Author's Note: Hey everyone! How was your week of school? I don't know about you guys but to me, it felt so long. Here I am sitting in my room on a Friday evening listening to some romantic music, to get me into the mood. I want to thank you guys for all of the support, and now to return the favor…..

Check out this next chapter!

Chapter 52: Can I trust him?

The thought scared me.

"W-Who's death did you see Hinata?"

She nodded solemnly, "I don't know. The weird thing was that……I feel like I know this person in my vision, like I have some unbreakable connection with them. Unfortunately, I have no idea when all this is going to take place. We'll just have to go along with everything until the time comes".

The door opened revealing Gin-san rushing to Hinata's side and embracing her into a heartwarming hug.

"My Hina-chan……please don't scare me again….." she wept.

"It was completely out of my control Gin-san. You cannot tell anyone….Sakura is the only other person who knows".

Gin-san stood up firmly to prepare for what Hinata had to say.

She took a deep breath ready to tell Gin-san the news, "I can predict the future".

A shocked look appeared on Gin-san's face, "Y-You do? I knew this would happen! You have developed your mother's gift after all".

"What do you mean I got her gift after all?" Hina asked.

"I mean that the Hyuuga traits are so dominant. It's just interesting that you somehow have both genes of the two clans".

I caught sight of a tear rolling down her rosy cheeks, "G-Gin san…..I-I'm not normal….."

Gin-san approached Hinata and sat next to her on the other side of the bed, "No that's not true Hina-chan. This is a very special gift which the divine beings of the heavens specifically chose you to have instead of so many others. You should feel lucky and blessed. Use this to your advantage and treasure it. Being a clairvoyant is the only remnant you have of your mother".

She nodded and Gin-san got up, "Well….please rest up tonight. I'm going to make you some herbal tea which will make you feel better. Sakura, would you like some?"

I too stood up, "Actually Gin-san….I need to get back home. My parents are probably worrying about me. Thank you for letting me spend the whole day here, it was a lot of fun. Hinata, it was nice to see you spending time with everyone again. Now that you're back to yourself, let's do this more often".

She smiled, "Yes…..we should".

I bid them goodbye and went back home. When stepping into the house, it was quiet. Majority of the lights were out, except for the dim light coming from the library/office room.

Father was sitting in his rotating black comfy-looking chair with papers sprawled over his large wooden desk. His reading glasses fell to the top of his nose, while reading what looks like a couple of letters in the faint light. He looked like he was having a migraine and was under a lot of stress.

"Maybe I should just pop in and see how he's doing".

Walking in the room, I made my way to stand in front of the desk. He really must have been tired and stressed if he couldn't sense me right in front of him. It took father five minutes to notice I was there, and looked up at me while readjusting his glasses in front of his eyes.

"Sakura, good you're home. How was your day with Hinata and your other friends?"

I took a seat on one of the cushy chairs next to him and relaxed, "It was a lot of fun. Hinata and I talked for pretty much the whole day, and then Ino came over to get ready for dinner with us. Then we pretty much ate out with everyone and went back to her house".

"That sounds like a lot of fun".

Well, I decided not to tell him the exact details if you know what I mean.

"So…..how did your day go?"

Dad leaned back in his chair and stretched out his body, "It was….busy. I couldn't even watch Shin over at the training center and failed to make it to Wataru's tournament. It was supposed to be my day off, but of course, I ended up getting an emergency call from Tsunade".

That caused me to sit up in my chair leaning further to hear more, "What was the emergency?"

Sitting forward, he clasped his hands together and shut his eyes for a moment.

"Tsunade informed me of more thefts, all in one day. Can you believe it? I mean….how does this keep happening? It's come to the point now where there is one more stone left".

"And which one is that?" I questioned further.

"The fire stone located here in Konoha".

That was a horrific thought. We needed to take some drastic measures and keep this stone safe. Things are definitely getting out of hand.

Suddenly I stood up from my chair and firmly placed my hands on the desk and held them there while facing my father, "Dad, maybe the problem is that whoever is taking these jewels probably knows where the leaders are keeping them: in the religious shrines. Konoha has no religious shrines or priests, so the perpetrator probably knows that already. I think it may be kept in the safe in the hokage tower with Tsunade since the hokage isn't here right now".

