Part XII: Healing

Sora slowly opened her eyes but couldn't see anything, just a blur of different shades of light with every blink. "Uh?" she said groggily. As her vision cleared she looked around her and saw that she was back in the hotel room on one of the beds. She sat up slowly since by now she had learned never to get up quickly after being out for a while. She moved a hand up to her forehead and saw that someone had marked healing seals on her skin. Tsunade-sama! she thought immediately. She swung her legs off of the bed and got up. She glanced around the room and her reflection in the mirror caught her eye. There were symbols all up and down her arms and legs as well as around her neck. She guessed that the patterns went on to her stomach, chest, and back as well. Then she must've won! She quickly went to the door and was about to open it when it opened for her.

"Sora!" Tsunade gasped in surprise when they almost collided.

Sora was speechless at the sight of Tsunade. She looked just like she always did, not a scratch on her.

Tsunade saw that Sora was in complete shock from something. She gently smiled and took her arm and led her back to the bed. "I was just going to come back in here to check on you," she said.

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama," Sora finally managed to get out.

"Let me check you over before you start talking too much," Tsunade laughed. "That kid's Chakra was hard to get out."

Sora stayed still as Tsunade inspected her arms, legs, and the rest of her body.

"I didn't have any supplies other than my own Chakra so I had to do this primitive healing seal," Tsunade explained. "Normal healing Chakra would not have been enough in this situation."

Sora nodded still unsure whether she should speak or not.

"Well, I think that you're well enough to walk at least so we can go back to Konoha today," Tsunade said standing up. "The seals will go away once you're completely healed so don't worry if it doesn't come off in the next few days."

Sora nodded again still afraid to speak.

"Oh, you can talk if you want to now," Tsunade said realizing why Sora hadn't responded.

"H-how-what happened?" Sora asked.

Tsunade looked down but kept her smile. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help sooner. I was too weak to get over my fears, but then that kid." She stopped to chuckle.

"Naruto?"

Tsunade nodded. "He's got incredible will power and stamina," she said shaking her head wonderingly. "He inspired me, I guess. The distance he went to protect you…it was truly amazing."

Protect me? Sora thought. "Is he ok?"

"Oh yeah, he's got incredible healing power, too," Tsunade added. "He's as good as ever. His minor wounds are completely gone while his more serious ones are healing very nicely."

Sora had no recollection of her fight with Naruto and didn't realize that most of his major injuries came from when she had beaten him up. "Where is he?" she asked.

"He's in the other room with Shizune and Jiraiya waiting for you," Tsunade answered. "I'll go out to let you change first, then you can come if you want." With that, the blonde Sannin went out the door and closed it behind her.

Sora sighed from relief. "They're all ok," she breathed. Then she saw her washed clothes on the other bed. She quickly changed and made sure that the still visible bruises on her neck were hidden and then went to the door. Everyone healed so much more quickly than I did, she thought. And I don't remember getting injured too seriously. What did Tsunade mean when she said that Kabuto's Chakra was hard to get rid of? Did he do something that I couldn't sense?

She paused with her hand hovering over the doorknob. And everyone else had gotten much more injured than I had. Naruto has gotten so strong now. He's grown more than I've ever grown in week. She couldn't help but feel extremely inferior to her happy-go-lucky teammate now. When she had first met him, he was strong but lacked control over anything he tried to do. Now it seemed that he was stronger than she was. Sora suddenly shook her head. No, I can't get jealous, she thought. He's…he's a friend. She finally moved her hand down to turn the knob and opened the door.

When Naruto saw the doorknob move, he immediately sprung up from the couch. "Sora-chan!" he nearly shouted with happiness. He ran over to her and captured her in a tight embrace. He would've kissed her if the adults hadn't been in the room.

"Naruto," Sora murmured and returned the embrace.

"So she's finally awake," Jiraiya said with a chuckle.

"We were all so worried," Shizune said quickly after Jiraiya's comment. She shot a frown at the Frog Tamer.

"What?" he asked to annoy her.

Naruto finally released Sora but kept his arms around her waist. "We should head back to the village now, right?" he said turning around so that he was facing the others.

Tsunade nodded.

"Oh yes," Jiraiya said standing up. "Konoha is waiting for the arrival of the new Hokage." He gave a mock bow to Tsunade and smirked.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and ignored him. "Everything is packed so we can start right away."

Within minutes, the group was on the country roads heading back towards Konoha. Everything seemed so peaceful to Naruto as he walked beside his teammate. The three adults were busily talking or arguing about something up ahead leaving him and Sora to themselves.

"Hey, Sora-chan," Naruto said with a sly grin.

Sora turned her head to give him a questioning glance.

"I forgot to tell you," he said as he reached his hand down into his jacket. He pulled out a thin chain. "I won the bet."

Sora's face quickly lit up in a smile when she saw the glowing crystal that Tsunade used to wear in Naruto's hand. "I knew you did," she said with a laugh.

Naruto beamed with pride and let the crystal fall down to his chest. "She even told me that I could become Hokage someday, you know?" He grabbed her hand.

"Really?" Sora chided. "Well if you become Hokage, then what would I be?"

Naruto smirked with a sly glint in his eye. "Hm, my girlfriend?"

Sora slightly twitched but showed nothing more keeping her smile. "Naruto, you realize that a Hokage can't be distracted with something like that," she said trying to keep the joking tone in her voice.

Naruto moved his hand so that his arm was around her waist. He pulled her towards him. "I'm serious though," he said. His playful smile turned into a serious one. "Will you be mine?"

Sora couldn't answer. Everything came rushing back to her with his words. Her weaknesses, her frustration, her promise… "I…I…"

"You don't have to answer yet," Naruto said quickly seeing that she was uncomfortable, "but please think about it." He placed a quick kiss on her cheek.

Sora silently thanked Naruto for not pushing the subject any further. She didn't want to make any choice like that any time soon. There were too many things that needed to be done for there to be time for a relationship. Sasuke… Sora didn't want to tell anyone about her and Sasuke, especially Naruto. She knew that he would either take it silently on the outside but kill himself on the inside, or he would get angry at both her and Sasuke. Sora shuddered at the thought of Naruto and Sasuke fighting over her. Couldn't they see that she just wasn't ready for a relationship like that? Couldn't anyone see?

Throughout the rest of way back, which they only stopped twice to eat, Naruto didn't mention his proposal again. He knew that he needed to give Sora her space so he tried to act normally and to get her to act the same even though he wanted so desperately to know Sora's answer.

They reached Konoha that evening while the sun was still setting. At the gates, the guards immediately recognized Jiraiya and Tsunade and let the group enter. Word spread quickly throughout the village that two of the three Legendary Sannin had arrived.

As they walked through the village streets, people dropped what they were doing to stare at the group. Many started following them so it became a sort of procession to the hospital. The braver villagers even began speaking to Tsunade and Jiraiya asking if they had come back to stay. All of Konoha was soon buzzing with sounds of rejoicing, relief, and curiosity.

