A.N- In this chapter, and all my chapters of this story, it may seem like a Sasuke/Sora pairing… but it's not! They have a sort of younger brother/older sister relationship. I still won't tell what the pairing is for Sora, though. But, I will tell you that the following pairings are permanent:

Naruto/Sakura

I don't know any others right now, but I have an idea. Now, on w/ the story!!!

Hokage Tower: Sora POV

I took a deep breath and put on my happiest smile. "Konichiwa Hokage-sama!"
"Sora! Hello to you as well!" The Hokage chuckled at me, before smiling gently and said, "What makes you so sad?" My smile didn't falter, but merely smiled warmly.
"Sad? I'm not sad... I simply came to ask for your permission to send out a team of qualified shinobi to help rebuild the Hidden Stone Village." The Hokage's smile wavered,
"Sora... I know you are distressed about the incident, but right now, your safety lies here."
"No, we must help them. They've helped me, and I cannot stand idle and allow them to suffer."

I gazed seriously into the Hokage's eyes, trying to show him that I would not be told otherwise. He let out a sigh and rubbed his temple with him index finger; a nervous habit he had developed since he had sent me out on the mission years ago. "Your father made it clear to both you and I... you know that... You cannot jeopardize your chance…"
"It's just wrong Hokage-sama! They housed me, helped me, fed me, trusted me... And now you tell me I can't repay them?!"
"Yes, Sora, you cannot go out there again. Sending you on that mission was a mistake, the young students are beginning to question your strength, and if one should find out about your mission, you know the consequence." The Hokage's voice had become harsh, like a father would discipline his son, yet at the same time, in his eyes held compassion.

"Sora... please... you know what your father wished of you... you know what your mother sacrificed... you can't let it go in vain." I held back from glaring at the Hokage, and frowned.

"My parent's were good people, and they died for what they believed in. Allow me to go! To follow in their foosteps"
"No. That's final. I will come up with a list of shinobi to leave, which means you are going to have to help with the chuuin examination and the festival, do you understand?"
"...Hai Hokage-sama..." I muttered softly, excusing myself silently and disappearing.

3rd POV

The Hokage watched Sora sadly, it killed him inside to tell her not to help the Stone Village. He knew she had a strong sense of justice and it would make her miserable to not be allowed to help the Stone Village. From the moment he sent her out on the mission three years ago, he was putting both her life, and her emotions on the line. ... Maybe I just shouldn't have sent her out there... she's too young to have to witness these things...

Even as a young child, the Hokage knew Sora was developing faster then anyone even twice her age, so he took the liberty of 'excusing' her from the ninja academy. Since she was a qualified ANBU captain by a young age, the other children didn't accept her, and some of the adults didn't trust Sora. But when her father and mother passed on, the Hokage took Sora under wing, as if she were his own daughter. He tried to shelter her from some of the scorn of the village by keeping her out of A-ranked missions, but when the time of need came, he was forced to send Sora out to complete the mission that her father and mother could not.

"... I should have just let her be... she wouldn't have to have had such a rough life if it wasn't for me…" The Hokage shook his head and say down to start writing out the list for ninjas who would go to assist the Hidden Stone Village...

Outside: 3rd Person POV

Sasuke leaned back and stared listlessly into the sky; a flurry of thoughts consuming his mind. Yet first and foremost, Sasuke began to wonder about his choice to not follow Orochimaru a few years back; could he still kill his brother even without the power of the curse? He had never let Sakura, Naruto, nor Kakashi know of his connection with Orochimaru, but it was obvious they had figured it out for themselves. He was training insanely, but he felt no progress in his strength; Kakashi was not helping him any, and Naruto and Sakura had each gotten stronger from their new sensei's.

