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I hissed as I sat up in bed.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, as her eyes peeked over the top of her medical text.

"I'm sore." I answered as I kept moving, doing every little bit that I could to strengthen my limbs. Still, I wanted to try to walk again. Something inside me yearned to succeed in that goal.

Sakura began moving towards me when she noticed that I was swinging my legs over the side of the bed again. "It's only been an hour since you tried last, Naruto. Give your body time to rest."

I shook my head at her defiantly. "I feel stronger already." I lied as I grabbed onto the railing of the medical bed I was on for leverage. Just like before I threw myself off of the side of the bed with a sort of reckless abandon. But I focused on locking my knees this time. I just wanted to stand, nothing more.

I succeeded for a split second. But still, my knees buckled and I began to fall. Just like every other time since I had woken up last night, Sakura was there to catch me before I hit the ground.

"Fine." Sakura said as she began to lock my knees and hold me up. "We'll start to time our standing. Let's try for a minute." She told me as she looked at the wall.

I focused on locking my knees and standing up straight. My body wanted to lean over and hunch. My core muscles just weren't there. But I forced myself to stay upright the entire time.

My torso began to burn halfway through. My legs started to numb towards the end. But I did not let it show. I didn't want Sakura to see me as anything less than determined. I would be walking within days and there was just no way around it.

"Time." Sakura said, before she began shoving me towards the bed. I couldn't protest, even if I wanted to. I was too focused on enjoying the feeling of my meager muscles getting some reprieve.

"Thank you Sakura." I told her as I swung my legs over the bed. It was in the shape of an L to help me sit up without having to strain myself. She smiled at me, and then moved back over to her couch before picking up her book again. I stared at her, and although she did not look at me, I knew she was watching me.

"Like what you see?" She asked, pretending to move her eyes across the page.

"You can't waste away in here with me Sakura. You're far too talented to do that." I told her seriously.

"It's not my shift right now." She told me, almost as if it was a knee-jerk response.

"Then go see Ino, or Hinata, or do something. I will get better with time, whether you are here or not." I responded, gesturing towards the window and Konoha outside of it.

"I'll get to see all of them soon. Word will spread that you've woken." She told me as she pointed to the rising sun, in the window behind her.

I sighed, knowing a lost cause when I saw one. I couldn't make her decisions for her, and I couldn't lie and say that I didn't enjoy her company. It would be so lonely without her to be honest.

"If you're going to be here all the time, then I'll put you to work." I muttered underneath my breath. The smile on her lips told me that she heard me.

"I'm going to eat five times a day, and I'll need someone to get it for me since I can't walk. Is it too much to ask…"

"Nope!" Sakura interrupted before I could even finish asking her. "I can handle that. But if you must know, I am an awful cook. You'll have to eat takeout for a while." She said with a grin.

I smiled at her enthusiasm. It was odd, because I hadn't considered us close enough to warrant this treatment of me. One day, I would pry it out of her.

"Sounds good to me. Do you know where all of my stuff is, like my scrolls and armor?" I asked, thinking of what I could be doing on my downtime while I allowed my body to rest.

It took no chakra, and next to no physicality to study fuinjutsu after all.

"I've sent word for the Hokage to bring it when she wakes. I'm way ahead of you on that front." Sakura answered. Her head was still buried in the book.

Well, I've got nothing else to do.

I reclined my bed back, drawing the attention of Sakura as I did so. I tucked my hands behind my back, and began doing leg raises as high as I could. Granted, it was extremely limited because of my current state, but I could get them about a foot off of the bed.

Sakura just rolled her eyes at me and continued to read.

Everything is an opportunity to train, right Lee?

"Come on, sit up. It's time for your swallow test."

I did as Sakura asked and scooted over so that she could sit on the bed next to me. She had just gotten done reapplying the makeup she had wiped off because of her crying the night before.

She held a pill in one hand, that she had stepped outside to grab a moment ago. "Open up." She commanded, and I obeyed.

Before she shoved it into my mouth though, her hands started to glow green and she placed her off hand on my throat. It was only then that she placed the large pill in my mouth.