When they finally arrived at the hospital, the crowd stayed outside as the group went in. Upon hearing the door open, the receptionist looked up. Her eyes widened in amazement. "Tsu-Tsunade-sama!" she gasped. She dropped what she was doing and got out from behind the counter. "Oh my god, it's Tsunade-sama!" she practically screamed. Nurses and doctors from all across the hospital heard the cry and came to the lobby to see what was going on.

"It…it can't be…" "It's Tsunade-sama! The greatest Medic-nin in the history of Konoha!"

Tsunade frowned at all the attention. "I came for the patients, not for gaping," she snapped.

Naruto grabbed her arm. "First is Sasuke," he urged as he pulled her towards the stairs.

The other medics stood aside as Tsunade was led to the stairs followed by Shizune who was carrying Tonton, then Jiraiya and Sora. They climbed the stairs and finally entered Sasuke's room. The group was immediately hit with the smell of a garden of flowers and sure enough, there were countless bouquets and baskets of flowers surrounding his bed, on the table, lining the walls. All of which were from his admirers which were suspiciously all girls. He was still unconscious though and had many machines attached to him. Sora took a deep breath at the sight of him even though she knew that he was in good hands. She nervously readjusted her collar.

Tsunade had to step over some flower vases in order to get around the room. "This is ridiculous," she muttered under her breath when she finally got to the bed. She inspected the unconscious boy.

"You can heal him, right?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade sighed. "Yes," she said shortly and proceeded to make seals. "Take these ridiculous machines off of him." Shizune obeyed immediately and soon Sasuke was free from any needles or masks. Tsunade put her hands on his forehead and concentrated her energy into him. A greenish glow flowed from her hands into Sasuke's body. The room was completely silent. Then Tsunade took her hands away. "He'll be up tomorrow morning," she said. "He's breathing normally now."

Naruto gave a sigh of relief. "Then we should go see Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said as he quickly led Tsunade out of the room. Shizune followed in obedient silence and Jiraiya followed them. He paused a bit at the door and looked back at Sora who hadn't moved. "Are you going to stay?" he asked.

Sora looked up in surprise. "Uh," she stammered out. She looked at Sasuke. He already looked much better than before. His chest was rising and falling rhythmically and his face didn't look so pale. "No, I'm coming." She stepped over the scattered flowers past Jiraiya who was holding the door and went towards her sensei's room.

When she arrived, she saw that Tsunade was already in the process of healing Kakashi. Sora quietly entered with Jiraiya behind her. Tsunade finally stepped back. "Ah," she said with a sigh. "His injuries weren't as bad as Sasuke's so he'll be up in a second or so."

Sora and Naruto held their breath and kept their eyes glued to their sensei. Sure enough, Kakashi's eyes flickered open. "Uh…?" he groaned slightly. His vision was hazy.

"Sensei!" Sora gasped. She immediately ran over to the bed and flung her arms around him. She buried her face in his shoulder and let the tears come. "Sensei…oh my god…sensei," she whispered over and over again.

Kakashi was a little shocked but then realized what was going on. He wrapped his arms around his student. "Sora…"

"Sensei!" Naruto almost shouted. "Wow, I can't believe you healed so quickly! Sasuke won't be up until tomorrow!"

Kakashi looked up at Naruto with a questioning glance. "Sasuke?"

"So the great Hatake Kakashi was defeated so easily by some strangers," Tsunade remarked raising an eyebrow at Kakashi.

Sora pulled back to let Kakashi speak more formally with Tsunade. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and calmed her breathing.

Kakashi looked away. "I'm sorry," he said.

Tsunade sighed. "And you're considered a genius," she mocked. "I'm disappointed."

"Hey!" Naruto said angrily. "He just woke up for God's sake!"
"All right, all right," Tsunade said waving her hand through the air. "Who's next?"

"Lee," Naruto said.

"Well then," Tsunade said with a slight yawn. She exited the room and signaled for Shizune to follow. Jiraiya also left. Naruto was about to when Sora stopped him.

"Uh, Naruto-kun?"

"Hm?"

"I'll stay here for now," she said softly.

Naruto nodded. "Of course," he said. "Glad to see you awake again, Sensei."

Kakashi nodded still a little dazed and Naruto left the room. He watched the door close and silence filled the room. He looked at Sora who was sitting next to him on his bed. "Sora," he said softly and lifted her chin so that he could see her face.

Her cheeks were stained with tears and her eyes glistened in the lighting from the room. "Sensei," she whispered. Her voice was shaky. "I…I'm glad you're awake." She tried to smile.

Kakashi pulled her forward to embrace her again. He felt her arms slide around his neck as she leaned the side of her head against his. It felt so good to be holding her again.

"I was so scared," she said as she shook with new tears forming. "They said that you wouldn't be able to wake up for…I don't know how long."

"Sora, it's ok," Kakashi said holding her more tightly than before. "Please don't cry. Not on my account."

Sora pulled back a little and moved her arms so that she could touch his face.

Kakashi felt his heart race as he felt Sora's delicate fingers slide down his cheek.

"No, Sensei," she said letting her hands drop. "If I lost you…I…and there was Sasuke. Then that horrible mission Naruto and I had to... I just felt like our whole team was falling apart. Everyone's life was on the line…if one of you had died…" She trailed off to keep herself from crying again.

Kakashi could only move his hand up to her cheek and wipe the tears away. "But you succeeded in your mission. Tsunade-sama is here now and she's healed Sasuke and me." He smiled through his mask. He knew that Sora felt that it was her fault that all this had happened. "You punish yourself too much."

Sora looked up. "What?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Hm," he said once he noticed the markings on her arms. He gently pulled one of them forward for inspection.

Sora's face became red with embarrassment and she tried to pull it back.

"What's this?" Kakashi asked kindly tracing the patterns with his eye.

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama had to heal me during the mission," Sora said. "It's nothing to worry about."

But Kakashi had seen these same seals before and knew that they were only given if absolutely necessary. "What happened on the mission that forced Tsunade-sama to use this technique?" he asked.

Sora suddenly pulled her arm back and got off the bed. "Don't worry about me," she said quickly. "You should be worrying about yourself."

"Sora, you can tell me-"

"It's nothing," she insisted. "Tsunade-sama said that the marks will go away within a few days."

Kakashi sighed. She's too stubborn, he thought, but he decided to drop the subject for now.

"You should probably get back to sleep now," Sora continued. "You're still not fully recovered."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and decided to ignore her last comment. "Ahh!" he said while stretching. "How long have I been out?"

Sora stared at him shocked at his change of mood. "Uh, I…I don't really know," she stammered out.

"Oh?" Kakashi said. "That long huh? Well, I'd better get out of this hospital or I'll be completely broke."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Sensei, you can't-"

"Help me up, Sora," Kakashi interrupted and pushed the blankets off of himself.

