Chapter 9

Naruto couldn't remember the last time he hurt so much. Normally when he received a wound somewhere, that particular body part would hurt, but even that pain would only last so long. Any wound he received would also heal faster naturally than a wound on any other shinobi, because of the fox sealed within him. Even when it came to scarring, he retained none. Wondering why he was still in such pain, Naruto started grumbling at the fox in his mind, wondering why now of all times it didn't want to heal him when yet it was so eager to give him power before.

His mind shifting back to his current wounds, Naruto remembered his thoughts about the fox eliminating all trace of showing he was ever injured. The hole punched through his lung by Sasuke three years ago? Gone without a trace.

If it wasn't for Tsunade's medical skill and confirmation that the cells in that part of his body were much newer than the ones elsewhere on his body, no one would have believed it possible. None wanted to believe that their beloved last Uchiha would betray them, and attack a fellow leaf nin. The newest Hokage had quickly confirmed his story, however, and had other doctors check areas on his chest that she pinpointed specifically. They concurred with her assessment.

Thus the opinion of many in the village of Uchiha Sasuke was completely shattered. The villagers, Naruto had come to understand, were very fickle people. They would be willing to turn on someone at a moments notice, if they didn't do what the villages 'status quo' deemed to be acceptable behavior. As a result of Sasuke's apparent defection, the Uchiha district had been closed off indefinitely as of the time Naruto left for his training trip. He inspected it when he came back only to find it completely gone, and replaced by new apartments.

He sought out Sakura shortly after for some clarification, just to make sure he wasn't losing his mind. She confirmed that the civilian council had auctioned off various lots of the Uchiha's land to the highest bidder to do with as they wished. Since the Uchiha clan no longer had any representation in the council, their land was forfeit and going to waste. Naruto was livid at first, but that quickly changed when Sakura hit him to stop his rant. She explained that she had been upset at first as well, but then eventually understood the position of the village. The Uchiha had quite a lot of land, as they were one of the first clans to settle in Konoha, but it was all sitting there unused now. Usually a clan was responsible for the care of its own land, but since there was no clan living there anymore, it was falling to ruin.

It was an eyesore, and it could be used for other things. So some of the land was siphoned off for use by the city, part as a training ground and another part as an ANBU indoctrination and training facility. The rest was put on the auction block. The result of which Naruto had seen for himself.

Naruto was quickly pulled from his memories as he heard the window to his room open. Judging from the smell and the stiff bed he was used to by now, he had figured he was in the hospital when he first awoke. He tried to open his eyes, but discovered shortly that he had bandages over them. At first he was in a state of panic, hoping nothing happened to his eyes, but then quickly realized that he was completely restrained in the bed... so he'd be at anyone's mercy should they try anything.

Plus, his body just plain hurt to much to bother trying anything right now. So he decided to lie there and wait.

The window had since closed, and he heard a grunt. Quickly sniffing the air, he caught a whiff of oil and cheap perfume. That could only mean one person.

"Is tha-"

Naruto tried to ask if it was indeed who he thought it was, but was interrupted by a series of many dry coughs. His guess was confirmed a second later when the person who entered the room spoke.

"Easy gaki! Here, drink some water first."

Naruto didn't notice until now that his mouth was incredibly dry... he had bandages running across his nose as well, so he might have broken it when he fell face first onto the ground. That means he had probably been breathing through his mouth for a while until his nose had been fixed.

He sat up as much as he could while still having his arms and legs bound to the bed, and soon after felt the cool glass pressing against his lower lip. Opening his mouth he allowed some water to enter it, then swallowed, almost choking it down. After suffering through another coughing fit, he nodded, and drank some more. Eventually his mouth no longer felt completely dry, and he leaned back once again.

"Hi, ero-sennin." He winced internally at the sound of his own voice. It sounded so raspy and... weak.

He heard a drawn out sigh. "I'm glad you're okay, but I must say - you certainly do the strangest things."

This confused Naruto. "What do you mean? I don't remember doing anything strange, other than what I was instructed to do."

There was a light chuckle. "I just got back about thirty minutes ago, Tsunade told me about your Gauntlet run. I'm sorry I wasn't here to watch it."

"It's fine. I know you're a... busy person."

Jiraiya chose not to reply to that. Naruto wasn't acting like the Naruto he was used to. Besides, by the way he paused before the last part of what he last said... he got the impression Naruto wanted to say something else.

"I was out trying to contact the person who can train you in your element. They agreed after much persuasion, and only after I told them you wouldn't be in Konoha when they would be training you."

"Probably because of my status, huh?"

There was a slight pause. "Actually no. I didn't tell them who they would be training. I only said you were my apprentice, and that I don't have a wind affinity so it is something I cannot teach you."

"Any reason why this person didn't want to come to Konoha?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't press for details. They're one of my best information gatherers that I have near the Rice Field Country, and I don't like to get too close to my spies anyway. I've never seen their real appearance, since they disguise themselves with a henge. It's better that way, so in case something bad should happen, I won't be able to identify them. All spies take risks, something you'll understand one day when you either become the next spymaster, or Hokage."

"So how do you know this person has a wind affinity?"

