I've finally completed this one shot! I've been wanting to write this for a while now and finally got the free time to complete it. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto our else I would be filthy stinking rich and you would be reading this story in the manga itself instead of a fanfiction.
Please do enjoy, "The Blossom's Comfort"
A down Naruto lay face down on his bed, thinking about Sasuke, and Naruto's own encounter with Itachi.
What power did you give me Itachi? And why me, when I was your enemy…
The jinchuriki couldn't help but wonder why Sasuke wasn't back in Konoha yet. He had finally avenged his clan by killed Itachi, so why hadn't he returned yet. If only I could have gotten there sooner…
He allowed himself to drift to sleep so he could hopefully find a reprieve from his thoughts.
Knock knock knock. Naruto opened one eye to see his former sensei standing outside of his window.
"Wh… What Kakashi…?" Naruto tiredly stuttered.
"The Hokage wants to see you. Get ready immediately." His sensei ordered in a tone that seemed to be masking something. Kakashi was looking at him a little differently than normal, but the blonde couldn't figure out why, and was too mentally exhausted to try to figure out why.
Sasuke…
Naruto stood up, and silently followed Kakashi to the Hokage Tower, where he saw too familiar toad summons that he hadn't seen for quite some time.
"Huh? Boss Gama and Gamakichi?"
"Hey Naruto…" Gamakichi greeted, in a much less enthusiastic way than normal.
"What're you doing here so early in the morning? Did something happen?" Naruto called up in confusion.
"Actually…" Gamakichi began.
"Gamakichi keep your trap shut!" Gamabunta interrupted with his thunderous voice. "Let the boss and Tsunade take care of it!"
Naruto glanced at the two toad summons in confusion, but followed Kakashi.
"What was that about?" The jinchuriki questioned.
"It's not important, let's go." Kakashi quickly replied.
A now thoroughly confused Naruto followed his sensei into the tower, and up into the Hokage's office. His confusion only grew when he entered the office to see a few toad summons, Sai, a glum looking Shizune and Tsunade, and Sakura. All the humans in the room gave him a concerned look as soon as they saw him.
"He is Jiraiya-chan's student?" What Naruto assumed was an old frog sitting on top of a small transportation toad asked breaking the silence that had taken over the room upon his entrance.
"Yes… this is Naruto Uzumaki. The "child of prophecy" you mentioned." Tsunade answered.
"A geezer frog? What the hell?" Naruto said a little rudely. The blonde's mind was far too exhausted to even try to be remotely polite, and he wasn't the most polite person to begin with.
"Hey! Watch your language Naruto!" Tsunade scolded. "This is Fukasaku, one of the two great sages of Myobokuzan. He's come all this way to speak with you."
"Well, to be more accurate, I am a Great Sage Toad. But never mind that. You are, without a doubt, Jiraiya-chan's student." Fukasaku exclaimed.
"Jiraiya-chan? CHAN? You talk as though Ero-Sennin is a kid!" Naruto accused angrily. "Who does this geezer frog think he is?"
"I said watch your mouth!" Tsunade scolded angrily. She wasn't exactly in the best of moods herself, and she really did not want to deal with Naruto's attitude right now…
Shizune decided to step in and give her mentor a break. "This great man is the one who taught Sage Jutsu to Jiraiya-sama. He is Jiraiya-sama's master." The dark-haired woman explained.
Sapphire eyes widened in surprise as Naruto processed this information.
Fukasaku chuckled. "Ero-Sennin, eh?" He said with a smile on his old face. "What a fitting nickname for Jiraiya-chan."
"So what does this geezer sage want with me?" Naruto asked.
Sakura looked at him worriedly. Naruto's already had so much happen to him…I hope he can handle this…
The smile disappeared from Fukasaku's face as he bowed his head and closed his eyes. "I'm not sure where to begin, but let's see… I suppose the most important thing is…" The old toad lifted his head and stared at Jiraiya's student.
"Jiraiya-chan has died in battle."
A cold feeling spread throughout Naruto's entire body and his stomach twisted in knots. Fukasaku's words set his already exhausted mind over the edge as it went blank. Sapphire eyes stared at the old toad in shock.
"Huh?" Naruto said as he tried to get his mind to work again. "Wh…What are you talking about?" The blonde was vaguely aware of the concerned looks everyone was giving him.
