Alright...Chapter 20 is up! I'll be trying to write as fast as possible...but I have a busy week ahead of me. Anyways, hope you enjoy! Please, please review. It's much appreciated!
Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty: Ignorance Was Bliss

"I believe your promise is too hard to give me courage. Always I feel it. My precious time with you."

"And the whole top floor has been checked. I took care of the two shinobi that just came in, and left some antidote in their rooms. That should cover everything." Sakura explained, removing her white uniform and running her fingers through her hair.

She had just got done working her shift. It was 2 in the afternoon and she was looking forward to just being able to grab some donuts and go home and lounge. Ahhh, it felt good to be done with work for the day!

She smoothed out her undershirt and smiled at the other nurse in the room taking over her shift.

"Alright, well thanks. I'll take care of the rest. Have a good day, Miss Haruno." The nurse muttered happily, walking out the door.

Sakura grabbed her keys from her uniform and hung it up. She had grabbed her red shirt to slip over her white tank top when she heard someone at the door.

"Hey."

She looked up from the rack and seen Sasuke standing in the doorway. He was leaning his back against it, wearing his long black shirt and baggy white shorts. He examined the room and lazily brought his eyes back to Sakura.

"What's up?" He asked, his lips curling into a smile.

Sakura smiled back and slipped the shirt on, straightening it out.

"You looked better with that off."

She rolled her eyes and started walking to the door. She reached it and leaned against the opposite side of the door frame, facing Sasuke. She let out a giant sigh.

"Better mood than yesterday?" She asked affectionately.

Sasuke shrugged. "Fairly."

Sakura raised her eye brows and crossed her arms.

"What do you want?"

He laughed quietly and placed his right hand over his heart. "Not even a 'hello'? Ouch..." He asked, giving her a sad look.

She simply giggled and pushed her back off the door frame, and started walking out the door, down the hall.

It had been a couple of days since her talk with Sasuke in the alley way. She hadn't seen him yesterday, because she had to work all day long. This was her first time speaking to him since then. And seeing him made her a little nervous. Especially his attitude change. He couldn't possibly be being nice just to be nice.

"So I have a favor..." He mumbled, walking closely behind her down the hallway.

Knew it.

She reached the open waiting room and turned around to face him, an exasperated look on her face.

"No kidding? What could it be?" She challenged sarcastically.

Sasuke gave her a disdainful look. "It's simple, really." His eyes drifted to the nurse behind the desk, noticing she had raised her eyes, listening to their conversation.

Sakura followed his gaze and smiled at the nurse. She pulled her keys from her pocket and placed them on the table. "Will you take care of these please?" She asked nicely.

The nurse smiled and nodded. "Of course, Lady Haruno."

Sasuke's eyebrows raised. "Lady Haruno?" He asked questioningly, a look of disbelief slowly consuming his features.

The nurse grabbed the keys and turned around to hang them on the rack. Sakura rolled her eyes at Sasuke's comment and rested her hand on the desk, leaning into it. "Some people call me that because I'm the Hokage's apprentice." A grin overtook her face. "It's showing respect."

"Hn."

She hated his smart ass attitude. It really took a lot to convince this guy of anything. "She's the best of the best. And I trained under her." She gloated.

Sasuke chuckled quietly. "Conceited?"

"Much." Her voice was soft and high, carrying slightly throughout the room.

The nurse turned around and smiled at Sakura. "Is there anything else for you Lady Haruno?"

"Yes, could you please grab me the record from the shinobi that have just returned from the Hidden Waterfall Village? I need to check some data."

The nurse nodded and turned around. She exited through a door by the cabinet.

Sakura turned back to face Sasuke. "Okay, what do you want?"

He took a step forward and rested his palm on the desk, copying Sakura's position. "How would Tsunade react if someone just released from probation ending up leaving the village without consent or notice?"

"More than likely send out a retrieval squad before they got too far." She knew that wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it was the truth.

His brow furrowed. "And punishment would be..." He left the sentence unfinished.

Sakura shrugged. "Unbelievable."

He grunted. "And the chances of her allowing my leave?"

"Impossible."

Great. So in other words...if he ended up surviving his fight with Itachi...there was a slim chance he'd ever get back inside this village. But just maybe...

"Yes...unless a certain kunoichi..."

"No." Sakura snapped sternly, causing Sasuke to grunt again.

"But you managed it before." He spoke boldly.

Yeah, amazingly. Her master wasn't exactly an easy one to convince.

"Yeah but that was by luck. On the off chance she'd even allow your leaving...your return could still bring punishment." She said, her voice containing a little despair. She really didn't want him to leave. The risks were many. And they were high.

"It wasn't luck. It was skill." He retorted.

Now that was a stupid remark. Nobody has skill in convincing somebody of something. His remark was just showing his desperation in the situation.

"No, Sasuke, it wasn't skill. It was just-"

"Your ties." He interrupted, standing up straight. He ran a hand through his hair. "It was because you trained under her. You know her, because some of her rubbed off on you. Come on, take a gamble."

Once again, stupid remark.

Sakura let out a small sarcastic laugh. "Yeah right...if some of her rubbed off on me...thats the last thing I should do."

