Naruto was glad it was all over. He liked to fight and training was something he would do even when there was no exam or war to prepare, but he wasn't against a little rest after all of this. Even though he was just seventeen, he was tired and felt as if he was suddenly sixty. The enemy was defeated and the world was saved.
They spent the first week on the battlefield, treating the injured and Naruto helped as much as he could as soon as he could stand on his feet, the exhaustion having taken a toll on his body. It was during the fourth day after the end of the war that he entered one of the remaining tents. Not knowing where to put the bouquet of wild flowers that he had brought, he just set it in a corner. Truthfully, he had just picked the flowers in the nearest meadow since he couldn't exactly buy them at the Yamanakas' shop. He then sat on the edge of the medical field bed in the center of the tent and looked at the person sleeping in it.
"I'm bringing good news, Sakura-chan! Shizune told me that in two days, we're going to move you back to Konoha! Since you're not in any immediate danger and we have to be careful when moving you, with all the… machines and stuff, they decided it would be best if we waited for the other injured to already be settled in the hospital. And they also had to rebuilt it, so there was also that."
He stopped talking for a moment and sighed sadly.
"If only you could wake up…"
He looked at her peaceful face once again. It was so void of emotions, Naruto sometimes wondered if she would ever wake up again. He understood the basics when it came to comas and Tsunade had been very patient explaining the details to him, although he had already forgotten. There was a chance she would never wake up, but it had only been four days, Naruto had hope. He came to visit her every day and talked to her as if she was listening, as if she could hear him.
She was hooked to an IV due to her recent battle injuries and her right arm was covered in bandages. Tsunade's healing was powerful, but even she had her limits and couldn't wake Sakura up with force. Sakura was also hooked up to a machine that monitored her heartbeat and another one helped her breathe. She looked so pale among the white sheets; even the purple diamond on her forehead seemed dull.
Naruto could recall exactly what had happened to land her in this situation. They had just defeated Kaguya, the three of them, good old team 7 complete again after all this time. But it took time for Kaguya to disappear with that jutsu that Naruto didn't remember the name of and couldn't quite explain. Anyway, they were all resting when this big explosion had erupted in front of Sakura, sending her flying backwards. Naruto didn't know what happened, but whatever provoked this explosion, Sasuke took care of it. Meanwhile, Naruto rushed to Sakura's side and felt for her pulse. He was relieved to find one, but worried because she wouldn't wake up and blood was oozing from her nose and ears. Despite the three hours that Tsunade spent on Sakura, she couldn't wake her up.
And so here he was, waiting for her to wake up. Everyone remained positive, after all, it had just been four days, there was nothing to worry about. Sometimes he himself had been out for more than that after training or a tough fight. So he squeezed her hand, talked to her some more and headed out to help the others.
