A/N: Thank you for all those who sent in their reviews. Hearing from you makes me very happy! Here's the next chapter. Sorry I couldn't post it last week. (My stupid floppy disk messed up this one chunk and I had to rewrite it.) Well, I hope you guys like this one as much as the last, and as always, please read and review!

Chapter Two: Intangible Whispers

Sasuke sighed as he leaned his back against the closed door. What a pest. Why does she have to keep tagging around and concerning herself with what I do? It's none of her business! ...Argh! She's so annoying!

He watched the second hand of the clock tick away the seconds. …What am I doing? Bailing on a mission? What's gotten into me? He clenched a fist, gritting his teeth. Ever since Naruto showed me up by defeating those Rain ninjas in the Forest, I feel like I'm not getting anywhere…

Sasuke then looked to the ground. …Still…maybe I shouldn't have…dismissed Sakura so coldly…but am I in the wrong? I don't need someone to watch over me! I can do that myself! Yet no matter how hard Sasuke tried to argue with himself, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of remorse. Sighing again, he slowly parted the blue curtains of his front window. To his surprise, Sakura had just started walking away.

Trying to catch her before she left, Sasuke quickly opened the door and stepped out onto the pavement. However, Sakura—as if sensing his presence—suddenly quickened her pace to a run. And though Sasuke was sure he could have caught up to her, he decided not to. Instead, he just watched her go.

Back at the bridge…

A puff of pink smoke suddenly poofed into view, revealing a very late Kakashi (as always). He smiled brightly. "Hi, guys! Sorry I'm late, but I got lost on the path of…" Finally opening his eyes, he noticed that no one was there and that he was talking to himself. "…Life?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "That's odd," he muttered in confusion, "Normally, I'm the one who's late…" He shrugged, and then extracted Make-Out Paradise from his pocket. "Oh well."

As for Naruto…

Patting his full stomach in content, Naruto said, "Man, I ate too much! But that was great!"

Ayame (A/N: the owner of the Ichiraku's daughter, in case you didn't know) "No problem," she said, smiling. "You're welcome here anytime."

On the other hand, Teuchi (A/N: the owner) gave Naruto a serious look. "But aren't you supposed to go on a new mission right now? You shouldn't have overstuffed yourself."

Naruto's eyes dilated. "Did you say 'mission'?!" he repeated incredulously.

"Uh-huh," the Teuchi said dully, unaware of the current situation. "And?"

Naruto spun around and looked out at the sky. The sun was now high overhead. He jumped up from his seat, knocking down his stool in the process. "Oh man, oh man, oh man!" he exclaimed frantically, "I'm so late! Master Kakashi's gonna kill me!"

He then scurried away from the ramen bar, kicking up clouds of dust in his wake. "Bye! Thanks for the meal!"

"Hey! Wait!" Teuchi shouted, "You didn't pay for that! Arh! NARUTO!" But it was too late; he was already out of sight.

"Kakashi-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!" called a very energetic Naruto from the distance. "I'm here! I'm here!"

"Hmm?" Kakashi finally tore his gaze away from his novel to see Naruto running toward the bridge, his arms flailing.

Naruto screeched to a stop once he reached the bridge. Panting, he looked up at Kakashi. "I'm not late, am I? I tried my best to get here on time! Really, I did!"

"Uh-huh," Kakashi replied dubiously, "Right."

Naruto laughed nervously, but then came to realize that he and Kakashi were the only ones at the bridge. He glanced around. "Hey, where're Sakura and Sasuke? I know for sure Sakura was here earlier."

"I don't know what it is with you three today," Kakashi replied, shaking his head, "You guys are always punctual. Is it because you don't care about missions anymore? Do you want to miss out on any extra training before the final matches of the Chunin Exam next month?"

"No! No way!" Naruto protested indignantly, "I'm gonna train so hard for it that I'll beat Neji and that loser Sasuke! They won't stand a chance against me because you're gonna train me, Master Kakashi!"

"Uh, no," Kakashi said flatly, "I don't think so."

"Awe! C'mon! Why not?" Naruto whined. "I bet you'd train Sasuke!"

"That's not the point."

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him. "But you would, wouldn't you? Admit it, Kakashi-sensei! You're playing favorites!"

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, I don't have time for this," he replied, and then continued reading Make-Out Paradise.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Naruto demanded loudly, infuriated that he was being ignored. "Hello! I'm right here and I'm waiting for my one-on-one training!" He waved a hand in front of Kakashi's face. "Hello!"

Yet before he could continue his harangue, he suddenly caught sight of Sakura, who was slowly approaching the bridge. His eyes instantly lit up. "Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully. "Sakura, you're finally here!"

Kakashi glanced up from his novel again. "Good afternoon, Sakura. And what makes you so late?"

"Huh?" Sakura suddenly asked softly, as if snapping awake from a dream.

"Yeah, Sakura," Naruto added, lacing his fingers behind his head again. "Where'd you go?"

"Oh, I just, uh…went on a little walk, that's all…" Sakura lied, forcing a smile to hide her sorrow.

Naruto cocked his head to one side. "Then why are your eyes so red?"

"They are?" Sakura asked, suddenly aware that she'd been crying. "Well, it's nothing really…" She wiped a tear from her eye. "…Just a cold…"

That's interesting… Naruto thought skeptically. She seemed fine earlier… Yet in the end, he just shrugged and said, "Okay, makes sense to me."

Typical Naruto…always so gullible and quick to believe anything you throw at him, Sakura thought. Usually, thoughts like that would have made her smile, but this time, it didn't cheer her up at all.

"So, where's Sasuke?" Kakashi finally asked.

Sakura shook her head. "I…don't know," she replied quietly. Another lie.

Naruto scowled. "Who does that jerk think he is? Is he 'too good for us' that he can't even participate in one simple mission?!"

Sakura would have punched him in the face if it was any other day, but today, she didn't feel up to it. Instead, she just kept silent.

As a witness to this "unprecedented turn of events," Kakashi knew something was wrong, "Hmm… Well in that case, maybe we should forget about the mission today."

Sakura looked up at her sensei with surprise, while Naruto was downright incredulous. "You mean I hurried back here after eating my ramen for nothing?!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "So that's what you were doing?"

Naruto froze, suddenly realizing his mistake. "Uh, did I say something about ramen?" he began nervously, trying in vain to cover his slip. "I-I meant training! Yeah, that's right! Training! I was training, Kakashi-sensei! Believe it! Now can we hurry up and start our mission?!"

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not that simple," he explained, "What I had planned for today's mission required a three-man cell. And seeing as to how Sasuke isn't here, I think it's best if we cancelled the mission." He glanced toward Sakura. "And besides, Sakura's sick."

She flinched. Something about the way Kakashi said that last part so simply made her suspect that he knew she was lying. But then why would he still cancel the mission? Was it really that important for everyone to be present? …Oh well, she didn't feel like going on a mission right now, anyway.

Naruto glanced at Sakura, too, as if he'd momentarily forgotten about her presence. "Well…if it's for Sakura's benefit…" Naruto decided reluctantly.

"Good," Kakashi said. "Then it's settled. I knew you'd understand." And with those terse words, he suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

As soon as he left, Naruto threw a fit. "Argh! It's all Sasuke's fault! You know, I don't see why we all have to suffer because of him! It's not fair! Why is it always about Sasuke?! Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke! …"

Pretty soon, Naruto's rant faded into mere echoes: Sasuke…Sasuke…Sasuke… that kept repeating like departing whispers in Sakura's mind—whispers that no matter how hard she tried to reach, they always seemed further and further away.