"But-"

"You know I can't stand hospitals," he cut her off again. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and held out his hand towards Sora.

Sora hesitantly took it and put his arm over her shoulders. She helped lift him up so that he was standing. He was extremely wobbly at first but she soon steadied him. "You're not seriously thinking of going home tonight are you?" Sora asked once they began walking towards the door.

"Why not?"

"Sensei!" Sora exclaimed. "Weren't you listening to me? You aren't completely healed yet!"

"Sora, I feel absolutely fine," he said. "And I really, really dislike hospitals. Now come walk me home."

Sora was about to argue but one look at Kakashi's visible eye told her that he wasn't going to change his mind. "Fine," she muttered. He's too stubborn, she thought.

The pair made it down the stairs and to the front desk surprising the receptionist. "Kakashi-sensei!" she exclaimed almost dropping her files. "You shouldn't be walking yet! You-"

"Please," Kakashi said holding up a hand to stop her. "I'm perfectly well enough to go home."

Sora rolled her eyes telling the receptionist that he was too stubborn to change his mind. "Oh, fine then," the receptionist said a little flustered. She flipped through her files and found Kakashi's. "Just sign here," she said putting the paper in front of him on the counter.

Kakashi took the pen on the counter and signed his name without even reading it and gave it back to the receptionist. "Thank you very much for your services," he said with a hidden smile.

The receptionist could only nod in response.

Soon Sora and Kakashi were walking slowly back to Kakashi's apartment. Well, Sora thought, at least I get to find out where he lives. She looked up at her sensei. But he lives alone. He shouldn't have left the hospital. What if something bad happens during the night? What if…? "Uh, Sensei," she said timidly.

"Hm?"

"I was just wondering…"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"I really think you shouldn't have left the hospital, but since I know you're not going to change your mind you should have someone watch you tonight," she said quickly before he could object.

"Sora, I'm perfectly-"

"Please!" Sora interrupted and stopped walking. "Sensei, Naruto and I could stay with you tonight just in case. If it doesn't matter to you then at least it will make me feel better!" Sora didn't want to put herself in an awkward position with her sensei so she included Naruto in her request.

Kakashi sighed. If it was just Sora, I wouldn't mind so much, he thought. You pervert. Hehe, I know. "Fine, if it makes you feel better," he finally said.

Sora took in a deep breath. "Finally you listen to me," she muttered.

Kakashi laughed. "I always listen to you."

Sora frowned. "Only when I beg you."

They arrived at Sora's own apartment building. "Here we are," Kakashi announced.

Sora's eyes widened in surprise. "You live here?" she asked.

"Why yes," Kakashi said.

"This…this is my apartment building…you mean to tell me that you've been living here all this time without me even knowing?" she exclaimed. "God, I feel like such an idiot!" I couldn't even find out where my sensei lived all this time and he's in the same building…

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, that just means that you still have a lot of training to do, huh?" he chided.

Sora glared at her sensei. "You're impossible," she said shaking her head.

Once they got up the stairs and to Kakashi's apartment. Sora led him over to the couch and made him lie down. "Don't try to do anything stressful while I get Naruto, ok?" she ordered.

Kakashi chuckled. "You've become so uptight," he said with a laugh. "It must be because I wasn't there to loosen you up every day."

Sora frowned. "I'll be right back so don't you dare try to leave!" she said. "I'll cook dinner and everything so just rest, please?"

Kakashi smiled. "Sure," he said. "Really Sora, you worry too much."

"And you don't worry at all," Sora countered. She turned to leave. "Promise me you'll rest?"

Kakashi laughed. "Of course, of course." Soon she was out of sight and he heard the door close. I would do anything for you, he thought with a sigh.

Sora went straight back to the hospital to get Naruto and check up on Sasuke. When she arrived, she found that Tsunade was done healing people and that she, Shizune, and Jiraiya had gone off somewhere. Naruto had gone home so she decided to check on Sasuke first and then get Naruto since she only wanted to peek in to see if Sasuke was doing better. She cracked the door open and stuck her head in. He was still unconscious but he looked peaceful in his sea of flowers. When he wakes up, he'll be thrilled to have so many admirers, she thought with a laugh. She closed the door softly and with that she left the hospital with a smile on her face.

The rest of the night went smoothly. Naruto readily agreed to stay with Kakashi and Sora for the night and when the two got to Kakashi's apartment, he hadn't moved from the couch. In fact, he had fallen asleep reading a book which was now covering his face.

Finally! He actually listened to me! Sora thought.

There was only one bedroom and Naruto insisted that she should have the bed and he would sleep on the floor in the living room to keep an eye on Kakashi. So after a quick dinner, which Kakashi slept through, the two Genins washed up and went to bed.

Early the next morning, Naruto woke to the smell of food. He glanced over at Kakashi who was still asleep and then got up. He followed his nose to the kitchen and saw that Sora had made a big breakfast for him and Kakashi but she was nowhere to be seen. A note on the table explained that she had gone to the hospital to see Sasuke and that she should be back soon.

Naruto immediately felt jealous when he read the note. He was about to crinkle it up and throw it away when he stopped himself. I'm sure she's just doing it because he's a teammate, Naruto tried to convince himself. Yeah, if it was me, she would do the same. He felt mildly satisfied and proceeded to wake Kakashi for breakfast.

Sora made her way to the hospital by herself in the early morning after she had cooked Naruto and Kakashi breakfast. There were only a few people at the hospital that early so she signed herself in and went up to Sasuke's room. She listened at the door and heard the creaking of the springs of a bed. Her heart raced. He's up already? she thought as she slowly opened the door. Sasuke was sitting up on the bed looking out the window. She couldn't speak. She was stunned.

Sasuke turned his head at the new presence and saw Sora. "Sora," he breathed completely surprised.

Sora could only stare at him as he quickly got off the bed and made his way over to her. She felt his arms surround her and heard him shut the door. Finally she found her voice. "Sa-Sasuke!" she gasped. She pulled back to see his face. He's…he's awake…he's ok! she thought as she traced his face with her fingers. "Sasuke!" she said again and embraced him.

Sasuke welcomed the embrace and held her tightly. "Sora, what happened?" he asked. His mind was still a bit obscured and his memory wasn't fully recuperated.

Sora pulled back so that they could talk face to face. "Sasuke, you were out for, I don't know how long…and then we went to find Tsunade-sama and she healed you!" Sora said in a rush of words. She placed a hand on Sasuke's cheek. "I was so worried."

I was out for that long? he thought. And "we" went to find Tsunade-sama? He looked at her questioningly. Then he remembered the reason why he was in the hospital to begin with. His memory came back in a flash and his hands dropped. He turned away from Sora.

"Sasuke?" Sora asked. "Are you all right?"

