Chapter Two: Back to Konoha

Sakura Haruno, 21 years old, was on her way to the hospital when life got in the way. Er... make that her overly obnoxious best friend, Naruto Uzumaki. And boy did he get in her way (quite literally, actually).

"Naruto... move." Sakura said with a some what annoyed look on her face.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Sakura-chan."

Sakura raises one eyebrow and, with a hint of humor in her eyes, says, "I see... and you can't do that because?"

"Because, today is your day off. Last time I checked people don't normally go to work on their days off."

"There is no days off at a hospital, Naruto. What if someone gets sick or injured and I'm not there to heal them? What am I suppose to do then?" questions Sakura.

Impatience and dull humor start to ebb into his voice, "Gee, I don't know Sakura-chan. Maybe leave it to the hundred or so other medics there for once."

Sakura lets out an exasperated sigh as she, once again, tries fruitlessly to move past the human road block in her path. Naruto's response is simple, crossing his arms across his chest and mirroring her every move. To her it's just annoying, but to any onlooker it looks, well, rather amusing.

"Naruto, this is ridiculous. I HAVE to go to work. As in it's not a choice."

"Ah, but it IS a choice on your day off. Have you gotten any emergency calls?"

"...no"

"Any orders from Tsunade to be there right away or your fired?"

"...no"

"Any life or death situations where your presence is the deciding factor?"

"well, no, but that's not really the point beca...."

"It's exactly the point, Sakura!" He shouts as he tosses his hands wildly in the air as if giving up from frustration. "You keep on working yourself to hard. You're going to be burnt out before you're even thirty!"

"Naruto, we don't know anything for sure. A patient could come in any minute in need of critical care and who would be there to heal them? I have to go in to do my duty of protecting the people of Konoha."

"If someone comes in in that condition Tsunade will call you and tell you you need to be there. Stop over reacting Sakura, nothing you say is going to get me to move."

"Yeah... you're right."

"Tha...."

"HOLY CRAP!!!! Free Ramen!"

Sakura points behind Naruto. This then proceeds to Naruto sprinting off in the opposite direction and Sakura snickering under her breath.

(An hour later in Sakura's Office)

Sakura was shuffling through all the paper's on her desk when she was disturbed by the crashing of HER door on HER wall.

"Sakura-chan!"

Still not looking up from her papers, "Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you, the next time you slam that door I'm making you fix the hole in the wall becau..."

"Sakura, just listen. He's back."

"Who, Kiba? From his mission. How badly did he hurt himself this time that mutt. I can't tell you how many times I've had to stitch him up."

Naruto rolls his eyes and groans from the complete stupidity of his teammate.

"No Sakura, Him. THE Him, the teme, the one who left us, the..."

"Sa... Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Sakura, how many Sasuke's do we know? Yes it's UCHIHA Sasuke."

The next sound heard was the scattering of once neatly stacked papers tearing through the air and the reverberation of the pen crashing to the floor.