"We were discovered by some Sound shinobi one evening at a tavern near the border. The spy took them all out with an interesting wind bullet technique that I had never seen before. I inquired, they confirmed, and that was the end of that topic of conversation."

"So you're willing to pawn me off on someone that you'd be hard pressed to identify, and only see maybe a handful of times a year?" Naruto's voice was losing it's raspy edge and was getting louder as he got his strength back.

"Look, gaki - I'm trying to get you help in the only way I know how. I told you before that wind users are extremely rare, especially good ones. I figured someone who used a technique I had never seen before would be enough to pique your interest. Besides that, this person is one of the most trustworthy spies I have, if you can call a spy such a thing. They helped to protect me from Sound shinobi, even though I could have handled it myself."

Naruto just sighed, and accepted what his sensei told him. In truth, he was happy that the man had found someone else to give him some training in his affinity. There was just something else bubbling under the surface that he had to get off his chest the moment he heard the man's voice. Everything else was going to have clouded judgment on his part until he cleared up a few things.

"Can you take these bandages off my eyes?"

"I don't know if that's a goo-"

"Just do it! If baa-chan starts yelling, I'll take the blame."

There were several moments of silence, and Naruto was getting ready to ask again before he heard the subtle shift of clothing as Jiraiya approached him. The aging shinobi carefully released several clasps holding his bandages in place.

"It looks like it's just one bandage that goes around the top of your head, including your nose. Is it still okay to take it off?"

Naruto grunted out a confirmation, and his sensei proceeded to slowly removed the bandages from around his head. Once they were finally removed, Naruto carefully opened his eyes. He was preparing himself in case his eyes needed to adjust to the light, but it was apparently in the middle of the night, since there was no light outside. There were a couple soft lights on in his hospital room, and the dull glow of some medical machinery. Otherwise, the overall amount of light in the room was rather low.

He turned his head to look at Jiraiya. The man was currently looking on the small table next to Naruto's bed with something akin to sadness and regret. Moving his own glance to the table, and grimacing as his neck protested against the movement, he saw that his father's special kunai was currently sitting on the table... with his recently removed bandages right next to it.

"Did you know my father?"

The timing of the question couldn't have been more perfect. Naruto saw the man looking at the kunai, and knew what his memories must have been like at that exact moment. Right after he tossed that question at Jiraiya, the man stuttered incomprehensibly for a moment, followed by his face adopting a resigned look at he realized there was no way to back out of the situation he had inadvertently stumbled into. So instead of replying right away - he sighed, grabbed a chair, and sort of... fell over into it.

"Yes, I knew your father."

Naruto's anger was rising rapidly.

"So why didn't you say anything before!? You lied to my face, and you weren't the only one!"

Jiraiya looked pained, and appeared to be reluctant to speak. "It was done... in part... because it was your father's last request... but..."

Before Jiraiya could finish, Naruto started shouting.

"My father's... last request?!" Naruto's eyes had taken on a somewhat of a crazy look, and he was smiling unnaturally, something that did not look good on his face. "That... that... fucking bastard!"

Jiraiya visibly flinched and drew back at that assessment, and tried to interject on Naruto's rant, but the boy wasn't about to be stopped. He was also slightly thankful that the boy was restrained, even though he looked like he was still in pain his muscles were taut and he was obviously struggling with the restraints in his rage.

"What kind of parent... would do that to their child? Who would take their child, seal a demon into them, and leave them... all alone... for twelve years... I was all alone..."

Naruto was making a noise as he kept talking, which sounded like something between a mad laugh and a sob. Tears started steadily falling from his eyes.

"When I first found out, I thought I understood. I was proud of my father... he had a hard choice to make, but did what he thought what was best. He couldn't ask someone else to have a demon sealed in their child. I was just happy and relieved that I finally had an answer to a question I'd had for so long."

Naruto turned his gaze back to Jiraiya, who was just letting the poor kid vent. He was trying not to show that every word was cutting him worse than any kunai ever could. "But then I thought, if he had used another newborn, at least that child still would have had their fucking parents!"

At that last declaration, the tears and sobs came freely, and Naruto looked away to the far side of the room as if in shame. His arms were still restrained, so he couldn't wipe his face, but the lines the tears made on his face were clearly visible even in the low light. "Is it wrong of me to wish that my father chose someone else? Or that he did something else and didn't have to resort to the sealing? Maybe even have someone else perform the sealing so that he would be around to care for the person... his child... that the demon was sealed in."

Naruto's voice was getting lower and lower as he spoke, until he finished. Silence reigned for another moment as Jiraiya sat listening to Naruto trying to choke back sobs. He then realized that Naruto was silent because he was waiting for answers.

"No, I don't think it's wrong of you to wish that... and he did do everything he could think of to stop the Kyuubi. You were his absolute last resort." Jiraiya looked out the window, briefly. "If he had gotten someone else to perform the sealing, what kind of Hokage would he be? Though it's fine to wish for something else to have happened, you and I both know he would have lost an incredible amount of respect had he chosen that path."

The Toad Sannin sighed, accessing memories he long ago tried to forget. "I knew your father for nearly twenty years. In that entire time, the only time I ever saw him struggle over a decision, or even cry - was the night he sealed the Kyuubi in you."