Sasuke glanced back at Sora but didn't say anything. I failed, didn't I? he asked himself. My chance…that day was the day. Why couldn't I kill him? Why couldn't I even touch him? It was like the gap between us hadn't changed at all from when we were younger. He's still so much more powerful than I am.

Sora gingerly touched his arm. "Sasuke," she said cautiously. She could feel his tension.

Sasuke got a hold of himself at the sound of Sora's voice. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply to calm his anger. "I'm fine," he said. I need to stop showing my emotions so openly in front of her. I'll deal with him on my own, he thought. He glanced at Sora who was looking at him with worry in her eyes. He felt a pang of guilt in his heart for being the cause of it. Yeah, it's my problem and mine alone. He grasped her hand. "I'm sorry for worrying you," he said looking at her hand instead of her face.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "What? Don't be sorry. You can't help that I worry so much about all of you."

Sasuke twitched slightly at the mention of "all of you," but covered quickly and pulled her towards the bed. There was now a little pathway amongst the masses of flowers since Sasuke didn't bother taking the time to step over them. He just pushed them to the side with his feet as he walked. He sat down on the bed still holding her hand. He still felt a little weak but he wasn't going to show it so openly. "But what about you? How did you find the Sannin?" he asked trying to turn the subject from him to her.

"Uh," Sora said automatically and touched a hand to her neck subconsciously. "Jiraiya-sensei, Naruto, and I went off to find her. Jiraiya-sensei basically knew where to go and then…" She thought back on the battle of the three Sannin and decided not to talk about Orochimaru in front of Sasuke. "…Naruto convinced her to come back with us." She sat down next to him.

Sasuke twitched again at the mention of Naruto.

Sora didn't notice. "He's gotten much stronger than before, Sasuke," she said with a smile. "He really does see you as a friend. Otherwise he wouldn't have worked so hard to get Tsunade-sama to come back."

Sasuke grunted and swung his legs up on the bed and leaned his back against the wall.

Sora sighed in exasperation. "What's wrong with you two? You both act like you're enemies. We're supposed to be a team."

Sasuke closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head.

Sora shook her head and got up. "Ok, sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up," she said. "I'll let you rest now." She started towards the door but felt Sasuke grab her wrist. She turned to face him with a questioning look.

"Sora," he said and sat up again. He pulled her towards him causing her to fall back to the bed. "Do you still love me?" He slid his arms around her body and brought her legs up so that she was completely on the bed. His hand traced up and down her spine as he spoke.

Sora shivered. "I…yes," she stuttered. You idiot, she hissed at herself but she did love him as a friend and teammate. She reasoned with herself that she wasn't completely lying.

Sasuke leaned forward so that his face was buried in her hair while continuing to stroke her back. He kissed the silky strands enjoying the smooth, fresh feeling on his lips. He pulled back and lifted her chin. "Then kiss me," he said.

Sora tensed. "Sasuke, I don't think-"

"If you love me, kiss me," he said again in a soft yet demanding voice.

Sora pulled back. "Come on, Sasuke. You just woke up and you need rest." She tried to pull free from his embrace but he held her down.

"We've been apart for so long," he whispered his voice becoming low and rough. He placed a hand on her cheek and ran his thumb across her smooth lips. "Just one kiss."

Sora didn't want to do it, but she didn't see any way out of it. She had told him she loved him. She knew that he loved her fiercely and if she pushed him away now, he might do something drastic. Just one kiss, she thought. She didn't want to lie to Sasuke. But I do love him, she told herself. That night we shared…I felt something…something different. It was true that she had never gotten as close to another person in her entire life as she did with Sasuke, not only physically but emotionally as well. It has to be love. She moved her head closer to his.

Sasuke's breath quickened when he saw her lean in. Then he felt her gentle, sweet lips brush against his own, but it wasn't enough for him. He completely lost control. Everything was coming back to life now that she was here with him.

Sora started to pull away but Sasuke wouldn't let her. His hands moved behind her head and on her back pushing her ever more towards him. She let out a sound of protest but he ignored it.

Sasuke leaned forward forcing Sora to grasp onto his shoulders for support. He brought her slowly down so that she was lying on her back on the bed and he was on top of her without ever breaking their kiss. Now that he was in the dominant position, he pushed forward with more hunger than before and forced her lips apart as he slid his tongue in. He had every detail of her mouth memorized so now he just wanted to enjoy her addicting taste.

Sora found herself thinking back on all the times she and Sasuke had kissed and then the times when Naruto had kissed her just as passionately. She breathed through her nose since Sasuke wasn't letting up and she couldn't pull away. How can I choose? she thought. They both love me and I…I love them both as well. I can't-

Sasuke finally broke for air after an extremely long time. They both let out a gasp when their lips parted as they inhaled the heated air. But Sasuke lost no time in trying to recapture her precious lips again.

"Sasuke," Sora panted just as he was about to kiss her again. She put up a hand to his lips. It made him stop moving towards her but he looked deeply into her eyes. "I…I need to go," she whispered.

"Why?" Sasuke asked not moving.

"Kakashi-sensei and Naruto are going to be expecting me back soon and-"

"Naruto?" Sasuke interrupted.

Sora blinked in surprise. "Yes," she said cautiously.

"Why would he be expecting you?" Sasuke asked narrowing his eyes.

Sora knew what he was thinking. "Sasuke, don't think of him like that!" she said and tried to push him up.

Sasuke refused to move. "I don't want you to go," he growled. "Not to him."

"Sasuke, please," Sora said. "It…it's not like that at all."

Without warning, Sasuke closed in and began kissing her cheek making his way to her ear. He wanted her to be with him and only him. He moved his hand up to unbutton her collar.

Sora felt his movement and grabbed his hand. No, those marks aren't gone yet, she thought. I've got to get out of here before he... She used her other hand to try and push herself upwards but he only took her motion towards him as a sign to push down even harder. Sasuke reached again for her collar and this time grasped onto the top button. Sora couldn't pull his hand away without ripping the button off. "Sasuke," she pleaded. "We've got to stop this." Then a knock was heard at the door. The sound caused Sasuke to pause for a split second giving Sora enough time to push them both up to a sitting position. She quickly got off the bed.

"Sora-" The knocking became louder.

Sora clamped a hand over his mouth. "Uh, yes?" she called to the door expecting it to be a nurse.

The door swung open revealing three girls around Sora's and Sasuke's age holding presents in their hands for Sasuke, but once they saw Sora, they were speechless.

Sora quickly removed her hand from Sasuke's mouth and blushed. "Uh, I think it's best if I go now…" she tried to say quietly without moving her lips. She started towards the door but Sasuke confidently grabbed onto her wrist.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked the three girls in the doorway. He knew them from the academy and they all annoyed the hell out of him.

The bravest of the three stepped forward ignoring Sora. "Oh, Sasuke-kun! I can't believe you're better now!" she cried as she put on her cutest smile. "I brought you your favorite flower." She showed him an extremely rare black rose.

