Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, but unfortunately for them, I do own this storyline, and heh, there's really nothing they can do about it XD

Storyline- Naruto, after retrieving Sasuke, begins to learn a little more about why he's hated, who his friends really are, and why he is begging to change.

Morgri- Surprise, Surprise, I've updated! Sorry for the extremely looooong wait, but I got tied up with my school year, and kinda forgot the plot I was going by in this story. But I finally got something going again. Also! I'm writing a new story, and I need all of yall's opinions, so send me an email so you can help me.

Ja Ne

By the way, this story mostly takes place in Naruto's Point of View. Also, more than likely Naruto will be OoC at some points in the story. There will, however, be possibilities of other characters POV.

Note that the document manager keeps ruining my shift in time or scene changes… So these are the new representations:

Shift in Time or POV—

"Character Speaking"

"Kyuubi Speaking"

'thoughts'

When Did You Change?

By Morgri

Episode Six: Sasuke

It's interesting how quickly something can be taken away from you; something as small as a simple wish, to something as big as life. And just like that, your reminded how lucky you really were to have it in the first place. But I suppose that's why life is great, because whenever one is down, there is always some way to get back up; that way just has to be found… and that's what keeps so many others down.

At the moment though, that's exactly what had a hold on me: I had no clue what I was looking for. For one thing though, I was tired of lying on this bed, and I really needed to do something; and what better to do than visit my injured teammates? So I treaded out the hospital room.

I passed by the receptionist, not bothering to ask where their rooms were. After all, it wasn't worth it anyway, because she would have just pushed me back into bed telling something in the rounds of "You need your rest." Besides, Kiba's usually pretty loud anyway. It's not like the hospital was that big anyway… Ok, so it was four floors.

"CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY GOT ME IN HERE FOR FOUR WEEKS!" Yup, I think I found them. "I MEAN! IT'S NOT LIKE I'M THAT INJURED!"

"K…Kiba," Someone else stammered inside, "It's… It's for your own good."

"Can you just shut up already… pssh… I can't believe this destiny is mine,"

"DESTINY! WHAT DESTINY? IT'S NOT LIKE YOUR DEAD OR SOMETHING,"

"Well I know my destiny is food,"

"WELL THAT'S JUST LIKE YOU FAT…"

"Kiba you know that word is taboo for Chouji."

"OOOOH! Chouji is not fat! I mean he's skinnier than you INO!"

"HEY!"

"Hehe, I'm not interrupting anything… Am I?" I finally decided to make my intro.

"N… Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke shyly, as she always did. I will say though, she does appear a lot more confident than before.

"NARUTO! HEY CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY GOT ME IN FOR FOUR WEEKS!"

"Shut up Kiba!" shouted Ino.

Neji just looked away and sighed. I really didn't blame him either, and to think, they compare me to him… the thought is dreadful.

"Hey, I heard you went unconscious for a week! How'd it happen!" Shouted an emphatic Lee, earning the sigh's of five other people in the room.

"Uhhh…"

"It was just a little accident involving Sakura and Ramen bowl," Ino bailed me out, "By the way Naruto-kun, Sakura came asking for you, but you were asleep."

I looked away. What happened before still hurt… "Oh"

Everyone looked confused about my answer. Not much longer, I started to feel out of place. More because of the silence than anything, but the stares were also beginning to get uncomfortable.

"Uh… It's a long story," Ino saved me again.

"WHATEVER! FOUR WEEKS!" Thankfully Kiba changed the subject once more.

"How troublesome…" An annoyed Shikamaru put his hands to his head.

"Any word from Sasuke yet?" I asked.

Everyone suddenly became silent, their ears perking up. Apparently that name had become taboo for all of them. But who could blame them? Most of them had nearly been killed chasing him down, that or received terrible injuries for a person they hardly even knew, and probably now, didn't even respect.

"Tch… Don't say that name in front of me" Said Shikamaru in a cold tone. I wasn't surprised though, after all, Chouji had been found just barely alive that day, and almost didn't even survive the trip. Luckily Gaara had shown up earlier and really helped us out.