Jiraiya paused for a moment, knowing he should tell the boy something else since now was probably the best time. "If you're mad at him, you should probably be equally mad at me as well."

Naruto's head snapped back around quickly to stare at his sensei. The boy winced, he was obviously in pain, but his eyes were clear and sharp, catching Jiraiya in a piercing gaze. Taking a deep breath, Jiraiya continued.

"Shortly before you were born, I was talking with both of your parents. I was there for another reason, but sometime during the conversation you became the topic. They both agreed that should anything happen to them, I was to be your guardian."

Naruto's breath started hitching a bit, and Jiraiya started worrying for the boy's health. He still pressed on, wanting to get it all out, lest he regret it later.

"I want to truly apologize for not being there during those first 12 years. I was actually around for the first two, when you were in the care of the Uchiha..." Naruto's eyes went wide, but Jiraiya still pressed on, "...but shortly after you were placed in the orphanage, I got information on Orochimaru. He was like a brother to me, as I explained to you on our training trip before, so I wanted to go after him desperately. I know I was still a fool even then. But a dedicated fool, nonetheless."

"The Uchiha's promised me that they would keep an eye on you, and one of their best was assigned to look over you. I left, figuring you would be in good hands. After that, sensei kept sending me on missions... I suppose that may sound like an excuse, but I had no reason to believe the Uchiha wouldn't keep their word."

He paused once again in his story, examining the young man bound to the bed in front of him. He had stilled, but had his head hunched over. The sniffling had stopped as well... Jiraiya only knew he was awake by the occasional twitch of an arm whenever he said something he assumed the boy didn't really want to hear.

"I found out about the Uchiha massacre just under a year after it happened. Konoha had managed to keep quiet about what happened for a while - I only remember being in Kumo when I found out. I came back as fast as I could to make sure you were okay. Sensei assured me of your safety when I got back, and told me that he had assigned Hatake Kakashi and Uzuki Yuugao to watch over you. Accepting that, I checked in on you, and headed out once more. I was out of Konoha for another few years, and then... we met. Officially, anyway."

The room was met with silence yet again. Jiraiya finished his tale, and while he knew it probably didn't help the young man in front of him, it felt good for him to finally have it off his chest. Now all he had to do was prepare himself for the backlash that was likely to come as a result. He let the silence in the room linger, his eyes drifting back towards the kunai sitting on the table. According to what Tsunade told him, he would have to ask Naruto for clarification on-

"Please leave."

Jiraiya looked at Naruto. The boy still had his head bowed over, his messy hair was hanging over in such a way as to hide his eyes from view.

"I'm sorry?"

"Please leave." Naruto quickly spoke again after that, but his voice was softer. "I think I want to be alone for a little while, and I don't want you to be here in case I say something I might regret later."

"Naruto... I..." Jiraiya somehow knew there was nothing he could say other than 'I'm sorry', which just felt like a wasted gesture at this point. He didn't want to say anything that might damage their relationship further than it already was either.

"Very well." He stood up and slowly walked over towards the only door in the room. Looking around before he opened the door, he noticed that Naruto was placed in a private room this time, which he was glad for in retrospect. Taking one final glance over his shoulder at the boy he was supposed to be guardian of and a godfather to, he stepped out into the hallway.

Closing the door behind him, he noticed that the hallway seemed even darker than the room he was in. He knew that the hospital dimmed the lights in certain areas that weren't high traffic to save power, but this seemed a little extreme. Or maybe his eyes were just a little cloudy...

Absentmindedly, he wiped at one of his eyes, discovering it came away slightly damp. He was so busy staring at his wet fingers that he didn't notice the two people approach him.

"How did it go?"

Startled, Jiraiya turned to face the person who asked.

"Tsunade! I guess it went alright. Both better and worse than I was hoping."

Tsunade nodded slowly, and Jiraiya's attention finally focused on the person Tsunade was with. "Hello Sakura... I didn't know you would be here this late." He looked between both of them for a moment. "So how much did you hear?"

It was Sakura that answered. The girls face was ashen-colored, though that could have just been a trick of the light. She spoke softly though, which wasn't typical for her. "We got here just as you were talking about having him train under one of your agents."

It was Jiraiya's turn to nod. He looked at Tsunade, face in a grim line. "Will she...?"

Tsunade simply waved her hand. "She's my apprentice. She knows better. This is for Naruto to tell, and for him alone. No one else can claim to have that right."

The Toad Sannin nodded once again, turning to look back at the door to the room Naruto was in. Tsunade spoke to him again, voice softer than before.

"You look miserable. Maybe you should go take a load off at the hot springs, or something."

Turning back to look at Tsunade, he happened to notice that her apprentice was looking at her, eyes wide. He apparently knew better than her apprentice, this was one of Tsunade's moments where she exhibited a strange sense of humor. She was no better at cheering people up than he ever was.

Instead of of taking her up on the offer, he just snorted, one corner of his lips managing to come up in a wry grin. "Good suggestion, but I think I'm going to go get some sleep. Maybe when I wake up, Naruto will feel like talking to me again. I've been running on soldier pills for three days, so I'm spent."

"I've told you before, that's not healthy!" Tsunade's tone spared no room for argument.

