Early the next morning found Naruto and Tsunade at one of the training grounds. The sun was just starting to rise and both were exhausted having been there since four. Sakura sat on the side yawning and trying to stay awake. Tsunade was teaching him how to heal certain points. She didn't think you had to be a medic-nin in order to able to do the basics. Sakura stretched. She'd still be sleep if she wasn't worried which was why she'd followed them down to the area. She wished Naruto would go get some rest but she knew he wouldn't. Honestly Sakura didn't understand why he was training so hard, it wasn't like Akatsuki had made a move yet. Naruto finally yawned and collapsed on the ground. Tsunade was talking but he wasn't listening. A gentle breeze began to blow. Suddenly the howl of a wolf was heard. Tsunade and Sakura looked around but Naruto kept his gaze on the sky. One cloud in particular began to take shape, forming into a giant wolf with wings that seemed to move on its own. Naruto rubbed his eyes, it was gone. Had he been dreaming? He decided he did need some rest after all

"Guys I'm gonna go home now, I'm tired"

"Ok, I'll be over to check on you later" Tsunade said

"Me too" Added Sakura. With a wave he was gone.

He was almost home when he decided to go by the little pier. He remembered seeing Sasuke sitting there when they were younger. As he walked by he saw the Uchiha just like all those years ago. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. He wasn't alone. Hikari's crazy brother was sitting next to him with a handful of rocks that he was throwing into the water. Naruto wanted to talk but he hesitated. He felt a poke in his side

"Hey Naruto" Hikari said. She glanced from him to Sasuke to him again. A smile crept on her face

"Don't you dare" He whispered

"SASUKE! You have a visitor!" Both turned to see Naruto. Minoru whispered something to his cousin then got up and walked over.

"Hey Blondie, you still gonna show around the village later? Sasuke's being lazy"

"Sure" he gave an evil glare to Hikari.

"Well bratty brother lets go find Grandma" Naruto headed for Sasuke, taking a seat where Minoru had just been. Naruto had tried talking to him once when he was in the hospital but he didn't get very far before Shizune had come and told him he was needed elsewhere.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked wearily.

"Just to visit" He swung his legs back and forth. None of his friends dealt with Sasuke, even Ino who'd had a crush on him. In fact most of them thought he should be banned from the village

"Sakura's worried about you"

"Same for you" Sasuke answered

"She never told me that"

"She doesn't have to"

"There's nothing to worry about"

"You should explain that to her then"

"She wont listen, you never told me what you think of Sai?"

"The guy who replaced me?"

"Yep"

"He's ok" There was a pause "He doesn't balance the group out though"

"Why's that?"

"None of my looks" Sasuke smirked. Naruto laughed

"Real funny, like you have any of that in the first place" He laid down on his back "Honestly Sasuke I missed you, we all did"

"I know"

"That's why I kept chasing you, well that and the fact I promised Sakura but shhhhhh" He held his fingers to his lips "Don't mention that to her. Ino did it once casually and she broke down in tears"

"You should've let me go"

"If the role was reversed and I was the one leaving would you have let me go?" He propped himself on his elbows watching him.

"No" Sasuke whispered

"There you go then"

"Naruto…if I had to do it over again I'd still leave" He sighed "But I would've done it differently. I wouldn't have fought you, I would've tried to talk to you and Sakura first"

"I have nightmares sometimes about that first fight we had at the valley"

"Me too" Naruto was a little taken aback to hear him admit that to him "I don't expect to gain your friendship and trust back easily Naruto but I wont give up until I have" Sasuke turned to him "You were like my brother after all". Naruto didn't know what to say so instead of talking he gave Sasuke a hug

"Friends?" He asked

"Always" Sasuke answered. Naruto broke the hug and went back to watching the clouds.

"There you are!" Sakura panted up to them.

"Whats wrong with you?" Naruto asked

"Lady Tsunade decided to train me after you left. She wouldn't let up" she sat on the other side of Sasuke "What are you guys doing?"

"Nothing"

"I'm gonna try that for awhile" She laid on her back like Naruto and watched the clouds. Sasuke did the same "That one looks like Naruto" She pointed

"You two forget we were supposed to get breakfast?" Sai asked standing over them

"Sorry" Naruto grinned

"Yeah, the Hokage had us this morning"

"Sai" Sasuke said

"Sasuke" He copied them, lying next to Naruto

"Besides you hate mornings anyway and probably would've just slept at the table" Sakura said

"You're right"

"You guys that cloud right there looks like a bowl of ramen!" Naruto pointed

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked

"Yeah?"

"Shut up"

"What? It does! Hey Sakura remember when Hikari poured that ramen on Sai?" They started laughing

"Why'd she do that?" Sasuke asked

"Because she's crazy and has issues" Sai answered. Sasuke's own laughter joined them after Sakura told him what happened. No one paid attention to the fact that they had never heard him do that before or that it was softer than theirs. Sai smiled. Finally his friends could be truly happy without worrying about the Uchiha. Hearing them laugh together instead of fight was something he could definitely get used to.

