Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.

Summary: "Haruno Sakura, you have been ordered to guard the prisoner Uzumaki Naruto." After a strict order from the Hokage, Sakura has been forced to conquer her greatest fear—the rumored beast of Konoha. The tragedy is slowly revealed, piece-by-piece.

Pairing: Naruto X Sakura

Beta-Reader: Haishiro

AN: This version has been looked by with my beta-reader

Edited as of March 26, 2009

Broken Leaf

07. Rejoice

Uzumaki Naruto imagined that he would be bored. Having spent several good years sitting alone in a jail cell with no one to talk but himself, he expected of himself that he would have been able to have no trouble with the term "boredom." Uzumaki Naruto and boredom were like oil and water; they simply did not mix.

But he still found himself bored and had to preoccupy himself with counting the bowl of ramen that appeared in his head. He reached six-hundred, but that only proved how desperate he was to get rid of his boredom. It was strange that once Haruno Sakura left his sights, the world appeared to be such a tedious place. There was simply nothing interesting around.

"…What number of bowls was I go again?" He deadpanned, twitched his lips into something even he couldn't describe properly, being the creative ninja he was. He leaned his head back, colliding with the soft fabric of the mattress that the famous Uchiha Sasuke now slept.

He lifted his head again, dropping his shoulders in a childish manner. His face turned to the sleeping Uchiha once more. It was true. Uchiha Sasuke was nothing more than an idea in his mind. For all he could know, Uchiha Sasuke was a forty-year old man fat beyond belief, with a big bald head as well. There was no way of clarifying; Naruto long established that fact during the long hours of staying with Uchiha, the bed-ridden patient.

"It's a secret for now, sorry." Naruto was referring to the incident when he had heard Sasuke twitch his fingers. Of course, that could be his mistake too.

Naruto lifted his eyebrows, even if there was no one there to witness his prank. He revealed a set of paints he had hidden under his jacket; he had received them from Hinata. "Now that my eyesight's coming back, I say that a test run's in order, right?"

Sakura's eyes did not stray from her desk. "So, do you feel the after-effects of the antidote?"

"Um, am I suppose to?" asked the Genin.

Sakura sat with an amused look, "You could tell me if you felt anymore pain?"

"Oh, my stomach doesn't hurt anymore," she said, a rosy blush in her cheeks. The Genin got up from her spot.

Sakura attempted a weak smile, which she found tiring, considering that she only caught two hours of sleep last night."Next!" When the next patient didn't come in after a while she looked up from her desk. Hinata was standing there, giving her a patented shy smile.

"S-Sakura-san, it's my shift now," Hinata said, "I-I'll tell them to move to my office."

"Ah, its okay," said Sakura, "Just use mines. It'll be easier for you and the patients." Sakura stretched her arms up, "Lunch break time."

Hinata nodded and sat down on Sakura's seat, already reading the next document. At that, Sakura began her leave, not wanting to waste another minute when she could be taking a well-deserved break.

"Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon," she frowned.

The three froze at her voice, not daring to move. "It's the scary lady…"

She walked over slowly, gathering a steady beat in her steps. She took glare in focusing her glare at the three genin, a tool that she had honed over the years, both from personal experience and by experimentation. When she was in front of the three, she stopped and paused.

Suddenly Konohamaru went to the ground praying, "Please don't hurt me!"

"Why would you think that?" Sakura laughed lightly. It only seemed to upset Konohamaru.

"It's not Konohamaru's fault!" chirped Moegi.

"I'm sure," Sakura nodded dully, a sarcastic look to her face. She reminded herself that she would have to ask Udon later for the details and exactly how the three managed to land themselves in the hospital for the fifth time this month. It was a miracle that she didn't meet anymore distractions on her way to Sasuke's room, or she figured it would only be a short trip, with her walking to Sasuke's room and walking back to her office. After all, her break wasn't exactly the longest period.

"Naruto!" she called out, "Come on, it's lunch time."