"I know, I know." Jiraiya was too tired to argue anyway. "I wanted to get back here as soon as I could to tell him the news about his future training, and hopefully hear good news from him about his tests, so it was a worthwhile reason."

Tsunade just crossed her arms and gave Jiraiya a stern expression. "Get going before I decide to admit you into this hospital on the grounds of chakra depletion. Then they won't let you out of here for a week."

Running his hand back through his hair, Jiraiya just rolled his eyes at her. "I'm going, I'm going. Don't have to tell this old man twice." He started walking away, but stopped for a moment to look back. "A small parting word of advice... be careful what you say and do around Naruto for a little while. I have a feeling being around him is going to be difficult until he comes to grips with everything that's been going on recently."

Tsunade and Sakura watched as he turned and headed back down the hall, offering a small wave as he left. Once he disappeared around a corner, Tsunade turned to her apprentice.

"As he said, be careful what you say and do around the brat. He's pretty effectively had his world turned upside down and sideways in the past week. Be nice, and that means no hitting him when he says something stupid."

To Sakura's credit, she didn't flinch when her sensei was telling her this along with giving her a rather stern gaze. Tsunade mused that the girl must have already told herself the same thing. "I understand, shishou."

"Good. I'll go in first, see how he's doing. When I come out, you can go in, understand?"

Sakura nodded once, showing that she did.

"Fine. If you want to listen in, I don't mind. But if you respect Naruto, I would expect that you do not."

"Hai. I'll wait down at the end of the hall."

"Very well." Tsunade turned and grabbed at the door handle, wondering what lay in store for her when she talked to the young man.


As the door clicked closed behind Jiraiya, Naruto let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He had fully expected the man to stop before he left the room, and demand to talk to him some more about the situation.

Naruto had only asked him to leave because after seeing the haunted look on Jiraiya's face, he couldn't stand it anymore. He refused to meet the Sannin's face towards the end of his little spiel, and even after, when Jiraiya was attempting to apologize and give his reasoning for... not being there.

The teenager couldn't stay mad at Jiraiya no matter how hard he tried. In fact, Naruto hated to admit to himself that he probably would have done the same thing Jiraiya did. He was apparently placed into the care of the Uchiha when he was a newborn, so there was no real pressing reason for him to not leave and go looking for his missing friend. He would have to talk to the man later and forgive him... he had, after all, done his part so far in helping to continue his father's legacy.

Settling back against the bed once again, his mind gradually settling into acceptance on the topic. With that out of the way, his mind began to focus once more on the dull ache he still felt throughout his body. Cursing inwardly, he was mentally shouting at both his body and the fox - one for getting beat up, and the other for letting him remain that way.

"Silence, Naruto."

Shocked at hearing the unique drawl of a voice he now knew so well - only it was in his head - he jerked upward, just to be caught in the restraints and bite back a yelp as the muscles in his back protested every movement.

"Kyuubi? Was that you?" Naruto idly wondered if it was in fact the Kyuubi that he heard in his head. He had no idea that it was possible to-

"Yes, you fool. I've always been able to hear your thoughts since I've been sealed within you. I'm only talking to you now because your incessant screaming at both your body and myself is becoming irritating."

Crap. That meant the Kyuubi had been able to access all his dreams, hopes, fears... and all his past daydreams he had had about Sakur-

"I do not care about your petty mortal feelings and desires. I just decided to tell you that you are subconsciously closing yourself off from my chakra through the seal. The amount flowing through your system has been getting smaller and smaller ever since you injured your precious pink-haired vixen. When the desire to use my chakra surfaces once again, the seal will allow my chakra to flow to a greater extent once more."

Naruto stemmed the urge to retort at the way Sakura was described, so he simply gave the Kyuubi a mental nod... at least what he thought was a mental nod... and tried to somehow tell himself that he wanted to use the Kyuubi's chakra again. He thought he felt a very slight burning sensation over his stomach, where the visible seal was located, but he had no way of checking to see if the seal made itself visible. Before he could ponder it any more, however, the door to his room opened. Turning his head to look and see who it was, he was getting ready to tell Jiraiya that he still didn't want to see him yet, but Tsunade appeared instead, and he quickly swallowed that statement.

"Well, you're finally awake. You gave many of us quite a scare."

"Sorry baa-chan. I don't really know what happened."

Instead of saying anything else, she walked over to the bed and started undoing the restraints. She had apparently gotten a decent look at his tear-stained face as well, because as soon as she finished she handed him some tissues to clean up.

He decided to ask her a question that had been on his mind as he cleaned up. "So... why was I being restrained?"

"Well, while we were trying to stabilize you, which is something that we've never had to do before... you started going into convulsions. That is also something which has never happened to you before. Normally any serious damage you take is healed at a fairly rapid rate by the Kyuubi. Any idea why that wasn't happening?"

Naruto paused for a moment... he knew the answer, but was arguing with himself over how much he should say.

"There is no point in hiding the truth of the matter."

Eyes opening wide in surprise as the Kyuubi talked to him once again, he looked at Tsunade. She was still waiting for an answer, gazing at him with one eyebrow arched sky high.

"What? I'm waiting."