Meanwhile Neji had just returned from his mission. He was exhausted since his team had been allowed no rest. As he walked through the door he dropped his mask, then came the few weapons he carried. He pulled off his forehead protector and pulled the band from his hair. All he wanted to do was sleep.

"Neji! You're back!" Hanabi wrapped her arms around him.

"Uh huh" His eyes started to close. Hanabi wasn't paying attention

"Everyone's going be so happy, especially since today's your birthday and no one thought you'd be back before tomorrow"

"That's nice"

"And Hikari is practicing this really pretty dance for you, come on" Before he could protest she was dragging him down the hall to a room they used for meetings. They stopped at the door. He heard talking from the other side "You have to be quiet" She whispered slowly opening the door. He saw the backs of his aunt, mother, Hinata and Minoru who were all facing the front watching Hikari who was wearing a light blue kimono with slits up each side, showing her legs. Her hair was pinned up. Bracelets dangled on her wrists. Her grandmother stood off to the side

"Now I want you to go through the entire thing. Ladies" She looked to the two women who had come with her, both still wearing identical kimonos. One had a type of small stringed instrument "Stay on beat Granddaughter. Begin now" The woman played and Hikari danced. It was slow and quiet. The way she danced snapped Neji out of his sleep daze for a few minutes. He started to walk into the room

"No!" Hanabi hissed "You cant go in there, I'm gonna get in trouble" He didn't care. Neji stayed near the back watching. Unfortunately Hikari saw him and stopped.

"Whats wrong?" Amaya asked. Hikari eyes got big and her face turned a bright red. Amaya finally saw what she did. She grinned "Well ladies it seems Neji has seen the dance before he was supposed to"

"My son!" His mother jumped from her seat, racing over and hugging him "You look tired, doesn't he Mika?"

"Yes he does" His aunt answered walking over

"That dance" Neji said

"Was for your wedding night but you got a sneak peek" Lady Okami took out her fan "Hanabi must've shown you, she was whining earlier about how it wouldn't hurt for you to see this now" Hanabi stayed behind the door holding her breath.

"Can I see it again?" Neji asked

"Sorry but no, its an old Okami tradition. You'll have to wait". He glanced at Hikari who was trying to hide her embarrassment. Though he knew he should've left he walked over to her. He could hear Hinata giggling at the look of horror that appeared on Hikari's face.

"Welcome your husband young lady" Mika Hyuga said. Lady Okami nodded. Hikari gave him a quick hug not expecting to be hugged back. He whispered in her ear

"Dance for me later Hikari when there aren't so many people around" She blushed harder pulling away. Neji smirked, then his eyes closed and he collapsed.

"NEJI!" His mother screamed

"Calm down" His aunt felt his pulse and checked his breathing

"Tsunade said he and his team had to keep constant surveillance on an individual. Sleep was not allowed"

"That means he hasn't gotten proper rest in a couple of days right?" Hinata asked as she brushed hair out of his face

"Exactly, he's tired nothing more" Lady Okami kept fanning herself

"And here I thought he fainted because he realized how ugly Hikari is up close. I mean its so bad I've been tempted on several occasions to make her wear a paper bag over her head"

"You snot nosed brat!" Hikari chased him around the room

"Hmmmm…what do you think Neji said to make her blush like she did?" Mika asked

"Something inappropriate probably" His mother sighed "His father was that way".

"Happy Birthday Neji!" Everyone shouted. They were all crowded into the main room waiting for dinner to be served. All of his friends and family were there. TenTen was still blatantly flirting with him. Hikari rolled her eyes, taking a seat on the floor to watch. Naruto joined her a few minutes later stuffing his mouth with cake.

"Where'd you get that from?"

"Hinata let me have a taste" Naruto saw TenTen "What are ya going to do about her?"

"Nothing"

"Nothing?"

"Yep, not worth the trouble"

"Sooooo are you and Neji in love yet?"

"Ha! No"

"Answered too fast"

"Shut up, I like him a lot but that's it. I guess love will come one day"

"Where's Sasuke?"

"Couldn't take life anymore, killed himself"

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a dark sense of humor?"

"Many times" She poked Naruto on the arm "Hiashi bother you yet?"

"Nope"

"Good"

"Minoru was messing with the cake when I left the kitchen, just a warning you might not want to eat it"

"I wasn't going to"

"Oh yeah that's what I was supposed to do" He grinned sheepishly

"What?"

"Lady Hyuga wanted you to get the present she got for Neji out of the closet across from his room. She said its on the top shelf"

"Great" She stood up "I'll be right back"

"Ok"

Five minutes later she had made it to the closet and was searching though it but couldn't find the present

"She mustve put it someplace else" She was in the process of giving up when she heard what sounded like a chair being moved coming from Neji's room. She tiptoed quietly over. She slid the door open a crack to see

"NEJI!" He was standing over his desk reading a scroll

"Yes?"

