Sakura closed her eyes tightly and waited for the hat to talk.
"... hhhnn... difficult... spirit is pure... quite a lot of knowledge in here... hmmm... i'd say..." there was a pause. "Ravenclaw!" roared the hat.
Sakura's eyes snapped open and she grinned at Naruto and Sasuke.
McGonagall removed the hat from Sakura's head and ushered her away. "who's next?" she asked simply.
Naruto looked at Sasuke. Sasuke looked at Naruto.
". . ."
a minute passed.
"oh just DO IT ALREADY!" shrieked Sakura, shoving Naruto toward the stool.
Naruto stumbled and nearly fell onto McGonagall.
"GAH! GOMEN!" he squeaked, sitting on the stool.
McGonagall have him a small glare and placed the sorting hat onto his head.
Naruto frowned as the hat was placed onto his head, sighing loudly and slouching on his stool.
"hmmm... confusing... a little confusing..." came the voice of the hat.
Naruto looked up at the drooping brim of the hat, which was the only part of it that he could see. "what's confusing?" he asked moodily.
"you've got two minds in here."
Naruto's eyes widened.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Sakura blinked. Kakashi and Tsunade glanced at each other. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and McGonagall frowned a little.
"hmmm... which one am i supposed to be sorting...? hmmm...?" asked the sorting hat.
Naruto immediately snapped his eyes over to Tsunade and Kakashi. almost pleading for their help.
"just sort his mind. not the others'." Tsunade said sternly.
there were a few moments of silence. "... very well..." said the hat. "griffindor!" the sorting hat roared.
Naruto sighed in relief when the hat was removed from his head and he quickly walked over to Tsunade, standing beside her and squeezing her hand ever so slightly with his, thanking her for the close call.
"thanks, Tsunade-o-baa-chan." whispered Naruto.
"no prob, gaki." Tsunade whispered back, squeezing his hand a little, smiling.
"are you sure?" questioned the hat, turning to look at Tsunade and Naruto.
Naruto tightened his grip on Tsuade's hand.
"he could be great if i sorted him by the other mind. the other mind was great. it would've gone in slitherin. and--"
"you have sorted him already. he is to be in griffindor. you sorted his mind. not the other one. you are not to speak about what you saw in that other mind on any circumstances." Tsunade said sternly.
the hat looked over to Dumbledore who nodded.
McGonagall motioned for Sasuke to sit on the stool and the emo-nin sighed, sitting on the stool silently.
McGonagall went to put the hat on Sasukes head, the hat nearly touching his raven-like hair then suddenly...
"SLITHERIN" roared the hat, making everyone blink.
Sasuke slipped off the stool and walked over to where he was standing before.
McGonagall placed the hat on the shelf and looked over to Dumbledore who had just started talking.
"okay. the school year will be starting in two days. there will be certain preparations, and first impressions are everything..." explained Dumbledore, his eyes sparkeling with excitement.
((TBC))