The Angel's Ambivalence [Naruto]

The Hidden Dragon Village

"It's a countdown to your love."

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After we all spoke to Lady Hokage for a bit longer, she finalized our tasks. Naruto would leave to Mount Myoboku, I would leave with Ryuu and Kylie to the Hidden Dragon Village, and Scarlett would search for Luna with Mitchell and Rin.

"I'll see you all tomorrow," She said. "You're dismissed."

We each gave her a nod before filing out of her office. Scarlett bailed quickly, and to my surprise, Mitchell went with her. It was weird; those two had been spending a lot of time together lately...

Shikamaru and Naruto went off to do God knows what, leaving Kylie, Rin, Ryuu, and I.

"We should get home," Ryuu began, doing that cool guy hair-flip thing. "We've still got to pack for tomorrow."

"Actually, I'm not going straight home," I said, moving a lock of hair behind my ear. "I'm going to the hospital to see Sakura."

His expression turned apprehensive. "Minxie, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"She won't hurt me, Ryuu," I stated, looking at Kylie. "Right?"

"Right," Kylie confirmed. "We flushed as much of the Amplifiers as we could from her system. She's drained and tired, but she's sane. In fact, she's wanted Minxie to visit for days now."

"See?" I said, "Everything's fine. You guys go on ahead and pack. I'll be home soon."

"All right," Ryuu said, giving in. "Just be careful."

I nodded and waved at the three of them, watching them walk off. I took my time exiting the Hokage Building, but as I was walking through the streets, I bumped into someone.

I looked up, saw it was Sai. He smiled when he saw me, and I was pleased to notice how it didn't look fake anymore. His emotions had been improving, even if he was sometimes a blunt idiot.

"Hello, there, Brainless," Sai greeted, making my eye twitch at the nickname. "I haven't seen you around lately."

"I haven't seen you, either," I replied, deciding to ignore the nickname. After all, he called Sakura Ugly and Naruto Dickless, so I couldn't really complain. "I was just heading to the hospital to see Sakura. Want to join me?"

"Really?" He asked, a bit baffled.

"Yeah," I replied easily. "We're friends, aren't we?"

He smiled, "Sure." We began walking together. We talked about trivial things until we finally reached the hospital.

Before we asked where Sakura's room was, we stopped at the gift shop to get her balloons and flowers. The nurse directed us to her room once we were finished, and when we arrived, I was surprised to see Naruto there.

I paused, not entering the room. From the looks of it, Naruto was engaged in a deep conversation with Sakura, and neither of them had noticed me yet.

I pulled Sai back before he could enter the room, hiding behind the wall with him.

"Um... What are we doing?" He asked.

"Visiting the hospital, duh," I said obviously. "Now, shh."

"Really?" He inquired. "Because it looks like you're avoiding someone. It can't be Ugly, since you came here to visit her, so it must be Dickless."

"I'm not avoiding anyone," I said easily, blowing my bangs out of my face. "I'm just... I just want to see Sakura alone, okay?" His face told me he didn't believe a word I was saying. "Okay, I'm avoiding him."