Different world of Naruto's sexual life

It was dark.

Darkness seemed to flow over him like fog in the breeze. There was no sense of time or space. No hunger, no thirst, no lust, or anything really. There was just the darkness. It was strange but Naruto felt at peace here. There was absolutely nothing but peace and quiet. It was relaxing in a way, like Ino's singing but not quite as sleep inducing. Naruto could live here. No worries, no hatred, no scorn, none of that.

But where are his pets?

No one was there, no thing. Just him. It was lonely being here in this realm. Naruto didn't like being alone, not even for a minute. Years and years of being ostracized caused Naruto to be very possessive of his possessions, including the slaves, and Naruto hated the feeling of being alone. However, the feeling of euphoria didn't last long as the realm suddenly `shifted' to something some dark, more...evil. Images started to flash before his eyes of his young years, the torture of the glares, the hateful words, and the rare beatings that occurred when he was alone.

They wouldn't go away, plaguing Naruto like a terrifying nightmare that you can't just wake up from. No matter how much he tried to run, they followed. No matter how much time passed, the effects wouldn't dull down and to add to the torment, there was a maniacal laughter that seemed to come from everywhere. `You can't run from me Naruto! I'm going to be free once again and this time, no one will stop me!' It was a different voice but it sounded a lot like him, but sprinkled with a bit of megalomania or something close to that. Naruto kept running, scared to stop. The voice seemed to follow him everywhere and slowly get closer and closer to him.

Naruto was frantic. He was really afraid and that fear was growing by the second. As he ran, he tripped and fell, but he didn't hit the ground, instead, he kept falling and falling when suddenly he landed with an oof and a groan but then realized one important fact. Instead of a hard surface, it was soft. Suddenly he heard a chuckle and looked up to see an inverted form of himself but super sized and he was resting in this thing's hand. `It's my turn to play.' He said before closing his hand, Naruto screaming as darkness engulfed him. He closed his eyes and covered himself and prepared himself for whatever was going to come but when nothing happened, he opened his eyes again and found he was alone again. Before Naruto could comprehend what was going on, he heard another noise behind him. His instincts were telling him not to turn around but he couldn't stop himself.

Naruto found himself staring into a red eye, with a silt like a beast and a furry eyelid.

"You stupid boy..." The eye seemed to speak to him, the voice deep and menacing, but not evil. It was like an elder speaking to a child. "You've grown so much to have it end like this?I don't think so. Let's hope you learn from this experience boy. The only time you should die is when you die of old age!" The eye widened as the voice boomed and Naruto flew back from a sudden, but powerful, gust of wind.

OoOoOoO

In an instant, Naruto sat up and screamed bloody murder, the girl sleeping on the chair beside him jolted awake, screamed, and fell off the side, completely taken by surprise. In an instant, nurses flooded the room and tried to calm him down. Thankfully Naruto calmed down easily and they didn't have to resort to sedatives. They left soon after, leaving the panting Naruto and the terrified girl behind.

"Master?" Sakura asked in a soft voice, slowly approaching him. "Are you all right?"

Naruto didn't respond at first. He was still reeling from the incredible nightmare he just had. It was only when Sakura placed her hand on his face and turned it to face her did he snap somewhat out of it. "Sakura...what's going on? Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital Naruto-sama. You were attacked and nearly killed."

"I was?" He asked, still in a daze. His mind was in jumbles and he couldn't think straight.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, Tenten, your pet, found you in time. According to her, you were awake and conscience at that time and you told her to pull the weapons out."

"I...I remember." Naruto stuttered, his mind and body calming down, allowing his memories to come back. "I-I was resting and it was upwind. I couldn't sense them coming until it was too late." Naruto started to panic and his body reflected it.

Sakura, sensing that Naruto was starting to panic, tried to calm him down by placing her hands back on his head. "Look look it's alright. I'm here. They won't get to you again. They won't hurt you, I promise."

"How?" He asked, terror in his eyes. "How do you know?"

Sakura sighed. "The minority of them were arrested and interrogated. The rest...well, they were slaughtered by Tenten."

"Tenten?" Naruto wasn't sure he heard that right. Tenten slaughtered a bunch of people? That couldn't be right...could it?"

Sakura nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed, taking his hand in hers. "She did. Remember back in the early years, when those drunks ambushed you and I came at that particular point?" Naruto nodded. "You remember how I acted? That blood thirst?"

"I remember you fisted a woman to death. You got right up to the shoulder if I remember correctly."

Sakura looked away for a bit, that memory coming back to her for a moment before she pushed it back. There was no time to dwell on the past right now. Right now, she needed to focus on Naruto. "Yeah, well, Tenten had a similar reaction but this one was more violent, more controlled. Despite the witnesses, she focused on the ones who wronged you and stopped when they died."

There was silence for a few minutes as Naruto digested this information. He was calm enough to understand what Sakura was saying and it surprised him greatly. Despite her remarkable progress in her recovery, he never expected her to do something like this. He was quite familiar with the bloodlust that surfaced in his pets from time to time and he knew that there is a specific trigger that causes it and that's why he's so confused. "Why did she do this?" He asked, turning to Sakura, who seemed to stiffen for a moment at the question.

"I'm...afraid that I can't answer that. Only Ten can answer that, not me." Before Naruto could continue asking questions, Sakura stood up and gently pushed him back on the bed. "You need your rest master. I sent the girls home to clean the place up a bit. I'm going to get the doctor. You stay here."

As Sakura walked away, she couldn't help but huff. There were few times when she was angry at Naruto and this was one. Before she stepped out of the room, Naruto spoke. "Sakura...I'm sorry."

Sakura stopped, her hand on the door frame, but didn't respond at first. "Sorry for what?" She asked, turning around, a cold look in her eyes. "Sorry that you almost died? Sorry that you let yourself get lost? Sorry that you left yourself vulnerable? What was that you always tell us? Always keep on our guard? Well, why in the hell did you go somewhere where nobody can find you?"

"I just wanted to train..."

"Bullshit!" Sakura shouted, marching up to him. "You never go anywhere where there aren't eyes nearby. You never go into the secluded training grounds; you always stick to the ones near the roads. What in the fuck possessed you to go deeper? I don't know what possessed you these past few days but it's caused you to stray from your paranoia, the same paranoia that kept you alive." Naruto stayed silent, Sakura's words cutting deep into him. Once again, she was right. "You're sorry? Think about what you've done. Think about what might have happened if Tenten hadn't found you and then apologize to me. You would be dead right now and you know what, it would be all your fault! The past few days, we either had to carry your ass home or watch you stumble in and collapse onto the couch. It's not just you anymore Naruto. You have us now and you have a lot of responsibilities. You..."

Mid-rant, someone knocked on the door and Sakura turned to find Azumi peeking her head in. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I need to examine Naruto."