I wasted no time in throwing my head back and swallowing the sugar pill or whatever it was that they made those out of.

Sakura closed her eyes, and her hands traced the pill as it fell down my throat, and finally hit my stomach.

I won't lie and say that it was an uncomfortable experience. I had a beautiful girl my age almost sitting in my lap, arms distance away and tracing down the length of my torso. I tried not to allow the sensation to become so sensual, but I failed miserably. Luckily, Sakura was too busy using whatever jutsu that was to make sure that I was swallowing alright.

Must be some sort of x-ray type of jutsu.

Eventually, she opened her eyes. I didn't even realize that I was staring at her until she did.

Heat crept up my neck into my ears and cheeks.

Why am I always blushing around her now?

"Good to go?" I asked, trying to distract myself and Sakura from my blushing.

She smiled at me, telling me that I had not gotten away with it. She had noticed just how red I had gotten and was loving every minute of it.

"Fantastic."

"Five strips of bacon, four fried eggs, two orders of biscuits and gravy."

My mouth watered as I took in the platter of delicious food in front of me. I sent a quick 'thank you' as a prayer and reached to grab the first strip of bacon. Sakura laughed as I moaned with the first bite of the food.

"Naruto?"

I looked over Sakura's shoulder, towards the door. Tsunade was walking in with a frown on her face and holding a familiar scroll in her hands. It was the same scroll that Kabuto had laid on my chest when the Sandaime had rescued me.

Tsunade smiled a wicked smile. "Sorry, didn't know I was interrupting something…" She said suggestively at the position I was in.

I was literally being held up by Sakura as I counted down the seconds from a minute and tried not to quit from the burning of my muscles.

"Come on in, if watching is your thing." I retorted, finding my funny bone somewhere deep inside me. It actually managed to take my mind off of how uncomfortable my straining muscles were.

Sakura snorted in my ear, and we shared a chuckle.

"When you asked if I could bring his things, don't you think you could have mentioned that HE WAS AWAKE!" Tsunade roared at her pink-haired assistant that was holding me up.

I frowned at that. She hadn't told anybody yet? Granted, the sun had only been up for around an hour, but in shinobi time, that was basically a lifetime. I took a moment to ponder why she hadn't let the word out yet.

"Oh, did I forget that part?" Sakura asked. She was facing away from Tsunade, but everyone could hear the smile on her face.

"Hn." Tsunade said as she laid the scroll down on the table and moved over to us.

"Time." Sakura told me, while allowing me to fall back onto the bed. She gently guided me back into a sitting position before moving out of Tsunade's way. She intentionally avoided the Hokage's gaze the entire time. But the smirk on her face did not disappear.

I watched the interaction with my interest plastered on my face.

"How does he look then?" Tsunade asked as her hands started to glow with a green light. She started at my chest, but quickly moved to my ribs and then up to my head.

"He's an Uzumaki." Sakura responded, as if that explained everything Tsunade needed to know.

"Hmm, that is true." Tsunade hummed, while going through the same motions that Sakura had earlier in the morning.

"You know we could restart the Uzumaki and Senju clan's Tsunade. All you have to do is ask." I commented, thinking myself quick witted and flirtatious.

Tsunade pushed a finger into my ribs and smiled as I yelped in pain.

"Oops." She muttered as she ignored what I said and continued her analysis. I heard snickering near the door, and I looked to find Shizune leaning against a wall.

"Hey Shizune." I called out, and waved towards her. After I had eaten earlier, I had begun to feel infinitely better with more energy. Still didn't mean I magically had the muscles to walk now though. I was starting to doubt my hopes for a two day recovery time with that.

Shizune nodded at me and sent me a strained smile. I tried not to let her discomfort bother me.

"You've eaten?" Tsunade asked as her hand hovered over my stomach.

"Bout to do it again." I commentented, thinking about my next breakfast coming up. I was still full, but I would have to tough it out. It would be five meals a day for a while now to put on the weight that I needed to in a couple of months.

