I peeked around the corner, suppressed my chakra and watched with pleasure as the Medical Ninjas eyes began to widen in horror.

3...2...1

„Ahh ... the patient has escaped!" she shrieked.

She stood in front of my empty hospital bed with her hands to her right and left, staring at it as if she couldn't really believe that I had managed to escape. Well... Not quite yet. But I would make it. But first I had something to do.

I quietly made my way past the nurse and out the door to the rescue. Down the corridor and to the stairs. My thigh protested quietly as I took four steps at once, always taking care to be quiet, even though I was barefoot. But that didn't really matter. Because by now I had quite thick calluses on my feet. Nothing was going to happen that quickly.

When I reached the fourth floor, I took a short breather before slipping into the third room and quietly closing the door behind me. Blue eyes gazed at me in surprise from a hospital bed and I grinned wryly. How I must have looked to him. Worn-out, loose clothes, a thick bandage around my thigh and my back felt three times as thick.

„Tora," he said almost sluggishly. „I'm glad you're here."

Well, it didn't sound like that at all. I had heard from the others that Sasuke had won the fight against him and had gone to Orochimaru. I understood that he was upset, as he had not only seen the Uchiha as a rival, but also as a close friend. The shock was deep at first. But still. Five days had passed since then and we were both still in hospital.

And in all that time, I hadn't seen the Uzumaki once. Every time someone had visited me and I had asked them how Naruto was doing, the answer had been that he was just lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling and had sworn to bring Sasuke back.

That was all well and good. But what if he didn't want to be "rescued" at all? In my opinion, it was his own decision to become a nuke-nin by joining Orochimaru.

And me? Not once had he asked about me. Was I worth nothing to him? Tears welled up in my eyes, but I pushed them back. Naruto seemed to have noticed my change of heart, because the apathy gave way to dismay.

„Tell me Naruto..., if I ran away... would you want to get me back too?"

Silence reigned. A monstrously oppressive one that made me turn my back on him and push down the door handle.

„Of course."

I turned around.

Naruto was standing on the bed, he didn't seem to care that there were endless bandages lining his body. Dimly, I remembered his incredible self-healing powers. His eyes shone with determination and he raised his fist in the air, just like he had done on the roof. The moment he had realized that he was a genin and had subsequently promised the whole world that he would one day become Hokage.

„You're my best friend, Tora, and you always will be. If you run away from Konoha for any reason...I swear to you, I will search every corner of this world for you, for real now."

Tears gathered in my eyes, flowing down my cheeks in torrents, I was so moved by the Uzumaki's words. We hugged each other silently. We felt each other's warmth and the intimate feeling of friendship.

Footsteps...footsteps could be heard in the corridor. Hectic, restless, agitated. A familiar chakra. Kakashi. I flinched and backed away from Naruto, who had also stiffened. Damn, his gaze said. There was no escaping the copy ninja so easily. But still, maybe...

But before I could come up with a plan, Naruto had grabbed my hand and jumped straight through the open window. A small scream escaped me through the breeze and the slight vibration as we landed on a roof opposite.

„Tora! Naruto! Stop right there," Kakashi's voice rang out behind us.

I dared to look back and grinned. The jonin was hanging far out of the window, looking after us almost desperately. Well, it would probably take them a while to catch us.

„Catch us, sensei, if you can," Naruto jeered, grabbing my hand and running off with me. Wind tugged at our hair, making us feel like we were flying. I closed my eyes and let Naruto guide me over the rooftops, knowing when he jumped and how to land. Trust.

In the meantime, we had reached the gate, which had just been passed by the Sunas, who seemed to be on their way home again. Naruto paused and his gaze remained as fixed on Gaara as mine was on Kankuro. A stinging feeling spread through my stomach; I still didn't know what to think of the brown-haired Suna nin. I had already forgiven Gaara...but there had been something like friendship between Kankuro and me.

„I still have to talk to Gaara," Naruto said and watched thoughtfully as the Ninjas of the sand moved further and further away from a green and purple dot. That could only be Ino and Shikamaru. However..., if the nara caught us here... if he was still a genin, he certainly wouldn't rat us out, but now as a chunin...

We followed the three of them deep into the forest. Gaara had noticed us long ago, but we didn't suppress our chakra. A branch creaked as Naruto pushed himself off it and Temari and Kankuro were immediately on alert.

„Hey Gaara," Naruto called out and immediately the expressions on their faces changed as we landed in front of their noses. As always, Gaara remained unimpressed and stood in front of his older siblings with his arms crossed. His eyes glanced over us scrutinizingly before I took a step forward and moved Kankuro slightly to the side.

