chapter 28! Yay! ok, so for anyone who is confused, i just want to make this clear about where the story is referring to the manga/anime.

Anime-this is pretty much where the chunin exams start. Amaya doesn't know about the meeting with Gaara, Temari, and Kunkoru that had already happened, since she was in the hospital. i should have mentioned it in one of the chapters, but i kinda forgot, so i'll get better with that,

Manga- chapter 37, Sakura's depression,

there was something else i wanted to say, but i forgot, oh well, enjoy! K, Thanks.


Amaya gets out of the hospital bed with a renewed and refreshed feeling. She sits on the edge of the bed and slows her breathing down and concentrates her chakra to her right hand. She places her hand of her shoulder and a green light appears as she heals the shoulder. 'By tomorrow, if I keep healing it like this every 4 hours or so, my shoulder should be as good as new' Amaya analyzes. After five minutes of straight healing, she tries to roll her shoulder a couple of times and winces in slight agony. 'It's not too bad, but yes, if I keep up the healing and try not to use so much energy, I will definitely be ready for training by tomorrow.' Amaya sighs and looks out the window of the hospital.

"Why do hospitals have to be so boring?" she asks herself. "Why can't there be a music room? A hospital should totally have a music room, with a grand piano!" Amaya's eyes turn into fangirl eyes as she fantasizes about a piano. "Sugoi ne! A nice glossy black grand piano with pure white keys, sugoi!! Oh and a beautiful redwood violin! Ahhhh!" Amaya squeals/squeaks/sighs quietly while fantasizing about the many beautiful and lovely musical instruments that she loves to play.

Amaya's shoulders suddenly drop in a horrible realization.

"Ahhhhugh!" She groans, "What's the point of having a music room if you can't even play the instruments with ONE ARM!? ARG!!" Amaya falls back onto the bed with her feet and calves dangling over the side. She stares up at the blank with foam tiled ceiling while pouting.

"I can't play piano, violin, flute, guiter…" She mutters, "So not fair…" A dark thunder cloud overcasts on Amaya's head. "…not fair at all…" she mumbles. Amaya's depressing, meaningless mumbles were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in" she calls looking at the door, while still lying on her back. An upside down Sakura enters the room. "Nee, Sakura," Amaya says, surprised that it was Sakura, as the dark haired girl sits up and turns her torso towards her comrade.

"Ohayou Amaya, how are you feeling?" Sakura asks politely.

"Good, I'm healing very quickly" Amaya curtiously smiles, but stops when she sees Sakura's facial expression; she looks depressed and guilty. "Sakura what's wrong?" Sakura looks back to Amaya with some shock written on her face, 'Are my emotions that easy to read?!' the pink haired girl wonders. Amaya laughs nervously and gets a sweat drop, "Yes Sakura, you're emotions are that easy to read," Sakura falls and twitches on the ground

"Eheh…" she mutters.

--

Out in the courtyard of the hospital to the two kunoichi stroll around,

"So what's the matter Sakura?" Amaya asks again.

"Well, it's about the chunin exams…"

"Oh?"

"…and…about us…"

"Us?"

"Yeah, I mean I feel really…guilty about what happened during the mission!"

"Anou…Sakura…?" Amaya asks, sweating more and laughing nervously, "Eheh, could you be more specific, cuz I honestly have no idea about what you're talking about…eheh" Sakura clasps her hands together low and looks at the ground somberly.

"When I slapped you because I thought you and Sasuke-kun were together…" she whispers. Amaya grows serious,

"Oh…"

"Amaya, I…I jumped to conclusions and I shouldn't have, I mean, you and Sasuke-kun hate each other, so I really shouldn't have said what I said and done what I did, I was out of line, I'm sorry. I really don't hate you, I mean, I kinda, think of us as…friends…" Amaya smiles at her,

"Sakura, its fine, don't think anymore of it, I forgive you," Sakura sighs in relief, "…but there's something I should tell you about Sasuke and me…" Amaya says, Sakura looks up, not sure what to expect, "…we don't…exactly hate….each other."

"You guys don't?" Sakura asks shocked, she was so sure that they hated each other, by the way they were always competing and yelling at each other, they did it even more then Sauske and Naruto.

"Not really, I mean…" Amaya stumbles over her words to find the right way to describe hers and Sasuke's relationship. "…well, we like to fight with each other…?" Amaya shrugs as she considers what she just said.

"You like to fight?" Sakura questions in confusion.

"I don't know…yeah, I mean, we are both very competitive people and Sasuke doesn't see Naruto as much competition just more of an annoyance and he doesn't see you as competition because you are in love with him and what not. I don't see Naruto as competition because, frankly…he's an idiot, and I don't see you as competition because you aren't as strong as me," Sakura looks down, obviously hurt, Amaya rolls her eyes at her own bluntness and insensitivity. "Gomen, I didn't mean it like that. It's just, let's face it; I am physically stronger than you, ne? Can we both agree on that?" Sakura shrugs her shoulder glumly.

"I guess,"

"But do you know what you are better than me at?" Sakura shakes her head, "Gen Jutsu. Anything relating to Gen Jutsu you are beastly at. You can recognize it like that," Amaya snaps her fingers, "And you can dispel it waaaay faster than I can. But since I don't really use gen jutsu, and since I'm not very good in any aspect of it, I find it useless, you know, since I can't do it well. So I kind of ignore it, and don't count it in like a competition…uh, does this make sense? Cuz I'm having a hard time understanding it myself actually…."

"Actually yeah, I do get it," Sakura laughs.

