Whoops, forgot the disclaimer.
Disclaimer: Naruto and related characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha Inc. This is for fan enjoyment only.
1
It's dusk, the air is still, and Naruto and Sakura are panting, skin slick with sweat and walking back through the gates of Konoha.
"Hey Sakura-chan," he says, with a hint of mischief in his grin, "wanna spar?"
"What? We just got back from a mission. I'm tired, hungry and gross." She's exasperated. "No."
"Aww, I just wanna build a good defense against your monstrous strength." Again the impish grin, but she does not see it.
Her eyebrow twinges. He has hit a nerve. "Do not call it monstrous strength you moron!" she shouts with the fury of shannaro, flying at him with fists clenched. It is a direct blow, but Naruto pops away in a puff of smoke.
"Get back here, you idiot!" she screams.
They spar.
2
When her teammates left Konoha, Sakura decides to become a better ninja by knowing everything about everything. She spends countless hours in the library reading, memorizing, engraining into her mind all the nitty gridy details of every book she can get her hands on.
She practices what she does best: retaining information.
So when she came across a gap in the history of Konoha's leaders, she marches right up to Godaime and demands to be given the proper documentation.
Tsunade sizes her up one fellow swoop and figures it is time Sakura new the truth.
"Here," an old scroll with the fire emblem and Sandaime's name on it is tossed in Sakura's lap the next day. "Everything you want to know about the Fourth," Tsunade tells her.
3
"Hey Sakura, what's that?"
"What's what?" she asks, as the towel slides down her waist and her and Ino step into the hot spring.
"That on your arm," Ino points.
"Nothing," she says, without even looking.
"That's not nothing," Ino leans in for a closer examination, "It almost looks like claw marks . . ." Sakura slides deeper into the water.
"So Sai was asking questions about you the other day," Sakura lies through her teeth.
"What? Really?" Ino pulls back with a hopeful look on her face, previous conversation erased from her mind. "What was he saying about me?"
4
"Sakura-chaaan!" He's whining again.
"Stop whining," she scolds him, "it's your fault for using too much chakra. You're lucky I'm even around to mend you."
She resets his broken arm and feeds gentle pulses of green chakra into the swollen flesh. She notices the Kyuubi's chakara is starting to heal the wound too, but is acting rather sluggish.
"What were you doing anyway? Even Kyuubi's chakra is acting slow," she says, concerned, but still scolding.
"Training," he says matter-of-factly.
She roles her eyes. Of course, what else would he be doing? "You need to be more careful," she says, lecturing him, "I'm not always going to be around to make you feel better."
"Hey Sakura-chan," he's not whining anymore, "you know what em would /em make me feel better?"
"Wha-" his kiss is warm, wet, sloppy, with a hint of miso, and catches her completely off guard.
"Tastes like ramen," she breathes, before returning to her senses and realizing she should be pummeling his face into the ground.
"Hey Sakura-chan," he is smirking like a little kid whom just got away with the ultimate prank, "want some more ramen?"
Naruto spends the next two weeks in the hospital.
5
"Oh," she says calmly to herself, "well that makes sense."
Sakura puts the Third's journal down and decides that is enough information for one day.
6
"Does it hurt?"
"Does what hurt?" Naruto is confused.
"Kyuubi. When he transforms your body," she says, maybe a little too timidly. Her mind darts back to the incident on the bridge as she absentmindedly grabs her shoulder.
Naruto grins his characteristic grin. "You're silly, Sakura-chan." He pauses for a moment to think. "Not really. I'm usually too mad to notice." He reaches to scratch the back of his neck, eyes squinting and displaying a nervous smile in response to the awkwardness.
"Well, as a medic-nin, it is important for me to know these things," she says, some confidence returning to her voice, "like how his chakra interacts with your body."
"Oh," he says, not quite sure how to respond.
"It's impressive how he always heals you, it's like having a built in medic-nin." Naruto stops walking with her and stares.
"I'm not invincible you know," he tells her. There is a certain maturity and sadness to his voice that Sakura rarely hears. In a flash it's gone and he's grinning like a fool again.
"But it's ok Sakura-chan, I've got you to heal me," he takes a gamble and wraps his arms around her waist and squeezes.
"Yeah, you do." Instead of punching him in the face she lets him hug her.
7
There is, she muses afterwards, a distinct difference between hers and Naruto's ability levels. This was something she knew, but never really understood until now.
The match is finally over. Naruto has pinned his fatigued opponent to the ground. He is heavy on top of her, breathing hot ragged breaths against her neck. It feels nice in contrast to the chill of the night.
"I win!" he declares proudly, rolling onto his back and propping himself up with his elbows.
Yes, he does win. Sakura is completely wiped out. A long mission all day and sparring against Naruto afterwards. She wonders where all of his energy comes from.
"Hey Sakura-chan?" he asks, barely breathing hard, "wanna get some ramen?"
She looks at the sky and sees the stars twinkling. "It's too late," she says through deep, gasping breaths, "Ichiraku's is already closed."
"I know," he smiles.
She looks over and sees he is leaning towards her, wearing a devilish grin.
"Oh," she says, finally understanding. Sakura realizes that Naruto can be incredibly smart and clever when he wants to be.
8
In a moment of vulnerability, Naruto once told Sakura that he is not invincible.
Sakura wonders why she is remembering this now, as she lays on the floor, bloody and broken. Akatsuki has them cornered, everyone in the group is down except for Naruto. His eyes are feral, Kyuubi's chakra is flowing freely from his body, and faintly she can hear him screaming, "Do not lay another hand on Sakura!"
He is fighting. Fighting for his life, fighting for his friends, fighting for recognition and fighting to keep promises of a lifetime.
As she fades from consciousness, she knows Naruto will win. He still has unfinished business in this lifetime, and he still has her.
Naruto said he is not invincible, but Sakura believes that he is.
9
"So," says Sai, "have you seen his dick yet?"
Sakura resists the urge to wipe the bar with Sai as Naruto ungracefully chokes on a mouthful of ramen.
"So what if she has," Naruto replies, a few noodles hanging from his mouth. Sakura wonders how he recovered from choking so quickly. "You gonna draw a picture about it in your little sketch book?"
"Already have," says Sai, "amazing how information travels so quickly around here. I now understand why Sakura likes ramen so much."
Sakura turns white.
10
It's nearly midnight, and they are walking back from training.
"Hey Sakura-chan," he says, "wanna get some ramen?"