Chapter 8 - chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto!

By the smirk on Itachi’s face, Sasuke knew his brother was thinking otherwise.

“Did Neji call you?” Sakura asked him, looking worried.

“Ya he did. Don’t worry; I heard the dobe in the background. He’s still convinced that he’s going to beat me in a snowboarding race.” Sasuke said, smirking at the thought.

“From what Neji said happened to him, I don’t think he’ll be skiing or snowboarding at all. He’s lucky to be alive.” Sakura said.

“Trust me.” Sasuke said. “Naruto heals faster than anybody I know. By the end of the week, he’ll at least be standing on a snowboard.”

“That’s good.” Sakura said, resting her head on Sasuke’s shoulder, only to see Itachi smirking at her in the rearview mirror, causing her to blush a light pink. This just caused Itachi’s smirk to widen.

“So, little brother, what are you two planning to do on this vacation of yours?” Itachi asked, directing his attentions to Sasuke.

“Skiing, hanging out.” Sasuke replied bluntly.

“And what exactly does ‘hanging out’ refer to?” Itachi asked, glancing at Sakura meaningly. This caused her to blush even more deeply.

“It refers to hanging out. Just like I said, Itachi.” Sasuke said, giving his older brother his death glare.

“If you say so, little brother.” Itachi said rather innocently.

“I do say so.” Sasuke said, wrapping his arm around Sakura’s waist.

“So, Sakura.” Itachi said. “Are you planning on enjoying your vacation?”

Sakura looked at Sasuke uncertainly, and he shrugged, so she answered him, “I’m really looking forward to getting some time away with my friends.”

“I can imagine so.” Itachi said.

“Ya. I love my family, but they can be annoying at times.” Sakura said.

“I know exactly how that is.” Itachi said, changing his line of eyesight to Sasuke now.

“And so do I.” Sasuke mumbled.

“I’m not that bad, little brother, am I?” Itachi asked smirking.

“Ya, about as not bad as a toothache.” Sasuke replied. Sakura laughed lightly at the brothers’ banter. She and Taichi fought all the time, so she understood where they were coming from.

“I’m deeply hurt, little brother.” Itachi said, faking a pout.

“So sure that you are.” Sasuke said.

“So, Sasuke,” Sakura said, cutting off the brothers banter, “what kind of surprises do you think Ino has for us?”

“I’m not sure.” Sasuke said. “Do you have any clue?”

Sakura shook her head, and then said, “Weelll, I know that we each get a certain color for skiing equipment. That’s it though. She told us the rest is a secret.”

“Didn’t she have us bring formal clothes for a reason, though?” Sasuke asked.

“She said something about one of the restaurants near the resort being fancy, so yes.” Sakura said.

Itachi smirked at their ideas. He knew exactly what was up their friend’s sleeves, because he had aided her in it. If only he could see their faces…

“Hn.” Sasuke replied.

“Here we are.” Itachi said, pulling up into Ino’s driveway, and stopping the musings of the two teenagers in the backseat.

“Thank you for taking us, Itachi.” Sakura said with a smile.

“It was my pleasure, Sakura.” Itachi said. “I’ll see you when you get back, Sasuke.”

“Hn.” Sasuke said, following Sakura out the door of his brother’s car.

“Sakura!” Ino exclaimed, running down the front steps of her house as Sasuke was shutting the door of the car.

“Hey, Ino.” Sakura said, walking towards her friend.

“What do think about Naruto? Is he really going to be fine?” Ino asked.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, then back at Ino. “Sasuke seems sure that he’ll be fine, so don’t worry about him, Ino.”

“Ok, then.” Ino said. “Let’s go inside. We’re going to wait until they get released from the hospital to leave. Shikamaru is already here, but we’re waiting for TenTen.”

Sakura nodded. She’d had a feeling that Ino would post-pone their departure, and she was totally fine with it. She grabbed Sasuke’s hand, since he was standing a little behind her, and followed her friend into the house to wait.

With Hinata, Neji, Naruto, and Hiashi

“Come on, Naruto.” Hinata said, “It’s just a little bit further to the door.”

“Ok, Hinata.” Naruto said, mustering up a smile for his girlfriend. They’d had to park a ways away from the emergency room entrance, and Naruto was finding it difficult to walk that far with having to use Neji as his other foot.

Hinata walked ahead a few steps, and opened the door for them, letting Neji and Naruto pas through, then her father. She helped Naruto get settled in a chair, while Hiashi and Neji went to the front desk to sign him in and tell them what they though was wrong with Naruto.

“Are you comfortable, Naruto?” Hinata asked worriedly.

“Hinata, I told you, I’m fine.” Naruto said.

“I know, but I’m still worried about your leg and your arm.” Hinata said, looking at the mentioned body parts as she spoke. His arm was now swollen to a few times its normal size, as was his leg. She couldn’t see much of his leg because of his pants, but she could see that his arm looked positively awful.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. Ask Neji, I heal faster than anybody he knows.” Naruto said with a grin.

“Neji, is that true?” Hinata asked her cousin who was now approaching them.

“Hn.” Neji replied. “Yes, Hinata, it is true.”

“Ok then…” Hinata said, not quite believing the two of them. They all sat in the waiting room for about five minutes before they were called back for Naruto to get X-rays.

Naruto looked shocked as he exclaimed, “Already?!”

“Naruto, my uncle has a big influence in most parts of Konoha, the hospital included.” Neji said, while his Uncle nodded in confirmation of this.

“Well, Mr. Hyuga, thanks for getting me back so fast, we might not be as late as we thought we would be.” Naruto grinned as he got up, and leaned on Neji’s shoulder to follow the nurse back. Hinata followed right behind him, with Hiashi behind her.

A/N: Ok, sooo sorry for the late update! I’ve been working like crazy on this chapter all weekend, trying to get it finished by today. I’ve had a lot going on with school, and then my mom has decided to go on a cleaning spree. And my chemistry teacher is making a lab that half of the class missed on Friday, due on Monday. Fun, fun, fun. Well, anyways, I don’t really know what to say about this chapter, so, I guess that’s it. Reviews are loved!!

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