Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

So long bit at the beginning. For those who want a cosistent release of chapters, I don't think that's ever going to happen. Writing chapters all comes down to inspiration, and whether or not I can be assed to do it (Yeah I'm a lazy bastard lol). Mix in the fact that life and responsibilities are incredibly time consuming and it really just comes down to if I feel like it, when I get the inspiration to do it, and if I can make time for it (I'm writing this particular excerpt at 3 am btw).

I can't promise more consistency, but I will try to make the sporadic nature of it not go to 2 months or more from this point on. (No promises if I can do that)

"Well... Looks like that demon's healing is doing the trick." The young man pointed out to himself, as he looked at his arm. He stretched his hand out, opening and closing it several times as he closely examined his forearm and bicep. He grunted slightly as he made a fist, feeling an unnatural tightness form from his wrist to his shoulder.

Well... I shouldn't have expected it to be fully healed. It's almost there, though. He thought to himself, rolling his shoulder slightly to give it the movement it needed. He was glad to be out of that sling anyways, he didn't like his movements being restricted like that. Guess I'll have to fight with one arm... Not a big deal. He concluded, deciding on his handicap now, rather than in the middle of the fight.

He took a deep breath as he laid back on the ground, sighing loudly as he stared up at the sky. "So where are they?! They're both late, and I'm itching for a fight!" He shouted in frustration, his impatience showing all to well as his face scrunched up in frustration. "Sensei was the one who allowed me to fight with Sakura-chan, and now they both decide not to show up... Better not be fighting without me..." He grumbled to himself as he dug his fingers into the ground, his annoyance slowly being replaced with bitterness.

He had been like this all morning, either his temper was short beyond reason, or he just felt... unhappy. He absolutely hated feeling any sort of emotions like this, all it did was remind him of how he felt before becoming a ninja. Of course, he knew the source of these negative emotions, which only made him feel worse.

Why did Sakura-chan say that?... He asked himself, as his face relaxed, showing a more somber look. He stared up sadly at the clouds above, shading him from the morning sun. Why did she bother giving me a second chance to tell her how I feel? He asked again, digging his fingers into the dirt once more, as he tried to think through Sakura's words. It made no sense to the boy, why would she do something as silly as give him a week deadline to confess to her again? At face value it sounded like she was just pitying him, trying to let him down as easily and cruelly as possible. At face value, it seemed like she was just playing him...

Her reason for doing it, though... Her words, they felt so genuine... He thought to himself, his eyes squinting slightly at the sun peeking its way through the clouds. Her words felt genuine, they sounded genuine... But were they actually? The boy had no real way of knowing for sure, and it was so frustrating that it shook him to the core of his being. No one had ever made him feel this way before, and the fact that Sakura was the one to do it was the last thing he had ever expected. I guess if there's anything to take from this... It's a new thing about her that I've discovered... He thought to himself, sighing a bit as he sat up.

The boy slapped his cheeks before getting up, knocking himself back into his senses. "Come on now, gotta stop running myself in circles over what Sakura-chan said..." He told himself, rubbing his still sore arm as he looked down. A slight grimace formed on his face, as his crystal blue orbs met with the ground. "She was just trying to be nice about letting me down, that's all... That's all it can be after how she reacted to my confession..." He convinced himself, as the grimace slowly turned into a sad smile in an attempt to swallow his bitter emotions.

"*Cough Cough* W-Warn me before you do that, Sensei!"

A voice choked out, before coughing some more. This new presence caused Naruto to look over, staring at the source of the voice. Her short pink hair swayed from the wind, while she waved the smoke away from her face. He saw her blink in confusion, before her orbs moved to meet his, her eyes opening more. "Naruto? Why're you here... Wait." She paused, before turning toward the man next to her. "Late for what?" She asked the masked man.

Kakashi pulled out his book, reading it while not looking at the pinkette. "Clearly you don't remember our conversation from yesterday... Today's going to be a training day, specifically a sparring match." He explained, before his eye met with Sakura's. "Your opponent is Naruto." He told her, turning the page on his perverted novel.

Sakura's eyebrow raised, while staring at their teacher. "Eh?" Was all the uttered, before turning to look at Naruto. She stared at him for a moment, before looking at Kakashi. "Why?" She asked him.

A surprised look showed on Kakashi's face, sighing a bit as he turned the page. "Because the both of you have been out of combat for 2 weeks, and I need to gauge where you stand. So a sparring match should be plenty suitable." He explained, seeing an unsatisfied stare from the pinkette.