The other two girls then rushed forward so as not to be outdone by their friend. "He doesn't like flowers!" one declared. "Sasuke-kun, I brought your favorite chocolates. My daddy brought them back for me from his trip but I want you to-"

"Sasuke-kun," the last one interrupted as she slightly shoved the other two out of the way. "I made you this get well soon card and I wrote you a poem inside!"

Sasuke glared at all three of them and pulled Sora closer to him.

The three girls' mouths dropped open.

"Sasuke," Sora protested.

Sasuke was extremely annoyed now. He wanted those other three girls out. They had ruined his perfect moment with Sora. "We were busy," he said coldly to the girls. "Please leave."

The girls looked like they were about to cry and they ran out of the room leaving their presents behind.

Sora pulled her arm away from Sasuke. "That was rude," she said. "They were only glad that you've recovered."

Sasuke put a hand up to his forehead. "Sora," he said as he rubbed his temples, "you can't even tell if a guy's hitting on you so you obviously couldn't see that those girls were trying to hit on me." He sighed and got off the bed.

Sora was a little flustered. "What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

Sasuke smirked and grabbed her hand again. "Like now. Am I hitting on you?" he asked. He kept walking forward forcing Sora to back up against the wall. His other hand slipped down to her waist and his face was dangerously close to hers.

"I would guess so," Sora answered sarcastically. "But really, you should at least apologize to those girls," she added quickly trying to change the subject.

Sasuke said nothing and kept his smirk as his hand slid up her side towards her collar again.

Sora saw what he was about to do and quickly slipped out from in between him and the wall. "But I've got to go now," she said completely changing her tone. "You'd better rest up because later today's going to be Tsunade-sama's initiation."

"Sora-"

"Nobody should miss it," Sora continued pretending like she didn't hear Sasuke.

"Just-"

"So I'll see you there, ok?" Sora said and inched towards the door. She finally turned around and quickly reached for the doorknob but her hand only touched air.

Sasuke had held her arm back before she could reach the knob. "I…I don't want you to go," he said in the most pleading voice he could muster.

Sora sighed and turned around. "It's not like I'm leaving you forever," she said softly. "Why do you want me to stay so badly?"

"Because," Sasuke said pulling her closer, "I love you." And I don't want you to go to him, he thought narrowing his eyes at the thought of Naruto.

Sora knew what he was thinking and it reminded her about Naruto's proposal. It's going to be difficult when they see each other again, she thought miserably.

Sasuke started to kiss the part of her neck that wasn't covered by her collar as he placed his hands on her waist keeping her still.

"S-Sasuke," she stuttered getting extremely nervous that he was so close to the bruises. She grabbed Sasuke's head and moved it so that their foreheads were touching. She looked down. "I-If you love me, then you would take care of yourself," she whispered still not removing her hands from his head.

"What does that have to do-"

"Hey, I care about you too," she interrupted pulling back. "If you take my advice and rest now, then it would show me that you care about me." She smiled at her genius logic.

Sasuke looked at Sora strangely. "Uh…"

"So," Sora continued completely ignoring the confused look she was getting from the boy in front of her. "I'll see you at Tsunade-sama's initiation then, ok?" She slipped out of Sasuke's grasp and opened the door. "It's at ten at the Hokage's tower."

Sasuke just stared at Sora still slightly confused.

Sora laughed at his expression then slipped out of the room and shut the door behind her. Her smile became a sigh of exasperation. Like I said before, no one listens to me, she thought. Then she made her way down the stairs and signed out of the hospital. It was already around eight. Sora made her way to her apartment building but went to Kakashi's room instead of her own. She unlocked the door, since she had taken the spare key with her and entered.

"Sora-chan!" Naruto's voice greeted her.

"Morning, Naruto-kun," she returned.

Naruto got up from where he was sitting and made his way over to her. He looked her over as he approached. It doesn't look like Sasuke did anything to her, he thought. Good. He pulled her into an embrace. "I missed you this morning," he said.

Sora slightly gasped but kept her thoughts hidden. "I wanted to beat the traffic so I got up early," she said with a forced laugh.

"Huh? Traffic?" Naruto asked confused.

Sora smiled. "To Sasuke's room," she answered. "I predicted that he was going to get a lot of visitors since he was healed."

"Oh," Naruto said and smiled back. "Yeah, that's probably true."

"But is Kakashi-sensei up yet?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "He hasn't moved since last night," he said. "Even your breakfast couldn't wake him up."

Sora smiled. "Well, my cooking isn't that great."

"Yeah right," Naruto returned. "I had to hold myself back from eating it all. Heh, it's almost better than ramen." He gave a cheesy grin.

It was Sora's turn to roll her eyes. "Right," she said. She knew how much he absolutely adored ramen so she took it that he meant it as a very high compliment.

The two went to the living room where their sensei was still out like a light on the couch. He still had that book on his face that he had been reading the night before. It rose and fell with his heavy breathing. Sora walked up to the couch and placed a hand on Kakashi's arm. She smiled to herself and looked him over to make sure he was healing properly. When her eyes got to his head, she saw what book he had been reading. Icha Icha Paradise. Her eyes went round.

Naruto sensed the tension. "What, Sora?" he asked and walked up to her. Then he saw what had caught her eye. "Hey, it's one of the perverted hermit's books!" he said excitedly. He quickly grabbed it off of his sensei's face and looked more closely at it.

"Naruto, you pervert!" Sora exclaimed and snatched the book out of his hands.

"Wha-?"

"You realize what's in this book?" she nearly hissed. "It deserves to be burned!"

Then Kakashi shot up from the couch freaking his two students out. He quickly snatched the book away from Sora's grasp. "What did you say?" he asked dangerously as he eyed Sora and Naruto.

Both of the Genins were shocked and scared at his sudden outburst since they had thought he was asleep. "S-sensei," Naruto finally said after mustering up enough courage. "We weren't going to do anything with it, I swear!"

Then Sora snapped back to her usual self. "That thing isn't fit to be called a book!" she declared pointing at it.

Kakashi stood up to his full height towering over Sora and Naruto.

Naruto quickly got behind Sora in fear but Sora stood her ground and stared her sensei right in the eye with a defiant look on her face. Their gazes locked in an electric stare similar to those of Naruto and Sasuke.

Wow, Naruto thought shaking with fear but also anticipation. This is intense!

Finally after a few more seconds of the staring contest, Kakashi's eye softened and he relaxed back into his usual slouch. "You guys are too young to understand," he said complacently as he patted Sora's head with his free hand.

Sora raised an eyebrow.

Kakashi then walked past his students and into his room. A few seconds later he came back without his book. He stretched. "Ahh! So what's for breakfast?" he asked acting like nothing had happened.

Both Naruto and Sora sweat-dropped. He's so weird, Naruto thought.

