"Ah, Sakura would you mind taking care of Naruto for a bit? I have some errands to run." Sakura smiled as her sensei did, the turn of his mask as ever the only indication. Though she wondered what Hatake Kakashi considered errands- or if they were indeed what normal people would call errands at all. She nodded happily, her curiosity could wait she knew. Really, she was looking forward to spending time with Naruto, a part of her conscious had been battering her internally to simply go and see him while he was hospitalized. Yet, that inclination had been frequently overlapped by her plebeian desire not to see her friend hurt. It was a ridiculous notion Sakura knew, she had known it at the time even as she walked into the other hall away from his ward. A medic-shinobi was supposed to harden themselves against that particular urge- it could prove fatal on the battlefield.

Kakashi walked off at her acquiesce and she moved to grab the handles of Naruto's chair, breathing in deeply through her nose. A hole in her gut at seeing him again- no, at seeing him as he was now. Ridden to a wheelchair, with only one leg and an arm that would soon rot. She ignored herself however, the misgivings she had about staring at his face- scarred and cruelly mutilated on one side where the tissue twisted from the burns he had received, she did not flinch for that, holding onto every thread of her professionalism. It was the long and jagged scar along his jaw and mouth that nearly made her puke. He could not smile wide anymore- not that same smile which brought her so much comfort when she had been too young to understand the world.

Sakura bit at her lip to stop it from wobbling; in remembering the lecture she had received from Tsunade not a week ago, she rolled her shoulders back and pushed Naruto forward. In assurance to her own conviction, she forced her chin up as well, they had no particular destination, and they moved down along the village paths with a comfortable silence.

It was odd onto her that Naruto did not make a move to speak, quiet and simply restful with a contented smile on his face which was both enlightening and endearing unto the young woman's gaze. Both beneath those feelings of levity burned her knowledge and she wanted nothing more to drown it, for she could not rest in blissful ignorance. Yet, she recognized, she was not a small kunochi fresh from the academy, longing for attention from a lonesome crush and spiting those whom might not fit her ideal.

It was a long time coming, and though it shamed her, seeing these injuries on her friend, one of the strongest men she had known, did spark the understanding in her mind: She was a grown woman, one with a difficult and demanding job, one which took lives and maimed friends, wherein nothing was certain and yours and other's lives were so easily lost. It was shameful, she knew now, being as she was a medical shinobi whomst had not truly looked to her profession as a woman should- but with the eyes of a child playing catch up with her teammates, without truly stopping to consider who she was in the process. Her hands grabbed the handles a little too hard and she heard the metal protest slightly in a result.

"Hey Sakura-chan, do you want to train?" Naruto spoke, his voice as bright as he used to. As if they were living in the past, she almost expected herself to scoff and brush him off with irritation. Before realizing, of course, that she was in control of her actions in the present. It made her frown, it made her a little angry at her teammate. For not understanding the severity of his own injury, did he think that just because Kakashi was gone she would let him do whatever he wanted? Her brow furrowed, restraining from yelling at his idiotic notion.

"You are in no condition to be training Naruto!" It was not quite a yell that escaped her anyway. Yet, close enough, that it drew some attention from the people passing by. Naruto gave them no attention she couldn't help but notice, it made her curious, he never payed attention to other people when he did something embarrassing. It was a factor of him she had never really tried to figure out, but as much as her teammate proclaimed his want to be Hokage, he did have a tendency to avoid the villagers if he could- at least there were only a rare few whom he actively spoke to. Yet, the majority of the time her friend was either looking up to the sky with his hands behind his head, or down to the ground with his hands in his pockets when they walked about the village. Almost never looking sideways.

Really, she had not bothered to care about it before. Now however, in knowing how sociable and eccentric Naruto was, she wondered how she could have ignored the strange behaviour- it contradicted his personality. So she did this time, as Naruto stared at her with an earnest expression, determined and slightly confused; Sakura turned to look at the nearby, watching citizens. Only to see several scowls, and whispering, but no one was staring at her, even though she had been the loud one and had caused the scene, no, everyone's gaze were on Naruto- he either didn't see this or was so practiced in ignoring other people it didn't filter into his perception anymore. But they were glaring, normal people going about their lives paying attention to a disagreement that didn't involve them and glaring at the one who had not caused a commotion; spitefully Sakura saw. There was spite, bitterness and discomfort in nearly all of their passing gazes.

It was within only a minute, less, before the people all turned away and went about their business. A minute enough to make the kunochi angry once more, minute enough for her to want to punch a stranger or five. Before her clenching fist could land a blow, Naruto spoke up once more- breaking her away from her rather venomous thoughts.

"Sakura-chan, I didn't mean me! I meant you!" It took her a moment to focus again, but when she did she was left confused.

"You want me to train?" She said, puzzled by the request. Naruto had always wanted to train when they were kids, but he had never been content just sitting back and watching. "But, you wouldn't be able to train yourself." She made sure to clarify, in case he didn't understand her stance on the matter. No matter how much she hated seeing Naruto like this, and how much a part of her longed to be in denial; Sakura would not allow him to worsen his injuries. Her traitorous thoughts whispered 'not that they could get much worse.' In an ostentatiously sardonic tone.

