Sorry for the long wait.

Had a bit of writers block trying to figure out where I was heading next.

Finally got through it.

Here we go

xoxo

The hospital was like it always. Annoying as ever. I glanced around clenching the white itchy fabric, it was taking everything in me not to rip the gauze from my ear. I had just woke up a few minutes ago. The nurse popped in to tell me she was going to get the doctor. I didn't want to see the doctor. I wanted to see my team. I had a million and one questions running through my head and where the heck was Sasuke?

Without waiting another second I flipped the blankets off me and pulled my feet over my bed, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." I glanced up at the silver haired man. A frown deep on my face. "How is everyone? Are they okay?" He closed the door behind him and looked over my body, eyes lingering on my neck. "We need to talk about that first." I gulped, "Please Sensei."

"Everyone is fine." He pulled a chair over toward my bed. I hesitated but got up anyway, making my way over to the window. I walked slowly, I didn't feel like falling over for the hundredth time in this same damn building. There was a moment of silence. I didn't want to look at the man. Something felt off and I knew I wasn't going to like what he was going to say. "The doctors took a look at you. Healed up a burst ear drum. You had a few fractured rib that were trying to heal probably from the forest. They said someone had healed you up pretty well but they were still learning. You were beat up well weren't you kid." He was saying things I already knew.

"Now that mark." I tensed a bit. My hands laying lazily on the window pane. My eyes focused up at the sky. "It seems its reacting differently to your body. His chakra was in fused into that mark. I need you to tell me what happened when you got it." Sighing a bit I let my forehead touch the glass, I closed my eyes. I hated thinking back to that moment. It was a mark of failure against me.

"Using the Sharingan I slowed everything down. I saw his head lurch up like a snake ready to strike. I flickered in front of Sasuke taking the hit for him but it didn't matter cause the snake just came back anyway and got him." My breath was hot and left a small fog on the glass that vanished as quick as it appeared. "Unfortunately it's hard to say exactly what went wrong but it seems that the chakra pumped into the curse mark is infusing itself in your chakra network." I turned around with my arms crossed over my chest.

"So what do we do?" The man uncrossed his legs and stood up from the chair. "We don't know." I chewed the inside of my cheek desperately trying to calm my heart down. "It's something not even the Hokage is familiar with. You need to learn to control that chakra and keep it locked inside you." Running shaking fingers through my hair I let my gaze linger on the floor. "Cant we seal it?" There had to be something we could do.

I remembered how seamlessly I slipped from my self to that evil. It was going to be hard to separate it completely. "No." Looking up at him I could see sadness in the depths of his pupil. "We would have to seal your whole network and that would kill you."

I leaned against the pane, the coolness of the glass caused bumps against my skin. "Great," I mumbled, sighing again. "We would understand if you didn't want to move onto the next part of the exams in a months time." My eye brows furred together, "A month?" He shrugged his shoulders, "Well 28 days now." I shook my head. There was no way I wasn't going to do it especially because I knew that Sasuke wasn't going to back down.

"I didn't think you would. So now as far as your training goes, you need to train those eyes of yours so I will be doing half of your training but the first half will be done by a good friend of mine." My lips parted for a moment but I closed them instantly. Probably best to just listen at this point. "You need to get your speed up. You have a gift with the body flickering technique that pairs well with your Sharingan, if you know how to use it. Right now you are to slow so while you can flicker well enough you can't catch a powerful opponent off guard." I rolled my eyes thinking back to the tower where I foolishly tried to kick a sannin in the head.

"So when you get released it will be time to start training. Meet me in our usual spot." Before could ask who would be training me he was gone in a swirl. I stomped my foot like a child before I could stop myself. "Suiren you're awake!" I flinched at the sudden presence but I smiled at the blond barging into the room with Sakura behind him. I let him tackle me into a hug lifting me clear off the floor for a moment before placing me back down. "I'm so glad to see you guys. I was so worried, how did everything go? What did I miss?" Sakura took the spot in the chair that Kakashi had been in a moment ago.

Naruto used his whole body to act out the fight between him and Kiba. I was proud that he had won. Really proud, he had come so far from the kid that froze up in the land of waves who didn't even know how to climb a tree. "He left out the part when he farted and almost killed Kiba because of his sensitive nose." My eyes became wide and I started to laugh. Large belly retching laughs. If only I had been there. "A win is a win, that's what you always say Suiren." The boy's cheeks puffed out, slightly red at the girls comment. "Of course it is. I just wish I could have seen it." I wiped my eyes and turned to Sakura.

