep." She urged, unscrewing the cap and holding the lip of the bottle to his mouth. Sasuke's eyes opened back up and he leaned himself back up, taking the bottle from her hands gently. Eye contact was still avoided. He drank down the entire bottle, as he usually did. The cool liquid easing the pain of his sore, dry throat. He set the bottle down on the table next to his bed himself before he rested back and closed his eyes again. Always so stubborn, so prideful. Things would never change, Sakura thought with a sigh.

"Are you hungry?" She asked, wondering if the Uchiha would snap at her for delaying his sleep any longer. She was already beginning to pack her things, expecting no answer at this point. To her surprise Sasuke was looking at her, and she had caught his gaze, dark and intimidating as it always was, even without use of the Sharingan… Those eyes just seemed to get to her as much as they got to everyone. She quickly looked away, wondering if he intended on saying anything at all. "If not I'm gonna leave now." She said, stuffing her things to a bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She dared a glance back to the other male who nodded his head,

"Kinda." He admitted to her surprise. She gulped, looking away before nodding her head. "I'll be right back." He kind of assumed she would just leave and make a run for it, but the reaction had been priceless, that was for damn sure.

Regardless of his belief though, the pink-haired medical ninja had returned about ten minutes later, a plate and apple in hand. Immediately he remembered the countless times Sakura had been not only at his bedside but Naruto's as well, feeding the both of them the same thing. Such a mother, he always thought she had that sort of thing in her. A care-taker. Seems fitting that she was a medical-ninja now. As she sat herself at his bedside again, not looking at him still as she got to cutting the apple into slices. Sasuke could only watch through half opened eyes before he leaned back, closing his eyes in the meantime. God, he felt so hot, it was a disgusting feeling. It was refreshing when a piece of the cool fruit was pressed to his lips. His eyes opened again to find Sakura staring at him, expectantly. Sasuke blinked, but took the apple slice into his mouth, reaching up to feed himself. It was exactly what he needed right now, something light after having completely emptied his stomach just last night. Watery and delicious at the same time, not to mention it was cool against his overly hot tongue and throat. Sakura attempted to hand him another but Sasuke just held out his hand for the plate, "You don't have to feed me."
The medical ninja blinked but nodded her head, "I'll probably be the only one visiting to make sure you're doing fine, so I'll have to come back in a couple of hours." Sasuke nodded to that and took the plate once it was handed to him, sitting himself up slowly and pushing his pillow behind the small of his back. Sakura seemed hesitant at first, but was soon turning on her heel.
"Thank you, Sakura." Those words were absolutely shocking to hear. They echoed in her mind for a long while before she finally nodded in response and proceeded to leave, fighting the urge to look back and make him say it again.

"Naruto! Wake up!" The blonde was in a great deal of pain, because unlike Sasuke, he hadn't had anyone to tend to his wounds. After the little motivational talk with Kakashi, he gone right home and to bed as promised. His face hurt.

"Sakura-chaaaan! The doors open." Naruto whined out before dropping his head back down into his pillow, curling up with his blankets. He heard the door down the hall click, followed by the sound of Sakura skipping down all the way to his room. And after a short moment of silence, where he was sure the girl was examining his horribly dirty room with pure disgust, she spoke.
"C'mon, lazy ass. Let's go get lunc-... What's with your face?" Naruto opened one eye and looked up to the girl, who was staring down at him, blinking turquoise eyes. His face? Naruto reached up with a hand and hesitantly touched at his cheek. A bruise, dead on. He winced. Memories flooded his mind and he quickly turned a bright red.
"Oh, this? Nothing. I fell. What were you saying about lunch?" Naruto was out of bed within seconds, back turned to Sakura as he looked around the room for clothes to wear, gathering them up in his arms, and before Sakura could grab him he was shutting himself into his bathroom and locking the door.
"Naruto, what happened?" She was worried, it was clear in her voice. Naruto taking off his pajamas and changing into his usual clothing, tugging on his pants followed by his black wife beater. He was pulling his arms through the sleeves of his jacket when Sakura knocked. "Naruto... C'mon, what happened?" Oh, how was he supposed to deny that voice an answer? He zipped his jacket up and sighed, stepping back and walking to the sink to wash his beaten face and clean it up some.
"Ah... I got into a fight with... Ah..." He dried his face with a nearby rag, and wondered if Sakura was already coming up with an answer by herself. She was always smart like that.
"A fight with who?" oh, she had an idea, but after having visited the boy not long ago to help feed him medicine, and noticed a fairly nice change, she would rather not hear it was him whom Naruto fought with- but she had a feeling that was exactly who it was. "Was it Sasuke?" She didn't know how it was possible, but knowing Naruto and Sasuke, anything was possible in a sense.

