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Sorry for the long wait, short chapter (blah), and enjoy!

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~Narrator's POV~

Sakura rushed forward and as she reached out to hold his hands, Sasuke pulled away. He glared at her and grunted, turning away from her.

"Sasuke, please, please, please tell me you're not going to do anything irrational." Sakura begged. "Promise me you won't leave. Promise me you'll never leave Konoha."

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction as her words settled in. He wondered why she would think such a thing but then it all came back to him. The man who had offered him power. Power to beat...him. How silly of Sakura. She reminded him of that great opportunity he was offered. He smirked.

"Thanks for reminding me, Sakura. I might take up that offer." He replied, smirk still in place.

Sakura paled.

"Wait- no, Sasuke- WAIT!" He was unplugging the wires that were connected to his arms. He stood up and gathered his clothes that were sitting on the chair. "Sasuke, STOP! What do you think you're doing!?" She shouted, holding him from behind.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to change so let go." He barked, shoving her with his elbows. She flew back with a yelp and stared at his back with worry. What was becoming of Sasuke? Sure, he was pretty rude before he met Azumi, but not to this extent. It was almost as if he'd gotten worse.

"Sasuke, you need to rest. You can't leave!"

"And who are you to tell me what to do?"

"I-I-I..." In his eyes, she was nothing to him. But he was her friend. "I'm your friend, Sasuke. That's what I am. I'm your friend whether you like it or not and as your friend, I command you to stay."

He scoffed and turned around to face her. "Weren't you after me not too long ago, saying that you loved me? And now, suddenly you see me as a friend?"

"Things can change in an instant. Just like your memory." She responded, eyeing him blankly. He glared in response to her words, even releasing a little growl.

"You sure have toughened up." He spoke dully.

"Well, when you lose a great friend and you realize that you were chasing after a dick, you learn that being some clueless fangirl isn't going to keep you alive. Nor will it pay the bills."

"Hn." He glared at her and turned back around, heading for the door with his clothes in hand.

"Did you not hear what I said? You can't leave, Sasuke." Sakura spoke, no longer begging but demanding.

"I can't believe I'm actually standing up to him! CHA! That's how it's done, Sakura!" She mentally cheered, staring at him stoically. Her stoicness nearly resembled that of an Uchiha's.

"Sakura, since when have I ever listened you?"

She flinched at his tone but brushed it off. She was a kunoichi; tones likes those weren't supposed to scare her. She quickly reacted and got in front of the door before he could take another step and eyed him as he glared at her.

"Move out of my way, Sakura."

"No, I can't let you leave."

"Tch, do you really think you can stop me?" He questioned with a smirk.

"Sasuke, I know I'm not strong enough to stop you. But..."

"But wha-" He leapt away as Naruto, appearing from seemingly nowhere, swung down at him from his leap.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kakashi asked calmly as he walked into the room, suspiciously eyeing Sasuke.

Sasuke glared at Sakura and turned to stare at Kakashi. This man wasn't going to let him go, that much was obvious.

"I need to go home." He answered.

"Sasuke, you need rest."

"If I plan on making my dream a reality, I can't let simple occurrences like these take me down."

Kakashi mentally creased his eyes in concern. Outwardly, his face was blank and showed no clue as to what he was mentally debating.

"Should I make him stay? Or perhaps should I let him go? Maybe I should follow him and see what he does. But I can't authorize his release. Only the doctor's can. I suppose that's a no..." Kakashi finished, clearing his throat to speak aloud. "Sasuke, although I have no clue as to what your dream may be, I support it. But I am in no position to authorize your release so get back in your bed and rest. The more you rest, the quicker you heal."

If he could, Sasuke would just leave then and there but he was no match against Kakashi. Even with his Sharingan, Kakashi could probably take him down without breaking a sweat. Sure, Sasuke had gotten stronger since he had last fought with Kakashi, but that wasn't enough. He needed to become more stronger before he could defeat his brother. His disgrace of a brother.

"Tch, fine." Sasuke flung his clothes onto the closest chair and laid down onto the bed. He already was devising a plan. Once the hospital became dead, he'd gather his things and head for the gates. But not before sending a clone in case someone was around. Then, he'd make his great escape. "Well? How do you expect me to rest if you guys are watching me?"

"Right. Well, rest up. You'll be needing it." Kakashi saluted with a peace-sign, dragging Naruto out by the collar. Sakura and Haruka huddled to themselves, whispering. As soon as they exited the room, Sasuke waited a few seconds before putting his clothes on under his gown.

