Note: Sorry it's so short! I'm pressed for time this week. I promise a better one next week!

"Talking"

Thinking

Chapter 12: New Introductions

Tsunade shut the door gently behind her. "That was exhausting," she mumbled before walking down the hall into the waiting room. The room itself was nearly empty, which surprised Tsunade. The academy was having some simple training missions so she was sure at least a small line would have sprung up from parents worrying about their child's simple wounds.

"You're done now?" Tsunade turned to the familiar voice to see Jiraiya sprawled out on a couch, which really wasn't a surprise for her.

"Well, mostly," she sighed out. Jiraiya opened his mouth to talk but Tsunade spoke before he could say anything. "We just need to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can keep all of the staff here at the hospital out of that room," she admitted shaking her head.

"You mean Sakura?" he asked.

Tsunade nodded. "She's my apprentice, what can I say? She sees a suspicious locked door and she busts it down. However, a new member to the hospital team, Hyuuga Hinata, might try to get in too. I don't think she'll bust the door down, but she'll be able to tell that it's Naruto behind that door."

"She's a medic now?" Jiraiya asked sitting up. Quite a bit had changed while he had been gone.

"Not a medic exactly, but rather a pediatric nurse for the time being. However, both her medical skill and prowess could push her to be a medic before too long." She glanced down the corridor that contained Naruto's room. "The pediatric ward is down that hall; she walks past that door everyday.

"Still, she's a shy one. I don't expect her to even ask about it," Tsunade stated. "Ino might try something, but that's just because someone she knows is always here. Whether it's a family member, a teammate, or someone she barely knows she visits. I guess life at the flower shop is a little too boring for her," Tsunade finally finished her list.

Jiraiya humped and shrugged. "Regardless, I doubt any of them will try anything too hasty," he said. "But then again, I don't know them like you do, Tsunade." Tsunade just nodded and looked away.

Silence consumed the waiting room and Tsunade hastily made it look like she was busy. The hug Jiraiya had given her earlier was still fresh on both of their minds; although neither knew it.

"Tsunade-sama?" A nervous voice broke the awkward silence. Both of the Sannin jumped at the noise but let out a held breath when they saw it was only Hinata.

"What is it, Hinata?" Tsunade turned to look at the nurse. She was wearing her normal jacket since her several pairs of nurse scrubs were all back in the pediatric ward.

The Hyuuga's fingers tapped nervously in front of her before she finally asked, "Did N-Naruto-kun return fr-from his m-mission? I t-though that I-I sen-sensed his p-presence earlier t-today…" she finally trailed off.

Tsunade, feeling that she should help the poor girl, placed a reassuring hand on Hinata's shaking shoulder. "Don't worry, Hinata. He came back but he needs to rest," she supplied as a somewhat true answer. Hinata just nodded and murmured something incomprehensible before walking down the hall to the pediatric ward.

Jiraiya watched her the whole way, as the pervert he truly was. He could have sworn that the head family member stalled in front of Naruto's door. Then again, it was hard to watch from his position.

"Cut it out!" Tsunade punched him in the back of the head which consequently landed him on the floor. "And don't tell me that that was for research," she muttered before walking off. "Go to the clinic to get your leg looked at. I don't have time today."

Jiraiya stared after Tsunade's receding figure and she could sense it. "If I turn around and you're staring at me, you'll have to go to the ER and then the ICU." Jiraiya gulped and averted his eyes quickly. Although Jiraiya wasn't aware, a smile appeared on Tsunade's lips.

Sakura walked briskly down the hospital; according to the message she had gotten from Hinata, Naruto was there. "What did you do this time?" she muttered to herself. She could already hear a few people engrossed in conversation about a certain blue 'insane ninja dressed in black and orange'. She arrived at the hospital to find it surprisingly empty. Lately Tsunade had been giving out missions left and right. However, a Nurse pulled her aside and reminded her of her shift today.

"Sakura-san, your shift starts soon, remember? I believe Tsunade-sama gave you clinic hours today," the nurse informed her. Sakura sighed and nodded.

"Alright, I'll be there," she muttered already in a bad mood. However, she walked down to the pediatric ward instead. Hinata said there weren't too many injured Academy students today so she could find some spare time to speak with Sakura.

Sakura passed several doors before she reached one that made her feel uncomfortable. A shudder forced its way down her spine and Sakura decided that she needed to look into the room. However, when she did try the door didn't budge. She looked up at the number—256—and memorized it for later.

"Sakura-san!" she turned her head to the pleasantly familiar voice. Hinata stopped only a few feet in front of Sakura by skidding to a halt. When she lost her balance Sakura gently caught her friend's shoulders and helped balance her out.

Sakura looked into Hinata's frantic eyes. "What's wrong, Hinata?" A pale finger pointed at the door to room 256. "I'm getting a weird feeling from it—"

"It's not a feeling!"

