I went down to one of the training grounds that was littered with various sized craters. Yep, Naruto had definitely been training here.
I walked around when I heard some people conversing, the occasional laughter could be heard. I looked from behind a tree into a clearing to see a group of Narutos sitting in a circle, four to be exact. One was in the form of a woman; Naruto's 'special' jutsu technique. At least he...or...uh...she was wearing a tube top and short shorts instead of nothing. I had said that if he'd use the techinique, have clothing available.
"So, how did I do today?" a battered and tired looking Naruto had asked. My guess was that this was the true and original Naruto.
"Well, looks like we're getting even better at the Rasengan." responded one of the the male clones. The others agreed.
"Yeah, maybe Sakura will go on a date then after we show her we're strong." replied the female jutsu clone.
I restrained laughing out loud. I once heard Naruto say that he had conversations with his clones, just for kicks. Never thought he'd have them critique him. It was also funny hearing them talk in plural tense instead of referring only to the original Naruto.
"Heh, you think she'll go for me then? Once Sasuke's back...well, she'll be all over him again.," the others groaned in agreement, "Still, Sakura's happiness is what is most important." Naruto said with a weak grin.
"So, same time tomorrow?" the true Naruto asked the others, and they nodded in agreement.
"Um one question...why do you need a clone like me here?" asked the female clone.
Naruto scratched his head, "Um...just to see if the techinique is as sharp as always." the other two males chuckled, and with that, the three vanished in a cloud of smoke. Naruto got up and groaned, he sounded worn down. I could clearly see chakra burns on his arms and hands.
"Naruto? Naruto! Are you here?" I called out. He must have jumped ten feet in the air upon hearing my voice, and I saw a wide toothy grin cross his grimy, dirt-covered face.
"Sakura! Hey, it's been a week since I saw you last!" Naruto replied, his eyes squinting as he smiled even wider. I couldn't help but smile back at him.
"Yeah, good to see you...geez, what'd you do this time?" I asked the tired blonde, looking at his burns.
"Oh, heh heh...kind of went overboard again with the Rasengan..." he said sheepishly. I had scolded him at least a dozen times about overdoing it like he always does.
I shook my head at him, "Come here and I'll see what I can do about those burns of yours." I sounded like a mother scolding her son for getting his new dress clothes dirty.
Naruto however, looked a bit hesitant, "No, I'm fine Sakura. The Kyuubi's pretty good at healing me," he had told me about the demon fox after I had nagged it out of him to tell me, just to make sure. He felt a bit more comfortable talking to me about it these days, "You should save your chakra for those who deserve and need it." he finished with a sligthly saddened tone.
Another thing besides him frowning, which is rare, was that he had dropped the usual Sakura-chan while talking to me. Now I was worried, "Naruto, I'd be much happier if you let me heal those before they get worse. Please?" He did so almost instantly when I said that'd it would make me happier, and truthfully, it would.
While healing his burns, I asked him how he could be so stupid sometimes. He replied with a laugh, "Well, I have to get stronger, and this is one of the few ways I can do so." He suddenly gripped his stomach, but didn't say anything, then went to his knees.
"Naruto? What's wrong? Lift up your jacket and shirt, I need to see!" he however debated saying it was nothing, "Naruto, let me see!" He reluctantly lifted up his jacket and shirt, and I silently gasped. A gigantic bruise of purple, blue, and red covered much of his abdomen and some of his lower rib area.
"Come on, we're bringing you to the hospital!" I said, leaving no room for further argument. I yanked him with my super-strength that I had gained from training with Tsunade, and as quickly as I could, carried Naruto back to the village. If my medic skills served me right, Naruto may have ruptured an organ or major blood vessel. A variety of reasons ran through my head, but I had no time. Naruto was looking horrible all of the sudden, we had to hurry.
This was supposed to be the perfect day to tell him too.
end of chap. 2- Oh no! A cliffhanger. Sorry, but I'll update soon! Please review!