Height Discrepancy

For Naruto to think was a rare occurrence. It is like when a nine-tailed demon fox attacks your village—happens once in a lifetime. Jiraiya couldn't have put it more bluntly. Besides, Naruto was more of a hands-on type of guy. The kind where everything had to be overly simplified and shown to him. It was just Naruto.

Then again, it was one of the reasons that made him who he is now. A loud little kid turned superb ninja got to where he is because of that fact. Perhaps that slight time where one has to think to act has helped Naruto immensely. Impulse is definitely quicker. That could have been the deciding factor in many of Naruto's troubles.

So for Naruto to simply take a walk on a whim on a beautiful morning was a common occurrence. He just did what he felt like doing. He was stubbornly like water, always conforming to all that happens.

Today was a lucky day, however. For one to walk past Naruto, that person would find him deep in thought.

'Are there any other kinds of ramen?' Unfortunately, his train of thought still revolved around simple pleasures.

'I've been getting miso for so long… nah! Miso is too good to stop eating it now!'

His thoughts ran from ramen to something about shadows and clones. Information always went into Naruto's brain. They just never form coherently. His first coherent thought was the need to sit. Fortunately for him, a bench was nearby.

'Ah! What's wrong with me today? My neck has never been sore before…'

The enigma continued to bother Naruto. Nothing in his lifestyle changed. He still continued to train so he could take Tsunade's place as Hokage. He continued to eat ramen for each of his meals everyday. Jiraiya was still a pervert, 'Writing all those boring books Kakashi-sensei seems to love.' That same Kakashi was still notoriously lazy and notoriously late. Sasuke was still as calm and stoic as ever. Sakura, still pink-headed, still smart, still monstrously powerful, still as beautiful as ever. Naruto still wondered how he got her to be his girlfriend. 'Has to be because of my wicked sense of humor!' And Naruto himself was still the dense knucklehead everyone saw him as.

As much as Naruto hated to admit, he didn't like wondering how he and Sakura got together. Whenever he did, he saw flowers, foxes, and Anko. Some of them even had Jiraiya and Tsunade in them. For some reason, Sai was there as well. He was always drawing something.

He shook his head. All that mattered to him was that he had the love of his life returning his feelings. That, and that strange crook in his neck that has been bothering him all morning.

Naruto gritted his teeth. The pain wouldn't go away. Cracking his neck didn't work. Rubbing it didn't as well. He put his head down in defeat. It was an action he regretted for the pain increased in intensity.

"Ow!"

Naruto rarely had pain like this, especially since it wasn't caused by something serious. He usually slept away all his aches. This was new for him.

"What exactly did I do last night?" Naruto questioned out loud. A man reading a newspaper sitting on the same bench that Naruto was on glanced at him curiously. Naruto eyed him out of the corner of his eye. 'Some ninja I am. I didn't even sense him sit down.'

Naruto laughed embarrassingly. The man raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and went back to his reading.

Naruto rubbed his temples. This day started out poorly for him. Naruto decided to retrace his steps to find the cause for his current pain.

'Okay, first I went to Tsunade-baachan's to see if there was any missions…'

And so began Naruto's trek to find the cause for his ailment.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto soon found his way to the Hokage tower. He decided to make a slightly grander entrance by coming in through the windows.

Naruto chuckled at the idea and started jumping from rooftop to rooftop, reaching the tower's windows. Naruto was about to bellow Tsunade's name before Tsunade herself let her voice known.

"Naruto, I swear, if you yell my name, I'll make sure you never use the bathroom the same way again!"

That was enough to shut him up. Naruto whimpered lightly at the thought of how exactly Tsunade was going to accomplish that threat. Naruto quietly opened a window and stepped into the office gently. Tsunade couldn't help but smirk. She had to thank Jiraiya later for permanently traumatizing him by turning him into a frog for interfering his research. Her smirk turned into a scowl, realizing he was still doing that. Corrective action was necessary. Tsunade made a mental note for later.

"So Naruto, did you still want a mission? I think I have a B-ranked one here…"

Tsunade was about to rummage through her papers to find the mission before Naruto stopped her.

"Actually, no. I just came to figure out what I did yesterday."

Tsunade was taken aback. Just yesterday, Naruto barged in demanding a high ranked mission which earned him a smack on the head and a promise from Tsunade to find one for him for tomorrow. Tsunade was curious as to what caused Naruto's sudden change in demeanor.

"Well, I'm sure you remember what happened yesterday here. That's the reason why I have this mission ready for you."

Naruto couldn't help but be grateful. "Thank you, Tsunade-baachan," Tsunade still twitched lightly at the childish nickname, "but for some reason, my neck's been bothering me." A thought registered in Naruto's head. "Hey Tsunade-baachan! Can you heal me?"

Tsunade was taken out of her twitching and stood. "Yeah, yeah. What good is a Hokage if they don't help the people they care about?" Tsunade walked towards a Naruto sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and flashing a toothy smile to heal him.