Sasuke cursed himself mentally; while both Sakura and Naruto had been taken on as the students of two of the legendary sennin, he had denied following Orochimaru. His chance of becoming stronger than Naruto was becoming more and more slim, while his chance of killing his brother was already a lost hope. Of course, ever since you had come back into the village, Sasuke felt the remnants of his past personality returning; he had stopped being cold and secluded, and finally began to offer sarcastic remarks to Naruto. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about Sora reminded him of his past, even though he knew very well it was near impossible. ... She lived in Konoha as a child... I must have met her sometime... maybe she was---- CRASH

"AHH! Gomen Gomen!! I'm so sorry Sasuke!"
...speaking of the devil... "... It's alright Sora-sensei.."

Sasuke POV:

I helped Sora up to her feet, and she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Heh.. Gomen again... I guess I wasn't watching where I was going…" I nodded again and tucked my hands into my pocket; Sora sensed an obvious aura of disturbance around me.

"Hey, come on, what's wrong Sasuke?"
"...nothing..." I mumbled quietly, trying to avoid her gaze. Sora let out a 'tsk' and grabbed my arm jokingly, "Don't lie to me Sasuke, I know what you're thinking... Come on, some ramen will make you feel better!"
"... I don't need ramen."
"Yes you do, don't tell me you didn't know that ramen is the secret to becoming a great shinobi!!" I cocked an eyebrow and shook my head in a disgusted manner, but smiled slowly and allowed myself to let out a chuckle. Sora smiled warmly at my response and began dragging me to the ramen house, "Great! It's on you!"

I rolled my eyes but willingly allowed her to drag me to the ramen house so that I could treat Sora.

Ichiraku Ramen Bar: Normal POV

"Ah Sora-sama! Welcome! And Sasuke? Have a seat, please sit!"
"Arigatou." Sora stated with a slight bow, sitting down in a booth and motioned for Sasuke to sit across from her, which he did with utterly no emotion.

"And what would you like to eat?" The man asked with a polite grin on his face. Sora smiled back, "Oh I'll just have what I usually do... arigatou."
"Alright, and you? How about you Sasuke?"
"... I'll… have what she has.."
"Hai. Just wait one moment, I'll get your order ready!"

The man smiled one last time before retreating to the back to prepare the dishes, leaving Sora face to face with Itachi's younger brother. He was obviously avoiding her gaze, but he didn't look exactly uncomfortable either.

"...you were injured... how come you're not anymore..?"
"Eh?" Sora glanced up at Sasuke, who was staring straight at her, obviously awaiting her answer. She let out a disgruntled sigh, "I heal fast, alright?"
"You knew my brother didn't you."

Sora POV:

The silence that reigned after his question was thick enough to be sliced by a sword, but I put on a smile and answered him honestly, "Yes, I knew your brother... He was a nice guy... for a while..."
"...mm..." Sasuke didn't exactly answer, but I could tell he was relatively satisfied with your answer.

"So do you plan on going to the festival?"
"No." I frowned, how could he not want to go to the festival? It was one of the greatest things that ever happens in Konoha!
"Why?! It only happens once a year!"
"It's stupid..." I grinned and pinched his cheek from across the table, "You don't have a date do you?"
"WHAT?!" Sasuke's face immediately tinted as he tried to put on a serious glare, "No! I just think it's...stupid."

I grinned triumphantly and crossed my arms, "Mmmhmm. Right Sasuke, then why won't you go? Listen, you can help me with the festival, since I've been assigned to it." Sasuke glanced up from the table and cocked an eyebrow at my offer; even he knew that being offered to assist with the festival was a huge honor, and if he were allowed to... maybe... he would be able to forget about his brother for a moment...

"I know you want to Sasuke! What harm could it be? You go, you help with the festival security and other stuff, and you get to spend your day with me!" with my last phrase, I struck an overly dramatic pose, causing Sasuke to chuckle slightly.