The dark-haired boy's eyes widened in surprise. I couldn't blame him for not expecting me to talk to him at all. But out of a feeling, or perhaps because Temari had talked to me about him two days ago, I wanted to put an end to this rift between us once and for all.

„Listen to me. A lot has happened in the last few months. There was your betrayal and then the death of my sensei, who was murdered by Orochimaru. And since you had allied yourselves with him, I was so angry. I blamed you for his death... sometimes I even wanted revenge."

I took a deep breath as he winced slightly.

„But now I've understood that it doesn't do me any good. Just like Gaara, who now understands that negative feelings will never make you happy, but positive ones will. And then you can live better with yourself."

A smile crept onto my features as I turned my gaze towards the redhead, who was still talking to Naruto. He raised his head briefly and our eyes crossed. There was no vengeance, no anger...none of what I had seen in his eyes earlier.

„I...I should have told you Tora...much earlier...but I was a coward and I was afraid of Gaara's reaction if..."

The brown-haired man's gaze slid hastily to his little brother, who was engrossed in a conversation with Naruto and Temari again. I just nodded and he seemed happy not to have to continue talking. There still seemed to be tension between the two of them and I hoped that one day they could be real brothers.

„You're one of few people, apart from Temari, that I've been able to talk to properly and in the end I trusted you a lot. The thing with Gaara changed us all, each in our own way, especially him. And I want to thank you and Naruto for opening his eyes," he said and I looked at him in surprise.

Kankuro had never been one for big words or compliments. And that was a positive thing. I smiled slightly. Yes, he might be right, the events of the exams had changed us all. Many things were positive, but some - my thoughts wandered to Sasuke - were the opposite. Perhaps some things could still be changed. But no one could be sure. You could always try and then say afterwards that you had tried. But sometimes you had to accept certain things, even if it was quite difficult.

„I'm sorry to end your little reconciliation party, but I've lost a few patients and I'd like them back," a sharp, bossy voice rang out behind us.

Oh. Oh. Not good.

Tsunade was angry. Very angry. I had only seen her in this state once before, but now all that anger was directed at me and Naruto. Shikamaru was leaning next to us, looking at us with a rather annoyed expression on his face.

The Ninjas of the sand had long been gone. Kankuro and Temari had seemed quite intimidated by the Hokage's appearance. Only Gaara had kept his composure. Just as we knew him.

In the meantime, we were back at the hospital. Tsunade had had us taken to an empty double room. The icing on the cake: Her moral sermon.

„It's my fault," I said, drawing the blonde's fiery gaze to me. Shikamaru sighed in exasperation. „Who would have thought it?"

„That was very, very irresponsible of you two. Your wounds are not completely healed yet, inside and out. You won't be released until I say so. And if things go on like this, you won't be released for another week."

My eyes narrowed and Naruto cried out behind me.

„You can't do that Grandma Tsunade, really now. I have to train to get stronger and save Sasuke," he crowed. The blonde Hokage's fist crashed onto the - still complete - table, causing us to flinch in sync as fine cracks formed in the light-colored wood.

„And how are you going to do that if you're not fit yet?" she asked in a dangerously low voice. „If you march off now, with only the rescue of Sasuke on your mind and no longer paying attention to your own health, you'll be easy prey out there. Get it?"

I gritted my teeth. She was partly right, I realized, but I hated hospitals. The smell, the white rooms, the feeling of being in a prison, strange hands feeling my body.

Tsunade's features softened a little as she scrutinized me.

„I know how much you loathe the hospital Tora. Rest assured that I will let you and Naruto leave as soon as possible..." she paused and her gaze became serious again. "But if you two escape again, I'll think of something, and believe me, you wouldn't like it."

Naruto grinned.

„No shit. So what, I don't mind a bit of cleaning."

The blonde Hokage grinned triumphantly. I didn't like that at all.

„Are you sure about that? All right, if you and Tora get into trouble even once during the week, you'll be helping out at Ichirakus for a whole week..."

„THAT'S supposed to be the punishment...I'm happy to do it, really now," Naruto laughed, but I suspected that there was more to come. Tsunade's grin didn't promise anything good.

„...without eating a single noodle soup. In other words, you're banned from noodle soup for a whole week."

„WHAAAT?!"

Naruto looked as if the world had just ended for him. I couldn't blame him. The Uzumaki had always been addicted to Teuchi's noodle soup, he ate one almost every day and never got tired of it. What's more... standing in the little stall all day and enduring the tempting smell of the food was really torture... It would be pretty intense for me too...but what could be worse...

„And you Tora..." Oh no. That grin was not good.

Droplets of sweat began to form on my forehead as the Hokage leaned down towards me.

„...you're going to do a little internship with Daichi for a week."

