Naruto gently put the pink-wrapped present with a purple ribbon in Sasuke's lap. Removing the stuff from it, Sasuke slowly--so as to not make his arms hurt--slid the paper onto the floor beside his bed, staring at the gift. It was a beautifully framed portrait of the two women in a field of flowers, each holding the other's favorite flower. They were back-to-back, with their heads turning to give him a kind smile. The frame, a black metal of some sort, was made in intricate curved and swirled shapes. For a second, he just stared at it, before gently pulling out the back and standing it up on a nearby desk. Naruto grabbed another, wrapped in black and blue.

"Ino-chan and Sakura-chan actually got along, heh. This one's from Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba... And Akamaru, apparently." Grinning, he set it gently on Sasuke's lap. The Uchiha carefully began unwrapping it, then slid open the box with a fingernail. Inside, he was staring down at two weapons--a kunai and a shuriken. The weapons, however, were quite odd--both were black and metal, of course, but each point of the shuriken's tips were split in two and curved outward. The tip of the kunai was also split in two, and both were also curved outward. Under the two weapons was a picture of the sword with its own chakra, sealed in a room with seals painted all over each wall, chains with parchment scrolls everywhere connected holding down the dormant blade. Sasuke sighed, a bit relieved to see the weapon which had done so much damage to him sealed down.

"Those are weird looking..." Naruto smirked a bit.

"They're really rare weapons, actually." He ran a finger over them, setting the box aside after staring at them a few seconds. "They're barbed like that and used mostly for hacking into flesh with one point then torturing the person by having both go in, then ripped out... I like them."

Shivering, the blonde picked up the third and final of the gifts and set it in his lap. It was wrapped in all white. Sasuke looked up. "Who's it from?"

"Uhm... Just open it."

"..." He looked down, peeling off the wrapping paper and ribbon, tossing the paper where he had the rest of it, staring down at a book in his hands. The book was leather-bound, the color a light-gray like smoke, and the whole thing had nothing on it save for the single mark on the front, the Hidden Leaf Village's symbol--the same that was on every headband of the inhabitants of the village. Sasuke ran a finger over it, noticing it was etched in somehow, then slowly opened it. Inside, all the pages were clear and divided into four sections. The front page and back page, however, were the only ones which had only one section for placing anything in it, right in the center. The back had nothing in it, while the front had a picture of Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke.

"Heh, like it?" the blonde asked, leaning forward in his chair, staring at Sasuke's expression.

"Yeah... It's beautiful..." He smirked, looking over at Naruto, then away, feeling a bit strange. "Thanks..."

"So... you knew it was from me?" Naruto gulped.

The Uchiha smirked a bit. "No, but I guessed, and now that you admitted it..."

"Cheater!" Frowning, Naruto leaned back a bit, looking at the flowers, then picked up the card, handing it to him. "You're always cheating, Sasuke-kun..."

Taking it, nodding, he opened the card, then pointed to Naruto's signature. "And you're always being obnoxious."

"We're even, then," he said, giving a confident smirk. He moved so he was seated on the edge of the bed, looking at the card. "Only in that sense, of course."

"Yeah, only in that sense." He placed the card inside the picture book, tenderly setting it down with the rest of his gifts, leaning back. "I'm kind of tired..." he muttered, looking at the blonde with one eye open.

"Then go to sleep..." Naruto stood, heading for the door. "I'll go tell everyone you're alright."

"Naruto-kun..." He watched the other moving to the door. He felt a strange jolt surging through his heart, and he realized his heartbeat pace had quickened for a second. Naruto looked back at him, giving him a questioning look, but he just shook his head. "N...never mind it. Goodnight, then." He laid down completly, closing his eyes, letting thoughts stream into his mind.

"Y...yeah..." the blonde stuttered, nodding. "Goodnight, then, Sasuke-kun." Slowly, he opened the door, sliding out of it and shutting it behind him. He found a chair nearby and pulled it next to him--next to the door--before sitting in it, leaning back and taking slow breaths, closing his eyes. Hee was still really worried about the Uchiha, but what could he do?

When he spotted the Hokage nearby, he waved at her. "Hey, Tsunade-sama!"

"Naruto-kun, hello there." She stopped, looking over at him, smiling. "Something the matter? And how's the Uchiha doing?"

"Heh, he's doing alright; he's sleeping right now because he was tired... And, actually, what's todays date? I was wondering some things."

"Today's the twentieth of July... why?"

Naruto, suddenly grinning, shook his head. "Heheh... No reason. Just thinking about something."

The Hokage walked over, standing above him. She reached out with her left hand, touching his chin, sliding her hand down his neck and curling the tip of her left index finger around a thin cord, gently tugging the necklace out from under his outfit. "You still wear this; do not forget that. It is the promise that you will become Hokage, a gift from me, handed down by another Hokage before you."