"I know this is sudden." Fukasaku said somberly. "I don't blame you if you don't believe me." The old toad sage sighed and closed his eyes.
Naruto dropped his head so his hair hid his eyes. This is all a lie… Pervy Sage is invincible… He was able to scare Itachi and Kisame away when I was a kid… No one could defeat him… Naruto thought numbly as his brain slowly began turning again.
"For quite some time, there were rumors that the leader of the Akatsuki was in the Hidden Rain Village." Fukasaku explained before opening his eyes and returning his gaze to Naruto.
"Jiraiya-chan went in person to confirm these rumors." The old toad continued.
Ero-Sennin went into enemy territory where the leader of the Akatsuki was by himself…? Naruto thought sullenly. He's always been protecting me from the Akatsuki… and now went and took on their leader by himself…and got killed because he was trying to protect me…
Sakura tore her concerned gaze away from Naruto to look at the toad sage with a surprised expression. "The leader of the Akatsuki was in the Hidden Rain Village?"
"As I recall, that village is difficult to infiltrate. A village closed to the outside world." Sai exclaimed pensively.
"Yes… however Jiraiya-sama was quite skilled in infiltration and espionage tactics." Kakashi explained.
"Exactly…" Fukasaku said closing his eyes. "Jiraiya-chan came upon the leader of the Akatsuki… "Pain." However… Pain was Jiraiya-chan's former student. "
"Student? What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Naruto's ears perked up. The only other student he had ever remembered the old pervert talk about was the Yondaime Hokage.
"Jiraiya-chan called him Nagato." Fukasaku answered.
Tsunade's hazel eyes furrowed in thought. "That goes way back. During the chaos of the Great Ninja War… Jiraiya looked after some orphans in the Hidden Rain Village, which had become a battlefield. Who could've imagined that those kids…" The Hokage closed her eyes as she fought back a fresh wave of regret.
"However…" Kakashi started. "To corner a ninja like Jiraiya-sama… How did this Pain…?" Not even Kakashi couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. His former student was still standing and listening to the conversation and was being uncharacteristically quiet.
"He possessed the Rinnegan." The old toad sage answered.
"What did you say?" Kakashi gasped as his eyes widened in surprise.
"Rinnegan?" Sakura exclaimed in a slightly confused tone. I've never encountered anything about a Rinnegan in all of my medical training…
"The Rinnegan is an Ocular Jutsu that was said to be possessed by the father of all ninja, the Sage of Six Paths." Shizune explained. "I thought it was just a legend…"
"The legendary Ocular Jutsu… The Rinnegan. Its power was beyond imagination. Not only that…There were six of them that possessed the Rinnegan." Fukasaku explained while keeping his old eyes closed the entire time.
"There were six of them that possessed the Rinnegan? How can that even be possible?" Kakashi asked with his one visible eye wide open in surprise.
"Perhaps, there's a trick to it." Fukasaku relented. "Most likely, only Jiraiya-chan, who was there, discovered their secret. But… Even after he had his throat crushed by Pain, Jiraiya-chan left a message before collapsing." The toad sage finished in a heavy voice just before clasping his cloak and throwing it off to reveal numbers carved into his back.
"This is that message!"
Everyone, except for Naruto, in the room stared at the toad's back as they tried to figure out what Jiraiya's message was.
"It's a code…" Shizune exclaimed quietly. Tsunade squinted her eyes as she tried to figure out what the numbers mean. What were you trying to say Jiraiya…
"I'm sure that he did this to prevent Pain from noticing." Fukasaku explained, putting his cloak back on. I've told you everything about Jiraiya-chan."
How could Granny Tsunade agreed to let the Ero-Sennin go on this mission?
Sakura took the moment to glance at Naruto from the corner of her eye. His head was still bowed, his hair covering his eyes. He's been too quiet throughout this entire conversation…
"I wonder what Jiraiya wanted to say. If we can decode this… we'll understand won't we?" Tsunade uttered.
"Did you let him go, Baa-chan?" Naruto asked quietly, his sapphire eyes downcast.
Sakura shot him worried look. Naruto…
Tsunade paused briefly before answering her subordinate. "That's right." She replied in as even tone as she could muster.