"Yes…..Danzo has been gone for a few months now".

I kept the secret of Danzo's murder to myself. I didn't want some riot or panicking from the other villagers to start.

"That is a good idea Sakura. How about I convince Tsunade to let us keep it, but promise me that you will not tell your mother or your brothers of this".

"I promise".

He started putting his paperwork away, "Good. I'll talk to Tsunade about it tomorrow, and why don't you get some rest in the mean time? You look exhausted".

"Not as much as you dad".

He nodded, "True, but you'll need your rest anyways. Good night".

"Night dad" I said while heading up to my room.

The upstairs hallway was dark and quiet. The others must have gone to sleep already.

I walked into my room, changed my clothes, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. The whole night, I couldn't sleep. Tonight's events replayed in my mind.

"Who could have been the person dying in Hinata's vision?"

"Who keeps stealing the stones?"

"What will become of everything once those perpetrators get their hands on them?"

I tried dismissing those thoughts and focused on getting to sleep, but my mind wouldn't let me. I was too anxious to know everything. For the entire night, I remained still in my mind just staring at the ceiling in the dark.

Time seemed to pass by so quickly, when I saw that my clock on my side table read: 4:00 a.m.

For some reason, my mind was still fully awake and I felt like moving around anyway.

I got out of bed and ate an early breakfast.

While looking for food in the refrigerator, I came across a whole load of fresh ripe tomatoes.

"Maybe I could give some to Ryo when I visit him today".

Without a second thought, I packed up about three of these tomatoes. They were huge; the man who sold them to my mother said they were grown all the way in the tea country. In the Tea Country, somehow the special nutrients from the ground help the fruits and vegetables to grow this particular size.

I wasn't in the mood to go back to sleep or sit here waiting for everyone else to wake up, so I decided to go to the hospital a little extra early today. After taking a quick shower, I was again presented with the challenge of finding what to where.

There was just a simple long quarter-sleeved white baby doll tunic and a pair of khaki capris to go with it.

"Might as well wear this".

After changing, I brushed my a little past shoulder length hair, and left for the hospital carrying the tomatoes.

Since it was early in the morning, it was a bit chilly. Nobody was awake, it was eerily quiet. The fall leaves crunched underneath my feet as I walked and the sky formed a little bit of color. The light from the sun was weak and still below the horizon.

Entering the hospital, I checked in with Mika who was fast asleep over at the reception desk.

"Mika?"

No answer, I could have sworn I heard slight snoring.

I put the tomatoes down and shook her awake, "Whaa? Oh Sakura! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I fell asleep on the job".

"It's okay Mika. I know it's hard to take early morning shifts, I've been there. Is it possible for me to visit Ryo right now?"

She checked her watch, "Right now? I was actually going to ask why you were here so early. You don't have to be at work for another……five hours".

I shrugged, "I couldn't sleep. I just wanted to leave these tomatoes for him".

Sighing she stood up, "Oh alright….I suppose, please follow me".

Like the town, the hospital was also pretty silent. There were no emergencies, just complete and utter peace.

"Here we are Sakura, enjoy your visit".

"Thanks Mika" I said while waving to her.

I watched her disappear down the hallway, and made my way into the room. I turned the door knob and slowly made my way into the room. It was dark except for the visible light I could see from the opened balcony. It was there where I saw the very person I came here to see. He wore his hospital sleeping wear and stood still staring out into the sky.

"I hope he doesn't mind me bothering him at this hour".

I walked over to the balcony and greeted him, "Good morning Ryo".

He turned to me and gave me a confused look, "What are you doing here so early?"

"I couldn't sleep. By the way….I brought a surprise for you as a little 'feeling better' gift".

He raised a brow and followed me back into the room when I flipped the light switch on and picked up the box of tomatoes.

All Ryo could do was stare, "I didn't need these Sakura".

I walked closer towards him and shoved the box into his chest, "Don't deny it Ryo. You have a love for tomatoes. I see it every time we go out and eat with Naruto".

He just shrugged and took the box from me. The both of us went back outside as I watched him take a couple bites of his tomato.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" He asked after finishing the first one.