"Uhm... how to say this..." He paused for a moment, scratching at his chin. "Kyuubi talked to me."

"So what? I thought you've talked to it before?"

"This time was different. Kyuubi just... spoke to me in my head. Normally I have to... well... go there. Wherever there is."

Tsunade simply stared at Naruto, as if she wasn't sure how to process what Naruto was telling her. "So you're telling me that you're hearing voices in your head, now?"

Naruto gave the Hokage a blank look. "Something like that. Except this voice explained to me why I wasn't being healed."

At that comment, Tsunade perked up. "Oh really? What did this voice have to offer on the matter?"

"Apparently, I somehow subconsciously cut off the flow of the fox's chakra through my system, so it was nothing more than a trickle. All I had to do to turn it back on was the want to use Kyuubi's chakra again."

Tsunade appeared intrigued. "You never mentioned before that you were able to control the amount of Kyuubi's chakra you had running through your system."

Naruto shrugged, and looked slightly confused. "I'd never thought about it much in the past. Ever since I... hurt Sakura-chan several months ago when I released four tails, I've been keeping Kyuubi in check. I've been concentrating on using my chakra, and mine alone. According to Kyuubi, I was subconsciously manipulating the seal that keeps it contained, and gradually closing myself off from it's chakra. From what ero-sennin has mentioned in the past, and from what my father's scroll to me said... I can't cut the chakra off completely or I will die. But I can apparently cut it off to the extent where it is nothing more than a trickle... which is enough so that it can't heal me quickly anymore."

The Hokage was looking out the window as Naruto spoke, though whether she was looking at the illuminated buildings in Konoha or the night sky, Naruto couldn't tell.

"Well, I guess that also explains a bit as to why your arm took so much longer than normal to heal after using the Rasenshuriken."

Being reminded of that, Naruto just grunted in agreement, and looked at his right arm. It had been in a protective cast for almost two weeks, which was previously unheard of for someone like him. While the technique in its current form did cause a lot of backlash, he could remember healing from worse injuries in less time.

"How are you feeling now, though?"

Tsunade's quick question brought his attention back to her. She was looking at him with a sort of motherly concern that he appreciated more than she would ever know.

"I willed myself to use the Kyuubi's chakra again, if only briefly. I felt a slight burning sensation from the seal, and I'm already not as sore as I was five minutes ago."

"Does that mean you'd be willing to see one more visitor? As much as I'd like to stay, I need to get some sleep so I can get an early start on paperwork tomorrow. Since you're up, we'll probably commence the mission soon."

Naruto's brow furrowed, remembering about the mission he was supposed to go on, as well as trying to think of who else it could be that wanted to see him at this hour, other than Jiraiya and Tsunade. "Is it Shizune-neechan?"

"No. It's your teammate."

He was surprised, but in a grateful way. It must not have shown on his face, because Tsunade raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

"Do you not want to see her? I can send her home..."

Naruto was waving at Tsunade frantically before she even finished speaking. "No! No that's fine... it would be nice to talk to her. We haven't been able to talk much at all since I got back, and I don't think either of us will have time to talk much at all once we leave for this mission."

Giving him a small smile, Tsunade nodded as she opened the door. "Just be mindful of your mouth, you don't need her hitting you in your current state because you said something stupid."

Seeing the pout on his face before she left, she gave him a wink, then stepped halfway out the door before she turned back one more time. "Oh... and you are going to talk to Jiraiya again, right?"

The young blond stared at her, but did not give a hint as to his motive regarding his sensei. Not wanting to press the matter too much, she frowned. "I don't want to preach, not that you'd listen anyway, but at least try to forgive the old pervert. I can't claim to know what he did or didn't do... but he was there for you more than I ever was."

Tsunade bit her lip as she turned to leave again. The door closed with a light click, while Naruto sat and stared at the doorknob, musing over Tsunade's last words. He was upset with her too, but he had already vented to the pervert, and didn't have the energy or willpower to give the current Hokage some of his lingering ire.

Not really wanting to think about the aging pervert or the Godaime any more, he replaced thoughts of the old man and woman with thoughts about Sakura, wondering what caused her to be here at this hour. The clock that was on the wall showed it was almost four in the morning, so he couldn't help but be curious as to how long she had been in the hospital. Part of him was filled with elation that she was actually here because he was injured and she wanted to make sure he was okay, though another part of him was feeling guilty for the exact same reason - that he was injured and it was her responsibility as a good teammate to make sure he was alright.

The door clicked open once again, derailing his previous train of thought. He looked at her as she gave him a small smile, then turned around to close the door softly behind her. Once the door clicked closed she turned back around, and with another smile, greeted him. "Hi Naruto."

Naruto gave her a small smile in return. "Hey Sakura-chan. What brings you here?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm only here because of you. If I had my way, I wouldn't be back here at all until after we return from the big mission."

The blond gave a small chuckle, and averted his gaze. "Yeah, I'm pretty good at doing things and going places you don't like, huh?"

His teammate was walking over towards him slowly, but stopped abruptly at his latest quip. He looked up to meet her gaze, and it was met with a look of confusion and concern. "What's with this defeatist attitude of yours? The Naruto I know, who is my teammate, never lets anything get him down. Nor does he ever put himself down. Thats my job."