Naruto froze up, grimacing. Should he lie? Probably not. "Ah, yeah..." He could hear a sigh on the other side of the door, but surprisingly? Said door wasn't kicked and Naruto wasn't being dragged out by his hair.
"Come out here so I can fix you up..." Naruto bit his lower lip, only to wince as his teeth ground itself against the slit in the flesh for one moment too long. He sighed, and nodded his head, more to himself. "Gimme a second." He said, as he made quick to brush his teeth, followed by emptying his bladder and washing his hands after that. He emerged from the bathroom and immediately was hugged on to, though he wasn't entirely sure why... It was just better than a punch to his face.
"You seem to be in a good mood..." He noted, a small smile on his face as he placed a hand on her shoulder. The medical-ninja chuckled and pulled away.
"I'm feeling optimistic today... So you should take it to your advantage while you can and let me fix you up before I change my mind about getting mad about you."
Naruto laughed and allowed himself to be taken to the kitchen, where he was sat down at his table and Sakura got to work. "Mind if I ask why you're in such a god mood?" He was curious, it was a nice change, in all honesty. After Kakashi's talk with him last night, Naruto wasn't feeling a shitty as he could be either, an the fact Sakura was so happy? It definitely boosted his mood.

Sakura looked at him almost cautiously however, and immediately Naruto knew why. He arched a brow, "Something to do with Sasuke?" Sakura flinched and shrugged.
"Sorry... But every time his name is brought up, you usually get into this terrible mood..." Sakura frowned, touching at one of the bruises on Naruto's face, sighing as the boy winced in response.
"I was being... stupid. I'm sorry." Naruto really had no right to apologize, it was natural for him to have been so upset. A lot of things have changed! Sakura had went through the same thing, but even then she knew she couldn't begin to understand what Naruto was feeling. His and Sasuke's friendship had been completely different... Sakura had a childish crush on Sasuke that gradually turned into something a lot more whether she meant for it to be that way or not... But Naruto had this brotherly bond with the boy, no matter how much hate there was, or fighting, or cursing... There was always that bond. Something Sakura could never understand, no matter how hard she tried. Their situations were different.
"Don't be stupid." She laughed, hitting his shoulder gently. "But... You seem to be... in a better mood too." She noticed, looking to the blonde. "Which is weird considering you just admitted to fighting with him." Sakura was the slightest bit confused, she had to admit, but Naruto only perked up more.
"Kakashi kind of caught me last night fighting with Sasuke, so when he was walking me home he said some things... They made me feel a lot better."

