Chapter 3

Naruto's Spirit

Here we go. Chapter 3. Thank you all my reviewers. I wouldn't think I'd have this many readers by chapter 3! You guys are awesome! Just to let you know, this story will be about 36 chapters long, with an amazing and twisted ending, so keep reading and reviewing!

DISCLAIMER: I have the papers to all the rights to Naruto in my hands. But...they were copied, and they aren't signed by Kishimoto.

"Ugh." Naruto grunted as he rubbed his forehead. The kunai was gone, and he couldn't feel the coldness of the blood that stained his face. He could tell that he was in Konoha.

He jumped as he saw a door open. That is the door of the Konoha hospital. He thought and Sasuke entered through the door. "Sasuke?" he tried to call, but the Uchiha didn't show any sign of notice. "Where am I?" Naruto studied him as he knelt by a bed.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Sasuke muttered to an unconscious blonde in the bed. Naruto looked down at who was in the bed and gasped.

"What the!" he shouted, as he saw himself lying in the bed. "So, am I dead?" Naruto looked down at his body, and realized that he was floating above the ground. "I'm not dead, but…" he wondered. "Then what am I?"

Sasuke stood up, and Naruto noticed a tear drop down from his face. "It's my fault you're here, in a coma." He choked. Naruto's ears twitched when Sasuke said a coma, and then he realized. That's it. I'm unconscious. He told himself.

"It's okay Sasuke." Naruto sighed, and saw Sasuke jump, his head flipping around fast.

"Naruto?" he asked, as he was looking around the room. "Naruto, why can I hear your voice?" Sasuke came across a light figure outline at the foot of Naruto's hospital bed. "N-Naruto?" he asked as the outline became clearer. "A-are you dead?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno." He answered, and saw Sasuke's face lighten up. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm just glad you're alive." Sasuke sighed.

Naruto floated over to Sasuke, and slapped him on the shoulder. "Baka. I'm not going anywhere until I become Hokage." Naruto joked, and faded away fromSasuke's view.

Sasuke watched as his best friend's figure disappeared from him, and quietly turned around. "You better not." He muttered and walked out of the hospital, laying a white daisy on Naruto's chest. "Or else I will never forgive you, Naruto-san."

Sakura kicked a rock as she was walking down the road, thinking about what the nurse had told her. Naruto won't die, Sakura knew that much. If Naruto dies, his dream would be ruined. "Sakura-san," Lee walked up the kunoichi. "Are you worried about Naruto-kun?" he asked her. Sakura sighed, and nodded her head. "Well don't. He'll live. Didn't he promise you?"

Sakura let out a chuckle. On the mission previous to this one, Naruto had gotten a huge cut across his chest. While she was healing him, he promised her that he would never die. So far, all of his promises have come true, even the most impossible one, bringing Sasuke back. "When it comes to promises, Naruto doesn't miss a beat." Neji chuckled.

"You're right." TenTen laughed. "You know what's funny?" Sakura stopped walking and looked behind to TenTen. "Naruto-kun has grown very close to us, hasn't he?"

Lee and Neji chuckled. "He sure has." Neji stated. "And we shunned him. Yet now, we look up to him."

"He has grown in the past three years. Skills and attitude, all of it." Sakura implied, and looked up at the sky. "Something like this won't stop him."

"You have that right." A voice called behind the four shinobi. "He's too much of a knucklehead."

Sakura laughed. "I guess you're right, Kakashi-sensei." She chuckled. "He is too much of a knucklehead."

Kakashi sighed. "Can't help liking him, can we?" he asked, looking up at the building behind him. Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji jumped out, landing in front of Kakashi.

"No, we can't." Shikamaru sighed. "He's troublesome, but you can always look to him for guidance."

"Come on guys, let's go stop by Naruto's hospital room." Ino said, walking off. The others followed, along with Kakashi. "Oh and Sakura," Sakura looked up. "Please forgive me for all that's happened."

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled. "It's okay." She muttered, and turned around. "It's most of your fault, but who am I to talk?" She remembered back to when they had Sasuke on their team when they were younger, how she always used to hit him. Even if Naruto had saved her life, she would be so cruel to him. But despite all the hostility towards the blonde shinobi, he always swore to protect everyone, even if they mistreated him. Now, Sakura felt more selfish than ever. "I will never be like that to Naruto-kun again." She decided, and walked off.

Sasuke exited the hospital, still curious about what had happened. I must have been seeing things, he told himself. Naruto couldn't have been there…could he? He heard a faint laugh behind him, and turned around the see the outline of Naruto yet again. "Would these images stop coming into my head!" he whined and rubbed his eyes.

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled, and floated towards Sasuke. "It's not like I can just leave without becoming dead!" His fists were clenched as anger and disappointment rose in him. "Besides, do you know where Sakura-chan is?"

Sasuke looked over at the horizon. "Yep. She went somewhere over there." He answered, and the figure of Naruto raced off. "Damn him. I still wanted to talk." Sasuke continued walking, planning on ease dropping on Naruto.

Naruto raced in the direction that Sasuke pointed, wondering if Sakura would be able to see him like Sasuke. "Sakura-chan!" he called as he caught a pink flash.

Sakura's head raised and she looked around. "Naruto-kun?" she called, and Naruto popped in front of her. "N-Naruto!" Sakura tried to embrace the blonde shinobi, but only caught air. "Are you dead or something?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, I'm not dead." He chuckled.

Sakura smiled. "I'm glad you're alright." She said. "I was worried about you."

"I'll be fine, Sakura-chan!" Naruto assured her. "I promise!"

Sakura laughed at his last statement. "I love it when you promise." She chuckled. "Because you always keep it, one way or another."

Naruto blushed, and placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Just wait. I'll try to talk to Kyuubi or something to get me out of this." He stated, and vanished.

Sakura's happy expression faded as the coldness of Naruto's hand left her shoulder, feeling alone. "Please do something, Naruto-kun." She whispered. "Whatever it takes, just come back."

Sasuke stepped out into the open. "He will, don't worry." He said, and Sakura laughed. "Like you said. He always keeps his promise, one way or another."

"You're right, Sasuke-kun." She smiled, and walked off. "I shouldn't be that worried. Though I can't help it." When she was almost out of Sasuke's sight, she sighed. "I've grown too close to him." She whispered.

Sasuke chuckled as he heard her last sentence. "Haven't we all," he stated. "Everyone has gotten a little to close to that knucklehead."

"They have, have they?" Naruto's voice called from the shadows.

"Shut up, will you?" Sasuke grunted.

"Hey, you keep bringing me back. I want to go sleep!" Naruto complained, and his voice drifted off again.

"I want to go to sleep too, baka." Sasuke muttered, and headed towards his house. Sleep peacefully, Naruto-kun. Sasuke thought to himself, sending a message to Naruto.

How was it? I know, boring chapter. Sasuke WILL be out of his original character in this, because this has changed him tremendously. Please review!

Yamahato Yokimoko-san