_{Naruto stared at her she leaned over him. His body felt like bricks on the ground, much heavier than he remembers. He just wanted to sleep. He then noticed she was leaning in quite closely, threads of pink tickling his nose. He scrunched up his nose, almost expectant of a sneeze to come through. Naruto grinned at her and grabbed her hand. He knew Sakura was much stronger with the seal on her forehead, but he didn’t expect that she’d keep up with him in Sage Mode and Bijuu Taijutsu. “No problem Sakura-chan,” he replied, smiling brightly. “You were amazing. I wanna spar again one day!”}

      Muscles tightened as she compensated for the weight, lightly tugging him up from the ground. He seemed so much taller than her these days, she couldn’t remember when she’d began to see Naruto-kun as man.

      She couldn’t remember when they’d grown up, period. So many years spent as friends, then best friends, as comrades. Working themselves into a predictable duo of reckless, passionate powerhouse, and his badmouthing medic, who always followed him around, who constantly worried about him in battle. Who wasted all of her chakra trying to keep him safe because what else could she do? 

                    She would never let her most treasured comrade down.

      Her eyes cut across him, lips twisted into a grin, “Thanks,” she waved her hand in the air like she was swatting away the compliment, “I still have a long way to go, but as long as we keep training– one day I’ll even surpass you~.” She teased. 

      Her hands reached out, one hovering just above his chest, “Here, let me fix that.” Digits encompassed in green, setting lightly over a small wound at his shoulder from a kunai. It was harmless really, she imagined kyuubi chakra would make quick work of it, but it was what she was good at: Yelling at Naruto, and taking care of his careless wounds. She focused her eyes on the task at hand.