Sasuke's face twisted into a glare.

The nurse walked back into the room and approached the desk. "Here."

Sakura took the envelope from her hand and bowed her head. She turned and started walking out the door, Sasuke close behind her. Once they had exited the building, she heard him sigh behind her.

"You don't have to be so hell-bent on leaving." She chimed in, breaking the silence.

"Sakura...don't start." He muttered threateningly. He wasn't about to argue about his leaving again. He had three more days until he could go home, and then he was seriously getting some training in. He had to be ready. No more games.

"Well, I won't talk to Lady Tsunade for you."

Sasuke seized her wrist and pulled on her arm roughly, causing her to stumble back a bit. "And why the hell not?" He was getting seriously pissed.

She turned around and met his glare with one of her own. "I'm not about to help you leave. I want you here, with me...remember?" She fumed.

Sasuke tightened his grip on her wrist, hurting her a bit. "And I will be here with you...after I find Itachi and-"

"-Risk your life to kill him." She interrupted, voice furious.

He nodded. "Yes."

"No." She shook her head violently. Wrong answer, stupid.

His grip tightened once again, causing her to clear her throat and look down at his hand, choking her wrist. "Sasuke, you're hurting me." She mumbled calmly.

He groaned and released his grasp, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Then I'll just leave, pissing off the Hokage so much that I can never come back." He said, his eyes boring into hers.

And wow...that statement hurt a bit. This game wasn't fair to her. It was his way of getting her to do exactly what he wanted. Making her give in. Making her seem weak.

"Fine." She muttered quietly.

His eyes narrowed. "I'm serious."

Her gaze drifted off to the side and she felt her chest aching a bit. "...Sasuke, she'll never agree."

He sighed. "Try."

She looked back up at him, her eyes bearing small pools of tears.

He flashed her a half-hearted smile. "Sakura, I'm asking you because I want to come back. If I leave without permission, I'll be rendered a missing-nin again...and she won't be so forgiving the next time. We both know that."

"But I can't upset her!" Sakura's voice was shaky, desperate. She was asking too many favors of the Hokage. It was ridiculous. She was taking advantage of those ties she held.

Sasuke swallowed hard. He didn't want to upset Sakura anymore than Sakura wanted to upset the Hokage. But she was the only one who could pull those strings with the Hokage.

Sakura ran a hand through her hair and turned around so Sasuke wouldn't see her completely aggravated expression.

Maybe Lady Tsunade won't be upset that I'm asking her. But I'm asking so much! What if she get's super ticked at me...and...tells me that I'm trying to help him do something that could upset the village?!

Her train of thought crashed as she felt Sasuke's arm fall over her shoulder, his chin resting on the opposite shoulder.

"Sakurrrraaaaa..."

Wow, this guy had two sides. He was apparently very good at getting what he wanted.

She rolled her eyes and brought her hand up to lace with his that was dangling over her body. Whatever, he was worth the risks.

"Damn you, Sasuke. I hate you." She grumbled, letting out a sigh.

Sasuke laughed softly and tilted his head to whisper in her ear.

"Now we both know that's not true...Sakura."

His low voice made her spine shiver, making a blush creep across her face.

She hated how he could do that to her.

It was strange how he felt. He didn't know her all that well...but yet he still had feelings for her. Even though they were small...they were enough to at least preoccupy his mind. Enough to disturb his afternoon training. And that was exactly what had happened.

Naruto was laying down on the grass, staring up at the clouds...watching them as they went by. He couldn't get Kalei out of his head. The way he held her the other night when it was raining. He just didn't want to see her cry. At least that's what he had thought. But he was slowly starting to realize that he wanted to be the one there for her when she needed someone...not Sasuke.

And speaking of Sasuke. He was another problem. Just a problem. A pain. He was always too ignorant of the good things placed in front of him. He pushed them aside like they'd always come back. He had no worries in the world that one day, everything good would be gone. Which was ironic...because that very scenario had happened to him once. Or maybe he was just so precaution that he never even considered the people close to be him be 'precious and worthwhile'. It was a form of escape in which he didn't have to worry about losing anything he cared about...because there would be nothing. Either way...the whole state of mind of Sasuke Uchiha was confusing Naruto to no end. And also upsetting him.

Why couldn't he have met Kalei first?

"Hey lazy. Nice way to spend a perfectly good afternoon."

He sat up quickly as he heard Kalei's voice in front of him.

Perfect timing. It wasn't everyday that the person on your mind appeared right in front of you to make conversation. Or maybe she wanted something?

"I was training. Just got distracted." He said, laughing slightly. He scratched his head and looked her over. She was in long, baggy, black capri's, and a pink tank top. Obviously out doing some form of exercise. And she looked good, not being in her normal shinobi attire.

"Distracted by what?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. Her hair was in a high pony tail, bits and pieces falling loose, covering her face. Her eyes were vibrant and alive...looking a lot better than the other night. He liked her like this. Happy.

"Things..." He mumbled, his eyes shifting away, staring down at the grass. They were at the training grounds he used to train at when he was a genin. Ah, the good old days.