"Ah... order up!" The man returned with the bowls and placed one in front of me and another in front of Sasuke, and bowed before leaving.
"Arigatou!" I waved goodbye to him as he went to the next customer. Soon I began to slurp my yummy, delicious noodles. It was absolutely heavenly, but the only problem was that… Sasuke wasn't eating. I frowned and pushed his bowl closer to him, "Come on Sasuke, eat something... It'll make you feel better."
"...I highly doubt that..." He grimaced at the sight of his soup and then glanced back at me, who in turn mocked him, " 'I highly doubt that'-- yeah right, come on, take a bite!"

I took a pair of chopsticks and picked up some of the noodles from his bowl and put it in front of his face. "Come on… open your mouth." I waved it provocatively in front of his face, trying to get him to open his mouth, but he merely made a disgusted face.

I let out a sigh, "At least say something! I feel like I'm talking to a door."
"... fine--mmf!!" The moment he opened his mouth, I stuffed the noodles into his mouth, and used my chopsticks to keep his mouth shut. With a mischievous grin, I forced his mouth to chew the noodles, and after he had safely swallowed I let go.

"Now come on, wasn't that good?" Sasuke allowed a small smile to pass his lips as he hungrily pulled his bowl closer and began to eat his own food. I sighed in contentment, and for the moment, forgot about my anguish from earlier in the morning. But, my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of slurping coming from… Sasuke?

"Sasuke... Slow down, you're going to wind up choking!" He didn't reply, but he did stop and cocked his eyebrow at me. A smile flickers on my lips and I grab my bowl, "Oh? Is that a challenge?"
"You know I'll beat you..."
"You're on Sasuke!! Ready, set, GO!"

Regular POV:

They both plunged their faces into the bowls of soup, without even bothering to use the chopsticks to scoop up the noodles.

"DONE!" Both Sasuke and Sora shouted at the same time, while the bowls clatter down onto the table. Sora tightened her lips and frowned slightly, "One of us had to have finished earlier... but which one..."
"... You didn't even finish..!!" Sasuke pointed accusatively at her bowl, where one lone noodle remained, causing Sora's eyes to widen in shock.

"...what... the..." Se broke out into laughter and sat back down in the chair. "You're a sharp one Sasuke! Alright, I admit defeat, but next time, I'll be sure to win!!"
"Yeah right…"
"Well, come on, pay up and let's go!"

Sasuke gave Sora an incredulous look, but she merely shrugged, "Hey, I told you that you would be paying, why do you look so shocked?" he rolled his eyes but smirked at her response, while pulling out some money to put on the table.

Outside:

Once they were outside, Sora slapped Sasuke on the back lightly, and grinned, "See? I told you ramen would make you feel better! I bet you if you tried to fight Naruto now, you'd win!"

Sasuke's expression suddenly turned serious at the mention of fighting Naruto; Sora had to admit, Naruto was pretty strong, but Sasuke was also strong. Personally, she thought the only reason why Naruto was stronger was because half the time he had no idea what he did! And fighting someone clueless is much more dangerous than fighting someone who knows what they're doing.

"Do you... really think so?" Sora nodded her head and dodged a kid who was running by, "Most indubitably."

Naruto POV:

"SORA-SENSEI!!!!!! There you are you lazy bum!!!! I was looking for you in the infirmary but the nurse said you weren't in there anymore!"
"Neh?" Sora glanced up and saw me running at her with a bowl of food, which was sloshing over the rim of the bowl.

"Oi... hey Naruto!" She wave hi to me, as I came running closer to her. Sasuke suddenly tensed up, and Sora could feel it, so she put her hand on his shoulder and quietly murmur, "...calm down..."
"hey... what are you doing here with Sasuke?!!!!!" I point rudely at Sasuke and angrily glared at Sora. She shrugged and thwacked me on the head, "Don't be an idiot Naruto."

Normal POV:

"You were on a date weren't you!!!"
"EH?!!" Sora made a disgusted face and punched him into the ground, with an angry expression.
"You need to learn how to shut up!!!! Of course I wasn't on a date with Sasuke!"
"You really are an idiot…" Sasuke snarls sarcastically, causing Naruto to jump up with his fists ready to fight.

