Alrighty then, welcome to chapter 7! Yays! You know, as a writer, I sometimes wonder if someone else had wrote this story instead of me, would I have took the time to read it? Well, in my case, probably not since I mostly read one-shots for the purposes of—dare I say it—"research" and plus I don't really have the time to get anything longer than 1 chapter sometimes if I want a bunch of stories to take back home. So yeah, I think that by the end of this chapter you're all gonna be like 'Yes!' But the whole Iruka thing…yeah he's here…but not for long. I'm sorry for that. I did what I could. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. *sigh* It's such a depressing thing to admit. It's just adding on to the depression I already feel when it comes to writing this story.

Chapter 7: The Aspiration

One month later

Sasuke and Naruto were walking down one of the numerous streets of Konoha, their hands interlocked and their voices low for the purposes of private conversation. Sasuke had gotten into the habit of making Naruto go out into the village more, though there was never any force involved because Naruto was always happy to oblige when it came to leaving his apartment.

Things had taken a different turn for Naruto since Sasuke had admitted to his feelings for him. He was acting like the old Naruto again, but there were times when Sasuke would see the blonde looking at the village through a window, his eyes full of sadness with the same emotion written on his face.

Sasuke had made it a point to not talk about what the future would hold for Naruto, but he knew that would not stop the boy from thinking about his death when he had stolen a moment for himself.

The two hadn't really told anyone about their relationship, but the fact that they were almost always holding hands when they were out in the village did set off some alarm bells in the other villager's heads. They were rarely inclined to show any other signs of public affection when it didn't concern the embrace of their hands. The kisses they had shared in the past month were only for when they were in a confidential setting, Sasuke being the initiator for a good majority of them.

"So, Sasuke, can you please tell me why we're out today?" Naruto asked after their previous discussion had ended.

"I've already told you once, Naruto. The medics want to give you an examination. Just to see how you're doing," Sasuke answered.

"Oh, I see," Naruto replied lowly, his eyes directed at the ground.

"Hey," Sasuke started, halting their movement and raising Naruto's chin up to look at him, "don't worry about it. You'll checkout okay. I'll be right there with you the whole time."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Naruto smiled at him, some of his hesitancy slipping away because of the Uchiha's words that held a certain amount of comfort and reassurance to them. But that was before he let a short laugh slip out from his mouth.

"What?" Sasuke asked, a little annoyed at being laughed at.

"Nothing, nothing. Now come on, we're gonna be late," Naruto said, practically dragging Sasuke with him as he walked.

Sasuke's eye twitched in irritation, but he decided to let it go with a sigh. If Naruto wanted to have a private laugh with himself, he had no right to try to take it from him or make the blonde share it with him. He probably wouldn't have found it funny anyway, considering the little sense of humor that he had.

When Sasuke really thought about it, he found that he admired Naruto on some level. Even after all the blonde had been through, whether it was being the most hated person in the entire village or everything that concerned his current ordeal with death, he always managed to pull through with a smile on his face. But with all that admiration came envy.

All Sasuke had ever done was focus on the negative and he would probably continue to do so until the day he died. And the thing that accompanied his negative focal point was a wall that made him unable to communicate what he felt most of the time. Being with Naruto did open him up, but only a little.

If Naruto hadn't been attacked during that mission, Sasuke wasn't sure if they would have been together in a romantic way.

Later that day at the hospital

Once again, to his own chagrin, Sasuke found himself sitting in the waiting room. For some reason, the medical ninjas wouldn't let him in the examination room with Naruto. They said they would tell him the results after they were done, but Sasuke would have rather been in the same room with Naruto than to be in the waiting room that was becoming all too familiar to him. Every single time he came here he had to wait in the same place for some reason or another and waiting really wasn't something he felt like doing anymore.

The sound of an opening door made him turn his head, the person standing in front of the double doors someone neither he or Naruto had seen in a long while.

Umino Iruka, teacher at the Ninja Academy and Naruto's only father figure, approached him with a smile, obviously in a cheerful mood.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Iruka said before sitting next to the Uchiha.

Sasuke give a short nod before asking, "What are you doing here, Iruka-sensei?"

"Straight to the point, huh? Well, I saw you through the window and I was just wandering if you wouldn't mind talking for a bit."