"Some things came up last night which……stressed me out a little….."

"What kind of things?" he pried on.

"Doesn't this guy have the courtesy NOT to ask when I made it clear that I don't want to tell him?"

Of course he doesn't. I just decided to tell him only half of what happened.

"Well…I came home pretty late last night after visiting my friend Hinata. I found my dad looking exhausted and stressed out. He apparently found out that the more stones have been stolen. It's worrying all of us. I mean what's going to happen once these unknown thieves get their filthy hands on another stone?"

"Is there another stone left?" he questioned me.

"The stone of fire, which happens to be here in Konoha. If this last jewel isn't safely guarded like it should be, then I don't even know what will become of everything. I can't even bear to think of the thought".

"Do you know where the stone will be kept if there's no shrine here in Konoha?" He asked still staring at the still sunless, dark blue sky.

I felt like I could trust him to keep a secret but I remembered when father asked me to keep this secret between the two of us.

"I have no idea".

We sat there staring out into space for a moment longer until my head subconsciously dropped and I started complaining about everything.

"Why does everything have to be this way? Why can't people just realize that each village needs their stone and move on with life? That way, each and every village can maintain peace".

He turned to face me and smirked, "Life doesn't work that way. You think too idealistically, you're always living in your own world and you need to get out of it. You should be lucky with what you have, treasure each and every moment with the people you love".

It was strange….I barely knew this guy but I felt like I could trust and confide in him.

He continued, "I wouldn't have minded to have a completely sheltered childhood like you. No killings or murders……you didn't have a village betray your family".

"His own village betrayed his family!?"

I noticed that he clenched his fists tightly.

"Maybe I shouldn't ask him anymore about what happened to his family".

One question did spark my curiosity, "Ryo, why would you want to live a life like me?"

My voice seemed to calm him down as his fist loosened up and his facial features relaxed, "I've only known you for a few months, but, I could tell that you always had this optimistic view of life. You have so many friends in this village, who have grown to become fond of you. You didn't even seem to care whenever I would just put you down. I would have beaten the crap out of the person and overworked myself training to show that I'm no weakling. Whereas you on the other hand you don't care what people think. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone because you know yourself that you are a strong enough person. I've never said this to anyone before but……."

I noticed that Ryo couldn't even look at me straight in the eye and continued to look back at the now sun rising sky.

"I…..admire you".

"HE WHAT!?"

I just couldn't believe that Hayashi Ryo out of all people would tell me something like this. I ended up giving him this really surprised look and he seemed to understand me when he continued speaking.

"You're….different. I've moved around to so many villages and the entire female population focused their attention on non important things like their appearance. They were too blind to see what was in front of them. I don't know if anyone has ever told you this but….you're truly content with your life. You're goal oriented and want to get things done to improve the lives of others. I've never met someone as selfless as you".

"He thinks I'm selfless?"

"Ryo…..not to be rude or anything but…..I thought you hated me".

He turned to look at me again. That's when the sun instantly came up and it highlighted his featured perfectly. This time I got a good look at his eyes. They were mysterious, like a pool of black just pulling me in. Our eyes actually met for the first time, both emerald and onyx clashed. Time stopped for me, and I didn't want to pull away. I've never felt this strange feeling before. I always dreamed about a moment like this, but never in my entire life did I think this would actually happen. I guess it goes to show that life is full of surprises.

"I was jealous of you".

"J-Jealous? This whole time?"

Although we were quiet afterwards, the silence didn't feel awkward at all. I felt comforted by his presence.

It was great spending time with him that was unfortunately, until my time was up.

"Ryo".

He turned to look at me.

"I have to leave for work" I said as a disappointed look crossed my face.

"Oh….well go ahead then" he said as he looked back out at the now blue sky.

I gave him the rest of the tomatoes, "Well at least take these. I know you like them a lot, and if you need more just go down to the market. They have plenty in stock".

He smiled, making my heart melt.

"Thank you".

I nodded and left for work. The hallways were now filled with rushing nurses and doctors taking care of their patients and performing surgeries. Walking to the reception desk, I greeted Mika.

"Hello Mika".

"Hey Sakura, how did your visit go? You were in there for the full five hours you know that?"