"Err-"

"What happened?" Sakura touched the mess of colors on Sasuke's face, "…Is this paint?"

"I was bored?"

Sakura grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser and wetted it under the faucet. "Please don't do this again," she sighed, "I have enough to do."

"So, so, so, what are we having for lunch?"

"Salad," Sakura grinned as she wiped the paint off Sasuke's face. It was the perfect payback, according to Ino, who she took Chouji to an all-you-can-eat salad buffet.

And so, time passed till around evening.

"You're not still mad about lunch?" questioned Sakura, "It was just salad."

"It really was just salad!" exclaimed Naruto, "Where was the dressing? Don't tell me you were too cheap to afford that!"

Sakura sighed, shaking her head exasperatedly, "You don't get it, do you? Dressing's fat. We might as well have drunk oil."

Naruto refused to say anything afterwards.

Sakura was not able to ignore the blond as well. It didn't make sense to give someone the silent treatment. She labeled it as "child's play". "Now when we get in, make sure, I mean it, make sure you don't say anything about the mission. My friends are nosy enough as it is."

Naruto pouted, but seemed to nod his head.

The door opened.

"Hi!" greeted Tenten. Her hair was tied up in her usual buns, only this time, the ribbon had a more lively shine. "Sakura! About time you came to one of our reunions! And that person over there's-" Tenten moved away from the door, "Come in, my house's kind of small, hope you don't mind!"

"Not at all," Sakura shook her head. She entered, along with Naruto.

"Nice place you have here."

"Nice friend you have there," winked Tenten.

"Oh, he's-"

"Wait!" said Tenten, grabbing Sakura and Naruto, "Introduce him to all of us!"

She dragged Sakura to another room that contained a huge table. It took most of the space in the room. The other members of the Rookie 9 were seated, noisy and chatting. Most of the members were busily occupied with their food. Sakura took the chance to drag Naruto to one of the corners of the room. With luck, they wouldn't be noticed.

"More meat, put in more meat!" shouted Chouji, thrusting both arms out to the ceiling.

"You never change," sighed Ino. "…And what's with that weird fire in your eyes?"

"We wouldn't have to put more meat if someone didn't eat it all," said Kiba. He looked to his dog, "Right, Akamaru?" The dog barked once, which Sakura assumed as yes.

"What?" Chouji looked offended.

"Guys," Tenten clapped her hands, "Look who's here!"

"You?" guessed Lee, "But we should not have to guess about that…" He stroked under his chin, "Perhaps…this is a puzzle!"

"No, it's not Lee. Over there," Tenten frowned, pointing to the left corner of the room, revealing Sakura and Naruto, who was desperately trying to grab a few slices of meat.

"S-Sakura-san and U-Uzu-Naruto-kun," acknowledged Hinata, giving a short wave.

"Woah, haven't seen her in a while," said Kiba.

"Hey?" Sakura waved weakly.

The word echoed through her ears a hundred more times. It was definitely not the best introduction one could make.

"So…how have you guys been doing!"

"Been fine."

"Same."

"Usual."

"Worse."

"Enough about us," said Ino, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, "How have you been doing, forehead girl?" She leaned her elbow on the table, edging towards Sakura.

"Fine," said Sakura, taking a sip from her cup. She slammed the cup down on the table, rocking the water in the cup. "How have you been doing, Ino-pig?"

The people in the middle immediately felt cramped.

"Want to talk outside, Sakura?" asked Ino, readying her arm.

"Gladly," retorted Sakura, pushing out her chair. "Naruto, stay behind."

"Err…sure…?" he said, grabbing a piece of meat. "Feel free to take your time."

The two girls left and the room resumed its loudness from before.

Naruto glanced around the room. His vision dulled again, changing the scenery into a swirl of mixed colors. There was a big brown blur in the middle of it all; he assumed it was the table. Then his vision strengthened again. The mix of colors transformed into solid objects, one he realized that was a friend.

"Hey Hinata!" he waved, walking over to her. The seat next to Hinata was empty. "Can I sit here for now?"

