Author's Note; Okay, now that my depression is out of the way from this morning. To be completely honest with all of you, I had yet to go to bed because I couldn't go to sleep for the life of me! Anyway, I'm now going to do triple posts from now on because all of May I'm going to edit the crap out of this and enter it into a contest! :D And no where in the rules does it say it can't have been posted anywhere! Bwahahaha! I had to read the rules thirty times to make sure I read it right. Any who, I'm going to post this chapter and chapter 23 up so there's not going to be an author's note on chapter 23.

Please review for anything you think I might consider changing when I go and edit, that will be loads of help! But either way, that's all up to you :)

Naruto; You're gonna have to bust ass on book 2 if you want to start posting that one soon.

Sasuke; You better not make me a pile of fucking sentimental goo!

Itachi; Hush up otouto, we both know you're that already deep down inside. -Smirks.-

Gaara; At least she isn't making you an insomniac freak! Oh wait, I'm already there ... Never mind. -Shrugs- Just don't make me go to the damned hospital again!

Me; That isn't up to me, ya know. Bakayo. I write what my characters tell me! You should know that by know Gaa-kun.

Gaara; -right eye twitched in annoyance- What ... did you just call me?

Me; Gaa-kun, and get over it, it's cute. At least I don't add -chan like Naru-nii does! -whistles-

Naruto; You promised you wouldn't tell! D:

Me; On with the chapters!

Chapter 22

Sasuke

I was glad to get out of the house for a while, especially Naruto, he needed the fresh air and Gaara knew exactly how to give it to him by taking him to the Mongolian Grille at the Konoha Mall and eat outside in the court yard. I would have to think that Gaara would also take Naruto shopping at a few shops after they were done eating, so I had enough time to get some of my stuff done as well, like shop for a couple new books and maybe get into the market for a new laptop.

But also considering the condition Naruto's in, they might just do dinner and shop another day. They promised Tsunade an hour or so, and it'll take just that long to get their dinner and eat.

When I looked into the rear view mirror of the car to check up on Naruto, he looked relaxed, something I haven't seen in a while, and couldn't help but smile. And Gaara knew why I smiled, because he smiled back with a small blush.

"We're almost there Naru." Gaara whispered as I put my eye back on the road as I turned into the Mall's parking lot and drove up to the Mongolian Grille, that looked slightly busy, but there wasn't a line so they were good to go. I'm only guessing there was no line because of the time and the fact that it was a school/work night.

"Where are we?" Naruto groaned, and I'm guessing he tried taking a few minute nap on the way here, but I kind of wished he didn't.

"We're at the mall." Gaara said and pointed to the restaurant I parked in front of.

"There's a couple cars coming." I said, hoping they'd hurry up and get out.

"Come on Naru." Gaara said with a smile and helped Naruto out of the car, who seemed still slightly dazed, but I took off once the door was closed, so I wasn't able to see his reaction when he realized where Gaara took him for dinner.

I could only imagine the look on his face, all because he hated others looking after him and he always hated it when people bought him food during lunch because he couldn't afford to either buy it himself or he couldn't bring anything from home. But he never was able to bring anything from home because his father never could afford to go grocery shopping.

Anyway, I searched the parking lot for a place to park and found one across from the Electronics store and turned the engine off once I had the car in park and turned the head lights off because they were manual, and climbed out while grabbing my wallet and shoved it into my back pocket.

Sighing, I walked up to the store entrance and walked straight through it towards the book store that was on the other side of the mall. I only parked close to the restaurant so we could all climb in and leave. I didn't want to find ways to get back to this side and pick them up. Konoha Mall was huge, big enough for two hospitals and four parking garages plus two outside parking lots. Luckily, I always kept to one side of the mall at all times, and the electronics, books, novelties and movies and music were on this end with the food court, so I didn't have to walk five hundred miles to get to one store I wanted to get to.

"Sasuke!" I heard screaming behind me, making me jump and tense, all because I recognized the voice, and it wasn't Sakura.

"Yes … Ino?" I asked as I turned around and glared at her.

"I'm so glad that I found you, you have to come and see Sakura." She squealed in her annoying voice as she grabbed my arm and dragged me off towards the direction she came from, but I managed to get out of her grasp and regain my balance.

"I can't right now Ino." I said coldly, which was the truth, no matter how much I'd like to see her. I had to be close by in case Gaara called and needed me.

"What's with you lately? All of a sudden, when Naruto and Gaara disappear, you disappear at the same time." Ino asked, stating the obvious, and I wanted to smack her.