The young woman shook her head, before folding her arms. "That's not what I meant, I meant why am I fighting Naruto, when he only was released from the hospital yesterday?" She asked, raising her voice slightly. "When I saw him yesterday, just bending over was enough to leave him in pain!" She told her teacher, irritation filling her features.

Kakashi stared at Sakura for a long minute, before looking back at Naruto. "He seems fine to me." He pointed out, causing Sakura to look with him.

The pinkette saw the boy stretch his body with little issue, in an attempt to warm up his muscles. The most notable thing to her was that his arm was no longer in a sling, causing her to stare at him with wide eyes. "H...How is that possible? I know he heals fast, but... It hasn't even been a day since I last saw him!" She exclaimed in confusion. How the hell did he go from barely being able to walk to THIS so quickly? It didn't make any sense to her.

Kakashi looked back at the pinkette. "That hardly matters right now. What matters is that he's able to fight, right?" He asked the pinkette, clearly avoiding her question.

Sakura sighed heavily, before nodding. "Right..." She muttered, before looking back at Kakashi. "B-But still, I don't want to accidentally hurt him too badly... He may heal fast, but for all we know he could be barely held together right now..." She pointed out her concerns to her teacher, as the jounin sighed slightly.

"I see... So you're afraid you won't be able to spar with him, without running the risk of badly injuring him." He concluded, closing his eye as he closed his book. "Very well then. Sorry Naruto, guess you won't be sparring with her after all, even after requesting it." He apologized to the blonde, putting his book away.

This little tidbit made Sakura look toward the blonde with wide eyes, he asked to fight her? Why? Why did he want to fight her? Is it because of what I said yesterday? She asked herself, as she began panicking inwardly Oh God, did he take what I said badly?! She thought in a panic.

Doubt it. He probably just wanted to fight with you so he could vent his frustrations in a simple sparring match. Inner pointed out to the pinkette, who could only inwardly sigh in response.

"So instead, you two will be fighting me at once." Kakashi told them, causing the two to look over at him suddenly.

Sakura sighed a bit, as she looked to the side. "Guess that makes sense... But why at the same time?" She asked the jounin, gripping Naruto's jacket a bit more.

The older man put his hands in his pockets as he looked over at the pinkette. "I figured if I'm going to gauge where you two are in combat ability, I should also gauge your teamwork." He explained, giving the two a heavy stare. "Sasuke is no longer here as the third member of your team, so I want to see how you two perform without him." He further explained to the two.

They both nodded in acceptance, as the pinkette bit her lower lip. "Yes, Sensei..." She responded, accepting his reasoning as she further tightened her grip on the jacket. There was silence after that, causing the pinkette to look up. She noticed the two staring at her, as beads of sweat ran down her forehead in nervousness. "W-What is it?" She asked them hesitantly.

Kakashi closed his eye, giving her an eye smile. "Well, I was simply waiting to see if you were going to give Naruto his jacket back before we would begin." The jounin explained to her, his eye opening to look at her once again.

Sakura's face immediately went from its normal pale color to a dark shade of red as she looked down. "R-Right, of course!... I-I was gonna do that..." She trailed off, completely forgetting that she had his coat the whole time. She walked over, and put the jacket in his hands. "Thanks for lending this to me..." She thanked him quietly, before walking back.

The blonde kept his eyes locked on the woman in front of her, his ocean blue orbs meeting her emerald green ones. "Well, let's get started." Kakashi chimed in, snapping Naruto out of his gaze. The blonde smacked his cheeks lightly, before putting his jacket on, and zipping it up.

The two took their stances, while staring down their teacher. All was quiet as the wind softly blew past the three, rustling the trees and bushes around the training field. During this silence the jounin pulled his book back out, and continued to read, purposefully putting his guard down for the two. As he read, his eye glanced at the two, reading their expressions and their stances.

Sakura's combat stance has improved. Good. Her confidence still needs work, though... I can see the uncertainty on her face. He thought to himself, analyzing the pinkette as he turned a page in his book. His eye then lazily wandered toward the blonde, causing his eye to narrow. I'm surprised by his patience... Normally he would have rushed me from the get go. That said... his stance is sloppy, full of openings. Also... He trailed off, his eye looking toward the blonde's left arm. Ah, Sakura's worries were correct, he's clearly preferring his right arm in this stance... He concluded, his eye fully opening as the blonde disappeared from his sight.