As she healed Naruto, she also couldn't help but wonder why Naruto's neck was aching. The Naruto she knew had stamina comparable to Gai and his student Lee. He healed quickly as well. For Naruto to feel such a simple pain was a little nerve-wracking. As soon as she finished, she asked him if he had any ideas as to where it came from.

"I really have no clue," Naruto said, moving his neck to see if the pain was gone. Indeed, it was. Tsunade wasn't considered one of the Sannin for nothing.

Tsunade continued her questioning. "Well, do you remember what happened after you rudely came in here for a mission?" Tsunade crossed her arms, still slightly sour over what happened yesterday.

Naruto laughed nervously. "Well, I went to find Kakashi-sensei to try and unmask him."

Tsunade went wide-eyed. She also hasn't seen Kakashi's real face. She had a bet going with Jiraiya with her money on that Kakashi was very handsome. Jiraiya held fast to the fact the Kakashi was hiding a disfigurement. Tsunade quickly asked Naruto what happened.

"Nothing. Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-taichou were training Sasuke and Sai. I didn't want to interfere. Besides, Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-taichou are going to train Sakura-chan and I next week. We have a plan to unmask Kakashi-sensei. Yamato-taichou was more than willing to help too. I guess he hasn't seen Kakashi-sensei's face as well."

Tsunade let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Well, she did have a lot of money riding on the bet. From what Naruto has seen and told her, Kakashi was handsome. Naruto even said that he even made Teuchi blush the split second Kakashi put down his mask to eat ramen. Tsunade knew better than to bet against Naruto.

"Naruto, make sure you tell me the outcome of your plan. Leave out no detail. And make sure to bring a camera."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the request but decided against questioning her. "Don't worry Tsunade-baachan! Sakura-chan has that all planned! I only gave her the idea."

Tsunade smiled gently. She was happy that Naruto finally had someone in his life. It made Tsunade happier knowing her apprentice, Sakura, had someone in her life as well.

"Well, that's good. Knowing you, you'd somehow screw it up."

Naruto was about to argue that statement before his stomach made its voice known.

"Well, Tsunade-baachan, thank you for healing me and all but I think I need to fill her up," Naruto said, patting his stomach. Naruto then became frantic, patting his pockets and his pouch. Tsunade shook her head and chuckled, knowing his problem.

"Here, Naruto, take this," she said, holding out money, "it's to pay for the ramen. Remember, this is coming out of my pocket."

"Oh! Thank you Tsunade-baachan! You're a real lifesaver!" Naruto said, snatching the money from Tsunade's hand. "And to think, I was about to sell your necklace for money!"

Tsunade didn't have the chance to punch Naruto before he left through the window he came through in a flash with the papers on Tsunade's desk flying everywhere. Her face was red with anger.

"Shizune!"

"Yes Tsunade-sama?" Shizune came in, gasping for air.

"Bring me some sake! And fix this mess! I'm taking a break! I need to find Jiraiya!" Tsunade demanded, walking out.

"Y-Yes Tsunade-sama!"'But it's still in the morning…' Shizune hung her head, heading out to get Tsunade's stash of alcohol.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto ran all the way to Ichiraku's, laughing all the way. He took a seat at the bar, trying to hold his laughter to order.

"Ayame-chan! The usual!"

Ayame turned around with a smile. "Naruto-kun! Of course!"

Naruto returned the smile as Ayame went to fill Naruto's large order. He then got some chopsticks, broke them in half, and started tapping on the table, passing time until the godly ramen came. Teuchi came in, however, breaking Naruto from his stupor.

"Eh? Naruto! Still ordering the same thing?" laughed Teuchi.

Naruto stared at him wide-eyed. "Old man! I was thinking about that this morning! How did you know?"

Teuchi let out a laugh. "No, no! You've been ordering the same thing for years! Have you thought about ordering something else?"

Naruto eyes went even wider. "Okay old man. Don't tell me you can read minds now."

"Of course not. Don't be naïve." The word naïve didn't register with Naruto. "I have been cooking for you for many years. You get used to things."

Naruto hung his head.

"Naruto? What's wrong?"

Naruto shook his head. "It's exactly that. I get used to things."

Teuchi didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"Well, this morning, my neck was sore. It's not now because Tsunade-baachan healed it but it bothered me. I was never sore before. Old man, I think something's wrong with me."

Teuchi blinked. The he bellowed with laughter.

"Old man? Why are you laughing?"

"You mean you haven't noticed it before, Naruto?" he asked inbetween fits of laughter.

Naruto merely crossed his arms, angry that Teuchi was laughing.

"Oh, don't be angry Naruto. I just thought you would notice it by now."

Naruto's anger dropped and his curiosity peaked, wanting to know what exactly Teuchi noticed that he didn't. "Notice what?"

"Well, I've been noticing that you rub your neck more frequently than before ever since you been with that Sakura girl." Naruto blushed lightly at his statement and continued to listen. "I know you usually do it like a reflex but nowadays, it seems like you're massaging you neck more than just rubbing it."