"Fine." Sakura nearly spat out and turned back to the downcast boy. "We'll finish this later." Sakura turned on her heels and walked out of the room but before she stepped out, Naruto called out to her again. She looked back at him. "What?"

"Has Tenten been arrested?"

The pink haired girl took a deep breath before answering. "No, not yet, but I'm going to make sure she's not."

The girl could've sworn that Naruto smiled. "Thank you."

Sakura sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "You're welcome. I'm happy that you're okay master. I really am, but if you keep this up, you're going to end up losing something you really don't want to lose."

Sakura stepped out of the room, Azumi shutting the door behind her, she took a deep breath and stuffed her hands in her pockets and started walking away, her eyes catching her reflection in the window. Ino had a clone drop off some extra clothes for her so she wouldn't have to wear those scrubs all the time, but she didn't pay attention to her clothing. She was too focused on her previous thoughts. She should've done something when Naruto first started pushing himself far beyond his limits, but she hesitated, thinking that he'll snap out of it soon enough and that hesitation almost killed him.

But Naruto was still alive and well.

Sakura huffed at the `well' part. He's obviously not well if he decided to go off on his own. Once they get alone again, she's going to give him an earful. The girl ducked and weaved through the crowd in the hallway, her destination the cafeteria. Naruto's exam was going to take awhile so she decided to get something to eat while she waited.

OoOoOoO

"We took too fucking long."

Tenten muttered as both she and Ino dodged though the crowded street of the market section of the massive village. Her sister couldn't help but nod in agreement. In their desire to make sure Naruto comes home to a squeaky clean house, they completely lost track of time and when they realized the time, they nearly screamed and made a mess of things all over again, but thankfully they were able to finish, but that was no excuse for taking such a long time. They were slaves and they were supposed to get things done on time or earlier than that. So to make up for it, they made a pit stop to the stores and picked up some of Naruto's favorite snacks in the hope that the better food will put him in a good mood.

Because seriously, hospital food sucks.

But when they entered into a crowded street and the people saw them, that's when the whispering started. `Murderer' they called her, `demon's slut'. The whispers were endless and when they didn't speak, they thought it and with Ino's ability of passive telepathy, she heard them loud and clear. The words affected Tenten clearly, if those tiny tears out of the corner of her eyes and the near silent sniffs were any indication. "Is this how Naruto-sama felt all those years?" She asked Ino, being very close to burying her head in the bags in her arms. "All those whispers?"

Ino turned to look at her sister, a knowing look in her eyes as she described something similar that Naruto sometimes tells her and the emotions flowing from the brunette girl very similar to what she feels from Naruto. "Ostracizing is not pleasant and can be called `cruel and unusual punishment'. Now, in my professional opinion, what you're going through is just anger and contempt for murdering a bunch of people. It's only natural. You did your duty as a Konoha ninja and Naruto-sama's partner."

`Partner', of course, is the word the family uses to substitute `slave', or `pet' when they are in earshot of other people and despite Ino's attempts of cheering her up, Tenten couldn't put a neutral look on her lips. This was the first time she was hated for something she did and it was a horrible feeling. Ino had offered once to let her have a taste of Naruto's childhood experiences but Tenten had declined. She was busy at the time and didn't think of it since. That was probably a mistake as it would've given her a chance to experience it at least once so she could better handle it if by some chance she felt it again. Thankfully, there were no incidents with the sister's trip to the hospital. Besides the comments and the glares, no one acted on anything and left her alone.

So they managed to get to the hospital, hands full of the tasty foods and checked in with the receptionist and they learned that Naruto had been moved to another room. After been given the room number, they made their way up the stairs and got off the third level and headed for Naruto's new room. However, as they got closer, they heard laughter coming from Naruto's room. A little confused, they tiptoed to the open door and peaked in and blinked at the sight.

Sakura was laughing hard, holding her stomach, torso bent over and her fists pounding the bed. Naruto himself was trying not to laugh but it seemed to work halfway, although it seemed like it hurt for him to laugh if the twitch on his lips were any indication, but the room itself seemed to have been redecorated. Numerous get-well balloons, teddy bears, as well as other miscellaneous items that one would get somebody when visiting someone sick or injured and Naruto had a lot of visitors by the sheer amount of stuff there. Naruto, however, was the worst of the changes as he was wrapped in bandages and his right arm and leg was wrapped in braces.

Needless to say, the girls had no idea what was going on nor what was said to cause them to laugh so much (they knew why his limbs were in casts though), but they stayed there, not wanting to interrupt the moment those two seem to be sharing at the moment, but a few moments later, Naruto's nose caught the smell of the meat drifting from the doorway and he looked at the doorway and found his pets peeking in. Still laughing, he motioned them in. They slowly entered but Tenten wasn't sure if she should speak, however, Ino took the lead. "Haven't seen you laugh like this in a while. Mind sharing the joke?"

They didn't share but instead opted to laugh even harder, making Ino think the joke was about them in some way. She couldn't really hear any thoughts since there were no thoughts when one laughs. Ino looked at her companion and shrugged when Tenten wore that questioning look. However, before Tenten could speak, a female voice spoke to them. "I do hope that you don't intend on sharing that outside food with the patient are you?"

Ino sighed while Tenten gulped. "Must you always be this strict about outside food Azumi-san?" Ino spoke. "We all know how bad hospital food is and he needs some good food in him."

"While he's in my house, he eats my food." The doctor delivered a love tap to the back of Ino's head. "I'll be watching you girl."

"Whatever." There was a pause before Azumi humped and walked away, leaving them alone with Naruto and Sakura.

In those few seconds of conversation between doctor and guest, Sakura seemed to have recovered herself and was currently walking up to them. The girl peaked in the bag and inhaled the delicious scent. "Good idea bringing in some food. I'm starving!"

"Why are there braces on him?" Ino asked, her eyes going toward the written-on braces.

Sakura, after sneaking a bite of a pocky stick, answered her. "Well, there are some nerves that can't quite be healed using the regular treatments and the pain that shoots through him every time he moves his arm and leg is quite painful so master and the doc decided to put them in a brace to limit movement."

"Shouldn't his healing taken care of it by now?" Ino asked.

Sakura only shrugged. "Well, if it is, it's taking its sweet time, but I believe he only needs one more good nights sleep and he'll be fine. He's going to stay here overnight just in case and if all goes well; he'll be discharged tomorrow afternoon."

"Well that's good." Tenten commented.

Sakura nodded and inhaled again, bringing more of that sweet smell in her nose. "Extremely good. He doesn't like the hospital that much so the sooner we get him out, the better. So...while Ino and I devour this food, you..." Sakura looked at Tenten and lowered her voice considerably. "Will have a nice conversation with him. I haven't told him exactly what happened with you, just that you murdered a bunch of people."

"So he doesn't know why I did it?" The brunette asked, her voice also the same volume as Sakura. "He doesn't know why I sought him out?"

