Alrighty, it's time to continue the story. I got a couple reviews, so thank you so much! I really appreciate the feedback! I know last chapter was really short and just a quick filler. But I'm hoping that I can make this chapter a lot longer, and maybe add some drama? You'll just have to read and find out…

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Day Eight

Sasuke had spent the past couple days trying to figure out how to talk to Sakura about not wanting to live. That wasn't hard, the trick was going to be staying calm throughout the conversation. Neji had backed off so Sasuke could calm down, and honestly Sasuke was grateful. He wanted the alone time; it was just him and his thoughts. Naruto and Shikamaru had no idea what was going on. Sasuke did realize, however, that they would have to find out sooner or later.

What he really needed was a plan, instead of just giving her a list of reasons to stay. Because talking is just words spewing out of someone's mouth, right? How often does a conversation truly impact someone? Sakura was the type of girl that needed to SEE what was in front of her, not just hear about it.

The bus halted to a stop in front of the hospital. Sasuke sighed and stood up, following the rest of the guys and other students. Everyone else had gone inside by the time Sasuke got off the bus, except for Neji. Neji smiled at him.

"Do you know what you plan on saying to her?" he asked cautiously. He didn't want to upset Sasuke right before he went to see Sakura. Sasuke shrugged. "I'm trying to think of a plan. I want her to see what she has to live for. I don't think she'll really get it if I just tell her, you know?"

Neji thought about it. "Yeah, words and words. I get what you mean. Well man, you know that all of us are willing to help, including the girls. Just let us know what you decide to do." Neji walked ahead of Sasuke into the hospital. Sasuke quickly followed.

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Hinata stared out of her room's window. It was a decently nice day outside. Not real sunny and bright, but not dreary and rainy either. That's how she felt though. Sad, depressed, and any other synonym one could think of. She put on a happy face for Naruto, though. Someone like him should smile every moment of the day. Besides, her problems weren't a big deal.

"Hi Hinata!" Naruto nearly shouted, cheerily. She turned to face him and smiled. "Good afternoon, Naruto. How are you?"

"I'm really good, I had a wonderful day at school! In gym we played this game, it's sort of like dodgeball but at the same time it's different, you know? I don't think you'd like it, it's kind of intense but—" Naruto continued to babble. Hinata usually caught most of his words, but today she couldn't focus on his sentences. She didn't realize that she had turned her head back to the window.

"Hinata?" She lightly gasped and turned her head back to Naruto. He was looking at her with a worried expression. "What's wrong? You've been acting really distant lately."

She sighed. 'I guess it's time to tell him what happened…' she thought to herself. "Well, after you left the other day, my father came in to see me."

"Really? How'd that go? Was he friendly?" Naruto looked at her, asking random questions with interest.

"Umm, I guess I'm not surprised with what happened." Hinata looked down at her blanket, her small hands grasping at it lightly. Naruto took notice to her sadness. "Hinata, what happened?"

"Do you remember the first day you were here? I told you about my accident and what my father had said, right?" Naruto nodded.

"Well he came in the other day. He asked me how I was healing and if I'd be ready to go back to gymnastics right after I was released from here. I told him that I didn't want to go back. I'm scared to! I completely shattered my spine, Naruto! But anyway, he came in and said that my only chance for being accepted back into my family was to get back in the sport and become the best of the best. My family has completely cut me out. I failed, and now I'm nothing to them." She tried not to cry. God, she tried. But the tears started slipping regardless, much to her displeasure. Naruto stood up and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Hinata, pardon my French, but fuck your father. You aren't a nothing, and you didn't fail anything. You made one mistake; you're only human. You're amazing, and they're a bunch of idiots if they don't realize how truly wonderful you are," Naruto said comfortingly. He had his arms gently wrapped around her. She cried softly into his shoulder, feeling guilty for sharing her problems with him.

"You don't need any of them, they aren't worth keeping around," Naruto said.

"But they're my family, they're all I have left to go to."

"Not true. You have the girls, and the other guys, and most importantly you have me! And if they aren't going to accept you back, then you can just come with me when you're released." Naruto smiled widely, making Hinata giggle. She really did have great friends.

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"Shika, what are your parents like?" Ino asked randomly. He raised an eyebrow at her. "They're pretty much the opposite of me."

"What do you mean?"

"They go out a lot, and travel the world 90% of the year. I don't see them much. They tell me I can go with them but that's not my style. I'd prefer to sit in the grass and look at the clouds. It's relaxing."

"But you have the chance to see the world! Doesn't that excite you?" Ino was shocked. Who wouldn't want to travel everywhere their heart desired?

"Ino, I'm not all about that. My parents like doing wild things, they enjoy adrenaline rushes. I don't need that. I'm laid back and let life pass by slowly. I have everything I need right here."

"Well the next time you get to go across the world, let me know. I'll go in your place." Shika smirked. "Maybe I'll just take you with me if I decide to go."

Ino blushed lightly. She giggled obnoxiously, then blushed even harder. 'I'm so glad that I can keep my crush on him a secret,' she thought to herself. Sarcastically, of course.

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"I seriously thought Sasuke was going to hit me as hard as hell could at that point." Neji was telling Tenten about what had happened a couple days ago. Tenten sat in shock. "He got up in your face like that?! I'll kill him!" She grabbed her favorite kunai and immediately started finding objects around her to sharpen it with. Neji laughed. "We're fine now. He just didn't get what I was saying until I yelled at him."

"Do you think he'll get through to Sakura?"

"I know damn well that he's going to try his hardest. He wants to show her what she has to live for. Not just tell her."

"Yeah, Sakura doesn't think things through. She's very 'action now, consequence later' minded."