"Lame." She said, a small giggle escaping her lips. His eyes slowly came back to hers, and he smiled. Wanting to change the subject, he cleared his throat.

"Granny Tsunade informed me that I've been upped into the ranks of ANBU."

Kalei's eyes widened. "That's great, Naruto." She said, her voice light...but not exactly screaming 'Great Job!'.

"Believe it. I'm just one step closer to becoming Hokage!" He said loudly, standing up and stretching his arms. Kalei flashed him a bright smile and cracked her knuckles.

"Maybe we can train sometime." She said, slowly bringing her hands down and resting them on her hips. Naruto nodded.

"Why not now?" He wanted to spar against her...it was good training. But all in all...he wanted to be with her.

She shook her head. "Can't."

His face twisted into small frown. "Why not?" He whined, causing Kalei to giggle a bit.

"I was actually just going to go talk to Sasuke."

Oh...Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. Damn it...what's with that guy? Naruto grunted a bit and sighed. "What for?" He asked curiously.

Kalei tapped her finger on her chin. "To talk. Let him know I gave Lady Hokage the last status report. I haven't seen him in a while." She said, biting on the tip of her finger. "Last time we talked...he was kind of an ass."

Naruto took a step toward Kalei. "Yeah, Sasuke always is. You still like him, don't you?" Now he was prying, and he knew it.

Kalei laughed a bit and nodded. "Yes...but, it's slowly fading. Things are changing and...I think I need to move on. After all, he won't be here much longer."

A dark look overtook Naruto's face. This conversation was depressing him.

"You do need to move on, Kalei."

"Yeah, but it's a matter of finding a nice guy."

"There are plenty of those!" Naruto said, his eyes widening. His voice was getting louder, emotion creeping in.

Kalei blinked thrice and twisted her eyebrows, giving him a 'yeah right' type of look.

"You can do better than Sasuke. Sure he's a good guy sometimes...but...you need somebody that talks to you, cares about you...and will be there for you always. No matter what." Wow, he kind of sounded like a preacher. But it was true. Kalei had been through a lot, like Sasuke. They both needed people there for them. But not each other.

Kalei smiled, her expression softening. She took a step toward Naruto. "Yeah, but where would I find somebody like that. Somebody who actually feels like that about me?" Her voice grew shaky and quiet.

Silence.

"I do."

He was really stepping out on a limb here.

"I feel that way for you, Kalei."

Her heart jumped into her throat, making her utterly speechless. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. No way.

He's lying.

"Are you...serious?" Was all she could muster. And it came out a little hoarsely.

Naruto nodded and took another step, so he and Kalei were right next to each other. He looked down at her, her mouth agape, breathing shallow.

"I promise, I won't be like Sasuke. I'll be there no matter what, Kalei."

Her eyes started burning.

Tears. Don't cry in front of him.

She smiled and nodded. "I...I believe you...Naruto. I want you here with me."

His heart lightened. Wow, it wasn't so bad after all. So...had she just told him she felt the same?

Either way...his body just started moving before he had time to think.

After his conversation with Sakura, Sasuke had left to go find Naruto, hoping he could maybe talk him into helping her convince the Hokage to let him leave. After all, those two knew her best. And he figured the idiot would be willing to help him. He checked all the places he thought he would find Naruto. But there was just one left. The training grounds.

That loser better be here.

Sasuke was walking around a row of bushing leading into the open space, when he came to the edge and was stopped dead in his tracks.

His eyes widened, mouth fell open...and his heart dropped into his stomach instantly.

Slowly, Naruto's left hand cupped Kalei's cheek, while his other arm circled around her waist. He dipped his head down as she stood up on her tip toes, leaning her balance on him. And their lips met for a kiss.
And Sasuke saw it all. And even though seeing was believing...

He couldn't believe it.

His anger was rising inside him...as he started gritting his teeth. He took a step back, to remain hidden, and watched for a second. The horrible sight. This wasn't right. If Naruto actually felt like that for Kalei...he would have told Sasuke. Wouldn't he of? But no. This was all wrong. And wasn't Kalei supposed to be in love with him? Not Naruto.

Why...why does this...make me so angry?

His breathing became heavy as he realized it. He was jealous. Yes...jealous. He didn't want Kalei to feel like that for Naruto. He didn't know why it bothered him so much. But it did. And even thought his anger was rising quickly...pain was slowly flooding over him as well. He was...sad. Upset. Half of him wanted to run over there and embrace Kalei, telling her she couldn't be with Naruto. That she could stay with him. The other half wanted to hit Naruto in the face, and turn around and leave. These feelings weren't right. Especially because he already had Sakura.

But he couldn't change how he felt. And what upset him even more...was that he could feel his eyes starting to sting. He shut them quickly and took a deep breath, clenching his fists at his side.

The old Sasuke would walk over there right now and chew the hell out of the both of them.

But surprisingly enough, he slowly turned around, swallowing the sobs he could feel rising, and walked away. He didn't need to see this. He shouldn't have to feel this. A big part of him didn't want her to love Naruto.

Because obviously...

A small part of him wanted her to love him.

Next Chapter: The Sorrow Of Parting