"Naruto's been going through a really hard time right now, and I'm trying to support him as much as I possibly can." I explained, and I wasn't lying either, but this was as much as I could tell her. "And I'm waiting for a call I could get any minute."

"What have you been helping Naruto with?" Ino asked, and I should have known that she'd try and pry her nose into his business.

"He's been staying at my place since there's no steps at my house." I said, and I wished I hadn't.

"So you're telling me that blonde idiot has been staying with you all this time?" Ino almost screamed.

"I'd like to tell you everything, but I'm leaving that all up to Naruto." I hissed. "Now I have places I have to stop at before I'm called, leave me alone and if Sakura was really here, she'd be with you and asking me to be over with her, herself." I added and stormed off in the direction I was headed off to from the very beginning.

At the moment, I didn't care if I left her flustered and pissed off with me, but as the words I said to her repeated in my mind like a broken record, I regretted saying anything to her about Naruto at all. I could already see what she'd do to him if she ever saw him again … question his very being as to why he's staying with me and why not at his own place and why he's spending so much time with me than being alone like she thinks he should be. Fucking hell, what in the hell did I just get him into?

Frustrated with myself, I stormed into the book store and went straight to the fiction section and just stared at the books on the shelves. I didn't remember why I came here anymore, Ino helped me forget what I was trying to get all together in the two minutes we were talking. I now felt so horrible that I could throw up where I stood.

But I held my stomach in and grabbed five books from the shelves around me that I personally knew I didn't have and paid for them at the front of the store, along with three journals that I needed and left heading towards the electronics department to see about a new laptop, though I'm not really looking to buy one right now.

As I was about to go back to the car after looking at laptops and wasn't interested in any of them, I heard my phone ringing and pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw that it was Sakura calling.

Holding my breath, I answered it, hoping she wouldn't scream in my ear like Ino did.

"Sasuke Uchiha speaking …"

"Hi Sasuke, where are you so I can stop by and give you a hug?" She asked, and I smiled when she wasn't yelling.

"I'm about to go back to my car, I'm outside the electronics side of the mall." I told her, hoping she'd come alone.

"Great, that's where I parked my car. I'll be there in a few, and Ino went home with Kiba and Hinata five minutes ago. And I have questions for you when I see you, okay?" She said, and I knew she was going to ask why Ino was pissed off to oblivion, but I didn't care.

"Okay, see you in a minute." I said and hung my phone up. Glad that we'd get some alone time before I got my call from Gaara and waited by the doors for her to get here.

And I didn't have to wait long because a moment later, she burst through the doors and ran over to me, slowing down a few feet before reaching me and pulled me into her arms. I wanted to kiss her, but I refrained myself. She said she wanted us to be friends for now, and I was willing to be.

"I missed you Sasuke, you haven't been around much." She said into my ear before we broke our hug and I only nodded sadly.

"Yea, I've been helping Naruto out, he's not doing so well at all, emotionally, mentally and physically." I told her, though I fought to keep the important stuff to myself.

"Yea, how's his back? It has to be close to healing by now." She asked, and she was right, it should have been healed up by now.

"I don't know what's up with that, but the laceration on his back is healed up nicely, but the bones are taking forever to heal up." I said with a heavy sigh. "It still pains him horribly."

"Tsunade will see what's up, she's the best there is." Sakura smiled as she sat down on the ledge of the wall with me. She always knew what to say and when to say it.

"Yea, but lately I think she's over working herself." I admitted.

"I know, I've spoken to her during lunch the other day, trying to talk her into letting someone else become the principal of our school. But she refuses to back down. I personally know she'd never give up her job at the hospital, so I didn't even try there."

"I'll see about talking to her about it, but yea, I think it will be the same with me." I nodded, crossing my arms as I held my bag, but a few seconds later I put it down on the ledge next to me.

"So, where's Naruto right now?" She asked after the two of us were quiet for a few minutes.

"I'm letting him spend some time with a friend he hasn't been able to be alone with for a while." I shrugged.

"So he's with Gaara?" She asked, and I had to stare at her to see if she was smirking, but she wasn't. "Oh, I know that they're a couple, it's obvious at how they act around each other during school. But I'm the only one that's noticed, I've asked Ino and she's completely oblivious to the two she's locked up in her ego so much."

"Good, don't tell anyone, please, Naruto is going to have my hide if anyone else knows, hell, I don't even want to know what Gaara would do." I said, shuddering at the thought of Gaara possibly making me pay by blackmailing me like Itachi did. Fucking shit.