"Why'd you allow such a reckless thing?" Naruto asked as his previously neutral face contorted in anger.
"You knew Ero-Sennin better than anyone!" Jiraiya's student's voice began to get louder and louder as his anger increased.
"How could you send him to such a dangerous place alone?" The blonde yelled.
Kakashi didn't miss the pain that began showing on the hokage's face. "Enough, Naruto." The copy nin intervened putting his arm in front of the angry blonde. "You of all people ought to know Hokage-sama's feelings."
Naruto simply shot his sensei and incredulous look.
Tsunade stared sadly at her desk, as Naruto's words caused her final memory with Jiraiya to flash through her mind. I was…supposed to lose that bet. I wasn't ready to lose you Jiraiya…
Seeing the forlorn look on her teacher's face caused Sakura's concern to briefly shift from Naruto to Tsunade. Tsunade-sama…
"Damn it!" Naruto ground out as he felt tears beginning to threaten to form in his eyes. The blonde turned around and started walking out of the office."
"Naruto!" Sakura's worried voice called. "Where are you going?" He shouldn't be alone right now…
The sapphire-eyed boy put his hand on the door handle and paused.
"If Ero-Sennin had been the Godaime Hokage… he wouldn't have let Granny Tsunade take such risks… Never!" He accused bitterly.
He's right… Tsunade thought dejectedly as she used all of her willpower to keep tears from forming in her eyes. Jiraiya would never have let me take such a risk… But… he always seemed so invincible… He always came out on top in fights…
"Naruto!" Sakura called again. That was uncalled for… The pinkette thought. She knew how much Naruto's words were hurting her teacher.
"Sakura… it's all right. Let him be." Tsunade quietly spoke as Naruto left her office.
Sakura looked into her teacher's pained eyes, "But…"
"My apologies, Fukasaku-sama." Kakashi said to the old toad sage. "I'll arrange for Naruto to…"
"No… that's alright." Fukasaku replied with a sad look on his face. "About the child of prophecy I mentioned earlier… I can see that child truly loved Jiraiya-chan. I can't help but hope that he is the child of prophecy."
Sakura moved towards the door. Naruto shouldn't be alone right now…
"Sakura… where are you going?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm going to go find Naruto."
"You should leave him be for now Sakura." Kakashi replied.
"No way!" Sakura growled defiantly. "He shouldn't be alone right now."
The pinkette ran out of the office. You've always been there for me Naruto… and I can never seem to do anything for you. But this time… this time I'll be there for you.
Naruto walked through the village with his eyes downcast. Jiraiya is gone… Memories flashed through his mind of his teacher… Happy children and villagers rushed around him playing and laughing, as if nothing happened. But their happiness was ignored by Naruto.
He stopped by a book store and saw a sign announcing the next volume of "Make Out Paradise." The blonde could remember yelling at Jiraiya as he peeped on women, saying he was getting inspiration for his next novel.
For the first time since he heard the news, a small smile graced his face. It was funny now what Naruto would give to see his master peaking on women. The boy continued wandering aimlessly and eventually found himself in front of the pole he had first ran up when he returned to the village with Jiraiya after his training trip.
Naruto channeled chakra into his feet and slowly walked up the pole and sat cross-legged on top of it. More memories of his trip with Jiraiya flashed through his mind further dampening his mood. I'll never receive training from Ero-Sennin again…
He felt tears threatening to form in his eyes and blinked them back. I need to get home… Naruto leapt from the pole and started walking in the direction of his apartment. He clutched his jacket as he remembered Jiraiya getting him his new jacket and pants when his old outfit was destroyed during training.
The original outfit Jiraiya had bought Naruto had been ruined in battle a while back, and now the blonde found himself wishing he had hung onto it. Anything to keep as a momento of his teacher…
"Yo! Naruto!" Iruka's voice brought Naruto out of his thoughts briefly and the grieving boy came to a stop. Naruto slowly looked up to see Iruka's smiling face.
"I hear you've been real active on missions and such. Everyone in the village is talking about you." Iruka told him proudly. "Hey, let's go somewhere and catch up! How about Ichiraku for some ramen?" He suggested with a wink.