The girl shook her head, placing a hand on Tenten's shoulders. "No, I left it out. I figured you would want to talk to him yourself."

A soft smile made itself known on Tenten's face. She had been wanting to talk to Naruto alone and Sakura was giving her the chance. "Thank you." She whispered, placing her hand on Sakura's hand.

"Yeah well...just don't cause any undue stress to him." Sakura joked, causing Tenten to laugh and give the girl a short kiss on the cheek before detaching from her and standing in front of the glass door to Naruto's room. She took another look at her sisters, who gave her a nod, and took a deep breath and slid the door open and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

OoOoOoO

A few seconds after Tenten disappeared into the hospital room did both of the sisters allow themselves to relax. They weren't sure what was going to happen given the situation between those two but when nothing noticeable happened, they knew that things were going to be alright. Sakura was the first to move, putting her back to the wall and sliding down, Ino following suit until they were both sitting side by side, the girls digging into the bags of food to fill their stomachs.

"You think they'll be alright?" Sakura asked, pulling out the various boxes, handing some to Ino.

"I know Naruto-sama will be fine but it's Tenten I'm worried about. The bloodlust, as far as I know, does leave some side effects for a while when it wears off." Ino said, grabbing the boxes. Just from her reaction in the waiting room, it seemed to have a bigger effect on her."

"How so?" The pinkette asked, opening a bento dish.

"Well, for one thing, you weren't so utterly shell shocked coming out of it. Your hands weren't shaking like hers was and your eyes didn't have that glazed look in them. I wonder if I'll be able to explore her mind while it's still affected."

Sakura almost choked at Ino's words. "Are you serious? Tenten just slaughtered a lot of people and you want to poke around in her mind?"

"Yeah." Came the normal response. "Memories are one thing but being able to experience the actual thing? I haven't had the honor of being controlled by it so I'll just have to do with her. If I can have the time to explore and study that state of mind, maybe I'll find a way to be able to turn it off and on or something like that, have a new ability under our belts."

"I don't know. While I do agree that we should learn about it, being able to have control over it isn't something that I feel good about it."

"Why not?"

"Well, when I was under the influence, I felt powerful, really powerful. I had more control over my chakra, more control over my senses, more knowledge I guess you can call it. I always felt that it would feel like a cheat having control over it. Which of this food is Tenten's?"

"These." Ino answered, pulling out and setting aside various food items. "You're actually eating one of hers so I'll just give her one of yours. The Yakiniku is supposed to be his but I guess by the time he's able to eat them, they won't be good so go ahead and take them along with the Nikujyaga and the Katsudon and..." Ino started to dig around in the bags. "I got something else for you but I can't...find...ahh...here it is, shumai dumplings. I know you like them."

Sakura's face lit up when Ino mentioned the shumai dumplings and was handed the steaming box that contained them. She immediately ditched the bento dish, tore the top off, and dug into the food, humming in delight as the first of the meats hit her tongue. "Thanks Ino. You're the best. Anyway, back on topic, I'm not sure if he'll even let you go in. You know he loves her. He's not going to risk something going wrong during the exam if you poke the wrong thing."

"But I want to study this!" Ino nearly shouted. "Memories aren't accurate; the best time is now to really get the information I need. Even if I can't find out how to control it, just understanding it can help us greatly, like his failsafe. It took months to realize how it works. This is no different Sakura and you know it. It'll really help if you have my back on this when I go to him."

Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. "Look Ino...I'll back you up on researching the bloodlust but as far as controlling it, I believe that there are some things that should just be left alone." Sakura opened her eyes and turned her head, looking at the platinum blonde. "Maybe you'll get another chance later."

"Later?" The blonde asked, a disbelief look on her face. "In case you haven't noticed dear Sakura...the only time the bloodlust surfaces, he is near death! How on earth would you expect me to get a chance to research it? Genjutsu? I really doubt that's going to work."

"I know, I know. From what I understand, there are certain requirements that have to be fulfilled before it takes us over. The knowledge that he is in danger, almost close to death, and the willingness to sacrifice ourselves for him."

"That's all?"

Sakura shrugged. "Well, I'm only guessing right now." When Sakura finished that sentence, she turned around and tried to peer inside of the room but her view was blocked by the shut blinds. "How do you think they're doing in there?"

"How the fuck should I know?" Ino spat out. "I can't hear a fucking thing in there. Why aren't we eavesdropping again?"

"Because that conversation is private and I don't want them to be disturbed. If Tenten wishes to share the details to us later, that'll be fine."

Ino huffed, not happy with the answer, but kept her mouth shut. She can't argue with Sakura, not without being thrown into the freezer later on and when she's dead set on a decision, so the only thing that she can do is steer the conversation to something that she wasn't going to be punished for. "So how's our research project? Any new leads?"

The girl groaned and down some of the water before answering. "I'm barely able to look at...wait...is the cover up?"

"Yeah, been up since we started talking."

"Right. Like I was saying, I barely have any free time to scrounge though the archives. With training and following his orders, the only real free time is at night and I can't keep going out. He's going to notice and then we'll be in trouble. I'm tempted to ask for a day off but I just can't. The only time I can do it during the day is when he's asleep. I can't do it otherwise because I'm always worried he's watching me."

This time, Ino sighed. "Yeah, same here. Maybe after the exams we'll have more freedom but right now, we have other things to focus on right now."

"Yeah...(burp)...excuse me. I think I'm full." Sakura patted her stomach before letting out another burp. "How about you?"

"I'm not there yet. Maybe one more dish will do it." Ino looked around in the bags for another box of food. They didn't really get much as they didn't have a lot of money on them when Tenten and her got the food. Thankfully, Ino managed to find an extra box and started to eat from it in silence. Sakura didn't start up another conversation and Ino was content with the silence with her eating. She wondered just how long Tenten and her master were talking. There wasn't a clock anywhere so she couldn't tell exactly so she'll just have to wait.

"By the way Ino...I want to talk to you about something." Well, so much for silence. She wasn't done with her food yet.

"What?"

"About your theory on why he always wants me to be his mother."

Ino froze mid-bite and slowly turned to her sister, waiting for the fist to hit her face, but when it didn't, she spoke with narrowed eyes, remembering the time she shared her theory...and the beatings that followed. "Why are you bringing that up? You want to beat me again?"

"No no no...you misunderstand me." Sakura quickly said but when Ino growled, turned, and grabbed the front of her shirt. She expected to be thrown against the glass but Ino held herself back. Whether it was the fact that if she did, the glass would shatter and thus interrupting Naruto and Tenten or that she would have to pay for it, she wasn't sure."

"Misunderstanding? You tortured me when I suggested that the only reason he loves you is because he sees his mother in you. You couldn't handle the idea of a fake love and you took it out on me."