"S-Sure, Ino probably won't be back for a while…" said Hinata.

"You know that guy, Hinata?" asked Kiba. Hinata answered with a nod.

"Uzumaki Naruto," said Naruto.

Kiba smirked, "Inuzuka Kiba." With that, he went back to his own business.

"T-Take a seat Naruto-kun." The shy girl twiddled her fingers. "H-How are you?"

"Okay," answered Naruto. He leaned a bit sideways, struggling to look at the doorway. "I wonder what Sakura's doing out there…maybe I should check."

"Y-You could always go check, but they could be talking about g-girl stuff. Maybe you should wait here," suggested Hinata. "Y-You can always talk to me, if you want."

Naruto nodded obediently, taking a seat next to Hinata, "Okay!"

"Just a teammate?"

Sakura nodded.

"Are you certain he's just a teammate?"

Sakura nodded.

"Seriously?"

Sakura nodded, again.

Ino groaned, "And I thought you finally found somebody."

"Speak for yourself," said Sakura. She crossed her arms evenly.

"You're the one we should be worrying about instead," said Ino. Sakura glared at this.

"I mean, you barely show yourself in public. No one knows what's going on with you."

"I'm fine," declared Sakura, rolling her eyes, "I'm going back inside. It's getting cold, so you should too." She opened the door and shut it quietly, leaving Ino outside.

The pink haired medic rubbed her arms rapidly, hoping to get rid of the coldness burning her flesh. Cold was something she was never quite fond of. The socks covering her feet did little help to conserve warmth. As she opened the sliding door into the room with the rest of the group she heard another door open. It was Ino.

"Wait up," said the blonde girl, "You have got to change that attitude of yours if you want to get married someday."

"So does that mean we're both staying as old hags?" joked Sakura. Ino rolled her eyes and entered the room. Sakura followed, sliding the door back to its original spot.

"Hey Sakura!" cried out Naruto, waving over to her. She waved back weakly. Sakura froze.

How could someone blind see her…unless Sai had lied to her? Sai always loved playing pranks. She saw that Naruto had quickly whispered something over to Hinata before Ino kicked him out of her chair.

"Was that really necessary?" he muttered.

"And take back your plate," commanded Ino, throwing him a dirty plate. "My plans for Sakura ruined…" She heaved a sad sigh.

"What were you and Hinata talking about?" Sakura asked, not quite looking at him in the eye. Her face aimed towards the wooden table.

"Err…catching up, I guess?" he shrugged. The blonde seemed more interest in the food. "What were you and your friend talking about?"

"What makes you seem to think that she is a friend of mine?" asked Sakura. She gave him a questioningly look that demanded an answer quickly.

"Well…you seemed to act like friends?" shrugged Naruto.

"Yes, guess we are," grunted Sakura. She didn't particularly like revealing that fact in front of Ino, whose ego would probably raise a couple more levels.

"Knew it," laughed Naruto.

Sakura sighed, wiping her mouth with a side of her napkin. "You act like a child so much I wonder if anything happened to that brain of yours."

"My brain's working fine," retorted Naruto.

"I was just joking," said Sakura. "I'm not that mean."

"Sure," said Naruto, "Isn't that what they all say?"

"What are you two talking about?" asked Ino from across the table.

"Nothing that would interest someone like you."

"You accusing me of something?" growled Ino, slamming her hands on the table.

And that was how Ino and Sakura spent the rest of the time arguing while everyone else stuffed themselves with more meat and vegetables.

They were the first to leave. Everyone else was still eating, but Sakura had an early shift tomorrow morning.

"Your friends are weird," said Naruto, "It'd be awkward to meet them separately."

"You won't," stated Sakura, "That reunion was enough to last me a while."

"What?" exclaimed Naruto, stopping in his walk, "But won't you miss your friends, like…Hinata. She's quiet, but she listens to everything you say. There's also Kiba, who's weird, but okay, I guess." He pointed a finger up in the air, "Oh and then there's…"

Did he really like her friends so much?