Her face instantly became red and I couldn't help but frown. "I had to battle Ino." She shook her head and smiled softly, "It was a tie. Double knock out." My mouth hung open. Double knock out, they must have fought their hearts out. "Sakura was so strong. She was even able to get out of her mind Justu." I couldn't help but crack a smile, "I always knew you had it in you." She was quick to change the subject. "So do you know who you will be training with for the finals?" I nodded my head but then shook it. "Sort of Kakashi-sensei says ill be training with someone for 2 weeks and them him for 2 weeks. Should be fun."

"I'm going to ask Kakashi-sensei to train me for the final part of the exam before Sasuke does. I have to beat that Neji to a pulp." Naruto clenched his fist and gave me a final hug before went to run out the door, "Bye guys I have to train." He was gone and I sat down on the edge of the hospital bed. "He has to fight Neji Hyuga, huh?" that was going to be tough. I hadn't seen him fight but I could sense his chakra.

"Yea you should've seen him fight Hinata. The guy almost killed his own cousin." I clicked my tongue on the roof of my mouth, Sakura's face told me she wasn't exaggerating he really almost killed her. I was worried for my little knucklehead and even though she didn't show it I knew she was worried as well.

"Have you seen Sasuke yet?" I shook my head as I gathered my things. The doctor's cleared me to leave and Sakura brought me a fresh change of clothes. "Well they wont let anyone see him but I'm sure that you could get in if you wanted to." I watched her play with the hem of her dress as I slung my back pack over my shoulder. I frowned softly, "Well if you want Im sure we can both-"

"I should get going I have to meet with my mom in town to go food shopping." She cut me off and waved to me. There was something up with her that she wasn't tell me. "I guess ill see you later then?" She nodded and was gone. I sighed again. This was to much for me to handle right now.

Walking up to the nurses table she smiled, "How can I help you Suiren?" It seemed everyone here just knew me by now. "Can you tell me which room is Sasuke's?" She hesitated for a moment. "I'm not really allowed to let anyone in there." She looked down and back up. "But I guess cause since you're family I can let you in." She winked at me before writing down the number of his room and handing it to me. I bowed my head and thanked her.

Of course the idiot would be in the same room as me but up stairs. With all the different people in here it would've almost been imposable to track him. I knocked on the door with three quick hits before going in. I shut it behind me, eyebrow raised at the sight. "And where do you think you're going?" I said closing the space between the boy and I. "I have to get training with Kakashi for the final exam." He stopped putting things in his back pack and looked me over. He grabbed my chin rather roughly. I was tired of people inspecting me. Like I was a doll or something.

I slapped his hand away. "I'll see you in a months time Suiren." He turned back to his things and I couldn't help put press my lips into a fine line. "Who are you fighting in the finals?" He didn't answer but rather put his bag on and started walking toward the window. "I asked you a question Sasuke." Putting my hands together I flickered in front of him, standing in the ledge of the open window. He almost rammed right into me pushing me out the damn thing. I grabbed his shirt to keep from falling.

It was awkward for a split moment but I didn't care. I wasn't going to see him, granted for only two weeks but he didn't know that. He thought it was going to be a month and he was ready to bolt. What the hell was up with everyone today? "That's your goodbye? Ill see you in a month. Naruto at least gave me a hug." He sighed and his shoulder lost some of their tension as his onyx orbs bore holes into my violet ones. Quickly he wrapped an arm around my neck pulling me in a little to hard, it was starting to become habit. "You'd stop me when you found out it's Gaara." I took a deep breath in. Of course it would be that guy. The only one that I was sure got joy out of causing people pain.

His musty smell, it was warm, like wood burning but there was also something else. Something soft underneath that made my stomach flip. "Have I tried to stop you before?" The kid was going to do what he wanted when he wanted and really gave no one a say in the matter. "You'll be safe while I'm gone. Don't do anything stupid." I pushed him away and pushed a chuckle past my lips, instantly regretting putting distance between us. My head was swimming and I wasn't sure why. "So now you care? Two seconds ago it was ill see you a month Suiren." I tried my best to be as broody as he sounded sometimes.

He rolled his eyes as me. "Just dont be a bake while I'm gone." I gave him a classic "hn." and turned so that I was leaning on the side of the window, allowing him enough space to leave. "You're not going to get all fan girlie on me are you?" I looked at him, a tad confused and slightly insulted. "What's that supposed to mean?" He cracked a smirk. I flicked him in the temple and he gave me a soft glare, one that was calming. "Train hard Sasuke. Focus and be safe." He nodded his head one solid time.

Right before he left he slide his hand against my cheek, fingers tangled in the back of my messy hair. It was a split second filled with warmth, and then he was gone.