However, before Ino could continue on, Sakura grabbed hold of Ino's wrists and twisted them, causing Ino to let go of her and her body to twist as Sakura twisted Ino's arms. "Listen to me Ino..." Sakura whispered in Ino's ear, the girl whimpering as she was completely under her sister's mercy. "I thought you were a smart girl. Didn't you know I had a fight with Chouza again when I came home that day after picking up something from their store? You're a mind reader and you should've known that. Maybe you were distracted by your theory I don't know but you picked an extremely bad time to tell it to me. Not only that, there was a particularly accusing tone in your voice that just made me snap."

"I had (whimper) no idea. I...couldn't hear and...ah-ah-owowowow...you're good at hiding emotions."

Satisfied with Ino's answer, Sakura let go of her and the girl immediately withdrew and returned to her previous place, holding her wrists. "I wasn't mad at your theory; it was just extremely bad timing." Ino continued staring at the girl, just waiting for another strike but when Ino felt that she means no more harm did she allow herself to relax and finish up her food, listening to her sister in her explanation. "So like I was saying, I was thinking about your theory and came up with this. While I agree with you on that there is some incestual-like emotions involved with the two of us, besides the roleplay, I don't think that it is a factor in his love for me."

"But you two are so similar to each other. I could swear that the two of you are related."

"So now...that's biased coming from you considering your family physical traits." Sakura pointed out, leaning back. "But I do agree there are a couple of similar traits like the hair and the face structure a little. Besides, I have green eyes while she has...umm, what did you say her eye color was?"

"I didn't really get a good look but I think they were brown or something like that. So considering that we have a pretty good reason why he always prefer you in the nursery, if that's really the reason why, do you think that, because of the lookalike, that's the reason he was attracted to you at first? Because of a desire to know his parents and you're the closest thing to her."

"And pink is just a light shade of red." Sakura commented, letting out a long and heavy sigh as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. "There are plenty of redheads in Konoha and the one he chose was me. If there was some reason like that, that was when it was just an infatuation. I believe that as he grew, those feelings changed to something else and grew out of it until he started getting into diaper-play and age-play. Now him wanting to act like a baby and have me take care of him like a mother I completely understand. Now, if Tenten's theory about Kushina being a tomboy given her state of dress in the memory, that and given that I had flat breasts also helped in his attraction."

"Well, in any case, at least we have a better understanding on the way he works. If we could only see what Kushina is like, what her personality is like, then that helps as well."

"We know somebody who knows her." Sakura said, her eyes gazing upward, causing Ino to look at her before she realized who she was talking about. "There's only one reason why his parents would name that bastard godfather and that's because they know him extremely well, trusted him with their lives. I want answers but I know now is not the time but we'll get answers."

Ino sighed and patted Sakura's shoulder. "I love you Sakura, I really do and as I said before, I really believe he has a good reason for doing this."

"That's your problem Ino. You've been raised to see the good in people, granted you like to boss them around but things have changed. You've been brought into a world where you can't do that anymore, you have to be suspicious of everyone, especially with Akatsuki looming over the horizon." Together, both girls heaved a heavy sigh. They were well aware of the Akatsuki threat and they take measures against that. The policies and rules that were set done well in protecting the family. Sometimes they were a pain in the ass but it protected them and they would never go against the rules and laws. "Oh...that reminds me. I got something for you Ino." Ino turned to see Sakura patting herself down, looking for something. "Takashi did me a favor and dropped this off earlier. Ah...here it is." From behind her back, Sakura pulled out a large envelope and handed it to Ino. "Crime scene photos of the slaughter. I tell you, I have never been so proud of Tenten than now."

"That's because you're a guro freak." Ino muttered, having a good idea just how gruesome the pictures will be. She pulled out the photos and found out that she underestimated the level of brutality shown in the pictures. "Tenten really did this?"

"She did it completely alone. No clones at all. Just her two bare hands and her weapons."

"This is...amazing." Ino commented, shifting through the photos. Each photo is telling a story in a language that Ino can understand. "Look at this...the level of gore. This is...your anatomy lessons to her are really paying off. It looks like she aimed for the major blood vessels judging from the amount each person has on them."

"She also de-limbed as much as she could." Sakura added. "Takashi commented that he had never seen that many body parts since the Uchiha massacre."

"Actually it seemed that she wanted to prolong their suffering. I'm looking at this and it seems she did this one little piece at a time, taking her sweet time with them...except for this guy." Sakura looked over as Ino held out a photo of a decapitated chunnin. "The only damage this man suffered was the separation from his head from his body and that's it. No other damage, no other blood loss. The least bloody body in the farm."

"You think he was the first to die?"

"I'm not sure. Usually the first to die would be as bloody as the rest."

"Maybe she got interrupted and had to leave him." Sakura offered, looking at the photograph.

But Ino shook her head, taking the photo back. "No, she wasn't interrupted. Every body is the same except him. The only blood is his and the rest is just splatter. She just cut off his head and moved on."

"He was indeed the first to die." An old voice spoke to them, causing the girls to look up to see the Hokage looking down at them. "From our investigation, she aimed for him despite being in the middle of the crowd. The smell that led her to them belonged to him."

"Well if that's the case, I would expect him to be the worst of the lot, not just a single slice."

"Well, in any case, I would like to talk to you Sakura."

"This about Tenten?" She asked, sighing when he nodded. "Alright..." Sakura stood up. "Let's get this over with.

When Sakura and the Hokage disappeared around the corner, Ino went back to the photographs and continued listening to their story. One aspect of her training by her father was the ability to read the story every photograph has. Now she's not an expert as some of those in the various analysis departments but she's pretty accurate and helps out when she can. These photographs were telling one hell of a story. The amount of blood, the severity of the wounds, hell even the position of the bodies told a story.

In fact, maybe she'll be able to convince Sakura to let her keep these photos to be put into her little photo collection.

But there's one photo in particular that the story mumbles itself. Here, in the other pictures, everything was consistent but this lone guy contradicts the whole thing. Why did she kill him outright when she took her time with all the others? Why so simple a death? It seems so contradictory between her knowledge of Tenten and her knowledge of the bloodlust. If the scent that led Tenten to that man, she would've thought that she would impale him with one of her swords so why did she give him a quick death?

Due to her intense musings, she failed to notice the sound of the door opening and closing and missed Tenten sitting down beside her. It wasn't until she felt the breath on her face when she leaned forward to look at whatever she was staring so intensely at. When Ino turned to look at her sister, she found a curious expression on her face. "It was really that bloody?" She asked, looking at the photo of the guy she killed outright.

"Not really." Ino answered after a few seconds of staring. She gave Tenten the rest of the photos and let her look through them.

"Whoa...I really did this?" She asked, her mouth gaping open. While there was a certain amount of shock, Ino found that Tenten wasn't as surprised or shocked about what she did.

"Do you remember what you did during the bloodlust?"

"Well...it's a little fuzzy but I do remember bits and pieces. I have to admit, it felt weird being taking over by something like that, but not necessarily bad."