Naruto stared at the first man other than the Sandaime Hokage to acknowledge him. He wanted to go with Iruka and catch up, he could tell his old instructor missed him. I don't think I could keep it together for very long… I don't want to be a burden on Iruka-sensei.
The jinchuriki cast his eyes to the ground, frown still present on his face. "No thanks." He mumbled. The boy put his hands in his pockets and walked past the stunned instructor. I'm sorry Iruka-sensei…
Sakura knocked on Naruto's apartment door. She had searched all over the village for him until she found a surprised Iruka who said he headed back to his apartment.
"Naruto? Please come to the door. It's me, Sakura." She called at the door. Still no response… Maybe Iruka-sensei was wrong? The pinkette turned the handle to the door, only to find that it was locked.
"He must not be home…" Sakura muttered, turning around. Before she could take a step she heard a muffled sob. He is home!
"Naruto open up!" She commanded. The door still did not open. I'm not going to let you be alone Naruto, it's time I do something for you. Channeling chakra into her fist, Sakura pushed the door off its hinges and walked into the apartment.
"Naruto where are you?" Why isn't he responding to me… Sakura walked into his kitchen and peered into his living room and found no sign of her teammate. He must be in his bedroom. The kunoichi found her pace quickening as she walked into the bedroom. She wasn't prepared for what she saw.
Naruto sat on his bed with the most depressed look on his face she had ever seen. His usually warm sapphire eyes were now puffy from crying, and were dull and devoid of life. He had obviously stopped crying as soon as he heard her enter his apartment and was trying to put on a strong face so she wouldn't worry about him now.
"Naruto…" Now that she was here, Sakura wasn't exactly sure what to say. She had never really had to comfort anyone before… Especially not Naruto. It was always him comforting her.
Her teammate lowered his head to hide his eyes with his hair.
"Naruto…" Sakura repeated again. What should I do? "You shouldn't have said those things to Tsunade-sama! Your words really hurt her, she cared about Jiraiya-sama too." Crap! Good one Sakura, you're trying to comfort him and you're just making him feel more guilty…
"I know…" Naruto whispered so quietly Sakura barely heard it. "It's not her fault."
"Are you ok?" The pink-haired kunoichi asked as she sat down on the bed next to him. Her teammate didn't reply and instead turned his face away from her.
I will not let Sakura see me cry… She has enough to deal with without having to worry about me. Naruto put a fake smile on his face and turned to his teammate.
"I'm fine Sakura-chan!" He quipped with as bright of a smile as he could muster. "You can go now. Thank you for checking up on me."
Sakura frowned at him. "You're not alright! That's obviously a fake smile."
The grin instantly dropped from Naruto's face. "You're right… but I'll be ok eventually Sakura. You don't have to waste your time worrying about me."
"Waste my time? Worrying about you is not a waste of time baka! You've always been there for me when I need you, so now I'm here for you."
Naruto looked up at Sakura with slightly surprised eyes, but they quickly dulled and looked dead as they had ever since the boy had gotten to his apartment.
"Sakura I'll be…"
"You're right!" Sakura interrupted as she suddenly wrapped her teammate into a hug. "You'll be alright, and I'm going to make sure of it."
The warmth that radiated from Sakura's body felt amazing to Naruto. He reveled in the warmth that his teammate provided, and continued fighting the urge to cry.
"Naruto I understand the pain you must be feeling right now…" Sakura started. She was interrupted by Naruto breaking from her embrace and staring at her with an angry face.
"YOU UNDERSTAND THE PAIN I MUST BE FEELING?" The whiskered boy yelled. "So you understand how badly it hurts when the only person who's ever been a father figure to you in your life, the person who cared for you, the person who made you strong, the person who always protected you… " Naruto's voice dropped to a whisper.
"You understand how badly it hurts when they've died because of you?"
"Jiraiya-sama didn't die because of you!" Sakura retorted.
"Yes he did." Naruto replied. "Ero-Sennin… he always protected me from the Akatsuki. When Itachi and Kisame came after me, Ero-Sennin came and drove them off. His presence kept the Akatsuki away from me for 3 years while he trained me so that I would stand a chance if I faced off against an Akatsuki member… And now he went after the Akatsuki leader because of me and died…"
Sakura opened her mouth but was interrupted by her teammate.