"He's still in the other room,"

I turned to see Sakura walk in. She looked hesitant and tired.

"Sa… Sakura-chan, I see." I said as I turned to everyone, deciding that I'd leave the room.

"Na… Naruto… wait."

"I, I'm sorry," I turned to her and smiled softly, then left.

Shift: Ino POV--

I don't think I have ever seen such a surprised room in my life. They were more shocked than when Naruto had beaten Neji in the Chunin Exams.

"W- Wh- What was that all about?" Some voice echoed in the room.

Sakura looked away, almost ashamed, and even more so saddened. I felt the need to defend her even though what she had done was terrible; after all she was still my best friend, and now that we weren't arguing over Sasuke-kun, it felt normal again.

"Nothing, they just had an argument, that's all." Everyone looked over to me.

"An argument! No way, Naruto would never be like that after an argument, especially with Sakura-chan. I mean, it's seems like he would be happy to argue with her!" Kiba shouted, returning life back into the room.

"I'm gonna go… I still owe Naruto an apology," Sakura said, in a low voice. Everyone could see how sad she was. She had nearly lost both her team members, and worse, she had the guilt of almost having killed one. She couldn't handle going on with out an apology.

"I'll help you find him, Sakura," I gave her a re-assuring smile. Everything would turn out all right. After all, it was Naruto we were talking about here; no way he'd keep a grudge against one of his friends.

I jumped out the chair, took her hand, and raced out. I had answered enough questions for the day. That and I was running out of answers. Honestly do I have fix everything around here?

Shift: Naruto POV—

It didn't take long for me to reach Sasuke's room, and just as expected there were plenty of nurses tending to his wounds. Sasuke didn't look happy about it either. He just sighed, and I don't blame him, even I would hate a crowded room of nurses, especially if all of them were trying to check my pulse and heart and… whatever else it is that nurses do.

I tapped the door hoping to be allowed in. I'm pretty sure security was tight and many visits weren't allowed, even if he was the prized Uchiha. It wouldn't surprise if they didn't let me in, but I had to find out what Sasuke was thinking when he ran away. Sure for power, but that couldn't have been the only motive. Talking to him would be the only way I could ever find out.

The nurses opened the door. They weren't particularly happy to see me, but luckily visitation hours were still open, and even they couldn't deny me the right to that. They left the room, and I was allowed to enter. It didn't take long for Sasuke to look my way.

"Heh, so Dobe-kun comes to visit me."

"Dobe-kun beat Dobe-Chan," I replied. Needless to say, it didn't lighten the mood up as much as I wished it did.

"Naruto! How dare you!"

"Hmmm?"

"HOW DARE YOU TAKE AWAY MY CHANCE!"

"CHANCE AT WHAT SASUKE? A REVENCE THAT WAS NEVER THERE?"

"SHU… SHUT UP! IT WAS RIGHT THERE! I HAD THAT CHANCE! TO BECOME STRONG, AND YOU WALTZED IN AND TOOK IT ALL AWAY?"

"What?"

"YOU HEARD ME! YOU TOOK AWAY EVERYTHING!"

"Sasuke… you… YOU JUST DON'T GET IT DO YOU!"

"WHAT?"

"WHEN DID RUNNING AWAY MAKE YOU STRONG? WHEN DID HATING SOMEONE MAKE YOU STRONG? THAT CURSE DIDN'T MAKE YOU ANY STRONGER DID IT? YOUR WEREN'T EVEN ABLE TO BEAT ME!"

"ERR… WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU TOOK AWAY MY DREAM!"

"NO! YOU TOOK AWAY MY DREAM! I SAVED YOURS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME? YOU'VE TAKEN AWAY MY FUTURE, SASUKE, MY LIFE!" Sasuke shuffled a little, giving me a stern but confused look.

"WHY WOULD I EVER CARE ABOUT YOU, OR KONOHA? ALL THIS YOU AND THIS VILLAGE HAS DONE IS WAISTE MY TIME! OROCHIMARU HAD POWER TO GIVE ME, KONOHA DIDN'T!" I looked him unfazed; he still had a lot to learn.