"Are you feeling alright Ten?" Ino had to ask that question. This was the girl less then 24 hours ago slaughtered a bunch of people and she seems like it never happened to her at all. "What happened in that room?"

Tenten sighed and handed the pictures back to her. "We had a nice talk and no, you can't watch it. Right now, he wants me to take it easy, relax and that's what I'm going to do."

"Well, before you do all that..." Tenten looked down when Ino placed a picture in her lap, her first kill. "Tell me why you kill him outright while the rest, you tortured."

Tenten picked up the photo and looked at it, recognizing the man in the picture as the first one she killed. "Well..." She started, sighing. "To be honest, I wasn't going to do as much as I did, but after that first kill, something took over me and I did this. Look Ino, before we go any further, Naruto-sama wants to see you."

"Me? Why?"

"He said he had a bad dream before he woke up and he wants to talk to you."

"Well why didn't you say that before?" Ino nearly threw the objects off her lap and shot up, patting herself off. "That's the first thing you should've told me bitch." The blonde stepped over Tenten and placed her hand on the door handle.

"Wait!" Ino stopped before she could open the door and turned back to her sister. "Before you go in, where's Sakura?"

"She's with the Hokage."

With that, Ino went in, causing Tenten to gulp in sudden fear.

OoOoOoO

When Ino shut the door, she turned her eyes toward the occupant of the bed and immediately knew of his sour mood. Maybe the dream affected Naruto more then she was lead to believe. Her fingers locked the door as she didn't want anyone interrupting their session. She then walked toward the chair nearest the bed and sat down and leaned back some. "So...Ten tells me that you had a bad dream. Just how bad was it?"

Somehow that got a reaction out of the boy as he scoffed. "They almost had to sedate me to stop the screaming."

Ino chuckled. "So, tell me about it. What scared you so much?"

Naruto sighed as he adjusted himself. "Well, it was really strange at the beginning. I was in some sort of empty realm, no sound, no objects, nothing. I couldn't even feel anything. It was lonely actually, even if it was peaceful and quiet." Naruto chuckled. "I actually wanted to live there, but then something changed. It wasn't peaceful anymore but rather something like from a nightmare. You know, the kind where evil seems to follow you everywhere."

"Yeah, I had dreams like that. Scares the shit out of me every time."

"But this time something else followed me, a voice. Sounded arrogant actually."

Now that really got Ino's attention. An arrogant voice? Who did she know that was like that? "Was it Sasuke?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, when I managed to look at the thing laughing at me, it was me or rather an inverted form of me but way bigger, like I was an insect." As Naruto was explaining his dream, Ino knew who he was talking about. Kaosu, the `child' of Naruto and Kyuubi. Never, in all of her service, did he say anything about his roommates talking to him. Naruto didn't want to talk to Kyuubi she knew that, but since Naruto had no idea about Kaosu, he's probably playing it off as a figment of his imagination.

`This is a problem. If he believes that Kaosu is just something his mind cooks up, then when we talk to him, he's not going to believe me. Maybe I should try and get him to play this off as just a nightmare, get his mind off of it. Maybe it'll be better to get him to talk about what happened last night and get his attention away from the current topic.'

"And then there was this big eye, complete with silted eyes and a eyebrow. Hey Ino...you remember what my eyes look like when I'm mad?"

Ino chuckled. "I can't forget it and I actually like the look, if not for the whole anger thing. Have you thought about trying to recreate the look without all the fuss?"

"Thought about it. Not a real priority right now. Maybe after the exams."

"Ah, I can wait. So about last night..." Before she could change the topic, someone started banging on the door causing Ino to growl at the interruption.

No one interrupts their therapy session.

"Excuse me for a second." Ino shot up to her feet and marched to the door, leaving Naruto watching with a small smile on his face. Ino reached the glass door and found Sakura, her arms crossed and a foul mood on her face. `Go away.' Ino mouthed, crossing her arms. `Private conversation.'

That was the wrong answer as Sakura hit the door again. `Open the door Ino. I need to talk to him.'

`Is it important? No. Come back in half an hour.' Thanks to Ino's passive telepathy, Ino was able to tell why Sakura wanted to talk with him and it was the kind of news that could wait until she was done.

Now Sakura was irritated so she started shouting. "OPEN THE DOOR INO! DON'T MAKE ME SMASH THE GLASS!"

"Fine fine." Ino unlocked the door and slid it open.

The instant it was open, Sakura's hand shot out and grabbed Ino's shirt and dragged Ino face to face. "Don't ever lock the door to his room Ino."

"We were having a private therapy session Sakura."

Sakura blinked and let go of Ino. "Oh those sessions...why didn't you say that?"

The blonde slave scowled. "When I said `private conversation' Saku...that should've been a clue."

"Not my fault you weren't specific."

Ino growled. She knew what they were doing but she still interrupted them. It didn't help that there was a ghost of a smirk on her lips. "Get out of here Sakura and come back in thirty minutes."

"I just want to talk to him for a minute. Surely you can do that." Sakura pleaded, putting on the cutest set of puppy dog eyes.

"Sakura, you know my rules. No interruptions. You know..."

"INO!" Ino halted mid-speech and turned back to Naruto. "It's alright. We can finish when I go home. I prefer to do it there anyway."

Ino huffed and stormed out of the room to join her brunette sister hiding in the corner. She was going to get Sakura back for that interruption later, but right now, if Naruto wanted to talk to Sakura, then she'll oblige.

OoOoOoO

Sakura smirked as Ino stormed out of the room. That was fun, fucking with Ino like that. She'll make it up to her later someway, but right now, she's alone with him now. "So...feeling better?"

To her surprise, that happy look on Naruto's face suddenly turned downcast. "Not as well as I hoped."

"What's wrong? I thought you were feeling better." Sakura took a seat next to the boy she calls master. "Is it because you were attacked?"

Naruto sniffed and laid back down. "Yeah, but enough about that. So why did you fuck with Ino like that?"

She didn't answer him at first because she was surprised he didn't want to talk about it to her since he tells her everything but she understood that it seemed to be a painful subject for him so she was content to wait. "I wanted to tell you that the Hokage finally stopped by and informed me of his decision."

"Did you tell him that I refuse to have her incarcerated?"

Sakura nodded. "As always, I informed him that you will refuse to have her jailed."

"And..."

Sakura chuckled and smiled. "He said that her going to jail was never an option. She acted within her authority as a Konoha ninja and as your pet. She'll be watched by an ANBU surveillance team just to make sure there aren't any retaliations by the families of the deceased. Ten was relieved when she heard that."

Naruto chuckled. "I bet. If I recalled, the few times she spent in the jails were terrifying." That smile soon turned neutral. "Saku...about those people that died, did they have families?"

The smile on Sakura's face turned south as well. "Yeah..." She answered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Some of them did. As per law, none of them received death benefits and quite frankly, I wouldn't want them too. So lets get off this subject. I bet you're waiting to get back home and into your regular bed?"