"Fine," she interrupted his speech. "We'll go to some of the reunions, but not all."

He smiled brightly, causing Sakura's heart to slightly flutter. It unnerved her, causing the pink-haired girl to remain quiet the whole way. The two of them arrived a few minutes later at Sakura's apartment. "I'm going to sleep," she proclaimed, "It's late."

She disappeared in a matter of moments, leaving Naruto standing by the doorway.

"Night," replied Naruto.

He turned back to the other side of the house and headed for the kitchen. The lights to the kitchen snapped on. Naruto grabbed a soda can from the fridge, sighed, picked up another can, and threw it toward the window.

A hand caught the can.

Naruto decided to speak first. "Yo. Why do you insist on breaking in?"

"Rude and with a sense of humor."

"Annoying with no common sense. Can't you come when it's visiting hours or something?" asked Naruto, rubbing his eyes. "I have to wake up early tomorrow…Sakura's like an alarm clock, only worse."

"You're drinking soda."

"I'm putting it back in the fridge. See," Naruto said. He stared lazily at the shadow perched comfortably on the window.

"Just to remind you of your meeting with the elders in five days."

"Don't you have something better to do? Go lick Danzo's shoes. Don't go around sneaking in people's house."

"Bye." With a smile and wave, the figure disappeared into the night.

Sakura yawned once. She scratched her arm, yawned again, and rubbed her closed eyes. The sleepy girl grudgingly got out of bed. The clock displayed 5:00 in dark green. She stretched her arms in her standard routine, kicked the blankets off her body, and got up. Sakura changed into her clothes. There was not much to choose from; medics had to wear a specific type of uniform. The morning air was clammy and cold. She opened her windows; it would be good if there were fresh air circulating around her room by tonight. After that, Sakura went to the kitchen and grabbed a few pieces of crackers from the cabinets (it solved today's breakfast). Cracking her knuckles, she walked down the other hallway. This was the hardest task of every morning.

"Naruto, wake up!" she yelled, kicking the door open with a foot. Unfortunately, Naruto's bedroom, more like a closet, was very small. The bed, which was two feet away from the door, would constantly collide with the mattress. She threw a packet of crackers to Naruto's face.

"Breakfast," she declared, "We got around forty-five minutes to reach the hospital and not be late."

"Could you please not give me a heart attack every morning?" scowled Naruto. He jammed a cracker into his mouth and swallowed. "And the rate you're going with the door, I'm going to end up sleeping on the floor in no time." He motioned to the half crushed mattress.

"At least you're not sleeping on the floor."

"Yet," corrected Naruto. He jumped out of bed and ran for the front door.

"Get back here!"

Naruto fumbled around the locks for a moment before crashing into the door, managing to open it at the last second. He rushed out onto the streets, looking back once. That was all he needed to keep his speed. Unfortunately, Sakura caught him within the first few feet.

"I have to go sit at that Sasuke's room again huh?"

"Yes, don't bother me now. I'm already late." Sakura shooed him away with a free hand as she readjusted her nametag.

"See you later t-," said Naruto.

"Yeah, now go already," said Sakura, already moving towards the main desk. She signed in quickly and headed for her room.

The hallways were silent and quiet, the way they were intended to be. Sakura always found it easier to concentrate when there was no noise around.

"Hey, have you heard, about that room?" A nurse whispered to another, passing by.

Sakura frowned. She hated the stupid rumors about the hospital. They were either about the living or dead. She didn't know which ones were worse.

"No, what room?" asked the other.

"The Uchiha Sasuke room's haunted! There's strange scratching noises coming from there!"

"Excuse me, can you two actually work instead of spread false rumors around?" cut in Sakura. The two nurses saw Sakura, apologized quickly, and hurried off into the distance. Her frown deepened as she continued her trail. It was Naruto fooling around and making noises for people to suspect. Give the nurses here a chance to gossip and they'll swarm in like piranhas. She made a quick mental note in her head to complain to Naruto later about his behavior before entering her office.