"YOU LIVE IN A COUNTRY THAT LOVES YOU TO DEATH! THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WOULD GIVE THEIR LIVES TO PROTECT YOU! WHO WOULD GIVE UP THEIR JOBS AND LIVES JUST TO TAKE YOU IN! THERE ARE NINJAS WHO WOULD JUMP AT THE CHANCE TO TEACH YOU HOW NEW MOVES, NEW JUTSU'S! STO… stop being so blind Sasuke… You have everything you need here… all you got to do is open your eyes! Just… open your eyes Sasuke."

"I… No… your right Naruto…"

"What?"

"Your right! I really was weak, back there." He looked away; I had never expected him to agree with me. "I… My ambition to kill him… I hated him… But you were right; it never did make me stronger." He looked back at me, he looked lost.

"It seems like, it only made me weaker. But then why! Why did he tell me to hate?"

"Why did you listen to him, baka? Your listen to anyone who offers you power the easy way. Strength don't come easy, you have to work for it."

"Hmph… Go away! I don't need you Naruto, I'll kill Itachi with or without giving my soul!"

"Well be my guest, but when you end up doing, don't be blaming me in the after life!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

I turned around to leave, apparently all of the commotion had caused the nurses to huddle around the door, and they didn't look to happy… at all. Before reaching the door, I was surprised by Sasuke once again…

"Naruto! Wait…"

"Hmm?" I looked back at him. His eyes showed a sincere apology, something I had never seen in them before.

"You… Your… right…"

"What?"

"Your right. I was wrong." He said. It was something new; I had never heard Sasuke refute his own words, and stranger, was the fact that he was admitting he was wrong to me. "I… I looked for power… I should of…"

"Sasuke?"

"If you're still up to it, maybe you can teach me, you know, how to get stronger the hard way." He looked away, and then back. He did something I hadn't seen in years, He smiled… Not one of those annoying smirks, or infamous grins of superiority, but a genuine smile.

"Yeah, why not," I smiled back, "After all, you're still my best friend."

"Maybe we can build a stronger more powerful team this time," Sasuke said, still obsessed with his desire for strength. I could tell it would be hard convincing him that strength isn't the only thing a team needed to succeed; but at least now, I had something to build on. Maybe hope wasn't lost for him; After all, he wasn't the only one that had been obsessed with strength and hate. Gaara suffered the same as Sasuke, but he changed, at least, enough to realize there was more to life than revenge.

"Heh, Maybe this time, we can work together more as a team; that is, if Sakura is up to it."

"I doubt she'll be a problem, she can't stand to be away from me," Ok, now that was a little cold hearted, "a… and you of course."

"Yeah, I guess, only you can convince her of that, Sasuke," I said. There were knocks on the door, and it hadn't even felt like five minutes before they were rushing me out of the room, checking on Sasuke. I felt a little contempt from the nurses. I knew visiting hours were far from over, but in my situation, what could I do except but follow the orders, especially if I didn't want to get hurt. I already had more than one health problem now, I didn't need more.

"Well, see ya, Sasuke."

With that I left the room, conscious of what I had just gotten myself into. With the curse seal stilled sealed in him, I was sure he wasn't ready to give up looking for strength. On top of that, there was our ensuing rivalry, which wasn't going to be much of a help either. Hopefully, this little scuffle had at least knocked Sasuke off of his thrown; because if it did, then things would move along a lot steadier, even if it didn't look that way. The most positive thing though, was the definite fact that Sasuke was willing to give Konoha another chance, and hopefully they would too; After all, he still was their prized Uchiha, and that's all they needed know, even if he had betrayed them.

End Chapter Six.
Morgri: Woohoo I updated, and it feels good. I'm sorry I took so long, but in recent events at school and work, I've had a lot to think about, so I kinda forgot the storyling. Luckily after re-reading it, I was able to remember it. I have a lot more time during the summer, so you can expect a lot faster updates.

PS: I had a pre-reader, so any mistakes are his fault XD

Ja Matta.