Sakura sat in the waiting room with others. Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, TenTen, Lee, Ino, Hinata, Shino, and the parents were all with her, including her own.

Ino was holding her, or rather, they were holding each other. Neji, Chouji, Sasuke, and Naruto were all in critical condition. Sakura was wrapped in towels, not getting up to change into the clothes her parents brought her. She refused to do so until they were all out of the critical category.

Shikamaru walked out of the room on the right, and faced the small crowd.

"If you excuse me."

He walked past to the unisex bathroom in the small waiting room and Ino immediately followed him in. The parents looked on with an odd look. But Sakura spoke up.

"Excuse us.."

She walked in to the bathroom to see Shikamaru sit on the floor, bobbing his leg up and down. The only damage he had seemed to be a broken finger, and maybe a few burns.

"Shikamaru, you did amazing. Thank you."

He nodded at her and Ino pulled her closer.

"He's scared for Chouji. He took a red pill!"

"But Tsunade-sama's in there with him."

"She's just a Hokage! What the hell can she do?"

For the first time, Sakura slapped a man.

For the first time, she laid her hands on Shikamaru.

"Do not take her lightly, Tsunade-sama is one of the three sanin, as well as the best medical personal in the fire country. If there's anyone that can save Chouji and Neji, it'd be her."

"It's too troublesome to argue with you."

"Besides, she has your clan's medical book. Don't your trust hundreds of years of medical knowledge?"

"Aa."

She smiled and Ino helped him up. While he had been hiding his face, he had been crying. When they stepped out, Shizune and Tsunade appeared from two of the four large rooms.

"Ah, Shizune! It appears you have good news as well?"

Shizune nodded.

"Hyuuga Neji is in stable condition."

"Excellent work. Akimichi Chouji has made it out as well. They will be moved tonight, and in the morning they can have visitors. How have Uchiha Sasuke and Uzamaki Naruto been doing?"

"They're stable as well, and taking chakra regimines."

"Tell the nurses to keep them on that schedule all night. Make sure Chouji and Neji get on the same floor as them. After that, get some rest. Parents, I will allow you ten minutes, after that you can visit first thing tomorrow."

They all watched the Hokage leave to the nurses station and her mother handed her the bag of clothes. Taking it, she went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her with a sigh.

She quickly changed into a dark blue sun dress and a pair of sandals. Putting her wet clothes and shoes in the bag, she headed out with Ino, who sat with her. Kakashi finally came out of a room on the right, and motioned for the Uchiha's.

Fugaku walked past her, but Mikoto reached for her hand and held it in her own. Sakura blushed but squeezed her hand.

"I'm going to say this now. Where Sasuke is at is a dark place. Fugaku-san, I know you noticed the oddities in Itachi before he left. I will not have that repeated with Sasuke. I'm going to take him through the countries and villages, train him with new techniques as well as keep him out or Orochimaru's grasp. The Hokage has cleared this mission for the two of us. I don't trust the state he's in, but you two should be in there when he awakens. Not you Sakura."

He put a hand on her shoulder and steered her away but she heard Mikoto's harsh whispers of protest.

Her parents motioned for her to come with them. Ino squeezed her hand one more time and she let her parents guide her away.

xxXXxx

She stood under the shower, feeling her hair stick to her face and the back of her neck. The once hot water shifted to warm, then now cold. She was clean, done everything she needed to do, but her mind was caught up in her own thoughts. Just yesterday Shikamaru, his team, and Sasuke had arrived back to Konoha. She didn't know how Sasuke had reacted to be back, but she imagined he was angry.

"Sakura?"

The voice outside her door made her smile. She finally turned off the water and threw the curtain open, wrapping a small towel in her hair and a larger one around her body.

"I'm out Ino. I didn't forget."

Today they were getting flowers before heading to the hospital.

"Do you mind if I come with you guys? Hinata and I that is."

TenTen's voice rang outside her door as well. Sakura finally opened it with a gentle smile seeing the three of them in her room before nodding.

"Yeah, let me get dressed real quick."

Grabbing her clothes, she went back into the bathroom to change into a green cotton t-shirt and a pair of short khaki shorts. Placing some hair product into her hair, she left it wet and turned off the bathroom light. Together they walked to the Yamanaka Flower Shop where they bought flowers for their team mates.

Sakura picked out white daisies, knowing they were her favorite. Plus, they weren't too girly; as well as two small vases. Ino had yellow roses as well as a butterfly on a stem for Chouji's namesake. TenTen picked out red roses, blushing at the meaning behind them but insisting it wasn't 'like that' between she and Neji. Hinata had gathered no flowers, because Kiba's sister had healed Kiba and Akamaru herself, but Sakura knew she wanted flowers for Naruto.