"If I didn't exist, this never would've happened. Jiraiya would…"
SLAP!
Naruto's stunned sapphire eyes looked into Sakura's angry ones.
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT!" Sakura roared. "Don't you dare even THINK that this world would be better off if you weren't in it."
"But it would Sakura… The Akatsuki wouldn't be after Konoha, Ero-Sennin would still be alive… hell Sasuke would probably still be here." Naruto retorted bitterly.
"Ok, fine. We'll play this game." Sakura growled as she roughly gripped Naruto's shirt forcing him to look into her eyes.
"If you didn't exist, then The Wave would still be in poverty, Gaara would've killed me AND Konoha, Gaara would still be a blood-thirsty monster, Tsunade would not be our Hokage, Konoha and Suna would not have such a close bond…"
"Someone else would've made those things happen Sakura." The jinchuriki interrupted.
"No…" Sakura replied a bit more calmly as she once again hugged him. "You're special Naruto. No one else can do the things you do. More people than I can name are better people because of your influence. I don't even want to think about what my life would be without you."
"Sakura… you're wrong." Naruto replied as he tried to again disentangle himself with his teammate. But Sakura wasn't about to let him go this time. The pinkette pushed chakra into her arms and tightened the hold she had on her grieving teammate.
"No Naruto… I'm not. So stop thinking like that."
The two just sat on Naruto's bed in silence for a few minutes; Jiraiya's student's hands were still at his side. Suddenly Sakura felt Naruto's head on her shoulder as his arms shakily snaked around her waist.
"Why… Why did this have to happen to him Sakura-chan." The blonde whispered dejectedly.
"He knew what he was getting into Naruto. He was protecting you and the village."
"He should've waited for me… If I was there…"
"You would be dead too. Jiraiya-sama only managed to take out 1 of Pain's bodies, there were still 5 more left. He wouldn't have wanted you to sacrifice yourself with him. He was a true hero of Konoha Naruto. He died defending our village, and he made you strong for our village."
Sakura felt a slight trickle on her shoulder and looked down to see her teammate fighting back tears.
"Naruto… you don't have to be strong in front of me. Go on, let it out." Sakura gently urged.
"No… I won't cry." The blonde stubbornly refused.
Sakura lifted his head so he was looking into her softly smiling face. "Naruto… how many times have you seen me cry?"
"Too many times…" Naruto mumbled as his frowned deepened. Sakura's heart was warmed at his response; she knew that if he could, he would make sure she never cried again. Just as if she could, she would make sure Naruto would never have to cry again.
"You've been there for me and gave me a shoulder to cry on so many times Naruto. The only time I saw you cry was when you thought Gaara was killed. I owe you Naruto, so let it out. You'll feel a lot better afterwards… Trust me, I know!" Sakura finished the last part with a joking wink getting a weak laugh out of the man she currently had in her arms.
Sakura guided his head back to her shoulder and began gently rubbing his back with one hand, while running her other hand through his hair.
After sitting like that for a couple minutes Sakura finally felt water hitting her shoulder.
"There you go Naruto." She soothed in a gentle voice. "Let it out now, it's going to be ok. You're going to be ok."
"I…wanted him to keep watching over me. I wanted him to see me become the hokage." Naruto whispered. "But I only ended up showing Pervy Sage the worst and weak parts of me. I was…"
"Jiraiya always bragged about you to Tsunade-sama you know." Sakura interrupted. "I actually don't think I ever heard him say one truly negative thing about you. He even told Tsunade that you were like his own grandchild."
Naruto's tears stopped temporarily as he looked up at Sakura with surprised eyes.
"He had faith that you would be the one to inherit his will. And he truly believed that you would become a great hokage."Sakura chuckled as she remembered a memory.
"I remember him telling Lady Tsunade that she wouldn't be able to resist his charm once he would be able to say that two of his students were hokages."
A weak chuckle escaped Naruto's lips.
"You said that you wanted him to keep watching over you…" Sakura went on. "Jiraiya will always watch over you. He's watching over you right now from somewhere."
A small smile accompanied a fresh wave of tears as Naruto lay his head down and again began sobbing into Sakura's shoulder.
"Thank you… for telling me that Sakura." Naruto muttered in between sobs.