"Good, so back to me and Sasuke…um, I'm not gunna lie, Sakura, but me and Sasuke are close. I can't really explain it, but it's like an up and down friendship. We fight with each other vigorously all the time and we claim to hate the other, but at the end of the day, we both know that we can go to the other and talk if we have a problem or just want to vent or just talk or whatever…I think it might be because we have similar backgrounds and childhoods and we can relate to one another. Sasuke lost his entire clan at such a young age and I lost my family at a young age as well. We both had to live on our own and take care of ourselves. For me, my family died and I lived on my own for two years until my father found me and took care of me. But then he was killed recently, and it's just like being a little kid all over again."

Sakura looks at Amaya who was looking at the ground with an idle look. 'I had no idea about her family being killed,' Sakura thinks, 'so that's why Sasuke-kun likes her more than me, but that's not fair! It's not my fault I can't relate to him because my family is still alive!'

"Sakura, I know that it's not fair, how Sasuke…thinks of you and I, and even Naruto, but it's just how he is. There's nothing you can do about it." Amaya says, still looking at the ground.

"So you're saying that I have no chance with him, huh?" Sakura asks.

"Iie, I'm not saying that at all. If you keep acting like an annoying fangirl around him, then yes, you have no chance, but if you, stop trying so hard to impress him and let yourself shine by working hard for your own gratitude then he'll notice…maybe…depends on what day and his mood and whatnot." Sakura laughs,

"Ok, but why does he notice you? You always try to impress him!" Amaya sighs,

"Yes, but in a totally different way. I try to impress him as a challenge, like to one up him. I don't really want to impress him per say, I want to like, beat him, be better than him, challenge him. I want his acknowledgement because he thinks he's better than me. He thinks I'm just some useless little princess that can't get her nails dirty and that irritates the hell out of me!"

"But haven't you proven that you are a 'little princess'?"

"No because he has never…he keeps thinking that I am inferior to him, he hasn't respected me as if I was an equal." Amaya chuckles when her fist starts to hurt from clenching it. "Maybe that's why I get along with Naruto, he feels the same way. He wants Sasuke's acknowledgement that he is at least equal to him." Sakura nods while thinking. This time Amaya couldn't read her expression. "So does this settle your mind with the relationship between Sasuke and I?" She finally asks putting her right hand on top of her head and watching Sakura out of the corner of her eyes.

"One more question…" Sakura says and Amaya groans,

"What is it?"

"Do you like Sasuke-kun, like more than a friend?" Amaya groans again.

"Sakura, I don't know, ok? I mean, I'm not gunna say that I totally don't, and I'm not gunna say that I totally do, because I really don't know. Like right know, I like him a lot because he's been nice to me, but then when we start to fight again, I'm gunna hate him and want to kill him. What I can tell you is, that if you and him start going out or whatever, I'm not gunna interfere. I wouldn't do that to you or him, because the both of you would be happy together, I would imagine. So take this as you will, but right now I call us close friends, and whatever that means to you, it means. Then again, this is all my perspective, I think Sasuke feels the same way, although he would never admit it, but I may be completely wrong. I have no idea Sakura," Amaya stops and turns around when Sakura stops. "What now?" Amaya says but then Sakura abruptly hugs her (gently around her left shoulder). "Anou…." Amaya says, not quite sure on what to do, and she was feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Arigato, Amaya-chan," Sakura whispers,

"Nande?"

"Because you're being completely honest with me, no one has ever been this honest with me before and I really appreciate it." She says again, still hugging Amaya.

"Ok…sure…" Amaya mumbles looking up at a tree, 'This is so weird,' Sakura finally lets go and the two sit on a bench. "So, um, you said that the chunin exams were bothering you too?" The sea blue eyed girl asks, changing the subject.

"Aa, well, I don't know if I'm going to do it," she mutters,

"You do know that if you don't do it, Sasuke and Naruto won't be able to participate, either."

"I-I know, but I just don't feel ready! I mean I can't seem to catch up with you, Sasuke-kun and even Naruto, I'm the weakest on the team," Sakura pouts.

"Yeah, you pretty much are, but that's why you should do the exams,"

"Nani?"

"Yeah! Think of it more as training, but without Kakashi sensei there to protect you. You need to learn how to rely on yourself more rather than Sasuke, Naruto Kakashi-sensei, or myself. I mean, it's not bad to rely on others, but it's not good to do it all the time. So I say you do the chunin as a way to improve yourself, I say you do it. It could give you a good confidence boost." Sakura looks down, considering everything Amaya has said, "But Sakura, if you do, do the exams, you mustn't go in it with any self doubt," Amaya warns, "Plus, you'll be the only girl on team 7 and you'll have a chance tobe alone with Sasuke" Amaya smiles. Sakura giggles,

"Thanks, Amaya-chan, I should get going now though, the exams start tomorrow and I want to get prepared, you know."

"Sure thing," The two girls stand and the pink haired hugs the black haired as she tries to hug back awkwardly.

"Oh, wait, one more thing," Amaya says as they break apart. "Tell me everything that happens during the exams, ok? I want to know every detail, no matter what ok? Even if for some reason you were told to keep it a secret, i want to know ok?"

"Right," Sakura says.

"And remember the oath we took about protecting our boys, you gotta do it since i won't be there, ne?" Sakura smiles in admiration.

"Hai," They bid each other a goodbye and leave each other. Amaya returns to her room in the hospital and lies on the bed and he mind begins to wander.

How does Sasuke feel about her?

Does their relationship change after what happened last night?

Amaya doesn't feel like anything big has changed, she still feels the same way she did before…

…ok she feels much closer to him…

…but still.