Sakura tried to joke at the end of her speech and gave another quick smile, but Naruto frowned and looked away again, towards the window. There were a few heartbeats of silence before he answered. "The Naruto you knew never really existed." He sighed before continuing. "Okay, he did exist, but he was only part of the real me."

Sakura continued her slow trek towards the bed, pulled up a chair, and sat next to him. As she was sitting down she cast a quick glance at the small table that was next to her, with the kunai and unwrapped bandage sitting on it. "So who is the real Naruto, then?"

"I don't really know. I mean, this probably sounds ridiculous, but up until a few days ago I was perfectly happy the way I was. But now... so much is different." Naruto seemed to catch himself before he spoke any further, and turned a questioning gaze on his teammate. She met him with a questioning gaze of her own, unsure of why he stopped.

"Sakura-chan... how much has anyone told you about me? Things like my parents, my past..." He let the question drift off, letting her fill in the blanks on her own.

"Tsunade-shishou and I were coming to check on you when we heard you and Jiraiya-sama talking. It was rather loud at times, so I heard a lot. Tsunade-shishou filled in a few more gaps before I entered the room. In regards to your past, other than what Jiraiya-sama said a while ago or what you've already told me, I know nothing."

They sat in silence for at least a minute after that, the only sound to keep them company was the low hum of some medical equipment. Sakura's worry gradually increased over the minute, wondering if Naruto was upset with her because she heard something he didn't want her to know.

"I know nothing of my father, other than what's written in the history books. I know nothing of my mother, other than she was an occasional student of baa-chan. According to ero-sennin, I was raised by the Uchiha until I was two years old, whereupon I was placed in an orphanage. I don't know why. My earliest memories are of being whipped by the matron of the orphanage for doing the smallest thing wrong, until Sarutobi-san replaced her with another one who just ignored me."

Though she inwardly winced at the way Naruto now casually talked about the Sandaime, as he had obviously lost some degree of respect for the man, she involuntarily reached for and grabbed his hand when he started referring to the orphanage.

"Supposedly I was watched by a member of the Uchiha clan even while I was in the orphanage. I can't say I ever really remember seeing anyone watch me, which I guess meant he or she was doing their job. I never really had many problems, I was ignored by most people, sometimes folks would yell at me or spit at me... but I didn't understand why. I tried crying, as I had seen it work for some other kids when they were around adults, they always got attention. I never understood, but when I cried, the yelling got louder and some people even looked happy."

Naruto's hands had clenched into fists at this point, his grip was so powerful that Sakura's hand was starting to hurt. But she knew he needed to vent, and was happy to be the one who was there for him... so she tried to ignore the pain as best she could.

"There were a small handful of people who were good to me while I was young, but not much else happened in my life up until I entered the Academy. Even then I was mostly ignored by the other students. I made friends with the ones who liked my pranks, but that was about it. Shikamaru and Chouji were two of my first friends. Chouji was my friend mainly because I could eat as much as him, and Shikamaru seemed to like anyone who was able to befriend Chouji."

Naruto gave a light chuckle at the memory, and Sakura had a small smile on her lips that was filled with regret as she stared at her feet. She had already confirmed with herself that she would do everything she could to make up for the way she ignored Naruto during their Academy days. He definitely didn't deserve to be treated the way he was, least of all by her, since she had also been ma-

"I know what you're thinking, but it's not necessary."

Sakura's head sprang up and she looked at Naruto, surprise written all over her face. "Wh- What are you talking about?"

Naruto squeezed her hand, and she vaguely recalled grabbing his earlier. "You had a smile on your face that I know too well. You're probably thinking that you need to make up for all the time you knew me, but I wasn't your friend. In fact, you pretty much hated me."

Sakura didn't let go of his hand, but flinched and quickly looked away. She remembered Team Seven's first meeting on the roof of the Academy. "Of all the things I've said and done in my life, I think I regret what I said during our first team meeting the most."

"That you hated me?"

"Yes."

"Well, apology accepted. So don't worry about it."

Sakura looked at him yet again, eyes wide. "But I didn't even say sorry..."

Her teammate waved her off with his free hand. "You said you regretted it, which to me counts as an apology. Like I said, don't worry about it." He gave her a mischievous little grin. "Besides, you were talking while you were under the influence of the awesome Uchiha aura."

Sakura just gave him a blank look. The staring contest lasted for all of about fifteen seconds, before Naruto started to break down into mild bouts of laughter.

"I really should hit you for that one."

Naruto's laughter slowly settled down, and after a couple gasps for air, he gave her a big smile. "Well, as much as it might pain you to realize it now, it was true at the time."

Sakura ground her teeth. "Yet another thing I'll regret until the day I die."

At this, Naruto's eyebrows shot sky high. "Are you... whoa. Did you just bash the teme?"

It was Sakura's turn to have her eyebrows skyrocket. "You know, I guess I did, indirectly. Felt pretty good, too."

Now Naruto was falling into confusion more than anything else. He quickly turned away, so Sakura wouldn't have to see the conflicted look on his face. He felt her squeeze his hand as she asked a question.

"What's wrong? Don't clam up on me now."