Eventually, Tsunade recognized that I was fine, and had a clean bill of health. Well as much as you could be while being a skeleton with skin.

Tsunade put her hand on my shoulder, and sent me a warm smile.

"I'm glad you're back, kid. We've missed you."

"Some things never change."

I looked up from the fuinjutsu scroll in my hands to see one of my favorite people walk into the room. The 3rd Hokage, the God of Shinobi, looked younger than the last time I saw him, if it was possible.

I smiled at him. "Sandaime." I nodded respectfully towards him. "It's good to see you again."

He moved over to where I sat hunched over my scrolls, and didn't waste any time wrapping me in a hug with his single arm. I returned it with all the strength I had, and then I held him there a little bit longer. He was the one person I wasn't ashamed to feel the ribs underneath my shirt. I was fine with him seeing me like this, for whatever reason that was.

"You look fantastic, Naruto. Happy belated Birthday by the way." He told me as he rubbed and patted my back.

"Thank you. I'm not sure fantastic is the best word." I joked as we parted from each other and I gestured to my body.

"Would you believe me if I said you were worse when I found you?" Hiruzen asked as he walked over to the couch that Sakura was sitting on earlier in the day. She had left shortly after Tsunade had visited me though. She still has a shift at the hospital to attend to.

"I honestly wouldn't." I responded as I refused to think about how bad I must have looked to be worse than I currently was. "I owe you a debt I cannot repay."

"Bah! What are old men good for, if not for rescuing the young?" He asked rhetorically, as he waved the air in front of him.

I smiled at his antics, and his surprisingly wise comment.

"So tell me then Naruto. What's the next step?" He asked as he eyed the scrolls on my lap. I grinned, as I realized he knew just how to keep my mind occupied.

"I'm glad you asked."

"Oh, so you're fine then."

I leaned my head up off of the bed to see who it was this time. I recognized the deep voice anywhere though. The spiky black hair of the young man who walked in just confirmed it. Shikamaru, and the rest of the gang were here.

I smiled a big smile as I brought my knee to my chest one last time, then I pushed the button to sit my bed up. Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Kiba, Shino, and finally Hinata walked into the room. It got crowded immediately. Sakura was still on her shift somewhere downstairs, and the Sandaime had just left to pick up his grandson and eat dinner with him.

Between the six of them, there were three different vases of plants. Everyone that held the plants were looking around the room for an empty spot to place them. Unfortunately, everywhere you looked you could see flowers around my room. I had been getting them all day.

"I think the windowsill can support a few more." I told Hinata, Ino, and Shino. "I'm very happy to see you all." I told them as they began to shuffle around and start putting the flowers in different places.

"Although I wish it were better circumstances."

They all seemed to pause then, and I realized that I had made it a bit too awkward already. Not that a bunch of 15 year olds needed help in that department.

"Didn't mean to be such a downer." I commented as I realized my mistake.

"It's not your fault Naruto." Shikamaru answered as he met my eyes. "It's just hard to see you like this."

He shocked me with his bluntness. But I honestly appreciated it. It was a good way to break the ice in the room, because everyone's head turned to him then.

"Shikamaru!" Ino jabbed her elbow into his ribs.

"I know, but soon I'll be back in top shape." I interrupted, before they could go bashing him any further. "Now please sit down all of you. I want to hear everything that's happened over the past two years. I've missed a lot."

"Well for starters, Shikamaru just got promoted to jonin." Kiba started, jabbing a finger at the spiky haired Nara. He was rolling his eyes at the boy. Obviously he was a little jealous.

"There is no shadow, without light, is there?"

It was then that I remembered Shikamaru's voice as if I was having a dream. He had been one of my visitors during my coma. He even mentioned getting out of ANBU then.

I guess it's true what they say. You really can hear what someone is saying while in a coma.

"Now that is fantastic news." I told the Nara, increasing the boys uncomfortability even further. I managed to fake the fact that I was happy for him. But inside, I only remembered that night that he had come to retrieve the fuinjutsu scroll from me. I had told him not to pass me up too quickly that night.

For some reason, that made me sad.

