I can't believe that Naruto would just abandon me like that. After spending all of that time trying to get me to go to Konoha with him, he's just decided that he's going to stop trying. That's fine though. I don't need him. I only need to learn to become stronger and to do that I have to stay with Orochimaru. I'm glad that Naruto has decided to finally stop bothering me about going back home because now I can focus on training.

Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing right now? Didn't Orochimaru send me out here to train with some new jutsu that he supposedly taught me yesterday? I don't remember anything that happened yesterday. The only thing that I remember is that Naruto came to visit me and then left without trying to get me to go back. After that everything was a blur of motion in which I don't remember anything.

"Sasuke!" This time it's not Naruto calling out to me. It's Kabuto. What does he want? I don't know. Whatever it is it must be important because he's not supposed to ever interrupt my training.

I feel a sharp pain in my chest and a sudden realization comes to me. I was training to block medical jutsu that could possibly lead me paralyzed or, worse, dead. I couldn't do that without Kabuto's help, but I zoned out and he got a hit that's much more deadly that I'm sure he meant it to be. Now I'm bleeding into my lungs. That's not good. I don't know how to heal that. Oh well. Kabuto seems to be doing the job just fine.

"You weren't paying attention," Kabuto scolds me. Not that I really care. I only ever listen to Orochimaru. Kabuto is just an underling that is useful to me every now and again. "I could have killed you."

"Are you done yet?" I ask impatiently. I don't like it when people touch me and Kabuto is running his hands up and down my chest so that he can heal whatever damage that he caused just by using one blow. It felt gross and I wanted to throw him to the other side of the room, but I knew that if I did that then I would definitely die from blood loss.

"Give me a minute," Kabuto sighed. "You are bleeding from the inside out. Those wounds are the hardest to heal."

"Than perhaps next time you shouldn't use that strong of a jutsu on me."

"You're the one who told me not to hold back," Kabuto answered.

I forgot about that. I was really mad that Naruto had been holding back on me for so long that I ordered Kabuto not to do the same. It wouldn't have mattered if I had paid more attention during the battle. Kabuto is nowhere near my level, but I was distracted so he was actually able to beat me.

"Whatever," I muttered. "Just hurry up and leave me alone."

"I'm almost done," Kabuto muttered.

"Good," I growled. He finally removed his hands from my chest and left me to my thoughts.

When he was gone I sat on the ground and thought about Naruto. I was done fighting it. I needed to just think about him and all that he had said to me over the years. Mainly what he said to me earlier today. I had been so angry that I hadn't actually taken what he said into account. This whole time he was protecting me by not forcing me to go home. He was trying to convince me so that I wouldn't be punished as severely. If I came back of my own free will, he had said, I would be more likely to be trusted.