"…About Naruto?"

"How did you--"

"Just a guess."

They lapped into an awkward silence for a few moments. Of course Iruka had to have been at least somewhat aware of Naruto's predicament, but due to the sensitivity of the issue itself, the details that were actually released to the public were few and far between.

"…How's he doing?" Iruka asked, breaking the peace.

Sasuke looked over at Iruka, mentally contemplating on what he should say exactly. He knew of the connection that Naruto and Iruka had so he didn't see the problem with a sharing some information with the schoolteacher.

"He looks normal most of the time, but I can tell that he's putting up a front. He isn't as…energetic as he used to be. He's getting…tired."

"I see…"

Thinking for a second, Sasuke replied, "You can go talk to him if you like. I'm sure they'll let you in."

"No, that's okay. As much as I'd love to wait for him, I really have to go," Iruka said.

Iruka got up and walked out of the room, but Sasuke could have sworn he saw sadness and disappointment on the man's face. He probably did want to see Naruto, if only for a minute, but he had to settle with talking to Sasuke about him instead. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought. He wondered if he would be able to let Naruto go when the time came.

Sasuke had lost so much in his life so far and he wasn't sure he could handle going through that pain again.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke could automatically recognize the voice that was shouting out his name was Naruto's and judging from the tone that was used, the blonde was excited about something. That and Naruto had decided to call out his name before he even reached the door to the waiting room.

When the boy finally did get into the room, he practically lunged himself at Sasuke, making the other almost fall down.

"Well, a simple 'hey' would've been enough," Sasuke said in a teasing way.

"Oh just shut up and come on," Naruto said, dragging Sasuke with him back through the doors he had come from.

"What is it?"

Naruto didn't answer him, instead choosing to continue towing him along. When they did stop, it was in front of the same medical ninja that had saved Naruto from death's door twice. Sasuke assumed that he was a specialist at whatever was ailing Naruto because he never saw any other person around when it concerned the blonde.

"Ok, tell him," Naruto said excitedly.

"Tell me what?" Sasuke asked.

The medic smiled a little at Naruto's enthusiasm before saying, "Well, I need to inform you that we're changing his medication."

"Why?"

"While I was examining him, one of my associates was looking through some of our books, to see if there was anything we could do to help Naruto. He then found an article describing a pill that is similar to the one he's already taking, but is more potent."

The medic then picked up a small bottle from the table next to him and placed it in Sasuke's hand.

"We're not exactly sure if there will be any change in his condition, but there's no real harm in trying."

Sasuke was silent for a moment, turning the bottle in his hand over and over. The aspiration before him was one that was worth shooting for, considering how much he had thought about what the future would hold for him after Naruto died. Needless to say, the opportunity was making him feel ecstatic.

"So…does that mean he's going to live?" Sasuke asked.

"It's just a theory, but the chance of him living might get higher if he starts taking this medicine immediately."

Deciding the now was the time to leave them to their own devices, the medic left the room, which had lapsed into a period of calmness.

Naruto hugged the quiet Uchiha and asked, "Isn't this great, Sasuke?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, being the only word he could manage.

Sasuke then pulled back a little and cupped Naruto's face with both hands and ran his thumbs under the boy's eyes, almost needing to confirm the reality in front of him through touch.

"How are you feeling?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Well…I can say that I'm excited. I mean come on, how would anyone else feel--"

Sasuke kissed him silent, drawing Naruto closer to his body. He could feel the tears stinging in his eyes, but held them back. They clutched each other tightly as they kissed, not wanting to let the other go for a second. Happiness wasn't enough to describe what they were experiencing for there were too many emotions swirling around in their heads for it to just be happiness by itself.

Sasuke broke away and said, "You talk too much, Naruto. You know that, right?"

"Shut up," Naruto said back before leaning forward for another kiss.

Author's Note: So one of my writing tracks this time around was "Death Wish" by Gackt. I know that might sound strange, but if you read the translated English lyrics, you will find—as I did—that they fit with this story surprisingly and that compelled me to give the song a good listening to. But OMG I so enjoy time lapses, even though that was a long one! They are so very handy though. I bet you guys really enjoyed this one, didn't you? And if you did, I'm very happy for you. :)! …But……nevermind… Please Review!