"I know I know, but still." A somberness came to his visage then, the brightness from but a second ago replaced by a melancholy which made a bittersweet smile tilt his scared mouth while he held a softened gaze. It was a sweetened sadness which she had seen from him before, but had ignored so readily- and brashly she had not registered it as important. Now however, it made that pit in her chest deepen. "I wanna see." She didn't know why he would, but his words were so gentle and earnestly spoken she couldn't forgo the request.

"Alright. As long as you don't try to do anything." It was said quietly, in a bit of a mumble that he didn't hear, nor was he supposed to truthfully.

Candidly, Sakura did not train with people often anymore. Rarely, a few of her fellow chunins got together to do some exercises and keep their skills sharp, but she was not often included. Not out of spite from the others, but because she was busy and primarily pursuing the path of a medical shinobi and that had been where her focus was for most of the time Naruto had been gone. Really, she reckoned she was pretty rusty at actual battle tactics, Naruto would no doubt be better then her- that is, were he still capable of fighting. Presently however, he sat adjacent, his wheelchair placed near the fencing and was simply waiting, she waved at him rather skeptic of performing in front of her crippled friend. Yet, he grinned back- as much he could anyhow, his arm waving enthusiastically back.

Sakura took comfort in that exuberance, it was just so...Naruto. It raised her spirits enough for her to begin doing simple exercises, glancing at the blond from the corner of her eye -just in case. It was a nice change, she decided, being studious could be more annoying then rewarding she'd found recently, but the rush and comfort of physical activity was much more appealing at the moment. Even though Naruto couldn't join her, his presence was also comforting, maybe she had missed him more then she thought.

"Sakura-chan!" He yelled, then coughed and wheezed. She hurried over to him at the sound, almost twisting her ankle at an odd angle in the process. Immediately she hovered her hands over his chest, infused with chakra, and forcibly opened his lungs just a small bit. He regained himself after a moment, even still, she slowly withdrew her chakra and hands.

"You shouldn't yell Naruto." Sakura would bet she didn't sound as stern as she intended, because he basically flicked his hand at the reprimand.

Continuing on as if he hadn't just had trouble breathing, "have you learned any jutsu?" He leaned forward slightly, into her personal space with curious eyes. She was rather struck by the question, because aside from medical ninjutsu no she hadn't, though she could channel her chakra -concentrated- into her fist. Then slam it into the ground, but that was not technically a jutsu it was, in essence, flaring out her chakra.

Ninjutsu was concentrating and controlling your chakra to manipulate the elements or creating an element in the moment to do one specific task, often combative. True, medical ninjutsu could be extensively useful close range, you could slice someone's tendons with a simple touch if you were precise enough. However, it was extremely difficult to pull off such a controlled reaction, and Sakura knew she was not controlled enough to do so yet- in fact extensive chakra control developed with age as was less prone to flaring up in the body as it became more concentrated as one got older.

She blushed in realizing she hadn't learned any combative techniques compared to her comrade. Embarrassing she looked away, "ah, no I've only really been focusing on the medical lessons Master Tsunade has been teaching me." She didn't want to feel ashamed of the course she had taken, but talking to Naruto did make Sakura vaguely aware that she wanted to learn more, and that, in turn, made her feel like a failure in comparision to him and their former classmates.

"Thats amazing!" Her head snapped up at those words. Naruto's cheeks were flushed pink, warm as his smile, bright as the sun, as it had always been. He looked to her with true pride and wonderment. Sakura blushed for a different reason, a feeling of warmth in her heart at the genuine compliment, not merely for comfort- but for the assurance it provided. "You really are amazing Sakura-chan, all that stuff is so complicated too!" It honestly almost made her want to cry, to gain such approval. In the past she hadn't cared much about Naruto's opinion, Sasuke was the genius among them and surely gaining his attention and praise was far more noteworthy then that of the class troublemaker.

But, Sakura Haruno was modest enough to admit she was wrong, Naruto's approval meant a lot. Both he and Sasuke had been so battle-orientated and had managed to achieve so much- for someone with such impressive growth both personal and strength wise to recognize her talent and ability made the young woman feel... jubilant. In response, she grinned herself, though it was not an expression she often took to, it was just them and she didn't feel the care to hide her happiness in a demure mask this time.

"Thank you Naruto. That means... it means a lot." His smiling visage shifted to one of revelation however, then excitement.

"Nee Sakura-chan! Maybe I could teach you a jutsu!" He spoke happily, though the attempt to stop himself from yelling was valiant, Sakura could see him wince at the tightness in his chest. Then she fixed him with a stern glare, her earlier warning apparently not having reached his brain from his ear as of yet. Though he saw the look she gave him and with a sputter, he corrected himself. "I mean, I could tell you how to do one." She pondered it for a moment- Naruto had a lot of chakra -or had, so most of the jutsu he would have learned would have required the same. She had an average amount, perhaps less, thus it was unlikely he could teach her anything she could practically use. But- seeing his excited expression at the concept... she sighed and nodded.