Kiba and Shino made their occasional visit to the hospital. It only proved the strong bond of team 8. Sakura, with her sharp eyes, had suspected that the two had somehow convinced Hinata to take self-esteem lessons with them in her free time. Even Neji, with his hateful thoughts on the main family, had visited a few times, probably inspecting in curiosity. She kept quiet though; there was no need to get the nurses to talk more.

It was near break when Sakura bumped into the blue-haired heiress.

"Hinata?" Sakura winced inwardly. "Are you okay?"

"I-It's alright," said Hinata. She pulled herself back up. Sakura noticed Hinata was carrying a small orange wrapped gift.

"What's that?" asked Sakura slyly. She patted Hinata on the shoulder, "Good job!"

"W-what?" Hinata asked.

"Who gave you that?" asked Sakura with a slight grin.

"N-No one," answered Hinata, "I-I'm g-giving it to someone." She looked to the left, avoiding Sakura's eyesight, then to the right. "I-I should g-get going then."

"Wait a moment," Sakura grabbed her arm, "Not until you tell me you're giving it too."

Hinata caught Sakura's gaze and quickly turned away, looking to the ground. "I-It's N-Naruto-san. Do you know where he is?"

Sakura let go of the girl's arm, "Oh." She looked to Hinata, "Do you want to come with me? He's at Sasuke's room. It's around lunch break, so it should be okay." Something seemed to tug away at her heart.

"U-Um…w-would I be interrupting anything?"

"No." Sakura was curt in her response.

Hinata nodded and trailed after closely acting as if a creature might attack if she strayed. Her hands clamped around the tiny package with its pretty ribbon and paper. It was obviously wrapped with care, thought Sakura.

"I-I wonder if N-Naruto-kun will like it…" she trailed off. Her fingers trapped on the surface of the present.

"How's it going with your family?" asked Sakura, wanting to change the subject.

Hinata stayed quiet for a moment then finally answered with a "P-Pretty…good." She looked to Sakura shyly, "M-My team and Neji-nii-san's team a-are going to the yearly festival together."

She put a light smile to her face, "It was K-Kiba-kun that asked him for me…"

"That's great!" Sakura punched Hinata lightly in the arm. "That Neji's finally lightening up for once."

"Yeah, he is," Hinata nodded, rubbing her arm a bit. "Um…is Naruto-kun going with you, Sakura-san?" Sakura noticed that her voice was a tad softer.

"I don't think he even knows about it," admitted Sakura. She added quickly, "But I'll ask him to go; the idiot's has to follow me-I mean he probably has nothing to do anyways." Sakura cursed herself for almost revealing her mission.

The lights crackled. They were on the second floor. One day, Sakura would manage to convince both the council and the Hokage to replace these lights. Hinata continued to follow Sakura silently behind her, vaguely reminding Sakura of how a ghost would glide. She figured Hinata would excel in being a spy instead of working as a medic if it weren't for her peaceful nature.

"We're here," declared Sakura. She knocked on the door once before opening. Loud snoring enveloped the room. Naruto remained curled up leaning next to the chair's leg, rather messily.

"Here," Hinata handed the box to Sakura, "C-Can you give it to him when he's awake?"

"Okay," agreed Sakura after a while. Hinata left hastily, leaving no trace of her presence.

"That girl is too shy for her own good…" sighed Sakura, looking at the package. She shook it a bit, out of curiosity. It made a rattling sound. "What could it be…?" Sakura set it on the desk next to the bed. Her eyes glanced towards Naruto. Even she wasn't cruel enough to wake someone up from their slumber.

She sneezed.

"He forgot to close the window…" she sighed. Swiftly, Sakura made her way across the room and locked the windows. A soft shuffle came from Sasuke's bed. Sakura froze. Did Naruto plan one of his jokes again? She walked over to the bed.

A pair of onyx eyes, barely open, stared into her eyes.

"S-Sa…"

She froze.

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