Notes

1.) I've had this story idea since last June, before we knew whether Sasuke would be recovered…and also before Sakura made any decisions in the manga or anime about...anything (if you've read the manga you know what I mean, if not oh well). You can read this with the assumption I'm not spoiling anything. It's all hypothetical 'cuz we didn't know yet when I was planning the story..and some of it may be wrong. You'll just have to watch the show and find out.

2.) This fic was written with a possibleromance in mind, but you may be slightly surprised at what it is, and it may not actually even happen…its main purpose, however, is as a Sakura friendship fic. My attempt at making peace with a character I've disliked throughout the entire manga -P, but who is starting to grow on me a bit. Hopefully it shows.

3.) No one who makes an anime is going to be a duck and write fan fiction for it...so why does everyone feel the need for a disclaimer?

Evolution
Prologue: The Will to Fight

It had not been the best of times for Konoha…anyone could witness to that. In fact, it ranked among the worst years of their existence. Two strong Leaf genin (Rock Lee & Hinata) nearly killed in the chuunin exams…a chaotic war with the Sand and Sound that left countless warriors dead and even more injured…and a Konoha traitor returning to kill the third Hokage…yes, it really had been a bad year, Sakura decided as she thought back. And then, to top it all off, Sasuke…

Sakura turned her head to the window, her eyes gazing out at the overcast sky. Sasuke left us. She sighed, because it was all she could do. No matter what else she thought of, her thoughts would inevitably veer back to that, now that it had crossed her mind.

Despite the death of the 3rd Hokage and the massive war with the Sand and the Sound, it was Sasuke's betrayal that truly made her feel as though it were the worst year ever. Add to that the fact that Konoha's attempt to retrieve him from the Sound 4 had wiped more than 200 pounds off of Chouji, had nearly killed Neji, and had left Naruto more wounded than anyone had ever seen him, and it was hard to see where there was anything to be happy about. At least they all lived, she tried to convince herself…but this wasn't exactly bringing a smile to her face.

Since the empty…bloody-handed return of Shikamaru's team of genin, Haruno Sakura had not been the same. During visiting hours, she and Ino both gave their efforts to helping their teammates recover from the incredibly heavy wounding they had taken at the hands of the Sound Five. Yet soon after, Naruto's recovery sped up…so much so that today he was out and about—while Shikamaru, suffering from a few aches and cuts, rested and let Ino take care of him. After that, Sakura retreated to her room, and there she sat, lost in thought.

I'm too weak to even help my wounded friends…Sakura cursed her own mind for the inevitable sequence of thoughts that she knew was coming…watching Sasuke and Naruto fight on the roof of the hospital…trying to convince him to stay in Konoha that night…being knocked out with a single chop to the back of the neck…and again, watching as Shikamaru's rookies left the city to go after him.

I couldn't make him stay…and I couldn't help them bring him back…this same wave of thoughts had passed through her head nearly every hour since they'd left. She wished there was something she could have done to help them…if she just weren't so emotionally involved…a chuckle turned into a sob midway as she shook that idea away. Even if it weren't Sasuke, I'm far too weak to be of any assistance.

Her weakness. She couldn't shake that thought anymore…how…worthless she had truly been to those around her in recent history. Something within her growled, and she tore herself away from the windowsill, balling a fist as she walked quickly out of the house. I'm so sick of this line of thought!

She had looked her weakness in the eye for far too long, Sakura decided. Now was the time to do something about it. As the little voice within shouted "HELL YEAH! WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT!", Sakura decided that training—and lots of it—was necessary, and immediately set out for the home of Kakashi-sensei.

No one was home. A visit to the Hokage's office would reveal that he had been out on a major mission for nearly a week, and that the mission was slated to last a couple more. Sakura scowled…two more weeks of mental torture and she'd be insane. Who could she get to train her now? It was Tsunade's assistant Shizune who gave the best answer. With a polite smile, she spoke: "The Jounin and chuunin are busy…why don't you check with some of the other genin?"

At first Sakura was offended…who did this woman think she was, insulting her in such a way? I refuse to be taught by my peers…what the hell would they teach me anyway? Suddenly, she pictured the chuunin exams again. How valiantly each of them had fought…and how nearly all of them had proven themselves more capable than she was. Sakura nodded to Shizune, thanked her for her time and the creative solution, and made her way out of the building. It was a really good idea.

But, who could she entrust with such a training…who would do a good job? She began considering the weaknesses she knew she had…before she knew it she was home, sitting on her bed and writing on paper…attempting to imagine what Kakashi would put in her file.

