Sooooo…Now that I've written this instead of studying for my midterms like I was supposed to…You'd better enjoy! I did have some fun with this, you know. But now I'm too tired to reread it, so bear with it if there are any mistakes.

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It is said that a teacher always leaves some part of himself in a student. While Sakura tended to act usually more like Tsunade, today, the part of her that had been taught by Kakashi reared its head. She had to get out and get some fresh air. Staying in a hospital was all good, but after a few days, she was getting anxious to see the outside world.

Of course, escaping from her room, as under surveillance as she was, and doing so without using chakra was difficult, but by no means impossible. Then there was the problem of her hands. They were pretty much useless, and even attempting to move them sent sharp bolts of pain coursing through her body, forcing her to clench her teeth and hope it passed.

And so, she was currently using her feet to tie a rope to her bed—really, she would have to thank whoever gave it to her—in order to escape through the window. Going down the rope without using her hands felt a bit like bungee jumping without an elastic, but she managed, happy to see that no one had stopped her; then again, she had chosen to escape now because she knew that was the time when she got the least visitors. Lightly jumping to the ground with a small somersault, she let the rope go, untangling her feet from it, and cried out in victory with a bright smile before dashing off; already, nurses were yelling at her to come back.

She cursed successively Kisame, her body, and Konoha herself for not having Tsunade as a medic anymore as she was forced to stop and clutched her side in pain. At least she had lost the nurses. For now, she would enjoy her day outside. And hope they didn't bind her to the bed when she returned. If she managed to find her way back—without her chakra, she couldn't "see" and was mostly relying on her hearing to get by. Fortunately, a nice old woman walked with her up to the park, chatting with her for a while before leaving to go to the market. Apparently, she was going to bake gingerbread cookies for her grandchildren.

She sat on a park bench, wiggling her bare toes in the bright sunlight, and smiled as a breeze ruffled her hair. Nothing like going outside, really. Now, if only she could use her chakra, all would be perfect. But even though it irked her, she knew that she shouldn't push herself if she didn't have to. It would make for a much better recovery.

It turned out she was found sooner than expected, as she was suddenly tackled to the ground from the side. She ground her teeth, hissing, and cursed loudly in her mind. That had hurt like a bitch, damnit!

"Wah, nee-chan! I'm so happy to see you!"

Trying not to jar her injuries as she panted in pain, she grounded out, "Get. Off. Naruto."

"Huh? Ah, sorry! Did I hurt you, nee-chan?"

She got up gingerly with his enthusiastic help and grimaced as she told him that she should not be out and about, but that the day was so nice that she had given the slip to the nurses.

Naruto shuddered.

"The hospital is not a nice place, nee-chan. It's good that you're out of that awful place!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up. He settled back on the bench next to her and swung his legs back and forth. There was a moment of peaceful silence before the boisterous boy opened his mouth once again.

"It's been sooooo long since you were here, nee-chan! What were you doing that kept you away?"

Sakura smiled softly.

"You may not understand yet, but sometimes, people have obligations they can't get out of. When you become a ninja, you'll understand what I mean. Duty can be more important than yourself, even more important than your own life. As long as there were people stopping by to get me to heal them, I couldn't leave. Aaaaand even though I have an apprentice, he's still learning. The people who come to me are usually in dire shape, and he's not good enough to heal them completely. He can stabilize them, though, most of the time. As to why I'm suddenly here…Let's just say I had a meeting with someone I didn't see eye to eye with."

"Looks like it didn't go well," remarked Naruto. He ran his eyes across the female's body, noting the various bandages that adorned her under her crisp white hospital clothes.

She snorted through her nose, barely paying any attention to the sting she felt in her ribs at the movement.

"Actually…It didn't go as bad as it could have. How surprising…" she trailed off pensively.

Naruto didn't exactly understand her words, but he had a feeling he would, one day.

For the moment, though, there was one thing he wanted to do. He jumped to his feet and gently—he may be a kid, but he had seen her wince in pain at the slightest movement—helped her to get up.

"Come on, nee-chan, there's somebody I want you to meet! I'm sure you'll like her!"

Leaning on him for support, she slowly made her way through the park, wondering where they were going. Strangely, with each step she took, her head began pounding more and more. For all days to get a migraine…Still, she continued to walk and act cheerfully, not wanting to worry the blonde. All the while, her head felt like it was splitting open. Her steps grew slower and slower, she leaned more heavily on the young boy, and was so concentrated on her body's worsening state that she almost missed the introductions Naruto made.

"Oh, so you're the one Sasuke-kun is always talking about!"

She would have grabbed at her head in pain, but her legs gave out on her and, with a silent sigh, she crumbled to the ground in a faint.

-:-

The two children panicked as the older girl lost consciousness without a sound. Naruto grabbed the doctor, struggling under her weight, but he didn't have time to call for help before two shinobi landed next to them.

"Quick! I don't know what's wrong with nee-chan, but she just collapsed all of a sudden!"

Genma rolled his senbon to the other side of his mouth, muttering that it was a good thing that they had followed her while his companion pressed two fingers to the side of her neck.

"She's got no pulse!"