"Don't worry, I know how Gaara's father is like, remember when they moved here and his dad thought Gaara was sleeping around? That was a fucking nightmare!" She said, reminding me of the horrifying moment of Gaara's life where his dad showed up at school and broke into Tsunade's office, using the intercom system and told Gaara everything he suspected for the entire school to hear. We never saw Gaara for three weeks afterwards, but I know for a fact that he ran away until he thought the rumors were gone. He was lucky that Naruto kept everyone's mind away from him or he would have never come back.

"His dad is a jackass." I mumbled.

"Well, he's over protective, that's what I think, just like my parents are." She said with a small shrug. And I know perfectly well what she's talking about.

Then my phone rang and I hissed because I had wished I could spend more time with her.

"It's Gaara, him and Naruto are done with dinner so I gotta go pick them up." I sighed, happy that Gaara had sent a text message instead of called.

"Tell them I said hi okay?" She smiled and hugged me again, I hugged her back tightly before I let her go and watched her go to her car while I went to mine. It was a good fifteen cars away, but I had lost sight of her when she got to her car and drove off.

I sighed as I got in my car and buckled up before going to pick Naruto and Gaara up, putting my bag of items in the passenger seat next to me. Thinking I should call them, I picked my phone back up and dialed Gaara's number.

"Hey, Gaara, where did you guys eat?" I asked, wanting to make sure I drove to the right place.

"We're outside the electronics department. Naruto wanted to walk around and look a bit before we called you." Gaara said and I couldn't have been happier.

"Honk." I said once before blasting my car horn three times when I realized they were walking past the front of my car.

"Sasuke, that was uncalled for." Gaara growled in my ear, but I only shrugged as I hung up and made sure all the doors were unlocked as they walked over and Naruto looked like he had a good time, and blushing like mad.

When they climbed into the car and buckled up, Naruto immediately snuggled into Gaara for warmth and I started the car before we drove off and headed towards the hospital.

"Did you two have fun?" I asked, smirking as I looked back at them in the rear view mirror.

"I loved it, Gaara knows how to over treat someone that doesn't deserve it." Naruto said with a smile, and I only chuckled at his comment.

"You deserved every minute of that." I heard Gaara whisper into Naruto's ear and when I saw Naruto shiver, I turned the heat on in the car. It was getting a little chilly in here, and we didn't need him getting a cold on top of all this either.

"Sakura says hi to you both." I said after a few minutes of driving in silence, listening to the two back there breathe like they were sleeping.

"I saw her while we were eating, but she didn't hear me calling her name. It looked like she had her music on and she was talking to Ino, Kiba and Hinata. You know what, I think Kiba and Hinata got together last month." Naruto said, and smirked.

"Well leave their business alone and let them tell if they are or not." Gaara said as he poked Naruto on the forehead. "Just like we will tell when we are ready."

"Yea Naruto." I agreed, though I had half the heart to tell them that Sakura already knows about them two. I'll wait a few more days or weeks before I tell them I guess.

"Hey, Sasuke, if I go home tomorrow … who's going to stay with me?" Naruto asked when I pulled into the hospital parking lot near Tsunade's office. That's right, I didn't think about who would stay with him tomorrow.

"I don't know, I'm going to talk to Itachi in the morning before he comes and picks you up. Tsunade is expecting me to go to school so I have no choice but to go." I answered, parking the car in front of the sliding doors that led up to her office and turned the engine off. I was only going to do a drop off, leaving after I helped Gaara take Naruto up to her office, and go home.

"Okay." Naruto nodded, and he looked ready to go to bed already when he and Gaara climbed out of the car before I did.

"Go on home Sasuke, I can get Naruto up to her office." Gaara said, a hand around Naruto's waist and one of Naruto's arms draped over his shoulders. Yea, he looked like he could take him up himself, but I wasn't going to take that chance of Naruto falling asleep and suddenly falling to the floor while dragging Gaara with him.

No, I didn't underestimate Gaara's strength at all, he's someone I wouldn't want to mess around with even when he is calm, it's just that Naruto's unconscious body weight more than it looked.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yea, we'll be fine." Gaara smiled and headed off inside, though I smirked when Naruto shot himself up right. I could only imagine that Gaara pinched him awake.

Sighing, I climbed into the car and drove home. I was physically and mentally prepared to drag Itachi to his room when I got home and I still had to get some writing on my novel done before I dragged myself to bed.

But tonight I think I'm going to skip writing, it's already going on ten thirty, an hour and a half past my usual bed time and actually get some peace and quiet tonight.