"The first of our class." Ino added as she once again jabbed her elbow into his ribs. Without knowing it, she also twisted the knife in my gut as well. But even still, I kept my smile on my face.

"You'll be surpassing me soon, Naruto." He deflected, trying to put the praise on me instead of himself.

"That's the plan." I agreed and grinned at him.

We shared a look between each other. It was pained, both of us. Both of us knew that someone else should have been with us today. Despite our praise of each other, both of us wept inside for our weakness and inability to save Lee.

It stung and caused the image of Lee's lifeless face to flash across my eyes.

Are you thinking the same thing?

"On another note! All of us have been promoted to chunin!" Ino interrupted our mental discussion with her normal amount of flair.

"And did you know that Kiba has a girlfriend?!"

I laughed as Shikamaru gathered up the playing cards on the table in front of us. It had been a good game that came down to the wire, but Hinata's luck pulled out for her again.

"How does she keep doing this bro!?" Kiba yelled as he ran his hands through his hair.

"It's always the quiet ones." Choji commented but it sounded more like a groan.

I caught Shikamaru's head twitch towards the door. His face went serious for a moment, before he schooled himself. He packed the cards into the box with dexterous fingers.

"I think it's time we let Naruto have his rest." Shikamaru said, getting everyone's attention.

Choji caught on quicker than everyone else. "Yea, let's go grab something to eat." He said as he started walking towards the door. He held out a fist in front of me before he did though, and I wasted no time in smacking it with my own, even if it was a little weaker than it should have been.

"Yeah we'll have to do it again sometime." Kiba mentioned as he gave me a fist bump as well.

I shared a surprisingly non-awkward nod towards Shino as he also moved towards the door.

"Take care, Naruto." Hinata's soft but sweet voice called out as she followed her teammates.

"See you around Naruto. I'm glad you're awake." Ino called out before entering through the door.

The only person who didn't leave immediately was Shikamaru. He stood at the foot of my bed, staring at me. He had been staring at me all night, and it was obvious to me why. Not to mention the fact that he kept grabbing his right wrist, the same wrist that Kabuto had brutalized before taking me away.

The mood instantly shifted when the door clicked shut.

"It wasn't your fault Shikamaru." I told him truthfully. I knew what he was thinking, he had been thinking it all night.

"How can you say that? Look at yourself." He responded, as he gestured to my body.

That time, it did hurt a little bit. Because this time, I knew he meant it, unlike earlier.

"I would rather it be me than you." I retorted. It was the truth again, because Shikamaru wouldn't have survived the ordeal. He wouldn't have survived the experiments. And he wouldn't recover like I was determined to.

Shikamaru didn't respond immediately. He even tore his gaze away from me and started to move towards the door.

"It was my team. I knew Sasuke was defecting. They warned me. I didn't prepare enough." I growled at him. "Lee isn't here because of me."

The last part caused my heart to sink a little bit, because it was the first time that I had said those words out loud. I tended to avoid those traitorous thoughts.

The door to the room opened, and for a moment my heart panicked as I saw greyish silver hair out of the corner of my eye. I calmed down once I saw the form of Kakashi, however. He had opened the door at that moment for a reason.

Kakashi was notorious for having heightened senses. That included hearing. He probably heard the entire conversation. Obviously, he didn't like the direction that it took. He and Shikamaru shared a look, before Shikamaru took that as his queue to leave.

Kakashi stared him down the entire way. I couldn't help but wonder if there was something deeper there. I didn't get the chance to ponder on it very long. Because he turned around and finally faced me. I couldn't help that my mood wasn't the best thing at that moment.

"I'm glad you're awake." Kakashi told me as he moved towards the couch near the window.

"Me too." I told him. I'm not sure why, but I held my hand up in front of me and stared at it. I had been doing this all day. It was still… so fresh that I looked the way that I did. I hadn't truly processed it yet.

"Guy stood outside of the door for a long time today. He couldn't muster up the courage to come inside…" Kakashi told me just as he sat down on the couch. "…I told him that you wanted to see him but he broke down before he came in."