And so we begin...

"HAA!" Cried out the blonde as he went for a kick to Kakashi's side, only to be blocked by the jounin's knee. "I figured you would block that." The blonde pointed out, smirking as a clone jumped out of the bushes, throwing three kunai at the jounin. While still looking at his book, Kakashi pulled out and threw six shuriken, three of them deflected the kunai, while the other three hit the clone, undoing the jutsu. Despite Kakashi easily dealing with Naruto's tricks, the blonde's smirk never wavered as a second clone rushed out of the bushes.

Alright, now that he's focused on me, Sakura-chan can swoop in an... He trailed off, looking over to see Sakura still standing there, clearly unsure of what to do. Naruto's pupils shrunk as he stared at her. W-What is she doing?! He thought to himself, looking back suddenly as Kakashi grabbed the blonde's shadow clone, throwing it into him. "Nngh!" He grunted in pain as he skidded along the ground, his clone disappearing in a puff of smoke. Rubbing the back of his head, he got back up, looking over at the pinkette. "Hey, you mind jumping in to help?!" The blonde called out to the pinkette.

Sakura started blinking, almost like she was knocked out of a trance as she looked at the blonde. "R-Right!" She called out, rushing toward their teacher. As she got close, she channeled chakra into her feet and vaulted over him. Alright, once I get behind his back, I'll... She never finished her sentence as Kakashi suddenly turned, chopping her side and palm striking her stomach, knocking her away. "Guh!" Was all that could escape her lips as she landed, skidding along the ground on her back.

Kakashi stared down at the two, the frustrated blonde and the now coughing pinkette. It wasn't a surprise to him that losing Sasuke would hurt their team work, but he didn't realize just how... poorly these two worked together.

He watched as the two recovered, then looked at each other. Then, they both rushed in and suddenly split up, going opposite directions. Naruto started forming hand seals, as three shadow clones appeared next to him. Sakura created three clones, and pulled out two kunai. Naruto grabbed the back of one of his shadow clones, as it transformed into a giant shuriken.

Kakashi looked up, clearly anticipating their attacks. They both relied heavily on Sasuke, for very different reasons... Thinking about it now, there hasn't been a single mission where those two had to work together. Sakura would always follow Sasuke's lead, and Naruto would be constantly competing with him. It's funny... These two are so alike, but are also so very different... He thought to himself, catching the two kunai in between his fingers that Sakura threw. He then hopped up, throwing the two kunai into the giant shuriken, forcing the clone back to its regular form, and disappearing.

The jounin looked to see the both of them rushing him amidst the attacks, catching their attacks. Oh not again... The blonde thought to himself, as the jounin grabbed Sakura's arm and threw her into Naruto, sending the two flying into the ground.

Kakashi clapped his hands together. "I think that's enough for today." He told them, wiping the dust off of himself.

Naruto groaned as he laid on his back "My head and arm are killing me..." He muttered to himself, before looking down at the pinkette laying on his chest. His eyes opened fully as he stared at her, her face twisted in pain as her eyes were closed tightly.

Well, never thought this would happen, especially under these circumstances...

"Oww... Sensei, did you have to be so rough?..." Sakura whined, as she rubbed her forehead. "I'm not a stone to thro..." Her complaints trailed off as she stared at the blonde wide eyed.

Kakashi laughed as he put his book away. "Well, I found an opening, so I took it." He explained, looking at the two. His eyebrow raised after he heard nothing in rebuttal from Sakura. "Um... Hello?" He called out, looking at the silent kids.

Sakura and Naruto's eyes were locked on each other, his blue orbs meeting her green orbs. They were so close, their noses were touching. Obviously, they'd never been so close to each other before, and it showed on their faces. Naruto's entire face was a dark red, and Sakura's was a bright magenta.

The pinkette's mouth slowly opened as her voice escaped her lips, making muttering noises as she stared at the blonde. "I...I...I...!" Her voice peaked as she raised her fist.

"IDIOT!"

Kakashi sighed as he watched the pinkette punch Naruto right in the cheek, before getting up and running away in a panic. He then walked over and looked at Naruto's now swollen face. "Need some ice, lady killer?" He asked the blonde.