As Naruto continued sobbing into her shoulder, Sakura looked down at him sadly. I hate seeing you this broken… But I will heal you Naruto.
She gently guided them down onto the bed and cradled his head to her chest. She continued to stroke the back of his head and whisper soothingly into his ear for another hour until his crying stopped. She glanced down to see his eyes closed and a peaceful expression on his face.
He fell asleep…
Sakura smiled and readjusted herself into a more comfortable position before drifting off to sleep herself.
Naruto awoke feeling physically exhausted and his face was resting against something incredibly soft. One bleary sapphire eye peaked open and was quickly followed by the other as both of his eyes bulged out of his skull when he figured out just where his face was.
My face is in Sakura's chest? OH CRAP! She's going to kill me!
Naruto quickly tried to move his face away, but to his surprise, Sakura clutched him tightly against her in her sleep. Well… if I'm going to die, I may as well enjoy my situation while I can… Naruto burrowed his face against Sakura's chest and let himself drift back to sleep.
Sakura awoke in an unfamiliar bed felt something pressed tightly against her chest. She tiredly opened her eyes and found herself in Naruto's room. She smiled when she remembered the previous night. I finally helped Naruto…
She blushed a little when she realized where she had pulled his face yesterday, but stroked the back of his head anyways while smiling down at him. She knew she should probably move his face, but he was sleeping so peacefully she decided against it. He had been through so much yesterday, he deserved a good rest.
Sakura smiled and rested her chin on the top of his head before closing her eyes and joined her teammate in a peaceful sleep.
Kakashi stared at his sleeping students through Naruto's bedroom window. He had originally come by to try and take Naruto out to breakfast to raise the boy's spirits, but from the looks of it, Sakura had everything under control. The copy nin had watched in amusement as Naruto awoke, realized where his face was, panicked, tried to escape only to be restrained by a sleeping Sakura and eventually gave up and accepted his situation.
Then he smiled warmly when Sakura woke up, smiled down at him and stroked the back of his head while she put her chin on top of his head and fell back asleep.
It looks like my two students are growing up. Kakashi thought with a one-eyed smile.
Naruto woke up again and was surprised to find that his face was still pressed tightly against Sakura's chest. He was even more surprised when he felt a hand stroking the back of his head. He nervously peeked up and met Sakura's warm smile.
"How are you feeling today Naruto?" She greeted warmly to Naruto's surprise. Why didn't she hit me for where my face is? Naruto went to move his face away from his crush's chest, and gasped when he felt his teammate stopping him and gently guiding his face back.
"Sakura…"
"It's ok Naruto. I'm not going to hit you."
With the fear of Sakura's wrath gone, Naruto's body and mind relaxed. Suddenly memories of the previous day flashed through Naruto's mind and his demeanor dropped. Sakura instantly noticed.
"Are you ok Naruto?"
"I just remembered… Jiraiya's dead." The jinchuriki whispered.
"I'm sorry Naruto… do you need to cry again?" Sakura offered.
"No Sakura. My eyes are far too heavy from crying so much yesterday." Naruto said with a slight chuckle. "Besides, if Ero-Sennin could see me now he would tell me to stop moping around…"
"You're wrong." Sakura smirked. "If Jiraiya-sama could see you now he would congratulate you and then start taking notes, and then we would end up in his next perverted novel."
Naruto slowly started chuckling, but the chuckle quickly turned into hearty laughter as tears fell from his eyes. Sakura's laughter soon mingled with his.
"Hehe, you're right Sakura. God he would have so many pages of notes by now… Writing with that lecherous grin…"
Sakura chuckled and continued stroking the back of his head. They stayed like this for another ten minutes before Naruto's quiet, but determined voice broke the silence.
"Sakura… I'm ready now."
"What are you talking about Naruto?"
"I'm ready to go and meet with Fukasaku. I'm ready to figure out what Jiraiya's last message was."
Sakura smiled down at him. "Ok, let's go to the Hokage Tower then." She let go of his head and got up off the bed. Admittingly, Naruto was sad to leave the comfort of Sakura's chest, but he wasn't a kid anymore. He had a duty to his village, and he had a duty to his master to decipher Jiraiya's final message.
Sakura opened the door, with Naruto right behind her. Just before she stepped out of the apartment, Naruto put his hand on her shoulder.
