Naruto was pacing the hall as the time went by. Hinata was sleeping on the chairs, her head resting on a makeshift pillow made from Naruto's folded jacket. Hinata's "pep talk" and answer to Naruto had helped ease his mind a little bit…that is, until he heard the news of who Narita was. Naruto shivered at the thought.

Imagine he thought. Me, a father…THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT!! I mean, I may have thought about having kids in the future. BUT DEFINITELY NOT THIS –"

"Naruto?" interrupted a familiar voice.

Naruto was brought out of his deep thinking and looked up, seeing Sakura standing in front of him. She looked worried and a little down, so he assumed the worst.

"Narita...she…she didn't –"

"Narita's going to survive," Sakura said, now with a cheerful face. "You can see her, if you–"

She was interrupted by Naruto pulling her into a tight hug. This caught her by surprise, not expecting him to be this glad. At the same time, it felt…really good, just being held by him.

"Thank you," he said…or rather, almost sobbed.

"Um…you're welcome?" she asked, blushing just a little. "I…I think you should go see her."

"Yeah," he said, letting go of her. "Which way?"

"Down the hall, room 25."

"Thanks…can you watch Hinata for a minute?"

"Sure."

Naruto started walking towards Narita's room, while Sakura looked at Hinata…a pained look in her eyes as she stared at the dark-haired kunoichi.

Hinata…what is it about you that grabbed Naruto's attention?

"By the way, Sakura?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"Huh?" asked Sakura, turning around in surprise. "Yes, Naru…to?"

When Sakura looked at him, she was immediately caught by the look in his eyes…a look of both kindness and concern…concern for her.

"Look, I may not be smart like you or Shikamaru, but even I'm not stupid enough to not notice that something's on your mind, and that it's making you worried."

"Naruto…what exactly are you saying?" she asked, smiling in a little confusion.

"Just…don't scare me like how you did, okay? You made me think that Narita had died…promise?"

"I…Naruto…"

Sakura remained silent for a minute, Naruto not changing his expression or moving at all.

"…deal."

"That's better," he said, smiling his usual smile again. "Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go check on my friend."

With that, he turned around and walked to Narita's room. Sakura stayed behind, watching Naruto's back as he walked away. A small smile crept up her face as she thought about what had just happened.

Naruto…it's that honesty and compassion of yours that I–"

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Naruto get hit by two kids in wheelchairs that were having a race down another hall. Naruto, as usual, lost control of his anger almost immediately and gave chase, shouting threats to them. A big way to ruin the moment.

Well…at least he's honest…