Haruno Sakura

Strengths:
Highly knowledgeable
Very skilled in the fundamentals of ninjutsu and genjutsu
Superb chakra control

She knew these things well…they were the same things every teacher had said about her in the academy. Quickly, she moved on…

Weaknesses:
High chakra control, but excessively low amount of chakra.
Lack of known techniques beyond the basics
Never gives her all to teamwork
Physically weak, seemingly little work given to taijutsu

Taijutsu. Now there's a thought…not having a lot of chakra is a hindrance in most things, but it doesn't matter at all with hand to hand combat…as she pinned down what she most wanted help with, names quickly came to mind, and she scribbled them quickly and messily onto the paper. After a moment, she looked down and read the names, considering them.

Assistance in taijutsu:

Tsunade
Not a chance, she thought. Tsunade was too busy, especially to do something like teach a genin hand to hand combat. Sakura immediately scratched through the name.

Rock Lee
She pondered for a moment, remembering his fight with Gaara…he certainly has the credentials for it…but then she remembered his crush, and began to turn green in the face. No…I can't deal with him so seriously…even for this…he'll take it the wrong way. Still, she couldn't convince herself to scratch the name off yet…

Sasuke
Damned subconscious. -scratch-scratch-scratch-

A massive tear in the page was all that was left of Sasuke's name.

Naruto
Could I stand to train under him? If anyone else had given her the idea, she probably would have killed them…but she herself had written it down. Unconsciously gnawing on the eraser to the pencil, Sakura considered the battles she'd seen Naruto win…a fart saved him from Kiba…but against Neji, he had shown unbelievable ability. True, he fought on guts and stamina a lot, but she couldn't think of a single person who could do more with his fists and a few bunshin.

All be them kage bunshin, her inner self reminded her. Still…he knew a lot of good techniques, and maybe he could teach her something to improve with. Definitely not a name to scratch.

Neji
I'd never even have the guts to ask that guy…and he should stay off his feet anyway. His wounds need to heal. -scratch-

The thought of Neji added some other names into her head, but as she considered them, she decided not to bother writing them. Bending down slightly, she paused, considering her decision once more.

Her inner self threw accusations at her. You'd trust him before you'd trust Lee? What makes you think he won't take it the wrong way?

For a moment her mind agreed with inner Sakura. They're both bad, really…do I want to deal with icky Lee, or annoying brat Naruto? As she heard what she was saying, however, she shook her head no.

Her reply to inner Sakura was simple. Naruto knows me better than Lee does…and he's been trustworthy in the past. It's obvious he gave his all to save Sasuke…I should trust him. He had the best opportunity ever to rub my weakness in my face, and he helped me instead.

She was a bit apprehensive, true, and she quickly ran through a checklist, trying to make sure this really was the best option, but she also found herself somewhat excited about the idea. Maybe this'll be a stepping stone to us really becoming friends. If I don't kill him first.

Sakura circled Naruto's name with her pencil, and dropped the pad.

Uzumaki Naruto was not one to stay off his feet for long. He'd had some pretty bad injuries before, but this was the worst by far…but nothing had ever kept him bedridden for more than a day before. Since everyone was being so nice, however, he figured he'd chill for two this time. By the end of the second day, however, he was practically bouncing around the hospital room, no longer willing to sit still. The doctors checked him and soon announced his miraculous recovery, and he was released from the hospital that night.

They couldn't figure out how he recovered so quickly…but he knew exactly why. Resting on his bed that night, he sent a silent thanks to the fire within his soul, the demon fox known as Kyuubi. The demon, he realized, was a blessing and a curse…a curse foremost because it caused most of the people who knew of it to hate him. Yet, in the past year, it had proved its worth as a blessing as well, allowing Naruto to do things no one else had seen before, and making his name very well known among able genin worldwide. It was a kind of respect, but not the kind he really wanted.

Patience, Naruto. Your time will come.

Now that he was out of the hospital, he had the unmistakable urge to do…something. Anything but just sit around…that's what he'd been doing ever since. And he didn't want to sit and think anymore. He may as well have stayed in the hospital if he was just going to do that!

He was quite surprised when he heard a knock at his front door; no one ever visited him, and they certainly didn't knock. Once he rose from his bed and opened the door, he was even more surprised.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Ohayoo, Naruto!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Umm…well…what's wrong with visiting my wounded teammate?"

Naruto blinked and rubbed his eyes. I must've fallen asleep again. Stupid dreams are tormenting me. He let an exasperated sigh.

"Before you ask…no, Sakura, I won't go on a date with you…the Sasuke-no-baka I know would never do this, so this is a dream. Please...go away...I don't want to wake up pissed."

Silence.

Sakura blinked.

Naruto blinked.

2 and 2 make….

