Title: Wishes Are Free

Author: Cheza-chan

Rating: R

Pairing: KakaIru, SasuNaru, SakuOC

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto—oh, I wish I did—but I own Kan'you, all the characters of the Hidden Wave Village. I own the Hidden Wave Village because I created it! I own the Hidden Wave Village's special jutsus, etc.

A/N: Wa-ho! Sorry the chapter is so short. It's just that, what I was going to continue with, I wanted to start a new chapter with it. :;titters;: Sorry if I keep making Sakura so unlikable! Maybe I should have Kakashi smack her around a bit… :;looks around frantically then laughs behind her hand;: No, that would be too mean, not that Polka Dot would mind XD :;scurries off;:


Chapter Twenty-Six – Return to Konoha

The Hidden Wave Village's hospital was fully and busy during that first week of recuperation. The families of the foreign children were being contacted so the child could be retrieved. The top floor of the crowded hospital, east wing, was reserved solely for Konoha shinobi. Iruka and Sakura's rooms were opposite each other and no one but doctors, nurses, and the Godaime were allowed in them.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a room one door away from their teammate and the Chuunin, while Kakashi had his own. The blonde sat in the windowsill across from Sasuke's bed, overseeing the nurse that worked on the Uchiha.

"I recommend you keep it on for at least a week," the young woman informed the ebony-haired shinobi with a calming smile. She bowed to them both then exited the room, closing the door slowly and quietly.

Sasuke glared at the sling that cradled his left arm then directed a much softer gaze to the serious blonde. He sighed, "Naruto…"

"Nani?"

There was a momentary pause before he replied, "Nothing." The brunet scooted back into the bed so his back was to the wall and tucked his right arm behind his head. He blinked at the added weight to his bed and stared at the face decorated with the whisker-like scars. Sasuke smirked. He reached out and pulled the kyuubi against him with his good arm.

Naruto closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in frustration as he willed himself not to cry.

§§§

"How is he?" A woman's voice had spoken.

"He's better, but not quite stable just yet." The doctor; he vaguely remembered the voice. "I'm surprised he held on so long. Not that the blades touched anything too vital—thank goodness—but because of the blood loss. And he suffered a mental attack?"

Tsunade ran a hand down her face with a grown then scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah, he did, but he wasn't trained to die. The Sandaime Hokage before me made sure of that." She glanced down at the occupied bed. "Wouldn't you agree, Iruka-sensei?"

'I agree…' It was the Chuunin's last thought before he slipped back into the darkness.

Iruka looked far too fragile. One wouldn't acquaint his physique to that of a true shinobi's, but he was better than the ANBU that surrounded the Godaime. The dark frail body had bandages wound around it from the shoulders down to its hips. The right arm had been placed in a sling—a sprain from his fight with Ishikura that worsened when Atsuko had attacked. An oxygen mask was positioned over the young man's nose and mouth to assist his weakened lungs.

The female Hokage sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "How long before he can go back to Konoha?"

The doctor's eyes widened. "No time soon," he stammered. "Maybe… within a minimum of three weeks."

"Contact me when he's ready and I'll have someone come for him." Tsunade smiled, patted the professional on his shoulder, and left the room after giving strict instructions not to let anyone unauthorized on the hall.

The man turned his gaze to his patient after the door closed. They had brought a hunter—a trained assassin—into his hospital, so he could understand her concern for his safety. There were many out there who, if word that a hunter-nin was bed-ridden and vulnerable reached them, would travel to make the kill, not caring who got in their way. Kill in order not to be killed.

"Umino Iruka," the man sighed, setting the clipboard down.


Sakura, after being given permission to be released, never left the hospital. She headed two floors down and once again found herself looking in at Oyasa. Having just reached the door, the young girl stepped back as it opened.

Hizaku's eyes widened as he stared down at her. "Sakura…"

Sakura looked around him and he understood what she was asking. "Oyasa's awake now, but the nurse doesn't want too much excitement for him," he explained. Sakura nodded slightly and stepped by him to enter the room.

Oyasa looked over at the door then down at his lap. Not even a full minute ago, he'd learned of what had taken place in the village while he was sleeping. During the duration of his sleep, he'd still heard Atsuko's voice in his head.

Sakura reached out to squeeze his hand but he yanked it away. Her green eyes reflected little emotion as she curled her fingers and drew her hand back to her chest. She turned and exited from the room. Oyasa opened his eyes, tears falling onto his fists. Crying only made his blurry vision worsen; the doctors had told him his sight would never be the same.

Hizaku had remained outside the room. He was to escort the young girl to the Academy and did just that. The pair headed up two flights of stairs and reached May's office. The door slid open and several faces turned to stare. Her bangs had grown longer than she had anticipated, but they now helped to conceal her green eyes. Sakura stepped into the room but remained in the back. She didn't want to be any nearer than this.

Tsunade was standing beside the desk that May sat behind. Sakura didn't even want to know when she had arrived. "This completes Team 7 of Konoha-kure Village," the Godaime stated.

"We apologize for the inconveniences that plagued you during this mission," May stated in a soft voice. The woman stared at her hands on the desk and smiled sadly. "As it was in accordance to the deal made with the fifth Hokage of Hidden Leaf…" Naruto's eyes widened as he stared at the tears being shed by the special Jounin. "The Hidden Village of Wave is no more," May whimpered, raising her hands to bury her face in them.