I had to admit I was nervous. I had only ever trained with my team and Kakashi-sensei. The tension in my chest grew the closer I got to the training grounds where I was supposed to meet him. I didn't rush because usually he was late but he was already there when I got there. I couldn't help but cock an eyebrow, everyone was acting out of the ordinary. "I dont mean to rush this but as you probably already know I'll be training Sasuke for a month." I nodded my head in understanding. "You also probably know he will be against Gaara of the desert for the final match."

I couldn't hold back my sigh when I nodded again. The more I heard it, the more I hated the idea. "And what you probably dont know is that you will be up against Kankuro from Sunagakure." I smacked my forehead, the day was just get worse and worse. "Really the puppet freak?" I hadn't even had a chance to see the nin fight yet. I just knew he carried around a puppet on his back. I also knew that Kiba and his team had told us to stay as far away from the sand ninjas as possible. Like I didn't know that already. It would probably be in my best interest to find out how his match went at the preliminaries.

"For the first two weeks before you come to me you need to work on your weakest link, taijustu and speed like I said before." I groaned. "I get it Sensei I'm really slow, dont have to rub it in anymore." Like he needed to keep reminding me. He gave me a small eye smile. "Hello my eternal rival! What is this favor that you've so desperately asked my for?" I flinched at the sudden presence of bright green beside me. My mough ajar like a gold fish. Oh no, no, no.

"Really?" I whined slightly and got a sharp look from my sensei. "You know my student Suiren dont you Gai?" He looked over at me and I twitched. "I do! What a youthful bud." Crossing his arms over his chest I was pretty sure Kakashi was loving this. "It seems for the finals of the exam she is going to need two weeks of your special training." They eyed each other. In a way I didn't like.

I looked between the two, a hard expression on Gai-sensei's face for a moment before becoming its cheerful expression again. Something unspoken passed and I had no idea what it was. "Of course! It would be an honor to train such a promising Kunoichi." I couldn't help but cringe at him. He was so - loud. I guess I was so used to Sasuke's unspoken way of expressing himself this was over whelming. Even Naruto was a different kind of loud.

"It's settled then. Two weeks with Gai and then I will send a message of where you are to meet me for more training." I nodded softly. Im sure he was able to see how uneasy I was about this whole thing. "Gai is a trusty worth Ninja and a great friend. I trust him fully and you should to." He patted my head and i could help but crack a smile. "Yes, Kakashi- sensei."

"Alright my little lotus bud are you ready to start?" He flashed me a thumbs up, did he mean right now? I guess I only had a month so better now then later. I dropped my back pack on the floor. "Alright." I wrapped my braid into a tight bun. "Try and hit me, taijustu only. Give me your best shot!" He crouched down into a fighting stance, a large smile plastered on his face. I looked behind me at Kakashi-sensei, was this guy for real? "Good luck." Was all he said before he was gone, leaving me nothing but a swirl of leaves.

I looked back at the mass of green spandex before me. "So i just have to land a hit?" I started calculating, if Lee was fast his sensei must have been faster. "Just one! If you can." I gritted my teeth for a moment. "And if I cant?" I crouched down. "Then we will do 50 laps around the village." I chokes on my own spit. He was going to kill me. I was sure of it.

I shook the idea of running 50 laps around the village out of my head. My eyes were on. "Those wont help you here little bud." I put my hands together and flickered behind him throwing a spinning kick. "Oh I see now." He said dodging it with easy. Landing on the ground beside him I started to throw punches. One after the other, he didn't even block, only dodged. Each one flawlessly. My heart started to race.

I started to pump chakra to my arms trying to speed up my movement. Bending down I swiped at his feet, when he jumped to dodge I came up with a punch to the solar plex. With my eyes on I still could barely keep track when he dodged my hit and ended up behind me. A swift kick to my back and I ate dirt. "When ever you are ready to admit defeat we will run!" He seemed excited about the jog but I dont give up.

"You'll be waiting a while then." I mumbled pushing my self up. Crouching down I took a deep breath. Shifting my foot slightly I came at him again. Clearing my mind punch after punch. Axe Kick. Punch. I was starting to get slow already. With another punch he grabbed my wrist pulling it to his face. "What are these?" He fingered the black beaded weights I wore like bracelets. "Weights." I said breathlessly. He slipped it off feeling it in his hand. "Take them all off please. I need to assess your current raw abilities."

I nodded and took off the other along with the ones around my ankles and tossed them to him one at a time. Once he had them all he smiled again, "Seems you are farther along then I had anticipated. This is good." Dropping them to the ground I watched the dust come off the floor. He crouched down again putting his hand out taunting me to come get it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Only my oc Suiren