Note from Kisses1991: Yo! I'm updating finally sweat drop My inbox got overrun by FF emails . and I feel guilty so here! I'm sorry for my epic fail to produce any good writing. Also, read the note on the bottom because it may be of some interest to someone.

And I didn't feel like checking for errors. Meehh. Too much studying hurt my brain.

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Naruto woke to no sense of comfort or warmth as he had before from a similar deep slumber, except for his left hand which was smothered by the hand of another person's delicate and smooth hand. As he sat up slowly to gather his surroundings, he saw Sakura smile brightly at him, although the smile did not quite meet her emerald eyes. He realized the small room he took residence in was nearly all white and immaculate and the vase of flowers next to his bed attempting to cover the smell of sickness and cleaning fluid were to no avail. Naruto lay in the hospital, a place rather common to him due to the many missions he took as a ninja.

"Are you feeling a bit better, Naruto?"

He turned to his pink haired friend and feigned a grin, "Never better, Sakura-chan."

He asked, "So, how did I get here?"

"I realized you shouldn't be alone after I talked to you yesterday. So, I followed. You know, Naruto, when I went into Kakashi's apartment and saw you lying there on the floor…I thought you were…" tears started to gather in her eyes, spill over, and run down the length of her cheeks. "I've never been so scared!"

She suddenly lurched forward gathering as much of Naruto as possible into her arms and hugging him tightly. This time he did not pull back until his arms began to ache. "Sakura, your hurting me…"

"Oh!" And without any explanation Sakura let go and rose from her seat. She walked out with a quick glance back saying, "I'll come back to check on you later, Naruto-kun. "

He smiled as her pink hair was replaced by the unruly, silver locks of his sensei coming around the corner. Kakashi though did not return the smile or warmth. Nor did he move any closer from his stance in the doorway or utter a word. Simply, he stood with arms crossed and his weight leaning on the doorframe. It seemed an invisible barrier prohibited him from advancing forward.

Perhaps he felt it was his fault Naruto lie in this hideous room and now wore quite a distressing frown. Naruto was propped on a fluffy pillow and he seemed oh so fragile; his body was small and light compared to the bedding he lay under.

The best way to keep any fragile object intact is to resist the impulse to caress or hold no matter how tempting, so that is what Kakashi did.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said as he stared at his hands in his lap. "I umm…I didn't mean to." The sound of his voice echoed in the silence.

Kakashi was frustrated an angry-- with himself and with Naruto.

Finally, he stepped forward, strode across the shiny floor and perched himself on the end of the blonde's bed.

"You know, Naruto-kun, what you did was wrong. You can't just be so impulsive. You have to act before…" His voice faded as he noticed that with each word, Naruto seemed to distance himself more.

"I'm sorry," Naruto whispered

Kakashi began again, this time with a different approach. "Every morning, before the other villagers are awake, I visit the old memorial for the Ninjas killed in action. I think I told you once about the importance of it. On that stone, the names of my friends, family, and teammates are carved permanently." He struggled to express his meaning, "I don't want you to be another grave to be visited, Naruto-kun. Please don't do that to me."

He stood suddenly. "Hokage- sama feels that it would be more beneficial for you health if were to stay here instead of with me. You'll be moved to another ward for longer-term residents. "

"Good- bye Naruto-kun. Stay safe."

He spared a last glance back before passing through the door to leave.

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One Month Later

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Naruto woke up this morning with a sense of loss, but yet with a feeling that maybe something new would begin. Today he was being released from the hospital a few weeks early due to "good behavior". Excluding the breakdown he had the first week he had arrived, he had followed the daily regimen and attended therapy sessions without question.

Because he was leaving today, Naruto had risen early to straighten his belongings and pull on an outfit before Sakura came to retrieve him.

After saying goodbye to a few fellow patients he had grown closer to, the blonde nin followed behind Sakura, lingering a bit at the entrance and the proceeded through.

The day was just beginning . Rays of sunlight spilled through the grey clouds spanning the immense sky. Many villagers were already out enjoying the sun warmed air. Naruto took a second to stare at the bright ellipse in the sky and take in a generous breathe of fresh air. His skin was paler now but considering the circumstances, he looked fairly well and without having his normal orange jacket on, his body looked long and lean.

Sakura halted and turned to smile sweetly at him. "Coming?"

Naruto gave her a large fox-like grin and replied, "Only if you go on a date with me. Ramen?"

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"Ok. So I didn't expect you to say yes Sakura-chan. You know, I've never actually planned this far ahead," he admitted sheepishly.

She laughed, "That's ok, Naruto-kun. I figured I owed you after all those years of harsh rejection. I've grown up and so have you."

"Glad to see you back, Uzumaki-san!" The Ramen Vendor exclaimed as he handed the two Nins their steamy ramen bowls.

Naruto immediately wolfed into his while Sakura daintily snapped her wooden chopsticks.

Looking intently into the twisting noodles of his bowl he asked, "So how is Kakashi-sensei?"

Sakura continued to slurp up the noodles in her eggshell white bowl and paid Naruto no attention.

"Sakura! I said how--"

"Oh Naruto," she replied sadly. "I heard you, it's just that Kakashi has been different since you left to stay in the hospital. He hardly ever talks to me anymore or to anyone else for that matter. I overheard the Hokage and Kakashi discussing the possibility of him attaining an A-rank mission. The Hokage keeps those stowed away for ninjas who request to take them. An A-rank mission is a near guaranteed death, but they've got to be done by somebody."

"A suicide mission?" Naruto stood up angrily, hitting his ramen bowl with his elbow and causing it to spill. He took no notice of his lost lunch. "I don't understand why he would do that…"

Sakura turned to him, "I think he feels that the unfortunate things that have happened are somehow his fault."

"Thanks for lunch Sakura-chan. I'm going to find him."

Naruto bent down to hug her lightly around her shoulders before he left.

Sakura watched his receding silhouette and sighed, "Good luck Naruto-kun."

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Naruto knew where to look for Kakashi with a moments thought and headed in that direction.

The blonde haired boy soon arrived at his destination and as predicted, Hatake Kakashi sat crouched on the balls of his feet in front of the slanted stone memorial , the names of departed ninjas engraved on its face. His own masked face was reflected in the shiny surface and within his own reflection he saw the dilated image of Naruto coming towards him and sighed. He rather despised the unexpected. Kakashi remained in his crouched position and allowed Naruto to come beside him. Naruto mirrored his elders position and sat with him, also observing the stone statue.

"It doesn't seem like it would be much fun talking to this thing or coming here every morning to reminisce with it," he stated, staring at his whiskered reflection. Kakashi remained quiet.

"Sometimes life can be easier to live if you just try to disregard those unpleasant memories. You've got to keep moving forward."

He reached over and clasped onto the sliver haired Jonin's large, warm hand.

"Trust me on this one."

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Kisses1991: So I wrote more on this originally, but it strayed so far from my originally planned plot that I scrapped it but then I'm like "Hey! Why don't I just add them anyway! And mercilessly torture your souls with my original characters and bad plot twists!"

So I'll be writing an alternate add on to when Naruto stays in the hospital. Hopefully it won't be too much like my Sasuke centric fic.

Thanks for reading. I really do appreciate reviews, bad and good! huggles

I also drew a fanart for my own fan fiction because I'm a geek like that. I just wanted to make it a bit clearer what's going on in my head when I write this so if you want to see it search "semblance of a whole kisses1991". I'm not claiming to be good at drawing or anything…