When they arrived to the hospital, they learned that all the boys were in the same hallway on the third floor, where as the ICU had been on the first floor.

When they arrived there, TenTen immediately went to Neji's room where she found Lee and Gai were already waiting inside.

"Hinata-chan, why don't you visit Naruto first, I'll go talk to Sasuke."

Hinata blushed but went inside the door. Ino gave her a knowing look before finding Chouji's door, which happened to be next to Sasuke's.

"I'll be in there too eventually, don't worry. I plan on seeing everybody."

Ino nodded and opened the door. Her smile grew and she knew that Chouji must've been awake at least. Pausing at Sasuke's door, her breath hitched and her hand shook as she touched the cold metal handle.

The flowers in her arms started to shake as well and she bit her lip.

Get a grip Sakura.

Closing her eyes, she opened the door and looked in, noticing that Sasuke's back was to her. She watched his even breathing and thought that he may be asleep. Closing the door gently, she watched as his posture didn't shift. Moving around his bed, she sat the vase down and poured half of a bottle of water inside before giving him three flowers.

Looking back, she saw the real peace on Sasuke's face. Smiling gently, she heard a soft knock and saw a nurse walk in.

"Hello. I'm Mitzuki, are you a friend of Sasuke-san?"

"I'm his teammate."

The nurse nodded and began to check on Sasuke, who oddly stayed asleep while she moved his limbs around.

"He's been drugged?"

The nurse smiled softly before nodding.

"He woke up during this morning when Godaime-sama put a stronger seal on his mark. She made a quick sleeping potion and slipped it into his IV. He's been sleeping for four hours now. It looks like he'll make a fast recovery with all this sleep he's getting. His family will be back soon, Mikoto-sama didn't want to get much sleep."

Sakura nodded and adjusted the flowers.

"Keeping his anger in control might be a problem. Godaime-sama has ordered some pills for Kakashi-sama to talk along with their mission."

She sighed and sat down on a chair next to his bed, watching his back. When the nurse left she fiddled with her hands.

"Sasuke-kun."

He didn't stir.

"I know why. So that's a stupid question. But yet, I still want to hear you say it."

Standing up, she pushed aside the curtains, not caring if the sun was in his eyes, and she opened the window, letting the fall breeze inside.

"You're an idiot."

Sasuke seemed to notice the sunlight, and he turned away from it.

"Indeed, he is."

She turned around quickly and stood up as Fugaku entered the room.

"Mikoto will be up, she's grabbing clothes for Sasuke."

In his hands were a stack of cards and a basket of fruits and vegetables which he set on a small table near the back of his room.

Sakura smiled to herself and sat on the window instead.

"Sasuke-kun doesn't like sweets."

She blushed as it slipped out and watched Fugaku look at the basket before looking at his son.

"Since when?"

"Since when what?"

Mikoto walked in and politely smiled at Sakura before setting a bag on the floor.

"Since when has Sasuke not liked sweets?"

"Since Itachi accidentally knocked his cup of juice on Sasuke's head. His hair wouldn't stop smelling like pineapples all day, and he had to go to the Academy like that."

"Aa."

Mikoto brushed Sasuke's hair out of his face and kissed his forehead before pulling back.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll go see if Naruto's awake for a moment."

They both just let her leave, and she grabbed her bottle, vase, and flowers.

xxXXxx

Naruto ended up directly across from Sasuke. Knocking on the door, she had it opened for her and Hinata smiled at her kindly. Naruto, unlike Sasuke, was awake. But then again, Naruto didn't needed to be put to sleep.

"Sakura-chan!"

She smiled at him and set up her flowers.

"How are you feeling Naruto?"

"I'm fine! I want to eat!"

"You can't eat Naruto, you'll get sick at your next chakra replacement."

"But they're cutting those down!"

"It's only morning. Maybe someone will let you have lunch."

"Oh come on!"

She hugged him tight and kissed his hair, not saying anything for a while.

"Sakura-chan! You're embarrassing me!"

A laugh let out of her mouth and she shook her head.

"I'm not your mother! I just wanted to say thank you!"

"But Hinata-chan!"

Hinata giggled and shook her head before grabbing at Naruto's hand and patted it gently before puling away.

"Now, now. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm miserable! But, how's Sasuke?"

"Tsunade-sama had to put him out this morning, so for right now he's sleeping. He'll be getting anxiety pills on his trip with Kakashi-sensei."

"Are you going to miss us?"

He grinned cheekily at her and she hit his head with her fist not to gently.