Meanwhile, Haruka popped the question to Kakashi as they made their way to the Hokage tower.

"Kakashi, why did you ask the nurses to keep a close eye on Sasuke? It's not like if he needs special attention or anything."

"Actually, he does." That answer left the trio of students in confusion. Just as Sakura was about to question, Kakashi interrupted.

"You guys wait out here." And with that, Kakashi shunshined away, probably to the Hokage's office since they were outside of the Hokage tower.

He barged into the room, only to find Tsunade hidden in a pile of papers. They all adorned a swirl design on the front, which resembled Naruto's, and looked wizened.

"Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked, walking over to her desk. She hm'ed in response, scanning a scroll before tossing it away and grabbing another. "What are you doi-wait, nevermind that. Can you please have some people guard the front gate? I have a feeling we'll be needing some."

"Why is that?" She finally spoke up, halting her actions to stare at Kakashi with arched brows.

"Sasuke." Tsunade took a hint and nodded, calling Shizune over and making arrangements. Meanwhile that was being handled, he shunshined back out and grabbed Haruka, who squeaked when she was suddenly shunshined away.

"Whoa! You have to teach me how to do that!" Haruka yipped happily. She looked over at Tsunade's desk when Kakashi pointed over to it and gaped. "These- Uh- These are d-dad's scrolls. Where did you get them?"

"No place in particular. Now, tell me, does this picture ring a bell?" Tsunade asked, showing Haruka a picture of the seal. She started at it long and hard, squinting her eyes, grabbing it from Tsunade's hand and shoving her face into it.

"AHA! It's one of dad's newest seals! I remember seeing him work on it every now and then. He used to always get me in trouble if I saw him work on it, saying that this was S-Class and that I shouldn't be snooping."

"Well, do you know how to undo the seal?" Tsunade got up, hands on her take as she leaned forward.

Haruka hesitated. She had a troubled look on her face. She averted her eyes and looked at the wall, biting her lip.

"Haruka?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Finally, she spoke up.

"The only way to undo the seal is to use the Manatsuru on Sasuke. The only other person who had that was Azumi but..."

"We can just implant her eyes into someone else, can't we?" Kakashi asked, looking to Tsunade.

"Yes, but don't you think it'd be a little too much to unbury a dead girl to steal her eyes-?"

"Tsunade-sama! We can't do that! Well, not anymore." Haruka interrupted, running her hand through her hair once more.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade questioned.

"My father...he has Azumi's eyes."

"What." Tsunade could not believe her ears. "What do you mean he has her eyes!? When did he take them!?"

"It is just as I suspected. Tsunade-sama, during Kazuma and Naruto's fight, I'd thought I sensed something different about him but I didn't think it was important. That was carelessness on behalf of my part." Kakashi confessed, creasing his one eye, while bowing. Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose with a frown, thinking about the whole situation and its pros and cons.

"It will perhaps take years to retrieve Azumi's eyes from Kazuma. How do you suppose we keep Sasuke here until then? He plans on leaving the village right now, just how exactly do you plan on keeping him here?" She asked, pointedly at Kakashi. He sighed and stood back-straight, keeping a neutral face as he made eye contact with Tsunade.

"He is my student. I plan on making sure he makes the right decisions since no one was there to reach him right from wrong. I've come to realize, Sasuke tends to...pull towards others who are optimistic. If Azumi, a young, optimistic child, is what kept him here, I'll be needing another young, optimistic child." Tsunade smirked and crossed her arms.

"Kakashi, I don't think Sasuke swings that way. Besides, Naruto's already taken by Haruka here."

"Yeah!" Haruka inputted.

"I wasn't talking about Naruto, I was talking about Sakura." He finished.

"Sakura? Sasuke thinks Sakura is annoying. Why choose her?" Haruka asked, leaning on one hip as she eyed Kakashi.

"No...I think that can work. Sakura seems to have had a change of heart." Tsunade added, looking to Haruka. "I'm going to need you to keep this a secret. Make sure to set the mood when you're around them-"

"I can't do that to Azumi..." Haruka interjected, frowning to herself.

"Haruka, this is essential to our plan! If Sasuke gets away, he'll be lost forever! Is that what you want? I'm sure Azumi won't mind. She'd want the best for-"

"Hokage-sama!" A man, covered in gashes, stained in reds, and limping made his way through the door. He was short of breath and looked on the brink of fainting. "H-He...He-"

"He what!? Spill it!"

"Sasuke made it past the gates."

And with that, he collapsed