"You wanna try and say that again?!"
"...Sure... You. Really. Are. An. Idiot." With every syllable, Sasuke's tone became more and more sarcastic, making Naruto turn red in the face.
"Hey, break it up kids!!" Sora scowled menacingly at both of them, while putting her hands in between, trying to keep them from fighting.
"He started it Sora-sensei!" Naruto pointed accusatively at Sasuke, causing him to merely roll his eyes.

"...Oi..." Sora muttered and rubbed her forehead with her index finger to tried to calm herself down, but alas, Naruto just wouldn't have that.

"Hey, I where'd you put my yukata? I thought you said you'd--"
"Oh shoot!" She slapped her forehead, and then grin sheepishly, "Erm... Naruto... I'll... be back... later... uh... go train you two!!" Sora put on a serious face and nodded, trying to convince them she was serious, but from the looks on their faces, it was apparent they didn't believe it one bit.

"... What are you hiding Sora-sensei..."
"Oh hey, how is it you always think I'm up to something Sasuke?"
"Hey me too! I think you're up to something too! Over here!!" Naruto flailed his hands futilely, trying to gain Sora's attention.
"In any case, I'll be back. I have some... business to attend to."

Sora POV

Without another word, I turned on my heel and made a break for it (...whew... thank goodness they aren't following. I can't tell Naruto that I lost his precious yukata...) I sighed mentally; this meant I had to buy Naruto a new yukata, and then I wouldn't have enough money to buy a decent one for myself.

I could always wear my old one... but I highly doubted that I would be able to squeeze into it again. "... Ah, there's the store!" My footsteps screech to a halt in front of Yukiko's store, and I straightened my up to look relatively decent, before clearing my throat and calling in politely, "Hello? Yukiko-san? Are you busy?"

There was silence for a moment, but quickly Yukiko's gentle figure appeared at the door, her warm smile apparent. "Oh Sora-chan! How glad I am that you have returned! I am indebted to you!"
"For what? You mean that healing? It was nothing!"
"Oh... and so modest! You would make a lovely bride..."

My eyes widened considerably, but I simply nodded my head in an attempt to be polite. She chuckled and gently grabbed my arm, "Oh yes, the yukata? I have taken the liberty to begin fixing it! Please, come in and see it!"
"Erm... Alright!"
"So tell me about yourself Sora-chan! You must lead a very exciting life, neh?"

I let out a soft giggle and shook my head, letting her continue to babble on about her affairs. The whole situation made me feel all warm inside; she was like a grandmother to me... and you had only known her for a day?
"Sora-chan! Come!"
"Okay! I'm coming..." I said as a feeling of security quickly enveloped around me from simply being near Yukiko.

Hopefully, that was where it would stay.

Thats it!!! Review please!!!

Preview of Next Chapter:

"...and remember... any chance that we are in the village... you must travel with a partner... the Akatsuki travel in pairs, so it would be foolish to travel alone..."

"...Kakashi... are you going to Hidden Stone Vi--"

"--Sora. Go home now." I restrained from rolling myeyes and instead, narrowed them.

"Now hear me out Kakashi.." I poked my finger to his chest and glared into his eyes, "You know I deserve to go out there... don't you dare try and tell me otherwise.."

Kakashi's eyes softened and he removed my hand from his chest and held my hand in his, "Sora... you know you aren't supposed to..."

"Oi! I thought you would know me better by now, Hatake. You can't just tell me not to." The moment I addressed him as Hatake, Kakashi knew he was in trouble; the only reason Iever called him by his last name was because Iwere pissed. And seeing me pissed, was never a pretty sight.

Review!!!

Thanks to all of my reviews. They're great inspiration! But, I want more! (I know, I'm greedy...(looks sheepish), Sorry!) I want 5 more reviews until the next chapter! PLEASE?