Genma cursed loudly, yelling that he was going to bring her to the hospital as the attempts he made at CPR turned out to be unsuccessful. As he zoomed across the rooftops, running as fast as he could, the pale girl didn't move an inch, but if he had paid closer attention, he would have noticed that the further they got, the more her state changed. By the time he burst through the hospital doors, weak exhalations left her blue lips regularly. Weak, but regular. As doctors and nurses alike surrounded her, Genma breathed a sigh of relief. Apart from the beating he would have got for letting her die under his very nose, there was the fact that he rather like the young girl. She was like a fiery candy. Sweet and passionate, such an interesting combination.

-:-

Her whole body hurt; every breath she took was painful. Disoriented, she curled in a ball, hoping to ward off the pain with the action. It was unsuccessful, but she at least felt somewhat more secure.

I knew it was a bad idea…Meeting my younger self is something I must not do ever again. Daaaaaamn…I knew two of us couldn't exist simultaneously. Still, it seems that as long as I stay away from her, I'll be fine. Thank Kami. No contact, huh? I guess for a paradox, that's more than I could have expected…

Still, it hurt to know for sure that she could never talk to her younger self unless through letters. Or at least not touch her, as she had collapsed at the very moment the younger girl had put a hand on her arm. At least, people would think that her state was due to a relapse in a jutsu she had been hit with during her fight or something, so they wouldn't be too suspicious.

Feeling substantially better, she sat up slowly, letting the crisp white sheets pool at her waist.

"Hello, Sakura-sensei."

She tensed minutely, having not heard the person come in—but then again, she couldn't use her jutsu to "see" energy, so she felt pretty much naked at the moment.

"I'm Shizune. You've met my master before, Tsunade-sama?"

Throat suddenly dry, Sakura nodded dumbly.

"Good. She sent me in her stead to take care of your injuries. I've already read your file and I have to say…your body was pretty messed up when you were brought here. Fortunately, I can handle it. I'm sure you would like to be able to use your hands soon, ne?"

Finally finding her voice, Sakura nodded once again.

"I would, indeed. It would give me at least a semblance of normalcy."

Chuckling lightly, Shizune sat on a chair next to the bed and gingerly took a bandaged hand in hers. She unraveled the bandages and drew a hissing breath at the sight.

"Chikushou…That's really worse than I imagined…I'll do my best, but expect to remain scarred," she murmured, voice catching in her throat.

Sakura turned her head away, uncomfortable. She shifted a bit on the bed as she replied without emotions, "I expected that when I damaged them, Shizune-san. I prefer that to losing my life or my freedom."

Realization flashed in the older girl's eyes as she said slowly, "You did this to yourself? Consciously? Kusooooo…You sure have guts, that's for sure."

Sakura smiled grimly.

"Courage is not conquering fear for yourself but refusing to succumb to fear for a reason that surpasses yourself. That…My work is more important than my body. If my ideals could be so easily tossed aside, I would be better off dead. Still…It did hurt like hell to use that sword with spikes thrusting out my hands…"

Shizune became slightly greener than she was but continued to work on the mangled flesh dutifully.

"Tsunade-sama sends you her regards," she said as she concentrated on reknitting the flesh together. "She would have helped you herself, but…I'm afraid hospitals do not sit well with her, and when she heard what kind of injuries you had gotten, she could not bear to do it herself."

Knowing the blonde's trauma well, Sakura nodded. She understood how her old mentor could have felt and felt thankful that she had still sent her precious Shizune to help her out in her stead.

The silence stretched on comfortably, punctuated once or twice by comments from the older medic.

"Anyway, you should take it easy. You must keep from using any chakra for the time being and get some rest. I'll come by tomorrow to heal you some more. At least, for now, you should be able to move your hands around without excruciating pain. I've numbed the nerves quite a bit. Now, I believe there is someone who wants to see you," said Shizune as she got up. She walked out of the room, letting the door open behind her.

Moments later, dragging steps could be heard, followed by a "How troublesome" that made the corners of the young medic's lips twitch.

"Hey, Shikamaru-kun. Nice to see you."

The Nara approached with deliberately noisy steps, for which she was thankful. That way, she could at least know where he basically was. The boy set something on her outstretched legs before reclining back in his chair. She slowly ran her hands on the smooth wood, mentally trying to picture what it was.

"A shogi board."

She chuckled at the realization. In response, Shikamaru shrugged lazily.

"You can't see the pieces anymore, but I can tell you where they are. Won't you play with me, sensei?"

She had a feeling he meant more than he was saying, but then again, Shikamaru had always been someone who used metaphors more often than not in order to say as few words as he could while still conveying his meaning.

Well, she had his backing, it seemed. With a small smile, she waited for him to set the board and proceeded to play as best as she could, fully aware that she looked truly pitiful every time she moved a piece with trembling hands. Despite all his mutterings of "Troublesome" and "Annoying", the young boy still didn't up and leave and with utmost patience, guided her through the game, long into the sunny afternoon.

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Well…I promise more fun soon. Now that Sakura's on the road to recovery, fun things await.

By the way, guys, thank you so much for the reviews! We've reached the 555th one and more! I'm so proud! (Author proceeds to blubber all over her keyboard and gets taken to a mental hospital)