"And before I die," the blonde decided aloud, grinning, "I'll give it to the next person who'll become Hokage!"

"That a promise, Naruto-kun?" she asked, pulling her hand back and relaxing, a smile on her lips.

"Yeah, believe it!"

"That's good to hear... Anyway, you should probably go home and get some sleep..."

Nodding, the boy stood, looking at the door. "What about Sasuke-kun, though?"

"Worried?"

"Yeah... I don't think he wants anyone bothering him."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. You should just go to home." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Because... I think he's going to be here awhile. It doesn't seem like he's healing fast, does it, to you?"

Giving the Hokage a quizzical look, he shrugged. "Uh, I don't know, but he still can only move the upper half of his body..." Starting for the door, he slid his hands into his pockets.

"Alright, thanks. Good night, Naruto-kun."

"Night!" He suddenly started in a sprint towards his house, just as he exited the doors of the hospital. His vision was straight and he just kept running, not stopping until he was standing in front of his doors, hand opening it slowly and closing it once he was inside. He breathed slowly, closing his eyes, back against the door. Finally, slowly, he opened his eyes, staring at the inside of his house. Kicking his shoes off and pulling off all his clothes, save for silky, gray boxers, he made his way to his room, falling on his bed. The ceiling, with no lights on or anything, was extremely dark, and kind of creepy... He slowly let out a sigh, slowly, moving his hand up and touching the necklace around his neck, the little stones, closing his eyes. Three more days... He'd have to plan something.

"And even if he hates me for it, or if he doesn't like it, or if he's still too injured to celebrate it... Oh well... Sasuke-kun... You should hurry up and recover. You're always so cool, and strong and stuff... And to see you so injured, and from just that one injury..." He sat up suddenly, shaking his head, falling back down on the bed on his side with a huff. Slowly, he pulled a thin white sheet over his body, cradling his head against a pillow. "Oh well..."

He felt his skin crawl, as if icy breath were touching against the back of his neck, forcing him to curl up even more. He almost felt like there were hands around his body, but with how long he'd been up... he decided it was just his imagination. The shadows around him, though, weren't only in his mind.

A tapping noise... Yeah, a tap... One tap... Two taps... Three taps... It was soft, at first, then loud...

"Are you awake?"

Opening his eyes slowly, staring at a ceiling lighted only by the sun, the body in bed under sheets in nothing but boxers and bandages sat up, staring over at the door.

That's right, he told himself, you're still in the hospital... And Naruto-kun isn't here... He frowned a bit, but then when he heard the question repeated, laid back down.

"Come in..."

Slowly, when the door opened, Sakura entered the room, Kakashi behind her. Kakashi made care to close the door quietly. Sakura found a seat, but Kakashi just stood with his back against a wall, his nose--as usual--burried in the latest 'Icha Icha.'

He turned his head, staring at them. Sakura smiled a bit, staring over at the three gifts on the table.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

" 'Morning..." he murmured, turning his head away when he noticed his loud-mouth friend wasn't among the two. It was Team Seven, save for the hyperactive one... But the hyperactive one was what made them the unique team, what made them Team Seven. That's all he thought.

"How are you feeling?" she asked carefully, watching him through her emerald eyes. He stared over at her, giving a sort of shrug, noticing the sad look hidden within the jade eyes.

"Alright,"

"Good," Kakashi murmured, looking up from the Icha Icha. "How much of your body can you move today?" he asked carefully, slowly, as if choosing his words really carefully.

He sat up, stretching out his arms and fisting his hands, slowly relaxing them. "All of my upper body."

"So you still can't move below your waist...?" Sakura questioned. He looked at her, nodding.

"Well... that's a problem."

"Why?" He looked at his sensei, then at Sakura, staring oddly at them.

"We have an important mission to do, Sasuke-kun... Another A-class mission..."

"Why us?" he asked, half glaring at Kakashi. "Why not one of the other teams, like squad Asura?"

"Because the others are all out doing other missions... Besides, the both of you are the only available Anbu members at the time..."

Sasuke hand's slowly reached up to his right shoulder, touching the tattoo tenderly. "Yeah, OK..."

Sakura frowned, sighing. "I don't know if you should really be apart of this mission, either, Sasuke-kun... You'll probably take it personal and all..."

"What about Naruto-kun?" he asked, squinting his eyes curiously at her. "Has he been informed?"

When neither of the other two said anything, he just looked away, fisting his hands. He was angry at his body, pissed that it wouldn't heal fast enough. He was annoyed that it had gone to sleep, and that he hadn't asked Naruto to stay or anything. And, most of all, he was pissed at how weak he felt.

Kakashi looked over at Sakura, then back at Sasuke, finally speaking.

"That's the mission; to retrieve the nukenin, Uzumaki Naruto."