Someday, Sora thought, someday I'll make him stop reading those perverted books…

The next few hours went fairly smoothly and ten o'clock came rolling around. Sora and Naruto left Kakashi's apartment so that they could all get ready for the ceremony.

Sora put on a fancier blue dress for the occasion and then joined the crowds of people in the streets making their way towards the Hokage's tower. Whoa, she thought as she found herself swallowed in the sea of people. It'd be impossible to find anyone in this crowd unless I jumped up on a roof or something. She glanced up at a rooftop and saw some younger academy students jumping from roof to roof beating the crowd. She smiled at their liveliness. I wish I could just go back to the way things used to be, she thought with a sigh. This is the part of growing up that I just hate.

"Sora!" someone called to her.

"Huh?" She looked around trying to pinpoint who had said her name.

"Wait up!" the voice said again.

Sora stopped walking and turned around. Then she saw Neji artfully slipping past some people to get to her. She waved. "Hey, Neji-kun!" she said.

Finally Neji was able to catch up. "Sora," he said and surprisingly caught her in an embrace.

"Uh?" Sora said completely shocked. Her face flared up.

"I was worried when I couldn't find you for the last few weeks," he said still not letting her go.

"Oh, I…uh-"

"Where've you been?" he interrupted and pulled back slightly so that they could talk.

Sora tried to get rid of the faint blush that was still apparent on her cheeks. "Uh, I'm sorry I didn't come to see you after the Chuunin matches but…but so much has happened," she stammered causing her to blush even more. Dammit, she thought.

Neji slipped his hands down and caught one of hers. "Tell me as we walk," he said gently and led her to start walking again with the flow of the crowd.

Sora could do nothing but go along with him. "Well, it's just…" she started but trailed off.

Neji waited patiently for her to continue not wanting to pester her.

Sora sighed. "It's just after Orochimaru's attack…I had to go to the hospital I guess," she said slowly. "But I got better by the Hokage's funeral. It was nothing serious," she added quickly seeing that Neji was worried. "Then, uh…" She blushed even more when she thought of the night she had shared with Sasuke. Then she remembered that Neji could read minds so she quickly put that out of her mind. "Then, I don't know if you've heard but Uchiha Itachi came back to Konoha and he-well, Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke ended up in the hospital. Naruto, Jiraiya-sensei, and I had to go on a mission to find Tsunade-sama since she's the only one who could heal them." She paused slightly. "I'm sorry for not coming to see you sooner."

"No, no. It's ok," Neji said. So much has happened to her, he thought. He felt guilty for being so selfish in wanting to see her. "I'm sorry. I was just being selfish."

"What? No you weren't," Sora said surprised. Then she smiled. "But how have things been for you lately?"

"Better I suppose," Neji answered. "Hiashi-sama has started helping in my training. I hope that I've improved."

"Really? That's great!"

Neji nodded. "But I've also been checking up on Lee a lot in the hospital."

"Oh," Sora said remembering Lee's critical condition. "Tsunade-sama-"

"Yes, she healed him," Neji said. "But I saw him earlier today and he told me that Tsunade-sama had told him to quit being a ninja."

"What?"
"Gaara had completely crushed his arm and leg, but Tsunade-sama was able to heal those. The main thing was his spinal cord," Neji said. "The shattered bone in his back had latched into his spinal cord impairing his movements."
And that's his only hope of ever becoming a ninja, Sora thought.

Neji nodded after reading her thoughts. "The only way for Lee to become completely healed is a surgery," he said.

"Surgery?" Sora asked. "What kind of surgery?"

"He said it only had a 50 percent survival rate and if it failed, he would die," Neji explained.

Sora gasped. "What?"

"It's going to be a tough decision."

50 percent? Sora thought. Even for the Tsunade-sama?

The two arrived at the Hokage's tower just as the members of the village council and Tsunade herself were stepping up to the platform. The crowd quieted down as the two leaders, one male and one female, of the council stepped forward to address the people.

"Welcome all to the initiation of Konoha's Fifth Hokage!" the male said. The crowd went wild with cheers.

"But first let us take a moment to remember our fallen leader, the Third Hokage, for all that he has given us," the woman said. The crowd almost immediately quieted down to murmurs of thanks, sorrow, and admiration.

Then the council members and Tsunade stood up. Tsunade walked forward to the center of the platform.

"Now," the male leader said after a moment, "the ceremony will begin."

The ceremony consisted of the council leaders reading off the speech given at every Hokage's initiation, Tsunade swearing to protect the village of Konoha with her life, and many other formal, serious processes. Then finally Tsunade knelt down to one knee and bowed her head. The Hokage's hat was handed to the male leader of the council.

"By the power invested in me by the consent of the village council and the people of this hidden village of Konoha of the Country of Fire, I grant the title of Fifth Hokage to Sannin, Tsunade," he announced as he placed the Hokage hat on Tsunade's head.

The crowd exploded with applause and cheering as Tsunade stood up and faced the crowd. She nodded her head and smiled confidently. Then she turned back to the members of the council and they walked off the platform together. The crowd's cheering didn't die off until a few minutes later and then the buzz of excited talking filled the air.

"She really is powerful," Neji said suddenly to Sora.

Sora almost jumped from surprise but then smiled. "Yeah," she agreed.

"I could feel her power and strength from here," he continued. He turned to look at Sora.

"She's amazing, to say the least," Sora said with a laugh. Then she glanced at the sun. It was almost noon. Whoa, the ceremony took two whole hours? Sora thought. "Hey, Neji-kun?"

"Hm?"

"I've got to get going to see Kakashi-sensei, so I'll see you around, ok?" she said touching his shoulder.

Neji almost blushed from her action. "Uh, yeah," he stammered.

Sora disappeared into the crowd of people.

She's changed, Neji thought to himself as he continued to look towards the direction Sora had gone off in. So many things are on her mind now…she must have gone through a lot on that mission. Finally Neji decided that he should start training for that day. He knew that Hiashi was going to be at a special meeting with the new Hokage and Gai was going to be with Lee so he went off to find Tenten to train with him.

Sora went back to her apartment to change out of her fancier dress and into her normal ninja dress. I should go and see if Kakashi-sensei wanted us to train today, she thought. She quickly grabbed her weapon pouch and ran towards Kakashi's apartment. She still had the spare key but she didn't want to seem like she was intruding so she knocked.

"Come in," Kakashi's voice said through the door.

Sora tried the doorknob but it was locked. "Uh…"

"You do have a key, right?" Kakashi said.

Oh, so he knows it's me, Sora thought rolling her eyes. She unlocked the door and stepped inside. She saw that Kakashi was dressed in his Jounin outfit and looked basically normal. "Uh, I just came by to drop off your key and to see if you wanted us to train today," she said.

"Oh?" Kakashi said looking at her. "Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you. Tsunade has called for all Jounins to come to a meeting later today."

"Oh."