Naruto began to turn red. "Ahh…so…s-s-so this isn't a dream…"

Sakura cracked her knuckles as the look of anger crossed her face. "You think I'm so evil that I would never check on you!"

Naruto took a step backwards, but not quickly enough as Sakura punched him squarely on the jaw with all her might, sending him backwards and to the ground. Naruto got up quickly, however, ran a finger over his jaw line to check it, and – once he knew nothing was broken—quickly leapt back to the doorway and into her face. "AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PROVING BY HITTING ME?"

His words had an unexpected effect. Sakura noted two things…first, that he was right. She had always been pretty cruel to Naruto, and he had lost every reason to expect her to be nice. Second…she really had thrown that punch with all her might, and it did nothing…NOTHING to Naruto. Avoiding the urge to pant exhaustedly, she took a deep breath and calmed herself down, sighing and looking down to the floor. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Naruto blinked again, utterly confused. Ok…hitting me was like her, but...this? "You're confusing me…you're not acting like yourself at all…"

"It's hard to act like a Sasuke-no-baka when…"

Naruto paused, and looked down to the floor too. "Ah."

There was silence once again. Then, Naruto caught the little bit of manners he had and used it in one fell swoop. "Oh hey! You're in the doorway! Come on out of the cold air..."

Sakura looked up for a moment from her continued gaze at the floor, and for a moment she caught the cerulean eyes of the young blond haired boy. He flashed to her a brilliant, genuine smile…the kind that only Naruto can do. She couldn't help the fact that the corners of her mouth turned upward too, seeing him. "Thanks, Naruto."

Unfortunately, Naruto had never entertained company before, so he had no idea what to do after that. Not like he had coffee or tea for two at the ready…this lonely bachelor only had ramen and milk. And the idea of offering never even crossed his mind anyway. Just as well.

After she sat on the couch, he grabbed a chair and set it near the couch, but at the opposite end from where she was sitting. "So," he said, "did you really come here just to check on me?"

She nodded, even if it was a half-truth. "You left the hospital so suddenly…"

Naruto chuckled. "I'm a fast healer…they couldn't do anything more for me there and they were just keeping me cooped up."

"So what are you going to do now that you're out?"

"Ehhh…I'm not sure yet."

"It's the same here as there if you just sit around…"

Hadn't he just thought that not too long ago? Odd. It's like she was in his head or something. "Yeah…but at least here it's my choice to be cooped up."

She nodded. "Are you really all better?"

Naruto paused at that question…and decided that she really was concerned. "I'm not quite at my best. Still a little soreness…probably not ready to start hardcore training again."

"I see…"

Naruto frowned. "Even without the soreness…I doubt I'll ever be the same…until we get him back."

Sakura looked to him, noting the look of intensity on his face. She was surprised to see it…

"I made a promise, Sakura…"

She shook her head. "And you did your best to keep it, Naruto. I appreciate it, but don't worry…"

"But, it goes beyond that for me." Naruto turned from her eye contact for a moment, looking out the window of the front room and into the street. "He was one of us…our teammate…our friend. I'm not going to let Orochimaru take that from me...from him...from us."

Sakura looked at him for a moment, letting his words sink in, and then looked down to the ground as she tried to focus on anything but the fact that her eyes were watering. "Naruto…he…he went of his own accord."

Naruto looked back to her, noticing how hard it was for her to say that. She continued, unable to look at him. "This was his choice…and even if we got him back he'd never be the same. Let…him go."

Naruto stared at her for a moment. Every part of him wanted to dismiss this as a dream now…none of it made sense to him. This day had gone from weird toutterly freakingimpossible in a 15 minute period. Sakura, denouncing Sasuke and saying not to bother with him?

But, the fact that it was so far-fetched suddenly made it believable to him. It was very unlikely to him that his mind would – or could – make stuff like this up. And unlike most of his simple dreams, this one had just gotten so emotionally complicated that he didn't dare test it like he normally would. If it wasn't a dream, he'd make an irreparable mess. Not able to think of a good response, he remained silent.

Sakura closed her eyes, and the tears began to fall. Very quickly, however, she reached up to her face and wiped her tears away from visibility, and took a deep breath. "Naruto…I came here to ask a big favor."

Naruto nodded slightly, and remained silent.

Sakura continued. "I…I don't want to be left behind anymore."

Hmm? The confusion was slight, but still evident on Naruto's face.

"If it's not too much trouble…I want to train."

Naruto stared.

"With you."

He blinked, and then stared again, quite amazed by how quickly his day was turning into something interesting.

"I'm weak…too weak to be a help even to my best friends…" She began to cry again.

There was just no way he could refuse. "We'll start tomorrow."