Naruto turned slightly, but still wasn't completely facing her. "I thought..." He sighed, trying to figure out how he wanted to phrase his words without upsetting the girl enough to send him into a coma. "I always thought you, well... liked Sasuke."

When several seconds passed and he received no response, he slowly turned to look at his teammate. She was giving him a blank look, her mouth slightly open, looking like she wanted to say something, but not sure how exactly to say it.

"I... uhm..." She took several deep breaths, then looked Naruto in the eye. "I do like Sasuke."

Up to that point, Naruto had been doing pretty good, all things considered. But the moment he heard Sakura say those words, he felt what was left of his world start to shatter and fall to the ground around him.

"But then, I like you too, Naruto."

Naruto's world stopped shattering, but instead it was like time had stopped. The pieces that had shattered and were falling had stopped in mid air around him, as if every part of his world was just completely dumbfounded with what the girl he cared so much about had said, and was waiting to see the action he decided to take.

Naruto himself was gaping like a fish out of the water, his mind long ago gave up trying to comprehend anything else that anyone decided to tell him.

Sakura reached up with her free hand, placed it on Naruto's chin, and gently pushed his mouth closed. "I'm sure you're confused. I was too at first. But then Ino helped me figure it out, even if it wasn't her real intention."

Naruto was just getting more and more confused, but figured the best thing to do at this point was to shut up and let her explain.

"As I said before, I like Sasuke. But I think it is in much the same way you do. I feel like Sasuke is the brother I never had. When I was younger, I honestly made myself feel like I was in love with him. But like Ino had felt with you, it was really nothing more than admiration." Sakura sighed to herself, and Naruto looked like he was finally able to comprehend where she was coming from. He squeezed her hand in reassurance, which she reciprocated before talking again. "I admired how he was good at nearly everything he applied himself to. I can look back and laugh now, but back then, I honestly thought he was the best thing there ever was, and ever would be. Besides that... being rivals with the other girls felt good. I felt like I was important."

"I felt the same way when Sasuke declared I was his rival."

"I remember seeing how happy you both were. I didn't understand it then, but I do now."

Naruto chuckled a little, then gazed at Sakura with clear blue eyes. "So if you like Sasuke as a brother figure, where does that leave me?"

Sakura's face took on a distinctly reddish hue, which Naruto could see clearly even in the poor light. "I just like you. Thats all."

Naruto frowned, which worried Sakura. "I thought we were best friends? Doesn't that mean you'd like me anyway?"

Sakura nodded, and was shifting from side to side in her seat. She brought her free hand up to where her other hand was currently holding one of Naruto's, and started tapping his knuckles with her fingers as she talked. "You are my best friend, and yes, I've liked you as a teammate for a while. But... uhm... I really like you. A lot."

Now it was Naruto's turn for his face to take on that distinct reddish hue. "Oh."

Sakura was idly murmuring confirmation, her fingertips now tracing the knuckles on Naruto's hand. She had expected Naruto to be bouncing around, claiming that his 'Sakura-chan' finally admitted to liking him. While she had prepared herself for that outburst, she had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised that it didn't turn out that way. Naruto was taking it in a much more mature way than she expected.

"So you think I'm hot, huh?"

Scratch that thought.

"Baka! Of course that me-" She quickly covered her mouth with her free hand, eyes wide. She tried to pull her hand out of Naruto's, but he held fast. His eyes held a mysterious twinkle in them that she couldn't really ever remember seeing before.

"I'm just kidding, Sakura-chan. Though I should probably tell you that I like you too, so you don't feel as though it's one-sided."

Sakura removed her hand from her mouth, and just snorted at that comment. "At the rate you were always professing your love for me, I hardly think that..." She trailed off, as if realizing something. Her expression showed it too, as it went from being rather cheerful, to suddenly being downcast. Naruto was clearly worried at the sudden change, he gripped her hand tighter and stared at her with worry.

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

"I..." She refused to look at Naruto, and seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "I just realized... I haven't heard you shouting that you loved, or even liked me... for a while now. You used to do it all the time, and I was getting worried that I took too long to tell you how I felt."

"I stopped because I thought it was making you upset."

"It never, ever really upset me. I appreciated the attention... but as bad as it sounds, I still had to keep up appearances. Because of my rivals. I just couldn't tell you that." Sakura's voice dropped down so low, Naruto had to strain to hear her. "Oh Kami... I really was such a shallow little girl."

"I was an immature little boy, so what?!" Naruto spoke up loud enough to startle his teammate. "I think you've grown up faster than I have, it wasn't until these past few days that I've finally taken a really good look at what I've done in the past, and what I need to do in the future. You figured out what you were missing a while ago, from the sound of it."

Sakura just squeezed his hand once again, and gave another smile. "Thank you, Naruto."

Several minutes passed with a pleasant silence between them, they were both staring out the window into the night lights of Konoha. Naruto took a moment to reflect on just how much had changed within the short span of a week. He found out more about his past, quite a lot about his father, some small amount about his mother... and then he even managed to grab Sakura-chan's attention by some stroke of luck. Finally. He just hoped it wasn't out of pity. But she didn't seem like that kind of girl. Not anymore, at least. Then there was the future to consider...