"But I do want you to train," Kakashi continued. "I don't know how much you and Naruto have improved so I'm not sure what to tell you. You can either call the boys up and train together or you could train alone if you wanted to."

Sora nodded and placed the spare key to Kakashi's apartment on the table.

"And thank you for staying with me last night," Kakashi said nonchalantly.

"Uh, it was nothing," Sora said with a smile. "Don't do anything too demanding until you're completely better, ok Sensei?"

Kakashi sighed. "Of course," he said. "Don't worry about me."

Sora frowned. "Well with your stubbornness and brash behavior, it's impossible not to," she said before she could stop herself. Oops, probably shouldn't have said that, she thought as she blushed.

Kakashi chuckled and walked up to her laying a hand on her shoulder. He wanted to pull her into an embrace right then but he controlled himself. "I'd better get going," he said calmly. "If nothing happens, I would like to see you all tomorrow for training."

Sora nodded.

Kakashi walked past her and out of his apartment knowing that Sora would lock the door when she left.

Sora sighed once she heard the door close. Well, he'll be impressed when he finds out what Naruto can do, but me? I haven't improved at all… She left Kakashi's apartment and decided that she needed some time to think things through before she would start training.

She went to her favorite spot in the whole village, the garden. The fountain greeted her with placid splashing. A few birds were taking a bath, twittering cheerfully to one another. She sat down on a bench facing towards the fountain with a sigh. It seems that with every thing I do here, I only find more and more weaknesses in myself, she thought. I can't believe I used to be so confident before. Her eyes subconsciously followed the flow of the water down the steps of the fountain. On Tsunade-sama's mission I did the least and yet I'm recovering so slowly. She looked at her arms. The healing seals were faint but still visible. She put her chin on her hands and rested her elbows on her knees. Not even the stupid bruises on my neck have-

"Sora-chan!"

Sora sat up and looked towards the source of the sound. "Oh, hey, Naruto-kun," she said. I've got to stop being so depressed all the time, she told herself as she prepared to act as normally as possible.

"I couldn't find you during the initiation," Naruto said as he sat next to her. "I never knew there were so many people in this village."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "And how long have you been living here?" she asked with a smug smile.

"Hey," Naruto said pretending to be offended. "I've just been too busy with training all the time to notice." He flashed a cheesy smile.

Sora rolled her eyes. "I just saw Kakashi-sensei," she said changing the subject.

"Oh, did he want us to train or something today?" Naruto asked. "The perverted hermit is at some sort of meeting with the old lady."

"Old lady?"

"Old Lady Tsunade."

"Naruto!" Sora exclaimed. "Don't be rude! She's our Fifth Hokage now."

"So?" Naruto said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What do you mean 'so'?" Sora asked exasperated.

"Did Kakashi want us to train though?" Naruto said ignoring her question.

Sora sighed. "He did," she said. "But he didn't say anything specific."

Naruto got up. "All right then," he said making his hands into fists. "Let's go!" He grabbed Sora's hand and pulled her up.

"Uh, wait, Naruto!" Sora said before he went sprinting off towards the field where they trained.

"Huh?"
"What about Sasuke?"

Naruto immediately frowned. "Oh, uh, isn't he still in the hospital or something?" he said in a less lively tone.

Sora put a hand to her head. "You two…" she muttered.

"What?"

"Why don't you guys get along?"

"What? We get along," Naruto insisted.

Sora knew that neither of her teammates was going to admit anything so she dropped the subject. "Never mind," she said. "Let's go."

Naruto raised an eyebrow but then grabbed her hand again. The two took off running towards the outskirts of the village to start their day of training.

It was the second time since Sora first arrived in Konoha that it was just her and Naruto training together. They raced each other to get their laps done for a warm up. They ended up tying but Naruto insisted that he had won by a hair. Then they proceeded to do their push-ups, sit-ups, etc. and then they did target training. No matter how hard Naruto tried, he could never beat Sora at target training. They were both incredibly accurate but Sora had a better eye and her Taijutsu training put her at an advantage. Then finally, Sora challenged Naruto to a practice battle.

"What?" Naruto said in shock. "Are you sure?"

Sora raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Of course I am," she answered. "The question is, are you up to the challenge?"

Naruto smirked. "Fine," he said smugly. "Do you want me to use my Chakra or not?"

Sora frowned. "You're so gonna get it!" she yelled as she ran at Naruto.

"AH!" Thus their practice battle began.

Sora threw continuous punches and kicks at Naruto and he was able to dodge or block all of them until, "AHHH!" Naruto yelled as he went flying through the air. He had a nice new bruise on his side now.

Sora didn't waste any time in running after him.

Naruto flipped backwards by pushing himself up from the ground with his hands and landed on his feet. He put his hands together in a seal. Wow, she's gotten so good, he thought. She's forcing me to use my Chakra. "Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" he yelled. Five Narutos appeared in puffs of smoke.

Dammit, Sora thought slowing down. Without my Chakra, I can't sense which one is real.

"I'm not gonna go easy on you," Naruto said confidently. "Even if you are my teammate." All five Narutos smirked.

"Heh, heh," Sora slightly panted. "Finally you're using your Chakra." She ran right at the five Narutos without weapons. The five Narutos ran at her without weapons. Then the fight really began.

After hours of practice fighting and no one really winning or losing, both Naruto and Sora collapsed on the ground next to each other laughing. They each had numerous cuts and bruises from where they had managed to get a hit on each other but neither was seriously injured.

"Wow, Sora," Naruto panted as he fell backwards on the grass. "You've gotten loads better. Even without your Chakra, you can still fight pretty damn good."

"'Well,' Naruto," Sora corrected with a playful smile. "But thanks for the compliment. Of course both of us were holding back though since it was a practice battle."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "I would never go all out against you." He reached his hand up and grabbed hers.

Sora slightly blushed but let him hold her hand. She looked up at the darkening sky. "Me neither," she said quietly.

Naruto glanced at the girl next to him and smiled. He sat up and slid his arms around Sora's waist. "You wanna go out to eat?" he asked.

"Uh," Sora stammered at Naruto's actions. "Well, we should probably wash up first and then I was planning on seeing Sasuke."

Naruto wanted to object but he refrained. "Hey, I'll come too," he said instead.

"What? Seriously?" Sora asked surprised.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"This'll show you that I don't hate him."

"But-"

"Come on, let's go," Naruto interrupted and pulled her up. I'm not going to let him be alone with her, he thought.

This probably won't turn out too well, Sora thought with a sigh as they made their way back to the village.

They each went to their apartments and quickly washed up then they were off to see Sasuke. Sora had brought along some dinner so that the three of them could eat together. They reached the hospital an hour before it closed for the night so they signed in and went up to Sasuke's room.

"You can smell all those flowers from out here," Naruto commented with a smirk as they walked down the hall towards his room.

Sora smiled. "I bet he's got enough to make his own garden."