Sakura smiled warmly. "Lemme guess..." She started, lifting a bandage to one of the cuts close to Naruto's mouth. All that remained was a small scratch now that she was done with the healing, but the bandage was for extra precaution. "You have to wait?" She leaned away and put her hands on her hips, watching as Naruto stood from his own seat, giving her a confused look.
"Sa-sakura... Are you a mind reader?"
"Idiot..." She put her hand to her face and shook her head. "That girl, Karin? She said the same thing to me. I figured Kakashi would say something like that to one of us eventually if we remained in our slumps..." She admitted, shrugging her shoulders... "They're right though... If we keep confident and just wait, who knows what'll happen."
Naruto smiled warmly and scratched at the back of his neck. "Yeah... hey, you never told me why you were in such a good mood though."
Sakura blinked, the nodded, reaching up and pushing a hand through her hair as she brought herself down into a nearby seat, crossing one leg over the other. "This morning I was assigned to help Sasuke out... Kinda by force." She sighed, rolling her eyes. "No one wanted to help him, y'know... And Tsunade is busy with so much paper work today she wasn't able to do it herself, so she had to beg me to take care of it." Or threaten her with a lot of glares... Yeah, it had mostly been just that. "He was... kind of nice..." She breathed, "I mean, as nice as Sasuke can be. You know what I mean." Sasuke had never really been 'nice' He had always just been kind of... Sasuke. He didn't have a full range of emotions as most people did. He was either looking angry, smug, or apathetic. A sincere smile was rare.
"What do you mean by... nice. Like, smiling nice?"
"No... But he spoke. Which is kind of nice. To me, anyways." She shrugged. "He also thanked me... And it wasn't sarcastic either."
Naruto's stomach was a whirl of emotions now, and he had this goofy smile on his face that Sakura couldn't help but laugh at.
"I'm glad you're feeling better Naruto... Seeing you so depressed was horrible. It made me miss you actually whining and shouting all the time..."
"Really!"
"... Not that much."

"Baa-chan~! I heard tha-"
"You..." The voice was dark and intimidating, and suddenly Naruto regretted paying Granny-Tsunade a visit. He blinked, looking all around him, behind him, and finally back to the fifth Hokage, who was glaring at him intensely. They were alone in the room, but at the same time he didn't quite understand why hew as being looked at like that.
"Maybe this is a bad time... I'll come back later." Naruto turned and took a step for the door, only to have a hand slip around through the back of his jacket and tug him violently backwards.

After having his face thoroughly busted up, basically returning it to its state before Sakura had so kindly fixed it up, Tsunade seemed to have calmed down. The woman was seated back at her desk while Naruto twitched on the floor, sniffling and rubbing at her face. "So... Cruel..." He breathed, slowly picking himself up and looking to the old hag, who seemed busied with paper work now. "I'm sorry..." He huffed, giving that pout she was all too used to, as she glanced up, eying him. She sighed.
"I understand... you're..." No, she didn't understand, she couldn't even begin to understand why Naruto was so fucked over in the head over someone like that Sasuke boy... But Naruto was practically family to her, and she couldn't find it in her to not try and help him out. She sucked in a breath and tried again, "No... I don't understand. But I'm trying, for you... And doing such reckless things only makes it that much more difficult to help you help him." Naruto was listening, the room taking on a whole new level of seriousness. Naruto dropped his gaze to the floor. "Now... I'm sure Kakashi gave you a little speech of his own, but I just want to double check that you understand the seriousness of the matter at hand..."
Naruto quickly nodded his head, looking to the woman across from him. "I do... I promise. Nothing... Nothing like that will happen again. I'm..." He paused, pursing his lips, "I know how to handle things now... These past two months I've been trying to figure it out Granny... and I think I got it now..." He had lost his mind for a long time there, switching from happy to sad, thinking he understood what was best and then realizing he didn't... There had been so many emotions, but between having talked with Sakura, and Kakashi... and now Tsunade too? He... He was confident again. "Don't worry. I won't do something like that again, okay?"
Tsunade eyed him for a moment, before a small smile touched her lips and she nodded her head. "Good, because if it does, I'm killing you." Naruto flinched, his face draining of all color as he shuffled back, and towards the door.
"Y-yeah... Got it!" And with that he was out the door, Tsunade watching him go. She sighed and pushed a hand through her hair before locking her fingers together and resting then down against her desk. Now all she could do was hope what Naruto said was true...
She turned in her chair and looked out the window, pursing her lips.
For now it seemed calm. She just hoped it stayed that way for awhile longer.