Naruto nodded at Teuchi's reasoning. But he still didn't know why exactly his neck was sore. Naruto continued to give Teuchi his attention, urging him to continue.

"You've grown since your genin… no, twelve year old days." Naruto winced at the statement. He was still a genin. "You're the tallest out of all the Rookie 12, am I right?"

Naruto remembered a picture of the Rookie 12 they took a couple weeks ago. Teuchi was right. He was the tallest now. "So, old man, how does that explain my pain?"

Teuchi sighed. Ayame let out a little giggle. "M'boy, do I have to explain everything to you?" Naruto blinked. Teuchi held the bridge of his nose. "Okay, you're the tallest now right?" Naruto nodded. "So you're taller than Sakura, right?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Teuchi exhaled almost his entire breath. If this boy was going to be Hokage, things would be a lot different in Konoha. "I'm sure you kiss her, right? On the lips?"

Naruto blushed a bright red.

Teuchi laughed and continued, "I'm sure you lean down to kiss her. You bend your neck. And with how passionate I know you can be, I'm sure you guys stay in that position for a long while."

Naruto nearly passed out.

"Whoa, Naruto! You really need to be more aware of your surroundings. Plus, you still have to eat. Ayame is done with your ramen."

With that, Naruto regained his legendary energy and inhaled the ramen sat in front of him. Teuchi and Ayame laughed at the antics of their best customer.

XXXXXXXXXX

'So… my neck hurts because Sakura-chan is shorter than me?' Naruto thought walking towards Sakura's home.

'How can I solve this?' Naruto pondered some ideas to try and rectify the problem. Before he knew it, he was leaning back on the door of Sakura's home.

'Maybe I can crouch? No, then my legs would…' Naruto didn't have a chance to finish his thought as Sakura opened the door, with Naruto falling backwards into Sakura. Both of them landed in a heap.

"Naruto! As much as I like seeing you, I'd rather not have you lean on my door and fall on me."

Naruto got up offering a hand to Sakura who graciously took it. "Sakura-chaaan, when's the next time I'll ever do that again?"

Sakura straightened her clothes and looked at him with a curious glance. "Naruto-chan, you always do that."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed by the use of his belittling nickname that only Sakura used, and remembered the reason he came here. "Oh! Right! Sakura-chan, can we speak before you go?"

Sakura sighed. "Naruto, I might be late. Tsunade-shishou will get angry with me."

Naruto laughed. "Ah, Sakura-chan, don't worry! She's on her break! By the time she comes back, she'll be too out of it to care!"

Sakura frowned. "What did you do this time, Naruto?"

"I just ran out of her office really fast. Nothing wrong with that right?"

"So her paperwork went flying?"

"Oh, that doesn't matter. On my way there, I swear she was sleeping on them anyway."

Sakura let out a giggle. "Yeah, that sounds like her. So since I have time, what did you want to talk about?"

"Can I come in first?"

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Naruto went in and plopped down on Sakura's couch. He patted the seat next to him, asking Sakura to sit. As soon as she did, he turned to Sakura and drank in the sight of her. Everyday, Sakura seemed to become more beautiful. Naruto never failed to mention it. But before he did, he had a mission to accomplish.

"Sakura-chan, does your neck ever hurt?"

Sakura was confused by the question. "What do you mean?"

Naruto struggled to find the right words to say. "I mean, do you wake up with your neck sore?"

"Well, if I sleep in a…"

"No! I meant after we… you know." Naruto nudged Sakura, hoping she would get the idea.

Sakura got the hidden meaning and blushed in spite of it. "N-No, I don't."

Naruto laughed. He was sure she pictured some of their escapades.

"Sakura-chan, when we do stuff like that again, do you mind getting taller? Like going in a henge?"

Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts and registered Naruto's question. "I could but I can't hold it for long."

"Right. Chakra reserves." Naruto leaned back into the couch, disappointed.

Sakura gave another suggestion. "Why don't you go into the henge? You do have more chakra than I do."

Naruto shook his head. "No, the more I think about it, the more I think that it will… uh... hinder my performance. I do have to concentrate." Naruto let out a nervous chuckle and looked at Sakura.

Sakura was looking at him with lust-filled eyes. "Naruto-kun," she purred and it sent shivers down Naruto's spine, "we don't have to do it standing up. We could sit. Or lie…"

Sakura didn't get to finish her suggestion. Naruto was too busy capturing her lips with his. When they broke the kiss, both were out of breath, clothes out of place. Naruto rested his forehead on hers.

"You know what Sakura-chan? I'm lucky that you're so smart."

"Only because you're so dumb, Naruto-chan." Sakura said with playful sarcasm in her voice.

Naruto pecked her lips. "How did I get someone like you?"

"You mean Anko-sensei didn't tell you? Or Sai? Or even Jiraiya-sama or Tsunade-shishou?"

Naruto fainted right on top on Sakura.