Despite Naruto's current mood, he knew that Sakura was trying to get his mind off of it. "Yeah, I never liked hospital beds. Too stiff. I like the softness of my bed and my pets."

Sakura smiled and nodded. She reached out and touched and held Naruto's hand in comfort. However, before she could speak, someone else knocked on the door. Sakura turned and saw Azumi standing in the doorway. "Sorry to bother you Sakura but it's time for the baths."

"Can't I do that?"

Sakura's eye twitched when a familiar grin came onto Azumi's lips. "Sorry Saku-chan...hospital bath, hospital staff. I'm sure you can find something to do in the meantime."

Sakura growled. She didn't have a problem with Azumi bathing Naruto but it was that insulting tone in that voice. She looked down when Naruto tightened his grip on her hand and looked at Naruto. "It's alright Sakura. Why don't you go somewhere? Relax? After this bath, I think I'm going to take a long nap so...have fun."

"You sure about this?"

"Sakura, I'll be fine. Go, relax."

Sakura nodded and let go of Naruto's hand and stood up, kissing his forehead before leaving the room, leaving Naruto with the perverted doctor.

OoOoOoO

When Sakura rejoined her sisters, she told them what Naruto wanted them to do. They asked what exactly could they do while he was in the hospital but Sakura only shrugged and suggested whatever they wanted but stay close to the hospital...just in case, so they went off and tried to keep busy. Sakura went to the nearby library to catch up on some reading. She decided to read up on Suna and got some books to pass the time. Ino took refuge in a wine shop for a while, browsing their selection and tasting the various samples. She couldn't really buy anything since she had little money so she was content was the samples. After that, she stayed at a tea shop and sat down with a nice steaming cup of tea and today's newspaper. Tenten stopped by the nearest weapon shops and did some window shopping. She couldn't get anything since she had no money since she only brought enough to get food.

Sakura was the first to return to Naruto's room.

Despite Naruto's orders, she couldn't stay away for too long so she went back to his room. She found him snoring, fresh clothes on and an even fresher smell emanating from his body. She couldn't wake him so she kept silent as she shut the door and planted herself on a chair and started reading a book. However, she started getting tired and her eyes started dropping down and she eventually fell asleep.

Tenten was the next one to come home, but she was two hours later then Sakura and by the time she entered the room, Sakura was already asleep. She couldn't help but simile at the girl as she watched Sakura sleep, her hand over the book she was previously reading. She chuckled before walking up to her, removing the book, adjusting Sakura's position, and draped her with a blanket. She patted Sakura's hair before walking toward Naruto's bedside. She placed a hand on his hand and whispered a prayer for him, asking that whoever is listening watch over Naruto. After that, she opened her eyes and took a seat on another chair. She put a placeholder in Sakura's book and moved to put it down but before she did, her eyes caught the cover of the book and recognized it as one of Sakura's romance books.

Her interest peeked; she opened the book and started to read it.

Ino was the last to return but not the latest. When she came into the room, holding a bag of food, she found her sister deep into one of Sakura's books. Tenten didn't even notice her nor the smell of the ramen, but as she stepped into the room, she saw a tear go down Tenten's eye. Ino couldn't help but chuckle and looked at the other occupants of the room. Sakura was curled up, napping on a chair. Naruto was sleeping on his side, his arms hugging one of the extra pillows. She chuckled again and closed the door, the sound of it snapping Tenten out of her reading and looking at Ino.

"You're late." She said, going back to her book.

"For a reason." Ino returned, setting the ramen down and reaching into her pocket and withdrawing some money. "I picked up some extra money for you since you're broke right now."

"Who's account?" Tenten asked, eyeing Ino with a suspicious eye.

"Sakura's...of course." Ino answered with a wicked grin.

"Evil girl." The brunette replied, an equally wicked grin also on her face, taking the money and depositing it into her wallet. It was then she noticed the food Ino brought into the room while Ino went to Sakura and put more money into her barren wallet. "What did you get?"

"Ramen."

"Ichiraku?"

"Not this time." Ino plopped down onto the last chair. "I didn't want to stray too far from the hospital so I got some from a decent shop. I only got enough for the three of us. If Azumi catches us feeding him, she's going to kick us out. When did Sakura fall asleep?"

"She was already asleep when I got here, the little cutie."

Ino chuckled, her eyes flickering to Sakura for a second before going back to Tenten. "So...tell me. How are you doing? Have you recovered from the bloodlust?"

The girl sighed, reaching up and undoing her hair ties and letting her hair fall down. "Well, I feel almost normal. I be lying if I said that I feel a little different after going through that experience. Have you been through that bloodlust Ino?"

"Me/? No...never happened to me. I'm not sure if it ever will, but I want to study the bloodlust as it happens. I want to know what happens to you as it happens. It's really too bad Sakura wouldn't let me enter your mind to study it. I could've gotten loads of information from you."

That pose, that look in her eyes, that finger just above her chin told Tenten all she needed to know. Like a mad scientist, Ino wanted to poke and probe her, to see what makes her twitch and Tenten knew...just knew that with the right motivation, Ino could become one of Konoha's greatest scientists...and the most terrible, answerable only to Naruto. The same could be said of Sakura. The greatest torturer and healer. If she continues her path of medicine and pain, the potential for her is great.

"You really think you can learn from me?" Tenten asked. There was a part of her that wanted Ino to say yes, so that she can be of some use to her family.

But when Ino shook her head, she was disappointed. "I'm afraid not. To get any real data, I need someone freshly affected. You're too far gone and memories aren't that accurate. Maybe next time."

"Next time? I'm not certain that there's going to be a next time, considering how we act during it, I think you'll have a tough time getting them to stay still."

Ino sighed and leaned back. "And therein lies the problem."

OoOoOoO

As time passed, Ino began to notice soft sounds coming from Sakura. The girl was twitching, muttering. Her face was twisted in agony and even a few tears even escaped her tightly shut eyes. Ino was curious so she knelt down beside her head and activated one of her jutsu's that'll let her be an outside observer. However, Ino was only watching for a couple of minutes before Sakura woke up, a sharp gasp leaving her throat, her brow glistening with sweat. Her eyes looked horrified, moving back and forth, wondering where she was. It took a bit but Sakura finally calmed down enough to comprehend where she was. When she looked to her side and saw Ino, staring at her with those mad scientist eyes, she groaned as she started to stretch her muscles. "What are you doing Ino?"

"Interesting dream you had."

"More like a nightmare." Sakura yawned and the blanket fell off as she stretched. "Did you do that?"

"Nah wasn't me. I'm not that cold. You alright?"

"Nasty dream. (Yawn) What time is it?"

"Almost seven. You want my help?"

Sakura cracked open an eye and stared at her sister suspiciously. "And let you poke around? Fuck no. I wanted to get up anyway." A couple of joints popped as Sakura stood up, stretching more. "So what happened while I was out?"