"Huh?"

Hinata blushed deeply but continued. "I can feel—and see—Naruto in that room! But, it's very faint and I don't know what could be wrong with him," she said strongly with no waver in her voice.

Thanks to three years without Naruto around, Sakura, Hinata, and Ino had all become very close friends. After nearly two years, Hinata had finally begun to talk normally. Ino and Sakura were glad, but as soon as Naruto returned or when she was around an elder, that stutter would return.

A mischievous grin came to Sakura's face and Hinata feared for the wall's safety. "Sakura-san! Please, don't do such a thing. We both have shifts we need to fill and we can always talk to Tsunade-sama about it later." Sakura let out a defeated sigh.

"Hinata, if it weren't for you Ino and I would have gotten into a lot more trouble than we already have," she smiled. Hinata nodded and waved a quick goodbye before running back from whence she came.

Sakura turned around and reported to the clinic. I'm going to knock down that wall or door if Tsunade-sama doesn't provide the right answers, Sakura thought harshly.

"Jiraiya!" one of the nurses yelled out. The old man looked up to see his eyes unsatisfied… again. Every nurse in the hospital wore loose-fitting scrubs to keep clean which was quite a letdown to the pervert. He sighed all the same and walked into the examining room.

"Jiraiya-sama!" he looked up to see Sakura which surprised him. "Regardless," she threw whatever comment she was going to say away, "it seems that you were… punched in a metal cart and are now experiencing some leg pain?" she asked before placing his chart down. "How in the hell did that happen?"

"Long story short I pissed Tsunade off," he explained.

Sakura sighed and pointed at him. "You should have learned by now, really. Which leg?"

"Right," he offered. "And I couldn't help it," he mumbled while Sakura started to examine his leg for injuries.

"I'm sure you could have," she mumbled before testing his natural reflex. Jiraiya's leg shot out and he admitted that it hurt quite a bit. "Hm, seems like it's not a broken bone. Maybe a torn ligament or muscle. Pretty easy to heal depending on the severity," she said while placing his leg up on the table. He winced and Sakura scoffed. "Oh please. It's not even that bad of a tear." She looked again at the back of his leg and noticed a large bruise. "But that could become troublesome."

Jiraiya walked steadily out of the room and thanked Sakura for her troubles. Sakura checked the clock and after a few more patients her shift was finally over. Hinata had gotten finished a few hours ago, but she promised to meet Sakura at Ino's flower shop so Sakura decided to head there.

After a quick discussion at the Yamanako Flower Shop the three decided to go to the hospital to see if it really was Naruto in that closed room. Sakura knocked down the door to the room as quietly as she could and Ino caught it so that the noise when it hit the floor wouldn't resonate in the halls. All three of the young adults could not believe their eyes.

Various monitors nearly engulfed half of the floor while the actual sounds they made bounced off of the walls. Hinata stifled a fearful gasp while the other two stared in awe. Sakura was the first to move. She walked carefully through the mess of cords to the bedside. After she glanced down at him she could tell that he would not be conscious for a while.

"H-h-how b-bad is i-it?" a trembling Hinata asked. Sakura turned around and stared at her two friends.

"Well, it's not pretty but at least he doesn't look injured," Sakura said quietly. The three friends were soon all staring down at Naruto's limp form. Both Ino and Sakura could tell that Hinata—even paler than usual—was debating throwing herself onto his chest and crying.

"What are you three doing in here?!" All three turned quickly to stare at the Godaime.

"I, uhm… well… that is…" Hinata stammered and started to tap her fingers nervously.

"Flowers?" Ino asked.

"The door was open?" Sakura pointed at it. Tsunade picked up what used to be a steel door.

"I doubt this was open!" she yelled and pointed to the dent in the middle. All three of the friends laughed nervously. To their relief Tsunade sighed and walked over to them. "Look, it's all for a good cause. I'm sure he'll eventually wake. Until then, you three, and only you three can visit this room," she said before handing each of them a key to the room. "Don't fret too much about his condition. I myself am watching over each and every move he may or may not make."

The three friends nodded and turned back to the blonde they all admired in some way or another.

The darkness was too much to cope with. Naruto stumbled and tried to find his way through the pitch black expanse that was stuck between life and death. "How the hell am I supposed to find the damn Yodaime here?!" he yelled out in frustration to no one.

Naruto sighed. "Was this really the best idea? Sure, I can't feel the pain anymore, but I can't see at all. It will be impossible to find anybody here. I can't even feel my chakra current…"

Note: Again, so so sorry for the short chapter. My exams are next week and the teachers have been handing out piles and piles of homework to study with. So, I only got to write a few times and this is how I had to end the chapter. After exams, though, I should have a lot more time to write so it should get longer. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for reviewing ((as always)) and everything else. Please read and review!

Elizabet639