It was another week before Naruto and Jiraiya arrived back in Konoha, along with Tsunade and Shizune, and Naruto was making sure that Tsunade was going to heal everyone before being given the role of Lady Fifth Hokage.

Shanan hadn't been permitted to leave her own room very much throughout her stay, so she was unable to visit Sasuke without Kakashi present. And everytime she did, Sakura would hurry out of the room. Shanan didn't mind her keeping him company, though, because someone should be there with him.

But nobody had told her that Naruto was back and that Sasuke was about to be healed. In fact Shanan didn't find out until a nurse poked her head in and gave her permission to see her boyfriend since he had just woken up.

Shanan walked in, only to find two people that she didn't recognize, Naruto, and Sakura embracing Sasuke, crying. Shanan was suddenly less ok with her keeping him company, but jealousy was a fairly foreign concept to her.

Sasuke didn't seem like he noticed either way, though. He was just sort of staring off. His meeting with Itachi had really done a number on him.

Shanan walked quietly up to Naruto, who looked completely dejected and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, smiled and gave her a big hug. Both happy to see her and needing comfort at the same time.

"It's ok," Shanan whispered where only he could hear as she squeezed him tight. She looked at him again, smiled and gave him a big kiss on his forehead, which seemed to make him feel better.

Then she turned around to look at Sasuke who was still being hugged and was still staring off listlessly. She walked over and sat on the opposite side of the bed from Sakura and grabbed his hand. As soon as she did, he turned to look at her and tears immediately filled his eyes.

"Shanan," he cried as he broke free and reached for her.

Shanan pulled him in and cried with him.

Sakura seemed shocked at her dismissal and unsure of what to do now, so Naruto walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder in the same manner that Shanan had with him.

"Sasuke, you were so brave," Shanan assured him through her tears. "You should be proud of the fact that you faced him. I am." She wrapped her arms around him tighter as she felt him sob.

"But I failed," he whispered as best he could between sobs. "I couldn't even protect you, you had to save me."

"Let's go," Naruto said to everyone else in the room. "I have a feeling they're about to get really mushy." He gave Shanan a nod and grabbed Sakura's hand to lead her out as she still seemed confused.

Just as the door closed, Shanan leaned back and looked at Sasuke and wiped his tears. "You didn't fail. He's just unbelievably strong. He trapped Kakashi too. That's why he was hurt that day. You were as brave as Kakashi was. You tried, you stood in front of me." She pulled him back in for another hug. "And I'll always try to protect you. Even if I know I'm gonna die. Don't feel bad about that. It doesn't make you weak. It means you're loved," she said softly as she closed her eyes and smiled, still embracing him.

Sasuke didn't say anything, but he wasn't crying as hard as he had been.

They continued to hold on to each other until they both felt better. It had been a couple of weeks and, even though they hadn't been awake the whole time, they still missed each other.

Sasuke leaned back and noticed Shanan's bracelet. "Are you a patient too," he asked concerned.

"Oh... yeah." Shanan laughed a little. "They wanted Lady Tsunade to examine me because they're still not sure why I'm having these headaches, but it's not so bad. Kakashi and Neji have been by a lot. And I've been able to visit Lee a few times since he's awake. I hope Lady Tsunade can help him too," she said thoughtfully.

Sasuke nodded. He knew how Lee felt having fought against Gaara too.

"Well at least we can be close now that I'm awake."

Shanan smiled at him. "I think you'll probably end up leaving before me."

Sasuke grabbed her hand and she could tell he was worried about her. She was used to the pain now, but it had been about six weeks or so since her fall and the headaches were really bad sometimes. Though, sometimes she felt pretty ok too.

There was a knock at the door and Lady Tsunade popped her head in. "I was on my way to examine my next patient and it turns out that it's you," she said to Shanan. "I hope you guys are done with the lovey-dovey, because I hear that your case has been a tough nut to crack."

She walked over and put her hand on Shanan's head without warning. The green aura around her hand meant that she was examining Shanan's chakra.

"Interesting," she said before she walked back out of the room.

Shanan and Sasuke quickly looked at one another, unsure of what to think.

Just then she returned to the room with a clipboard. "Do you care if we speak in front of your little boyfriend or would you rather we move to your room?" she asked as she peered at Shanan in between flipping pages.

"Uh, no. I don't mind," she said as she squeezed Sasuke's hand, bracing herself for bad news. He squeezed back.

"You have two chakra sources. Did you know that?"

"Yeah, actually, Neji told me once."

"Is that the Hyuga boy on your squad?" she asked without looking at Shanan.

"Yeah."

Tsunade started writing. "Makes sense. He does possess the Byakugan." She flipped to another page. "And you can cycle chakra with other people. Did you know?"

"Yes, he told me that as well."

Sasuke looked at Shanan surprised, almost hurt. "You never told me about any of this."

Shanan kind of shrugged at him. "I didn't really know what to say about it," she said innocently.

"Well I'll probably have to do a more thorough examination to find the actual cause, but it seems that there's a foreign chakra in your body causing your headaches. I'm not sure what that means yet. However, it'll have to wait just a little bit longer because I have another patient that requires my immediate attention," she said as she stood up. "Actually, it's your other squadmate." She started towards the door. "I'll be back to check on you tomorrow. You should go back to your room soon." And with that she left them alone again.

Shanan felt a little less worried now, but was definitely more confused.