I giggled, "Yeah…he's become a good friend of mine, so I just wanted to see how Ryo was doing. Do you know exactly when today he's going to be discharged?"

"Well when do you get off of work today?"

I checked my watch again, "Around 2:00?"

"Okay well Ryo will be out by 2:30. He needs some testing done, so if you want to wait you can do that".

It gave me butterflies thinking about seeing him again, "I'll do just that".

She smiled, "Okay well you're next patient is in room……204".

I nodded, "Okay thanks Mika, and I'll see you later".

She waved to me as I walked up the stairs and reached my designated room.

"Hi there, I'll be taking care of you today-GENKEI-SAN!?"

There he was lying in the hospital bed, looking sickly pale and had difficulty breathing.

I rushed to his side, "W-What happened to you!? Why are you even here in Konoha!?"

I watched as his mouth opened slowly and spoke, "I-I….was attacked".

"Attacked!? What the hell happened!?"

"Who attacked you!?" I demanded.

He tried raising his head but had a lot of trouble doing so as I carefully set it back down on his pillow, "T-The….A-Akatsuki…..They came after….the rain stone….I-I wouldn't give it to them……then t-they p-poisoned m-me with one of their swords….."

My eyes grew wide when I figured out who the criminals were….

"T-The Akatsuki!?"

That didn't matter to me right now, I had to heal Genkei-san fast.

Using my strength, I picked up Genkei-san and set him on the floor to begin the healing process.

My hands grew a bright sea green color as I began using my mystic palms technique, extracting the poison from his body. After ten minutes of searching for any remnant of the poison from the blood, I used my mystic breath technique. The chakra from my body gathers into my throat and it all releases as soon as I blow onto Genkei-san. The chakra-filled particles from my breath checked and removed anything toxic which may have infiltrated his organs. After the whole process, the color of his skin returned to normal and his breathing functioned properly.

"Thank goodness…."

Because of his older age, Genkei-san needed to rest for the remainder of the day.

I placed him back on his bed and left the room to heal more patients. It was a long day, and I was relieved after checking the time and finding that my shift at the hospital was over.

"Now to check up on Ryo".

I ran back to his room and found him being analyzed by one of the doctors.

"Ah Sakura-san, it's good to see you. Ryo is about ready, he is free to go where he pleases".

"Good".

The doctor left the room leaving just the two of us.

I went back out of the room to let him change so we could go out for lunch together.

Ichiraku was the only choice, I felt like eating ramen anyway today.

We sat down and began digging in, Toechi-san has outdone himself.

"So Ryo…..happy to be out of the hospital?" I asked jokingly.

"What do you think?"

"I'll take that as a yes!" I said grinning.

"So how did work go?" he asked me.

"You know same old same old. I healed patients…..actually…..do you remember Genkei-san?"

He stopped eating and looked at me, "Yes, I do".

I stirred the noodles in my bowl, "Well….he was one of my patients today. He was actually attacked and poisoned. I asked him who did it and he said it was the rulers of the rain country, the Akatsuki. They took the rain stone…..Ryo, I think they have been the perpetrators all along!"

His response shocked me, he just smirked.

I just gave him a suspicious look, "You know what, I shouldn't even be sitting here just casually having lunch! I need to go and tell Tsunade" I said while getting up from my seat.

"Wait".

I turned around facing Ryo who still hadn't wiped that smirk off of his face, "I'll take care of it".

I raised a brow, "Really? What are you going to do about it?"

He stood up from his seat, "I'll go tell her myself".

I insisted, "No that's okay, you shouldn't really be moving around too much anyway. I can do it".

He gave me an irritated, "Sit Sakura. Let me do it".

"What the hell is his problem!? Great, now he's acting like a total jerk again".

He walked off and I sat back down and finished my meal. Afterwards I left and tried to find something to do. Everyone was out doing there own thing, and It's been a couple of hours since I've seen Ryo.

"Maybe I'll go see Tsunade, and see what she has to say about the Akatsuki".

I walked to the Hokage tower and entered her office. Tsunade was drowning in paperwork with so many empty cups of sake put off to the side of her desk. Shizune was trying to control Tonton, but she was pretty unsuccessful.