I lowered my hands, and frowned. That didn't sound like the Guy that I knew. Of course, he was sure to be a different person than the Guy of 2 years ago. Lee was like a son to him. It made me sad that he didn't come.

"Oh…" I muttered, not sure how to respond to that.

"Yeah." Kakashi agreed as he let his head fall to the top of the couch, causing his eyes to go towards the ceiling.

"He must hate me." I said the first thing that I thought. I had never really wondered how Guy would have taken the news.

Of course, to my perception, Lee only just died recently. Guy had 2 years to mourn Lee. Did he ever forgive me? Had he harbored hatred for me this entire time? Somehow, the thought of him not being supportive of me sent a jab of pain into my chest.

"He does not. He could never. He was distraught when Lee was killed, yes, but when we got word that you were still alive… well it was the only thing that kept him going." Kakashi corrected me. He sounded so tired when he said that.

"I'm so glad you made it back, Naruto." I was surprised to hear the emotion in Kakashi's voice. "That would have been the last straw…"

"I'm not going anywhere. This is just another obstacle, and I will overcome it." I told the man that had taught me the Rasengan, and guided me along my shinobi journey.

"I want to say that Sensei would be disappointed in me but I can practically feel Kushina's hand slapping the back of my head, every time I think about it."

Another memory from my comatose brain made itself known. Kakashi had been a frequent visitor of mine, while I was under.

"Good." Kakashi said as he stood abruptly and started walking towards the door. I didn't let him leave without one last bit of encouragement, though. It was enough to make him pause before he left, and I took that as a good sign.

"They would all be so proud of you, Kakashi."

"Ready for bed?" Sakura asked as she stood up and closed the blinds to the window behind her. The couch had already been pulled out into the bed that it made for her. She was wearing something comfortable and nothing like what she wore when I woke up. She had even taken a shower in my room's bathroom, which I found odd.

"Why are you doing this, Sakura?" I asked, as I watched her run around and start cleaning the room from the events of the day.

"Somebody has to clean this place, it's filthy." She told me, trying to be funny. I wasn't hearing it though.

"Sakura…" I repeated. This time it got her attention, and she stopped what she was doing. When she saw the look on my face, she moved over to the bed and sat on the side of it.

"I didn't at first…" She told me, before her hands moved to my chest. Green chakra appeared over her hands so fluidly that I knew everyone but Tsunade was jealous of her skill.

"I actually advised them to give up searching for you. I was such a mess when Lee died, I mourned you as well." She told me as she ran her hands down my abdomen. I could feel her jutsu working its magic on my sore muscles.

I had gotten sore around the afternoon. I had pushed myself too hard and everyone knew it. But nobody was willing to tell me to take it easy. They knew how hard it was for me to sit there in my current state.

I smiled as I realized that she was doing exactly what I told her to do so long ago, so that she could keep up with my insane physical progress. She was healing the damage I had done to my body from the day. For some reason, it made me feel better despite what Sakura was telling me.

"Even when they brought you back, I told Tsunade not to bother healing all that damage. I still don't know why I did that." She told me as she moved to my legs, and in particular my sore knees. With each new place she healed, I sighed in relief.

"I guess I was afraid of holding on to false hope." She moved to my arms then, and already I was feeling so much better.

"And then I passed by your room one day, and I realized that I missed the way you would tease Lee during our missions and training. I missed the banter and the way you would help me with my taijutsu. I had dove head first into my studies and forgotten about you two after the chunin exams. I don't know, I just… something changed that day."

She finished with my arms and then tapped me. "Flip over." She muttered, and we struggled for a bit but I eventually got to where I was laying on my stomach. Everything already felt so much better, but my back was still extremely sore.

"Now I don't really have anywhere else I want to be."

A/N: Boom!

So I know this was full of a bunch of mushy shit. It was kind of hard for me to get through, not gonna lie. But I didn't want to skip over too many scenes of people visiting him.

Nor did I want to skip the start of what he will be doing to get back into shape in the future.

It should pick up in the next chapter! Let's talk about it.