"It's not going to be easy, you know."

Sakura jumped in her chair a little, obviously not expecting Naruto to speak, and apparently lost in her own thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"The mission. Us."

"I know. According to the briefing, it's going to take years. Who knows what we're going to encounter. But what do you mean by us?"

"We're not going to have any free time. Assuming you want us to... do stuff."

Both teens were obviously blushing once again at this point.

Sakura found she was extremely unable and unwilling to meet Naruto's gaze. She knew she wasn't a pervert, but she was still human and had needs and desires just like all other humans. "I know. But no one said we can't try to make things work."

"You're right, we can definitely try. But I was just warning you it wasn't going to be easy."

She squeezed his hand, as if trying to reaffirm a commitment. "You know, with this new Naruto you've been so kind to introduce me to, I think everything will be fine."

Naruto finally met her gaze, he was openly curious by what she was implying. "I've changed that much?"

Nodding the affirmative, she couldn't help but chuckle. "At least I know there's some of the old Naruto still in there. You're much more mature than I've ever seen you before, but you're still quite oblivious at the same time if you can't tell that you've changed."

"Ah, sorry." Naruto scratched at the back of his head, giving her a sly little grin. "I'm trying out this little thing called humility too."

This was the Naruto she remembered. Her right eye started twitching a little. "Baka. You're not humble if you're actually claiming to be humble."

Naruto knew it was unwise to continue making snarky comments, so he just chuckled and shrugged. "By the way, what's the status with the mission anyway. Weren't we supposed to have left by now?"

Sakura seemed a bit shaken by the sudden change of topics, but immediately rebounded. "Tsunade-shishou said she would just delay the departure a few days. We can't start if our leader isn't ready, after all."

Naruto just nodded, and leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling. "You know, I'm a little scared."

"Why?"

Naruto sighed. "I've never been responsible for people before. At least not this many."

Sakura smiled, more to herself since she knew Naruto wasn't looking at her. "It's a tiny amount of people, compared to becoming Hokage of Konoha."

Naruto grimaced, but quickly removed it and hoped Sakura didn't notice. "Yeah. Now that I actually have time to sit back and think about it, it does seem rather daunting."

Adjusting her grip on Naruto's hand, she rubbed his knuckles with her thumb. "It's amazing how things change when your dreams come closer to reality, isn't it?"

The teenage boy nodded, then turned his head to look at Sakura again. She was staring at him intently. "What are your dreams, Sakura-chan?"

"My dreams?" She looked startled at first, then her expression became more contemplative. "I haven't been asked that in a long time. But I would say I have two dreams. The first one is to become a medic even stronger and more well known than Tsunade-shishou."

Naruto gave her a smile. "Thats a good dream to have. What about the other?"

The girl blushed. "I've already partially accomplished it, actually. It was my dream to get to know you better."

Naruto was totally stunned. He really didn't know what to say in response to that, and he didn't want to muck it up, so he kept his mouth shut. Mostly shut, anyway. He gave her the biggest smile he had ever given anyone in a long time.

Suddenly, Sakura's hand jerked from his grip. He was surprised, but noticed that she started digging through a pack that she had attached to her belt. It looked like it had some medical supplies in it, so he just assumed it was a medical pouch like most doctors and nurses seemed to keep with them. She stopped digging and pulled out something round that was attached to a chain. She examined it for a second, and then put it back in her pack.

"It's almost been an hour, Naruto. You should get some more sleep and be fully rested, especially in case Tsunade-shishou decides to send us out and start the mission later today."

Naruto nodded to her, and she started to get up.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Yes?"

"I passed The Gauntlet test, right?"

"Tsunade-shishou hasn't spoken about it, but I believe you did, yes."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, giving her an innocent expression. "Didn't you say I'd get a surprise if I passed?

The corners of Sakura's lips curled up into a grin. "Are you sure you want it now? You might want to wait until you're out of the hospital, as it could be dangerous if you aren't prepared."

He just looked at her in confusion. Why would any good surprise be dangerous? "I'm sure I can handle whatever it is you throw at me."

One of her eyebrows arched. "Are you sure?"

He shrugged from his bed. "Yeah, why not?" The crooked grin he sent her way did nothing to assuage the current feeling of dread he got in his stomach at the sight of her predatory smile.

"Well, if you say so."

In two steps, she was directly at the side of his bed.

What occurred over the next fifteen to twenty seconds left Naruto's mind a muddled mess. He remembered seeing her face get closer to his, seeing her eyes close, and then feeling something soft press against his lips.

By the time his mind finally registered what was going on and he tried to respond, she suddenly pulled away, with a small smirk on her face.

"Sakura-ch-"

A finger on his lips cut off anything he was about to say.

"Shush. Get some rest. We can talk more after you wake up and are able to get out of here. I'll be waiting."

With that, she left the room before his addled brain finished processing what she told him. When it finally did, he felt that the moment she kissed him was worth every trial and tribulation he had been through up to that point.

"Simpleton."

Shaking a mental fist at the Kyuubi, Naruto managed to drag himself off to sleep. Tomorrow, he'd have to bring the all-new Naruto out to stay.


Edited: January 27th, 2010

Up Next: Departure