Ino sat down as Sakura woke herself up. "Naruto-sama and Ten are both asleep. He only woke up once to eat supper and went back to sleep. Tenten fell asleep shortly after we had supper. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Hmm...crack good to hear."

"I got some food for you if you're interested."

Ino pointed to a table and Sakura followed, opening a bag to see a container of ramen. "Ichiraku?"

"Too far from the hospital. It's decent though." Ino yawned, the day catching up to her.

"Tired?" Sakura asked, noticing how tired she was.

"Didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Well, why don't you go ahead and hit the sack? I'll take over watch."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I want to walk that dream off."

Ino shrugged and laid down on one of the cots in the room and settled down, leaving Sakura to herself, eating the decent ramen Ino so nicely got for her. It wasn't as good as Ichiraku but she could eat it. She sat down and broke the chopsticks and started eating, but it was difficult as her hands started shaking, her mind going back to the nightmare she just had. It wasn't one of the worst she had but still it was powerful, using her fears and cutting deep into her heart, but Sakura was able to calm herself down. After finishing, she dumped the container into the recycle bin and created two clones, one under cover and a visible one to keep an eye on things while she takes a walk.

Even though it was night, the hospital was as busy as ever with the night shift, teams coming in from their missions and taking their mandatory trip to the infirmary. She stayed out of their way, wanting to go into the open-air garden. However, before she could turn the corner to the hallway to get to the garden, she nearly stepped on a small white dog. She almost tripped but she was able to stay on her feet and realized that she nearly stomped on Akamaru. "What are you doing here?" She asked, the dog wagging his tail at her. "Where's your master?" Akamaru barked again and took off, going down the hallway. Sakura followed him, choosing to postpone her trip to the garden to see if Kiba was in the hospital. She followed Akamaru down two hallways before he stopped at an open door. She approached and he barked before going in. She peeked in and saw the familiar form of Kiba, cast on his arm, resting on his bed. Kiba noticed her when Akamaru barked and he grinned, the bandages shifting on his face. "What happened to you Kiba?"

"Training accident. Don't worry, I'll be up and running for the exams, ready to kick Naruto's ass."

Sakura chuckled, stepping into the room and picking up Akamaru. "Do me a favor and don't kick him in the groin. He'll kill you if that happens."

Kiba chuckled and settled back down as Sakura sat down on the edge of his bed, holding his dog in her lap. "Hey Saku...I heard a rumor that Naruto was in the hospital. That true?

"Yeah..." Sakura answered, sighing as she petted Akamaru. "He was attacked but that's all I'm going to say."

"Is he okay?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, he's okay. Got some lingering pain but it should heal up tomorrow." Akamaru barked and nuzzled his nose in Sakura's hand, causing the girl to chuckle. "It must be nice having an animal companion. Having a faithful partner by your side at all times."

"It's a nice feeling. One of the best. Is that how it is for you and Naruto?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I don't need to tell you how much he appreciates having us by his side at such a terrible time. You sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. It's Naruto I'm worried about. He's my friend."

"As you are to him Kiba. I should go. You need your rest." Sakura placed Kiba's dog on the bed and gave the boy a kiss on the forehead for good luck. She gave him one more goodbye before leaving and going back to the hallway where the entrance to the garden where she'll be able to get fresh air while staying in the hospital. She wanted a quiet place to think about what was going to happen from now on. Tenten was going to have a stigma on her for the rest of the villager's memories. They'll know her as a murderer. Sure ninja's are killers but they only kill foreign people, never anybody at home.

Could Tenten handle it?

She hasn't really been out that much to accurately judge the situation and Ino wasn't in the mood to share. Tomorrow afternoon would have to be the time when she finds out just what they think of Tenten. Sakura just hoped that it wasn't too bad.

"If they really hated her, maybe they would gather together to form a large mob?" Sakura's oh-so-helpful inner voice suggested, causing the girl to groan and slap her forehead.

"Not now Junko. I'm trying to think."

"Hey, all I'm saying is that they don't really keep their opinions to themselves.Remember Naruto-sama's past? They made it clear, by their actions, how they felt about him and he's the Kyuubi boy. Something like this would be nothing for them. Plus, they're not under law with Tenten."

"Not under law? Really?" Sakura thought with a huff, crossing her arms and leaning back into the chair. "The fact that she's Naruto's pet doesn't count?"

"They don't know about us remember? Far as they know, she's just someone who willingly decided to be his wife. Fair game to them."

"Think about this Junko. Experience is one of the greatest teachers. If they know how possessive and protective he is of his girls, they won't dare do anything to her."

"Didn't stop them from attacking master did it?" Junko sighed. "Look, all I'm saying that people are unpredictable. You think they're going to do something and they turn around and do something completely different. Especially the families of the ones that died. Hate can be a powerful motivator."

"So what are you saying?"

"Keep Tenten in the house for a while.If she has to go out, pair her up with someone who is respected by her peers, like Kakashi or Ibiki. Hell the Hokage if you can manage it. And let'snot forget the girl herself. She seems okay now but things will probably go bad later on. Keep an eye on her, that's all I'm asking."

"Do you really have to ask? I may not be Ino but I know who to help some who went through something like this. What's with you?"

"I'm concerned, that's all."

"Junko...do you know something I don't?"

"What? A girl can't express her concerns about a sister?"

"No, it's not that. Maybe I'm just reading too much into this. I'm just worried that this will end up with us being ostracized."

"Well, to be honest, I don't think Konoha will allow that. The military is dominant in this village. Like it or not, masteris THE single greatest asset they have. If he learns how to harness and control that power inside of him, he'll be unstoppable. You really think that they would let go of that?"

"They also know that they won't be able to force him to stay if he wants to leave. If he wants to move and they don't make a big fuss about it, I'll bet he'll come when they need him. Like a freelancer."

"Yeah, that's true. But what if he decides to move to a rival country?"

"He's not stupid enough to announce it. I know him. He's not dumb anymore."

Junko snorted, causing Sakura to raise her eyebrow at the sudden, unexpected sound. "Trust me Saku...he's still dumb. He's just smarter about it."

As much as Sakura wanted too, she couldn't deny that Naruto still had his dumb moments. He tries to hide it sometimes but they can see it but its Naruto and they wouldn't have it any other way. "Ah well..." Sakura shrugged. "Master is master. So...finals. Temari is such a nice girl. I hate to see her dead."

"Agreed. Intelligent as well. Something he loves."

"Her brother I'm worried about. If he's anything like master is, Gaara won't let her go."

"Master is a master of persuasion you know..."

Sakura chuckled, shifting in the chair. "True. I should be getting back. I don't want to stay away for too long."

"Give him my best."