I felt sick to my stomach when I saw the triumphant look on her face. She knew she had won. Never. Nope. For me, that was the equivalent of being ordered on a single mission to spy in Otogakure. No... even worse. That would be my downfall...

„I see we understand each other," she said smugly and disappeared out the door, her coat billowing.

Shikamaru sighed and looked out of the window.

„You two probably can't even comprehend what we've been through here. Choji and Neji had life-threatening injuries. Kiba was also seriously injured. The mission has failed."

He turned to us and for the first time I really looked at the Nara. At the same time, I was startled by his appearance. His hair was messily tied and tousled. Dark shadows stood out under his eyes and his cheeks had little color. In all the time I had known him, I had never seen Shikamaru in such a state.

„And then you two came. We didn't have to worry so much about you Naruto, since your self-healing powers are unusually good... but Tora... I only caught the rest of the fight between you and your father. But that jutsu, with your back, it affected you so badly that your heart beat slower and slower."

He took a deep breath.

„You should have seen Tsunade, or Shizune. They were both completely desperate. It was only after they injected you with a strong painkiller that you slowly got better. I was there the whole time, but at some point I had to get out because I couldn't watch it any longer. Especially as I blame myself entirely for the failure of the mission."

Tears welled up in my eyes as the Nara slumped against the wall opposite me. The burden of the last few days on his shoulders. Trembling and unable to say another word. He had to let it out now. All the grief, the worries he had caused himself. Along with the guilt he had unnecessarily placed on his shoulders.

I shakily got up from the bed and hugged the taller man. His grief ran through me. I had never seen him like this before and I understood what he had been through when his friends were either in mortal danger or hadn't even returned yet.

Naruto joined us and put his hands around us. The feeling that overcame me as the three of us stood together, holding each other, was indescribable. Once again, I realized how close the three of us were and how deep this friendship was between us. It brought tears to my eyes.

After a while, the Nara broke away from us again and rubbed the tears from his eyes with his sleeve.

„Man, that's annoying," he grumbled, eliciting a laugh from me.

„That sounds just like you again, Shikamaru," Naruto said encouragingly and patted his friend hard on the back.

A loud knock on the door brought us back to reality. As if nothing had happened, I returned to my bed, Shikamaru stared out of the window and Naruto sat down next to me.

Slowly, the door opened to reveal four pairs of curious eyes.

Neji, Kiba, Choji and Lee peeked into the room and seemed relieved when they saw us sitting there. A happy smile stole onto my lips. Now everyone who had dared to go on this dangerous mission was gathered here. And I was almost certain that it had brought us even closer together.

Kiba sat down next to me with a big grin on his face. Akamaru, who had been sitting on his head the whole time, jumped down and rubbed his cheek against my hand, licking it gently. He had never done that before and it surprised me more and more.

„We were all really worried, including Akamaru," Kiba explained his little dog's behavior. I began to gently stroke the nin-ken's soft fur. A contented growl escaped his throat.

„I'm glad we're all still alive," I replied quietly and looked at the bandage sticking out from under Kiba's jacket. His wounds didn't seem to have healed completely yet. Akamaru also looked a little shaken. It would probably take a while for each of us here to come to terms with our personal trauma. Because every single one of us had been through a tough battle with a supernaturally strong opponent.

„Why are you all here? In this constellation of all places?" asked Shikamaru, confused and surprised at the same time. Neji broke away from the others and approached the Nara. He still seemed to be limping a little, but his face showed no sign of the pain he was obviously in. On the contrary. He was smiling.

He placed a hand on the Nara's shoulder in a friendly manner. The latter looked at him, taken by surprise. Unable to make a sound.

„We are here to tell you that although this mission has failed, it does not change our trust in you. You are a good leader Shikamaru and you will carry out many more missions. Hopefully with us, because we look forward to fighting side by side with you again."

A shiver ran down my spine when I heard Neji's words, which he addressed so honestly and directly to the Nara. They took me with them. I could only join them. Even though I had only joined them, I had the others to thank for getting out of the fight with my father alive. Even if I hadn't really wanted to realize that at the time. But that wasn't important now.

„Nice words, Neji," I said. „I can only agree with that."

The Hyjuga nodded slightly. „I didn't expect anything else from you."

His bright gaze now turned to Naruto, who had begun to nod so eagerly that I almost feared his head would fall off.

„I'll say yes, too. We're all a team, after all. And they should always stick together, really now."

A wet gleam appeared in Shikamaru's eyes, but he pulled himself together and just grinned gratefully.

„Thanks guys. But please don't do that now. Otherwise I'll get really sentimental and it's really annoying."

Clear laughter flooded the room and I smiled. Maybe things would get better now.