Naruto stared at Kakashi in annoyance as he rubbed his cheek. "Real funny, Sensei..." He replied, sitting up as he flinched at the stinging pain. "Damn she got me good..." He muttered.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out, causing the blonde to look over at the pinkette, peeking out from behind a tree. "Um... Let me treat you to ramen tomorrow, okay?" She asked, her face still baring a faint pink hue.

The blonde blinked, while looking at her. "Uh... Sure, can't turn down free ramen." He accepted, while rubbing his cheek.

Sakura smiled as she stepped out from behind the tree. "Great! Well... See you tomorrow!" She waved goodbye, before running off.

Naruto shook his head as he closed his eyes. "I don't get it. First she hits me, then she wants to treat me to ramen? Girls are weird..." He complained, folding his arms as he scrunched up his face in confusion.

Kakashi laughed as he walked past the blonde. "You'll figure it out. Eventually." He told the boy, looking back at him. "You and Sakura rest a couple days, then I'll tell you two where you stand currently. Alright?" He instructed his student, who only gave a nod in confirmation. "Good, now I have a lot of my own work to do. Later." He bid farewell as he turned into a puff of smoke.

Naruto watched his Sensei leave, before groaning loudly as he laid on his back. "Girls are so confusing! I get why she was so flustered, I certainly wasn't expecting us to be that close... But why did she suddenly want to get food right after punching me?!" He shouted to himself, rubbing his face in irritation. "I don't get it!" He shouted to the skies, voicing his confusion.

Sakura heard the boy, as she walked out of the training field and toward the village. She put a hand to her chest, her eyes closing slightly. "I'm not so sure myself, Naruto..." She said quietly, as a blush spread across her cheeks.

The pinkette smacked her cheeks lightly, as she let out a groan. "Why am I so stupid...?" Sakura asked herself, as she sat in a quiet coffee shop. The orange glow of the late afternoon sun gave the store a calming atmosphere, for everyone except Sakura. "Not even six hours ago I was bitching about how I felt bad about lying to him to Ino. Now here I am, post asking the dork out!..." She quietly berated to herself, hating how she let her emotions get the better of her.

Hun, you were just reeling from how you two were just an inch away from kissing, AND you clearly felt bad about hitting him. Her inner self pointed out.

Sakura leaned back in her chair, letting her hot drink cool down. I guess... Still, I need to start actually planning what I do... I hate acting out of impulse like...

Like Naruto? Inner interrupted, causing the pinkette's eyes to widen. That idiot may be... Well an idiot, but I think he's proven that sometimes trusting your instincts is the best thing to do. You of all people should know that. She pointed out, sounding almost pleased that she was able to think of that.

Sakura stared down at her coffee, before taking a large gulp of it. She let out a breath of relief, as she looked out the window, watching as the sun went down. You make a good point... She admitted to herself, taking another sip of her coffee. As she put her cup down, she stared down at the table. She pulled her forehead protector off and set it down on the table, allowing her bangs to fall over her eyes. She took a deep breath as she ran her hand through her hair, her thoughts going back to Naruto.

She just couldn't get him out of her mind. It hasn't just been these last couple days, it's been since he got back! She just couldn't stop thinking about him, no matter how hard she tried. Even when she was upset about Sasuke, Naruto would creep his way back into her mind, becoming the center of her thoughts. Was it love? Was it concern? Or was it just caring about him more than before? Or was it guilt over nearly getting him killed? She couldn't tell anymore, and running her mind in circles wasn't helping. Well... He already accepted the invite... Don't have much of a choice but to go along with it now. She thought to herself, finishing her drink and setting the cup down.

Exactly, girl! Go with the flow, don't make it complicated! Inner chimed in, clearly sounding happier than before. There's nothing wrong with just having fun. Have a good time with him. Inner told herself.

As she stepped out, taking a deep breath of the fresh evening air. She then jumped up to the roof tops, gliding across them as a smile formed on her face. "I guess I should... Go with the flow, I mean." She agreed, picking up speed as her smile widened. "It has been a while since I really enjoyed myself, so why not?! Let's see what comes of it!" She said to herself, as a laugh filled with joy escaped her lips for the first time in a very long time.

"Maybe I can fall in love again!" She exclaimed, as she jumped into the darkening distance.

That update I posted at the top made me sound like a total stiff... At least, I think it did.

Anywho, Naruto and Sakura got their asses kicked! That sucks. But! there was some good to it!

Alright, time to write the next chapter... No fight this time, should be a lot easier!

Later!