Junko went silent and Sakura stood up, leaving behind the peaceful garden going back toward Naruto's room. She passed by a clock and found that it's been almost three hours since she left his room. That always happens. When Junko and her get into a conversation, time seemed to have skipped ahead a few hours. That always worried her. She always go deep into conversing, that she's afraid she'll miss the rush of the memories of the shadow clone returning to her. She tries to keep her attention on the outside world but it's difficult sometimes but nothing seemed to have gone wrong as evident by the normal hallway where his room was in. She entered it and everybody was right where she left them, including both clones. A twitch of the hand, both clones disappeared, giving their memories to Sakura, confirming that nothing happened while she was away. The girl sighed and took a seat on the last cot and laid down. She just hoped that the future will be kind to them.

They don't need any more drama right now.

OoOoOoO

The next morning, despite the increase of noise, the family stayed asleep for a while. Ino was the first to wake up. Despite wanting to go back to sleep, she knew she couldn't. Naruto was going to be released this afternoon and he wanted them to be wide awake for that. If Naruto wanted to go back to sleep when they got home, that's fine. Right now, it was time to get up. Ino stretched and yawned as she woke herself up. Tenten was the closest so Ino kicked her cot hard, the girl waking up with a jolt. She glared at her sister for a second before starting the process of waking herself up. Sakura was the last but her reaction was a bit more violent, her leg swinging forward and catching Tenten in the knee, causing her to buckle in pain.

When Sakura opened her eyes and saw Tenten crying in pain, she asked `what's going on'? Tenten only gave out a `time to get up' before collapsing onto the floor. That was a hard kick to the knee. Tenten will be alright, an hour or two and she'll be fine. Sakura sat up, still tired. She didn't really get a good night sleep last night. "Master up yet?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Nope, still asleep. Why don't you get some breakfast for him and I'll wake him up?"

Sakura stopped stretching and looked at Ino with a weary eye. She knows that the job of waking up Naruto always fell to her. Not only did she have a better chance of waking him up, out of all three, she had the best chance of waking him up smoothly, avoiding the bloody noses and/or black eyes. Sakura looked at Ino and saw she was serious. Whether she forgot or wants to be damaged is up for debate. "You're going to wake him up? Seriously? After the nightmare he had?"

"Yeah...so?"

"You want to get your head bashed in?"

"Maybe..."

Sakura scoffed and shook her head. Despite Sakura wanting to see Ino all bloody, she wasn't going to let her go through that. "No Ino, I'll wake him up and you get breakfast."

"But Sakura..."

"That's final Ino!" Sakura snapped. "Waking him up is my job, not yours." Sakura patted Ino's shoulder as she passed her. "Besides, don't want to get that pretty nose of yours all smashed up now do we?"

The blonde didn't respond but she just humped and walked out of the room, passing by the whimpering brunette on the cot, massaging her poor knee. "You really think he's going to break your nose?" Tenten asked. "All the times I've seen you wake him up, he only managed it a few times."

Sakura shrugged. "Sometimes I'm not fast enough to catch his arms and sometimes I just don't care whether he wounds me or not, but today I'm going to try and avoid that today. You okay?"

"Yeah...pain's gone."

The pinkette chuckled, turning back to the sleeping occupant. She placed a hand on the arm nearest her to hold it down while her other hand went to Naruto's shoulder. She couldn't go near the neck. If he's having a bad dream when she's trying to wake him up, he'll think that somebody is trying to strangle him and react accordingly. "Master..." She whispered, gently shaking his shoulder, one eye looking at the other side and the brace that held his arm. She didn't want to be hit by that thing. "Naruto-sama...time to get up." Naruto murmured but didn't get up. She would have to get louder. "Naruto!" The instant Sakura raised her voice, Naruto shook away, the arm being held down by Sakura stayed down and the braced arm stayed where it was thankfully.

"What...what's going on?" Naruto said with a voice that clearly said that he didn't want to wake up.

"Time to get up master." She said, gently moving his hair out of his eyes.

"I don't want to." He whined, turning around but Sakura stopped him.

"Sorry master but it won't be long until you're released and you can go back to bed when we get home."

"Stop being such a bitch Sakura..." Naruto shrugged out of Sakura's grip and tried to turn around but Sakura grabbed him again and kept him on his back.

"I would rather you be wide awake and alert when we go home then sleeping on the way." Naruto ignored her and closed his eyes. "If I have to, I'll ask Azumi to put dose of stimulants in you."

His eyes snapped open and stared at the grinning face of Sakura. "You wouldn't."

Sakura smirked. "I would."

"Fine...you win." Naruto groaned as he sat up on the bed, trying to move his braced arms as little as possible.

"They still hurt?" She asked, noticing the effort.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, although it's better then yesterday. I'm hungry. Breakfast come by yet?"

"Ino's getting it. Can't promise it'll be good though."

Naruto chuckled, leaning back and letting his body relax. Despite that nightmare a night ago, he was feeling much better now that he had a good nights sleep. Everything felt better, even the limbs that were in braces felt better, not completely healed yet, but better. He opened his eyes again and saw Tenten nursing with glowing hands, her knee. "What happened to her?"

"I was dreaming I was playing sports and when she tried to wake me, my foot shot out and caught her on the knee."

"Ouch." Naruto sighed and looked as his pet. He remembered that argument they had when he woke up and he remembered her saying that they'll talk about it later. "Hey Saku..." Said girl looked at him. "Are you still mad at me?"

Sakura chuckled and patted Naruto's head. "We'll talk about it when we get home. Right now, just relax."

OoOoOoO

A couple of hours later, Naruto was in the process of being checked out. As per hospital rules, he was confined to the wheelchair. Good thing too as his limbs were confined in braces. Since he could still feel pain in them, he decided to keep them on for at least one more night. It was past lunch and his stomach was growling. Ino wasn't able to get breakfast in time so Naruto just decided to get something to eat later, so after Sakura finishes signing all those papers, he'll be out of this hospital. Finally, Naruto was moving again, this time to the front doors. He was aching to get home and sleep in his own soft bed.

Fresh air blew over his as the door opened as Ino pushed him out and felt the sunshine's glow on him. `Finally. I'm out. Now I just need to get home. How is the question.'

"Alright..." Sakura stepped in front of him holding a pair of crutches.

Hell no.

"No." He said bluntly. "I'm not using crutches. It hurts when I put weight on my foot and arm. Take them back."

"They're not going to let me take the wheelchair out Naruto-sama."

"I'm not using those."

Sakura groaned. "Now you're just being stubborn. How are you going to get home then?"

Naruto looked around and saw Tenten on the other side. Instantly he got an idea and grabbed onto her arm. "Ten will carry me home."

Sakura shrugged and walked away to return the crutches. Tenten moved in front of Naruto, the boy still holding onto her arm. "You sure about that Naruto-sama?"

He nodded. "Yeah, there's no way I'm going home under my own power and I want you to carry me."

"So you're not worried about everybody?"

He shook and let go of her. "I don't care."