"Weren't you at the party?" She stepped inside

"Clone" He started to write something down

"You have a clone at your own birthday party? I thought I'd seen everything" She mumbled "What are you doing?" She walked over

"ANBU" She nodded. She walked around his room. It amazed her that a guy with his personality had the messiest room. She made her way in front of a bookcase, grabbed a book then went back and sat on his bed. Hikari must've fallen asleep because the next thing she knew she felt blankets being pulled over her.

A couple of hours later everyone was leaving. Naruto's suspicions of Minoru had been correct. As soon as 'Neji' went to blow out the candles it exploded sending cake flying everywhere. Before he could get away his grandma had yanked him up by the collar. No one was angry however, so he was let off the hook. Naruto was getting ready to walk home with Sakura when he remembered Hikari

"Wait Sakura we gotta find her first"

"When you'd last see her?"

"An hour ago I think. She had to go get Neji's birthday present"

"All right Naruto, you wait here"

"Why?"

"Because you don't know your way around the house, besides Kiba is making his way over and will probably want to discuss how nervous he was in front of Hinata" She darted before he could stop her. After asking around she decided to have Hinata search with her. They checked the different rooms. As they went down one hall they came to Neji's room

"We've searched everywhere else, it wouldn't hurt" Hinata said

"I guess" They didn't expect anything since they'd just seen Hinata's cousin talking with Lee. Sakura opened the door. There was Hikari sleeping in his bed and Neji sitting at his desk looking over scrolls.

"Neji?" Hinata squeaked

"Yes?"

"Whats going on!" Sakura slid the door open all the way

"She fell asleep"

"Naruto and I are getting ready to leave, we wanted her to come with us"

"I wouldn't"

"Whatever" She snorted striding to the bed "Hikari wake up" She pushed her a little bit but that didn't work. Sakura tried again, still nothing. A head poked out from the blankets. Sakura let out a yelp. Icee's white head looked up at her.

"Neji help me out"

"She'll be fine Sakura, go home"

"But…" Hinata put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly "Alright, you better take care of her" They left, closing the door "How am I going to explain this to Sasuke?"

"Tell the truth"

"Yeah, he'd love to hear that his cousin is sleeping in Neji's room for the night" Hinata giggled "How does that wolf do that?"
"What do you mean?"

"I promise Hinata when we first went in there the only shape I saw was Hikari's. Then he popped out"

"She"

"Huh?

"She popped out, everyone keeps calling Icee a 'he' when 'he' is clearly a 'she'. It annoys Kiba to no end"

"What else annoys Kiba?"

"Oh different things…" She stopped, a blush spreading over her face. Sakura laughed

"Lets go, Naruto is probably getting ready to have a heart attack"

Tsunade paced in her office the next afternoon. It was the day. The day for the seperation. To say she was worried was an understatement. Hikari and Naruto were supposed to meet her in a couple of minutes. She glanced at the clock. They needed to get it done with. She opened her door, walking down the hall. She stopped at her destination. She entered to see Hikari and Naruto in the center of the room. Lady Okami, Akane Tora along with Minoru, Sasuke, Sakura and Sai stood with her. The Hyugas stood on the other side. Kakashi and Jiraiya stood near the door waiting for her

"Ready?" She asked. They nodded. "Go for it". Silence filled the room as Hikari's eyes closed. Though there were no windows in the room a strong wind began to blow. It circled around Naruto and Hikari. A large wolf formed by the wind hovered over them then it howled. Naruto screamed.

A lone shinobi raced through Konoha. He had an important message. He knew there were orders not to disturb the Hokage but he had to. He made it to the room she was in but was stopped by two higher ranking shinobi.

"The Hokage is not to be disturbed"

"I realize that but this is important"

"How important?"

"Akatsuki" The two shinobi looked at each other then stepped aside. The ninja hesitantly made his way in. The first that hit him was the silence, the next was the sobs of different people. He saw a young woman lying on the floor. She didn't appear to be breathing. Sasuke Uchiha was holding her head in his lap. The ninja couldn't be sure but it looked as if tears were coming down his face. He recognized Naruto who was sobbing and the pink haired girl who was the Hokage's apprentice was talking to him. Neji Hyuga was off to himself. An older woman with gray hair, he remembered her as Lady Okami, had an arm around a young boy who whose crying was filling the room. He didn't know what to do. The Hokage finally noticed him. She gave him a glare

"What!" She snapped

"I…uh…"

"I'm not going to ask again" Her voice lowered. He took a breath

"Akatsuki is here" Her eyes got big

"Not now" She rubbed her eyes. The ninja was preparing to leave when he saw a baby fox off to the side. A white wolf was nudging it with its nose, as if trying to wake it up. He almost told the Hokage about it but he didn't want to get snapped at again.

A note from me- Yes! I'm almost done. One or two chapters more should do it. I know this was a little short but the next one should make up for that. I'm a little sad though...March Madness is here and the Buckeyes didnt make it. Oh well :(