The two finally reached the room and Sora knocked. "Sasuke?" she said through the door wanting to make sure that he knew they weren't some of his fanatic admirers.

The door opened for them revealing Sasuke right in front of them. He was shocked to see Naruto. What the hell's he doing here? he automatically screamed in his mind.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto said with a friendly wave. "Long time no see."

Sasuke's expression of shock turned into one of annoyance and slight anger. He grunted without returning Naruto's greeting and left the door to go and sit on his bed again.

Sora sighed. I knew this would happen, she thought. "Uh, how're you feeling, Sasuke?" she asked timidly as she stepped in the room and followed him to the bed.

"Fine," Sasuke answered curtly.

Naruto stepped in the room but stayed near the door.

Sora bit her lower lip nervously and walked over to the small table on the other side of the bed. "Have you eaten yet?" she asked.

Sasuke turned to face her putting Naruto out of his line of vision. "I wasn't hungry," he said.

"Oh, well I brought some food for all of us," she said getting it out. "Naruto and I haven't eaten yet."

Naruto came over to Sora. "Yeah, Kakashi-sensei told us to train but we figured you were still recovering," he said trying to subtly irk Sasuke.

Sasuke twitched slightly. What? They spent the whole day training together? he thought.

Sora inconspicuously elbowed Naruto in the stomach.

"Hey-"
"But anyway, I brought you something in case you're hungry now," she said trying to change the subject before Naruto could say anything. She knew that Sasuke's favorite food was tomatoes and rice balls so she had brought some with her.

Sasuke saw the food and got off the bed to join Naruto and Sora at the table. I'll just talk to her about this later, he thought as he sat down.

Sora smiled with relief that Sasuke was going to eat with them. Heh, maybe the rice balls did the trick, she thought.

The meal was…pleasant to some extent. Sora tried hard to keep the conversation from turning heated but at least Naruto and Sasuke were talking to each other, right? But she could tell that both boys were trying to get her attention away from the other as much as possible without making it obvious.

Sasuke didn't smile the entire time even though he did talk a bit. Naruto's done something to her, he kept thinking throughout the whole dinner.

Naruto kept a wary eye on Sasuke the whole time as well. There must be something going on with him and Sora, he thought. Otherwise he wouldn't be so uptight with me around.

Sora could basically guess what each of her teammates was thinking but she kept quiet about it not wanting to bring it up.

After about an hour,Sora finally rose to leave. "We should probably go now, Naruto," she said glancing at the clock. "The hospital might already be closed."

"Yeah," Naruto said getting up and stretching.

Sasuke kept silent.

Sora gathered the trash and threw it away in the wastebasket. "Please rest Sasuke," she said once she had gotten everything.

"Yeah, take it easy," Naruto said. He opened the door and waited for Sora to exit.

Sora gave Sasuke one last worried look and then went past Naruto to the hall. Naruto closed the door.

Sasuke didn't move for a while but finally went over to the window and saw Naruto and Sora walking down the empty street together talking. He hardened his expression. Why did you have to bring him along? he thought clenching his fist.

Naruto insisted on walking Sora up to her apartment. "You never know what might happen," he said pretending to be responsible. In reality he wanted to make sure that Sasuke hadn't sneaked out of the hospital to follow her.

"Come on, Naruto," Sora said with a small laugh. "You should get home soon, ok? And remember that Kakashi-sensei wants us all to see him tomorrow at the usual time at the bridge."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said waving his hand.

"Uh-huh," Sora said rolling her eyes thinking that Naruto would be late as always. She unlocked her door and started inside but felt herself get pulled back. "Naru-"

"Do I get a goodnight kiss?" he asked in a low voice bringing her back to him. Sora's apartment door swung shut again.

"Naruto," Sora said feeling uncomfortable. She tried to unclasp his hands around her waist but ended up having him turn her around to face him.

"Just one kiss," he whispered leaning closer.

Just one kiss… Sora's mind flashed back to when Sasuke had said that exact same phrase to her earlier that day. She didn't have time to react when Naruto's lips came in contact with her own.

Naruto could hardly contain himself. What he really wanted was to be with Sora all night. He pushed her against the closed door continuing the kiss and his hands crept up her body to her head.

Sora tried to turn her head to the side to break the kiss but Naruto's hands held it in place. She grabbed his wrists and pushed back but he wouldn't budge. She knew what he wanted but it was something she knew they shouldn't do. Finally she managed to push his hands away and break the kiss. Both were panting heavily. "Naruto," Sora gasped as she looked to the side.

"Sora," Naruto murmured and leaned in to try and capture her lips again.

"No, please," Sora panted.

Since Naruto couldn't get to her lips, he caressed Sora's smooth skin on her upper neck where Sasuke had caressed just earlier that day.

"Naruto, we've got to stop this, please," Sora said trying to push his body away conscious of that little fact.

Finally Naruto listened and released her. "I-I'm sorry, Sora-chan," Naruto stuttered.

"Just," Sora said stopping him from speaking further. "Just go home now and get some rest."

Naruto nodded his head and turned to leave.

"Goodnight," Sora called after him as she unlocked her door again. Naruto waved in return without turning around as he walked down the hall. Sora sighed and went in.

Her apartment was dark but she didn't bother turning on the lights. She closed her door and locked it. Then she slumped to the ground, her eyes wetted with tears. "How could I be so stupid?" she said out loud to herself as she clenched her fists. "I should have never let Naruto come with me to…" She let a single tear fall down her cheek but she didn't wipe it away.

You're hurting both of them.

"I know…" She got up and put the bag she had brought with her to carry the food in on the kitchen table.

Turning them against each other.

"I never meant to-"

Then why are you leading them on?

Sora paused. I am? She knew it to be true. "I-I'm sorry," she choked out. "But how can I tell them? If I say yes to one, they'll hate each other…if I say no to both, their lives would be destroyed and they'd still hate each other. I can see it in their eyes."

Then are you the innocent one?

"What?" Sora snapped back to reality. "Who am I talking to?" she asked herself. Is it that…thing inside me? She began to tremble with fear. It's back, she thought. That seal couldn't hold it…and I…I don't have my Chakra to fight it. She thought back on her battle in the forest during the mission to Tazuna's island. She had fought with something inside of her but she could only barely escape with her life and that was when she had had her Chakra. What if it comes back? What if I have to fight it again? She wanted to go to someone, anyone. But she was alone.

"No," she said out loud to give herself confidence. "No, I won't be scared by you!" She turned on the lights. Her eyes blinked rapidly to adjust to the sudden change. She narrowed her eyes. "I won't be threatened by you," she declared. "I won't let you take over my mind!" She clenched her fists and made her way to the bathroom to change and wash up for the night.

After she washed, she checked to make sure that the windows and door were locked then she got into her bed. It was the first time she had been able to sleep in her own bed for weeks. I can't let this thing take over me, she thought once she had settled in. If I give in, it'll only prove my weaknesses. I've got to be strong…