"Sakura… thank you. If it weren't for you, I don't know what I would be doing now, but I know that I would still probably be crying. What you did for me last night… means more than you will ever know. Thank you Sakura-chan." Naruto's soft and grateful voice called from over her shoulder.
Sakura turned around and beamed at her teammate. "You're welcome Naruto." She leaned forward and kissed the blonde on his whiskered cheek. "I will always be here for you. If you ever need anything please come to me. I want to help you."
Naruto smiled warmly at the pink-haired kunoichi. "Thank you Sakura-chan… And I will."
"Now let's go! I'm sure seeing you cheered up will raise Lady Tsunade's spirits as well!"
Sakura and Naruto were walking down the path to the Hokage Tower when Naruto spotted a popsicle with two sticks in it so it can be easily split apart. He remembered Jiraiya sharing one with him after a long day of training. Without a word to his teammate, Naruto walked into the store and sadly stared at the popsicle.
Sakura didn't feel Naruto's presence behind her and looked behind her. Seeing him stare at the popsicle sadly nearly broke her heart. Looks like he's not completely healed yet. She walked into the store and gently grabbed the popsicle Naruto was staring at with one hand, and grabbed his hand with her other. She purchased the cold treat and led Naruto outside to a wooden bench where they sat down.
She remembered Naruto telling her the stories of how Jiraiya would split a popsicle with him after a long day of training, and knew its importance to her teammate. Sakura split the cold treat in two and handed one half to Naruto.
He stared at his half while it slowly melted.
"Naruto… do you remember last night when I told you how much Jiraiya-sama praised you?"
"Yea Sakura-chan… why?"
"I know you're sad right now, but you should try acting like your normal self, the man that Jiraiya praised so much. Don't stay depressed forever. After all, Jiraiya himself, one of the Legendary Sannin… acknowledged you as his promising student." Sakura said softly as she smiled proudly at the blonde.
Naruto's eyes widened momentarily before a true and genuine smile took over his face. He enveloped Sakura in a hug.
"You're right Sakura-chan… thank you." Before Sakura could respond he had already pulled away with one of his typical grins on his face and had begun lapping away his popsicle.
Sakura shot a warm smile at Naruto and scooched closer to him until their shoulders were touching. She happily began licking her popsicle as well.
"Naruto?" Shikamaru asked in a surprised tone. He had been given the job of deciphering Jiraiya's final message, but he couldn't figure it out. So the lazy chunin had planned on having Naruto help him. Having lost Asuma, he understood the pain Naruto was currently going through and planned on telling him that it was time to grow up. That soon he would be teaching students and entrusting things to them.
The lazy genius had stopped by Naruto's apartment, but no one was home. He figured Naruto had gone to sulk somewhere in the village so went to searching for him.
"What's up Shikamaru?" Naruto greeted with a large grin.
He is nothing like the Naruto I expected to find… Looks like Sakura already got him out of his funk. Good work Sakura.
"I'm glad to see you in such high spirits. I need you to help me decipher Jiraiya-sama's final message."
Naruto stood up from the bench and smiled at his pink-haired companion. "Thanks for the popsicle Sakura… thanks for everything."
The pink-haired kunoichi smiled back at the blonde. "Anytime Naruto."
"Well, I'm gonna go with Shikamaru now. I won't let Ero-Sennin's sacrifice be in vain!" Naruto said determinedly.
"Neither will I. I'm going to go see if Shizune needs help with the autopsy."
"Well then, I'll see you later Sakura-chan! Maybe we can grab some ramen later!"
"Sure Naruto, but you're paying." Sakura replied with a grin.
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Naruto turned to Shikamaru. "Well lead on then Shikamaru."
"Right, follow me." The lazy Nara said as he walked in the opposite direction of the Hokage Tower.
As he and Naruto walked away, Shikamaru peered over his shoulder at Sakura. She was watching Naruto with a warm gaze.
She definitely got him out of his funk. That's good. It would've been pretty troublesome to have to take him to see Kuranai with me and give him a grand speech about growing up…
I did feel bad about taking Iruka out of the picture, but Sakura would be a better comforter seeing as how Naruto loves her. Anywho... I hope you enjoyed this. Please do let me know your thoughts (aka review) =)