Tsunade closed her eyes tightly. She knew how much hardship the woman went through to build and maintain the village, but the small island just wasn't ready for the change. She had also taken time out last week to pay a visit to the Lightning Country and the Raikage. It had taken a small amount of self-perseverance not to smile when the strongest shinobi of Hidden Cloud personally asked about the welfare of Haruno Sakura. If he could see her now, he'd probably want to know where the young girl he'd first met was hiding.

"Iruka-sensei won't be joining you on your trip back home," Tsunade said as she cleared her throat. The news came as no surprise to Team 7. "You're dismissed." She turned her attention to the quietly sobbing woman at the desk and placed an arm around her.

"Let's go," Kakashi murmured. Hizaku stepped aside as Sakura turned sharply and slid open the door and watched her leave. Naruto and Sasuke followed, then their Konoha Jounin. Kakashi gave the other man a quick nod before disappearing along with his students. Sighing deeply as he stepped out of the building, Kakashi shielded his eyes as he glanced up at the sun. The weather was pleasant, surprisingly, given in light of everything that had happened.

Their departure was no secret, not that it had meant to be. Villagers were once again returning so the village seemed to thrive once more. Glances—some subtle, some not—were shot in their direction because everything about them said "Konoha". Decorating Sasuke's shirt was the symbol of the Uchiha clan's fan, and on Naruto's orange jacket was the Konoha swirl. Sakura had resorted to her red dress once again.

Several figures were waiting for the team at the bridge. Kakashi smiled under his mask as he saw one of them was Chigiri. He stood before the young girl and stared down at her with a curved eye.

"Kentan-sensei?" she murmured.

"Kakashi," he corrected. "Hatake Kakashi." Chigiri nodded and raised her head to show him her small smile.

"Sasuke-kun!" Miyako cried. She hugged herself tightly, unable to hug the Uchiha because of his arm. "Sasuke-kun, I'm going to miss you so much. And you too, Sakura-san!" Sakura stared at the enthusiastic girl with unblinking eyes.

Kaoru and Haka were there for Naruto. Grinning, the blonde reached into his blue shirt and pulled out two chains. One was that which he'd won from Tsunade and the other was new. Dangling from it was the jeweled dagger he'd been given. Kaoru smiled. It was all he could—he felt Sasuke's eyes burning into him. It was now Haka's turn. She stepped forward and held out a plastic bag to the blonde.

Naruto took it, opened it, and laughed. "Thank you, Haka! This means… a lot coming from you."

"Yeah, well…" The cherry-haired girl scoffed as she was hugged tightly, but smiled over the boy's shoulder. Naruto grinned as he pulled away and hugged the take-out ramen to his chest. Kakashi patted Chigiri on the head as he wrapped up their conversation then addressed his team; they had to continue moving. Naruto waved enthusiastically as they crossed the bridge, then sighed, smiling faintly.

Konoha was their destination. There was a much larger crowd waiting for Team 7 as they reached the large gates of the Hidden Leaf Village. Sakura wanted nothing to do with any of them. In fact, she would have walked through them had it not been for the sudden wave of nausea that sent her running back out of Konoha.

Kakashi watched the girl out of the corner of his eyes, listening to the sounds of her retching. Even Ino became concerned about her rival's health at that moment in time.

Sakura wiped a hand across her mouth then covered it as she lightly coughed. 'Atsuko-sama.' As a few of the other kidnapped children had pointed out while they were still under the man's control, she had been his favorite pupil, but only because they had understood each other so well. "Atsuko-sama," the girl whimpered. It was the first thing she'd spoken ever since regaining consciousness. It was also hurting her to be in a crouched position, but she couldn't find the strength to rise to her feet.

"I'll take you home."

Her green eyes narrowed at the Jounin's voice behind her. "I don't want your pity," she said in a low voice. "I know where I live."

"You obviously can't make it there on your own."

Sakura snatched her arm away from his grasp, but was glad when he caught her before she met the ground in a painful manner. Kakashi lifted his student into his arms with ease and disappeared. His departure left Naruto and Sasuke to be questioned.

The blonde was already occupied with his own questions. Did Sakura really hate him that much? Would they never speak again? Now he began feeling sick at the thought of never having Sakura to consider as a friend anymore. Fisting his hands at his side, Naruto ran through his fellow shinobi and friends, no destination in mind. Sasuke instinctively followed.

"Mendokusee…" Shikamaru muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. Everyone was able to agree with him on that one.

§§§

"Great time to be out, mother," Sakura muttered as she pushed the door open even wider to allow the man inside. She walked to the middle of the floor and turned to glare at him with her arms crossed over her chest. "Kakashi-sensei, before you start preaching to me—"

"Urusai," the Copy-nin sighed, staring around at the house. It was quaint and clean, unlike his. He glanced at the stiff girl, assuming she was growing angrier by the second, especially after having been dismissed so rudely. At this point, he didn't care. "Sakura, do you understood what happened in that new Hidden Village?"

"Hai," the girl answered calmly.

"And you have no regrets?"

"Regrets?" Sakura laughed. "The only regret I have is not completing the job."

'That's what I thought.' Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "I hope you return to your senses before it's too late," he advised the Genin as he backed out of the house. With a small salute, he was gone, leaving a cloud of smoke in his wake.

Sakura stormed to the door and slammed it shut. She fell against it and slid to the floor with her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. She had no regrets—none, except the earlier one she had mentioned. She wanted Naruto gone. Then why was she crying? Sakura raised a hand and covered her mouth. She then bit into the side of it to stifle the sob working its way upward to be released.