"Shizune, why don't you take Tonton out for a walk!?" She ordered, probably PMSing, even though she's at the menopausal stage already.

"Take a pig out for a walk Tsunade-san? You must have too much sake in your system".

"Trust me, I've done it before. His leash is in the closet. Take him out into the village".

She sighed, "Oh alright" and left the room.

"What can I do for you Sakura?" She asked me while putting a couple files into one of the drawers of her desk.

"Oh well…I just wanted to know what you thought about that whole thing when Ryo told you what happened to Genkei-san earlier today".

She looked like she didn't know what in the world I was talking about.

"What?" She asked me incredulously.

"Sake can't give you short term memory can it?"

"Lady Tsunade…..didn't Ryo come here earlier today?"

She looked at me suspiciously, "No…..why would you say that?"

I proceeded to explain, "Well….he was supposed to come to you and tell you something about Genkei-san…..but maybe he hasn't yet….that's okay".

She stood up, "Sakura…….is there something you know that I don't?"

I sheepishly grinned, "No……."

"You're a terrible liar, now tell me!" She demanded.

I sighed, "Well…..while I was at work today, Genkei-san ended up being one of my patients. He was poisoned so I had to quickly heal him and he's currently resting up now. I asked him what happened and he said that the rulers of the rain village, the Akatsuki, stole the jewel and left him in this condition. Tsunade-san, I think they have been the ones taking these jewels all along".

A shocked look appeared on her face, "Oh my…..we need to do something now. Inform your father immediately and tell him to hold an emergency conference with the rest of the ANBU squad, I will be there to discuss this with him. In the mean time, wait for Genkei-san to wake up. Understood?"

"Hai" I bowed respectfully.

Afterwards, I left for home.

I slammed the door open and mom stared at me like I was crazy.

"Sakura, are you alright?" she asked me.

"Oh uhh…yeah, I'm fine. Do you know where dad is?"

"He took the boys training. Training ground #44 I think he mentioned".

I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran back out of the house, "Thanks mom!"

I ran as fast as I could, thankfully, the training grounds weren't that far from home.

"I can't let this Akatsuki, whoever they are, take what's important to these villages".

Finally, I arrived and spotted dad and Shin in taijutsu combat.

"Dad!"

"Oh come on Sakura, stop interrupting our fight".

"Shut it Shin" I ordered.

"What seems to be the problem Sakura?" father asked me,

"Tsunade needs you ASAP".

He seemed to sense the urgency in my voice and ran off without a second thought.

"Sakura, why does the old hag need dad?"

"FYI that old hag, is partly in charge of this village. Tsunade needs him because I told her who this perpetrator is".

"Who is it?"

I whispered into his ear, hoping Wataru wouldn't hear anything.

"The Akatsuki. You know the group of criminals that rule the rain village?"

"What!?" He said in response.

"What's going on guys?" asked Wataru approaching the two of us.

"Nothing" we told him while sheepishly grinning.

"Hey listen Shin, I gotta go. Whatever you do, do NOT tell Wataru".

"Alright alright, relax miss priss".

I glared at him and took off hoping to find Ryo.

The sun was setting and I was eager to find him, wondering why didn't bother telling Tsunade.

It took hours, I didn't even know where he was staying!

It was about 9:00 at night and I came across that same Uchiha compound I did a few months ago when I was attacked.

I didn't actually enter the compound, because I saw two shadowy figures underneath the dim street light.

It was difficult to hear what they were saying, because they were on the verge of whispering.

I hid behind a wall closer to the two figures trying to hear what they were saying.

"What the hell is taking so long!? I gave you this job, because I thought you could finish the job quickly!" said a deep voice.

"Shut it. I don't take orders from people like you. Things have not gone as I wanted them to. A couple of the villagers know the Akatsuki is at work. If you ever insult me again Madara, you won't even see the Akatsuki take control. Count your blessings that I'm here. You would no where without me" an arrogant voice said.

"The Akatsuki…..t-they're here!? In Konoha!?"

Author's Note: Hope you all liked this chapter! Keep reading and reviewing please. I may or may not post another one this weekend. If not, there will be one next weekend.

Thanks my readers!

Yours truly,

Sweetness.