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"Sakura, can we talk?" Sasuke asked timidly. He still wasn't sure how to address the situation at hand. It was going to be difficult to wing it, though. Sakura smiled at him. "What's up?"

"Neji told me that you didn't want to live anymore."

"Well that was a straight forward statement." Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He already knew both of their tempers would get out of hand. They were both extremely stubborn people. "Is he right?"

This time Sakura took a deep breath. "I guess it is. I mean, it sucks leaving everyone behind. But I don't want to live anymore. I'm going to die, why should I fight just to lose it all anyway?" Sasuke just stared at her. What should he say next? Should he just drop the subject? No. He had a plan. It wasn't complete yet, but it was a plan nonetheless.

"Sakura, I know you feel that way. But in all honesty, you're only hurting everyone more than they should be hurting. Including me! How do you think I'd be if you died without a single fight?"

"I'm sure you'd be fine after a few days and realize that I'm in a better place." She didn't mean for it to come out as harshly as it did, she really didn't. But the look on Sasuke's face after that turned completely sour, and she automatically regretted it.

"Fuck it then, Sakura! You know when I first got this assignment, I completely dreaded it, especially because I got a girl, and I'm sick of fangirls chasing me all the goddamn time! You were just going to be another fangirl, and you were the last person I wanted to deal with. A person on their deathbed, that's fucking exciting right there!"

Sakura opened her mouth to speak in anger, but she was quickly stopped.

"But then I got to know you a little better, and you know, you're probably the only girl I can stand! You're beautiful on the inside and out, and you have amazing friends and an amazing life. You're talented and wonderful, but I guess how I feel about you means absolutely nothing. So why should I give a shit? If you want to die, then die. Don't bother thinking about how any of us would feel. Me, Naruto, the girls, don't even worry about it. We'll 'be fine after a few days and realize you're in a better place'."

Sakura sat wide-eyed at him. She couldn't believe what he just said. She looked down at the bed, and started to look at her hands. Then her arms. Suddenly, much to Sasuke's surprise, Sakura threw the thin blanket off of her frail body and stared at her stomach, her legs, her feet.

"I'm so bony," she finally said quietly. Sasuke didn't say anything. The silence hung in the air, and the tension was rising. Five minutes went by, then ten. Fifteen minutes rolled around, and the standing silence broke.

"I used to have the will to live. I remember the first couple days I was in here. I was going to get better, I'd get back to swimming and all my friends at school. I'd win medals, and be known throughout the nation, maybe even the world. Then I'd meet an amazing guy, he'd become my fiancé, and we'd settle down, have some kids, and grow old together. I had life planned out. But then things started getting worse. One day it suddenly hit me. 'You're going to die. Those life plans? Forget them. You're done for.'

"I knew I was going to die. Everyone around me did too. My friends stopped visiting me because they didn't want to watch me die. I ended up being alone most of the time. And obviously I started getting thinner and paler. Then Ino one day just popped up in here, and we started talking more. We met Hinata and Tenten and we all became best friends. And as much as I saw them, I knew that one day they were all going to be able to go home. Back to their families and friends. I wouldn't, not ever.

"Then you came along. You and the other guys. I was finally meeting new people! And I can't tell you how happy I am that I met everyone, especially you. There's just something about you, Sasuke."

Her speech stopped. Sasuke stared at her in silence, like she had never spoken a word in her life until now. But she smiled shortly after.

"I stopped fighting because every reason I had to push forward left me. But now, now I have all of you. And you're all right. I need to fight, I want to see the girls meet guys and get married. I want to see my next birthday." Sasuke reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Sakura I can tell you a thousand reasons right now to fight through. But honestly, I want to show you instead."

"Show me?" Sakura turned her head to face him. She was confused, how could be possibly show her anything from her hotel room?

"Do you trust me?" She nodded. "Then I'll do whatever it takes to show you what you have to live for."

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Sasuke's House

"So you talked to Sakura?" Neji asked. The guys were sitting back in the living room after their day at the hospital. Shikamaru and Naruto were attempting to play Black Ops, and Neji and Sasuke were having a quiet conversation.

"Yeah, I lost my temper, but I got through to her. I need to put my plan into action," Sasuke popped a chip into his mouth, watching Naruto shoot the ground in the game.

"You have a plan?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how to go about carrying it out. I want to get her out of the hospital for a couple hours a day, to show her different reasons why she should fight. But, I mean, she's constantly monitored. How am I supposed to do that?" Neji thought for a few minutes.

"Maybe you can request certain times to take her out. Talk to her head doctor, maybe she can accompany you wherever you go, just to watch Sakura. You never know when something could happen." Sasuke nodded. "That's not a bad idea. Tomorrow when we go in I'll find her doctor and see what I can do."

"NARUTO WHY DO YOU SUCK SO BADLY AT THIS?!" Shikamaru shouted. Naruto pouted in response. "You're supposed to be teaching me the ways!"

"YOU'RE UNTEACHABLE."

"NO, have faith in me!"

"You've failed me as a student!"

Neji and Sasuke both smirked. This was completely normal for them. Sasuke suddenly had an idea.

"You know, she's been cooped up in that hospital for a long time, when was the last time she's been at a house hanging out with friends?" Neji smiled. "What if we got everyone to come over for a few hours to just chill? She'd like that."

"I think she would too. Well then, looks like we have the start of a plan." Sasuke and Neji high-fived and continued to watch Naruto fail miserably at video games.

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Phew! All done for now. Almost 2,500 words, a couple hours of typing, yeah I can't complain. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I tried to throw some drama in the mix. Tell me your own ideas for where Sasuke should take Sakura! Or even your own ideas for what the next chapter should be about! As always, REVIEW!