"Idiot. Of course I will. I'm going to go see Neji and Chouji. I promise to come visit with you longer though."

Waving to Hinata, she left the room and entered the room next to his, which appeared to be Neji's.

"Sakura!"

TenTen smiled brightly at her but a look of relief also appeared on her face. Neji's parents were in the room as well, and it appeared tense.

"Neji-san! How do you feel?"

"I've been better."

She smiled and moved to his bed and grabbed his hand in hers.

"Neji-san, I just want to say thank you. You risked your life for a Konoha comrade, my friend, and I consider you a friend as well. Get better soon okay?"

"Your welcome Sakura-san."

Sakura turned to TenTen.

"If you need anything, let me know. I think at lunch I'll grab food for all of us."

"Right, thanks."

Leaving the room, Sakura shuddered at the intensity. She knew about ancient clans, and apparently the Uchiha's were more relaxed than the Hyuuga's. TenTen being infatuated with Neji would have to go through phases.

Gai and Lee appeared just then, about to visit Neji. Sakura smiled politely before knocking at Chouji's door.

"Come in!"

Ino's cheery voice rang through, and when she opened the door she was smiling as well. Chouji was sitting up in bed, with Shikamaru sitting on it as well. His mother, whom she had seen a few times, Asuma, and Ino were in the room as well.

"Chouji, how are you feeling?"

"I feel good actually, thank you."

She sat on Ino's lap much to the blonde's shock and took Chouji's hand in hers.

"I want to thank you. You're such a brave person Chouji."

Pink tinged his cheeks and he smiled at her.

"It's not a problem Sakura."

It was then another girl appeared in the room.

"Chouji-kun!"

All the faces in the room were shocked but Chouji's. Shikamaru moved just in time to avoid the hug and kiss that the girl planted on Chouji.

"Ayame-chan, I was wondering when you'd get here."

"No one told me!"

Ino and Sakura stood up, and moved towards the door.

"I'm going back to check on Sasuke, are you doing alright? I was thinking about grabbing lunch for everyone in a few hours."

"Alright. Who knew those two had a thing?"

Sakura shrugged and smiled before turning and leaving the room.

xxXXxx

When she arrived at Sasuke's door, she sighed and straightened her back. Knocking, a soft 'come in' allowed her to open the door. Fugaku appeared to be doing a lot of paperwork, and Mikoto was over his shoulder helping him.

"Good news Sakura-chan, he can leave tomorrow morning."

Mikoto's smile was infectious. She motioned for Sakura to sit on the chair next to Sasuke's bed. Looking at his face, she memorized the subconsciously. Wondering how he'd change in a year. She had done the same to Naruto when she thanked him.

She stopped at his nose and lips, before moving up his cheeks to his eyes. They were unfocused for a second, before they jerked to her face. They stared at each other for a second, and Sakura's breath hitched.

'Thank you.'

Tears welled in her eyes but she kept them there before clearing her throat.

"Mikoto-san, Fugaku-san, he's awake."

Sasuke immediately sat up, looking around the room.

"What the fuck?"

"Sasuke!"

His mother wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight. But right after she pulled away and slapped him, hard.

Sakura watched as Ssuke's face stayed turned to the side for a second before turning back to his mother. The mark was already getting red.

"Mikoto, this isn't like you."

But the mother continued to cry before grabbing her son's shoulders and shaking him.

"Don't you dare do that again! Don't you dare leave me! What were you thinking? Itachi isn't your responsibility! Improving isn't important! We are! Your father, your mother, your clan, your friends, Naruto, Sakura!"

Her face heated up before she moved to remove the woman from shaking her son some more, even though she knew exactly how she felt.

"Mikoto-san! Yelling at him won't work. Crying at him won't work. Sasuke, he doesn't care."

"You're wrong! That's not my baby!"

"Stop it Sakura."

Sasuke's voice was cold."Don't talk to me."

Her voice was colder.

Turning back to his mother, she sat her in the chair she previously occupied.

Fugaku moved to sit on Sasuke's bed with a sigh."Sasuke. Kakashi is going to take you away for a year and train you, one on one. What I'm going to say is important. Do not run away. Do not think you can escape. Make us proud. The other clan members look up to you."

For a second Sakura never thought to think about the clan members. She never really saw them around either, but she never thought about them either. Thinking about it, his nurse is an Uchiha.

Biting her lip, she realized that Sasuke's gaze was on her. She blushed unwillingly and sat on the windowsill, fingering the flowers she had given him.

I hope this year goes fast.

xxXXxx

End!

I'm not happy with this chapter.

It sucks.

Ugh.

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