"Do you know your chakra type?" He asked, still happy, though a slight milder now that he had gotten his way.

"Its earth, thats probably why I can make it so heavy." She answered and contemplated easily. He put his good hand to his chin and thought for a moment, an intense expression melting onto his face. Seemingly fox-like.

"Ano... Thats the opposite of mine so I don't know many jutsu to match... But! I do know one that the pervert used sometimes!" He snapped his fingers with the realization. Happy once more.

"Okay, so it starts with the seal of confrontation." He posed thusly. She copied though did not infuse her chakra with the action, learning first. "Then tiger." He couldn't demonstrate of course, but she followed his instructions quickly. "Snake" He continued. Then he moved his hand to hers, adjusting her hand placement into a seal she had never seen before. Sakura let him do so without complaint but was confused as he curled her left hand into a fist with her thumb inbetween her fingers -a notoriously dangerous move when fighting technically. Though she said nothing, as he continued, placing her right hand pointed upwards with a slight angle, flat save the thumb which was curled into the palm.

"I don't know what this one is, but I know its important. Its the sign he channels most of his energy into before releasing the build-up. When its done, the jutsu makes the, uh, earth? It turns really sticky and grabs onto an enemy pulling them into the ground without the ability to properly release themselves because it eventually covers their hands." By description, it sounded as if it would cost a moderate amount of chakra, though rather basic in nature, Sakura could admit she had never heard of it before. A rather brutal way to die if dragged all the way under the ground, especially if it solidified afterwards. Never the less useful, and it was a start, Sakura recognized, the pinkette was actually anticipating practicing the move. There had been an interesting urge manifesting in her after Naruto had been found- a drive of sorts to battle more.

Consequentially, when she thought of Sasuke instead of the remnant feelings of loss and affection she had held. Replaced, by a tar-black puddle of ooze in her head, as if all her emotions for him had congregated into a pool of slime and left simmering on a burner. Angry and ready to be spilled. She daren't tell Naruto of it, the bond was oblivious even to his own situation, his mind was running on sunshine that was slowly disappearing behind storm clouds- mentioning their former comrade would only blow the wind more.

"Na, Na, Sakura-chan!" Shaking off her thoughts she looked to the happy man, wondering how he could be so very joyful. "Maybe you could teach me some medi-ninjutsu, at least for while I'm in this chair?" The earnest request had her recoiling, of all things he could ask, that had not been it- Naruto and medical ninjutsu, that was not a scenario she had ever expected to contemplate. Yet... She considered it was actually a good idea. He had spoken with Ino several times while Naruto was in a coma, she had been a comfort unto her mind. Sakura knew she had not been a pleasant sight, nor person, at the time but Ino had been able to see past her lashing anger and simply speak to her, in both a comforting and rational mind.

Ino believed Naruto would need another purpose, another way to focus his energies. And though for awhile Sakura herself had been in denial of his condition, as a medical student she had to succumb to the facts that he was incapable of battling on the field. With that in mind, naruto was not without chakra now, he simply had the same- or roughly, as most other shinobi. Healing didn't require nearly as much chakra as fighting, but one did need to have more stringent control. Controlling his energy was not her friend's strong suit.

Yet, it was a way he could do something. It was a good alternative. He was still in denial and did still believe that he would somehow recover to another day, but when the day came whence he realized otherwise.- Well it was a good start, Sakura recognized, and maybe, just maybe, when that time came he wouldn't lose himself to depression in knowing he had another path ready and waiting for him.

A smirk came over her face, more for theatrics than actual intent. "So you'd be my student eh? You'd have to work hard." She pointed at his chest, his heart to be precise, for a second he did look nervous- unsure, but that did shift quickly.

"I'll work my hardest, dattebayo!" He swore, and she grinned at his enthusiasm. Yes, she was aware Naruto did do some things half-arsed, but not when he swore to do his best.

"Then I'll teach you." He beamed raising his fist in the air in victory and letting out a small cheer, though he did come to regret the action as he coughed violently and clutched at his breast area for a moment. Sakura rolled her eyes almost painfully at the display. "After. You've recovered a little more." She added. He nodded his assent with sweat on his brow, more than aware fighting her would be pointless. It felt warm, she decided, his smile, her own.

A type of contentment she hadn't felt for a long time spreading over her- just as it had when team seven had been whole. Back then, she had thought that Sasuke had been the piece that fit their puzzle together- but she knew now, it had been Naruto. His personality had made both her and Sasuke better people- and though one of them had left on a dark path, Sakura knew she could be better.

Candidly, she had begrudgingly contented herself with the idea that she might always be stuck inside healing wounds and while that was noble in itself, Haruno Sakura now realized the truth; she did not want that for herself. Maybe it had been because of Naruto and Sasuke both that she had believed herself largely incapable, after all, Sasuke and Naruto had cast such large shadows she could never see her own light. Sakura hated to think it was because Naruto had been injured that she was discovering her capability, but in candour that was the reason.

Shaking herself from the thought she reasoned that even if that were true, she should make the most of her revelation. It was what Naruto would do. And he was grinning at her.